Jim Turner Movies
With their home planet in danger and no place in the known universe to seek shelter, a desperate crew of miniature alien humanoids boards a human spacecraft in hopes of saving their doomed world. Eddie Murphy stars in a sci-fi comedy that re-teams the longtime comic actor with Norbit director Brian Robbins. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Banks, (more)
Nora Ephron directed and co-wrote this updated adaptation of a classic situation comedy that also casts a satirical eye on the entertainment industry. Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) is a movie star whose career has been going into a slow and steady decline. Desperate for a project that will give his reputation a jump start, Jack agrees to star in a film version of the once-popular television series Bewitched as hapless hubby Darrin Stephens, under the condition that an unknown actress be cast as the female lead so he won't be upstaged. After auditioning dozens of women who fail to make the grade, Jack meets lovely and charming Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman), and is immediately certain she's the perfect choice to play witch-turned-housewife Samantha. However, there's one thing neither Jack nor the producers of the film know -- Isabel really is a witch, and while she's been trying to get along without her powers to better fit in among mortals, she will use her special talents when need be. The film also stars Michael Caine as Isabel's father, Nigel, Shirley MacLaine as Iris Smythson (the actress hired to play Endora), and Jason Schwartzman as Jack's agent. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, (more)
Directed by Robert Mickelson, Off the Lip follows Kat (Marguerite Moreau), equipped with a spanking new journalism degree, on her first big assignment. Though the job sounds ideal at first -- its only requirements are a positive outlook, good instincts, perseverance, and a willingness to travel to Hawaii -- Kat finds that her search for a surfer known only as "The Monk" is much harder than she had initially foreseen. As it becomes increasingly clear that the mysterious surfer has no intention of being found, other problems pop up at an alarming rate; among them are her boyfriend's (Mackenzie Astin) constant meddling, her washed-out guide's (Mark Fite) deteriorating mental health, and her supervisor's unwanted affection. To make matters worse, Kat's efforts land her a spot on the FBI's most wanted list. As the obstacles mount before her eyes, Kat begins to wonder who she's really searching for -- The Monk or herself? ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marguerite Moreau, MacKenzie Astin, (more)
This film is based on an innovative short film made for MTV about a guy living in a horrible downtown apartment filled with scores of mischievous, smart-alecky roaches. The story chronicles the adventures of Joe (Jerry O'Connell), a hapless rube from the rural Midwest who journeys to the wilds of New York City. Mugged repeatedly on his arrival, his luck seems to turn when he finds an affordable apartment in a very dubious neighborhood. Unfortunately, his landlord (Don Ho) is more interested in evicting or, if need be, murdering his tenants, so that the building can be turned into a (highly profitable) penitentiary. Joe finds the allies he needs in his apartment's cockroaches, who sing and dance their way into his heart. This film should be of interest for fans of 1930s musicals; it makes reference to Busby Berkeley's elaborate dance phantasmagorias and the odd water ballets of Esther Williams. Many of the scenes utilized real roaches who were "choreographed" via tiny filament harnesses and other devices. Animal rights activists will be pleased to note that no roaches were intentionally harmed during filming. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry O'Connell, Megan Ward, (more)
Boxing is more than just a sport -- it's also a business and a con game in this satirical comedy. Rev. Fred Sultan (Samuel L. Jackson) is a shrewd boxing promoter and manager whose meal ticket is heavyweight champion James "The Grim Reaper" Roper (Damon Wayans), a fighter whose skill and confidence significantly outstrips his intelligence. While the top-ranked contender for Roper's title is Marvin Shabazz (Michael Jace), Sultan isn't too keen on the idea of Shabazz fighting Roper -- it seems that both fighters are black, and Sultan's figures show that mixed race matches stir up a lot more media attention and pay-per-view customers. Eager to find a white challenger for Roper, Sultan digs up Terry Conklin (Peter Berg), who won a Golden Gloves fight against Roper many years ago but is now out of the game and fronting a rock band called Massive Head Wound. Thanks to a few bribes and a couple of fixed fights, Sultan is able to arrange for Conklin to be next in line to battle "The Grim Reaper." However, Conklin is taking his renewed career as a boxer quite seriously, while Roper, convinced that Conklin doesn't stand a chance, has let himself go and gained a lot of weight. Suddenly Sultan realizes that Roper might just lose the piece-of-cake fight he's so carefully arranged, while journalist Mitchell Kane (Jeff Goldblum) smells a rat in Conklin's sudden rise to ranking status. Jon Lovitz, Cheech Marin, and Corbin Bernsen highlight the supporting cast, while members of the well-regarded alternative rock band Local H appear as Massive Head Wound. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Goldblum, (more)
