Doug Lefler Movies
Co-adapted by Tom Butterworth and Jez Butterworth from Valerio Massimo Manfredi's best-selling historical adventure novel, Doug Lefler's period epic The Last Legion unfurls in 470 A.D., just prior to the fall of the colossal Roman Empire. As the most recent in a long line of caesars, a young Roman child, Romulus (Thomas Sangster), is poised to inherit the throne -- until Germanic forces invade, lay siege to the city, and brutally murder his parents. At the last second, with his life hanging by a thread, Romulus receives the protection of military commander Aurelius (Colin Firth), who assembles a cadre of rebels, including Romulus, the boy's magician instructor, Ambrosinus (Sir Ben Kingsley), and the Indian female warrior Mira (Aishwarya Rai). After Romulus discovers an enchanted sword once claimed by Julius Caesar, the troupe heads out to the province of Britannia and Hadrian's Wall. There, the men will regroup with the Ninth Legion and plan one final triumphant stand against the barbarian invaders of Rome. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, (more)
After incorporating elements of comic book style and design into many of his films, director Sam Raimi helms this straight-ahead, big-budget comic book adaptation, which also marks acclaimed young actor Tobey Maguire's first dip into live-action blockbuster filmmaking. Spider-Man follows the template of the original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko source material, with hero Peter Parker an orphaned, intellectual teen loner living in Queens with his aunt (Rosemary Harris) and uncle (Cliff Robertson), and dreaming of the girl next door, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). On a field trip to a Columbia University lab, Peter is bitten by a genetically altered spider and overnight he gains superhuman strength, agility, and perception. At first, Peter uses his powers for material gain, winning a wrestling match with a purportedly lucrative prize. But when Peter apathetically fails to stop a burglar from robbing the wrestling arena, a tragedy follows that compels him to devote his powers to fighting crime -- as the superhero Spider-Man. When he's not busy fighting crime in a spider suit, Peter moves into an apartment with his best friend, Harry (James Franco), and begins work as a photographer at the Daily Bugle. Meanwhile, his do-gooder alter ego finds a nemesis in the form of the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), a super-powered, megalomaniacal villain who happens to be the alter ego of Harry's father, weapons-manufacturing mogul Norman Osborn. Spider-Man was written by the prolific blockbuster scribe David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Panic Room). ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, (more)
While knights usually slay dragons, a would-be hero tries to save the world by keeping a dragon alive in this adventure fantasy. In ancient times, Geoff (Christopher Masterson), a young man who works as a stable boy, wants to prove himself by becoming a knight. Geoff trains on his own, diligently but with little success. However, he gets an unexpected assist when he discovers Drake (voice of Robby Benson), a young dragon, trapped in a dungeon. Drake teaches the aspiring knight a few lessons about bravery and loyalty, and in turn, Geoff gives Drake a few tips on how to fly. But an evil knight with dreams of ruling the world discovers a magic formula that will make him all powerful -- and the only ingredient he lacks is the heart of a dragon. Now Geoff and a pair of Chinese travelers steeped in dragon lore must protect Drake before his heart can fall into the wrong hands. Dragonheart: A New Beginning, a direct-to-video sequel to 1996's Dragonheart, was also promoted under the title Dragonheart II. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chris Masterson, Robby Benson, (more)
- 1999
The messianic shaman Eli (Timothy Omundson) has successfully brought back Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) from the dead. But while Gabby seems none the worse for wear, the amnesiac Xena has returned with an entirely different personality; for one thing, she is far more concerned with pretty clothes than weaponry. In order to restore Xena to her normal self, a fragment from a broken silver-and-white chakram must be joined with its counterpart. Making this task well night impossible is the combined villainy of two war gods, Ares (Kevin Smith) and Kal (Antonio Te Maioho). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, (more)
Based on Scott B. Smith's bone-chilling 1993 novel, A Simple Plan is a bit of a departure for horror film director Sam Raimi. Instead of flying eyeballs and dancing corpses, A Simple Plan is a taut crime thriller in the vein of Joel Coen's Academy Award-winning Fargo. Set during the white winters of Minnesota, this story tells the eerie tale of Hank and Jacob Mitchell (played by Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton) who, along with a buddy, find a downed single-engine plane buried in the snowy woods. Inside it is a decaying pilot and a bag carrying four million dollars in one-hundred-dollar bills. The men decide to hide the money until spring when the snow is melted and the plane is found. If no one notices the missing money at that time, they will split it and live a wealthy new life. A simple plan, right? Wrong. Much like Humphrey Bogart's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, things can only get worse, as distrust and greed creep into the minds of the principals. They find it difficult to decide which one gets to hold the money -- and even more impossible to keep from dipping into the stash until spring. And so on. It also becomes increasingly tough to keep a secret of this magnitude. And if all this doesn't get moviegoers' brains working, it seems there are suspicious characters in town who just may be able to link them to the plane, forcing the more dangerous and bloody question of what to do with those people and how to cover their tracks. ~ Chris Gore, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, (more)
- 1998
Unexpected trouble develops during the Brakiris' traditional Day of the Dead ceremony. Elsewhere, a pair of intergalactic comedians named Rebo and Zooty arrive to give a show for the B5 crew. The two funsters are portrayed by "guerilla magicians" Penn and Teller, with author Harlan Ellison provided the voice of the professionally mute Teller. For the first time since Season Three, someone other than J. Michael Straczynski was responsible for the script; in this instance, the author was Neil Gaiman. A calculatedly "escapist" episode, "Day of the Dead" originally aired on March 11, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Boxleitner, Tracy Scoggins, (more)
