Jennifer Rubin Movies

The best of the Elm Street sequels, this creepy, surreal fantasy features terrific effects, a fine young cast, and an air of grim fatalism that sets it apart from its giggly successors. Patricia Arquette stars as Kristen, whose nightmare leads to a slashed wrist which looks suspiciously like a suicide attempt. She is placed in a hospital psychiatric ward with a group of six other troubled teens who all dream about the same horribly burned man (Robert Englund) trying to kill them. Perhaps the most unusual thing about this picture, however, is the unexpected depth of sadness running through it. There are some achingly sweet moments in this otherwise frightening film which, though not disruptive, are impossible to analyze. The first and most bizarre of these is Heather Langenkamp's entrance, which inexplicably causes most viewers to get misty-eyed, and there are several similar scenes throughout the film. One answer can be found in the sensitive direction of Chuck Russell, who emphasizes the tragedy and utter hopelessness in these kids' lives and manages to wring some unexpectedly perceptive turns from his cast. This is a film in which a great deal of care was obviously lavished on individual scenes (the sets are outstanding) and performances. The results are well worth repeated viewings, and prove that sequels don't necessarily have to be inferior films. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

The sole survivor of a psycho-led mass suicide awakens from a 13-year coma and begins having visions of the cult leader who was also killed in the fiery death scene. She resists his efforts to have her join him in the hereafter, and soon members from her therapy group start dropping like flies. ~ All Movie Guide

When the call went out for a Baldwin, Stephen answered and was cast in the lead of Bitter Harvest. Patsy Kensit and Jennifer Rubin costar as a pair of oversexed young ladies who get their jollies by victimizing their male lovers. Wide-eyed Baldwin, in need of emotional aid and comfort after the death of his father, finds himself the object of the girls' attentions. Even when he realizes he's being played for a chump, Baldwin hasn't got the inclination to escape the ladies' clutches. And then things take a sinister turn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Just how far would you go for a date with the girl of your dreams? Henry (Michael Goorjian) is a socially inept high school student who is constantly mooning over Laurie (Shiri Appleby), the most beautiful girl in his class. Henry announces he'd do practically anything to be able to go out with Laurie -- which, of course, is the cue for Jerry (Kevin Pollack), Satan's earthbound representative, to pay Henry a visit. In exchange for his soul, Jerry provides Henry with wealth, popularity, and a new girlfriend, Laurie. But before long Henry learns there's a downside to having everything you ever wanted, and as his life starts to spin out of control, Henry decides he'd rather have his old life back -- but does the Devil have a refund or exchange policy? Deal Of A Lifetime also features Jennifer Rubin and Ron Glass. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this fast-paced, noirish road movie, a computer expert embezzles half a million dollars and races off to Reno to start anew. Unfortunately, en route, he picks up a pair of hitchers and ends up entangled with a crazed couple who commandeer his car and leave him alone in the desert to die. As soon as he can, he hits the road to get revenge and to find his money before they do. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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

This interesting action-horror film stars Mario Van Peebles as a tough cop who becomes the latest recruit in a secret faction of the police which not only operates on the fringes of the law, but is also composed entirely of werewolves. Horror fans who choose to embrace the fundamental goofiness of this premise will find an interesting blend of hyperkinetic John Woo-style action, comic-book fantasy, and good old-fashioned monster mayhem. Inducted into the league of lycanthropic lawmen by one of its more aesthetically pleasing members (Patsy Kensit), Van Peebles partakes of a drug which, like the others on the squad, brings out his animal instincts and endows him with superhuman strength and agility (as well as some unsightly body hair). Despite some touches of black comedy, director Anthony Hickox plays the material fairly straight, with a strong emphasis on slick, tightly edited action sequences. Originally produced for HBO, this was later released on video with some of the gorier footage restored. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-TV thriller, John Lawless (Kevin Smith) and Jodie Keane (Angela Dotchin) are a pair of private eyes who live and work together. A woman named Lana Vitale (Jennifer Rubin) hires John and Jodie to find out the truth about what happened after her husband is killed. However, the facts of the matter hardly look flattering to the late husband, and matters are not made any easier when Lana makes no secret of her attraction to John. A sequel to the 1999 TV movie Lawless, Lawless: Beyond Justice finds Smith and Dotchin reprising their roles from the earlier film, as does Geoff Dolan as Det. Sgt. Dave Bruford. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The mysterious reasoning of women who protect men who hurt them is explored in this psychological drama. Hedda (Robin Wright-Penn) was once involved with a man who had a long history of violence against women (played by Anthony Lucero). Even though Hedda broke up with him after a violent incident that caused her to fall out of a window, she hasn't been able to get him out of her mind, and her sorrow over ending the affair has led her to attempt suicide on more than one occasion. After the man's most recent girlfriend died as an indirect result of his abuse, District Attorney K.D. Dietrickson (William Hurt) has decided to file charges of negligent homicide against him, and he wants Hedda to testify in court to help establish a pattern of abuse. However, for whatever reason, Hedda still loves him, and in her mind she has turned the incident into a situation in which she was at fault. Despite the urgings of Hedda's concerned parents (Joanna Cassidy and Paul Dooley) and her sister, a tough lawyer named Brett (Amy Madigan), Hedda seems unmovable, which makes it all the more difficult for Dietrickson to stop the abuser before he can hurt someone else. Sean Penn, who happens to be Robin Wright-Penn's husband, served as co-producer and has a showy cameo role early in the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An actress takes a dangerous detour on the road to success in this suspense drama. Jamie (Jennifer Rubin) is a struggling starlet who is trying to win a role in an upcoming film called Playmaker. Eager to gain advantage on the competition, Jamie's pal Eddie (John Getz) says that he can arrange an introduction with Ross Talbert (Colin Firth), an acting teacher with a reputation for grooming top talent. Ross agrees to tutor Jamie for $5,000; she scrapes up the money, only to discover that his lessons are mainly exercises in psychological abuse. Jamie learns that a number of Ross' students who didn't respond to his techniques have turned up dead, and she spies an "F" next to her name in his grade book shortly before he attacks her with a knife; she grabs a gun and kills him. The police determine that Jamie acted in self-defense -- but the man who she's been taking lessons with wasn't the real Ross Talbert. Playmaker features an original score by Mark Snow. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this Canadian thriller, uneducated, disaffected white youths known as skinheads are attacking racial minorities. A government agent (Michael Ironside) investigating the incidents traces them to a wealthy, extreme right-wing, neo-Nazi businessman who is secretly bankrolling the skinheads, using them to do what he would like to do himself, but enabling him to keep his hands clean. The agent assembles a team (as in The Dirty Dozen) to fight back. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

A film student discovers the action movie project of his dreams is happening around him in real life in this offbeat independent drama. Alex (Erik Palladino) is a nerdy student studying film production and not doing especially well with it. One day, Erik and his roommate Lars (Billy Jayne) discover they have a new neighbor, an attractive and self-confident woman named Blue (Jennifer Rubin). After they share a few beers and discover a mutual fondness for the films of Sam Peckinpah, Alex makes a startling discovery about Blue -- she's a hired killer, who has a hit scheduled the following week in Miami. After that, Blue plans to get out of the business and leave the United States for good. Alex has a brainstorm: he'll tag along for Blue's last "project" with a camera and make a documentary about her. Blue agrees to cooperate, but en route Alex finds out more about Blue than he was planning on, and when the killing doesn't go smoothly, he finds himself suddenly aiding Blue and not just recording her actions. Jennifer Rubin gives a standout performance in this film, which also features Brian Vander Ark from the rock band The Verve Pipe in a supporting role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Eric Roberts is at it again in this serial killer thriller from Uwe Boll, a director best known for his 1991 film German Fried Movie. In an anonymous American town (actually Vancouver) a serial nutcase is taking the proverb "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," a little too seriously, robbing victims of their eyes, ears, and tongues. Detectives Jim Renart (Michael Pare) and Dorothy Smith (Jennifer Rubin) are under pressure from their superior (Roberts) to capture the killer, and they finally get a break when alpha-yuppie stockbroker Tom Gerrick (Casper Van Dien) offers himself for questioning. However, actually nailing Gerrick proves to be a difficult matter, especially with the feds set to take over the case in mere hours, and Gerrick's impending appearance on a TV talkshow. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide