Robert Lambert Movies
In his feature film directorial debut, Thomas Jane stars in this suspenseful horror thriller; also starring Lauren German and Ron Perlman. Two honeymooners rescue a mysterious car crash survivor in the Las Vegas desert. But their decision to save the man becomes increasingly regrettable when he turns on them, forcing the newlyweds to do the unthinkable. In a blur of paranormal chaos, the couple must take drastic measures to cover up their actions from the local police, ultimately leading each character to an inescapable fate.
- Starring:
- Ron Perlman, Lauren German, (more)
An FBI agent in the midst of a crucial undercover investigation resorts to extreme measures in order to prove himself in this crime thriller starring Cole Hauser, James Cromwell, and Laurence Fishburne. FBI agent Kevin Cole (Hauser) is under direct orders from powerful crime boss Ziggy to track down millions in stolen cash. As he begins to turn the screws on the shady mob accountant (Fishburne) who may just have all the answers, Agent Cole realizes that the is slowly slipping though his fingers. The mind games have begun, and in a world where ruthlessness is essential to survival, your most recent lie could well be your last. Emmanuelle Chriqui co-stars. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cole Hauser, James Cromwell, (more)
When wireless technology puts humans into contact with an unstoppable force that's determined to claim the lives of the living for the souls of the damned, it's up to a group of determined teens to close the gate before it's too late in director Jim Sonzero's remake of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's apocalyptic horror classic. A doorway between the human realm and the spiritual realm has been opened, and now the technology that once made humankind the ruler of the planet has become its digital Achilles heel. With every call made and every e-mail checked, life is slowly being stolen from the living and claimed for the dead. With no way of turning off the connection and no means of reasoning with a force they cannot understand, a desperate group of college students must discover a means of stopping the takeover before the entire planet is transformed into a cosmic haunting ground for wayward souls in search of a home. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder, (more)
Australian-born Whale Rider sensation and Oscar nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes stars opposite Oscar Isaac in Lords of Dogtown director Catherine Hardwicke's dramatic account of the Annunciation, and the arduous journey of Mary and Joseph to give birth to baby Jesus. House of Sand and Fog's Shohreh Aghdashloo co-stars in a film with a screenplay by The Rookie and Finding Forrester scribe Mike Rich. Filmed in the village of Matera, Italy (a locale that has remained virtually untouched by modern progress and also served as the backdrop for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ), and Quarzazate, Morocco, former production designer Hardwicke's film strives for authenticity in telling the Bible's most treasured tale. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, (more)
Adapted from a novel by John Fante, Robert Towne's Ask the Dust stars Colin Farrell as Arturo Bandini, a young writer who comes to Los Angeles during the Great Depression in order to write a novel. As the film opens, he is down to his last nickel and decides to spend it on coffee in a diner. He is served by Camilla (Salma Hayek), a Mexican beauty he is instantly attracted to even though he treats her horribly during their first interaction. Soon the pair is involved in a relationship that finds them sparring with each other at first, but slowly learning to trust each other. Bandini meets the acquaintance of a desperate woman who sees him as the most desirable man in the world. Eventually Arturo and Camilla get away from the city and their love deepens as he attempts to finish his novel. Donald Sutherland co-stars as a seedy but helpful and loyal neighbor. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Farrell, Salma Hayek, (more)
Five years after achieving commercial and critical success with his film Three Kings, director and screenwriter David O. Russell returns to the more idiosyncratic territory of his earlier work with this intelligent and offbeat comedy. Bernard and Vivian Jaffe (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin) are a married couple who run an existential detective agency where they sift through the lives of their clients in order to discover the source of their angst. The Jaffes' latest client is Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman), an environmental activist who has a very large rock and a great deal on his mind; their study of Albert's problems lead Bernard and Vivian to Brad Stand (Jude Law), a public relations executive with a chain of successful variety stores, Huckabees. While publicly allying himself with Albert's environmental initiatives, behind the scenes Brad is running roughshod over responsible land management with little care for the consequences. When Brad learns he's being watched by the Jaffes, he hopes to co-opt them by hiring them himself; however, the plan has unexpected consequences when their questioning leads Brad's girlfriend, well-scrubbed model Dawn (Naomi Watts), into reassessing her life and relationships. Meanwhile, Albert finds himself joining forces with Tommy (Mark Wahlberg), a firefighter and fellow environmentalist who has been having second thoughts about Bernard and Vivian's ideas and methods after a long-term investigation and has since fallen under the spell of nihilist poet and philosopher Caterine Vauban (Isabelle Huppert). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Schwartzman, Isabelle Huppert, (more)
