Andrew Davis Movies
Before gaining recognition as a director of action films, Andrew Davis worked as a TV and movie cameraman, a journalist, and a photographer. Davis entered Hollywood in 1969 as an assistant to cinematographer Haskell Wexler while filming Medium Cool. In 1972, he acted as the cinematographer for two films, Private Parts and Hit Man, and he spent much of the remainder of the decade working on a number of films in this capacity. In 1977, Davis co-wrote, produced, and directed his first feature film, Stony Island. Davis' first work on action films was as the director of the Chuck Norris vehicle Code of Silence (1985). He scored his first major success when he co-wrote and directed another action movie, Above the Law, starring newcomer Steven Seagal; in 1992, he teamed with Seagal for a second time on the action-packed box-office hit Under Siege. The following year, Davis once again thrilled audiences with the tense, spectacular movie adaptation of the '60s TV serial The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford. A huge critical and commercial success, it was hailed as one of the best films of the year. In contrast, Davis' subsequent action film, Chain Reaction (1996), was a colossal flop. He then switched gears for A Perfect Murder, a 1998 re-make of Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Michael Douglas, the film was a great disappointment, leading some observers to opine that perhaps Davis should entertain a return to the action genre, something he did with the Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Collateral Damage which was the subject of some controversy because it dealt with terrorism and came out around the time of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001. avis changed gears and had a modest hit with the family-friendly Holes in 2003. Three years later he returned to the action genre with the coast guard drama The Guardian starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
A decorated Coast Guard search and rescue specialist still haunted by the death of his teammates during a disastrous mission off the coast of Alaska is charged with the task of training the next generation of Coast Guard rescue swimmers in director Andrew Davis' ocean-bound adventure drama. Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) was the best swimmer of his graduating class, but upon surfacing as the sole survivor of an Alaskan rescue mission attempted during a Category Three storm, his outlook on life has grown increasingly jaded. Now, as hotshot young swimmer Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) arrives at Coast Guard rescue school looking to accomplish something meaningful with his life, he will be forced to endure the rigorous training methods of a man who expects nothing less than the very best in order to become a member of one of the most elite rescue squads on the planet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, (more)
- 2005
Debuting September 19, 2005, the weekly, hour-long WB courtroom drama Just Legal starred Don Johnson as Grant Cooper, a once-prominent and well-connected attorney who, after bungling a high-profile case and losing his client to death row, quickly went on the skids, ending up in a seedy law office in Venice, CA. Only able to get work as a court-appointed attorney, Cooper had grown sour and dispirited about his life and work. Things brightened considerably when David "Skip" Ross (Jay Baruchel), a 19-year-old legal prodigy, became Cooper's junior partner. Brilliant and idealistic, Skip had been unable to secure a position with any of the top legal firms because of his age, so he came calling upon his idol, Grant Cooper. At first taking Skip on because the lad worked cheap and was willing to do all the "grunt" work, Cooper eventually found that himself revitalized by his partner's youthful enthusiasm and dedication. Together, our mismatched heroes dedicated themselves to taking on "hopeless" cases and defending the losers and outcasts of the world. The office's only other employee was secretary Dulcinea "Dee" Real (Jaime Lee Kirchner), a recent parolee (she still wore her electronic ankle bracelet!) who was working off her legal fees to Cooper. Taking no guff from anyone, Dee had a cute habit of terrifying her nominal bosses when she was feeling out of sorts, but she proved to be an invaluable member of the team. Just Legal was assembled by the same Jerry Bruckheimer team responsible for CSI, Cold Case, and Without a Trace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Johnson, Jay Baruchel, (more)
A boy being punished for a crime he didn't commit learns there's more going on at a juvenile correctional facility than meets the eye in this comedy drama. Stanley Yelnats IV (Shia LaBeouf) is a teenager who has been told all his life that the men in the Yelnats family are cursed, thanks to a false promise his great, great grandfather made to a fortune teller. Given his frequent bad luck, and that which follows his father (Henry Winkler), Stanley has no trouble believing this. Stanley's bad luck hits a new low when a pair of sneakers literally falls out of the sky on him -- and turn out to be stolen. A judge sentences Stanley to a stay at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile correctional facility stuck in the middle of the desert, where he finds himself sharing a tent with a gang of misfits, including ringleader X-Ray (Brenden Jefferson), pushy Squid (Jake M. Smith), small but wiry Zero (Khleo Thomas), tough and stinky Armpit (Byron Cotton), paranoid ZigZag (Max Kasch), and thief-in-training Magnet (Miguel Castro). The Warden of Camp Green Lake (Sigourney Weaver) has her own ideas about rehabilitation, which consist of having the boys spend their days digging holes five feet deep under the desert sun. While well-mannered counselor Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson) tries to help the boys however he can, Mr. Sir (Jon Voight), The Warden's right hand man, is a heartless creep who enjoys making Stanley and his friends suffer. Before long, Stanley wonders if there's a good reason why the Warden seems so curious about what (if anything) the boys find during their digging, and in time he suspects there's something they haven't been told which might be connected to the Yelnats family curse. Holes was based on the award-winning book for young people by Louis Sachar, who also wrote the film's screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, (more)
- 2001
In the summer of 1968, cinematographer Haskell Wexler went to Chicago to shoot his first directorial effort, a drama about a television news cameraman who finds it difficult to remain objective about the events surrounding him. Wexler intended to use the National Democratic Convention being held in the Windy City as a backdrop, but as clashes between anti-war protesters and the Chicago police force became violent, Wexler and his cast and crew found themselves caught in the middle, and the violent skirmishes and their aftermath at once informed the film's content and became a vital part of its subtext. Look Out Haskell, It's Real! The Making of "Medium Cool" is a documentary that tells the story behind one of the most acclaimed and original American films of the 1960s; director Paul Cronin includes interviews with Wexler and many of the members of his cast and crew, while also featuring outtakes from the film recently discovered in storage at the U.C.L.A. film archive. A "work in progress" version of Look Out Haskell, It's Real!: The Making of "Medium Cool" was screened at the 2001 Edinburgh Film Festival on a double bill with a restored print of Medium Cool itself. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Haskell Wexler, David Sterritt, (more)
This action-adventure, that features a terrorist plot from The Fugitive (1993), saw its October 2001 release date moved back four months as a result of real-life terrorist attacks on the United States. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Gordon Brewer, a Los Angeles firefighter who witnesses the deaths of his wife and child, innocent victims of a terrorist attack on a motorcade carrying Colombian dignitaries. Responsibility for the deadly explosion belongs to Claudio "The Wolf" Perrini (Cliff Curtis), a terrorist and rebel in Colombia's decade-long civil war. When times passes with no suspect being brought to justice, Brewer rejects the advice of FBI agent Peter Brandt (Elias Koteas) and travels to the jungles of Colombia to find and take revenge upon his family's murderer himself. Encountering a complex web of death squads, right-wing military officials, guerrillas, terrorists and drug-lords, Brewer is aided in his dangerous quest by an unlikely ally, the beautiful Selena Perrini (Francesca Neri), his quarry's wife. Collateral Damage (2002) co-stars John Leguizamo and John Turturro. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elias Koteas, (more)
In this whimsical romantic comedy that recalls It's a Wonderful Life, Nicolas Cage plays Jack Campbell, a workaholic bachelor who gets to see what his life might have been like had he stayed with his old sweetheart, Kate (Tea Leoni). Thirteen years before, Jack accepted a brokerage internship that marred his relationship with Kate, under the promise that they would only be separated one year. But much later, Jack has become an urban Wall Street exec with no wife or family of his own, and a mysterious proxy (Don Cheadle) offers him the opportunity to step into the life he left behind. After falling asleep in his posh New York apartment, Jack awakens to find himself in bed with his now-wife Kate, daughter Annie (Makenzie Vega), and a new baby, none of which he has ever experienced in his fast-paced single life. After discovering his "real" life has been eliminated, he begrudgingly tries to fit in with his newly appointed life as a family man. The Family Man also stars Saul Rubinek and Jeremy Piven. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Téa Leoni, (more)
A Perfect Murder is based on Frederick Knott's play Dial M for Murder, filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1954. Married to commodities trader Stephen Taylor (Michael Douglas), Emily Bradford (Gwyneth Paltrow) is romantically involved with artist David Shaw (Viggo Mortensen). Aware of this affair, Stephen researches David's past, visits his loft studio, and informs David that he knows about his aliases, jail sentences, and various cons and scams directed at rich women. Then Stephen offers David $500,000 to murder Emily, and David agrees. The plan is calculated to make the murder look like an accident, but events soon go on an unscheduled course. Enter Detective Mohamed Karaman (David Suchet). Knott's original play opened June 1952 in London, followed by a New York run that began October 1952. Several books and sources describe how Hitchcock's film was made in 3-D but neglect to mention that, despite trade screenings in 3-D, Dial M for Murder was originally released in 1954 with ordinary, flat 2-D prints. It was finally shown to audiences in 3-D during the mid-'80s. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
