Rachael Taylor Movies
Her name synonymous with gloss and glamour, the traffic-stopping Aussie import Rachael Taylor carried within her a natural on-camera presence. It therefore failed to surprise anyone when Taylor landed a consistent series of roles in Hollywood features, beginning in 2004. She took her initial bow in Sydney for legendary director Peter Bogdanovich, with a bit part in that helmer's fine 2004 telepic The Mystery of Natalie Wood, but failed to live up to this promise given her subsequent involvement in Tinseltown slasher films, such as the 2005 Man-Thing and the 2006 See No Evil. Taylor took several steps up the Hollywood ladder when recruited to appear in Michael Bay's live-action, summer 2007 blockbuster Transformers, as Maggie Madsen. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide- 2004
This three-hour TV biopic of actress Natalie Wood emulates Citizen Kane by beginning at the end -- the tragically ironic drowning death of the water-phobic actress in 1981 -- then recounts her life story in flashback. Justine Waddell plays the adult Natalie, with younger performers Elizabeth Rice, Candice Moore, and Nadia Scappa portraying the actress in various stages of childhood, adolescence, and puberty. Although little Natasha Gurdin's Russian-born mother and father (here played by Colin Friels and Alice Krige) had drive and ambition, it was the girl herself who energetically and enthusiastically promoted her career as a child star named "Natalie Wood," and it was Natalie herself who demanded that producer stop casting her in cute-kid and ingenue roles and take her seriously as an adult -- even before she technically was one. Naturally, the film recounts Natalie's marriage to actor Robert Wagner (Michael Weatherley), the breakup of the union as she pursued affairs with the likes of Warren Beatty (Matthew Settle), and Wood and Wagner's ultimate reconciliation and remarriage. One might assume that the "mystery" of the film's title is Natalie's death by drowning -- to this day, no one quite knows how she managed to end up in the water -- but it also manifested in the enigma of Natalie herself, a woman who despite her aggressive and unending pursuit of fame and stardom might well have willingly given it all up just to be a wife and mother. In fine old Hollywood-biography tradition, the movie boasts an endless parade of celebrity lookalikes impersonating such friends and colleagues of Natalie Wood as James Dean, Edmund Gwenn, Marilyn Monroe, and directors Irving Pichel, Elia Kazan, and Nicholas Ray, as well as several real-life celebs offering their reflections on the film's protagonist, notably Margaret O'Brien, Robert Vaughn, and Henry Jaglom. Directed by no less than Peter Bogdanovich, The Mystery of Natalie Wood first aired over ABC on March 1, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Justine Waddell, Michael Weatherly, (more)
Directed by Brett Leonard, Man-Thing is based on a comic book series of the same name. The Man-Thing himself was once a scientist, but after injecting himself with an untested serum in hopes of preventing it from falling into the wrong hands, he was unfortunately transformed into a mindless swamp beast who fatally burns those within whom he senses fear. The Man-Thing resembles a towering mound of algae and plant life, and lives in the Florida Everglades near a tribe of Seminole Indians. When one of real-estate tycoon F.A. Schist's crewmen is killed while developing the swamp for commercial use, it's the Seminoles who are blamed, though they know that the real culprit is the Man-Thing, who mirrors the emotion of any human that crosses his path and acts accordingly -- unfortunately, most people subjected to the sight of him react in sheer terror and are unceremoniously set aflame. Man-Thing features performances from Rawiri Paratene, Alex O'Lachlan, Rachel Taylor, Jack Thompson, and William Zappa. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
A ragtag group of juvenile delinquents assigned the task of cleaning up an abandoned hotel find out just how deadly community service can be when they are stalked by a monstrous, four-hundred-pound maniac with a grudge in director Gregory Dark's wrestling-infused survival horror flick. It was a mere four years ago that seven-foot menace Jacob Goodnight (WWE superstar Kane) was shot in the head and left for dead by a local police officer. But Jacob wasn't going down that easy. With a steel plate subsequently attached to his skull and ten razor-sharp fingernails ready to scrape grey matter from the skulls of his victims, Jacob retreated to the abandoned Blackwell Hotel, where he resided in the darkened, rotting hallways while planning his ultimate revenge. As fate would have it, Jacob wouldn't have to go far to satiate his raging bloodlust, though, and as the unsuspecting teens make their way through the crumbling corridors of the once-luxurious inn guided by the very same policeman who fired that misguided bullet years earlier, the notorious killer sharpens his nails, stalks his prey, and prepares for a little payback. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kane, Glen Jacobs, (more)
The interstellar battle between the Autobots and Decepticons rains destruction down on planet Earth as director Michael Bay adapts Hasbro and Takara's popular Transformers franchise into a big-budget, live-action summer tentpole extravaganza in this ambitious sci-fi action feature starring Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Bernie Mac, John Turturro, Jon Voight, and, of course, Optimus Prime and Megatron. Long ago, on the planet of Cybertron, a massive, powerful alien race divided into two factions, the noble Autobots, and the devious Decepticons. They fought for the sole access to a talisman known as the Allspark, a cube with the capacity to grant infinite power, and eventually the Autobots smuggled it off the planet's surface, hiding it in an unknown location on Earth. Now, hundreds of years later, the Deceptacons have come looking for it, and if the Autobots don't find it first, the Earth will be enslaved or destroyed by the evil aliens' use of its massive power. The Autobots don't know where the cube was hidden, but the information may be stored in the most unlikely of sources, as a gangly young Earthling named Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) who's just picked up his first car, has a strange connection to the Allspark's history, making him the unlikely ally of these enormous creatures, as they fight for humankind's survival and the chance to return home. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, (more)
Infection director Masayuki Ochiai takes the helm for this remake of the 2004 horror hit from Thailand concerning a photographer and his girlfriend who are involved in a tragic auto accident, and subsequently begin to notice ghostly figures in the backgrounds of their pictures. Joshua Jackson and Rachael Taylor star in this supernatural frightener. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joshua Jackson, Megumi Okina, (more)
Brought together by a curious twist of fate on a dusty California road, a wandering vintner and a struggling winemaker find both their lives, and their careers, forever transformed at a blind Parisian wine tasting that introduced the world to the extraordinary wines of Napa Valley. The year is 1976, and Napa Valley has yet to gain the reputation as one of world's best-known wine regions. Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) has sacrificed everything in life to realize his dream of creating the perfect Chateau Montelena. Yet despite the fact that Jim's Napa Valley vineyard has great potential, his son, Bo (Chris Pine), doesn't seem to have much interest in the family business. Most days, Jim and Bo can be found trading blows in their backyard boxing ring -- their attempts to knock a bit of sense into one another usually amounting to naught. Meanwhile, in Paris, British expatriate Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) finds necessity dictating that he educate Parisians on the latest wines to come out of California. Steven owns the Académie du Vin, and is eager to travel to the United States in order to ensure that he has conducted his research properly. Little did Steven and Jim realize that they were both on course for a chance meeting that would revolutionize the wine industry while opening up a whole new world of possibilities for wine lovers everywhere. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, (more)
A disconnected accountant finds his mundane life injected with a new sense of urgency after striking up a friendship with a charismatic attorney in director Marcel Langenegger's sexually charged action thriller. Jonathan (Ewan McGregor) is an accountant who has lost his passion in life. When his powerful new lawyer friend, Wyatt (Hugh Jackman), introduces Jonathan to a salacious underground sex club called The List, the dejected accountant soon believes he has found the woman of his dreams (Michelle Williams). His newfound happiness takes a turn for the worse, however, when Jonathan is named the prime suspect in the woman's disappearance as well as the theft of 20 million dollars. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman, (more)
- 2009
- NR
In this independent comedy, Justin (Thomas Middleditch) is a twentysomething slacker who has a hard time getting out of bed before noon and works part-time mowing lawns with his buddy Wayne (Jason Rogel), who is only slightly more ambitious. Justin hears a lot from his family about making something of himself, but he doesn't pay much attention until he and Wayne check out a traveling carnival one evening. Justin meets Galaxy (Rachael Taylor), a beautiful and spunky girl who works at a dunk-tank concession, and he is so taken with her he doesn't mind when she takes his money in a fixed game. Justin unexpectedly crosses paths with Galaxy the next day, and before long he's spending most of his time with her and her fellow carnies. Has Justin finally found his destiny with Galaxy, or is he just another stop on the road for her? Also starring Lea Thompson, Christopher McDonald, and Frankie Faison, Splinterheads received its world premiere in 2009 at the South by Southwest Film Festival, where director Brant Sersen's first feature, Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story, won the Audience Award in 2004. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Middleditch, Jason Rogel, (more)