Directed by E. Elias Merhige, Suspect Zero follows the disgraced FBI Agent Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart), who was transferred to a desolate area in Albuquerque, New Mexico as punishment for botching a procedure which ultimately led to the release of one of the most notorious criminals on the FBI's list. Mackelway is given an opportunity to redeem himself, however, when he is called in to investigate the strange murder of a traveling salesman. Mysteriously, the mark of a circle with a line through it is the only clue that the killer left behind. Before long, the prime suspect is identified as former agent Benjamin O'Ryan (Ben Kingsley), who is seemingly obsessed with hunting down serial killers and murdering them rather than turning them in to the proper authorities. Though Mackelway believes he knows the area where O'Ryan (Kingsley) is living, he has no idea what he looks like -- a problem that the rogue agent exploits with great success. Despite his brilliance, Mackelway finds himself caught in a psychological labyrinth of sorts, and is faced with an even greater quandary after learning that O'Ryan is looking for none other than Suspect Zero, a murderer of hundreds and the FBI's most wanted man. The supporting cast includes Carrie-Anne Moss and Harry J. Lennix. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, (more)
A monk and a pickpocket become unlikely allies in this action adventure story. Sixty years ago, a nameless monk (Chow Yun-Fat) was appointed the guardian of a mysterious scroll that grants remarkable powers to those who possess it. After six decades of traveling the world to protect the scroll, the monk must find someone new to assume the responsibility, but as fate would have it, the new caretaker turns out to be Kar (Seann William Scott), a scruffy and distinctly non-enlightened petty thief living in San Francisco. As the monk attempts to educate Kar in the powers and responsibilities of the scroll and the ways of a monk's life, they discover they have a rival for the possession of the valuable scroll. As Kar and the monk fend off their mysterious adversary, they are aided by Bad Girl (Jaime King), a beautiful Russian mob affiliate with amazing martial arts skills and a vested interest in keeping the scroll in virtuous hands. Bulletproof Monk was based a comic book series published in 1999; Chow Yun-Fat's frequent collaborators John Woo and Terence Chang produced. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chow Yun-Fat, Seann William Scott, (more)
Taking his cue from such 1970s horror classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977), animated rocker Rob Zombie goes celluloid with the throwback shocker House of 1000 Corpses. Running low on gas as they travel the highways of America in search of the ultimate roadside attraction, a group of teens pull into Captain Spaulding's (Sid Haig) museum of oddities (which also offers fried chicken and gasoline) only to become obsessed with uncovering the mystery of a legendary local maniac known only as Dr. Satan. When an attractive and mysterious hitchhiker subsequently offers to give the thrill seekers a personal tour of Dr. Satan's old stabbing grounds, a breakdown forces them to take refuge with a group of menacing oddballs as a fearsome storm rages outside. As the evening progresses and the backwoods hosts' Halloween festivities become ever more threatening, the teens soon realize that the legend of Dr. Satan may hold a bit more contemporary weight than any of them had previously thought. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, (more)
An effort to circumvent global catastrophe becomes a disaster in its own right in this science fiction thriller. In the year 2050, Earth is on the verge of ecological disaster, and the Mars Terraforming Project has been created in hopes of making our neighboring planet habitable so that a colony of Earthlings might begin a new civilization there. But the project goes awry, and Commander Kate Bowman (Carrie-Anne Moss) is put in charge of a rescue mission to set the system back on its feet. Bringing along astronaut Robby Gallagher (Val Kilmer) and scientists Dr. Quinn Burchenal (Tom Sizemore) and Dr. Bud Chantillas (Terrence Stamp), Bowman and her crew set out for Mars, but disaster strikes and the landing craft crashes into the red planet. The crew is stranded without communications as Bowman struggles to find a way to get them home; to make matters worse, the robot that was designed to serve and protect them has gone haywire, and is now attempting to hunt them down as prey. Red Planet was originally to have been released as Mars, but the producers changed the title to avoid confusion with Mission to Mars, released earlier the same year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, (more)
Three stars team up for this unusual look at America's role in the war against Iraq. In 1991, as the Gulf War winds to a close, three American servicemen find themselves happy to have achieved victory but wondering about the ultimate importance of what they've done (especially since Saddam Hussein is still in power). Major Archie Gates (George Clooney) is a decorated Vietnam veteran and special forces officer with two weeks to go before he retires; Sgt. Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg) has a new baby at home; and Chief Elgin (Ice Cube) is probably just going to end up back in Detroit. So when one of them comes across a map that seems to point out where Saddam's forces have stashed a large cache of gold they stole from Kuwait, they decide to follow the trail and take some of the war booty for themselves. However, the deeper they journey into Iraq, the more they see of the consequences of America's policies in the Middle East. Although President George Bush and the American military urged Iraqi citizens to rise up against Saddam Hussein, and pledged their support to a people's movement against the leader, Iraqis found that when they took to the streets against Saddam, the United States did not back them up, and the loss of Iraqi lives was fearsome. When Gates, Barlow and Elgin become aware of what's happening, they're torn between their desire to grab the fortune they came for and the demands of their conscience to help the people they came to liberate. Three Kings was directed by David O. Russell and marked a significant change of direction after his dark-humored relationship comedies, Spanking the Monkey and Flirting with Disaster. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, (more)
One of two filmed biographies of late track star Steve Prefontaine to be produced in the late '90s, Without Limits comes from director Robert Towne, who previously took a stab at the track-star drama with his directorial debut, 1982's Personal Best. Billy Crudup stars as the ill-fated athlete who overcame physical obstacles to win an NCAA championship and compete in the 1972 Munich Olympics. The film follows Prefontaine from his youth in Oregon where, despite one leg being longer than the other, he shows himself to be a talented runner. Later, while attending the University of Oregon, Prefontaine meets and forms a strong bond with his coach, Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland), the man who would later go on to found the Nike shoe corporation. College is also where Prefontaine falls for classmate Mary Marckx (Monica Potter), beginning a romance that lasts until his untimely death in a 1974 automobile accident. The other film about Steve Prefontaine was 1997's Prefontaine which starred Jared Leto in the titular role. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Crudup, Donald Sutherland, (more)
- 1996
The late Robert Urich completed work on this cable-TV movie only a few days before undergoing cancer surgery. Set in the early months of the Great Depression, the story involves Angus Feagan (Urich), a Detroit family man who has lost both his job and his freedom. Arrested for a crime he didn't commit, Feagan finds that his fate is in the hands of his three children, who in their efforts to get their dad sprung before Christmas are set upon enlisting the aid of no less than President Herbert Hoover (Thomas Peacocke). In this spirit, the youngsters set out for Washington DC--and when their mother (Diane Scarwid) finds out, a frantic thousand-mile chase ensues. In fine old Frank Capra tradition, the kids encounter a variety of eccentric characters en route to the White House, all played by actors whose faces are reassuringly familiar, even if their names are not. The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue premiered over the Family Channel on December 15, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
If, in the world of the movies, a dog can play basketball and a donkey can play football, why can't a chimp play baseball? That question is answered in the family comedy Ed. Jack "Deuce" Cooper (Matt LeBlanc) is a struggling baseball pitcher who has great natural talent but keeps choking under pressure. Traded to a class A minor league team, Deuce is appalled to discover his third baseman -- and roommate on the road -- is a chimpanzee named Ed Sullivan. While Ed can actually hold his own on the diamond, Deuce feels there's something a bit undignified about having to look after a monkey, and it doesn't help that Ed has poor hygiene and a chronic case of flatulence. Ed was Matt LeBlanc's first starring vehicle following his success on the TV series Friends. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt LeBlanc, Jayne Brook, (more)
Blue Chips examines greed, cheating, and "winning at all costs" in the world of college basketball. Nick Nolte plays the stressed-out coach on the verge of his first losing season, who hits the road in search of new players not already signed by a bigger school. He finds three prospects: a precision Chicago shooter (Anfernee Hardaway), a giant farmboy (Matt Nover), and a talented troublemaker (Shaquille O'Neal). All three, wise to the ways of college basketball recruitment, make excessive financial and lifestyle demands before they can be persuaded to come to the school; the coach, already haunted by accusations of underhanded dealings, doesn't want to dig himself a deeper hole but has no choice. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, (more)