Just as the university research team is about to prove that their new technique will permit water to be used as a fuel, their laboratory is sabotaged and the lab manager is killed. Eddie Kasalivich (Keanu Reeves) stumbles onto the scene and manages not only to witness the sabotage, but to escape from it. When he tries to talk about it to authorities, he discovers that they think he and the other project survivors committed the crime. In reality, a group of energy companies have conspired with interested parties in the government to completely erase all notion of the existence of a way to use water as fuel. The project sponsor (Morgan Freeman) wants Eddie to turn himself in, but before he can do that, he must find enough evidence to clear himself and his friends. But in order to succeed, Eddie must avoid assassination attempts by the real perpetrators. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, (more)
Director Andrew Davis followed up the action blockbuster The Fugitive (1993) with this Capra-esque box office dud that nevertheless featured engaging dual performances by Andy Garcia. Garcia stars as Ruben and Robby, twin brothers who were raised separately and have become total opposites. Ruben has recently inherited a 40,000-acre Santa Barbara estate from his eccentric guardian, Mona (Holland Taylor). A friend to artisans and migrant workers, Ruben wants to transform the land into a commune, while the cold-hearted Robby wants to steal it from his brother, develop it and make millions. Muddying the waters are Lou (Alan Arkin), a quick-thinking ex-cop and pal of Ruben's who is able to manipulate the law to his own purposes, Eddie (Joe Pantoliano), a shark lawyer who plays both sides against the middle, and Ruben's ex-wife Laura (Rachel Ticotin). When each brother masquerades as the other for a time, however, some insights are gained by both. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Garcia, Alan Arkin, (more)
This 1993 box-office smash partly adheres to the 1960s TV series on which it is based and partly goes off on several tangents of its own. Harrison Ford stars as Dr. Richard Kimble, convicted of murdering his wife. While being transferred to prison by bus, Kimble is involved in a spectacular bus-train collision (one of the best of its kind ever filmed). Surviving the disaster, Kimble escapes, vowing to track down the elusive professional criminal whom he holds responsible for the murder. Dogging the fugitive every foot of the way is U.S. marshal Sam Gerard (an Oscar-winning turn by Tommy Lee Jones), who announces his intention to search "every whorehouse, doghouse, and outhouse" to bring Kimble to justice. Unlike his dour TV-series counterpart Barry Morse, Jones plays the role with a sardonic sense of humor: when a cornered Kimble screams, "I didn't kill my wife," Gerard shrugs and famously replies, "I don't care." Once the premise has been established, scripters Jeb Stuart and David Twohy and director Andrew Davis pull off several audacious plot twists, ranging from Kimble's rendezvous with a sympathetic lab technician to a jaw-dropping dive into a huge waterfall. The second half of the film offers one surprise after another (including the true identity of the murderer), brilliantly avoiding the letdown that plagues many movie adaptations of old TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, (more)
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren play archenemies from beyond the grave in this action film. During the Vietnam War, Luc (Van Damme), hoping to be sent home, comes upon blood-crazy Scott (Lundgren), who is starting a one-man genocide program. When Luc tries to stop Scott's carnage, Scott fights back and they end up killing each other. But now the government gets involved, cryogenically freezing their corpses and using their bodies in a secret government project call "UniSols" --turning the dead men into android fighting machines. Luc and Scott are now metallic fighting members of a robot SWAT team. But Luc begin to have flashbacks to the final moments of his life in Vietnam, as does Scott, who recalls that one of his final thoughts was to kill Luc. Meanwhile, a snoopy reporter named Veronica (Ally Walker) stumbles upon the secret of the UniSols, and soon Luc is trying to save both himself and Veronica from the wrath of Scott, who is trying to kill them both. All of the action culminates in a wild chase between a prison bus and a UniSols van, racing around hairpin turns on desert precipices. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, (more)
