Judd Nelson Movies
Even by the unexacting standard of Hollywood's 1980s "brat pack," actor Judd Nelson seemed wildly undisciplined and self-indulgent on screen. One tends to conclude that Nelson (a former philosophy student and the son of a Maine politician) has played his screen characters as written: he was, after all, very well trained by famed drama coach Stella Adler, and came up from the exacting ranks of summer stock. Among his earliest screen assignments -- all in his watershed year of 1985 -- including the dope-smoking detentionee in The Breakfast Club, Kevin Costner's parachute-jumping fraternity pal in Fandango, and Ally Sheedy's philandering live-in boyfriend in St. Elmo's Fire. Always seeming to be on the verge of punching someone out, Nelson was well cast as a mercurial killer in 1989's Relentless. Like many brat-packers, Judd Nelson has appeared in fewer and fewer films in the 1990s. In Tommy Chongs Far Out Man (1990), Nelson appears ingratiatingly as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Boondock Saints, the 2000 crime picture renowned for the unique story of the fast rise and fall of its egomaniacal filmmaker, Troy Duffy, as well as the cult following that appeared later on home release, gets the sequel treatment with this follow-up. Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus reunite as the vigilante MacManus brothers, with Billy Connolly returning as Il Duce. Duffy once again directs from his own script, with Clifton Collins Jr., Julie Benz, and David Della Rocco filling out the rest of the cast. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, (more)
The reclusive former head of a Fortune 500 company descends ever deeper into the abyss of insanity, ultimately becoming unable to discern whether his paranoia concerning his estranged wife is founded in fact, or just the bitter delusion of a fractured psyche. Jonathan Hollis (Judd Nelson) used to be an influential business magnate; these days he's withdrawn into his childhood home, a social recluse seemingly intent on dragging his wife down into the darkness, too. He's forced his wife Lydia to say goodbye to the New York social scene in favor of withering away in his crumbling castle, and when Jonathan begins to suspect that her resentment has turned malicious, he recruits his old pal Devlin to discern whether Lydia is attempting to make him look insane so she can abscond with his fortune. Has Jonathan's deep-seated greed finally gotten the best of him, or is Lydia really the manipulative mastermind that he's come to see her as? A Devlin goes to work sorting the facts from the paranoid delusions, Jonathan begins to question the loyalties of everyone around him while being drawn ever deeper into a deadly game of cat and mouse. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2007
- R
A simple Halloween prank turns deadly after a group of teens ditch Homecoming to explore a grapefruit orchard with a dark past in this campy fright fest featuring Jedd Nelson and Jennifer Tilly. The fall winds are blowing, and the harvest moon is high in the sky - what better time than to cut out of school for a little midnight mischief? According to local legend, the reclusive caretaker at the orchard doesn't take kindly to visitors. Few have seen the mysterious figure and lived to tell the tale, and the opportunity to catch a glimpse of him is too tempting to resist. If they can just ditch their randy teacher (Tilly) and an overprotective parent (Nelson) long enough to reach the orchard, the teens will finally be free to get into the Halloween spirit. But the Caretaker has a special surprise in store for them, and when the gag gets the axe they'll be begging for their lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A botched science experiment unleashes a destructive otherworldly force with the power to devour the planet in this science fiction disaster thriller starring Judd Nelson and Kristy Swanson. Science has finally gone too far, and as a giant black hole opens up over St. Louis, the terrified denizens struggle to escape the all-consuming void by any means necessary. As General Ryker (David Selby) prepares to lob a heaping helping of nuclear warheads at the rapidly expanding hole, scientist Eric Bryce (Nelson) and his assistant Shannon (Swanson) soon discover that the hole has also provided passage for an interstellar stalker of the most unsavory variety. Now, with a murderous alien on the loose and the fate of the world looking grimmer by the minute, Eric and Shannon must destroy the savage visitor and reverse the effects of the black hole before the increasingly unstable General Ryker carries out his explosive final solution. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, Kristy Swanson, (more)
If Damon Runyon, the author of the story on which The Three Wise Guys was based, were to summarize it, it might sound something like this: One December day around Christmastime I am in the city of Las Vegas talking to Harry the Horse about this and that, when I hear this yarn about a citizen by the name of Murray Crown (Tom Arnold), who runs a clip joint which he prefers to call a casino. It seems that this Murray Crown not only has the John Laws breathing down his neck, but it is also a fact that he is married to this doll called Shirley (Katey Sagal), who is known far and wide as the green-eyed type. In addition, it seems that there is another doll by the name of Mary Ann Davidson (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), who has gotten herself in the family way courtesy of Murray, and who has taken a powder into the desert holding a computer disk containing the low-down on Murray's operation. These being the conditions that prevail, sweet Mary could very well send Murray up the river for a more than somewhat long semester. So Murray hires these three torpedoes called Joey (Eddie McClintock), George (Judd Nelson), and Vincent (Nick Turturro) to chase after Mary and button the doll's lip on a permanent basis....By the time this made-for-TV opus has galloped into the home stretch, it is a probable twelve to seven that Mary will have wrapped the three torpedoes around her little finger, and that a Merry Christmas will be had by all. Mooched from a story by Runyon from which an earlier theatrical feature had been sired way back in 1936, Three Wise Guys first showed up on the USA network menu on the evening of December 8, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie McClintock, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, (more)
The new owner of a dilapidated apartment building becomes the prime suspect in a series of brutal murders in this thriller starring Judd Nelson, Jennifer Carpenter, and Stacey Dash. Amanda Winters has just purchased the Grayson Arms, a crumbling apartment complex filled with rent-controlled tenants who all plan to remain precisely where they are. Unfortunately for all involved, Amanda has other plans for the property. Later, as the tenants begin to die in a series of gruesome accidents, Amanda is singled out as the prime suspect in the deaths. But Amanda isn't the only one with a reason to kill, because from the mysterious twins to the neurotic therapist who dwells in Grayson Arms, it seems that everyone has some kind of dark secret to protect. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, Jennifer Carpenter, (more)
When the sister of police inspector Billie Palmer becomes the target of a relentless serial killer, the tables are turned as the dedicated law woman becomes the subject of a media witch hunt in this thriller from director Dimitri Logothetis. It hasn't been long since Palmer watched in helpless horror as her mother was brutally murdered by the killer who has since eluded capture, and when the killer sets his sites on Palmer's teenage sister, the cop will stop at nothing to ensure that her sister remains safe. As the killer stalks the streets leaving a trail of bodies branding ominous messages carved in cuneiform, the media begins to question Palmer's competence. Wounding the suspect in self-defense, Palmer quickly becomes the subject of a massive Internal Affairs investigation, leaving her younger sibling an open target on the streets. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
This French/German co-production stars Judd Nelson as eccentric scientist Alex Branson, who, after his life is saved by a courageous golden retriever named Rex, returns the favor by operating upon the seriously injured canine. Implanting a high-tech "thetachip" in Rex, Alex transforms the pooch into a super-powered cybermutt, with ultra-developed artificial intelligence and physical powers far beyond those of ordinary hounds. Naturally, Rex's awesome new powers attract the attention of several scurrilous villains, who, aided by Alex's treacherous assistant Erica (Paulina Mielech), try to steal the dog for their own sinister motives. Directed by Australian George Miller of The Man From Snowy River fame, Cybermutt was completed in 2002, but not exhibited in the U.S. until it aired over cable's Animal Planet network on May 26, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, Paulina Mielech, (more)
A drug deal gone awry leads to harrowing consequences for a group of campers in this thriller from Firestarter director Mark L. Lester. When they stumble across the aftermath of a botched, deep-woods drug deal, Chick (Louis Mandylor) convinces his nature-bound friends to pocket the cash and sell the cocaine that was left behind by the would-be dealers. Unaware that dealer Brian Nathanson (Judd Nelson) has survived the ordeal and witnessed the campers' indiscretion, he vows to track them down and retrieve the missing contraband. Meanwhile, the powerful drug lord behind the deal has hired a beautiful but lethal assassin to track down the drugs and the money at any cost -- and she's more than happy to fulfill her mission and take down anyone who gets in her way. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Christian independent film company Cloud Ten Productions presents this science fiction-tinged thriller in the same vein of their other offerings, such as Left Behind. Directed by Andre vanHeerden, Deceived stars Judd Nelson as Jack Jones, a scientist brought in to help discern the purpose and source of a strange, extraterrestrial signal that seems to have a mysterious effect on the psychic abilities of those exposed to it. The film also stars Michelle Nolden, Stuart Beck, and Academy Award-winner Louis Gossett Jr. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
