Bruce Lanoil Movies
Rapper and actor Ice Cube shows off his softer side in this family-friendly comedy. Nick Persons (Ice Cube) is a dealer in sports collectibles who has fallen for beautiful executive Suzanne Kingston (Nia Long). However, Nick discovers he has a bigger task than just winning her over -- Suzanne is a divorced mother with two children, Lindsey (Aleisha Allen) and Kevin (Philip Daniel Bolden), and the kids don't believe any man besides their father is fit for their mother to date. Even though Nick doesn't care much for kids, he's eager to win Lindsey and Kevin over to score points with Suzanne, and so when business commitments threaten to strand Suzanne in Vancouver without her children for New Year's Eve, Nick volunteers to escort them. But when Nick is bumped from an airline flight due to a corkscrew in his pocket, he's forced to drive the kids to Canada, and Lindsey and Kevin see this as a golden opportunity to make life very difficult for Nick. Ice Cube served as both star and producer for this project. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
In a land where cartoon characters and flesh-and-blood people work side by side, one little black duck lands in a big pot of trouble in this comedy, which brings the beloved Looney Tunes characters into the real world. Daffy Duck (voice of Joe Alaskey) has grown tired of his status as Warner Bros.' leading avian second fiddle and demands that if he can't be given equal billing with his rival Bugs Bunny (also voiced by Alaskey), he wants to be released from his contract. Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman), Warners' vice president in charge of comedy, is way ahead of Daffy and orders studio stuntman D.J. Drake (Brendan Fraser) to kick the duck off the studio lot. D.J. soon discovers getting rid of Daffy is no easy task, and the duck is in tow when Drake makes a startling discovery -- his father Damien Drake (Timothy Dalton), a movie star best know for playing ultra-suave secret agents, really is a secret agent, and he's been kidnapped by Mr. Chairman (Steve Martin), the evil leader of the monolithic Acme Corporation. Damien knows the secret hiding place of the priceless Blue Monkey Diamond and Mr. Chairman will stop at nothing to get it, so D.J. and Daffy set out to rescue Damien and save the diamond, one step behind Acme's musclemen and one step ahead of Kate and Bugs, who now realize how important Daffy is to the Looney Tunes franchise. Looney Tunes: Back in Action also stars Heather Locklear as a lounge singer working for Yosemite Sam (voice of Steve Babiar), Joan Cusack, John Cleese, Stan Freberg, and Roger Corman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, (more)
- 1999
- G
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One of the most popular characters on Sesame Street gets his own movie in this family comedy. Playful Elmo (voice of Kevin Clash) loves his blue blanket and would never want to lose it. So when it gets spirited off to parts unknown in the midst of a tug-of-war with one of his friends, Elmo sets out to find it and ends up in the grumpy kingdom of Grouchland, where Huxley (Mandy Patinkin) and the Queen of Trash (Vanessa Williams) rule over a dark and ill-mannered domain. Along with Elmo, several other favorite Sesame Street characters appear, including Oscar the Grouch (Carroll Spinney), Ernie (Steve Whitmire), and Bert (Frank Oz). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Clash, Fran Brill, (more)
Whoopi Goldberg headlines this youth-oriented comedy fantasy set in a near future where scientists for some reason have genetically resurrect dinosaurs. This time, the revitalized reptiles are intelligent and equipped with humanoid articulatory tracts so they can speak. They also wear shoes. Goldberg plays a leather-clad smart-alecky detective who is assigned the odious task of teaming up with Teddy Rex, a dino-detective. Naturally lizards and leather don't mix and the two constantly bicker their way into buddyhood as they investigate the death another dinosaur, a death that turns out to be linked with a crazed scientist's nefarious, chilling plot. Goldberg (to her credit) attempted to back out of making this film soon after production started. Were it not for the threat of major legal retaliation by the studio, she may have succeeded. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Armin Mueller-Stahl, (more)
This slapstick parody of space movies chronicles the riotous exploits of a group of dim-bulbed, misguided aliens under the mistaken impression that they are supposed to invade the Earth after they hear a rebroadcast of Orson Welles' notorious "War of the Worlds" one Halloween night. Thinking they are late, they rush in with their ramshackle spaceship and end up in Big Bean, Illinois, a peaceful midwestern town. Naturally after they announce they want to kill the "Earth scum," the residents want to kill them. Fortunately, the town sheriff and his daughter try to keep the moronic Martians safe and help their captain get them safely back in space. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Barr, Royal Dano, (more)