Andrew Davis directed this exciting thriller starring Steven Seagal, sans ponytail, and featuring electric, over-the-top performances by Gary Busey and Tommy Lee Jones. This action saga takes place on the battleship USS Missouri, about to be decommissioned from service after a visit from George Bush. When Bush departs the vessel, a band of terrorists overcome the remaining skeleton crew and take over the ship, under the ruse of holding a surprise birthday party for the ship's commander, Captain Adams (Patrick O'Neal). The band is led by Strannix (Jones), a disgruntled ex-CIA operative, and his right-hand man, the psychotic Krill (Busey). The terrorists plan to steal the ship's store of nuclear warheads, transfer them to a stolen North Korean submarine, and sell them to a Middle Eastern country. Unfortunately for Strannix, he has overlooked the ship's cook, Casey Ryback (Seagal). Ryback is a much-honored Navy SEAL who, because of a minor scandal, is quietly completing his twenty-year tour in the galley of the Missouri. Forced into action, Ryback, along with the woman who jumped out of Captain Adams' birthday cake (Erika Eleniak), knocks off the bad guys one-by-one while crawling inside the bowels of the ship. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, (more)
- 1990
- PG
Malcolm McDowell stars as Albert Schweitzer in this biographical account of the Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian's years as an African missionary, as he establishes a hospital despite the medical superstitions of the local tribesmen. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malcolm McDowell, Helen Jessop, (more)
The Package, a thriller involving political assassination and intrigue, is an excellent action feature using a familiar theme and providing good performances by the cast. Boyette (Tommy Lee Jones) is a prisoner entrusted to Gallagher (Gene Hackman) for transportation back to the United States. Boyette escapes and Gallagher must find him. In doing so, Gallagher finds himself getting into far more than he had bargained for as he becomes involved in a political assignation plot that he must stop. Both Hackman and Jones are excellent in reprising familiar roles. Hackman is never better than when portraying the decent man in a precarious position, and Jones plays Boyette with the same cunning and intelligence that he brought to The Executioner's Song. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy, (more)
Martial arts hero Steven Seagal developed, co-wrote, co-produced, choreographed, and debuted in this thrill ride -- a cop film with more attitude, and more plot, than its star had duties on the set. Seagal is Nico Toscani, an Italian immigrant, American patriot, ex-CIA agent, aikido specialist, and unorthodox Chicago policeman. He is as committed to his job as he is to his personalized brand of justice: expert and thorough bone-crushing. When the FBI orders his squad to ignore the mysterious shipment of military explosives they seized from a notorious narcotics dealer, Nico defiantly pursues his own investigation. With the help of his partner Jax (Pam Grier), he sifts through a tangled web of Catholic priests, illegal immigrants, and trained assassins to uncover a drug cartel run directly out of the CIA by an official named Zagon Henry Silva. Nico remembers the man from his CIA days in Vietnam, when Zagon used the agency (and the war) as a front for smuggling opium. At the time, Nico was too outranked to thwart him, but he will no longer let Zagon abuse his position to remain immune from prosecution -- especially now that the official has plans to murder a U.S. senator. Zagon may be above the law of most men, but he is certainly not above Nico's. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Seagal, Pam Grier, (more)
Not to be confused with the 1960 film of the same name, this fast-paced karate action flick stars Chuck Norris, still riding high on his karate film successes of the early '80s, and several years away from starting his popular Walker: Texas Ranger TV series. In this story he plays Eddie Cusak, a painfully honest police sergeant who just misses pulling off a drug bust -- it seems another gang got there before him, wiped out the competition, and made off with a fortune in white powder. A bad move -- this means nothing less than all-out war between the two rival gangs, with the police caught in the middle. Cusak has other problems as well, one of his team killed an innocent bystander during the raid and he is duty-bound to squelch any cover-up. With enemies on both sides of the law, he then has to take on the drug cartel with nothing more than cannons, machine guns, shotguns, pistols, a robot car, and other sundry artillery to help him out. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, Henry Silva, (more)
- 1984
The original "honor student by day, hooker by night" melodrama, Angel stars Donna Wilkes in the title role. During the daylight hours, the 15-year-old Angel is known as Molly, a model prep school student. Devoid of parents, Molly must find some way to keep up the cash flow, so she hits the Hollywood mean streets as a prostitute. While we thankfully don't see Angel "in action", as it were, the film makes up in violence what it lacks in raw sex. Psycho John Diehl is on the loose murdering prostitutes; detective Cliff Gorman tries to stem the murder spree, but soon the hooker ranks are sorely diminished, leaving Angel the next likely target. With the help of such friends as ex-cowboy star Rory Calhoun and transvestite Dick Shawn, Angel manages to avoid becoming a statistic. We're not giving anything away here: after all, there was a 1986 sequel, Avenging Angel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff Gorman, Susan Tyrrell, (more)
Jon Chardiet plays a Puerto Rican youth who targets subway walls for his graffiti renderings. For a while, it looks as though Chardiet's problems will carry the plotline, but before long the film's true raison d'etre comes to the surface. Rap-music deejay Guy Davis, in tandem with such like-minded individuals as music student Rae Dawn Chong, endeavor to stage a huge breakdancing presentation, featuring several musical artistes of the period. Harry Belafonte served as coproducer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis, (more)
This mediocre slasher film from director Andrew Davis is worth watching more for its cast than for its cliched story. The film is set in the usual isolated forest, where a ratty-looking killer (who seems to be covered with Spanish moss) makes survival difficult for some foul-tempered campers. Among the doomed are future luminaries Rachel Ward, Daryl Hannah, and Adrian Zmed. The leaders, played by Joe Pantoliano and Mark Metcalf, are some of the most irritating characters in any 1980s slasher film, bickering until they sound like tenderfoot versions of Barnes and Elias from Platoon. The characters' constant ill temper is designed to add to the tension, but serves only as a distraction. The murders are low-key and dull, save for Metcalf's well-handled death scene, and the obligatory "telling of the legend" is less spooky than obnoxious. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Friedrich, Adrian Zmed, (more)
The protagonists of Over the Edge are the teen-aged offspring of the residents of a planned suburban community. This bland little town has been designed with conformity in mind, and with no thought of making the kids' lives worth living. Even worse, there is very little opportunity for any of the teens to grow "out" of the community and live elsewhere. Consequently, the kids rebel by drinking themselves sick, dealing in drugs, and indulging in deadly violence. Inasmuch as the local cops are predisposed to beat the teens into submission, the kids retaliate by directing their frustrations at the Law; the results are tragic, to be sure, but in no way predictable. Over the Edge struck as sensitive a nerve with young 1970s moviegoers as Rebel Without a Cause did with their 1950s forebears. Matt Dillon made his screen debut in Over the Edge, distinguishing himself in an ensemble cast that also includes Vincent Spano, Andy Romano and Ellen Geer. The screenplay was written by Charles Haas and Tim Hunter; the soundtrack songs feature the Ramones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Dillon, Michael Kramer, (more)
- 1978
- PG
This independent project was originally released as My Main Man From Stony Island. Filmed in Chicago, the story involves a group of multiracial rhythm-and-blues performers, and how they're affected by the death of veteran blues musician (Gene Barge). As a bonus, the films takes excellent photographic advantage of the Windy City. Stony Island proved an auspicious directorial debut for cinematographer Andrew Davis, who went back behind cameras for a series of action films, then returned to directing for another brilliant Chicago-based opus, The Fugitive (93). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Davis, Edward "Stony" Robinson, (more)
A mad surgeon finds himself up to his armpits in eyeballs after guilt prompts him to begin removing the eyes of abducted people in hopes of performing transplants on his daughter Nancy who lost her own in a traffic accident he caused. The real horror begins when the people he disfigured rise up from the dungeon where he keeps them captive to get revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1975
- R
Tony Curtis stars as the feared leader of "Murder Incorporated" in this underworld drama based on the life of Louis "Lepke" Buchalter. Lepke began his criminal career as a petty thief in his teens; a stretch in prison taught him the finer points of life on the wrong side of the law. After getting out of jail, Lepke and his pal Gurrah Shapiro (Warren Berlinger) join a gang who hire themselves out as strikebreakers, and the vicious but clever Lepke soon rises through the ranks. Lepke makes powerful friends with mob kingpins "Lucky" Luciano (Vic Tayback) and Albert Anastasia (Gianni Russo), and when high-ranking but deranged gangster "Dutch" Schultz (John Durren) announces he's going to kill District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey (Richard C. Adams), Lepke is chosen to rub "Dutch" out. Lepke handles the assignment well, and he's able to strike up a deal with the various Mafia families -- he'll form a separate organization to handle executions and assassinations, and he'll hire out his services to any mobsters who need it, provided the mob bosses approve the killings. Between "Murder Incorporated" and a drug ring operated with Luciano, Lepke has become a wealthy and important man in the underworld, but ironically he finds soon himself himself investigated by the man whose life he unwittingly saved -- Dewey. Lepke also features comedian and impressionist Vaughn Meader as the voice of Walter Winchell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Anjanette Comer, (more)
