Dan Payne Movies

An update of The Graduate with a decidedly gay slant, writer/producer/star Chris Hale's earnest tale of misunderstood love tells the story of a family man who lusts after his son's best friend during a life changing summer vacation. Tyler (Derek James) and Chase (Charlie David) are as tight as two college pals can be, so tight that when school lets out, Tyler invites his pal to spend the summer with his family at their quaint Prospect Lake home. As the summer wears on, nights spent talking around the family barbecue fade into days on the golf course, where Tyler and his father Nathan (Dan Payne) can frequently be found bonding over bogies. But there's something Tyler doesn't know about his good friend Chase, a secret that would make him realize just how futile his efforts to set Chase up with all of the beautiful girls around campus truly are. Increasingly comfortable around his surrogate family, Chase makes the fateful decision to come out to them - never truly realizing the implications that announcement may have on their family dynamics. One night shortly thereafter, Tyler and his mother (Thea Gill) return home to find Chase and Nathan locked in a lover's embrace. The drama coming to a head with this surprise revelation, Nathan struggles to find a means of staying true to himself while simultaneously preventing his family from falling apart. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The sole survivor of a Viking "dragon" vessel shipwrecked on the eastern shores of the New World 15 years ago provides the only hope for the a Native American tribe faced with certain destruction by Norse berserkers in director Marcus Nispel's (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) dark action adventure. Reared by the Wampanoag tribe following a failed attempt by the Vikings to raid coastal villages for slaves, a ten-year-old shipwreck survivor is nicknamed "Ghost" by his adoptive tribe due to his pale complexion and blond hair. Legend says that death and destruction will follow the boy wherever he travels, yet the peaceful people of the Wampanoag tribe selflessly take the frightened child in as if he is one of their own. Over the course of the following decade, the adopted young Norseman eventually grows into a strong warrior (Karl Urban) determined to prove his worth to the people he calls family. When the rampaging Vikings return to the New World to rain destruction down on the Native Americans and to claim the fertile land of the peaceful people, Ghost finds himself in the precarious position of having to stop his own people from destroying his village and ruthlessly slaughtering the woman he loves (Moon Bloodgood). Now, as Ghost's true destiny is revealed by the powerful shaman known as the Pathfinder (Russell Means), the fearless warrior sets out to stage a savage one-man war on the marauding Vikings and become the savior once prophesied to defend the Wampanoag people in their darkest hour. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

L. Frank Baum's enduring fantasy story gets a new and very funny spin in this made-for-TV comedy. Dorothy (Ashanti) is a young woman who works in a diner in Kansas owned by her Aunt Em (Queen Latifah) and dreams of one day making it big as a singer. When a tornado makes its way through the trailer park Dorothy and Em call home, the young woman is spirited off to a magical land known as Oz, where she accidentally kills the most wicked witch in the land. Dorothy, however, isn't so sure she wants to stay, and sets off to find a wizard who might be able to help her. As Dorothy searches for the wizard's castle, she makes some friends along the way -- a scarecrow (Kermit the Frog, voiced by Steve Whitmire), a cowardly lion (Fozzie Bear, voiced by Eric Jacobson), a combination robot and computer made of tin (The Great Gonzo, voiced by Dave Goelz) -- but she also has to fend off The Wicked Witch of the West (Miss Piggy, voiced by Eric Jacobson), whose sister fell victim to Dorothy upon her arrival in the strange new land. Featuring most of the best-known Muppet Show characters, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz also features guest appearances by Jeffrey Tambor, David Alan Grier, and Quentin Tarantino. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The discovery of an ancient secret leads to a shocking revelation that may forever alter the course of history in this imaginative entry from the folks who brought you Stargate SG-1. When the SG-1 crew unearths the remnants of what they believe to be the Lost City of the Ancients -- the very civilization that originated the Stargates -- an investigation by Stargate Command leads a new team of explorers to a distant galaxy. Headed by Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the explorers soon discover the deserted remnants of a highly advanced civilization settled on the ocean floor. When the daring explorers make contact with a group of nomadic humans, the discovery of an otherworldly enemy that feeds on fear offers a grim foreshadowing of things to come for the human race if they don't band together and fight the dark force that threatens to consume them all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In the concluding episode of Smallville's two-part season-two finale, Clark Kent (Tom Welling) has made contact with the spirit of his real father, Jor-El of Krypton (his voice supplied by Terence Stamp, who played the villainous Zod in the 1978 and 1980 theatrical features Superman and Superman II). Now Clark must choose between leading a normal "human" life with his friends and loved ones, or accept his destiny as the supreme ruler of Earth. The episode's chaotic cliffhanger conclusion involves a wrecked spaceship, a ruined farmhouse, a tragic miscarriage, and a disastrous personality change -- not to mention a marriage that may be literally brought down in flames almost as soon as it begins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally conceived as a TV miniseries (but generally shown in a single three-hour installment), this lavish adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen stars Bridget Fonda as the icy-hearted title character. Arriving incognito at the alpine inn run by a man named Wolfgang (Robert Wisden), the embittered Snow Queen makes it her mission in life to ruin all chances of romance for Wolfgang's beautiful daughter, Gerda (Chelsea Hobbs). To this end, the Queen exercises her magic over Gerda's bellhop boyfriend Kai (Jeremy Guilbaut), literally freezing the boy in his tracks. In order to save her beloved, Gerda must undertake a grueling odyssey through the Four Seasons (each of them briefly appearing in human form), culminating in a final, frigid showdown with the spiteful Snow Queen. After its December 7, 2002 debut on the Hallmark cable network, The Snow Queen was almost immediately released in a deluxe DVD edition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

What would life amongst the Muppets have been without their unofficial leader Kermit the Frog? That's the question posed by this made-for-TV confection, which not only spoofs the Yuletide classic It's a Wonderful Life, but also takes satirical aim at such pop cultural phenomena as Moulin Rouge and Fear Factor. The plot is set in motion when typically evil banker Rachel Bitterman (Joan Cusack) forecloses on the Muppets' famous variety theater, with the intention of building a gaudy nightclub. But Bitterman's machinations take a back seat when apprentice guardian angel, Daniel (David Arquette), shows Kermit (voiced by Steve Whitmire) what conditions would have been had Kermit never existed. Without going into full detail, suffice to say that a Kermit-less world would have found Miss Piggy (voiced by Frank Oz) running a fraudulent psychic hot line, Fozzie Bear as a homeless derelict, and Sam the Eagle as a caged dancer at a rave. Decked out with cameo appearances by everyone from Whoopi Goldberg to the cast of the TV series Scrubs, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie debuted over NBC on November 29, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide