Bill Paxton Movies
Possessing a special talent for totally immersing himself in his roles, Bill Paxton does not always get the recognition he deserves. Tall, rangy, and boyishly good looking, Paxton's career is a curiosity that has found the character actor turned filmmaker succeeding in intermittently pulling the rug from under filmgoers' feet with a constantly expanding sense of maturity and range.Paxton's interest in films emerged during his teens when he began making his own movies with a Super-8 camera. He formally entered the entertainment industry in 1974 as a set dresser for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Paxton made his acting debut as a bit player in Crazy Mama (1975), and afterward, the young thespian moved to New York to hone his skills. Following performances in a couple of horror quickies, Paxton formally launched his Hollywood career with a tiny part in Ivan Reitman's Stripes (1981) and this led to a steady if not unremarkable career in film and television during the '80s. In addition to acting, Paxton made short independent films such as Fish Heads, (1982) which became a favorite on NBC's Saturday Night Live. Paxton's acting career got a much-needed boost in 1985 when he was cast as Ilan Mitchell-Smith's obnoxious big brother Chet Donolley in John Hughes' Weird Science. Some of Paxton's more memorable subsequent roles include that of a cocky intergalactic soldier in James Cameron's Aliens (1986), a crazed vampire in Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark, and sickly astronaut Freddie Hayes in Ron Howard's Apollo 13. In 1996, Paxton landed a starring role, opposite Helen Hunt, in the special-effects blockbuster Twister; since then his career has taken an upward turn and Paxton is getting more leads than ever. Though few audiences saw it in its limited release, critics were quick to praise Paxton's turn as con-artist Traveler in the 1997 movie of the same name. Following a doomed voyage on the Titanic the same year, the workhorse actor once again intrigued filmgoers as a small-town dweller struggling with his conscience after stumbling into over a million dollars in usually flamboyant director Sam Raimi's strikingly subdued A Simple Plan. A quiet and intense performance enhanced by a talented cast including Billy Bob Thornton and Bridget Fonda, the psychological crime drama once again provided further proof that Paxton's impressive range of emotion stretched beyond what many filmgoers may have previously suspected. Though subsequent performances in Mighty Joe Young (1998) and U-571 (2000) did little to backup the promise shown in A Simple Plan, Paxton still had a few tricks up his sleeve, as evidenced by his directorial debut Frailty (2002), a surprisingly competent and genuinely frightening tale of religious fervor and questionable sanity. Though cynical filmgoers may have initially viewed the trailer-touting praises of former collaborators Raimi and James Cameron as favors from old friends, the taut tale of a father who claims that God has provided him with a list of "demons" that he and his sons must cast from the earth blind-sided critics and filmgoers with its disturbingly minimalistic yet complex psychological thriller that recalled the thematic elements of previous efforts as Michael Tolkin's The Rapture (1991). His performance as a loving father who reluctantly embarks on God's mission was a vital component of the films emotional impact, and was once again proof that this former supporting player still had a few tricks up his sleeve. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Adapted from Neil Sheehan's 1988 Pulitzer Prize-winning best-seller, this $14-million TV docudrama, re-creating the Vietnam War with convincing combat footage, was the most expensive two-hour movie ever produced by HBO Pictures. Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann (Bill Paxton) spends ten years (1962-72) in Vietnam. When Vann exposes falsified casualty figures, deceptive battle reports, and other lies about the war, journalist Steven Burnett (Donal Logue) relays the truth to American newspapers, and Vann takes heat from higher-ups. Meanwhile, he's involved with a Vietnamese teacher (Vivian Wu), and his wife (Amy Madigan) is forced to lie so he won't be court-martialed for sexual relations with an underage Vietnamese girl. Back for a second tour, he gets another young Vietnamese woman pregnant and is forced to marry her. Returning in 1968 as a civilian, he's decorated and eventually promoted to general for his contributions during the Tet offensive. The music track features Grace Slick singing "Somebody to Love" while peasant villages are bombed. Filmed in Lompburi, Thailand. Premiered May 30, 1998 on HBO. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Amy Madigan, (more)
