Marvin Albert Movies

Gridiron Gang star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson picks up the pigskin once again for this sports-themed family comedy concerning a football superstar who abandons the gridiron to answer the call of fatherhood. Joe Kingman (Johnson) was a star quarterback destined for greatness; not only is the Boston-based team he plays for well on their way to the championships, but he's got all the money and fame that a man could want out of life. A perpetual bachelor whose one brief marriage ended many moons ago, Kingman is stunned to learn that a long-forgotten youthful fling had more permanent consequences than he ever anticipated. Now, just as his career is set to blow up bigger than ever, this perpetual bachelor learns that he has a seven-year-old daughter named Peyton (Madison Pettis). So how does a lifelong jock who's used to partying all night and dropping 20-yard bombs all day adjust to a life of ballet classes, Barbie dolls, and afternoon play dates? Whatever road he chooses to take, it certainly won't be easy, especially since his ruthless, goal-oriented agent, Stella (Kyra Sedgwick), would rather see her client scoring touchdowns than cementing familial bonds. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In this comedy, a basketball fan figures she could be a better coach than the guy getting paid millions to do the job -- and then gets the chance to prove it. Edwina "Eddie" Franklin (Whoopi Goldberg) is a limousine dispatcher and sometime driver who is a passionate New York Knicks fan; she loyally follows their every move, attending as many home games as possible from the cheap seats and radioing game updates to her drivers when they play during her working hours. The Knicks are purchased by eccentric Southern millionaire Wild Bill Burgess (Frank Langella) in the middle of a long losing streak; when Wild Bill calls for a limo, Eddie arranges to drive him herself, and gives him a piece of her mind about the sad state of the team. Impressed, Wild Bill makes Eddie an honorary coach for the night, and her spitfire attitude and encouragement of the players impresses her. However, Wild Bill thinks putting on a show to boost attendance is more important than having a winning team, and eventually Knicks coach Bailey (Dennis Farina) quits in disgust. Wild Bill gets the bright idea of hiring Eddie as the team's new head coach; she considers it an honor, and at only $50,000 a year, he considers it a bargain. While Eddie is hardly an experienced leader, she soon learns how to motivate her team, and against all odds she helps pull the Knicks out of their losing streak -- but now has to face Wild Bill, who is losing interest in the team and wants to sell. Several real-life NBA stars make cameo appearances, including Dennis Rodman, John Salley, Rick Fox, and Mark Jackson, while prominent New Yorkers David Letterman and Donald Trump play themselves. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Actor Billy Crystal co-wrote, directed, and starred in this romantic comedy. Forty-something couple Andy (Joe Mantegna) and Liz (Cynthia Stevenson) are about to be married, and as they gather with their friends for dinner not long before the wedding, they are told the story of their mutual friends Mickey (Billy Crystal) and Ellen (Debra Winger) as a cautionary tale of where a relationship can go wrong. Mickey is a top referee with the NBA who has traveled to Paris to bury his father, who wanted to be laid to rest with his Army buddies from World War II. The body is somehow lost in transit, and Mickey has an argument with Ellen, who works for an American airline in France. However, she likes his sense of humor, he is taken with her, and after a few days together in Paris, they decide to marry. However, once they return to Mickey's home in the United States, things get complicated; she's not so sure that she cares for his bachelor apartment ("a shrine to watching ESPN"), or juggling her career against his, while both have problems with their respective families. Several major basketball stars and sports figures appear in Forget Paris as themselves, including Charles Barkley, Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Marv Albert. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An unusual sports event takes place when a new commissioner decrees that basketball will no longer be a serious sport -- and some of the greatest players in the NBA compete against an All-Star team of comedians. Actors and athletes include Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, George Wendt, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Marv Albert, Shelley Long, Stephen Wright, Bob Saget, Rich Hall, Elayne Boosler, Jim Morris, Chuck Daly, John Salley, Rick Mahorn, Shadoe Stevens, Jimmie Walker, Paul Rodriguez, Vlade Divac, and Mychal Thompson. ~ Alice Duncan, Rovi

Hosted by sportscaster Marv Albert and the former coach of the Utah Jazz, Frank Layden, NBA: Dazzling Dunks and Basketball Bloopers is a 45-minute sports video that features the best and the funniest moments in NBA basketball, with a superstar lineup, amazing shots, and hilarious missteps.

~ Kathleen Wildasin, Rovi

Adapted from the "Destroyer" series of novels and comic books (not exactly the level of Ian Fleming), Remo Williams (Fred Ward) is a New York cop who works for a top-secret government agency accountable directly to the President of the U.S. After his reluctant induction into this agency, Remo is trained in a near-magical Korean martial arts form by Chiun (Joel Grey) in great sequences where walking on water is taken in stride. After his training, Remo goes after a corrupt arms manufacturer with connections in the U.S. military and acquires the necessary help-mate in the form of Major Rayner Fleming (Kate Mulgrew). Antics at the Statue of Liberty and other stunts enliven the action, but cannot make up for comic-book level characters. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This outstanding and unconsciously beautiful video blends fact and fiction, film and reality, in a re-creation of the John F. Kennedy assassination. Shot on-location in Dallas by the Ant Farm collective, Eternal Frame mixes footage of the re-creation with "speeches" from the Kennedy actor as well as actors' commentary on the process of making the video. Most of the speeches deal with the filmic nature of Kennedy's presidency, the first television president, "I am, in reality, only another image." The real worth of the video is accidental, however. While filming the actual assassination scene, a group of tourists gather by the side of the road and watch the proceedings. What is exceptional is the strength, emotional range, and lucidity of their reactions to a reenactment, moreover one they have simply chanced upon. One women cries, another comments, "I'm glad we were here. To see this. I feel bad but I feel good. A beautiful reenactment." The strange and very real effect it has upon people says more about television's effect on our perception of reality and the media's relationship to politics, than any avant garde meditation on it. Not that such things are bad, but this one, in addition, manages to capture the profound in the passing. ~ Brian Whitener, Rovi