The title character in this made-for-cable comedy is a youthful slacker (Nick Stabile) who has long been a source of disappointment and embarrassment for his famous jolly-old-elf father. Anxious to prove his worth, Nick (as our hero is known) decides to clamber down a few chimneys just prior to Christmas Eve. Alas, his efforts coincide with a string of burglaries, and Nick is promptly arrested by cops Daryl Bedford (Judd Nelson) and Norm Potter (George Wallace). As Nick frets away the hours before Christmas under house arrest, Bedford grows attached to Nick's court-appointed attorney, Susan Flynn (Lauren Holly) -- and inevitably, the real burglar strikes again. Santa Jr. was first telecast over the Hallmark Channel on November 30, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Decades after being mysteriously swallowed up in the bottomless belly of the Bermuda Triangle, the reappearance of the cruise ship Corona Queen leads to a terrifying journey into the unknown in this dark tale from filmmaker Christian McIntire. For years, Aaron Roberts (Judd Nelson) has been obsessed with the seemingly cursed waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and when the Corona Queen returns from a 25-year trip to the beyond, Roberts can't resist the chance to investigate the phenomenon firsthand. Disregarding a series of otherworldly warnings, Roberts soon teams up with paranormal investigators Dana Elway (Janet Gunn), David Shaw (Lance Henriksen), and a team of scientists to board the Corona Queen and search for clues as to its whereabouts for the last quarter of a century. Little do they realize that the Corona Queen seems to be taking on a life of her own, and the team is stepping directly into the belly of the beast. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2001
- R
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The frequently recurring title characters, employed by writer and director Kevin Smith as supporting players in several of his films, are put to rest with this comedy that focuses on them exclusively. Jay (Jason Mews) and Silent Bob (Smith) are a pair of stoned New Jersey slackers who have long been used as the templates for a pair of popular comic book heroes, Bluntman and Chronic. When they learn that their alter egos are to be turned into a major motion picture without their consent or compensation, the pair sets off for Hollywood to sabotage the production. Along the way, they encounter an ape, a nun (Carrie Fisher), the cast of Scooby-Doo, a Charlie's Angels-style band of sexy women who use them as stool pigeons in a diamond heist, and an unhinged wildlife ranger (Will Ferrell). They also meet up with some regulars from the Smith canon, including Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks, Jason Lee as Banky Edwards, Alanis Morissette as God, and actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in dual roles as themselves and two other familiar characters. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back co-stars numerous other recognizable performers in roles of various sizes, including Shannen Doherty, Jason Biggs, James Van Der Beek, Shannon Elizabeth, Tracy Morgan, Judd Nelson, Chris Rock, and George Carlin, among others. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, (more)
- 2001
Most screenwriters fight to protect their creative vision, but one man goes a good bit farther than most in this sequel to the made-for-TV horror flick Cabin by the Lake. Murderous scriptwriter Stanley Caldwell (Judd Nelson) is missing and thought to be dead, but the strange stories of his grisly crimes have made the project he was writing at the time of his death a hot property, and director Mike Helton (Brian Krause) has hired writer Allison Gaddis (Dahlia Salem) to polish Caldwell's rough draft as he prepares to bring Stanley's final work to the big screen. But it turns out Stanley isn't dead after all -- he managed to escape and has gone into hiding, but the news that his work is being tampered with brings him back to the scene of his crimes. Posing as J.C. Reddick, a relative of the producer, Caldwell gets hired as an assistant director on the film, and claiming to have known the late Caldwell, he sets out to reshape the movie so that it reflects his own twisted ideals. Produced for the USA cable network, Return to Cabin by the Lake was first aired on December 15, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, Brian Krause, (more)
In this high-tension thriller, a notorious serial killer called "The Trasher" has been captured, and has been locked up in an unusual high-tech mental institution for the criminally insane. However, the female psychiatrist who has been attempting to learn the killer's secrets is suddenly in a position to find out more than she ever wanted to know about him when she finds herself locked up in the asylum after hours, with the Trasher after her trail, and her only ally is a floor-sweeper who may actually be a fellow inmate. Dark Asylum stars Judd Nelson, Paulina Porizkova, and Larry Drake. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paulina Porizkova, Judd Nelson, (more)
- 2000
Ethel Lina White's suspense novel Some Must Watch was first filmed under the title The Spiral Staircase in 1946. This same title was applied to a subsequent 1962 TV special adaptation, and a 1975 British TV-movie remake. The Spiral Staircase resurfaced again in 2000 as a made-for-cable feature film, which updated the original story from the early 20th century to the present day. Pathologically mute since a terrible trauma in her youth, Helen Capel (Nicollette Sheridan) works as a housekeeper in the gloomy old mansion of wealthy Emma Warren (Holland Taylor). By nature timid and frightened, Helen has good reason of late to be even more afraid to venture outside the Warren home: A serial killer who preys upon "imperfect" women is on the loose, with such victims as a blind girl and a clubfooted woman in his wake. Understandably, the literally speechless Helen is worried that she will be the next victim. What she doesn't know is that her would-be murderer is someone living within the walls of the Warren mansion -- and it isn't the most obvious suspect. The Spiral Staircase debuted April 2, 2000 on the Fox Family Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicollette Sheridan, Judd Nelson, (more)
A secret project turns out to not have been so secret after all as an air disaster threatens to become an international incident in this action thriller. Peter Stanton is an aviation engineer who is asked by the United States military to design a new super-sized stealth aircraft. Since Stanton's project is officially off the government's books (though the Pentagon is indeed footing the bill), his sponsors create a cover story that the new craft is actually a civilian airline carrier being jointly developed by NASA and three major airlines. In order to give the new jet a proper test and support their cover story, the plane, known as FALCON, will carry a group of special passengers for its first flight, a hop from New York to Paris that will take less than two hours. However, Stanton finds out the hard way that not everyone on his team is honest and idealistic when a team of Serbian terrorists take over the plane, intending to land it on the arctic ice cap. The Serbs miscalculate, and soon Stanton has two major problems on his hand: bringing the FALCON up out of the ocean, and saving the passengers from the terrorists before the Serbs can make use of the jet's sophisticated weapons systems. Falcon Down stars William Shatner, Judd Nelson, Cliff Robertson, Jennifer Rubin, and Dale Midkiff. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Sex and Bullets stars Judd Nelson and Seymour Cassel as a pair of hitmen who are on the run from a powerful mobster after they whack one of the mobster's sons. The two go their separate ways in order to hide more effectively, but each ends up being involved in a bizarre adventure. Max (Nelson) ends up picking up an unstable woman by pretending to be a sex therapist. Eddie (Cassel) ends up losing the corpse. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2000
A writer's deadly secret is about to rise to the surface in this made-for-TV suspense thriller. Stanley Caldwell (Judd Nelson) is a screenwriter working on a story for a suspense film about a lunatic who kidnaps and murders young women. However, Stanley's research methods are more than a bit unusual -- he actually does kidnap women, and once he's learned as much as he thinks he can from them, he disposes of their bodies by drowning them in a nearby lake. Stanley's buddies who work at a special effects company don't suspect anything could be wrong, nor does the local sheriff Boone Preston (Michael Weatherly), but when Stanley snatches Mallory (Hedy Burress), a pretty but iron-willed teenager, he may have finally found a victim who can outwit him and put a stop to his twisted game. Cabin by the Lake was produced and first aired by the USA cable network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, Hedy Burress, (more)
The Twilight Zone goes rock & roll in VH1's creepy anthology series Strange Frequency. In "Disco Inferno," metalheads Buck (Erik Palladino) and Randy (Danny Masterson) wander into a strange nightclub while looking for roadside assistance following a late-night car accident. "My Generation" finds a predatory hippie (Eric Roberts) facing an unexpected challenge when he picks up an unsuspecting "grunger," and in "Room Service," an ageing rocker with a penchant for trashing hotel rooms meets an unexpected nemesis in the form of a seemingly supernatural cleaning woman. Rounding out this frightful tales of rock & roll excess, "More Than a Feeling" offers the horrific tale of a famous promoter (Judd Nelson) whose unusual penchant for spotting up-and-coming talent ultimately has a deadly effect on his young prodigies. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Noted R&B artist and producer Kenneth (Babyface) Edmonds served as executive producer for this tough urban drama. After a shooting incident in a neglected inner-city school leaves a police officer wounded, a group of students holds the cop hostage, in a desperate effort to force improvements to their school. The cast includes another R&B hitmaker, Usher, as well as Forest Whitaker, Vanessa L. Williams, and Rosario Dawson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Usher Raymond, Forest Whitaker, (more)
- 1999
- NR
- Add Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story to QueueAdd Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story to top of Queue
Judd Nelson stars as Alan Freed, the controversial Cleveland DJ who helped make rock 'n' roll music a crucial component of American culture by tapping into the hearts and wallets of the youth market. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson
- 1997
- PG13
Low-rent, poorly-lit superhero action is the order of the day in this film from television director Kenneth Johnson -- who makes several references to his series Alien Nation throughout the course of the movie. NBA basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neal stars as John Henry Irons, a weapons designer and metallurgical genius who is developing a new sonic weapon for the military with the help of Sparks (Annabeth Gish), a computer whiz. When an accident caused by unscrupulous superior Nathaniel Burke (Judd Nelson) leaves Sparks paralyzed, Irons quits his job in disgust. It turns out later that Burke has begun mass-producing the weapon and selling it to terrorists and L.A. street gangs, so Irons and Sparks team up with Uncle Joe (Richard Roundtree), a junkyard artist, to create a suit of armor and a gadget-packed sledgehammer. Irons dons the suit and becomes known as the superhero Steel, who kicks criminal posterior all over the city with his impenetrable get-up and high-tech gizmos. Before long, Burke's comeuppance is in the offing. Although specific references to it were excised between the source material and script, the original DC Comics version of Steel was a spin-off of the Superman comics series. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shaquille O'Neal, Annabeth Gish, (more)