Based on Scott B. Smith's bone-chilling 1993 novel, A Simple Plan is a bit of a departure for horror film director Sam Raimi. Instead of flying eyeballs and dancing corpses, A Simple Plan is a taught crime thriller in the vein of Joel Coen's Academy Award-winning Fargo. Set during the white winters of Minnesota, this story tells the eerie tale of Hank and Jacob Mitchell (played by Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton) who, along with a buddy, find a downed single-engine plane buried in the snowy woods. Inside it is a decaying pilot and a bag carrying four million dollars in one-hundred-dollar bills. The men decide to hide the money until spring when the snow is melted and the plane is found. If no one notices the missing money at that time, they will split it and live a wealthy new life. A simple plan, right? Wrong. Much like Humphrey Bogart's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, things can only get worse, as distrust and greed creep into the minds of the principles. They find it difficult to decide which one gets to hold the money -- and even more impossible to keep from dipping into the stash until spring. And so on. It also becomes increasingly tough to keep a secret of this magnitude. And if all this doesn't get moviegoers' brains working, it seems there are suspicious characters in town who just may be able to link them to the plane, forcing the more dangerous and bloody question of what to do with those people and how to cover their tracks. ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, (more)
Big-budget special effects, swiftly paced action, and a distinct feminist subtext from writer/director James Cameron turned what should have been a by-the-numbers sci-fi sequel into both a blockbuster and a seven-time Oscar nominee. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley, the last surviving crew member of a corporate spaceship destroyed after an attack by a vicious, virtually unbeatable alien life form. Adrift in space for half a century, Ripley grapples with depression until she's informed by her company's representative, Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) that the planet where her crew discovered the alien has since been settled by colonists. Contact with the colony has suddenly been lost, and a detachment of colonial marines is being sent to investigate. Invited along as an advisor, Ripley predicts disaster, and sure enough, the aliens have infested the colony, leaving a sole survivor, the young girl Newt (Carrie Henn). With the soldiers picked off one by one, a final all-female showdown brews between the alien queen and Ripley, who's become a surrogate mother to Newt. Several future stars made early career appearances in Aliens (1986), including Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, and Reiser. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, (more)
- 2002
- Add American Experience: War Letters - Stories of Courage, Longing and Sacrifice to QueueAdd American Experience: War Letters - Stories of Courage, Longing and Sacrifice to top of Queue
One commonality that seems to link every modern war is that soldiers almost invariably write their families and loved ones on a regular basis and their correspondence covers a broad range of human emotions -- funny camp stories, reassurances to worried folks at home, confessions of fear, anxieties about the dangers of the battlefield, and prescient goodbyes from fighting men and women who know they may never return. American Experience: War Letters -- Stories of Courage, Longing and Sacrifice is a documentary produced for PBS which follows America's history in armed conflict through the letters written home by men and women in uniform. American Experience: War Letters features readings from a cast of distinguished performers, including Joan Allen, Edward Norton, Bill Paxton, Giovanni Ribisi, David Hyde Pierce, and many more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Originally telecast November 11, 1985, An Early Frost was the first TV movie to deal with the subject of AIDS. Aidan Quinn plays a personable young gay lawyer who is stricken with the HIV virus. As his health deteriorates, Quinn finds that his physical agony is secondary to his mental anguish. Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands play Quinn's parents, who must not only come to grips with their son's impending death, but with their own long-standing fears and prejudices concerning homosexuality. No easy answers are offered in this realistic drama, which also stars Sylvia Sidney as Quinn's grandmother and John Glover as a fellow AIDS victim. Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman won Emmys for their pioneering teleplay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, (more)
"Houston, we have a problem." Those words were immortalized during the tense days of the Apollo 13 lunar mission crisis, and the suspense, fear, and excitement of those days are captured in Ron Howard's epic recreation of the 1970 crisis. When the commander of the original mission Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise), bows out due to possible exposure to measles, astronaut Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) leads command module pilot Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and lunar module driver Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) on what is slated as NASA's third lunar landing mission. All goes smoothly until the craft is halfway through its mission, when an exploding oxygen tank threatens the crew's oxygen and power supplies. As the courageous astronauts face the dilemma of either suffocating or freezing to death, Mattingly and Mission Control leader Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) struggle to find a way to bring the crew back home, all the while knowing that the spacemen face probable death once the battered ship reenters the Earth's atmosphere. Even though the outcome, in which all three astronauts miraculously survived, is historical fact, the film derives suspense from the situation itself and from the actions of the heroic astronauts and the men on the ground. Howard's taut direction, a solid ensemble of players, and eye-opening special effects all add to the overall impact of the film, which has been hailed as one of Hollywood's best historical dramas. In 2002, the movie was released in IMAX theaters as Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience, with a pared-down running time of 116 minutes in order to meet the technical requirements of the large-screen format. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, (more)
