Michael De Luca Movies
With his name attached to some of the most successful films of the 1990s, film producer Michael De Luca built a career while teaming with some of the biggest names in the business. The Brooklyn native's electrician father fed his son's love of film early on by sneaking him into local movie theaters, and soon after skipping the eighth grade, De Luca enrolled in the N.Y.U. film studies program at the age of 17. Inspired by such filmmakers as George Lucas and Martin Scorsese, De Luca abandoned his education just four credits shy of graduation to accept an unpaid internship at New Line Cinema, where he was taken under the wing of New Line founder Robert Shaye. De Luca had the good fortune to be involved with A Nightmare on Elm Street -- the film that would ultimately put the fledgling production company on the map -- and he was soon promoted to director of development at New Line; by the age of 29, he was a production executive.New Line was acquired by Ted Turner and Time-Warner shortly thereafter.De Luca gained a reputation for using his funds efficiently, and his subsequent involvement in the production of The Mask finally established him as a true Hollywood player. Such films as Dumb and Dumber (1994) and Seven (1995) launched both his career and New Line's, reputation, but subsequent failures, including Last Man Standing and The Island of Dr. Moreau (both 1996) -- and his ejection from an industry party for public indecency -- threatened to sidetrack him. Though he was teetering on oblivion, De Luca was soon back on track after friends and co-workers voiced concerns about his erratic behavior. It wasn't long before he was once again reliving the success of his prime, and with such releases as Boogie Nights (1997), Pleasantville (1998), and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the studio was more successful than ever. In 2002 and 2003, De Luca made Premiere magazine's "Power 100" list, and, in 2003, he left New Line to become the president of production at DreamWorks Pictures. In addition to his work as a producer, De Luca wrote screenplays for such films as Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) and In the Mouth of Madness (1994). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
- Add Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare to QueueAdd Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare to top of Queue
The producers insisted that this sixth entry in the Nightmare on Elm Street series marked the last; no points for guessing that additional sequels followed. This time, homicidal wraith Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) decides to extend his reign of terror past Elm Street. His agent-on-earth is his own long-lost daughter Maggie (Lisa Zane, sister of Phantom star Billy Zane). Securing a job as a dream therapist for troubled teens, Maggie is able to "open up" the minds of her patients so that Freddy can exercise his usual bloody prerogative. In a garish, 3-D climax, Freddy himself becomes the victim of the vengeful Maggie. Since what happens in this picture is laid out in the title, we can't possibly be accused of giving the ending away. Watch for cameos from Roseanne and her then-husband Tom Arnold, Alice Cooper, Elinor Donahue, and Johnny Depp, one of the stars of the very first Nightmare. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, (more)
Laurence Fishburne plays no-nonsense LAPD narc Russell Stevens, Jr., who has worked all his life to expunge the memory of his dope-addict father, whom he saw die in a liquor-store robbery. DEA agent Jerry Carver (Charles Martin Smith) orders Stevens to work as an undercover operative on a major case. The cop is to pose as a dealer in order to get the goods on South American drug lord. Stevens is so convincing as a dealer, that he fast works his way up through the ranks and gains the trust of lawyer and narcotics dealer David Jason (Jeff Goldblum) and his sinister associates, all lackeys to the kingpin who is the target of Stevens' assignment. Through a series of fantastic but credible circumstances, Stevens eliminates the lower echelon, getting closer to his quarry, but in the process he finds himself so deep into the sinister and seductive world of the drug trade that he may never get out. In a surprise move, and just when he is about to bring the ringleader down, the DEA pulls the plug on his assignment, because the top dealer, an influential Latin American politician, may someday be useful to the State Department. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, (more)
- 1993
- PG13
- Add National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 to QueueAdd National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 to top of Queue
