Greg Bryk
- 2008
- R
- AddSaw Vto Queue
Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) might be dead, but his traps live on in this fifth Saw entry, which finds the series' production designer David Hackl at the helm for his debut directing gig. Costas Mandylor reprises his role as Hoffman, the detective whose involvement in the string of grisly murders turns out to be more than meets the eye. Picking up where the fourth entry left off, Hoffman is revealed to be a hidden accomplice in Jigsaw's grisly games of death, which look to be continued by the lawman. The plot bounces back and forth from the beginning of their relationship to the present, as Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) delves farther into the case. Also in the cast are Dexter's Julie Benz and One Missed Call's Meagan Good as victims of another one of Jigsaw's lessons in morality. Saw IV scribes Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan return to pen the screenplay for the Twisted Pictures/Lionsgate co-production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tobin Bell, Julie Benz, (more)
Fairuza Balk and Greg Bryk star in director Melanie Orr's dark thriller about a grieving couple and a malevolent old house. Their young son Daniel still in a deep coma following a tragic car accident, Hannah (Balk) and her husband Graham (Bryk) move into a newly purchased farmhouse and attempt to move on with their lives. But Hannah can't get over the fact that she was driving on that fateful day, and her increased intake of anti-depressants is causing Graham to worry about her mental well being. When strange things start happening around the farmhouse, Hannah begins to suspect that someone is trying to communicate with her on another level of consciousness. Concerned, Graham turns to outwardly friendly neighbors Ted and Linda for advice on how to deal with his increasingly unstable wife. But Ted and Linda aren't exactly the caring couple they make themselves out to be, because their eager offers of assistance mask some deeply malevolent motives. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fairuza Balk, Greg Bryk, (more)
Clive Owen stars in this gritty, over the top action thriller as Mr. Smith, a gun-toting badass with a hair trigger and an unknown past. He's far from a doctor and farther from a parent, but when he unwittingly discovers an innocent woman delivering a baby right in the middle of a gunfight, Smith enters the fray to save her and though the woman expires, he is the one left in care of the orphaned child. He thinks that the killers were after the woman, but soon he realizes that they had a far more unlikely target: the baby. Smith's regular company is a seedy underworld full of unsavory characters, so he takes the child to the closest thing he knows to a mother: a sultry prostitute played by Monica Bellucci, who specializes in clientele with a mommy fetish. Teamed with his hot but unlikely partner, Smith unloads barrel after barrel to protect the mysterious baby from Mr. Hertz, a ruthless criminal mastermind played by Paul Giamatti. Smith plans to figure out why Hertz and his thugs are after the baby, but if he can't uncover the truth, he'll settle for leaving them all dead in the process. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, (more)
Two luckless stoners begin a truly awful evening when they discover they have a dead girlfriend on their hands in this black comedy from writer and director Allen Moyle. Dexter (Scott Speedman) and Royce (Wes Bentley) are a pair of half-bright slackers living in a nowhere town in Northern Ontario. Dexter and Royce's lack of ambition is compounded by the fact they're both heroin addicts, and they support their habits by dealing dope for Omar (Raoul Bhaneja), a ruthless dealer who's not to be trifled with. Matilda (Taryn Manning), Royce's girlfriend, makes the mistake of dipping into their product one night and suffers a serious O.D.; frightened, Royce and Dexter decide they have to get rid of the body, and Dexter suggests they bury her in the boiler room of a drive-in movie theater where he used to work. The guys take Matilda's body to the drive-in and are about to cover her up when they realize she isn't dead yet; however, their timing is flawed, as this discovery coincides with the arrival of a gaggle of would-be Satan Worshipers, who are looking for a likely candidate for their first human sacrifice. Weirdsville was chosen as the opening night presentation for the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Speedman, Wes Bentley, (more)
Released from prison after serving ten years for pummeling his opponent to the point of inflicting severe brain damage, working class pugilist Donnie Rose (Rossif Sutherland) finds his efforts to start life anew complicated by simmering racism and long-suppressed vengeance. In the aftermath of Donnie's notorious bout with aspiring boxer Charlie Carvery (K.C. Collins), racial tensions in Halifax, Nova Scotia sharply divided the community between black and white. During his sentence Donnie not only honed his boxing skills to near perfection, but he also entered into a furtive affair with his black cellmate - a fact which he struggles to keep from his deeply prejudiced brother Keith (Greg Bryk. Though Charlie's vengeful father George (Danny Glover) has long looked forward to the day he will take revenge on the man who destroyed his son's life, the conflicted father discovers that he simply isn't a killer when finally given the opportunity to pull the trigger on Donnie. Subsequently offered $20,000 to step into the ring with fearsome local boxing champion Ossie Paris (Flex Alexander) for a high profile grudge match that will surely spell his doom, Donnie soon finds help coming from the most unlikely of places. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rossif Sutherland, Danny Glover, (more)