- 1990
High in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona, a cache of stolen bank money was hidden back in the 1960s. LA based lawyer Bill Paxton, whose security-guard father (David Michael-Standing) has long been held responsible for the heist-he was the only survivor when his armored car was ambushed-conducts a search for witnesses in order to clear his dad's name. Working from his late father's notes, Paxton and his mentally handicapped brother Todd Field attempt to reconstruct the crime and recover the loot. Expressing inordinate fascination in Paxton's efforts are mysterious hitchiker Apollonia Kotero, as well as local sheriff Luke Askew, whose brother was murdered during the robbery. A great many hidden truths and deep dark secrets come to surface during a final bloody confrontation in the mountains. All evidence indicates that director John Kincade intended Back to Back as a tribute to filmmaker Sam Peckinpah-as evidenced by the presence of Peckinpah regular Ben Johnson in a pivotal role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Part of American-International's "Beach Party" series, Beach Blanket Bingo was directed by William Asher. Frankie (Frankie Avalon) briefly deserts Dee Dee (Annette Funicello) in favor of pop star Sugar Kane (Linda Evans). Also around and about is a mermaid, appropriately named Lorelei (Marta Kristen). Scurrilous cycle gang leader Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) finds time to sing a tune, while Paul Lynde sneers a lot, Don Rickles insults a lot, Buster Keaton mimes a lot, and columnist Earl Wilson lets everybody know who he is by exclaiming "That's Earl, brother." The whole cast rushes to the rescue when South Dakota Slim (Timothy Carey) binds the lovely Sugar Kane to a buzzsaw. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, (more)
Angie Dickinson essays the title role in Big Bad Mama. This Depression-era crime caper casts the future star of Police Woman as sexy Ma Barker type Wilma McClatchie, who forces her nubile daughters (Susan Sennett, Robbie Lee) into participating in a robbery/kidnapping/murder spree. Wilma seems to be as motivated by the erotic thrill of lawbreaking as she is by the financial gains. She evens hops in the sack with her daughters, as does her common-law husband, played by William Shatner. A sequel appeared in 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, (more)
Meet the Henricksons. They're the typical suburban American family, occupied with hectic schedules and bills to pay, as well as trying to make sense of an increasingly complicated world. Oh, and they also happen to be polygamists. In the first season of this unconventional, critically acclaimed drama, every day is a new adventure for patriarch Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton), who lives outside Salt Lake City with his three wives -- Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloë Sevigny) and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) -- and their collective brood of seven children, including Bill and Barb's teenagers, Ben (Douglas Smith) and Sarah (Amanda Seyfried). Owner of a profitable home-improvement superstore, Bill is anxious to expand his empire (and support his growing family) by opening another Home Plus location with his business partner and fellow polygamist, Don Embry (Joel McKinnon Miller). However, an unwanted investor hoping to share in Bill's good fortune emerges: Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton), the scheming "Prophet" of the remote Juniper Creek polygamist compound who is also Nicki's father. There's been bad blood between Bill and Roman ever since the former was expelled from Juniper Creek as an adolescent, largely by the latter's hand. Bill also clashes with Adaleen (Mary Kay Place), one of Roman's wives, and their power-hungry son and chief enforcer, Alby (Matt Ross). But Bill is not alone in this feud, as his father Frank (Bruce Dern), mother Lois (Grace Zabriskie) and brother Joey (Shawn Doyle) still live at Juniper Creek and identify, to varying degrees of familial allegiance, with Bill's enmity for Roman. On the home front, third wife Margene risks exposing the Henricksons' illicit lifestyle by befriending a Mormon neighbor; Nicki tries to hide a shopping addiction and the tens of thousands of dollars of credit-card debt that goes with it; and Barb tiptoes into the spotlight after one of her kids nominates her for Utah's Mother of the Year award. ~ Joe Friedrich, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, (more)
The critically acclaimed hit series, Big Love, returns for its second break-out season. Bill Henrickson works hard and plays by the rules. All he wants in return is a happy, secure, normal life for his family. Is that too much to ask? Maybe so. For a polygamist like Bill, the American Dream comes with strings attached. Season 2 opens with even more drama, as Bill's mission to learn who tipped off the authorities and exposed first wife, Barb, as a polygamist escalates. Not surprisingly, his search will lead him to the polygamist compound of Juniper Creek where his primary suspect is Roman Grant. Bill contemplates changes in his personal and professional life that promise to impact every member of his family.