The Lethal Weapon series and the rest of the buddy-cop genre receives the parody treatment in this low-brow comedy. Emilio Estevez stars as Jack Colt, the Mel Gibson-like loose cannon, while Samuel L. Jackson assumes the Danny Glover role as Wes Luger, his exasperated partner. Together, Colt and Luger investigate the murder of Luger's former partner (Whoopi Goldberg) and discover a criminal conspiracy led by the nefarious General Mortars (William Shatner). Hoping to mimic the success of the Naked Gun films, director Gene Quintano (of Police Academy 4 fame) loaded the film with broad visual gags, deadpan slapstick, and gratuitous parodies of The Silence of the Lambs, Basic Instinct, and other movies. The attempt to mimic successful parodies proved ineffective, however, as critics and viewers alike found the parody stale and the juvenile humor dreary. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emilio Estevez, Samuel L. Jackson, (more)
Hired to help locate a missing author, an insurance investigator discovers to his terror that the nightmarish events depicted in the writer's best-selling horror novels are coming true. Wishing to be both a horror film and a parody of the genre, John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness combines supernatural thrills with winking references. For instance, the vanished author, Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow), is modeled on writers like Stephen King and Howard Phillips Lovecraft, from his great popularity to his obsession with small-town New England. Indeed, it is to one such hamlet that investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) and Cane's female editor (Julie Carmen) travel, discovering a town filled with terrifying scenes right out of Cane's books, from random axe murders to far worse. Have Cane's fans gone psychotic and begun imitating his writings, or are Cane's stories of an otherworldly evil invading the earth actually true? In the Mouth of Madness's mix of self-referential satire and real frights anticipates the later Scream (1996). ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, (more)
Hyperactive mayhem results when a mild-manned banker discovers an ancient mask that transforms him into a zany prankster with superhuman powers in this special-effects-intensive comedy. The wildly improvisational Jim Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, a decent-hearted but socially awkward guy who one night finds a strange mask. Carrey's trademark energy reveals itself after Stanley puts on the mask and the banker transforms into The Mask, a green-skinned, zoot-suited fireball. The rubber-faced Mask possesses the courage to do the wild, fun things that Stanley fears, including romancing Tina Carlyle (Cameron Diaz). In addition to Carrey's physical talents, the film makes effective use of digital visual effects that bestow the Mask with superhuman speed, insane flexibility, and popping eyes out of a Tex Avery cartoon. The larger narrative, involving the efforts of Tina's gangster boyfriend to destroy Stanley and use the mask's powers for evil, prove less interesting than the anarchic comic set pieces, including a particularly memorable dance number to "Cuban Pete." The film delivered enough laughs to become a surprise hit and, along with the same year's Dumb and Dumber, establish Carrey's status as a comedy superstar. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, (more)
A violent, effects-heavy science fiction adventure, Judge Dredd depicts a nightmarish future in which overcrowded cities are terrorized by brutal gun battles and policed by "Judges," law officers who act as judge, jury, and executioner. Sylvester Stallone stars as Judge Dredd, a punishing enforcer with an unswerving dedication to law and order. Little does Dredd know that a nasty villain (Armand Assante) and a corrupt Judge (Jurgen Prochnow) are plotting to take over the city and plan to frame Dredd for murder in order to prevent him from interfering. Dredd winds up in prison, but he fights back with the help of Judge Hershey (Diane Lane), his partner and romantic interest, and Fergie (Rob Schneider), his friend and comic relief, developing a plan to clear his name and stop the bad guys. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Armand Assante, (more)
A psychiatrist treats a most unusual patient, only to find that the doctor is the one who gains the most from their sessions in this philosophical romantic comedy. A young man in a mask and cape (played by Johnny Depp) is standing atop a billboard, threatening to jump. When the potential suicide is finally talked down, he's brought to a psychiatric facility where after one doctor washes his hands of the case, he's placed under the supervision of Dr. Jack Mickler (Marlon Brando), an aging psychiatrist soon to retire. The patient informs Mickler that he is actually the great lover Don Juan, who has seduced over 1,500 women, but has fallen into a deep depression after being unable to win the hand of the woman of his dreams. Mickler has ten days to work with "Don Juan," after which he will either be released on medication or committed to a long-term stay in a mental hospital. As Mickler talks with the young man, who speaks rapturously of the art of love, the doctor finds that his philosophies are helping to kick start his failing relationship with his wife (Faye Dunaway), and he slowly becomes convinced that his patient might really be Don Juan after all. Don Juan DeMarco's theme song, "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman," became a major hit for singer and songwriter Bryan Adams; after working with Marlon Brando on this film, Johnny Depp cast the legendary actor in a key supporting role in his directorial debut, The Brave. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, (more)
An ordinary woman discovers that her life was not always ordinary in this action thriller. Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) is a typical, well-mannered single mother working as a schoolteacher when she isn't looking after her children. Nothing on the surface would seem to be remarkable about Samantha's life, but every once in a while she has vague memories and unexplained impulses that don't add up with her current life experience; she has scars but no idea of how they got there, she suddenly displays a deadly talent for knife-throwing while chopping vegetables for dinner, and when she sees a deer, she suddenly attacks it with her bare hands. When an auto accident and a television news broadcast stirs some more uncomfortable memories, Samantha hires private investigator Mitch Hennessey (Samuel L. Jackson) to look into her past and see what he can find. Mitch learns that Samantha isn't really Samantha after all -- her name is Charley and she used to be a professional assassin with a secret government intelligence program. After a severe head injury, Charley developed a case of amnesia, and in time she developed her new personality as Samantha. However, her old boss has kept tabs on her, and now that it looks as if the old Charley is starting to come out again, he sends a pair of hit men after her to see to it that she doesn't remember anything else; soon Samantha and Mitch are on the run, trying to outdistance the killers as they get to the bottom of Charley's secret life. The Long Kiss Goodnight was directed by Renny Harlin, husband of leading lady Geena Davis; this was their second project together, following Cutthroat Island, released the previous year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, (more)
The traditions of the western and the gangster film meet head-on in this dark crime drama. Jericho is a small town in Texas that in the 1920s looks much like it did in the 1860s, except that two violent gangs of rival bootleggers have driven away nearly all of the citizens not involved in the booze racket. Strozzi (Ned Eisenberg) leads a gang of Italian rum-runners with the help of his right-hand-man Giorgio (Michael Imperioli), while Doyle (David Patrick Kelly) is the head of an Irish mob, with Hickey (Christopher Walken) serving as his enforcer; the town's sheriff, Ed Galt (Bruce Dern) is powerless to stop the crime in Jericho, and he mainly tries to stay out of the way and keep an uneasy peace between Strozzi and Doyle. John Smith (Bruce Willis) is a ruthless and amoral gunman on the run from the law who passes through Jericho on his way to Mexico. Sizing up the situation, Smith quickly hatches a scheme by which he'll sell his services first to one of the gangs, and then the other, eventually turning the two sides against each other while he stays in the middle and takes the profits generated by both sides. Writer and director Walter Hill based his screenplay on Akira Kurosawa's classic samurai picture Yojimbo, which also inspired Sergio Leone's ground-breaking spaghetti western A Fistful of Dollars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, (more)
