Luisa Leschin Movies
- 2007
- PG
- Add Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer to QueueAdd Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer to top of Queue
The world's most famous team of astronauts-cum-superheroes returns in the effects-heavy sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. As the story opens, Sue Storm (aka The Invisible Girl [Jessica Alba]) and Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic [Ioan Gruffudd]) prepare for their upcoming, superhero-studded wedding celebration. But Reed cannot stay focused on the nuptials -- he's distracted by wire reports of a bizarre, comet-like object hurtling toward the Earth with tremendous force, triggering brownouts, blackouts, tropical storms, and various other climatological disasters. When the said object hits the island of Manhattan, destroying much of the city in its wake, its identity becomes resoundingly clear. "It" is actually a "he" -- a psychotic villain known as The Silver Surfer (voice of Larry Fishburne) who intends, for some unascertainable reason, to destroy much of the Earth, just as he obliterated dozens of planets before it. Feeling compelled to rally their old gang and save the day, Sue and Reed summon Ben Grimm (aka The Thing [Michael Chiklis]) and Johnny Storm (aka The Human Torch [Chris Evans]) to take on the Surfer -- and end up battling not only him, but an obnoxious Army general (Andre Braugher) and the cantankerous Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon), who has broken out of his icy prison that held him captive at the end of the first movie. Tim Story returns to direct this sequel. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, (more)
Dreamworks SKG's second feature-length animated film blends comedy and drama in an unusual historical adventure. Two genial swindlers working as stable hands stow away with Cortez, the legendary Spanish conquistador, as he searches for El Dorado, the lost City of Gold. Luck smiles on the two con men, and they happen to find a settlement in Mexico that they believe is El Dorado; however, while the two exotic strangers are at first embraced by the Mayan people, they've also arrived just in time to be offered up as the next human sacrifice. The Road to El Dorado was directed by Don Paul, who helmed the first DreamWorks animated feature, The Prince of Egypt; Will Finn, a featured animator on Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin; Bibo Bergeron, who worked on Ferngully: The Last Rainforest; and David Silverman. It features new songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, and the voice cast includes Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Rosie Perez, Edward James Olmos, and Armand Assante. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, (more)
- 1995
In wake of the ongoing crisis involving his ailing mother, the customarily brusque and arrogant Benton (Eriq La Salle) astonishes everyone with his courtesy, consideration, and compassion. Meanwhile, Ross (George Clooney) is ordered to see a psychiatrist after punching a patient, and also agrees to coach the Little League team in which Diane's (Lisa Zane) son is a player. And Greene (Anthony Edwards) angers Swift (Michael Ironside) by heading to Milwaukee in hopes of reconciling with Jenn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
The Fat Boys, Kid 'N Play and others are featured in this hip hop-themed music video compilation aimed at pre-teens, hosted by former MTV veejay and Milli Vanilli confidant Downtown Julie Brown. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- 1992
When she is sexually harrassed by Mr. Holtworth (Tom Wright), one of her workplace superiors, Whitley (Jasmine Guy) files a complaint against the man. Imagine her shock when Holtworth claims that Whitley actually came on to him--and Management believes his story,. Elsewhere, Col. Taylor (Glynn Turman) is hardly jumping for joy when his son Terrence (Cory Tyler) announces his intention of majoring in Dance at college. And Ron (Darryl M. Bell) lands a TV-commercial gig--with embarrassing repercussions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Michael J. Fox once more makes a courageous effort to shed his nice-guy image in Bright Lights, Big City. Fox plays an impressionable Kansan who comes to the Big Apple to take a job at a major magazine. It isn't long before he falls into the twin traps of drug and alcohol abuse. His only hope for redemption is in the hands of Vicky (Tracy Pollan), the cousin of his scuzzy drinking buddy Tad (Kiefer Sutherland). Jay McInerney's bestselling novel does not translate easily to the big screen, but Fox strives hard to please, as do all of his costars. The white stuff snorted by Fox wasn't really cocaine, but powdered milk. Watch for Frasier's David Hyde Pierce in a small role and Jason Robards in a significant unbilled cameo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
Zalman King wrote and directed this soft-core Harlequinesque Romance that plays like Tennessee Williams meets Fredericks of Hollywood. April Delongpre (Sherilyn Fenn) is the daughter of a powerful senator and heiress to an old and respectable Southern family. April is engaged to marry the granite-handsome Chad Douglas Fairchild (Martin Hewitt) within a few days. But Chad has gone to Tuscaloosa to sign papers for their condo and the rest of the family has headed off to the lake, leaving April in the house alone with nothing to do except take long and languid showers--until she sets her eyes on the pecs of carnival roustabout Perry (Richard Tyson). Soon the two are making tasteful love in every nook and cranny of April's mansion. Unfortunately for the two sexual athletes, April's grandmother (Louise Fletcher) has assigned the local sheriff (Burl Ives) to keep an eye on her. And an eye on her he keeps, so that during the wedding ceremony, he has quite a story to tell. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sherilyn Fenn, Richard Tyson, (more)
This martial arts film features Tonny Tulleners (a karate champion) as a U.S. government agent who goes after international terrorists in some picturesque locations: Amsterdam, Los Angeles, and Hawaii. His terrorist-fighting takes on another complexion when he is required to protect a terrorist who is going to testify against his former cohorts. Soon the glamorous locations are transformed into the interiors of bedrooms and hospital wards as the body count rises. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tonny Tulleners, Don Murray, (more)
- 1985
The career of boxer Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini is the subject of the made-for-TV biopic. Doug McKeon plays Mancini, while Robert Blake co-stars as his father, Lenny Mancini. An excellent pugilist in his own right, Lenny's career is cut short by his wartime service. Son Ray carries on the tradition into the 1980s, battling his way towards the WBA crown. Heart of a Champion's executive producer was Rocky star Sylvester Stallone, who (it says here) staged the boxing sequences. This heartwarming "do it for the old man" effort was first telecast May 1, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Doug McKeon, (more)
- 1985
Jeff Bridges plays an LA sheriff who loses his job due to his inability to stay away from booze. While attending an AA meeting, Bridges is invited to attend a party, where he meets the beauteous Alexandra Paul. Also at the party is an old enemy of Bridges', druggie Randy Brooks. It doesn't take long for Bridges to figure out that Brooks is a pimp and Paul is one of his hookers. She begs Bridges to help her break away from Brooks. Not long afterward, Paul is killed, and Bridges crawls back into the bottle. Eventually sobering up, he vows to avenge Paul's death. Much blood is spilled before the killer is revealed (it isn't who you think); along the way, Bridges gets a new lease on life when he falls in love with ex-hooker Rosanna Arquette. An enormous flop, 8 Million Ways to Die is redeemed by Jeff Bridges' powerful performance. One hopes that the orignal Lawrence Block novel wasn't quite as confusing as the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Rosanna Arquette, (more)
- 1983
Much against her better judgment, unlicensed midwife Olivia Allen (Lynn Hamilton) assists in the emergency delivery of an illegal immigrant's baby. When the child dies, the authorities charge Olivia with second degree murder. Her curiosity aroused by the subsequent similar deaths of several other infants, Olivia's friend Dr. Katherine Reed (Elizabeth Huddle) prevails upon Quincy (Jack Klugman) to help solve the mystery and clear Ms. Allen's name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Heather (Linnea Quigley), the deaf-mute sister of Brenda (Linda Blair) is gang-raped in a drawn-out, violent scene at the beginning of this routine vengeance movie, a scene that provides the motivation for Brenda's rampage through the rest of the film. Dressed in a special outfit that bares enough skin to suit the standards of this genre and armed with a crossbow, Brenda goes after the young punks in the "Scars" gang who raped her sister -- with predictably gory results. Surrounding this miniature Charles Bronson is a society burdened with parodies of "good" people: the school principal who is only superficially tough, and the upper-class teens whose thought processes were arrested shortly after kindergarten. Stereotypical and transparent, this teen movie is interesting because it does promote a woman in a "hero" role, but the subject matter and violence will not appeal to everyone. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Blair, John Vernon, (more)
- 1981
- R
Adapted by John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion from Dunne's novel, True Confessions uses the still-unsolved "Black Dahlia" murder as the foundation for a devastating attack on big-city corruption -- in which it appears that many of the perpetrators wear clerical collars. In, 1948 Los Angeles detective Tom Spellacy (Robert Duvall) is assigned to investigate the death of a priest, who apparently suffered a heart attack while being serviced by a prostitute. Meanwhile, Tom's brother, young Catholic monsignor Des Spellacy (Robert De Niro), is reluctantly currying favor with crooked contractor Jack Amsterdam (Charles Durning), the better to finance an expansion of Des' church. The unifying factor between Tom and Des, beyond their sibling relationship, turns out to be the grisly murder of a hooker. The key words in the labyrinthine proceedings are power, ambition, and hypocrisy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, (more)