David Cronenberg directed this screen adaptation of a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke which explores how an act of heroism unexpectedly changes a man's life. Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) lives a quiet life in a small Indiana town, running the local diner with his wife, Edie (Maria Bello), and raising their two children. But the quiet is shattered one day when a pair of criminals on the run from the police walk into his diner just before closing time. After they attack one of the customers and seem ready to kill several of the people inside, Tom jumps to the fore, grabbing a gun from one of the criminals and killing the invaders. Tom is immediately hailed as a hero by his employees and the community at large, but Tom seems less than comfortable with his new notoriety. One day, a man with severe facial scars, Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris), sits down at the counter and begins addressing Tom as Joey, and begins asking him questions about the old days in Philadelphia. While Tom seems puzzled, Carl's actions suggest that the quiet man pouring coffee at the diner may have a dark and violent past he isn't eager to share with others -- as well as some old scores that haven't been settled. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, (more)
- 2004
Created by Christina Jennings, the Canadian sci-fi suspenser ReGenesis tackled the up-to-date subject of bioterrorism--specifically bioterrorism generated by the fantastic scientific advances made during the early 21st century. Peter Outerbridge starred as David Sandstrom, chief scientist and molecular biologist for the North American Biotechnology Advisory Commission. Popularly known as NorBAC, this commissioned had been created to investigate (and in some cases terminate) examples of questionable biotechnology. Though mankind had advanced to the point of being able to create "perfect" food, luxury items and even babies in the lab, not everyone was motivated by altruism,and there were plenty of madmen and terrorists with deep pockets who intended to use high-tech science for evil purposes. Though the series was essentially an action thriller, several hot-button ethical and political questions were raised in the course of events (though few were actually resolved). Other members of the multinational NorBAC team included Conrad Pla) as geneticist-medical doctor Carlos Serrano, Dmitry Chepovetsky as biochemist Bob Melnikov and Mayko Nguyen as bioinformatics researcher Mayko Tran. Sarah Strange was seen during the first season as NorBAC's lead viroligist (and David Sandstrom's erstwhile lover) Jill Langston; she was replaced beginning with the second season by Wendy Crewson as Rachel Woods. Similarly, Maxim Roy was originally cast as NorBAC's executive director Caroline Morrison, only to be killed off and subsequently replaced by Greg Byrk as Weston Field. Appearing occasionally was Geraint Wyn Davies as NobBAC's White House-based science advisor Carleton Riddlemeyer. Boasting the input of Canadian molecular biologist Alec Edwards as the series' chief scientic consultant, ReGenesis debuted simultaneously on Canada's Movie Central and The Movie Network cable services the week of October 24, 2004; it would be distributed to several other nations before finally entering US syndication in the fall of 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Paul Gross acts as writer, director, and star for this sports comedy about a Canadian curling team. When Chris Cutter (Gross) left his hometown of Long Bay, Ontario, he threw his team's curling stones into the lake and left his bride, Julie (Michelle Nolden), standing at the altar. Ten years later, the curling club's leader, Coach Foley, decides to start up the team again. However, he has a heart attack and dies while trying to retrieve the curling stones from the lake. Returning for the coach's funeral, Cutter fondly remembers his old curling days and decides to follow the terms of the coach's will: to win the prestigious Golden Broom championship. In order to fulfill this goal, Cutter brings the original members of Long Bay Curling Club back together, including mortician Neil (James Allodi), troublemaker James (Peter Outerbridge), and would-be father Eddie (Jed Rees). Chris also reunites with his own estranged father, Gordon (Leslie Nielsen), and gets involved with Julie's recovering alcoholic sister, Amy (Molly Parker). Features original music and special appearances by Canadian rockers the Tragically Hip. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross
