William Purple Movies
- 2008
Jessica Biel, Garry Marshall, Steven Collins, and Jason Clarke headline director Bill Purple's melancholy short about an anti-social math wiz and chess fanatic whose misanthropic worldview is challenged by a lovable little canine. Howard (Clarke) is a "perpetual student" whose uncanny knack for numbers has resulted in a false sense of superiority. Simply put, Howard sees himself as superior to nearly everyone he encounters - including the ageing chess champion that he defeats in a high-profile tournament. When Howard realizes that he's in serious need of some work-study money, his advisor sets him up with a job in a research lab. Now, as the mousy, sensitive lab tech works overtime to prevent Howard from discovering the secrets of their research, the man who views the world through darkened shades of contempt strikes up a most unexpected friendship. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Clarke, Jessica Biel, (more)
A cocky teenager learns some important lessons about playing by her own rules in this comedy drama. Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym) is a gifted 17-year-old gymnast with a strong rebellious streak -- strong enough that she walked away from her teammates on the eve of a major international tournament because she'd had enough of the rigid regimentation of Team U.S.A. After experiencing a scrape with the law with her extreme-cycling friends, Haley is given an unusual sentence -- attending the Vickerman Gymnastics Academy, a world-class training facility run by Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges), who has led some of the world's greatest gymnasts to championship status. Haley makes no secret of her dislike of life at Vickerman's, and her fellow athletes aren't about to forgive her just yet for letting down her teammates. But while Vickerman makes clear things are to be done his way, he respects Haley's talent, and together she shows him and her new teammates how to follow the rules while still expressing your individuality. Also starring Tarah Paige and Vanessa Lengies, Stick It was the first directorial credit for Jessica Bendinger, who wrote the critically praised teen comedy Bring It On. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Missy Peregrym, (more)
Thirteen-year-old Jenna (Shana Dowdeswell) has had enough with the trials of adolescence. In addition to being saddled with a devoted-but-nerdy best friend, Matt (Sean Marquette), she falls victim to one of the dangers of playing Seven Minutes in Heaven with the coolest kids in school: being stranded without a willing make-out partner. Humiliated, Jenna buries herself in the aformentioned make-out closet, wishing she could skip the whole adolescence bit and move straight into adulthood, and miraculously wakes just weeks away from her 30th birthday. Of course, a lot has changed since going to bed the night before, not the least of which being an impressive set of womanly curves. The new, older Jenna (Jennifer Garner) is a successful magazine editor with friends in high places and a lion's share of potential suitors -- including a hockey-playing boyfriend and a swarthy married man. The problem is that her mind hasn't matured with her body; Jenna not only finds living on her own more terrifying than cool, but is quick to dismiss any male over the age of 14 as "gross." Half excited, half mortified, Jenna seeks out Matt (Mark Ruffalo), whom she learns she had spurned as a teenager in an effort to join the popular crowd. Gary Winick directed, from a script by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa; Gina Matthews produced. Choreographer Michael Peters - who died in 1994 - received posthumous credit, as his choreography from the Michael Jackson Thriller video is used in one scene. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, (more)
One of Marvel Comics' most popular characters comes to the screen for the first time in this sci-fi action-thriller. Matthew Murdock (Ben Affleck) is a lawyer whose father, a prizefighter, was killed by gangsters when Murdock was just a boy. Since then, Murdock has devoted his life to bringing wrongdoers to justice and is willing to help others by taking on cases no other attorney will touch. Murdock is also blind, after being struck down by a truck while trying to save a man from being hit. What no one knows is that Murdock was also doused with an unusual radioactive isotope which had a strange effect on him -- while Murdock's sight may be gone, his other senses have been raised to such a keen pitch that they act like radar, allowing him to tell where he's going and what happens around him, both near and far away. Murdock puts his gifts to use at night as the costumed crime-fighter Daredevil, whose pursuit of justice has earned him the wrath of underworld leader Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan). Kingpin wants Daredevil out of his way once and for all, and hires Bullseye (Colin Farrell), a super-assassin with an uncanny ability to throw blades, to do the job. Daredevil also makes the acquaintance of Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner), a woman with super-heroic talents who is also on Kingpin's bad side, though it remains to be seen if she has aligned herself with the forces of good as Daredevil has done. Jon Favreau, Joe Pantoliano, and David Keith highlight Daredevil's supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, (more)