While set within the milieu of the Los Angeles adult film industry, Boogie Nights is less a film about pornography than the serio-comic story of a group of misfits, losers, and lost souls who are embraced by Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), a director who makes "adult films, exotic motion pictures." In 1977, while hanging out at a disco, Jack spots Eddie (Mark Wahlberg), the new busboy at the club, and tells him he's convinced "there's something wonderful inside those jeans waiting to get out." Jack knows his business well and his expert eye has not betrayed him; Eddie is a pornographer's dream -- good looking, remarkably endowed, and willing and able to do as many takes as might be needed. The product of a woefully dysfunctional upbringing, Eddie is not terribly bright but is very ambitious and eager to prove he has a "special something" to share with the world. Eddie changes his name to Dirk Diggler and quickly becomes the biggest star in hardcore. Working alongside "Dirk" in Jack's films are Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), a porn actress who applies her misplaced maternal instincts to anyone who needs nurturing; Rollergirl (Heather Graham), a cheerful but blank-faced high school drop-out who never removes her roller skates; Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), a none-too-bright actor, aspiring magician, and failing songwriter; Buck (Don Cheadle), a black actor fascinated with cowboy iconography who wants to open a stereo shop; Scotty J (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a stocky and awkward soundman infatuated with Dirk; Little Bill (William H. Macy), Jack's assistant director, who has trouble dealing with his wife's brazen infidelity; and Colonel James (Robert Ridgely), Jack's backer, who has a weakness for young girls. In the brief, late-'70s moment when porn was chic and sex films seemed poised to break into the mainstream, Dirk becomes a star and Jack a respected name. But a few years later, drugs and pride have taken their toll on Dirk and many of his friends, while the advent of the VCR radically changes the adult movie business; Jack goes from being a "filmmaker" to manufacturing and wholesaling videocassettes, a wealthy but emotionally broken man. In his second film, wunderkind director Paul Thomas Anderson juggled a broad range of characters in a manner reminiscent of Robert Altman's ensemble films, making Boogie Nights a sad but funny story of a makeshift family of damaged people and what happens before and after their brief moment in the sun. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, (more)
In a 29-day shoot, Barry Levinson filmed this $15 million political and media satire, adapted by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet from Larry Beinhart's novel, American Hero. Two weeks prior to re-election, the President (Michael Belson) is accused of cornering an underage girl in the Oval Office. To keep the media from learning of this, Presidential adviser Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) brings in political consultant and spin doctor Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro), a specialist in such salvage operations. Brean suggests fabricating denials of non-existent emergencies -- such as denials about the B-3 bomber. The denial, of course, is true, since no B-3 bomber exists. Brean visits the mansion of Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman) and gives him the assignment to create a patriotic campaign centered around a war in Albania. Motss assembles a creative team -- Liz Butsky (Andrea Martin), the trend-setter Fad King (Denis Leary), and songwriter Johnny Green (Willie Nelson). Treated like an ad campaign, the songs and symbols are transmitted directly from a Hollywood soundstage to CNN. The star of their campaign is a "rescued" pilot -- in reality, a psychotic military prisoner (Woody Harrelson), who's a ticking time bomb. The flag-waving song, "The American Dream" was written for the film by Tom Bahler (who co-wrote "We Are the World"). Beinhart's original novel involved a real President (Bush), a real war (the Gulf War), and the premise that George Bush and Saddam Hussein staged it. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, (more)
A man's brief fling threatens to ruin what he values most in life in this drama. Max Carlyle (Wesley Snipes) lives in California, where he has a successful career directing television commercials and is happily married to Mimi (Ming-Na Wen), with whom he has two children. While visiting New York City, Max meets Karen (Nastassja Kinski) by chance after missing a flight; circumstances keep bringing them together over the course of the evening, and they end up spending the night making love. When he returns home, Max seems distant and unhappy, though Mimi can't tell why and Max won't say. A year later, Max and Mimi fly to New York to visit his close friend Charlie (Robert Downey, Jr.), who is in the last stages of an AIDS-related illness. Max meets Charlie's brother Vernon (Kyle MacLachlan) and is introduced to his new wife -- Karen. Facing Karen sends Max into an emotional tailspin, and he realizes that he must tell Mimi the truth about his indiscretion. Writer/director Mike Figgis adapted One Night Stand from a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas, though Figgis' changes were so extensive that Eszterhas chose to remove his name from the project. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wesley Snipes, Nastassja Kinski, (more)
