Gary Goetzman Movies
Character actor and former juvenile actor Gary Goetzman first appeared onscreen in the '60s; he later became a producer. ~ All Movie Guide- 2011
The toy-to-screen adaptations continue with this Tom Hanks vehicle for Universal Pictures based on the 1960s Mattel action figure. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Emmy Award-winning director Tom Hopper takes the helm for this epic, seven-part miniseries produced by Playtone's Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, and presenting American history as seen from the perspective of fiercely independent founding father John Adams (Paul Giamatti). Based on author David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, the film tells the tale of a leader whose remarkable vision helped to guide a burgeoning republic through an especially tumultuous period. Thanks to the tireless support of his loving wife Abigail (Laura Linney), and lifelong friendship with political rivalry Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane), John Adams rose to prominence as the spokesman for the American independence movement before moving on to become America's first ambassador to Holland and England, the first American Vice President, the second American President, and the father of the sixth American President. As with McCullough's best-selling biography, the film draws on a comprehensive collection of letters, diaries, and family papers in order to create the most accurate representation of Adams' life and achievements ever captured on film. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, (more)
- 2008
Filmmaker Mark Herzog follows Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough as he travels the country to deliver a speech to legislators, ascends the same Philadelphia church's steeple tower as John Adams did two centuries prior, studies a letter written by Adams to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776, takes a trip back to his old Brooklyn neighborhood and enjoys his annual walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, and shares his uninhibited enthusiasm for writing while allowing the viewer a glimpse of the modest "world headquarters" where he does most of his work. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2006
The first American TV drama series devoted to the subject of polygamy, HBO's Big Love starred Bill Paxton as Bill Henrickson, the owner of a hardware-store chain headquartered in Salt Lake City. Although Bill was no longer an active member of the extremist Mormon sect United Effort Brotherhood, he remained married to three different women at the same time, who lived in neighboring houses with one connected backyard. Jeanne Tripplehorn played Bill's first -- and only "legal" -- wife, Barb, who loved her husband and respected his religious beliefs but wished that she could be certain that she was foremost in his heart. Wife number two, played by Chloë Sevigny, was Nicki Henrickson, who because she had grown up at the United Effort Brotherhood's Juniper Creek compound was somewhat ignorant of the ways of the outside world -- as good an explanation as any for her monumental credit-card bills. The youngest of the wives, played by Ginnifer Goodwin, was Margene Henderson, who was understandably confused and disoriented by the unique situation in her household. Because he lived and worked in a country where polygamy was a crime, Bill was forced to jump through hoops to keep his multiple-marital status a secret, thus enabling wife Nicki's father, Roman (Harry Dean Stanton), self-styled "prophet" of Juniper Creek, to blackmail Bill into giving him a sizeable chunk of his business profits. Also in the cast were Bruce Dern and Grace Zabriskie as Bill's parents, Franklin and Lois, who still lived at Juniper Creek, as did their other grown son, Joey (Shawn Doyle), who in turn had given up a promising football career to remain at the compound with his wife, Wanda (Melora Walters). Other main cast members included Daveigh Chase as Roman's new child bride, Rhonda; Joel McKinnon Miller as Bill's best friend, business partner, and fellow polygamist Don Embry; and Amanda Seyfried, Douglas Smith, and Jolean Wejbe as Bill and Barbara's children, Sarah, Ben, and Tancy. Though the basic situation was frankly nothing to laugh at, a great deal of wry and risqué humor arose from the byplay amongst the many cast members, and from the tortuously twisted plot convolutions. Created by Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer, the weekly, hour-long Big Love debuted March 12, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
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Twelve men who belong to one of the world's most exclusive fraternities -- people who've walked on the surface of the moon -- are paid homage in this documentary. Using newsreel footage, rare NASA photographs, and digitally animated re-creations, Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon examines the Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972 which put astronauts on the moon. In addition to explaining the technological know-how necessary to take our fliers to the moon, the film shares the thoughts of astronauts about what they saw and experienced in space, taken from their speeches and writings and read by a cast of distinguished actors, including Paul Newman, Morgan Freeman, Scott Glenn, Bill Paxton, and many more. Narrated by Tom Hanks (who also co-produced), Magnificent Desolation was shot and originally exhibited using the IMAX high-definition film format. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2002
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Originally filmed in an effort to raise funding for AIDS programs (and broadened to benefit the survivors of September 11, 2001), a variety of musical artists joined for a rendition of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." Politically active regulars Bono, Wyclef Jean, and Michael Stipe are among the talent, which also includesJennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Queen Latifah, Justin Timberlake, and others. This production goes behind the scenes to offer interested parties an in-depth look at the emotion and work involved in recreating Gaye's anthem to suit more recent events and musical tastes. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
When African-American professional Andrew Sterling (Samual L. Jackson) moves into a summer home on an up-tight all-white New England resort island, the snoopy white neighbors are sure he must be breaking and entering. They call the cops who get too rambunctious and break into Sterling's limo, tripping its security alarm. When Sterling shows up to stop the alarm and pulls out his keys to open the car, a skittish cop thinks he's pulling a gun and opens fire. Now things are really a mess, because not only have these cops screwed up big-time, they've screwed up big-time in an election year when their Police Chief (Dabney Coleman) just happens to be running for re-election. This mess-up smacks too much as a race-inspired melee, so Chief Tolliver arranges a cover-up to keep his reputation intact. He hires a drifter to pose as a thief so the cops will have a legitimate reason for "protecting" the vacationing Sterling. Things continue to complicate in this airbrush farce, that attempts to lighten with laughter, the delicate and combustible subject of American race relations. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, (more)
Originally prepared for European release under the title Catchfire, Backtrack wasn't given a wide distribution until 1991, and then only to capitalize on the Oscar win of Silence of the Lambs star Jodie Foster. In Backtrack, Foster plays a youngish innocent who witnesses a mob hit. Professional assassin Dennis Hopper is contracted to silence Foster for keeps. Instead, he falls in love with her. Directed by star Hopper, Backtrack has some of the feel of his earlier, better Easy Rider: the cast is populated by such old Hopper chums as Dean Stockwell, Charlie Sheen, Joe Pesci, Bob Dylan, Vincent Price and Julie Adams; and, like Easy Rider, it looks as though the story was improvised during filming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Jodie Foster, (more)
French director Roger Vadim pillages his own grave in this nominal re-make of his 1956 creamy sensation And God Created Woman -- the film that made Brigitte Bardot an international star. Unfortunately, he is unable to do the same thing for the cool and cryptic Rebecca DeMornay in this version. DeMornay plays an escaped convict who lands in the limousine of New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Frank Langella and seduces him. For some inexplicable reason, she turns into a hot singing act. DeMornay also seduces innocent stud carpenter Vincent Spano along the way and suckers the poor guy into marrying her so that she can get an early parole. But the joke is on him when she announces that their marriage does not include sexual relations. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rebecca De Mornay, Vincent Spano, (more)
Stop Making Sense was the first feature-length documentary effort of filmmaker Jonathan Demme. The director's subject is The Talking Heads, a new-wave/pop-rock group comprised of David Byrne, Chris Franz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison. The film was made during a three-day concert gig at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. What emerges on screen says as much about director Demme's taste and sensitivity as it does about the group and its visionary leader Byrne. Though some of the material in Stop Making Sense overlaps with the Talking Heads' earlier concert film The Name of This Band is Talking Heads, one never gets the feeling of by-the-numbers repetition; the group's energy is such that it virtually explodes from the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, (more)
- 1977
