Oliver Davis Movies
Clint Eastwood's adaptation of the non-fiction book Flags of Our Fathers concerns the lives of the men in the famous picture of soldiers raising the American flag over Iwo Jima during that historic WWII battle. Battle scenes are intercut with footage of three of the soldiers - played by Ryan Phillipe, Jesse Bradford, and Adam Beach -- who survived the battle going on a goodwill tour of the United States in order to sell war bonds. Many evening they are forced to reenact their famous pose, something each of them finds more and more difficult to do as they suffer from survivor's guilt. Eastwood frames the story by having one of the men's grown son (Tom McCarthy) interview his father's old comrades in order to find out more about what happened to his father. Eastwood followed this film with Letters from Iwo Jima, a second film about the battle of Iwo Jima, but told from the Japanese perspective. Flags of Our Fathers was produced by Eastwood and Steven Spielberg. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, (more)
- 2004
The perfect kidnapping scheme take a hilarious turn for the worse when a hapless repo man and his septuagenarian partner find a major league baseball player tied up in the trunk of their most recent acquisition in first-time feature filmmaker Eric Fleming's high-speed comedy of errors. Rick (Fleming) and the Colonel (Robert Culp) never intended to become kidnappers, but upon repossessing the car of two mob heavies and discovering prized pitcher James Maxwell (James Edson) in the trunk, it seems that they have earned the title whether they like it or not. Upon learning that Maxwell had racked up some serious gambling debts that didn't stand well in the eyes of the Mafia, Rick and the Colonel soon become convinced that now they too have incurred the wrath of the feared organized crime ring. With the World Series just days away and Maxwell poised to pitch in the all-important upcoming game, Rick and the Colonel, and Rick's young son, Buddy, make a deal with Maxwell to ransom the team and split the money so that everyone will get a cut and Maxwell will make it to the pitcher's mount before a replacement is named. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Fleming, James Edson, (more)
