Arron Shiver Movies
When the mischievous antics of a precocious 12-year-old girl result in the outcome of the United States presidential election hinging on the vote of her apathetic, likable loser of a father, the man who thought that life had long since passed him by is reluctantly thrust into the national spotlight in this political-themed comedy starring Kevin Costner. Bud Johnson (Costner) is your typical American -- a simple man and loving father who never would have thought he had the power to change the world. Though when election day finally arrives and Bud prepares to cast his ballot, his overachieving daughter Molly proves to be the catalyst for a stunning series of events that place the fate of the free world in the hands of a man more comfortable slinging cases of beer -- her father. The two candidates are portrayed by Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer, with Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci as their campaign managers. George Lopez also stars as a local TV-station manager who has to deal with the political factions as they set up camp in the small town. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Madeline Carroll, (more)
Russell Crowe plays a desperado whose accomplices stage an ambush after he is taken into custody by a determined local sheriff in this remake of the 1957 film starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin. James Mangold directs a script based on the Elmore Leonard short story and penned by Stuart Beattie, Michael Brandt, and Derek Haas. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, (more)
Joe Montegna and Danielle De Luca headline Ratz director Thom Erberhardt's thriller about a frightened stripper forced into a deadly game of human survival. Diana (De Luca) was attempting to start a new life in Santa Paula, New Mexico when she made a disturbing discovery: the strippers in this small southwestern town have been disappearing in droves, the victims of an elusive kidnapper. Before Diana can make sense of the crimes, she becomes the latest stripper to vanish from Santa Paula without a trace. Dropped off in the middle of the desert naked and defenseless, Diana finds herself the human target of a depraved hunter. If she can only find a means to turning the tables on her pursuer and somehow gaining the upper hand, perhaps Diana can give him a deadly dose of his own sadistic medicine. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Mantegna, Danielle DeLuca, (more)
They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and in this look at one of the most polarizing religious and sexual debates in America, filmmaker Robert Cary attempts to reconcile homosexuality with Christianity. Mark (Chad Allen) is a young gay man who has fallen into a dangerous cycle of hard drugs and risky sex. Recognizing that his sibling may not have the strength to pull himself back from the edge, Mark's brother checks him into the Genesis House Christian retreat in New Mexico -- a place far removed from the temptations of the big city. Genesis House is run by a deeply spiritual, middle-aged couple named Gayle (Judith Light) and Ted (Stephen Lang). After losing a battle with sin back when she was young, Gayle has dedicated her entire life to rescuing young homosexuals from their own inner demons. In order to help Mark through the process, Gayle assigns Scott (Robert Gant) -- one of the program's advanced "fifth phasers" -- as the newcomer's mentor. When Gayle notices that Mark and Scott's relationship is intensifying, she sees the development as a threat and fights back in order to prevent her carefully controlled world from falling apart. The spectre of damnation looming constantly over their shoulders, Mark and Scott are finally forced to confront the truth about their own true natures. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chad Allen, Robert Gant, (more)
Two guys used to drinking beer for fun suddenly become fierce competitors in a sort of Lager Olympics in this over-the-top comedy. Todd Wolfhouse (Erik Stolhanske) and his brother Jan (Paul Soter) are from a German-American family but have never visited the Old Country until their grandfather dies and they fly to Germany to scatter his ashes. Todd and Jan arrive during the annual Oktoberfest celebration and accidentally discover a secret competition, "Beerfest," in which the world's leading beer guzzlers determine who can handle the most brew during several days of heated drinking games. Todd and Jan are no slouches when it comes to downing suds and offer to compete, but the German branch of the family, the Von Wolfhausens, scoff at their desire to enter the contest and inform them no mere American could hope to carry away the Beerfest honors. Determined to prove Yanks can swill beer and embarrass themselves just as well as anyone, Todd and Jan bring their most skilled drinking buddies to Germany to defend America's honor on the field of drunken battle and show their German relatives that the family's talent didn't vanish when they crossed the pond. Beerfest was written and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard, and several other Broken Lizard members pop up in the film's cast, as do Will Forte, Mo'nique, Cloris Leachman, and Jürgen Prochnow. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Chandrasekhar, Steve Lemme, (more)
