Patrick Pankhurst Movies
The third entry in Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible film series involves super Impossible Mission Forces (IMF) agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) being forced back into the field just when he was planning on marrying his girlfriend, Julia (Michelle Monaghan). The agency asks Hunt to save an operative (Keri Russell) he trained after weapons dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) kidnaps her. With the help of his field team -- played by Ving Rhames, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, and Maggie Q -- Hunt achieves his goal, but becomes involved in a web of double-crosses that leave him wondering if he can trust his superiors (Billy Crudup and Laurence Fishburne). Eventually Davian threatens Julia's life in order to get away with his evil plan. Simon Pegg appears as an IMF tech expert. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, (more)
- 2002
Although rogue SD-6 agent Cole has been subdued, Cole's evil cohorts, apparently commandeered by a shadowy figure known as "The Man," are still at large, assassinating any and all secret agents who are even remotely connected to the Rambaldi manuscript. Syd (Jennifer Garner) and Dixon (Carl Lumbly) head to Las Vegas, there to put a tail on the assassin's next target, K-Directorate agent Dahlgren (Patrick Pankhurst). This delicate and dangerous mission is seriously compromised when Syd's clueless roommate, Francie (Merrin Dungey), unexpectedly pops up in Vegas with her fickle fiancé, Charlie (Evan Dexter Parke), in tow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
One of the more difficult high school students in cinematic history moves on to college in this sexy thriller. Debbie Strand (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, in the role Rose McGowan played in the first film) was sentenced to a mental institution for the criminally insane after her previous murder spree, but she manages to escape, and while making her getaway by hitchhiking, she's picked up by Sydney Hollings (Christiana Frank), a student on her way to start classes at an upscale college nearby. Debbie murders Sydney and assumes her identity in hopes of avoiding the police, but Debbie's obsession with older men starts causing problems again when she becomes interested in Sam Decker (Jsu Garcia), one of her professors. Debbie soon learns that she has a rival for Sam's affections in Carla (Katherine Kendall), Sam's girlfriend, and this proves to be bad for the long-term health of all parties concerned. Debbie also finds she doesn't get along especially well with her new roommate, Laney (Jeanette Brox). Devil in the Flesh 2 was also screened under the title Teacher's Pet. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Katherine Kendall, (more)
Handsome, smooth-talking Al Donnelly (Tim Matheson) has everything going for him. A politician, he is engaged in a heated gubernatorial race with the feisty Governor Tracy (Christine Ebersole), a tough old bird who doesn't hesitate to play hardball with opponents. Unfortunately for her, things are looking good for Donnelly. Fortunately she finds his Achilles' heel with his young brother Mike Donnelly (Saturday Night Live alumnus Chris Farley), a fat slob gym teacher and hopeless imbecile who only wants to win his more successful sibling's respect. Unfortunately all he does is embarrass poor Al to death. In desperation, Al assigns the sardonic and prissy Steve Dodds (David Spade) to keep Mike under constant surveillance. The real trouble begins when Tracy's aids try to frame hapless Mike for arson. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Farley, David Spade, (more)
- 1989
Season Six of Hunter once again finds LAPD detective Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) invoking memories of Clint Eastwood--not by emulating "Dirty Harry", but by getting involved in a gender-switch variation on Play Misty for Me. Erin Gray guest stars as Kate Lawson, host of a nighttime radio fantasy show. A demented male fan, obsessed with Kate, has vowed to be the "only man" in his life by systematically murdering all of her male friends and acquaintances. To flush out the killer, Hunter poses as Kate's lover--only to find himself genuinely falling for her. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The third sequel to Sylvester Stallone's boxing blockbuster combines the ringside sports melodrama of the previous installments with the Cold War patriotism of the star/director's other motion picture series of the 1980s, the Rambo saga. Stallone is back as Rocky Balboa, the heavyweight champion of the world and now good friend of his one-time nemesis, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). Creed is brutally slaughtered in the boxing ring during a lop-sided exhibition match against the superhuman Russian boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), an event that Rocky takes personally. Vowing revenge against Drago in the name of Creed and the United States, Rocky is invited to the Soviet Union for a matchup and hires Creed's former manager (Tony Burton) to get him in shape. While Drago trains using the latest technology, Rocky's ascetic preparations are a low-key affair of carrying logs up hills through knee-deep Russian snow. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, (more)
- 1982
- R
- Add Halloween III: Season of the Witch to QueueAdd Halloween III: Season of the Witch to top of Queue
The only installment of the Halloween series to abandon the Michael Myers story line, Halloween III: Season of the Witch is an intricate sci-fi horror hybrid. A week before Halloween, an older man named Harry Grimbridge (Al Berry) is wounded by a mysteriously dispassionate group of assailants in an industrial parking lot. After receiving treatment at a local hospital from Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) -- a hard-drinking divorced father of two -- Grimbridge is killed by an assassin who later sets himself on fire. Blowing off his own kids, Challis teams up with Grimbridge's daughter, Ellie (Stacey Nelkin), to find out why the middle-aged toy salesman was murdered. The duo's search soon leads them to a Halloween-mask factory run by inventor and practical joker Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy). In between bouts of passionate lovemaking, Ellie and Challis begin to realize that the sinister old businessman has something other than treats in mind for America's kids -- something to do with the Silver Shamrock masks that Challis' children and thousands of other youngsters have bought for the holiday. Original screenwriter Nigel Kneale, whose scripts for Britain's Quatermass TV series made him a beloved science fiction fixture, sued the producers of Halloween III to have his name removed from the credits after seeing the gory finished product; director Tommy Lee Wallace ultimately received screenplay credit. John Carpenter, director of the first Halloween film, co-produced the third installment with Debra Hill, who would later soldier on without Carpenter for additional, belated sequels. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, (more)
- 1980
- R
Slow-moving and low-key, this psychological thriller about killings in a large, dark mansion has a classic setting and characters: Meredith Stone (Patricia Pearcy) is the nurse who comes to care for the invalid Ivar Langrock (Joseph Cotten), and Gabriel (John Dukakis) is his grandson who comes to visit after spending some time in a commune. A face looking out of the window of a locked room provides a clue that there might be some additional characters involved in this drama. One by one, people at the house are clubbed to death -- and the mystery continues until the story behind that face is made known. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Pearcy, David Hayward, (more)
- 1980
In this comedy drama, a small town is beset by comical characters vying for control. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