CB radios provide a human connection between the lives of a collection of varied characters in Jonathan Demme's energizing film that exploits the CB radio craze of the mid-'70s. Chrome Angel (Charles Napier) is a truck driver who has an accident and is laid up recuperating at the home of Hot Coffee (Alix Elias). A road-roaring philanderer, Chrome Angel is a bigamist with a wife, Dallas (Ann Wedgeworth), in Dallas and another wife, Portland (Marcia Rodd), in Portland. The two women converge in a small town where Spider (Paul Le Mat) and his embittered brother Blood (Bruce McGill) are both trying to date Electra (Candy Clark). The characters' CB monikers weave the characters into the same CB waveband, exemplifying the interconnectedness of an American subculture. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Le Mat, Candy Clark, (more)
This story is taken from the real-life marriage of two people in the early 1960s. Helen North (Lucille Ball) is a widow with eight children who falls in love with Naval officer Frank Beardsley (Henry Fonda), a widower with ten children of his own. The two marry as comedy ensues from the sheer numbers and diverse age groups of the offspring. Narration is used in the first half of the film to help set the stage for the impending nuptials. Van Johnson is the mutual friend who brings the couple together. Tom Bosley plays the harried doctor who makes a house call and finds almost two dozen patients under one roof. The newlyweds are soon off to the hospital when Helen becomes pregnant with the couple's first child in this amusing family comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, (more)
Hands on a Hard Body director S.R. Bindler directs this wave-twisting tale of a soul-searching surfer (Matthew McConaughey) in the midst of an existential crisis. Steve Addington (McConaughey) is an herb-toking long-boarder with a keen sense of balance and a mellow outlook on life. Upon returning to his hometown of Malibu to spend the summer with old friends, Steve begins to sense that the good vibes he remembers as a boy have been hopelessly corrupted by the powers that be. When the earthen surfer is faced with the prospect of expanding into virtual-reality video games and reality television or risk being rendered irrelevant, he opts to keep riding the majestic Southern California waves rather than participate in this new digital reality. Fate seems to intercede, however, when the ocean simply ceases to produce any suitable waves. His finances dried up, his sponsored expense accounts suddenly canceled, and his friends flocking off to bluer pastures, the surfer without a wave suddenly realizes that he has but two choices in life: he can either sit tight and try to keep his sanity until the waves come rolling in again, or finally give in to the Man and his intoxicating world of artificial amusements. Perhaps with a little wisdom from his trusted manager (Woody Harrelson), his aging mentor (Scott Glenn), his guardian angel (Willie Nelson), and his newfound muse (Alexie Gilmore), Addington can somehow manage to maintain his mellow just long enough to put it all into perspective and get back to the basics. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew McConaughey, Alexie Gilmore, (more)
Produced by Tom Hanks, written by Aaron Sorkin, and directed by Mike Nichols, this adaptation of George Crile III's incendiary bestseller tells the remarkable story of the Texas congressman whose efforts to prevent the Red Army from overtaking Afghanistan eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union while simultaneously fueling the rise of radical Islam. In the early 1980s, a hastily assembled army of Afghan "freedom fighters" achieved the remarkable feat of fending off Soviet invaders despite the fact that the odds were overwhelmingly stacked against them. At the time, Texas congressman Charlie Wilson (Hanks) was a key member of the hugely powerful House Appropriations Committee. Illuminated to the specifics of this remarkable war by a high-profile Houston socialite, Wilson spearheaded an effort to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons and training to the Mujahideen with more than a little help from brilliant but prickly CIA operative Gust Avrokotos. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, (more)
Jonathan Demme directed this adaptation of Toni Morrison's fact-based fifth novel (winner of a 1988 Pulitzer Prize), written in an experimental stream-of-consciousness flow and capturing the impact and aftermath of slavery on the human soul. In 1873, middle-aged Sethe (Oprah Winfrey) lives near Cincinnati with her teenage daughter, Denver (Kimberly Elise). She gets a surprise visit from her old friend Paul D (Danny Glover), whom she knew when they were both slaves on the Kentucky plantation Sweet Home. Paul D moves in, and a number of mysteries are introduced, including Sethe's memories of her dead older daughter and the fact that Sethe has been abandoned by her husband, two sons, and Denver's grandmother, Baby Suggs (Beah Richards). When a feral, insect-covered, stuttering teenager (Thandie Newton) turns up at Sethe's house, she is nursed back to health by Denver and called "Beloved." Violent flashbacks begin to explore shocking episodes from Sethe's past. (The film is rated R "for violent images, sexuality and nudity.") Hints of the supernatural surface as the question arises -- could Beloved be Sethe's older daughter, back from the dead? This film was a pet project of producer-star Oprah Winfrey, who spent over a decade bringing this work to the screen after she bought the film rights in 1987. With titles fashioned by leading poster/titles designer Pablo Ferro and music by Rachel Portman, director Demme filmed in a variety of locations, including Pennsylvania (Philadelphia Civic Center, Lancaster's Landis Valley Museum), Maryland (Fair Hill Natural Resources Area), and Delaware (Old New Castle). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, (more)
Denzel Washington stars in this adaptation of the novel by African-American crime author Walter Mosley, the first of his stories to reach the screen. Ezekiel Rawlins (Washington), known to his friends as "Easy," has just lost his job at an aircraft plant in post-WW II Los Angeles, a time when good-paying jobs for black men are hard to come by. He's wondering how to make his mortgage payment when he's approached by De Witt Albright (Tom Sizemore), who describes his job as "doing favors for friends." It seems that a woman named Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals) has gone missing; Daphne is the former girlfriend of wealthy mayoral candidate Todd Carter (Terry Kinney) and a known habitué of the black jazz clubs and night spots on L.A.'s Central Avenue. Albright offers Easy $100 to help him find Daphne, and while he doesn't have any detective experience, the price is right, so Easy agrees. After a passionate affair with a friend of Daphne's, Coretta James (Lisa Nicole Carson), leads to that woman's murder, Easy enlists the help of his friend Mouse (Don Cheadle), who seems to know just a bit too well how to use a gun, which gives Easy all too clear a look at the lower depths of L.A.'s upper crust. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, (more)
In this multiple Oscar-winning thriller, Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, a top student at the FBI's training academy whose shrewd analyses of serial killers lands her a special assignment: the FBI is investigating a vicious murderer nicknamed Buffalo Bill, who kills young women and then removes the skin from their bodies. Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into this case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out. Lecter does indeed know something of Buffalo Bill, but his information comes with a price: in exchange for telling what he knows, he wants to be housed in a more comfortable facility. More important, he wants to speak with Clarice about her past. He skillfully digs into her psyche, forcing her to reveal her innermost traumas and putting her in a position of vulnerability when she can least afford to be weak. The film mingles the horrors of criminal acts with the psychological horrors of Lecter's slow-motion interrogation of Clarice and of her memories that emerge from it. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, (more)
Kathryn Bigelow's fourth action film follows FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) as he goes undercover to infiltrate a cache of Southern California surfers suspected of robbing banks. Utah, a former football player, is assigned to Los Angeles. There, four bank robbers, who wear rubber masks and call themselves "Ex-Presidents," have executed a series of successful robberies which embarrassingly have the FBI stumped. Utah, and his partner Pappas (Gary Busey) suspect that the robbers are surfers and hatch a plan for catching them. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, (more)
Ray (Ken Olin) is a young adult and has a girlfriend whom he lives with quite happily. However, the agreed-upon date of their marriage is coming up, and he's not quite sure he wants to make that kind of commitment. His buddies Dennis, Elliot, and Vinny have their own commitment problems. Dennis (Kevin Bacon) isn't sure he wants to stay away from his buddies long enough to get his music career going in Hollywood; Elliot (John Malkovich) knows that he's homosexual but thinks that being gay means fitting all sorts of ugly stereotypes -- stereotypes he is determined to avoid at all costs; and Vinny (Tony Spiridakis) commits himself all too frequently and often to the nearest desirable female. Meanwhile, cousin Al (Joe Mantegna) is in trouble with his wife, and only the intervention of a well-intentioned psychotic (Jamie Lee Curtis) can put him back on the right track. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Bacon, Linda Fiorentino, (more)
Based on the late Charles Willeford's series of hard-boiled crime novels featuring Miami cop Hoke Moseley, the Jonathan Demme-produced Miami Blues opens with the prison release of Frederick Frenger Jr. (Alec Baldwin), a deranged killer who has barely de-boarded his plane before he's killed a Hare Krishna in the airport. Checking into his hotel, Frenger meets up with Susie Waggoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a young prostitute with dreams of domestic life, and the two quickly become romantically involved. Meanwhile, the Hare Krishna murder case is given to Moseley (Fred Ward), a grizzled vet who vows to hunt down Frenger, but may be getting too long in the tooth for the demands of his job. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Fred Ward, (more)
Michelle Pfeiffer is Married to the Mob in this comedy. The wife of Mafia hitman Alec Baldwin, Pfeiffer regularly chastizes her husband for his underhanded line of work. Baldwin refuses to entertain any thoughts of quitting the mob-and besides, he's got a good thing going with Nancy Travis, the promiscuous girl friend of gang boss Dean Stockwell. When Stockwell catches on to Travis' peccadilloes, he murders both his mistress and the unlucky Baldwin. At Baldwin's funeral, Stockwell is overwhelmed by Pfeiffer's beauty, and immediately begins plying her with expensive gifts. But Pfeiffer is through with this sort of thing, and with her young son in tow, she leaves town, hoping to start life anew. Upon making the acquaintance of bumbling, seemingly sincere Matthew Modine, Pfeiffer is convinced that Modine is just another mob flunkey. But it's even worse: Modine is an FBI agent, ordered to get to Stockwell by using Pfeiffer as bait. Reluctantly (he's grown quite fond of her himself), Modine blackmails Pfeiffer into setting up a rendezvous with Stockwell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, (more)
A wildly inventive and entertaining comic nightmare from former Roger Corman prodigy Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs), this screwball odyssey is a ride to remember. Jeff Daniels plays clean-cut New York bond trader Charlie Driggs, who accepts a ride home from a strange but attractive lower-class woman named Lulu (Melanie Griffith). The sexy Louise Brooks lookalike doesn't take him home, but shanghais him for a bizarre roadtrip to Virginia that includes kinky bondage sex, destruction of property, and robbery. Things get stranger when Lulu tells Charlie that her real name is Audrey and takes him home to meet her mother, asking him to pose as her husband. The charade continues until her high-school reunion, where the roadtrip (and the entire film) takes a sharp U-turn into psycho-thriller territory. Audrey's dangerously psychotic ex-con husband, Ray Sinclair (Ray Liotta), shows up. What had been a liberating fling for Charlie turns into a bloody and vicious battle for survival. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, (more)
It's The African Queen meets Richard Pryor in this schmaltzy and salty attempt by Pryor to appeal to the family crowd. Pryor plays Joe Braxton, an inept burglar whose parole officer Donald (Robert Christian) wants to help out. Knowing that Joe is an excellent mechanic, he refers him to Vivian Perry (Cicely Tyson), the director of a school for emotionally disturbed children. The school is about to close for lack of funds, and Vivian wants to flee Philadelphia with eight of her charges and get to a farm in Washington State where the children can grow up in the fresh air and away from the urban environment. Joe is enlisted to drive the bus, which continually breaks down en route, permitting Joe plenty of time to interact with the kids -- taking them fishing, teaching them strip poker, and convincing a Vietnamese girl not to sell her body. The prim and proper Vivian holds up her nose at the vulgar and sloppy Joe, so it is inevitable that at journey's end the two will find true romance. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Cicely Tyson, (more)
Jonathan Demme's breakthrough movie featured the shaggy energy and affection for marginal American eccentrics that marked his earlier Citizens Band (1977) and such later films as Something Wild (1986) and Married to the Mob (1988). Melvin Dummar (Paul LeMat) is a barely-getting-by Nevada milkman. One day in the early 1970s, while driving down a lonely highway, Melvin picks up a shaggy, bearded bum (Jason Robards Jr.) and offers him a ride into town. Melvin gives the bum a quarter at the end of the ride, and that, so far as Melvin is concerned, is that. The story goes off on a new tangent, involving the on-and-off marriage between Dummar and his contest-happy wife Lynda (Mary Steenburgen). During one of the multitude of financial crises endured by the Dummars, Melvin discovers that the tramp he picked up was none other than billionaire Howard Hughes -- and when Hughes dies, Melvin inherits $150 million. The movie's wide acclaim included Oscars for Steenburgen and Goldman's script and New York Film Critics Awards in almost all major categories, including Best Picture and awards for Demme, Goldman, Steenburgen, and Robards. Demme would gain even greater attention in the 1990s as the director of The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Philadelphia (1993). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Le Mat, Jason Robards, Jr., (more)