In this broad fish-out-of-water comedy, Nisi (Halle Berry) and Mickey (Natalie Desselle) are African-American women with two ambitions -- marry rich men who will give them lots of money, and open the world's first combination hair salon and soul food restaurant. However, eligible bachelors and business opportunities are in short supply in Decatur, Georgia, so when Nisi hears rapper Heavy D is auditioning dancers in Los Angeles for an upcoming video and concert tour, the pair hit the road for California. They fail the audition but are approached by a man named Antonio (Luigi Amodeo) with a business proposition. Antonio is the chauffeur for Mr. Blakemore (Martin Landau), a millionaire in poor health. As a young man, Mr. Blakemore was in love with a black maid who worked in his household; Antonio and Blakemore's nephew Isaac (Jonathan Fried) think Nisi bears a resemblance to the girl Blakemore once loved, so they offer her a hefty payment plus room and board to pose as the granddaughter of Blakemore's lost love. Nisi and Mickey believe that this ruse is intended to make Blakemore feel better, but in fact Isaac wants to get his hands on his uncle's fortune, and he hopes that Nisi's presence will make him easier to manipulate. Meanwhile, Nisi and Mickey look like a hurricane that hit a cut-rate clothing store, so manservant Manley (Ian Richardson) teaches them social graces and gives them advice on how to dress. In time, Manley and Mr. Blakemore become friends with Nisi and Mickey; the men learn to be less stuffy and enjoy life, while the ladies become more respectable. B.A.P.S. stands for "Black American Princesses." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Halle Berry, Martin Landau, (more)
Alex Proyas (The Crow) directed this noir-styled futuristic thriller, scripted by Proyas, Lem Dobbs (Kafka), and David S. Goyer (The Puppet Masters). Separated from his wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly), amnesiac John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakens alone in a strange hotel to learn he is wanted for a series of brutal killings -- but he can't remember if he did or didn't commit these murders. Indeed, most of his memories have completely vanished, and he becomes the focus of interest for both mad genius Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland) and sympathetic detective Frank Bumstead (William Hurt). Attempting to unravel the twisted riddle of his identity, Murdoch encounters a group of ominous beings known as the Strangers, shadow-like figures who have a collective memory and possess the ability to stop time and alter physical reality through a process called The Tuning. Focusing their minds, they are able to change the size and shape of the material world. Murdoch manages to stay a step ahead of his adversaries as he slowly jigsaws together the puzzle of his past-bittersweet memories of his childhood, his love for Emma, and the key to the murders -- while following a labyrinth leading to the Strangers' Underworld, a set inspired by Fritz Lang's Metropolis. Rufus Sewell commented on the Underworld: "When Alex first sent me the sketches for that set, I was more excited than I had been when I read the script. The Underworld was truly remarkable -- a little bit scary, very thrilling, and full of hundreds of bald people." At the Fox Film Studios in Sydney, Australia, where 50 sets were built, three months were spent constructing the set for the Underworld, the largest indoor set ever built in Australia. The production design by George Liddle (Rapa Nui) and Patrick Tatopoulos (Godzilla, Space: Above and Beyond) is a composite of different styles and eras, combining the look of 1940s Manhattan with German Expressionism. The music is by Trevor Jones (G.I. Jane). The film's dedication reads: "In Memory of Dennis Potter with gratitude and admiration." ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
Gary Ross, Oscar nominated for his Dave and Big screenplays, made his directorial debut with this comedy. The cheerful '50s TV sitcom "Pleasantville" is revived in the '90s for a loyal cable audience. One devoted fan is shy suburban teen David Wagner (Tobey Maguire), who has an almost obsessive interest in the series. Living with his divorced mother (Jane Kaczmarek), David sometimes has disputes with his ultra-hip twin sister Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon). She wants to watch MTV just when a Pleasantville marathon is about to begin. They struggle over the remote control, and it breaks. A strange TV repairman (Don Knotts) supplies their new remote, a potent high-tech device which zaps David and Jennifer inside Pleasantville, where their new sitcom parents are businessman George Parker (William H. Macy) and wife Betty (Joan Allen). As "Bud" and "Mary Sue," the teens take up residence in a black-and-white suburbia where sex does not exist and the temperature is always 72 degrees. Life is always pleasant, books have no words, bathrooms have no toilets, married couples sleep in twin beds, the high school basketball team always wins, and nobody ever questions "The Good Life." David revels in Pleasantville's Prozac-styled peacefulness. He fits right in, but Jennifer's 1990s attitude upsets the blandness balance, painting parts of Pleasantville in "living color." Repressed desires surface, cracks appear in the '50s lifestyles, and the Pleasantville populace finds their lives changing in strange, wonderful ways. It's liberating -- but there's also a darker side. This film breaks an all-time record with more than 1700 special effects shots. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, (more)
This $90 million science fiction adventure is adapted from the television series, created by Irwin Allen, which originally ran on CBS from 1965 to 1968. The original series employed a Swiss Family Robinson in outer space premise; sent to colonize a planet in the Alpha Centauri system, the Robinson family was thrown off course by a stowaway and was left wandering from planet to planet (and changing along the way from a black-and-white series to a color series). The 1998 remake is set in the year 2058, when the United Global Space Force sends Professor John Robinson (William Hurt) and family -- wife Maureen (Mimi Rogers), daughter Judy (Heather Graham), teen Penny (Lacey Chabert), and 10-year-old Will (Jack Johnson) -- on a promotional space jaunt to herald the "offshore" future for the human race (now saddled with eco problems on Earth). Major Don West (Matt LeBlanc), more accustomed to fighting menacing Global Sedition forces, is reluctant to sign on as the Jupiter II pilot but quickly changes his mind after he gets a good look at Judy in her fetish-fashioned space togs. Space spy Dr. Smith (Gary Oldman), hired to sabotage the mission, programs in problems but winds up aboard the craft unconscious. Once awake, he summons the Robinsons from suspended animation, and they save the ship just in time, passing through hyperspace to arrive near an Earth ship where they encounter space-pet Blawp and hordes of teethy spiders. A spider bite makes the villainous Smith mutate, one of some 750 special effects, from animatronics (Jim Henson Creature Shop) to CGI, and other adventures await throughout the galaxy. Cameos include actors from the original series, including June Lockhart and Robot Voice Dick Tufeld. In a curious coincidence, the TV series took place in the future of 1997, the year this movie was produced. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, (more)
Tony Kaye made his feature directorial debut with this dramatic exploration into the roots of race hatred in America. In a shocking opening scene, teen Danny Vinyard (Edward Furlong) races to tell his older brother, neo-Nazi Derek (Edward Norton), about the young blacks breaking into his car in front of the house, whereupon Derek gets his gun and with no forethought shoots the youths in their tracks. Tried and convicted, Derek is sent away for three years in prison, where he acquires a different outlook as he contrasts white-power prisoners with black Lamont (Guy Torry), his prison laundry co-worker and eventual pal. Meanwhile, Danny, with a shaved head and a rebellious attitude, seems destined to follow in his big brother's footsteps. After Danny writes a favorable review of Hitler's Mein Kampf, black high-school principal Sweeney (Avery Brooks) puts Danny in his private "American History X" course and assigns him to do a paper about his older brother, who was a former student of Sweeney's. This serves to introduce flashbacks, with the film backtracking to illustrate Danny's account of Derek's life prior to the night of the shooting. Monochrome sequences of Derek leading a Venice, California gang are intercut with color footage of the mature Derek ending his past neo-Nazi associations and attempting to detour Danny away from the group led by white supremacist, Cameron (Stacy Keach), who once influenced Derek. Director Tony Kaye, with a background in TV commercials and music videos, filmed in L.A. beach communities. Rated R "for graphic brutal violence including rape, pervasive language, strong sexuality and nudity." ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, (more)
In this romantic comedy, Chris O'Donnell plays Jimmie, the grandson of an eccentric millionaire. At the reading of his grandfather's will, Jimmie learns that he stands to inherit $100 million on his 30th birthday. There's only one stipulation: Jimmie has to be married to get the money. And he is going to turn 30 in 24 hours. Jimmie and his sweetheart (Renee Zellweger) have already been talking about marriage, but she thinks it's wrong to marry for the money. The Bachelor co-stars James Cromwell, Brooke Shields, and singer Mariah Carey in her acting debut. This story was filmed before in Buster Keaton's silent classic, Seven Chances. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris O'Donnell, Renée Zellweger, (more)
Are you ready for the hottest band in the land? It's 1978 in Detroit, and pretty much any teenager who isn't a total wimp is totally stoked for the upcoming Kiss concert (as anyone who ever listened to Kiss Alive! knows, Detroit has always loved this band). But four proud members of the Kiss Army find themselves without tickets to the show, and one has to deal with a mother who is convinced that Kiss and their music are evil incarnate. Will they be able to foil scalpers, security, and paranoid parents to witness the fire-spitting, blood-puking, hard rock frenzy that is Kiss on stage? Detroit Rock City stars Edward Furlong, Sam Huntington, Natasha Lyonne, Giuseppe Andrews, and James DeBello as the representative members of the Teenage Nation; the original four members of Kiss (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss) play themselves, and Simmons also co-produced. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Furlong, Giuseppe Andrews, (more)
- 1999
- PG13
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Austin Powers -- fashion photographer, denizen of Swingin' London, international espionage agent, and bane of dental hygienists everywhere -- returns in his second screen adventure. Powers (once again played by Mike Myers), a 1960s superspy stranded in the 1990s, discovers that his nemesis, criminal genius Dr. Evil (also Mike Myers), has somehow stolen his "mojo" (the secret to his otherwise inexplicable sex appeal) and traveled back in time to the 1960s as part of his latest fiendish scheme. Powers must also travel back in time to retrieve it, but if Austin doesn't quite fit into 1998, he's been there just long enough not to fit in in 1968 anymore, either. Powers also discovers that Dr. Evil has new allies this time: Mini-Me (Verne Troyer), a clone of Dr. Evil one-eighth his size but just as nasty; Fat Bastard (Myers yet again), whose name describes him just fine; and vixenish assassin Robin Swallows (Gia Carides). Powers' lack of mojo also proves troublesome when he's paired with his new partner, saucy CIA operative Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham). Other characters returning from the first film include Elizabeth Hurley as Vanessa Kensington, Robert Wagner as Number Two, Michael York as Basil Exposition, Seth Green as Scott Evil, and Mindy Sterling as Frau Farbissina. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me also includes cameo appearances from Tim Robbins, Jerry Springer, Woody Harrelson, and Burt Bacharach with his current songwriting partner, Elvis Costello. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mike Myers, Heather Graham, (more)
Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson followed his critical and commercial breakthrough Boogie Nights with this wildly ambitious story of lives intertwining on a single day in California's San Fernando Valley. Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), a successful producer of television game shows, left his wife when she contracted cancer to marry the younger and more beautiful Linda (Julianne Moore). Now, Earl has cancer himself, and Linda spends her day fetching medicines and trying to deal with the imminent death of her husband, whom she has only now come to love. Earl asks his nurse Phil (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to arrange a meeting with his estranged son, Frank Mackey (Tom Cruise), known for his self-help program "Seduce and Destroy," in which he preaches the importance of male sexual prowess; he cared for his mother after Earl left her, and he has no desire to see his father again. Earl's best-known show is hosted by Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), who also learns that he is dying. Jimmy's show pits bright adults against unusually smart kids; one of Jimmy's child contestants, Stanley (Jeremy