James Wing Woo Movies
A resourceful teenage super-sleuth finds her investigative skills put to the ultimate test as director Andrew Fleming and screenwriter Tiffany Paulsen revive the character originally made famous by author Carolyn Keene. Upon leaving her quaint hometown of River Heights and arriving in Los Angeles with her father, Carson (Tate Donovan), precocious small-town teen Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts) enrolls in Hollywood High and discovers just how different life on the West Coast really is. A true original in the land where Rodeo Drive dictates what's "in" at any given moment, Nancy stands apart from the pack as much for her penny loafers as for her sincere, non-acerbic attitude and keen study skills -- all of which make the non-ironic goody two-shoes an object of scorn for fashion-conscious mean girls Inga (Daniella Monet) and Trish (Kelly Vitz). Concerns about how to fit in soon take a back seat to more pressing issues, however, when Nancy, having previously promised her worried father that she would give up sleuthing, stumbles across a series of clues that may lead her to find out what caused the death of beautiful Hollywood movie star Dehlia Draycott -- who perished years ago under particularly mysterious circumstances. Upon discovering that she and her father are currently residing in the very same mansion that Draycott once called home, the prospect of solving one of Hollywood's biggest mysteries simply proves too tantalizing for the brilliant young detective to resist. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emma Roberts, Josh Flitter, (more)
- 2006
Monk (Tony Shalhoub) sets about to locate the world-famous Alexander diamond, for which a million-dollar reward has been offered. Quickly absorbing the clues at hand, Monk deduces that the diamond was stolen by Danny Chasen (Daniel Browning Smith). Alas, Chasen has already been murdered, so Monk is forced to chase down several other leads, most of them leading nowhere. Meanwhile, the folks at police headquarters have their hands full with a persistent nutcase named Jennie Mandeville (Jamie Brown), who habitually confesses to crimes that haven't taken place--or have they? Much of the action is devoted to the exploits of retired Scotland Yard detective St. Claire (Derrick O'Connor), a techno-happy detective named Rufus (DJ Qualls), and an oafish bounty hunter named Dirk (Tyler Mane), suggesting that this episode may have been intended as the pilot for a spinoff series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This erotic psychological thriller marks the feature film debut of popular actress Pamela Anderson in a leading role. After two johns were murdered while having sex with a prostitute, Sergeant Peg Peckham (Chelsea Field) is transferred from the vice squad to homicide and assigned to investigate. Peg's determined to catch the killer, who could be a female serial killer, and asks her police psychologist boyfriend David Stratton (Steven Bauer) for a profile. In the meantime, David has become attracted to a new patient, Felicity (Anderson), an amnesia sufferer who is having violent recurring dreams in which she murders her lovers. Although the connection to Peg's case seems obvious, Felicity doesn't fit the psychological profile, and her bombshell beauty is having an intoxicating effect on David. Snapdragon (1993) was co-written by actress Terri Treas of the Alien Nation TV series and telefilms. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The stage is set for a series of confrontations when photographer Mark Jefferson (Tom Eplin) agrees to help his friend Roger (John Mayall) defend his night club against a handful of organized crime figures. Mark has an added incentive for becoming involved as his ex-girlfriend Carol (Cheri Cameron Newell) sings at the club. But the gangsters are willing to use mayhem and murder in order to take over Roger's business. It appears that the petty mobsters are out to sell illegal weapons to anyone who wants them, especially L.A.'s youth, instead of using the club as a front for a prostitution ring as Roger suspects. Soon Mark and his trusty motorcycle have their work cut out for them. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Eplin, Cheri Cameron Newell, (more)
- 1978
- PG
Richard Dreyfuss plays Moses Wine, an ex-Sixties radical who pays the bills as a private eye. Wine is hired to stem a smear campaign against a popular political candidate. Gradually the plot thickens into a murder case, involving a hippie leader whose values, like Wine's, have been severely compromised over the years - and who plans to blow up a major LA freeway as a protest. Susan Anspach provides a great deal of dramatic (and sexual) tension as Wine's boss. Among the minor players are future stars Mandy Patinkin and F. Murray Abraham. The Big Fix was adapted by Roger L. Simon from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Anspach, (more)
Doc Levy (Roy Scheider) is an American secret agent who has been running interference between the U.S. government and escaped Nazi war criminal Szell (Laurence Olivier). Believing that Doc has stolen a valuable cache of gems, Szell emerges from his South American hiding place and heads for New York. He has Doc killed, then kidnaps Doc's in-the-dark brother, Babe (Dustin Hoffman). Repeating the phrase "Is it safe?" over and over, Szell, a onetime concentration camp dentist, tries to extract information from Babe by performing sadistic "oral surgery" upon him. Babe, who still doesn't know about the gems, escapes, breaking his own self-imposed rule of nonviolence to defend himself against his pursuers and gearing up for sadistic revenge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, (more)
This second-string Sam Peckinpah action film features James Caan as ex-CIA agent Mike Locken, who has retired due to injuries received at the hands of his ex-partner George Hansen (Robert Duvall). But Mike is lured out of retirement to protect Yuen Chung (Mako), an Asian political leader. There's a contract out on Yuen Chung's life -- and the killer assigned to rub out Yuen Chung is none other than Mike's former partner, George Hansen. The confrontation between the two leads to a showdown on a decaying naval vessel between Mike's forces and a group of ninja warriors. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Caan, Robert Duvall, (more)
