Dennis Quaid Movies
Handsome, well-built and able to communicate a rangy sort of charm in front of the camera, Dennis Quaid possesses many star qualities. Despite attaining heartthrob status for his work in such films as The Big Easy, however, Quaid has had a difficult time maintaining this status, thanks in part to work in a number of films that have failed to fully exploit his talent.The son of an electrician and younger brother of actor Randy Quaid, Dennis was born in Houston, Texas on April 9, 1954. He began acting in high school, and in college he enrolled in a drama program. He dropped out at the age of 20 to follow his brother to Hollywood and spent the next year mired in rejection and relative unemployment. He got his first break in 1977 when he was cast in minor roles in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden and 9/30/55, but it was not until 1979, when he starred in the seminal coming-of-age drama Breaking Away, that Quaid gained attention. It was his role as astronaut Gordo Cooper in The Right Stuff four years later that finally gave the actor his Hollywood breakthrough. He subsequently went on to appear in a number of films of widely varying quality. 1987 proved to be a particularly good year for Quaid, as he did acclaimed work in The Big Easy and Suspect. That same year, he also starred in the comedy Innerspace; that experience proved to be an auspicious one, as it provided him with an introduction to co-star Meg Ryan, whom he would marry in 1991. The two also starred together in the 1988 mystery D.O.A. and in the crime drama Flesh and Bone in 1993.
Other notable roles for Quaid included that of wild man Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire (1989), a 1930s union organizer in Come See the Paradise (1990), and Meryl Streep's love interest in Postcards From the Edge (1990). During a large part of the '90s, Quaid starred in a string of disappointing films, including the disastrous Wyatt Earp (1994) and the failed medieval fantasy Dragonheart (1996). He made something of a comeback in 1998, appearing in the ensemble film Playing By Heart and the successful remake of The Parent Trap, in which he starred opposite Natasha Richardson. The following year, he had a starring role as a Miami football team's legendary quarterback in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday, and then starred in the supernatural thriller Frequency (2000) as a dead man who is able to communicate with his son (James Caviezel) over ham radio. Though both films proved moderately successful, it was two-years-later that Quaid would truly return to the good graces of critics with his striking turn in director Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven. As a closeted homosexual husband living a typical suburban dream in 1950s era Connecticut, Quaid's sensitive performance proved integral to convincingly recreating the tone of a Douglas Sirk era melodrama. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 1977
This film, aired on television as 24 Hours of the Rebel, delves into the hero-worship aura that surrounded James Dean following his tragic death. This stars The Waltons' Richard Thomas (getting a break from his usual "goody-goody" roles), who, as character "Jimmy J," is stunned by Dean's death and gathers his friends in a drinking foray where the stupor comes more from their turbulent emotions than from the suds. Quite respected for its real-life glimpses, this film is the debut of Dennis Quaid. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Thomas, Susan Tyrrell, (more)
- 1981
- R
Gene Hackman plays a disgruntled suburbanite who manages the Ultra-Sav, an all-night drugstore. He hates his job, hates his debts and responsibilities, and isn't overly fond of his wife (Diane Ladd) and son (Dennis Quaid). Partly as a form of protest, Hackman enters into an affair with Barbra Streisand, one of his wife's distant relatives (don't ask how she's related - it takes Hackman about thirty seconds to explain it to another character). Streisand doesn't belong in this picture at all, but she can be forgiven her acting excesses because she wasn't the first choice for the role anyway (Lisa Eichhorn dropped out just before shooting began). The best moments in All Night Long involve the steady stream of oddballs and losers who trickle into Hackman's establishment. There is also a cute Apocalypse Now parody involving a battery-operated toy helicopter. The principal attraction of All Night Long is Gene Hackman playing an endearingly recognizable modern type. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Barbra Streisand, (more)
- 1979