Blackman), arrives late for a taping after being left stranded by his father Rick (Michael Bowen), who is supported by his more successful son. Meanwhile, Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), who was a champ on Jimmy's show as a child, is not having as much luck as an adult; he's just lost his job and needs to pay for some expensive dental work. Jimmy wants to reconcile with his estranged and emotionally fragile daughter Claudia (Melora Walters), who despises him and who will become involved with well-meaning police officer Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly), who has been desperately lonely since his divorce three years ago. Magnolia reunites much of the cast and crew of Boogie Nights and features eight original songs by singer/songwriter Aimee Mann and a musical score by Jon Brion. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Robards, Jr., Julianne Moore, (more)
After making his directorial debut with the acclaimed made-for-cable movie Gia, writer Michael Cristofer helmed his first big-screen offering with this drama. When eight men and women in their early-to-mid-20s head out for a night on the town, hopping from one Los Angeles club to the next, not everything goes as planned as they discover the joys and perils of dating at the end of the 20th Century. Body Shots shifts among the perspectives of its eight characters, played by Sean Patrick Flanery, Ron Livingston, Jerry O'Connell, Amanda Peet, Emily Procter, Tara Reid, Brad Rowe, and Sybil Temchen. The film had a number of titles during production, including The Night Before and Jello Shots, the latter of which was reportedly axed to avoid legal problems with the company that makes the gelatin dessert product. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Patrick Flanery, Jerry O'Connell, (more)
The youngest child of the family often has the most problems -- so why should things be different for the Prince of Darkness and his offspring? Satan (Harvey Keitel) is considering retirement, and is pondering which of his sons should take over the family business -- ambitious Adrian (Rhys Ifans), strapping Cassius (Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr.), or Nicky (Adam Sandler), an accident-prone demon who prefers to stay in his room playing his favorite heavy metal tunes. When Satan decides to stay on for another 10,000 years, Adrian is outraged, and leaves Hell to go to New York, where he and Cassius attempt to round up enough souls to vote Satan out of power. Satan, understandably upset, sends Nicky to bring Adrian and Cassius back home, but Nicky finds life on Earth is more complicated than he expected. Things don't get any easier when he develops a crush on Valerie (Patricia Arquette), a good-hearted mortal woman. Little Nicky also features Michael McKean as a city official trying to put Nicky behind bars, Kevin Nealon as Hell's gatekeeper, Rodney Dangerfield as Satan's father, Robert Smigel as the voice of Beefy -- a talking dog who is Nicky's guide on earth, Allen Covert as Todd -- Nicky's new roommate, and Peter Dante and Jonathan Loughran as a pair of metalheads who dig Satan. Jon Lovitz and Reese Witherspoon play cameo roles, and Regis Philbin and Ozzy Osbourne appear as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Sandler, Patricia Arquette, (more)
Director Roger Donaldson teams up with star Kevin Costner for another political thriller (after their 1987 pairing, No Way Out), only this time with a film based on the actual events surrounding the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, taking place during the titular thirteen days wherein the U.S. and the Soviet Union nearly engaged in full-scale nuclear war. After President John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood) is shown photographs from a spy plane detailing the presence of missiles in Cuba capable of obliterating massive areas of the U.S., he must immediately decide the most effective course of action for the country. With the aid of best friend and special assistant Kenny O'Donnell (Kevin Costner) and brother Robert (Steven Culp), the President must avoid a dire chain of events that could be dictated by General Curtis LeMay (Kevin Conway), who would rather take immediate action and invade Cuba. After initial reticence about leaking the information to the nation, President Kennedy eventually tells of the conflict, leading to widespread panic and a blockade of Cuba. With the aid of Robert McNamara (Dylan Baker) and Adlai Stevenson (Michael Fairman), the leaders must find a way to alleviate the tension of the situation. Thirteen Days also features Walter Adrian as Lyndon Johnson. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, (more)
