Clay Steakley
Adrenaline loving director Tony Scott teams with iconic action producer Jerry Bruckheimer for this high flung sci-fi action thriller concerning a New Orleans based maverick ATF agent named Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) who is brought in on a top secret government program to catch the terrorist (Jim Caviezel) responsible for a ferry bombing that kills hundreds. Able to do what most law enforcement officers only dream of, Carlin is now able to look back in time at the perpetrator's movements, and at the life of the innocent woman whose death would set the events into motion. Carlin's instincts tell him that something is amiss, however, and while the government agent who tapped him for the job (Val Kilmer) and the team of ultra-cool scientists who run the project (Adam Goldberg, Erika Alexander) tell him one story about the quantum physics behind this marvel of technology, the hotshot agent suspects that there is a greater power at their fingertips--one that might not just solve the crime at hand, but prevent it. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, (more)
James Mangold's Walk the Line tells the life story of country music legend Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix), focusing primarily on the long courtship he had with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon). The film is structured as an extended flashback opening with Cash readying to take the stage at his historic Folsom Prison Concert. The film touches on his childhood, relating a horrific early incident from his life and establishing the troubled relationship he would have with his father (Robert Patrick). Cash joins the military and leaves home. During his time in the armed services he begins writing songs and romances a hometown girl (Ginnifer Goodwin). After the end of his duty he settles down and attempts to begin a music career, but his wife has trouble adjusting to his dreams. Cash auditions for Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts), signs to Sun Records, and soon finds himself on tour with a roster of young soon to be legends that includes Elvis Presley (Tyler Hilton) and Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Malloy Payne). On this tour he meets June Carter, the daughter of the famous Carter family, and they take a liking to each other although she refuses any serious advances from him. Cash gains world wide fame thanks in part to the inspiration he gets from June, but eventually his marriage crumbles and he develops a serious drug addiction. The film is based on Cash's autobiographies. Phoenix and Witherspoon performed all of their own singing in the movie, just as Sissy Spacek and Beverly D'Angelo did in Coal Miner's Daughter a quarter-century before. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, (more)
Seven years after playing the David Bowie-esque glam rocker in Velvet Goldmine, actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers tackles the role of the biggest rock-and-roller of all time -- The King -- in this television miniseries. CBS' Elvis traces Elvis Presley's rise from being a humble, poor kid in early-'50s Memphis to being an isolated, prescription-drug-addicted superstar fearful of going on-stage for his 1968 comeback special. Along the way, he's torn between his devotion to his mama Gladys (Camryn Manheim) and the machinations of his stealthy manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker (Randy Quaid). Among Presley's hurdles: his R&B music and performance style prompts cries of obscenity from community leaders; he's drafted for the Army and decides to go; and he longs to become a serious movie star, although the Colonel has different ideas. Elvis was significant in that it was the first biopic of the star to allow the use of The King's original recordings, lip-synched by Rhys-Meyers. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Camryn Manheim, (more)