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, (more)
Lies told, secrets kept and truths revealed make for a riveting third season of Big Love, the critically acclaimed HBO \drama about your average American polygamous family. As the season opens, the Henricksons are still reeling from publicity generated by the U.S. government's raid on the Juniper Creek compound, and worrying that Nikki's association with the now imprisoned Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton) will reveal their closely guarded secret. Their exclusion from a neighborhood block party seems to confirm their fears, and only the quick thinking of Nikki (Chloë Sevigny) at the event saves them from disaster. However, Nikki has secrets of her own. She's working at the DA's office under Margene's name to find out information about Roman's upcoming trial. And she's letting the family think she's having fertility issues while secretly taking the pill. Both deceptions place her marriage to Bill (Bill Paxton) in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Sarah (Amanda Seyfried) hides her pregnancy and makes plans to get away from her family after learning they're considering taking on Ana (Branka Katic) as a fourth wife. But Sarah's condition is not something she's able to hide for long. Meanwhile, "boss lady" Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) has troubles of her own. After enduring a cancer scare, she must defend herself in front of a Mormon disciplinary council for her polygamous lifestyle-but not before undergoing a sacred Mormon ceremony shown in a controversial episode. Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) shows her independent side and begins a new business venture. Tragedy strikes for Bill's brother Joey (Shawn Doyle) and his already troubled family. As for the Henrickson patriarch, Bill finds his efforts to launch the casino continually thwarted. But soon a new opportunity shows itself. Season 3 guest stars include Ellen Burstyn as Barb's loving but disapproving mother. ~ Dianne Zoccola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, (more)
In this stylized art film, which marked the directorial debut of second-generation filmmaker Jennifer Chambers Lynch, a surgeon with a mommy fixation and a problem with premature ejaculation grows obsessed with a vivacious young libertine, to the detriment of her mobility. Dr. Nick Cavanaugh (Julian Sands), the son of a frosty, unfaithful society matron, can't get lovely neighbor Helena (Sherilyn Fenn) out of his head. Although the two only ever shared a one-night stand, Nick won't let Helena go -- a hang-up that bodes ill for the health of his plodding romance with the smitten Anne Garrett (Betsy Clark). After Nick's mother dies, he moves into her mansion and promptly throws a lavish gala just so he can lure Helena into his orbit. She spurns him for another bedmate, but not before Anne figures out something fishy is going on. Discovering that Helena forgot her purse during her hasty exit, Nick uses it to lure her back to his place for some attempted courtship. When she storms out, furious, she's the victim of a hit-and-run. Rather than simply call 911, Nick performs an emergency amputation of her legs and lets her convalesce in his house. When the hobbled Helena tries to leave, he makes her his prisoner, eventually removing her arms to prevent her escape. But when Ray O'Malley (Bill Paxton), her leather-trousered former lover, starts sniffing around to discover her whereabouts, Nick's fragile little fantasy world threatens to pop like a bubble. After Madonna and Kim Basinger both dropped out of the title role, Lynch settled on Fenn, who had risen to prominence working with the writer/director's father, David Lynch. After a lengthy breach-of-contract lawsuit, Basinger was eventually ordered to pay the film's producers eight million dollars in damages. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julian Sands, Sherilyn Fenn, (more)
Brain Dead was based on a script by Charles Beaumont, leading some obtuse fans to hail the "return" of that frequent Twilight Zone contributor. Actually Beaumont has been dead since 1967, so this cookie spent a long time in the oven. Stalwart supporting actor Bill Pullman is given star billing as a brilliant brain surgeon who agrees to perform an operation on a psychotic mathematician. This surgery, ostensibly, is to "adjust" the patient's attitude--and, incidentally, to unlock the corporate secrets secreted within the patient's brain. But as Pullman probes about, he begins experiencing first-hand the psycho's fevered, paranoic dreams. Pullman drifts farther and farther from reality, and the audience is implicitly invited to do the same. Bill Paxton also stars in this Roger Corman-style thriller, produced by Corman's daughter Julie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Pullman, Bill Paxton, (more)