If Damon Runyon, the author of the story on which The Three Wise Guys was based, were to summarize it, it might sound something like this: One December day around Christmastime I am in the city of Las Vegas talking to Harry the Horse about this and that, when I hear this yarn about a citizen by the name of Murray Crown (Tom Arnold), who runs a clip joint which he prefers to call a casino. It seems that this Murray Crown not only has the John Laws breathing down his neck, but it is also a fact that he is married to this doll called Shirley (Katey Sagal), who is known far and wide as the green-eyed type. In addition, it seems that there is another doll by the name of Mary Ann Davidson (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), who has gotten herself in the family way courtesy of Murray, and who has taken a powder into the desert holding a computer disk containing the low-down on Murray's operation. These being the conditions that prevail, sweet Mary could very well send Murray up the river for a more than somewhat long semester. So Murray hires these three torpedoes called Joey (Eddie McClintock), George (Judd Nelson), and Vincent (Nick Turturro) to chase after Mary and button the doll's lip on a permanent basis....By the time this made-for-TV opus has galloped into the home stretch, it is a probable twelve to seven that Mary will have wrapped the three torpedoes around her little finger, and that a Merry Christmas will be had by all. Mooched from a story by Runyon from which an earlier theatrical feature had been sired way back in 1936, Three Wise Guys first showed up on the USA network menu on the evening of December 8, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie McClintock, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, (more)
A fictionalized account of one of America's most groundbreaking sexual harassment lawsuits comes to the screen in this hard-hitting drama. In the late '80s, Josey Aimes (Charlize Theron) fled her abusive husband, and needed to find a way to support her two children. Aimes returned to her hometown in Minnesota and followed the lead of her old friend Glory (Frances McDormand), who had bucked tradition and found a job in the iron mines that had long provided employment for much of the community. Aimes found honest labor and a living wage working the mines, but she also discovered she was working with men who were uncomfortable working with women (whose right to work in the mines had been mandated by law almost 15 years prior), and didn't care to show them much respect. However, as Aimes found herself the growing target of sexist jokes and abhorrent behavior, she found that many of her female co-workers were reluctant to stand beside her, afraid of losing a good-paying job at a time when they were increasingly hard to find. But as a personal crisis became a public war of words, Aimes became the center of a nationwide controversy when she attempted to file a class action sexual harassment suit against the mine owners, which put her and her family in a position of scrutiny beyond her worst expectations. North Country also stars Sean Bean, Sissy Spacek, and Woody Harrelson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, (more)
Director Ron Howard turns to the Western genre in this tale of a father and daughter who are brought together under difficult circumstances. Samuel Jones (Tommy Lee Jones) is a man living in New Mexico in the 1880s. He had abandoned his family years before to live and travel with a band of Apaches, but his conscience has finally gotten the better of him and he's decided to return home. Jones, however, does not receive a warm welcome upon arrival -- his wife has died and his daughter Maggie Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett), now grown and raising two children with her husband Brake (Aaron Eckhart), has no desire to see the man who left her mother to fend for herself. As Jones prepares to depart on a note of bitterness, a band of ruthless bandits, let by Army deserter Chidin (Eric Schweig), descends upon the homestead, murdering Brake and kidnapping his 15-year-old daughter Lily (Evan Rachel Wood). While Maggie feels no desire to forgive her father, she realizes he's her best hope to track down the criminals who took her child, and Jones and Maggie team up to find the bandits before they can disappear into Mexico. The Missing was based on the novel The Last Ride by Thomas Eidson. Val Kilmer and Jenna Boyd highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, (more)
