Moira Quirk Movies
- 2007
- PG
- Add Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer to QueueAdd Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer to top of Queue
The world's most famous team of astronauts-cum-superheroes returns in the effects-heavy sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. As the story opens, Sue Storm (aka The Invisible Girl [Jessica Alba]) and Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic [Ioan Gruffudd]) prepare for their upcoming, superhero-studded wedding celebration. But Reed cannot stay focused on the nuptials -- he's distracted by wire reports of a bizarre, comet-like object hurtling toward the Earth with tremendous force, triggering brownouts, blackouts, tropical storms, and various other climatological disasters. When the said object hits the island of Manhattan, destroying much of the city in its wake, its identity becomes resoundingly clear. "It" is actually a "he" -- a psychotic villain known as The Silver Surfer (voice of Larry Fishburne) who intends, for some unascertainable reason, to destroy much of the Earth, just as he obliterated dozens of planets before it. Feeling compelled to rally their old gang and save the day, Sue and Reed summon Ben Grimm (aka The Thing [Michael Chiklis]) and Johnny Storm (aka The Human Torch [Chris Evans]) to take on the Surfer -- and end up battling not only him, but an obnoxious Army general (Andre Braugher) and the cantankerous Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon), who has broken out of his icy prison that held him captive at the end of the first movie. Tim Story returns to direct this sequel. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, (more)
Gladiator duo Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe re-team for this adaptation of author Peter Mayle's best-selling novel about a London-based investment banker who relocates to Provence in hopes of selling a small vineyard he has inherited from his recently deceased uncle. As a child, Max Skinner (Freddie Highmore) was taught to appreciate the finer things in life while wandering the vineyard estate of his sophisticated uncle Henry (Albert Finney). Life has a strange way or turning out how you least expect it to though, and 25 years later, Max (Russell Crowe) is now a prosperous moneyman wheeling and dealing in the cutthroat world of London business. When Max learns that Henry has recently passed away and that he has been named the sole beneficiary of his late uncle's modest estate, the keen businessman hastily arranges a flight to France in order to assess the value of the old property and get it prepped for sale. After Max arrives to find the vineyard in a crumbling state of disrepair, his troubles are further compounded by the stubbornness of gruff estate winemaker M. Duflot (Didier Bourdon) and the unexpected arrival of a determined California beauty named Christie (Abbie Cornish), who presents herself as a long-lost cousin while making a dubious claim to Henry's estate. Meanwhile, the overstressed Max reluctantly finds himself falling for local café owner and town siren Fanny (Marion Cotillard), whose formidable guard is quickly worn down by the smitten beneficiary. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russell Crowe, Albert Finney, (more)
Katsuhiro Otomo, director of the groundbreaking anime feature Akira (1988), returns with this visually striking fusion of the past and the future. It's the Industrial Age in England, reimagined, and various and sundry inventors and scientists are arriving in Britain to hawk their products while capitalism rears its ugly head. A gadget-happy British lad named Ray (voice of Anna Paquin) receives a mysterious package from his grandfather Lloyd Steam (Patrick Stewart) -- a tiny ball that turns out to be an engine toting immense power. As it happens, several of these little balls run the O'Hara pavilion, a massive, mobile fortress. Ray later discovers that his dad and grandfather are located inside of the pavilion; his dad, Eddie, has become mesmerized by O'Hara and subject to their whims, while Lloyd suspects that O'Hara may want to use the balls for nefarious purposes, and tries to put a definitive end to those plans. Indeed, the O'Hara people soon take over the Great Exhibition and turn it into a veritable circus for weapons dealers. Meanwhile, Ray starts to develop feelings for a young girl named Scarlett O'Hara. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Suzuki, Manami Konishi, (more)