Director Joel Schumacher makes like Robert Altman in the made-for-TV Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill. In the tradition of Altman's Nashville, Schumacher's film is a rambling, anecdotal study of an amateur talent show in a tawdry Southern saloon. The link between the two films is strengthened by the presence in Amateur Night of Henry Gibson, who'd played a Porter Wagoner type in Nashville. Among the contestants is country-western singer Tanya Tucker, who also contributed some of the background themes for the film's musical score. Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill was produced by Motown Industries' motion picture division. Sidebar: To improve ratings, the ad copy for this film was headlined "Disco Killer on the Loose!"--then, in smaller type, the copy explained that "killing" was merely a slang term for winning over the audience! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The President of the United States (Dennis Quaid) seems to be having a nervous breakdown after picking up a newspaper for the first time in four years, and when his Chief of Staff (Willem Dafoe) determines to get the Commander in Chief out of his pajamas and back into the spotlight, the stage is set for a talent contest that the nation will never forget. To President Staton, the world is a fairly black-and-white place, but a glance at the daily headlines on the eve of his reelection leaves the most powerful man in the free world shaken to the very core. Now determined to read as much as possible in order to best assess the opinions of the general public, President Staton locks himself away and obsessively begins taking in as much information as humanly possible. With concern about the President's mental health soon taking precedence over all other issues in the White House, his nervous Chief of Staff attempts to get the Commander in Chief back in the public eye by booking him as a guest judge on television's top-rated talent show, "American Dreamz." A weekly ratings juggernaut hosted by self-loathing celebrity Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant), "American Dreamz" cashes in on the dominant culture of celebrity by affording everyday Americans the opportunity to be catapulted into stardom. As "American Dreamz" hopefuls Sally (Mandy Moore) and Omer (Sam Golzari) progress to the final round and the President takes his seat on the panel, an unexpected revelation about one of the finalists promises to make this season finale the biggest ratings grabber in television history. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Hugh Grant, (more)
Oliver Stone takes on professional football, a sport whose grace and delicacy are a good match for his filmmaking style. Tony D'Amato (Al Pacino), the head coach of the Miami Sharks, won back-to-back championships four years ago. But new team owner Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz) has little enthusiasm for the finer points of the game and is concerned only with the bottom line. The longtime strongman of Tony's team has been "Cap" Rooney (Dennis Quaid), a 39-year-old quarterback, but Christina balks at renewing his contract. When Cap is injured during a game, third-string rookie quarterback Willie Beaman (Jamie Foxx) goes on in his place and becomes a major star. But Beaman is mostly interested in fame and money, and he has little regard for Tony and his teammates. Any Given Sunday also stars James Woods as the team's doctor, LL Cool J as a star running back, Jim Brown as a former football great turned Sharks' defensive coordinator, Ann-Margret as Christina's alcoholic mother, Bill Bellamy as a wide receiver, Elizabeth Berkley as Tony's favorite prostitute, and Charlton Heston as the football commissioner. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, (more)
- 1978
This is an average made-for-TV thriller about a high-school student (Kathleen Beller) with a psychotic secret admirer. The usual stalking and false scares pad the 96 minutes between commercials, until Beller finally confronts her assailant. On a positive note, there is a good supporting cast, with Blythe Danner, Tony Bill, Ellen Travolta, and Dennis Quaid along for the minimal chills. Fans of this sort of thing could find it a watchable diversion on a rainy day, but it's nothing special. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
When the peaceful inhabitants of the planet Terra come under attack from humans in search of a new home, the friendship between a human pilot and an alien girl may hold the key to saving both races. Mala (Evan Rachel Wood) is an alien girl living on the planet Terra. The Terrians are gentle race of extraterrestrials that have no need for war, and harbor a deep respect for nature. When Earth's natural resources began to dwindle, the human race established colonies on Venus and Mars. Although that solution worked temporarily, tragedy struck when the colonies on Venus and Mars attempted to declare independence from Earth, and all three planets were destroyed in the ensuing war. Now, humankind's only hope for survival is to reach Terra. The few remaining humans have developed a machine that will make Terra habitable for them yet poisonous for Terrians, and while the human council is dedicated to finding a peaceful means of coexisting with the Terrians, the villainous General Hemmer (Brian Cox) is fast losing patience. When heroic human fighter pilot Lt. Jim Stanton (Luke Wilson) crash-lands on Terra while chasing Mala into uncharted territory, the empathetic alien girl saves his life, and an interspecies friendship is forged. But time is running out for both the humans and the Terrians, and when General Hemmer stages a military coup d'état, the stage is set for a battle that threatens to destroy both species. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evan Rachel Wood, Justin Long, (more)
