Landon Norris Movies
An outwardly angelic little girl displays an unforeseen devilish streak upon moving into the home of her new adoptive parents in this shocker starring Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga. In the aftermath of a miscarriage, prospective parents Kate (Farmiga) and John (Sarsgaard) find their lives turned upside down; their marriage is falling apart, and the demons of Kate's past begin manifesting themselves in a series of horrifying nightmares. Deciding that the best means of achieving some semblance of normalcy is to simply adopt, the dejected couple visits a local orphanage. There, they are both drawn to a nine-year-old girl named Esther. But Esther isn't as sweet as first impressions suggest, and almost immediately after welcoming the young child into their home, Kate and John suspect that something is terribly wrong with their adoptive daughter. Kate can see right through Esther's seraphic charm, though her attempts to convince everyone else of the truth go unheeded by her skeptical family and friends. By the time anyone bothers to take Kate seriously, it may be too late to prevent a devastating tragedy from unfolding. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sarsgaard, Vera Farmiga, (more)
- 2008
Based on the Komikwerks graphic novel by Joseph Kruse, the half-hour CGI series World of Quest was an off-the-wall satire of both the "superhero" and "sword and sorcery" genres. The series took place in the planetary kingdom ruled by the royal parents of spoiled-rotten Prince Nestor. When Nestor's mom and dad were kidnapped by the evil Lord Spite, the Prince was placed in the position of having to save his world without the requisite strength or maturity to carry out the job. Accordingly, Nestor tricked the planet's greatest and wisest warrior, the musclebound, weapons-laden Quest (who'd previously been exiled by the Prince's folks) into embarking on a mission to rescue the royal couple and vanquish Lord Spite with the magical, frustratingly elusive Shatter Soul Sword. Bound by honor to do the Prince's bidding, Quest took on the assignment, and also the near-impossible task of making Nestor worthy of his rank. Assisting the two mismatched heroes were cyborg blacksmith Gatling, whose arms and legs were veritable arsenals of weaponry; pretty technocreature "navigator" Way, who lived up to her name by forever pointing Nestor in the right direction; sorceress-in-training Anna Maht, who happened to be Quest's biggest and most obnoxious fan; Nestor's pet gryphon Graer; and Albert, a four-legged purple-and-green creature upon whose back Nestor and Quest travelled from one destination to another. As for Lord Spite, his entourage included Quest's villainous counterpart General Ogun, the well-named evil sorceress Deceit, and the Stoogelike Katastrophe Brothers (Kalamity, Khaos, and Konfusion) who morphed into a single monstrosity when doused with water. More mirth-provoking than exciting, World of Quest was added to the CW network's "Kids WB" weekend-morning schedule on March 15, 2008. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Director Kari Skogland takes the reins for a Buffalo Gals Pictures production starring Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn as author Margaret Laurence's much-lauded heroine Hagar Shipley. Hagar may by 90, but she not ready to lie down and die just yet. Her decisions stem straight from her heart, and that often alienates her family and friends. When Hagar's son, Marvin (Dylan Baker), takes his mother to look at a nursing home, she takes it as her cue to leave her family behind and set out on one great last journey. Her mission is to locate the seaside home she remembers from her youth, but Hagar's memory is quickly fading, making it difficult for her to distinguish the past from the present. As a young girl, Hagar was set to inherit her father's mercantile empire until she was disowned for marrying a bold young man named Bram Shipley (Cole Hauser). Later, when Hagar's romantic illusions fade and she begins to view her husband with contempt, her decision to deny her children the kind of parental approval that she so badly longed for from her own father provokes a deep hereditary flaw. As she makes her way toward the seashore, Hagar realizes her time is running far too short to make up for a lifetime of unacknowledged mistakes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen Burstyn, Christine Horne, (more)
- 2007
Intended as a replacement for the daily PBS children's show It's a Big Big World, the half-hour CGI series Super Why was set in Storybook Village, where dwelt the four fairy-tale protagonists. Whyatt "Why" Beanstalk was the kid brother of the original giant-killer Jack; Red was the same girl in the Little Riding Hood who outsmarted the Wolf; Pig was one of the "Three Littles"; and Princess had once slept on a pile of mattresses, only to be kept awake by a tiny pea. In a neat anime-inspired twist, whenever the need arose these four characters transformed into their superhero alter egos, known collectively as The Super Readers. Whyatt morphed into Super Why, who boasted the "power to read"; Princess became Princess Presto, endowed with "spelling power"; Red changed into Wonder Red, embodiment of "word power"; and Pig was reinvented as Alpha Pig, boasting "alphabet power." It must be obvious by now that the series was designed to enhance the young viewers' reading and cognitive skills; at the same time, the Super Readers also learned to solve life's problems and develop social skills, often using examples provided by the other residents of Storybook Village. Aimed at children ages 3 to 6, Super Why was produced by the same team responsible for Blue's Clues; the series was first seen in most American markets during the week of September 3, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
