Becca Lish Movies
It's not finishing school or a traditional upbringing that causes ten-year-old Opal to learn about the world outside of her own backyard, but rather a particularly awkward-looking mutt named Winn-Dixie. Based on a novel by Kate DiCamillo, Winn-Dixie and Opal not only become privy to the eventful, if eccentric, lives of their neighbors (including a librarian who fought off a bear with nothing but a novel, a blind woman who claims to "see" with her heart, and a sensitive ex-con turned pet store clerk), but Opal herself manages to reconcile some of the depression left over after her mother had abandoned the family seven years earlier. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- AnnaSophia Robb, Jeff Daniels, (more)
- 2002
This animated feature serves as the coda to the MTV series Daria, which spawned 65 half-hour episodes and one previous movie (Daria: Is It Fall Yet?) during its five-year run. It is wry teen misfit Daria Morgendorffer's senior year at Lawndale High -- time to figure out what university to attend. Her first choice is Bromwell, which is also the first choice of her blue-blooded boyfriend, Tom, whose illustrious ancestors are all alumni. When Daria, Tom, and Tom's mother head off for a campus visit, things don't go as planned. Daria almost bombs her interview; even worse, traffic, bad weather, and the need for Tom to suck up to the alumni keep Daria from getting more than a drive-by look at her second-choice school, Raft. Ironically, though, she gets into Raft and not Bromwell. Tom, of course, does, and the resulting friction leaves a question mark hanging over their relationship. College questions also plague Daria's friends: Jane frets over whether even to apply to art school in Boston, while Jodie must convince her status-obsessed father to let her attend a primarily African-American university where she can finally fit in. Big questions face even Lawndale's younger students as Daria's fashion-plate sister, Quinn, is forced to take a restaurant job to pay off the credit-card bills she's rung up on clothes; hanging out with college kids and helping a new friend through a drinking problem help give Quinn a new outlook on her previously shallow life; can the end of the Fashion Club be far behind? Daria: Is It College Yet? premiered on MTV on Monday, January 21, 2002; nearly commercial-free, the original presentation included the world premiere of the video for "Breaking Up the Girl" by pop band Garbage, alongside clips from all five seasons of the show. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- 2000
A 16-year-old has been found dead from a bizarre wound, and the detectives are hot on the trail of the possible perpetrator. Chief among the suspects is John Telford (Jacob Pitts), a school bully with an inordinate fascination for martial arts. Ultimately, the investigation zeroes in on John's father Robert Telford (Robert Clohessy), who purchased the exotic weapon of death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- R
It seems like lately everyone is out to either raze or save the infamous Heartbreak Hotel. This way off-beat rock & roll farce chronicles that struggle. The club features such way-out acts as the Beat Legends, the Young Adults, Roomful of Blues, and NRBQ. The trouble begins when Robert Burgess, the estranged, ultra-conservative, ex-CIA agent father of the club's laid-back owner Jeff Burgess decides to run for president. Believing that his son's involvement in the club will be detrimental to his career, he decides to secretly hire terrorists to blow up the Heartbreak Hotel. The city also wants to destroy the nightspot because it keeps driving down property values in the area. The town fathers end up hiring the Scum of the Earth, a gang of motorcycle thugs, to do their dirty work. Meanwhile, inside the club, Jeff coolly refuses to deal with the terrorist leader. The terrorists soon have their own problems when their ace hit man commits himself to Jesus while waiting outside in the getaway car. While this goes on, a band of Beatles clones are taking drugs in the club cellar when the phone rings. They answer, and it is a holy call from the King himself. He warns them that the club is in grave danger. On video, the film is called It's a Complex World. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Welch, Margot Dionne, (more)
The Witches of Eastwick, a memorable comedy with a dark edge, is based upon a novel by John Updike. On Thursday nights three female friends -- Alex (Cher), Sukie (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Jane (Susan Sarandon) -- meet to chug martinis, learn Chinese aphrodisiac cooking and lament the scarcity of eligible men. As they sit around, they fantasize about and describe their idea of the ideal male. Arriving in town the following day is Satan, disguised as mysterious stranger Darrell Van Horn (Jack Nicholson). One by one, Van Horne seduces each of the women. Then, strange things begin to happen. When the town matriarch Felicia (Veronica Cartwright) publicly denounces Van Horne, she sustains a nasty compound fracture. When she forces her editor husband to publish a story about Van Horne's sexual antics, Darrell gets his revenge with revoltingly large amounts of cherries. The women now see that they may be in danger and begin to plot their escape. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Nicholson, Cher, (more)