This lively and complicated romantic comedy-drama centers on four fellows. Runyon is a poet carrying a torch for Kathryn; he flies to LA to talk about scripting a movie and is accompanied by the lovely Tarzaan. Gadabout Josh is seen having a fling with a Chinese hat-check girl and pursuing Cynthia; despite his womanizing, he also still cares for his ex-wife Gina, the sister of Phil, a plumber and owner of a hardware store who is married with two children. Phil is in a quandary because he finds himself lusting for a sophisticated English coquette who just might be interested in him. Meanwhile, therapist Mark is utterly wrecked over a difficult relationship with Tasha. The title of the film comes from a line in rocker Steve Miller's song, "The Joker". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Cryer, Tim Guinee, (more)
Caroline and Lloyd (Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey) are a married couple constantly at each other's throats, masters at crafting acid-tongued barbs at the other's expense. Indeed, they are so obsessed with belittling each other that they never stop -- not even at gunpoint. Such is the premise of the acerbic comedy The Ref, which shows what happens when this quarrelsome duo is taken hostage. The gunman is Gus (Denis Leary), a thief on the run from the police, who kidnaps the couple as an insurance policy, planning to use their home as a hideout. But their incessant bickering proves more than Gus bargained for, forcing him -- for the sake of his own sanity -- into the unenviable role of peacemaker. To make things even worse for Gus, he discovers that he has taken the couple hostage the night of their big Christmas party, and the guests are already on the way. Not wanting to leave Lloyd and Caroline unattended, Gus opts to attend the party, pretending to be the couple's marriage counselor. This naturally leads to a series of comic confusions, as the hostage crisis and marital tensions head towards their inevitable conclusion. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denis Leary, Judy Davis, (more)
- 1994
While discussing the hiring of a new head writer with Artie (Rip Torn), Phil Wallace Langham) unexpectedly jockeys for the position himself. Despite the fact that Artie thinks Phil lacks the "people skills" that the job of head writer demands, he gives a determined Phil a shot at the job. Quickly disillusioned due to the substantial amount that office politics play into the job, Phil runs into grief with both Paula (Janeane Garofalo) as well as a headstrong executive. Soon on the outs with the rest of the writers, Phil makes outrageous demands in hopes that Artie will fire him. The plan backfires, and Artie is convinced that Phil will go a long way as head writer. Special guests include Doug Ballard, John Riggi, Jim Turner, Richard Narita, and SCTV alum Dave Thomas. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Based on a story by Richard Lupoff (a short filmization of the same story earned an Oscar nomination for 1990), 12:01 centers on a member of the personnel department in a science lab, who discovers that the world has become somehow trapped in a strange time warp that causes the same 24-hour period to repeat itself. During the course of that endlessly repeated day, Barry Thomas, the only one who seems to be aware of what's happening, must somehow figure out how to put time back on its normal course and solve the murder of a physicist, Lisa Fredricks (Helen Slater) with whom he is infatuated. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Paul Bartel directed this film version of a performance art piece by O-Lan Jones, Andrea Stein, and Jim Turner, who play Tina, Pam, and Scotty -- three grown-up kids who have spent the last thirty years sealed off in a backyard family bomb shelter. A prologue explains what happened: in 1963, when John Kennedy is assassinated, a typical middle-class family from Anaheim retreat to their backyard bomb shelter, afraid that the commies are coming. In 1993, they are still there -- even Mom and Dad, who have since died, but the bones are laid out nicely on their bed. The brother and two sisters, in worn-out clothing, amuse themselves by playing silly little games (something called "Egyptian Fantasy" with Ken as the Pharaoh), engaging in absurd rounds of role playing (Tina as a high-school tease), and hurling senseless rebukes at one another ("I can't hear you. I've got a set of encyclopedias up my butt"). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- O-Lan Jones, Andrea Stein, (more)
- 1992
- R
In this martial-arts actioner a young man is forced to learn physical and spiritual self-defense tactics from a master after he witnesses a gangland murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
This film represents the first cinematic venture by the comic troupe Duck's Breath Mystery Theater. Sight gags abound. The story concerns the efforts of a Hollywood type to make a low-budget horror film in his home state of Iowa. His family's proximity causes endless complications. The film-within-a-film concerns the adventures of a giant radioactive cow. The film's comic highlight is the difficulty faced by extras when the cow horns stuck to their heads with super strong adhesive won't come off. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1988
In this fantasy, a comic-book hero, worried that he will simply fade away because of his dwindling fans and a burned-out creator, decides to enter the real world and see if he can bolster his flagging reputation while simultaneously cleaning up crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
The cast and crew of the low-budget women-in-prison potboiler Big House Dolls sets up shop in an abandoned prison -- the site of a bloody riot that occurred on the night serial killer Ivan Moser (Lyle Alzado) was apparently electrocuted. When the slobbering Moser begins showing up in the nightmares of stuntwoman Susan Malone (Deborah Foreman), it's a given that the lumbering, half-baked madman is soon going to show up, power tools in hand, and do a little crude free-lance editing. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Foreman, Clayton Rohner, (more)
In this hit '80s hybrid of the horror movie and the teen flick, a single mom and her two sons become involved with a pack of vampires when they move into an offbeat Northern California town. Lucy (Dianne Wiest) and her sons, Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim), move to Santa Carla to live with Lucy's lovable but curmudgeonly father (Barnard Hughes). Lucy gets a job from video store-owner Max (Edward Herrmann), then begins dating him, while Sam hangs out with Edward and Alan Frog (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander), a pair of vampire-obsessed comic-shop clerks. Soon Michael falls in with some actual vampires after becoming enamored of one of their victims: Star (Jami Gertz), a gypsy-like vixen who is trying to hold onto her humanity even though vampire leader David (Kiefer Sutherland) wants to play Peter Pan to her Wendy. When Michael visits the cavernous hangout of David and his cronies and unwittingly drinks from a wine bottle full of vampiric blood, he becomes an unwilling member of the bloodsucker biker gang. Soon, it's up to Sam and the Frog brothers to destroy David and his ilk without killing Michael and Star. Shot on location in the coastal California town of Santa Cruz and directed by Hollywood pro Joel Schumacher, The Lost Boys became a pop-culture phenomenon thanks to its attractive young stars, offbeat soundtrack, and hip, clever marketing campaign; the film's tagline -- "Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire." -- perfectly captured its knowing mixture of attitude and gore. The effects team who transformed Sutherland and company into snarling blood-suckers would go on to provide equally gruesome effects for Blade, another revisionist vampire flick, more than a decade later. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Patric, Corey Haim, (more)
- 1986
- R
The corpse of a beautiful Middle Eastern terrorist is outfitted with a special computer, programmed to reanimate and to seek and destroy other terrorists. The trouble in this sci-fi actioner begins when something goes wrong and she tries to kill her creators. The film is also known as The Retaliator. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Ginty, Sandahl Bergman, (more)
Post-collegiate angst, '80s style, is the subject of this coming-of-age ensemble piece, which traces the fortunes of a group of Georgetown grads as they enter the real world and grapple with work, infidelity, and adulthood. The most outwardly upscale member of the gang, Jules (Demi Moore), hides a plethora of emotional baggage behind a chic wardrobe, an expensive apartment, a fashionable drug habit, and lots of meaningless casual sex. Her friend Wendy (Mare Winningham) has the opposite problem; a trust-fund baby with body-image issues and little sexual experience, she's hung up on Billy (Rob Lowe), a no-good, sax-playing drunkard who can't face up to his responsibilities in the job market or at home with his wife and young child. Such open infidelity is anathema to Alex (Judd Nelson), who must maintain a sense of propriety even while engaging in compulsive womanizing; after all, the Democrat-turned-Republican's nascent political career requires the sort of picture-perfect relationship he shares with girlfriend Leslie (Ally Sheedy). That doesn't sit too well with tortured writer Kevin (Andrew McCarthy), who toils away at a newspaper job and pines away for the unattainable Leslie. Unrequited love also dogs Kirby (Emilio Estevez), a law-school student whose greatest wish is to romance classy doctor Dale Biberman (Andie MacDowell), who is, alas, way out of his league. Co-written by director Joel Schumacher and his studio intern, Carl Kurlander, St. Elmo's Fire spawned the number one pop hit "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)," which was credited to John Parr but co-written by music producer David Foster. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, (more)
- 1985
- PG
Popular C&W singer Jim Stafford heads the cast of the "four waller" Kid Colter. The main character is not Stafford, however, but young Jeremy Shamos, playing a city boy abducted by mountain men. Shamos is abandoned in the wilds of the Pacific northwest by his captors. Though it is assumed that the boy will die from exposure, he proves to have hitherto untapped reserves of strength. The boy's methods of surviving his ordeal, and his ultimate reunification with his family, are played out before some of the most breathtaking natural backdrops in America. Though the plot reeks of "movie of the week" exploitation, Kid Colter is eminently suitable for every member of the family. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
