Elya Baskin Movies

Angels and Demons re-teams director Ron Howard and star Tom Hanks for the sequel to their international blockbuster adaptation of Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code. Although the book Angels and Demons was written before the novel The Da Vinci Code, the movie transpires after the events of the earlier movie. Hanks stars as professor Robert Langdon, the most respected symbologist in the United States, who uses his knowledge in order to decode a symbol on the skin of a murder victim. The clues put him on the trail of an international conspiracy involving the Catholic Church. Ewan McGregor and Ayelet Zurer also star in the Sony Pictures production. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Your friendly neighborhood web-slinger is back, only this time his sunny outlook has become partially overcast in the third chapter of director Sam Raimi's Spider-Man saga. Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco return to reprise their roles from the previous two installments, with Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, and Bryce Dallas Howard making their first appearances in the series as Flint Marko (aka Sandman), Eddie Brock (aka Venom), and Gwen Stacy, respectively. Peter Parker (Maguire) has finally leaned to walk the middle ground between being the superhero that his city needs and the man that Mary Jane (Dunst) loves. All is well in New York City until one night, as Peter and M.J. sit gazing at the stars, a falling comet streams across the sky and crashes into the ground close by. But this isn't any ordinary shooting star, and upon impact the mysterious space rock is split open to reveal a shape-shifting symbiote with the power to overtake anything that it comes into contact with. Later, as Harry Osborn (James Franco) acquires his late father's flying board, engineers a powerful new Goblin outfit, and takes to the sky to avenge dad's death, the mysterious space sludge infects both Peter's Spider-Man suit and ambitious street photographer Eddie Brock (Grace). Peter's strange new suit gives him a newfound sense of power as it gradually overpowers his personality, and he discovers that escaped convict Flint Marko was in fact the man responsible for the death of Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson). Unfortunately for Peter, Marko has recently acquired the power to morph at will and quickly completes his transformation into the dreaded Sandman. As the Sandman gives in to his darkest criminal instincts and the slithering space symbiote transforms Eddie Brock into the nightmarish fanged villain known as Venom, the citizens of New York City must once again call on Spider-Man to fend off destructive forces that are far too powerful for the likes of mortal man. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

After the little white lies of Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), director David Mirkin focuses on scheming of a different sort in Heartbreakers. Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt play Max and Page Conners, a mother and daughter who share everything with each other: relationship advice, hair and makeup hints, and the money they win in costly divorce settlements with rich men. When the film opens, the Conners are putting the finishing touches on conning Dean (Ray Liotta), an auto-body shop owner. When the dust from that scam clears, Page announces she's ready to move away from her mother and set up shop on her own -- but in order to clear an outstanding debt, Max insists they bankrupt one more bachelor together. They settle upon phlegmatic Palm Springs widower William B. Tensy (Gene Hackman), a chain smoker with a heart of gold and a similarly bountiful bank account. Only two things stand in their way: Tensy's Teutonic caretaker Miss Madress (Nora Dunn) and beachfront bartender Jack (Jason Lee), a wry stargazer with whom Page becomes unexpectedly smitten. Heartbreakers is the third collaboration from writers Steven Mazur and Paul Guy, whose previous screwball comedy was 1997's international hit, Liar Liar. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Director Roger Donaldson teams up with star Kevin Costner for another political thriller (after their 1987 pairing, No Way Out), only this time with a film based on the actual events surrounding the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, taking place during the titular thirteen days wherein the U.S. and the Soviet Union nearly engaged in full-scale nuclear war. After President John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood) is shown photographs from a spy plane detailing the presence of missiles in Cuba capable of obliterating massive areas of the U.S., he must immediately decide the most effective course of action for the country. With the aid of best friend and special assistant Kenny O'Donnell (Kevin Costner) and brother Robert (Steven Culp), the President must avoid a dire chain of events that could be dictated by General Curtis LeMay (Kevin Conway), who would rather take immediate action and invade Cuba. After initial reticence about leaking the information to the nation, President Kennedy eventually tells of the conflict, leading to widespread panic and a blockade of Cuba. With the aid of Robert McNamara (Dylan Baker) and Adlai Stevenson (Michael Fairman), the leaders must find a way to alleviate the tension of the situation. Thirteen Days also features Walter Adrian as Lyndon Johnson. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi

In this action drama, Harrison Ford plays James Marshall, a onetime combat hero in the Vietnam War who is now President of the United States. While visiting the former Soviet Union, Marshall gives a speech in which he supports a get-tough attitude against both terrorists and a right-wing general and war criminal from Kazakhstan imprisoned in Moscow, earning him few friends in the Eastern Bloc. While flying back to the United States aboard Air Force One, Marshall and his staff discover that one of the journalists returning with them is actually Ivan Korshunov (Gary Oldman), a Kazakhstani terrorist, who hijacks the plane with three associates and holds the president hostage -- with his wife and daughter on board. Marshall must use his strength and intelligence to keep the terrorists at bay and devise a plan to allow his family to escape to safety, while on the ground the vice-president (Glenn Close), the secretary of defense (Dean Stockwell), and the attorney general (Philip Baker Hall) grapple over what to do and how much control to take in this crisis. Slam-bang action sequences and plot twists fly fast and furious in this nail-biter from director Wolfgang Petersen, who previously generated suspense under water (rather than in the air) with Das Boot. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The title character in this episode manages to disrupt the lives of Paul and Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt, Paul Reiser) without even trying. Complicating matters is Jamie's insistence upon seeing all sorts of sinister conspiracies at her workplace -- the result of a quick reading of Julius Caesar. And incidentally, you can't sneak up on a cockatoo the way they did on Daktari. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though told to give up coffee during her pregnancy, Jamie (Helen Hunt) must somehow stay awake while burning the midnight oil on Lance Brockwell's political campaign. Meanwhile, Paul tries to decide how best to spend a large financial grant. Coming to Paul's rescue (if not Jamie's) is his aphorism-spouting Uncle Phil (guest star Mel Brooks). With this episode, Harry Groener replaces Alan Ruck as Lance Brockwell. ~ Rovi

The job of a television producer can be highly stressfull and greatly under-appreciated, as Artie (Rip Torn) finds out when little things around the office begin to add up. After Artie's close friend Ryan O'Neal is bumped from an appearance on the show, Hank's (Jeffrey Tambor) incessant complaining and Larry's (Garry Shandling) indifference begin to grate on the already high-strung Artie. After he befriends Russian janitor Nikolae (Elya Baskin) while burning the midnight oil, the newfound friends leave obscene messages on Larry's machine to blow off some steam. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Paul Mazursky directed this comedy, which blends a broad satire of the film industry with a thoughtful tale of a middle-aged man looking back on his life's failures. Harry Stone (Danny Aiello) is a film director who desperately needs a hit -- so desperately that he gets talked into directing an inane sci-fi film about a group of farm kids (led by Ally Sheedy) who grow an enormous pickle that they turn into a spaceship, allowing them to visit the planet Cleveland (ruled by Little Richard and his right hand man, Griffin Dunne) where everyone eats nothing but meat. Convinced that the film will flop, Harry is in a state of panic as he returns to New York with his Parisian girlfriend Francoise (Clotilde Courau), a mere 20 years his junior, and visits his ex-wife Ellen (Dyan Cannon); his mother Yetta (Shelley Winters); and his son Gregory (Chris Penn). Meanwhile Harry flashes back on his childhood and the film he could have made of it, and pitches his dream film (a historical epic about the life of Montezuma) to studio executives, who instead want him to make a movie kids can relate to. The Pickle was filmed in 1991, but only received a token theatrical release two years later. Actually, the sci-fi story with Little Richard as the undisputed ruler of Cleveland looks like it might have been an ideal vehicle for Edward D. Wood Jr.. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Friday the 13th director Sean S. Cunningham helmed this sea-monster opus about a team of engineers on an undersea missile platform who disturb the slumber of a huge, killer crustacean, which soon develops a taste for human-flavored snacks. The rubbery-looking beastie is quite a laugh, but there are some genuine freak-outs as it chomps away at the crew -- that is, while they're not reducing their own numbers through sheer incompetence. In the end, it's B.J. & the Bear's Greg Evigan (alas, minus chimp) who saves the day. One of a dozen-or-so subaqueous Alien clones (half of which were produced by Roger Corman) designed to trade on the building hype of James Cameron's long-awaited The Abyss, this soggy little picture managed to reach theaters first. Not that it's the least impressive of the lot -- actually, it succeeds on its own terms as a thoroughly intense and fast-paced "B"-monster flick, aided by good performances (Evigan is a likable, sensitive hero, and Miguel Ferrer quaffs the scenery as a high-strung jerk). At least it's better than Leviathan, which tells essentially the same story but wastes considerably more money. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

A magical jeweled skull makes the wish of 11-year-old Charlie (Fred Savage) come true in this routine but entertaining situation comedy. Charlie wishes he can switch places with his father Marshall (Judge Reinhold), a shallow junior executive of a toy-manufacturing company. Marshall retains his adult form but has the mind of an 11 year old. Charlie still looks 11 but has all the cynical wisdom and experience of his father. The switch provides for many amusing episodes, as father and son try to cope in each other's worlds. Marshall (as Charlie) goes to school while Charlie (as Marshall) tackles the pressures of the corporate boardroom. The performances of Reinhold and Savage are the highlights of this amusing comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi