Kevin Spacey

The Man of Steel returns to the big screen with this sequel to 2006's Superman Returns, with Bryan Singer back in the director's chair and key cast members Brandon Routh and Kevin Spacey set to square off against each other for round two of the revived franchise. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Director Robert Luketic adapts Ben Mezrich's best-seller Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions to tell the true-life tale of six genius students who used their brains to beat considerable odds. Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) may be shy, but his wallflower reputation betrays his inner brilliance. As smart as Ben may be, however, if he can't pay his tuition he'll be kicked out of M.I.T. Fortunately, the answer to all of Ben's problems is right there in the cards. Recruited to join a team of extremely gifted students who have used their mastery of numbers to beat the odds at blackjack, Ben procures a fake identity in order to join the casino scammers and their brilliant leader -- eccentric math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) -- in some highly profitable weekend excursions to Las Vegas. Counting cards isn't illegal, and by using a complex series of signals, this team has cracked the code. Of course, it doesn't take long for Ben to become seduced by the glamorous Las Vegas lifestyle, and the attention afforded to him by his sexy teammate Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth) finds him pushing his luck to the absolute limits. Laurence Fishburne stars as Cole Williams, the Sin City security chief who catches on to the group and makes it his mission to expose their lucrative blackjack scam. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Kevin Spacey and Bob Balaban headline Austin Powers director Jay Roach's all-star docudrama examining the events surrounding the most controversial presidential election in United States history. The highest office in the country is up for grabs, and the fate of the free world may hang in the balance. When the initial tallies from Florida voting polls prove inconclusive, the decision is made to hold a recount. But it's a controversial decision to say the least, and one that caused many skeptical voters to suspect foul play. Eventually the case would go all the way to the Supreme Court, and as the trial gets under way charismatic Texas republican James Baker (Tom Wilkinson) attempts to rally public support for the recount. But the Democrats aren't about to lie down and die just yet, because Al Gore's former chief of staff Ron Klain (Spacey) can play hardball with the best of the old elephants. Now, as these two opposing giants come to blows over the fate of the presidency, they gradually begin to develop a grudging respect for one another. Laura Dern, John Hurt, Dennis Leary, and Ed Begley, Jr. round out the cast for the film that blends actual news footage and verbatim dialogue into fictionalized recreations that are both highly entertaining and deeply dramatic. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A fanatical group of Star Wars devotees travel across the country on a mission to steal a print of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace from Skywalker Ranch and become the first fans to see the film in a rowdy, sci-fi-flavored road comedy starring Sam Huntington, Chris Marquette, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel, and Kristen Bell. Carrie Fisher, William Shatner, and Ray Park turn up for cameos in the one comedy that truly understands the fanboy mindset. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

From the comic book to the silver screen and beyond, few superheroes have left such a lasting impression on the fantasy-loving masses as mild-mannered "Daily Planet"-reporter-turned-high-flying-bulletproof-do-gooder Superman. In this documentary set to celebrate the release of X-Men director Bryan Singer's 2006 film Superman Returns, the exciting history of the Man of Steel is told through interviews and archival footage of past Superman films, television shows, and comics. A special sneak preview of newly released footage from Superman Returns ensured that fans received a comprehensive history of their favorite caped crusader that led right up to the release of the highly anticipated film. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This 2006 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Kevin Spacey and features musical guest Nelly Furtado. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide

The Man of Steel returns to the big screen with this continuation of the icon's film legacy that picks up after the events of the first two Christopher Reeve films. Some time has passed since the events of Superman II and the world has gotten used to life without Superman (Brandon Routh) ever since his puzzling disappearance years earlier. Upon his return, he finds a Metropolis that doesn't need him anymore, while Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on with another young suitor Richard White (James Marsden) in the meantime. As the hero begins to tackle the fact that life on Earth has continued without him, he is forced to face his old arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) and restore the life that was once his. Directed by Bryan Singer from a script by the writing team of X-Men 2, Superman Returns marks a return to the screen for the man in tights, whose production history has seen many failed attempts including a famous near-miss from Tim Burton and Kevin Smith with Nicolas Cage in the lead role, along with another from director McG and writer J.J. Abrams (Lost). Singer eventually won the prestigious gig when he pitched the idea to not tackle the origin story again, but continue with director Richard Donner's original vision. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Kevin Spacey serves as both director and star for this biopic based on the life and career of legendary entertainer Bobby Darin, which moves back and forth between his childhood and adult selves to tell the tale of his remarkable life. Born Bobby Cassotto and raised in the Bronx, young Bobby (played as a child by William Ullrich) was raised by his mother, Polly (Brenda Blethyn), his brother-in-law, Charlie (Bob Hoskins), and his sister, Nina (Caroline Aaron). At the age of 15, Bobby contracted a severe case of rheumatic fever, which was expected to take his life; while it left him with a weak heart, Bobby beat the odds and survived. Buoyed by a love of music passed along by his mother, Bobby learned to play several instruments and began singing as he recovered. Displaying a confidence and drive which stopped just short of arrogance, he adopted the stage name Bobby Darin and set his sights on becoming a star. After a string of hits as a rock & roll singer, Darin (played as an adult by Kevin Spacey) takes another gamble, and with the help of manager Steve Blauner (John Goodman) he reinvents himself as a supper-club vocalist in the manner of Frank Sinatra. All the more remarkably, he succeeds, and his swinging version of "Mack the Knife" tops the charts. Now a major singing star, Darin decides to take up acting; on the set of his first movie, he woos his female co-star Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth), and despite the stern objections of her mother (Greta Scacchi), Bobby and Sandra wed. But after a string of successful movies for Dee and hit records and an Oscar nomination for Darin, the shifting tastes of the 1960s throw their careers off-track. Bobby cautiously embraces the new sounds of the day, but his old fans don't want to hear him cover Bob Dylan or the Rolling Stones, while the younger audience isn't interested in his new sound, leaving Darin in a difficult place to make his way back to stardom. Kevin Spacey did his own singing for Beyond the Sea, recreating Bobby Darin's vocal style with uncanny accuracy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The mystery of one man's guilt or innocence literally becomes a matter of life and death in this drama. David Gale (Kevin Spacey) was the head of the philosophy department at Austin University and the author of several well-regarded books; he was also an active and visible member of Deathwatch, an anti-capital punishment activist group. One of Gale's best friends was Constance Harraway (Laura Linney), a fellow Deathwatch activist with whom he became especially close, particularly since Gale's wife, Sharon (Elizabeth Gast), who had taken a lover in Spain, was usually absent. One night, Gale was seduced by an attractive student from his class, Berlin (Rhona Mitra), who had too much to drink; later, the remorseful student accused Gale of rape. While Gale was eventually cleared of the charges, the negative publicity cost him his career as an educator, and with no job and no wife, Gale turned to drink. When Harraway was found raped and murdered a few years later, Gale was charged with the crime, and convicted despite the best efforts of his well-meaning but ineffectual lawyer Braxton Belyeu (Leon Rippy). Now Gale awaits execution, and less than a week before his date with the fatal injection, Gale agrees to tell his story to Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet), a nervy journalist from a major newsmagazine, who arrives with her assistant, Zack Stemmons (Gabriel Mann). As Bloom discusses the facts of the Harraway murder with Gale, it occurs to her that the details simply don't add up, and soon a mysterious stranger slips evidence to her that suggests Gale has been framed -- leaving Bloom and Stemmons only a few days to solve the mystery and save Gale from the executioner. The Life of David Gale was co-produced by actor Nicolas Cage, who originally commissioned the script and intended to star in the film before prior commitments led him to hand the project over to director Alan Parker. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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

Produced by Kevin Spacey, The United States of Leland is a psychological drama concerning the aftereffects of a brutal murder. It's also the first big-studio theatrical release for writer/director Matthew Ryan Hoge, whose previous work consists of the independent comedy Self Storage. Ryan Gosling plays Leland, an imprisoned teenager doing time for the stabbing murder of a disabled boy. Prison writing teacher Pearl Madison (Don Cheadle) gets caught up in the story with the intention of making a book out of it, especially when he finds out that Leland's father is the famous novelist Albert Fitzgerald (Spacey). Pearl's investigation uncovers some of the details and effects of the murder for everyone involved, including the victim's parents, Harry (Martin Donovan) and Karen Pollard (Ann Magnuson). Jena Malone plays Becky, the teenage junkie who is both Leland's ex-girlfriend and the victim's sister. The situation also complicates the relationship between Becky's older sister, Jennifer (Michelle Williams), and her sensitive boyfriend, Allen (Chris Klein). The United States of Leland premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

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

In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set sail aboard Shackleton's ship the Endurance to Antarctica, with the goal of becoming the first men to cross the South Pole on foot. Unstable weather conditions and a series of unavoidable accidents destroyed the ship and left Shackleton and his men stranded in the icy wastes near the bottom of the world. Shackleton pledged to his men that they would survive the disaster, and remarkably he proved good to his word, with the men of the Endurance returned to safety after a grueling two years in one of the most punishing environments on Earth. Shacketon's Antarctic Adventure combines film shot by Frank Hurley during Shackleton's ill-fated expedition with new footage lensed in the high-definition IMAX format of modern-day adventurers retracing Shackleton's route to document the obstacles presented to the men of the Endurance and how they overcame them. Shacketon's Antarctic Adventure was the second documentary directed by George Butler on Shackleton's fateful voyage to the South Pole, following 2000's The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide