Jon Tenney Movies
Character actor
Jon Tenney has appeared on stage and in feature films, but he may be best known for his television work, notably for playing Patrol Sergeant Francis X. Donovan on
Steven Bochco's short-lived police drama
Brooklyn South. His film work includes
Twilight of the Golds (1997),
Fools Rush In (1997), and With Friends Like These... (1998).
Tenney's interest in acting stems from early childhood and it developed further while he attended Vassar College, where he majored in drama and philosophy. Afterwards, he was accepted to Juilliard, where he was a standout student. He made his professional debut starring in a touring production of The Real Thing, directed by
Mike Nichols. This led to his working steadily on and off Broadway, as well as in regional theater. His television credits include
Equal Justice and Crime and Punishment. His made-for-television movie credits include
Alone in the Neon Jungle (1987). Since 1994, Tenney has been married to popular television actress
Teri Hatcher.
He appeared in Kenneth Lonnergan's first film, You Can Count on Me, and Albert Brooks cast him in Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World. In 2005 he was cast in the hit cable series The Closer as Agent Fritz Howard, and he would stay with that show for the next few years. He continued to work on the big screen in projects such as The Stepfather, Rabbit Hole, and Green Lantern. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

- 1987
-
- Add Alone in the Neon Jungle to Queue
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Directed by onetime Rookies co-star Georg Stanford Brown, Alone in the Neon Jungle has all the earmarks of a TV pilot film-albeit a better-than-usual example of the genre. Suzanne Pleshette plays a no-nonsense police captain, assigned to the town's most corrupt police district. In attempting to clean things up, She is handicapped by the fact that she can't tell her friends from her enemies. Director Brown costars as a police sergeant who turns out to be a valuable ally to the new captain. Filmed in Pittsburgh, Alone in the Neon Jungle was first telecast January 17, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1994
- R
- Add Beverly Hills Cop III to Queue
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The third entry in the popular Beverly Hills Cop series finds Detroit cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) returning yet again to Southern California, this time on the trail of two car thieves turned murderers. As he teams up again with L.A. cop Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), Foley's investigation leads him to Wonder World, a theme park that is also the front for a major counterfeiting ring. More action and less wit are the trademarks of this film, which features Murphy dishing out his usual wisecracks, but with less flair and freshness than in the original film. Alan Young plays the old man who runs the amusement park, an interesting setting that still adds little to the tired premise. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, (more)

- 1997
-

- 2001
- R
- Add Buying the Cow to Queue
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After five years of dating, David (Jerry O'Connell) gets what he feels is an ultimatum from his girlfriend, Sarah (Bridgette Wilson). She thinks they should get married. When his old buddy, Tyler (Ron Livingston of Swingers), a legendary womanizer, calls to announce his wedding plans, it only increases the pressure on David. When Sarah leaves town on a business trip, David has a chance to explore his options. He turns to his friends, Jonesey (Bill Bellamy), and the unrepentant lothario Michael (Ryan Reynolds, who also starred in director Walt Becker's National Lampoon's Van Wilder) for advice. Jonesey half-heartedly encourages David to marry Sarah. Michael, who treats women shabbily, tries to talk David out of it. David tells his friends about an epiphany that he had many years earlier, when he saw beautiful blond Julie (Erinn Bartlett) in an airport, and was instantly smitten. He knew she was the one. He courageously handed the strange girl his phone number, and a brief romantic correspondence ensued, but it ended disastrously. Uncertain about his destiny with Sarah, David spots another woman at a Mexican restaurant, and has the same feeling he had with Julie. He spends a lot of time and effort trying to track this mystery woman down, while Sarah, frustrated by their lack of progress, considers ending their relationship. Michael, meanwhile, has a real identity crisis, when he wakes up in a strange bed after a night of drinking, drugs, and debauchery, only to find a gay man in the bedroom with him. Buying the Cow also stars Alyssa Milano, Annabeth Gish, and Jon Tenney. The film was co-written by director Becker and Peter W. Nelson. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Jerry O'Connell, Bridgette Wilson, (more)

- 1991
-
In this drama a Florida newspaper owner's daughter gets involved with her daddy's biggest competitor who uses her to help destroy her father's business. Trouble ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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- 1999
- R
A filmmaker tries to sort out the scattered emotional baggage of his love life in Entropy. Jake Walsh (Stephen Dorff) is a film director who attends a fashion show with some friends and meets a French model named Stella (Judith Godreche). The attraction between the two is immediate, and after a brief courtship they're living together. However, between his career in film and her career as a model, they don't spend as much time together as they'd like, and they begin to drift apart; when Stella one day announces she's pregnant, Jake displays no particular enthusiasm for the idea of raising a child, and Stella ends up having an abortion. Eventually, the two break up and Jake finds himself married to a woman he barely knows, not quite sure what happened. As he muddles through his romantic problems, Jake also has to deal with the often puzzling hierarchy and the bizarre office politics of Hollywood. A rare independent effort from Phil Joanou, who previously directed State of Grace, Final Analysis and a wealth of popular music videos, Entropy was the opening night attraction at the 1999 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Stephen Dorff, Judith Godrèche, (more)

- 1997
- PG13
- Add Fools Rush In to Queue
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Two relative strangers try to turn a one night stand into a marriage in this romantic comedy. Alex Whitman (Matthew Perry) is a designer from New York City who is sent to Las Vegas to supervise the construction of a nightclub that his firm has been hired to build. Alex is a straight-laced WASP-ish type who, while enjoying a night on the town, meets Isabel Fuentes (Salma Hayek), a free-spirited Mexican-American photographer. Alex and Isabel are overtaken by lust at first sight and end up spending the night together; however, their immediate attraction doesn't last in the cold light of day, and they don't see each other for another three months. When they do meet again, it's because Isabel has some interesting news for Alex: she's pregnant with his child. Alex and Isabel decide that they should do the right thing and quickly get married (with an Elvis impersonator serving as witness), but after Isabel meets Alex's mom (Jill Clayburgh), and Alex is confronted by Isabel's father (Tomas Milian), both start to wonder if "doing the right thing" was just that, especially as Alex tries to balance his career in New York with Isabel's desire to continue working in Nevada. Fools Rush In gave Matthew Perry his first big-screen starring role following his success on the TV series Friends. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Matthew Perry, Salma Hayek, (more)

- 1995
- PG
- Add Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home to Queue
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Two unlikely friends -- a boy and a killer whale -- are reunited under potentially dangerous circumstances in this sequel to the successful family adventure Free Willy. Jesse (Jason James Richter) has finally found stability and contentment with his foster parents Glen and Annie Greenwood (Michael Madsen and Jayne Atkinson), but he is confronted with a new emotional challenge when his birth mother (a drug addict who abandoned him when he was young) dies, and his troubled half brother Elvis (Francis Capra) comes to live with the Greenwoods. Jesse also deals with new feelings when he develops a serious crush on Nadine (Mary Kate Schellhardt), the goddaughter of Randolph (August Schellenberg), an animal trainer at the theme park where Jesse helps out. But a much bigger problem is on the horizon when the safety of Willy, the killer whale he befriended and helped return to the wild, is threatened. An oil spill spoils the ocean environment where Willy and his family now live, and an unscrupulous owner of an oceanarium, Wilcox (M. Emmet Walsh), attempts to capture Willie and put him back into captivity as a performing attraction. While Free Willy featured Keiko, a trained whale who (ironically) was living in captivity when the film was shot, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home instead utilized mechanical models and digital animation to bring "Willy" to life. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Jason James Richter, August Schellenberg, (more)

- 2011
- PG13
- Add Green Lantern to Queue
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A test pilot embraces his destiny as a cosmic superhero in Casino Royale director Martin Campbell's adaptation of the popular DC Comics series. Ever since he saw his fearless father perish in a tragic aviation mishap, all Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) could think about was flying -- it was the only thing the brash, cocky, and irresponsible test pilot ever truly excelled at. Little did he realize he was destined for something much bigger. Somewhere out in space, a powerful force of evil known as Parallax is spreading fear and destruction; the only hope for defeating Parallax is the Green Lantern Corps, a group of intergalactic warriors powered by the force of will. When legendary Green Lantern Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) is sent hurtling toward planet Earth after a deadly encounter with Parallax, his ring chooses Hal to continue the fight. The ring spirits our hero away to the Green Lantern's home planet of Oa for training. The first human ever to receive the honor of becoming a Green Lantern, Hal is viewed with scorn by the league's leader, Sinestro (Mark Strong), who trains him alongside the hulking Kilowog (voice of Michael Clarke Duncan). Later, on planet Earth, frail scientist Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) becomes infected with Parallax's evil while performing an autopsy on Abin Sur, and uses his newfound powers to stake claim on Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), Hal's lifelong friend and fellow test pilot. When Hal learns that Parallax plans to consume all life on Earth to gain the energy needed to conquer Oa, he begins looking inward for the courage to defeat the malevolent force and embrace his destiny as a super-powered peacekeeper. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, (more)

- 1991
- PG13
- Add Guilty by Suspicion to Queue
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The directorial debut of producer Irwin Winkler, Guilty by Suspicion is a sobering account of one movie executive's woes in dealing with the political fallout from the McCarthy Era Hollywood blacklist. Robert De Niro stars as David Merrill, a film director in the 1950s whose obsession with his burgeoning career has estranged him from his wife Ruth (Annette Bening) and their son. When he returns from a trip to Paris, Merrill is surprised when told by his boss, Darryl F. Zanuck (Ben Piazza) that he's been summoned to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which is investigating Communist ties to Hollywood. Although Merrill once attended a meeting years before, he's not a Communist, and he refuses to help the committee wreck the career of his friend Bunny Baxter (George Wendt). Merrill becomes blacklisted, unable to find work even in menial positions or under assumed names as the editor of a B-movie or the director of a low-budget Western. Reconciled with his family, Merrill caves in and agrees to testify, but as he prepares to "name names," his conscience plagues him. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Annette Bening, (more)

- 2011
- PG13
A man takes to the water as he tries to make sense of his life in this independent drama from director Chris Eyre. A successful businessman who is struggling to come to terms with a profound personal tragedy buys a battered sailboat and gives himself over to the process of restoring it and learning how to sail. "The Young Mariner," as he's identified in the film (played by Josh Lucas), clearly knows little about seamanship, and is approaching the project as both therapy and self-education. At first, the Mariner keeps to himself when not busy with his ship, but in time he strikes up friendships with an aging sailor (James Cromwell) who is struggling with emotional issues of his own, the pretty waitress (Ayelet Zurer) at a local diner who is trying to shake her addiction to nicotine, and the check-out clerk (Casey LaBow) at a nearby market. But the young man spends most of his time in solitude, learning how to restore his sailboat and make it work just as he learns how to live his life again. A Year in Mooring received its world premiere at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Ayelet Zurer, James Cromwell, (more)

- 1998
- R
- Add Homegrown to Queue
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In this comedy thriller, set in northern California, inept but lovable pot farmers Jack Madsen (Billy Bob Thornton) and Carter (Hank Azaria) work for San Francisco entrepreneur Malcolm Stockman (John Lithgow), who arrives for a visit via copter. As soon as Malcolm steps out, the copter pilot shoots him and takes off, leaving the two aghast along with apprentice Harlan (Ryan Phillippe). Minus a boss, the naive trio deduces no paychecks are forthcoming, so they collect cannabis for a big payoff and head to the nearby town where they meet up with go-between Lucy (Kelly Lynch). However, their explanations of Malcolm's whereabouts and their sudden need to sell some of the crop arouse suspicions, while their lazy days on the dope farm have left them unprepared as businessmen seeking buyers for millions in contraband. They soon find themselves in a shadowy new world of greed, paranoia, and duplicity. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
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- Starring:
- John Lithgow, Billy Bob Thornton, (more)

- 2001
-
Originally slated as a mid-season replacement, the NBC sitcom Kristin was held up for release until June 5, 2001. Tony-winning Broadway musical star Kristin Chenoweth starred in this semi-autobiographical effort as Kristin Yancey, a starry-eyed Oklahoma gal who heads to the big city in hopes of a showbiz career. After a series of desultory auditions, Kristin lands a job as personal assistant to go-getting real estate developer -- and notorious rogue -- Tommy Ballantine (Jon Tenney). Under a legal cloud because of past incidents of sexual harassment, Tommy has hired Kristin precisely because he finds her completely unappealing, and because she staunchly adheres to the sort of high moral values that he detests. In the prescribed sitcom fashion, Kristen is surrounded (practically engulfed) by wildly eccentric, ethnically stereotyped co-workers: no-nonsense Latina assistant Santa Clemente (Ana Ortiz), flippant black bike messenger Tyrique Kimbrough (Dale Godboldo), and Italian handyman Aldo Bonnadonna (Larry Romano, then pulling double duty as a regular on King of Queens). Kristin was packaged by the same people responsible for Frasier and The Cosby Show. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Tenney, (more)

- 1994
- PG
- Add Lassie to Queue
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The story of an intelligent, heroic collie and his young owner, previously featured in numerous films and a successful 1950s television series, was updated for the 1990s in this family feature. This time, Lassie is determined to help a cynical city boy named Matt (Thomas Guiry), who turns even more resentful when his family relocates to a small town in rural Virginia. Soon after this move, a bright collie enters the family's life and winds up with the name Lassie because of the television show, which Matt's younger sister (Brittany Boyd) watches passionately. Lassie sets out to cheer Matt up and introduce him to the wonders of nature, while also helping the family stand its ground against rich, unpleasant neighbors. There are also run-ins with vicious wild animals and a daring rescue over river rapids, but the main focus remains on the emotional relationship between Matt and the dog, a story that will seem old-fashioned and charming to some viewers while familiar and sentimental to others. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Tom Guiry, Helen Slater, (more)

- 2010
- R
- Add Legion to Queue
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Scott Stewart's supernatural thriller Legion, scripted by Peter Schink, concerns a group of strangers in an out-of-the-way eatery who become the first line of defense when God, believing the human race is no longer worthy of Him, decides to end their existence. This motley crew's only spiritual ally is the archangel Michael, played by Paul Bettany. Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Charles S. Dutton, and Lucas Black co-star in the Screen Gems production. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, (more)

- 2005
- PG13
- Add Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World to Queue
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Comic and filmmaker Albert Brooks serves his country while struggling to get some laughs in this offbeat satiric comedy. Brooks plays himself, a comedic filmmaker whose most recent success was providing the voice of a fish for an animated feature and who has just been passed by as director for a remake of Harvey. As Brooks wonders what's going to happen next with his career, his wife (Amy Ryan), and his daughter, he's approached by government representatives who want him for a special assignment. The State Department, eager to better understand the cultural gap between the United States and the Middle East, have been directed by the president to make a study of what makes Muslims laugh. Brooks is asked to fly to India and Pakistan and bring back a 500-page report on Muslim humor; told the Medal of Freedom may be his if he comes through, Brooks accepts. With a pair of State Department officials in tow, Stuart (John Carroll Lynch) and Mark (Jon Tenney), and some help from a local assistant, Maya (Sheetal Sheth), Brooks sets out to find the funny bone of India's and Pakistan's Muslim communities, though it doesn't take long to find out what they don't find funny -- his standup act. Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World was originally set for release in the United States by Sony Pictures Classics, but when they became nervous over the film's title, they dropped the project and it was picked up for distribution by Warner Independent Pictures. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Albert Brooks, Sheetal Sheth, (more)

- 1997
- R
- Add Lovelife to Queue
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A group of twenty-something graduate students play an on-going game of musical chairs with their love lives in this romantic comedy-drama. Danny (Matthew Letscher) is a self-styled professional student who is involved in an on-again, off-again relationship with Zoey (Saffron Burrows), a struggling writer. However, Danny's close friend Amy (Carlo Gugino) happens to be secretly in love with him, and she is waiting for the romance to finally collapse so she can move in. Meanwhile, Alan (Jon Tenney) is teaching a class on writing and has fallen in love with the ditsy Molly (Sherilyn Fenn), who unfortunately has her eyes on one of her other writing professors, the older Bruce (Bruce Davison). In the meantime, Tim (Peter Krause) waits on the sidelines, wondering when his opportunity for romantic triumph and/or disappointment will arise. Lovelife was written and directed by Jon Harmon Feldman, who has worked in television as a producer on such series as The Wonder Years and Dawson's Creek. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Saffron Burrows, Sherilyn Fenn, (more)

- 2005
-
- Add Masters of Horror: Homecoming to Queue
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Director Joe Dante stirred up a great deal of interest in Showtime's Masters of Horror series with his bluntly anti-Operation Iraqi Freedom political satire, Homecoming, scripted by Sam Hamm. An unnamed president is running for reelection during a divisive war, and one of his speechwriters, David Murch (Jon Tenney), goes on TV to speak with talk show host Marty Clark (Terry David Mulligan) and strident right-wing sexpot Jane Cleaver (Thea Gill of Queer as Folk). Another guest is Janet Hofstader (Beverly Breuer), the Cindy Sheehan-like mother of a fallen soldier, who demands to know what her son died for. Murch gets a bit teary-eyed and explains that he lost his older brother in Vietnam. "Believe me," he tells the grieving mom, "if I had one wish, I would wish for your son to come back, because I know he would tell us how important this struggle is." Cleaver is so impressed with Murch's handling of the situation that she takes him out for a drink later, picks his brain, and eventually seduces him. The Karl Rove-like Kurt Rand (Robert Picardo) interrupts their tryst, calling to let Murch know that the president plans to make his line part of his stump speech. Well, as they say, be careful what you wish for. Soon, the soldiers killed in the war do start returning from the dead, and it doesn't go the way Murch predicted. They're not back to feast on the living, but unhappily for the president and his supporters, they just want a chance to vote in the upcoming election. "We'll vote for anyone who ends this war," one explains. The spin machine goes into overdrive, but the dead are determined to make their voice heard. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Jon Tenney

- 1989
-
Season two of Murphy Brown begins as the staff of the investigative TV magazine "FYI" is introduced to Josh Silverberg (Jon Tenney), the handsome, extroverted older brother of the show's nerdish producer Miles (Grant Shaud). It doesn't take long for poor Miles to feel upstaged by his dashing sibling--especially when Josh begins making romantic overtures to the not-entirely-resistent star of the show, Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen). Future Frasier regular Jane Leeves makes her first appearance as Miles' off-and-on girlfriend Audrey Cohen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1998
- PG13
- Add Music From Another Room to Queue
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What do you do when you've loved someone literally all their life? As Music From Another Room opens, five-year-old Danny is with his father, a U.S. Army doctor, when Dad is faced with an emergency. It seems Grace Swan (Brenda Blethyn), an old friend of the family, is in the last stages of labor and there's no time to get her to the hospital. Danny ends up helping his father deliver the infant, and moments after birth, Danny is holding the baby in his arms, convinced this is the girl he will marry someday. 20 years later, Danny (played as an adult by Jude Law), now an artist educated in England after the death of his father, is back in the States to help restore a church, and he meets Anna Swan (Gretchen Mol), the girl he helped deliver now all grown up and very beautiful. However, she's also become cold and cynical, and has a fiance to boot, so while Danny's attraction to her hasn't dimmed in two decades, it's clear winning her heart will be an uphill battle. The increasingly eccentric Swan family isn't much help either, including sweet but dizzy Grace, eggheaded father Richard (Bruce Jarchow), angry feminist Karen (Martha Plimpton), shy and blind Nina (Jennifer Tilly) and self-centered lout of a doctor Billy (Jeremy Piven). Screenwriter Charlie Peters steps up to the directors chair for this romantic comedy with a superb supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Brenda Blethyn, Jude Law, (more)

- 1989
- PG
In this actioner, an innocent man is framed and imprisoned for car theft. Six months later he is released and out for vengeance. Car chases and violence ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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- 1990
-
Night Visions is a serial-killer-at-large TV movie starring James Remar and Loryn Locklin. Remar portrays the tough LA cop on the case. Ms. Locklin is a psychic, engaged by the police in a desperate effort to ferret out the killer. Unfortunately the psychic borders on the psychotic; her visions seem tinged by her own miserable past experience--and by the fact that she has multiple personalities. This reasonably original premise rapidly dwindles down to predictability; its happy ending was dictated by the fact that the film was the pilot for an unsold series. Night Visions was directed by Wes Craven, who was required by network edicts to tone down the gleeful gore which permeated his Nightmare on Elm Street films. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1995
- R
- Add Nixon to Queue
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Oliver Stone, the most outspokenly political American filmmaker of the 1980s and '90s, directs this epic-length biography of Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the U.S., who was re-elected by a landslide in 1972, only to resign in disgrace two years later. Taking a non-linear approach, Nixon jumps back and forth between many different periods and events, from Nixon's strict upbringing at the hands of his Quaker mother, through the many peaks and valleys of his political career, to his downfall in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The facts of his life are blended with supposition and speculation to create a portrait that is often critical of the man's policies but displays an unexpected compassion toward his failings as a human being. Anthony Hopkins stars as Nixon, Joan Allen plays his long-suffering wife Pat, Mary Steenburgen portrays his mother Hannah, Bob Hoskins is cast as J. Edgar Hoover, Powers Boothe plays Alexander Haig, Paul Sorvino portrays Henry Kisinger, and Ed Harris plays E. Howard Hunt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, (more)