Following up their breakthrough film, 2001's Super Troopers, the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, comprised of Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske, took aim at the horror genre and delivered Club Dread. Starring the five members of the troupe along with Bill Paxton, the film is set at an anything-goes tropical resort for swingers. When a psychotic killer starts offing the guests with a razor sharp machete, it's up to the staff to hide the carnage, lest they lose the business of the unsuspecting surviving guests. As with Super Troopers and the first Broken Lizard film Puddle Cruiser, Chandrasekhar directs. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Jay Chandrasekhar, (more)
Shortly after The Terminator wrote his name in bold neon lights across box-office grosses, this action thriller took advantage of the hitherto (almost) unexploited comic side of star Arnold Schwarzenegger and paired him with Rae Dawn Chong. Colonel Matrix (Schwarzenegger) is retired and living peaceably with his 10-year-old daughter when she is kidnapped by the henchmen of an exiled Latin American dictator. The dictator's plan is to reinstate himself in power by eliminating the president of his country, using Matrix to kill him (or he will kill the kidnapped daughter). Matrix escapes from the plane that is supposed to be carrying him to his mission and then proceeds to go from one violent confrontation to the next as he hunts down the dictator and moves to rescue his daughter. Helping him is Cindy (Chong), who has her own reasons for wanting the dictator dead. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, (more)
Cloris Leachman stars as Melba, a woman with whom violence is a way of life, in Jonathan Demme's high-pitched "B"-movie Crazy Mama. The film spans three decades in the violent life of Melba, beginning in Jerusalem, Arkansas in 1932, when law enforcers kill her father (Clint Kimbrough), turning her mother Sheba (Ann Sothern) into a bitter widow. Mother and daughter take off to Long Beach, California, and the time jumps to 1958, when the two are thrown out of their beauty salon for non-payment of back rent. Melba now has an attractive (and pregnant) teenage daughter Cheryl (Linda Purl). The three generations take to the road, stealing cars and creating general mayhem across the United States, robbing a motorcycle racetrack box office and a bank. But in 1959, Melba and Cheryl are picked up again, running a Miami Beach snack bar, their lives wasted in free-living terror. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cloris Leachman, Stuart Whitman, (more)
- 1983
Considering how seldom she appeared on TV in the 1980s, Donna Reed could have picked a better vehicle than Deadly Lessons. Ms. Reed is cast as the headmistress of an exclusive all-girl's prep school. Like the title suggests, the school is being terrorized by a mysterious murderer. Only by discerning the killer's modus operandi can the Good Guys (or Good Girls) unmask the miscreant. Halfway down the cast list is Nancy Cartwright, better known as the voice of Bart Simpson. Deadly Lessons premiered March 7, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Actor Bill Paxton made his directorial debut with Frailty. The bulk of the story is told through flashbacks, as a mysterious man (Matthew McConaughey) tells a terrible tale to an FBI agent (Powers Boothe) investigating the "God's Hand" serial killer case. The man grew up in a small town in Texas, where he and his brother lived a bucolic life with their kindhearted widower father (Paxton). One night, the father awakens the two boys, Fenton (Matthew O'Leary) and Adam (Jeremy Sumpter), and tells them he's had a vision, and God has chosen him and his sons to help Him slay demons who walk the earth in human form. He tells the boys they can never tell anyone about this task. Before long, he comes home from work with a list of names that he claims an angel has given to him. He then begins abducting people, bringing them home, one by one, and having the boys watch while he lays his hands on them. After having proven, to his mind, that they are demons and not human, he chops them up with an axe while the boys look on. Young Adam is eager to participate, seeing his family as "kind of like superheroes," while the older Fenton is distraught, believing that his father has lost his mind. He contemplates running away, but is reluctant to leave his little brother behind. Eventually, he goes to the authorities, which results in disaster. As he tells the story, McConaughey takes Boothe out to the public rose garden near his old home, where he claims his brother, the "God's Hand" killer, buried the bodies. Paxton dramatizes the mayhem while leaving almost all of the gore offscreen, and Brent Hanley's script leaves the true motives of several characters unclear until the very end. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, (more)
Rob Lowe and Bill Paxton star as Frank and Jesse James, who, after the defeat of the South in the Civil War and the pointless murder of their younger brother, seek their own brand of justice. As outlaws, they gain fame for their daring hold-ups of banks, trains, and stagecoaches -- and make sworn enemies of lawmen, who are determined to see them dead. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Lowe, Bill Paxton, (more)
- 2003
