Adam Goodman Movies
Industrial Light and Magic special-effects wizard Stefen Fangmeier makes the leap into the director's chair with this coming-of-age fantasy concerning a young boy whose discovery of a mysterious dragon egg leads him on a predestined journey to become a Dragon Rider and defend his peaceful world against an evil king. Based on the best-selling novel by Christopher Paolini, Eragon tells the tale of the titular character (Ed Speleers), a humble farm boy living in the land of Alagaësia, whose life is forever changed when he discovers that he has been chosen to fight the most powerful enemy his world has ever known. Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, and Djimon Hounsou co-star in a film produced by Davis Entertainment and adapted from the novel by screenwriters Peter Buchman, Larry Konner, and Mark Rosenthal. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael A. Mehlmann, Ed Speleers, (more)
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, Alien vs. Predator follows billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) and his team of drillers, scientists, and archaeologists, to an obscure pyramid site in Antarctica. Among the icy ruins, allegedly, lies the proof of an empire predating humankind. Once there, however, the group finds more than ancient sarcophaguses and hieroglyphics; rather, their discovery consists of dismembered human skeletons and fossilized remains of the alien creatures that appear to have violently burst out of their chests. Even more horrifying is the evidence suggesting that the aliens may still exist. Indeed, there are aliens below the pyramids, but an equal threat looms above: three Predators, all on the verge of manhood, are engaged in a gruesome rite of passage -- every hundred years, young Predators must travel to Earth and take on a hunting ritual in order to complete the transition to adulthood or die in the process. Before long, the humans find themselves battling for their own lives as the Predators and aliens continue their fight for superiority. The film also features Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Ewen Bremmer, Colin Salmon, and Agathe de la Boulaye. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, (more)
Differentiating this TV-movie version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol from the hundreds of other adaptations of the same Yuletide classic is its tongue-in-cheek ambience and a bundle of memorable tunes by perennial Disney composer Alan Menken and former Schoolhouse Rock lyricist Lynn Ahrens. Inspired by a stage musical which used to be presented annually at New York's Madison Square Garden, this Christmas Carol stars Kelsey Grammer as tight-fisted Ebenezer Scrooge, who sees the errors of his ways just in time to oversee the "best Christmas ever" for his long-suffering clerk Bob Cratchit (Edward Gower) and "God Bless Us Everyone" Tiny Tim (Jacob Moriarty). On this occasion, the spirits materializing for Scrooge's benefit include Jason Alexander as a neurotic Jacob Marley, Jesse L. Martin as a laid-back Ghost of Christmas Present, Jane Krakowski as a sexy Ghost of Christmas Past, and Geraldine Chaplin as a spooky Ghost of Christmas Future (in Wizard of Oz tradition, three of these four actors also appear as "real" people in Scrooge's everyday life). Highlights include the song "Link by Link," wherein the ghostly Marley and a chorus of wraiths perform a lively ball-and-chain dance number, and the outsized Christmas celebration in the home of Scrooge's first boss, Mr. Fezziwig (Brian Bedford), which features among other things a "pole dance" by the Ghost of Christmas Past! Filmed on-location in Budapest (which sort of looks like Dickensian London if you squint real hard), A Christmas Carol: The Musical won an Emmy award for musical director Michael Kosarin -- and, alas, tanked in the ratings when first telecast by NBC on November 28, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelsey Grammer, Jesse L. Martin, (more)
- 2002
Spun off from the Emmy-winning TV miniseries of the same name (which in turn was based on a series of children's novel by James Gurney) , the weekly ABC fantasy-adventure series Dinotopia picked up where its predecessor left off, albeit with an entirely new cast. Stranded in an idyllic lost land where humans and dinosaurs co-exist, millionaire Frank Scott (Michael Brandon) and his hunky sons Karl (Erik Von Deeten) and David (Shiloh Strong) do their best to acclimate themselves to their new home -- and to console themselves with the fact that they can never leave. As Karl and David compete for the attentions of Marion Waldo (Georgina Rylance), the attractive future leader of Dinotopia, both boys also become entangled in the activities of The Outsiders, a group of political insurgents led by another dazzlingly beautiful woman named Le Sage (Lisa Zane). Originally slated to debut on October 10, 2002, Dinotopia ultimately aired on November 28 of that year, reportedly because of technical problems surrounding the series' computer-generated Tyrannosaurs, Pteranodons and other dinosaurs. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Brandon, Erik Von Detten, (more)
