Tim McCanlies Movies
- 2009
Their groundbreaking, violent video game masterpiece stolen right out from under their noses, the legendary game creators known as "the Two Bobs" recruit a small army of geeks in order to retrieve their precious software and restore their genius reputations. It was supposed to be their crowning achievement -- the game that would have the kids glued to their television sets, and the Jack Thompsons of the world fuming -- but now it's vanished, and the Two Bobs are determined to get it back. Now, in order to track down the culprit and retrieve what is rightfully theirs, the Two Bobs enlist the aid of die-hard geek employees Munch, Doofus, and the Dark Prince while navigating the treacherous world of Christian Venture Capitalists, Dixie Mafia thugs, and Internet Spammers. Just as it starts to look like their game will never be recovered, the Two Bobs cross paths with the Two Janes and the group heads out on their first double date. At first things are tense, but then something incredible happens: by putting their egg heads together, this group of hardcore computer geeks are ultimately able to finger the notorious Spam King as the culprit. But getting back their game won't be easy, because the Spam King is planning to use the innovative software to construct a nefarious cable/porn empire, and he won't back down until he's achieved his lifelong dream of world domination. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2009
- PG
The 11-year-old son of a reclusive anti-government extremist finds his life upended after his father dies suddenly, leaving the untamed boy to fend for himself alone in the wilderness. Moon Blake's father never trusted a soul. A paranoid loner, he raised his young son in the deep woods, teaching him everything he needed to be completely self-sufficient. When his father suffers a mortal injury, Moon sets his sights on Alaska. His journey is cut short, however, when a hard-hearted policeman has him shipped off to reform school. There, with the help of his newfound friends, Moon plans his big escape while learning the one lesson that his father could never teach him: no man is an island. Alabama Moon was based on the book by Watt Key. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Goodman
In this family-friendly comedy drama, Walter (Haley Joel Osment) is a shy and bookish boy just short of his teens whose mother impulsively decides to leave him for the summer with his eccentric grand-uncles, Hub (Robert Duvall) and Garth (Michael Caine). Walter isn't especially happy about being left in the middle of Texas with two old men, while Hub and Garth aren't too pleased to be stuck minding a boy, especially one who isn't accustomed to hunting, fishing, or firearms. When Walter starts hearing local gossip about his uncles' wild and wooly pasts, he begins asking a few questions, and while Hub and Garth don't enjoy having the boy poking into their pasts, as they start telling tales of their youthful adventures, they find themselves itching for some new adventures in their lives. Soon Walter is a semi-willing accomplice as his elderly guardians rediscover the wild, impulsive spirit of youth. Secondhand Lions was produced in part by the well-respected visual effects house Digital Domain, who also helped create the imagery for the film's flashback sequences. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, (more)
A boy's best friend is his robot in this animated adventure from Brad Bird, best known for his TV work on such series as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and The Critic. Set in 1957, The Iron Giant focuses on Hogarth (voice of Eli Marienthal), an imaginative nine-year-old boy who daydreams of alien invasions and doing battle with Communist agents. One day, Hogarth hears a local fisherman talk about something that surpasses anything he could dream up: a fifty-foot robot that fell from the sky into a nearby lake. Needless to say, Hogarth's mom, Annie (voice of Jennifer Aniston) finds this a little hard to swallow, but when Hogarth finds the robot (voice of Vin Diesel) and fishes him out of the water, his pal Dean (voice of Harry Connick Jr.), a beatnik sculptor who also runs a junkyard, offers to help by hiding the robot with his salvage. A government agent named Kent Mansley (voice of Christopher McDonald) soon gets wind that there's a mechanical invader of unknown origins in the neighborhood and wants to wipe out the potential threat. However, the robot (which loves to eat metal and is learning to talk) turns out to be friendly, and the boy in turn tries to teach his new pal the ways of humans. The Iron Giant is loosely based on the book The Iron Man by late British poet Ted Hughes, previously adapted for the stage by rock musician Pete Townshend, who executive produced the film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eli Marienthal, Vin Diesel, (more)
Small-town America is the key setting for this tale of four West Texas high-school pals who vowed to leave their tiny town after graduation and head for L.A. Keller (Breckin Meyer) is ready to walk, but his goals are formless. Wealthy Terrell Lee Lusk (Peter Facinelli) knows his parents (Patricia Wettig, Michael O'Neill) want him to work in their family oil business. Squirrel (Ethan Embry), who lives with his alcoholic father in a rundown trailer, should find escape easy, but he finds reasons to stay, as does John Hemphill (Eddie Mills), a young man more suited for life as a rancher. Leaving was something the quartet dreamed about since age 11, but the actual departure requires ripping up some roots. Will they do it? Director Tim McCanlies shot this film in 25 days at Fort Davis, Texas. Shown at the 1998 South by Southwest Film Festival (Austin, Texas). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Breckin Meyer, Peter Facinelli, (more)
- 1998
- G
- Add Dennis the Menace Strikes Again to Queue Add Dennis the Menace Strikes Again to top of Queue
In this direct-to-video sequel to the 1993 movie Dennis the Menace (which was based on Hank Ketcham's long-running comic strip), mischievous youngster Dennis (Justin Cooper) wants to help his eternally frazzled next-door neighbor Mr. Wilson (Don Rickles) celebrate his birthday, but Mr. Wilson is already feeling his age, and the lively Dennis only makes Wilson feel that much older -- and the arrival of Dennis's spry Grandfather (George Kennedy) doesn't help. Eager to feel younger, Mr. Wilson soon falls prey to a con man (Carrot Top) who sells him a variety of bogus youth-restoring potions. Dennis the Menace Strikes Again also features Betty White as Mrs. Wilson, and Dwier Brown and Jaqueline Steiger as Dennis's parents. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
In this youthful surfing adventure, a hot young surfer wins a wave-tank contest in his native Arizona and decides to temporarily abandon his studies to hit the fantastic waves of the Hawaiian North shore pipeline. Once there, he is derided by the other surfers because nobody believes that a boy from the desert could possibly know anything about surfing real waves. Fortunately, an aging hippie (and supremo surfer), who designs boards for a living, believes in him and so teaches him the ropes. While learning about the sea and preparing for an international surfing competition, the boy also learns valuable lessons about life and love. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Matt Adler, Gregory Harrison, (more)
Dr. Howard Machen (Kirk Alyn) and his students have been raiding California's Indian graveyards for archeological artifacts, a criminal practice that the university wants him to stop. After being ordered to make a complete inventory of his illegal finds, Machen regretfully withdraws from the latest field trip, but sends a group of students to dig without him. The young people stop at a remote gas station and receive a warning from an old Indian man (George Randall). He tells them to steer clear of Black Tree, where a great battle took place a century ago that returned many braves to the earth. The students find the location and an excavation yields plenty of ancient items, but strange things start happening and soon flaky D.J. (Jo Ann Robinson) is claiming that she senses evil about them. Her suspicions are confirmed when Randy (Richard Hench) is possessed by the spirit of Black Claw, a brutal Indian warrior who was known for dabbling in black magic. One by one the expedition is dispatched with arrows, clubs, and tomahawks and their skulls are peeled clean. Horror cult figures Forrest J. Ackerman and Carroll Borland make cameo appearances as faculty members in Scalps, which was an early film from prolific exploitation director Fred Olen Ray. ~ Fred Beldin, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kirk Alyn, Carroll Borland, (more)
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