Julia (Felicity Huffman) breaks up with Avery when it becomes obvious he won't divorce his wife -- and when she also realizes he has been appropriating her ideas for his software company. Somehow this situation leads to Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) helping Julia burgle Avery's office, whereupon the two are locked in the same closet. Inevitably, Frasier and Julia use this "opportunity" to make love -- with Julia alternately showering Frasier with affection and haranguing him for his shortcomings. Meanwhile, Roz (Peri Gilpin) is offered a new job out of town, and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) makes some new "friends" at a shooting range. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Felicity Huffman, Millicent Martin, (more)
Footage from three separate horror projects was assembled for this semi-anthology, framed by the premise of a mad scientist (Martin Kove) who uses virtual-reality technology to delve into the phobias of three different subjects. The first tale, "Jenny Porter," describes a paranoid woman (Vivian Schilling) trapped in her house by a pack of mad dogs; "The Roommate" features Bill Paxton as a psychotic living companion; and "Mr. Petrified Forest" is the story of a death-obsessed photographer (Sam Clay) who experiences a surreal close call with mortality. There are a few inspired moments -- particularly in the final segment -- but overall the weakly plotted stories will likely fail to maintain viewers' interest. The unrated version contains several minutes of gory footage excised from the R-rated print. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivian Schilling, Martin Kove, (more)
Filmmaker James Cameron has long been fascinated with the ill-fated maiden voyage of the great ship the Titanic, and he used the story as the backdrop for his most famous and successful movie. In the summer of 2001, Cameron and his good friend Bill Paxton (who appeared in Titanic) joined a group of scientists, maritime historians, archaeologists, and deep sea explorers for a daring experiment -- to find and document the Titanic's final resting place at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Cameron brought along a film crew equipped with state-of-the-art 3-D cameras to document the voyage, and Ghosts of the Abyss offers a detailed look at their search for the Titanic, as well as imagining what the final hours for the crew and passengers must have been like. The initial release of Ghosts of the Abyss was limited to big-screen IMAX theaters and movie houses specially equipped to show 3-D features. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
When a corrupt Miami businessman flees to the Cayman Islands with his daughter and a million dollars in dirty money, the resulting inferno threatens to consume father, daughter, and even a few unsuspecting innocents in a sun soaked crime drama starring Bill Paxton, Orlando Bloom, and Agnes Bruckner. Carl Ridley (Paxton) was desperate to escape the law when he boarded an airplane for the Cayman Islands, but as the heat starts to rise in paradise, he's about to realize that there are some fates far worse than prison time. As Carl attempts to cleanse his ill-gotten gains with a little help from crooked British investment banker Mr. Allen (Stephen Dillane), his resentful daughter Pippa (Bruckner) sets out to explore her exotic new surroundings on the arm of native bad boy Fritz (Victor Rasuk). A low-level thug whose connections to a powerful local crime lord threatens to spell doom for all involved, Fritz draws Pippa in to disastrous chain of events sparked by the forbidden desires of unsuspecting lovers Shy (Bloom and Andrea (Zoe Saldana). Now, as the West Indies threatens to explode into violence, Carl must choose between the safety of his daughter and fortune he's trying to hide. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orlando Bloom, Bill Paxton, (more)
Bad behavior turns deadly in this science-fiction drama. Jennifer (Meg Tilly) is a woman who grew up in the small town of Sutcliffe, which much of her family still calls home. One day, Sutcliffe is hit with a minor earthquake, which doesn't appear to do much damage, but a strange and disquieting turn in the city's collective behavior soon becomes apparent. Jennifer receives a phone call from her mother (Lorinne Vozoff), but while they've always had a cordial relationship, her mother loudly and hysterically berates her, and the call comes to a disturbing conclusion when her mother shoots herself. Jennifer and her husband Stuart (Tim Matheson) rush to Sutcliffe to discover that her mother is seriously injured by still alive. However, it seems as if all boundaries of civility and etiquette have broken down, as violence, crime, and rabid anger rule the usually quiet streets of Sutcliffe. It seems that the earthquake caused the town's milk supply to be contaminated by toxic waste which has an unusual psychoactive effect -- it makes it impossible for people to resist the common anti-social impulses that all people have, but most keep closely in check. Hume Cronyn plays the town's doctor; Bill Paxton, Claude Earl Jones, and Amy Stryker also appear. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Matheson, Meg Tilly, (more)