- 1981
This Emmy-winning made-for-TV movie, based on a book by Oscar-winning screenwriter Barry Morrow (from his true story), stars Mickey Rooney in the title role of a mentally-challenged adult who has spent his life holed up in a bleak institution. When documentary filmmaker Morrow (Dennis Quaid) and his family invite him into their home to stay with them, Bill is given his first taste of independence in the real world. Together, Bill and the Morrows unexpectedly teach each other valuable lessons about life and themselves. The film was so popular that it spawned a sequel two years later called Bill: On His Own. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Bill: On His Own is the laudable made-for-TV sequel to the Emmy-winning 1981 film Bill. Mickey Rooney once more shines as Bill Sackter, a mentally-retarded adult struggling to survive in the mainstream. The owner of a coffee kiosk at the University of Iowa, Bill becomes disoriented when his friend and mentor Dennis Quaid moves to Los Angeles. Taking over Bill's case is idealistic young social worker Helen Hunt. While studying towards his Bar Mitzvah (which he was denied at the age of 13 because of his "incompetence"), Bill suffers a severe personal blow that threatens to send him spiralling back into helplessness. Bill: On His Own was originally telecast November 9, 1983, some four months after the death at age 70 of the real-life Bill Sackter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Dennis Christopher stars as a recent high school graduate in Bloomington, Indiana, who is caught with his friends -- Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley -- coasting between high school and deciding what to do with the rest of their lives. The four friends are snobbishly looked down upon by the college students of the town as "cutters," since they were born in Bloomington and their parents worked in the local limestone quarries that built the university. Dennis Christopher's character Dave wants to be a champion bicycle racer and he idolizes the Italian racing team -- so much so that he speaks, thinks, and acts Italian, all to his father's (Paul Dooley) forlorn exasperation. Dave falls for a college girl (Robyn Douglass), but is ashamed to admit he is a cutter and poses as an Italian exchange student to impress her. Dave is particularly excited when his heroes -- the Italian racers -- come to town for a race. But they are even more snobbish than the college students and rely on dirty tricks to keep Dave from winning a race against them. After that ordeal, Dave throws away his false identity and convinces his friends to enter the university's "Little 500" bicycle race against the college students. This light-hearted and heartwarming tale was a surprising word-of-mouth success at the box-office and won several awards, including an Academy Award for "Best Screenplay." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, (more)
Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr plays a prehistoric, social outcast who, along with other misfits, forms his own tribe and finds various comic adventures. This spoof is mostly without dialogue besides the expected neanthropic grunt. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, (more)
New Yorkers get a crash course in the more dangerous aspects of moving to the country and buying a "handyman's special" in this thriller from award-winning director Mike Figgis. Cooper and Leah Tilson (Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone) are a wealthy couple who have grown tired of the high stress of life in New York City and are looking to move to someplace with more breathing room. Upstate, they find a mansion in the village of Cold Creek which has fallen into disrepair after it was repossessed. Convinced the house has great possibilities, The Tilsons buy it, and with a little hard work Cooper, Leah, and their two children are soon living in their dream home. Unknown to The Tilsons, the house used to belong to a lifelong Cold Creek resident named Dale Massie (Stephen Dorff), a ne'er-do-well who ended up behind bars. After he's released from prison, Massie makes it clear to the new owners that he wants his home back, and before long Cooper and Leah begin learning the disturbing truth about the history of the mansion -- and that many Cold Creek residents don't take kindly to new arrivals. Cold Creek Manor also stars Juliette Lewis and Christopher Plummer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Sharon Stone, (more)
One of the few American films to deal with the tragic story of the internment of Asian-Americans during World War II, Come See the Paradise opens in the late 1930s, as Jack McGurn (Dennis Quaid) is working as a union organizer in New York City. Jack finds himself on the wrong side of the law after he gets involved in an ill-advised bombing of a scab shop, and he flees to Los Angeles, where Hiroshi Kawamura (Sab Shimono) gives him a job as a projectionist in L.A.'s Little Tokyo. Jack soon meets Hiroshi's beautiful daughter Lily (Tamlyn Tomita) and it's love at first sight. Jack and Lily decide to get married, but Hiroshi opposes the match and California law prevents mixed-race couples from obtaining a marriage license. Jack and Lily move to Seattle, where they are wed and soon have a daughter. Jack, however, begins working with the union again, which puts a strain on their marriage; Lily takes their child and returns to Los Angeles. But before long the United States enters World War II, and the Kawamura family is sent (along with all other Americans of Japanese descent living in California) to an internment camp, as it is believed they will become traitors against America if left to their own devices. Jack, ironically, is drafted into the Army and soon goes AWOL to return to California, where he tries to find his wife in the camps. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Tamlyn Tomita, (more)
"They didn't kill me; I was dead already," is the statement uttered by Dexter Cornell (Dennis Quaid), an English professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has been poisoned by a slow-acting toxin and who has twenty-four hours to track down his killers before he ceases to exist. Remade from the 1949 Rudolph Mate thriller by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, the co-directors jazz up the old luridness with slap-up doggishness that boosts the intensity-level higher than it deserves to go. Cornell is a burned-out novelist trying to hold on to tenure at the university while seeing his marriage collapse around him. As if that weren't enough, he is receiving amorous come-ons from smart, young student Sydney Fuller (Meg Ryan) and being badgered by another student, Nick Lang (Robert Knepper), to read his brilliant first novel. Not long after Dex demurs to Nick to read his novel, Nick is killed in a fall. Only then does Dex find out that Nick has been having an affair with his wife. Things keep going from bad to worse when, after an all-night drinking binge, Dex discovers that he has been slipped a poison that will kill him within 24 hours. Teaming up with the adoring Sydney, Dex tries to track down the person who poisoned him while dodging the cops, since he happens to be a prime murder suspect. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, (more)
A happily married couple discover their friends are not as happy as they thought, and they begin to wonder how sound their own relationship can be, in this made-for-cable adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Donald Margulies. Gabe (Dennis Quaid) and Karen (Andie MacDowell) are a pair of wedded food writers who more than a decade ago introduced their close friends Tom (Greg Kinnear) and Beth (Toni Collette). Tom and Beth fell in love and got married, but one night as Gabe and Karen are making dinner, they receive startling news from Beth -- Tom has left her for another woman, and the two are filing for divorce. Gabe and Karen soon feel as if they are being forced to take sides in the heated battle between Tom and Beth, and as the combative couple separates and both parties move on to new relationships, Gabe and Karen find themselves taking a long, hard look at their own marriage -- and they're not sure how happy they are with what they find. Directed by Norman Jewison, Dinner With Friends was produced for the HBO premium cable network, where it premiered on August 11, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell, (more)
- 1996
- PG13
- Add Dragonheart to Queue
A boy and his dragon unite to fight evil in this fantasy. Bowen (Dennis Quaid), a Knight of The Old Code in Medieval times, is summoned by Aislinn the Queen (Julie Christie) to the bedside of her son, Einon, who is also Bowen's student. Einon has been wounded and is near death; with his heart about to give out, Bowen calls upon Draco (voice of Sean Connery), the mightiest dragon in the land, asking for a sliver of his mighty heart so that the boy might survive. Draco makes Bowen pledge that when Enion grows to adulthood and becomes king, he will rule with fairness and compassion before the beast will donate a piece of his heart. Einon agrees to the pledge, but years later, the adult Einon (David Thewlis) has become a cruel despot, in no way good on his promises. Bowen, angry at Einon's betrayal, is convinced that the dragon is somehow responsible and goes on a spree, killing the mammoth reptiles at a fevered pace. However, when Bowen once again encounters Draco, the dragon convinces him that a dragon-slayer who has killed the last dragon also puts himself out of a job; Draco and Bowen work out a business arrangement, where the monster "attacks" villages and Bowen is paid to "kill" him. In time, however, Draco and Bowen realize that they must set aside their lucrative business in order to challenge the authority of the evil ruler. Draco the Dragon was the first fully-computer animated character to have a speaking part along side flesh and blood actors in a film; Sean Connery's recording sessions as the voice of Draco were recorded on video as well as audio tape, so that his facial expressions and mouth movements could be adapted to the character. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery, (more)
Great special effects do not always make for a great film, but Dreamscape comes awfully close. Dr. Paul Novotny (Max Von Sydow) and Dr. Jane Devries (Kate Capshaw) run a clinic for the study of dreams. Hoping to alleviate the pain of those plagued with recurring nightmares, Novotny hires a team of psychics to "inhabit" the subconsciouses of the patients. Alex Gardner (Dennis Quaid), a small-time hustler who uses his ESP gifts for financial gains, is hired to work at the clinic. He helps to disperse the fears of a young nightmare-plagued boy, then reverts to type by "raping" the thoughts of the lovely Dr. Devries. Things come to a head when one of the patients, the American president (Eddie Albert), decides to purge himself of his apocalyptic dreams by making a lasting peace with the Soviets. Bob Blair (Christopher Plummer), the political reactionary who finances the clinic, decides to assassinate the president by acting upon Dr. Novotny's pet theory: if a person dies in his or her dream, he/she will die in real life. The finale pits Gardner against psychic assassin Tommy Ray Glatman (David Patrick Kelly). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, (more)
Love means never having to say that you're ugly in the extravagant fantasy film Enemy Mine. Earthling Dennis Quaid is Davidge, one of many space warriors engaged in a bloody extraterrestrial battle against the Draconians. Crash-landing on a faraway planet, Davidge is forced into an "up close and personal" with the Drac (Lou Gossett Jr.), a repellant, reptilian creature. Evidently a bivalve, the Drac gives birth to a baby Drac just before expiring. Now a reluctant foster father, Davidge tries to keep himself and the baby alive while the war continues to rage all around them. The special effects (courtesy Industrial Light and Magic) are serviceable if not brilliant, and the acting is okay so far as it goes. What socks over Enemy Mine is Rolf Zehetbauer's awe-inspiring production design and Chris Walas' superb makeup work. Though a favorite on home video, the film deserves to be seen on a wide theatre screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett, Jr., (more)
Everybody's All American covers 25 years in the life of college football hero Gavin Grey (Dennis Quaid). When he marries campus sweetheart Babs Rogers (Jessica Lange) and is picked up by the pros, a happily-ever-after denouement is predicted by friends and family. It is clear from the outset, however, that Grey is going to have to do a lot of growing up over the next few decades. Babs does her best to keep in step with her husband's career and mood swings, and in so doing becomes the "parent" in the family. John Goodman also stars as Grey's best buddy, and Timothy Hutton is on hand for a romantic-triangle subplot. Everybody's All American is based on the novel by longtime Sports Illustrated scrivener Frank Deford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Lange, Dennis Quaid, (more)
- 1998
Dennis Quaid made his directorial debut with this TV movie, a contemporary western filmed in Livingston, Montana with Quaid also down as executive producer. Tough, unemotional ranchowner Jim Clay (Quaid) and his faithful wife Kyle (Mare Winningham) have a teenage son Nathan (Ryan Merriman) who hopes to enter the rodeo big leagues, just like his dad. Instead, an auto accident leaves Nathan a paraplegic. Jim is devastated, since he was the cause of the accident. The situation brings father and son closer as the family attempts to deal with the tragedy. Premiered July 12, 1998 on TNT. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Mare Winningham, (more)
Maverick director Todd Haynes embraces the look and feel of classic Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s in this period drama. Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore) and her husband, Frank (Dennis Quaid), are a seemingly perfect couple; living in a handsome suburban neighborhood in Hartford, CT, in 1957, Cathy and Frank have a beautiful home and two happy, healthy children, while Frank pursues a successful career in sales and Cathy cares for the home. But Cathy has begun to sense something isn't quite right in her marriage, as Frank begins working late, spending less time with her, and seems cold and distant. One day, Cathy visits Frank's work and discovers something she never expected -- her husband is kissing a man. At Cathy's urging, Frank undergoes psychotherapy, but as she tries to keep up a brave face, the emotional trauma takes a great toll on her, and she finds there are very few people she can talk with. Cathy strikes up a friendship with Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert), an African-American gardener who works for the Whitakers, and as she discovers how intelligent and compassionate Raymond is, she finds herself drawn to him. However, Hartford is in many ways still a small town, and when Mona (Celia Weston) sees Cathy and Raymond alone together, it sets off a wave of vicious gossip that threatens to make the Whitakers' many secrets public knowledge. Far from Heaven premiered at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, where Julianne Moore's performance won the prize for Best Actress. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, (more)
- 2002
Filmmakers Phillip B. Kunhardt III, Nancy Steiner, and Peter W. Kunhardt explore the eternal struggle for liberty in America while simultaneously illuminating the hypocritical underlying factors that undermined the colonist's bold "experiment in freedom," in a revealing documentary featuring the voices of Brad Pitt, Martin Sheen, Michael Caine, Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins , Meryl Streep, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Robert Redford and many more. As the newly arrived British subjects staged the revolution that would cut loose their ties to Great Britain and give birth to a new era of freedom, a new hope for liberty emerged - but how then does one justify the presence of slavery in a society founded on the claim of all men being "created equal?" A blight on the quest for liberty and freedom that literally divided a struggling young nation right down the middle, slavery would be the last true obstacle in ensuring that the land of the free would truly live up to the ideals set forth by the founding fathers. As the north and the south set the stage for a bloody four-year war that would go down in history as one of the most brutal internal struggles ever waged, the resulting Civil War showed the willingness of Americans to actually stand up and fight to protect the rights of others as stated in the Constitution. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Small-time Texas businessman Arlis Sweeney (Dennis Quaid) can never shake the memory of his father's (James Caan) wasted life. What particularly sticks in his craw is the murder committed years earlier by his father and a teenaged accomplice. While going through the by-rote motions of his job (he supplies vending machines), Arlis strikes up a friendship with hardcase hitchhiker Kay Davies (Meg Ryan). Slowly, Kay helps Arlis put his life in order. And then, Arlis suddenly realizes where he's seen Kay before. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, (more)
Based on a novel by Elleston Trevor, director John Moore's The Flight of the Phoenix is a remake of a 1965 film of the same name starring film icon James Stewart. The story revolves around the plight of Captain Frank Towns (Dennis Quaid), a pilot whose C-119 cargo plane full of oil workers could not withstand the violent winds of a desert sandstorm. Stranded in the harsh terrain of Mongolia's Gobi Desert (a departure from the original, in which the plane crashed in the Sahara), Frank and his navigator face an equal challenge in maintaining order among the survivors. The group of oilmen had planned on an uneventful trip to shut off a group of rigs falling below their productivity expectations -- not fending for their very lives. Before long, some men are revealed as cowards, while others exhibit a surprising show of strength, all the while hoping that the wreckage of the original plane can be salvaged before a Lord of the Flies situation occurs. Miranda Otto is featured in a supporting role, as well as Giovanni Ribisi and Tyrese Gibson. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, (more)
Known more for his dark, psychological crime thrillers Primal Fear (1996) and Fallen (1998), director Gregory Hoblit surprisingly created this Frank Capra-meets-Rod Serling-style fantasy that mixes several genres of storytelling into a likable stew. James Caviezel stars as John Sullivan, a New York police detective who has never recovered from the death of his father Frank (Dennis Quaid), a firefighter who died heroically when John was a boy. Experimenting with his dad's beloved ham radio one summer night, extreme sunspot activity allows John to contact Frank 30 years in the past. Since he's able to warn Frank away from danger, his father's death never occurs. Then the unthinkable happens: John's altered future is one in which his mother Julia (Elizabeth Mitchell) has been murdered by a serial killer. Now John in the present and Frank in the past must try to solve the riddle of the killer's identity and change the time line again. Frequency was written by Toby Emmerich, the brother of actor Noah Emmerich, who appears in a supporting role created specifically for him. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, James Caviezel, (more)