- 1998
Still searching for their supposedly deceased friend Gabrielle, Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Joker (Ted Raimi) show up in Gabby's home village of Potidea. Xena's joy is unbounded when she thinks she sees Gabrielle, alive and well. But alas, it is only an illusion: Gabrielle's evil daughter, Hope, has been revived, and has taken her mother's form. Now it is up to Xena and Joxer to destroy Hope's own child, a demonic entity known as "The Destroyer." But what of the real Gabrielle? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, (more)
- 1995
In the first episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys' second season, Hercules' friend Iolaus (Michael Hurst) rescues Autolycus (Bruce Campbell in his first series appearance) from a band of ruffians. As a "reward" for his courage, poor Iolaus is left holding the bag -- actually the box containing the jewels swiped from King Menelaus (Martyn Sanderson) by Autolycus, a former sideshow escape artist and self-professed "King of Thieves." To save Iolaus from prison -- and to retrieve the king's still-missing Dragon's Eye ruby -- Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) teams with Dirce (Lisa Chapell), Menelaus' daughter (and Iolaus' lawyer), to capture the slippery Autolycus. The episode's final includes a tense tangle with some subterranean serpents. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, (more)
- 1995
In the debut episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, the title character, played by Lucy Lawless, has forsaken her former evil ways and has committed herself to burying the past and protecting the innocent. The first task for the "reformed" Xena is to rescue a group of village girls from the minions of the warlord Draco (Jay Laga'aia). Among the damsels in distress is young Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), who latches onto Xena in hopes of finding adventure and excitement. Meanwhile, Xena must face the triple threat of Draco, a disgruntled Cyclops (Patrick Wilson), and a spell of really bad weather. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, (more)
- 1995
After five made-for-TV feature films designed to establish the principal character and his surroundings, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) was awarded his own weekly, syndicated series, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. In the opening episode, Hercules' wife and children are consumed in a ball of flame -- and it is all the handiwork of his treacherous stepmother, the goddess Hera. Renouncing his father Zeus for allowing such a tragedy to occur, the embittered Hercules embarks upon a campaign of destruction and vengeance. He is ultimately restored to his proper path in life after rescuing the lovely Aegina (Clare Carey) from a human sacrifice -- and after endeavoring to save his friend Iolaus (Michael Hurst), who had been turned to stone. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, (more)
- 1995
A jewel-encrusted chalice is removed from its place of honor in the town of Parthus, bringing down the wrath of the gods in the form of a terrible rock storm. Hercules (Kevin Sorbo), guided by an all-wise Seer (Norman Forsey), tries to shepherd a group of refugees through the storm and into the safe harbor of Calydon. Though he confronts such obstacles as a treacherous swamp and a hugh pterodactyl, Hercules eventually discovers that the biggest threat to the safety of the refugees is their own leader, the shifty Broteas (John Sumner). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Norman Forsey, (more)
- 1994
In the third of five made-for-TV movies starring Kevin Sorbo as legendary superhero Hercules, the Earth is in danger of turning into a block of ice unless the fires of the world can be rekindled. This calamitous situation is the handiwork of Hercules' treacherous stepmother Hera, in whose immortal hands the Eternal Torch has been passed. To retrieve this valuable flame and save Mankind, Hercules must do battle with a giant, a duplicitous wood sprite and his own Olympian father Zeus (Anthony Quinn). Tawny Kitean is seen as the enigmatic Deianeira, a role played in earlier Hercules films by Renee O'Connor. Herclues and the Circle of Fire was syndicated in the United States beginning in November of 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Anthony Quinn, (more)
- 1989
- R
This muddled attempt at creating a new supernatural serial killer franchise (in the mode of Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series) features perennial movie thug Brion James as sadistic mass murderer Max Jenke, who hacked up more than 100 victims with a meat cleaver before his eventual capture by dedicated cop Lucas McCarthy (Lance Henriksen). Unwilling to cease his homicidal spree after his death, Jenke had been conducting bizarre experiments in soul-transference prior to his capture; his execution in the electric chair subsequently transforms his evil essence into electrical current. In this new form, the seemingly unstoppable maniac launches a supernatural siege against McCarthy and his family until the tormented cop finally faces him down on his own nightmare turf. Originally conceived as another House sequel, this film consists of long periods of tedium punctuated by outbursts of graphic gore and surreal effects. This condition is partially the result of footage being shot by two separate directors; it seems as if neither of them knew what the other was doing. James is amusingly sleazy as the cackling madman, but his one-note material is not compelling enough to merit a recurring character. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lance Henriksen, Brion James, (more)
This futuristic drama offers the classic story of Shane seved up with a few Mad Max moments and some interesting twists. The tale is set in the smouldering, decimated post-World War III town of Meridian, where locals scrabble to keep their meager farms watered in the midst of a desert wasteland. Bad-guys - a powerful landowner and his cronies - try to monopolize the precious local water supplies by bullying, kidnapping and even murdering citizens. To this beleaguered place comes the enigmatic swordsman/ warrior Nomad who has come in search of his mentor's killer. The town takes him on as their "Peacemaker" and he is able to end their problems and get his revenge to boot. The story was filmed on location in the deserts of South Africa. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi, (more)
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