Blue Sky was the last film directed by Tony Richardson (Tom Jones) before his death in 1991 and one of the last releases from once-thriving Orion Films, whose bankruptcy kept the picture on the shelf for several years. It also features two career-high performances by Tommy Lee Jones and Jessica Lange, who won the Best Actress Oscar for this role, as Hank and Carly Marshall, a military couple whose marriage unravels under the pressure of his job and her mental instability. Hank is an Army captain at odds with his superiors over the wisdom of nuclear testing. Carly is a free spirit spiralling into a dangerous depression after the family's move from Hawaii to a nowhere base in Alabama alarms the couple's older daughter (Amy Locane) and sends Carly into an affair with the base commander (Powers Boothe). ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Lange, Tommy Lee Jones, (more)
- 1991
In this futuristic sci-fi political drama, the minerals of the moon are being exploited by both Russian and American mining companies. When a terrorist threatens an American mining company, a KGB agent teams up with a NASA investigator to stop them. The two agents are attracted to each other and this nearly derails their assignment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
This adaptation of Gaston Leroux's indefatigable "grand guignol" piece The Phantom of the Opera stars British actor Charles Dance as Erik the Phantom. This adaptation by playwright Arthur Kopit soft-pedals the horrific elements of the story to concentrate on the love the tragic Erik bears toward innocent chorus singer Teri Polo. The film boasts a stronger supporting cast than was usual for a TV movie, including Burt Lancaster (as the masked phantom's father), Ian Richardson and Jean-Pierre Cassel. The 1990 Phantom of the Opera reunited director Tony Richardson and composer John Addison, who'd both won Oscar for Tom Jones. Filmed on location in France, Phantom was originally telecast in two two-hour installments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Teri Polo, (more)
- 1989
In this crime drama, based on the true story of Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer, from 1985, terrorists attempt to hijack a luxury cruise ship in the Mediterranean. The attempt resulted in the death of a handicapped passenger. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Beryl Markham: Shadow on the Sun was a two-part TV movie originally telecast in May of 1988. Stefanie Powers is right in her element as the real-life Beryl Markham, an Englishwoman living in Kenya with her family. Bucking the male-dominated Kenyan social structure, Beryl becomes the first woman in Africa to train horses on a professional level. And in 1936, she thrills the world by being the first aviatrix to fly from England to the US across the Atlantic. With four hours to fill, the film is obligated to trace Beryl's love life, which (according to the script) was not always as rewarding as her public accomplishments. Inasmuch as Beryl was a contemporary (and friendly rival) of author Karen Blixen--better known as Isaak Dinesen--Beryl Markham: Shadow on the Sun contrives to include several characters introduced in Out of Africa. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stefanie Powers
When a small-time businessman (Richard Pryor) needs a loan, he goes to a loan shark and ends up in jail on false pretenses. After feigning madness to get out, he is tossed into the mental ward of a hospital. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Rachel Ticotin, (more)
This is an enjoyable and often humorous documentary on the formation of Sting's new band and their first live performance in 1985. Filmed over a nine-day period, the musicians in the band are shown bantering in their usual repartee and quick come-backs as they rehearse for the big opening night. Interviews bring out their thoughts on music and performing, and there is even an impromptu appearance by Sting's son Jake, who was born on the second night of their opening concert. Both the music and the musicians are entertaining. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sting, Omar Hakim, (more)
- 1985
- R
In this frothy drama, the "heavenly bodies" belong to Samantha (Cynthia Dale), a woman determined to open a dance instruction school, and the people who come to learn dance there. Once the deserted warehouse-cum-dance-studio is refurbished, Cynthia's first class already has as much finesse as Fred Astaire at his apogee, so when Cynthia's ideal world is threatened by the owner of a rival health club, it is fairly easy for her students to come to the rescue with their deft dance routines. Life never seems to delve much below the balletic, athletic, or aerobic surface as the adventures of Cynthia, and her students continue along a self-absorbed course. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Dale, Richard Rebiere, (more)
