Mark Morgan Movies

The epic love story between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen concludes in this final installment of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling series. Dreamgirls' Bill Condon directs this second segment of the two-film adaptation. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

"You can buy a cobra, but you can't buy common sense," says Tim Harrison, and he knows something about the subject. Harrison is a policeman, paramedic, and firefighter who has become an expert on dealing with exotic pets when they break free or turn on their owners. It's estimated that 15,000 lions, tigers, and other large cats are kept as pets in the United States, and while many are well cared for, some are purchased by people who are unaware of the danger and responsibility of caring for a predatory animal, and Harrison has also been forced to deal with bears, alligators, and large snakes that were adopted as pets and later became a danger to the community. Adding to a difficult situation is inconsistent regulation of exotic pet ownership, which makes it easier to own a tiger than a puppy in some territories. Filmmaker Michael Webber examines the trading of exotic pets in America and Tim Harrison's work with animals in the documentary The Elephant in the Living Room. The film also offers the perspective of Terry Brumfield, a man who struggled with depression for years before developing a close relationship with a pair of lions he adopted. The Elephant in the Living Room was named best documentary at the 2010 Traverse City Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The third film in the Twilight series explores a love triangle between Bella (Kristen Stewart), Edward (Robert Pattinson), and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) as the werewolf pack and the Cullen clan join together to fight a new breed of vampires. Melissa Rosenberg provides the screenplay for the Summit Entertainment adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel, with director David Slade calling the shots behind the camera. Bryce Dallas Howard joins the cast as Victoria, the role originally played by Rachelle Lefevre in the first film. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

The supernatural tale of star-crossed lovers continues as the Cullen family flees Forks in order to protect Bella (Kristen Stewart), and the heartbroken high-school senior discovers that vampires aren't the only creatures in town. Realizing that Bella will never be safe as long as he's around, Edward (Robert Pattinson) makes the difficult decision to leave his beloved behind shortly after her 18th birthday. Reeling from her loss, Bella embraces self-destruction after being comforted by Edward's image during a moment of mortal peril. But as heavy-hearted as Bella may be, her old friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner) distracts her from her sorrows by helping her renovate a weather-beaten motorbike. When Bella encounters a former adversary with a sizable grudge, she's rescued from harm at the last second by pack of enormous, ferocious wolves. Subsequently delving into the history of the Quileutes, Bella discovers the secrets of Jacob's tribe while looking forward to a reunion with Edward that may have deadly consequences. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A young gunslinger determined to be the quickest draw on the underground scene seeks out the undefeated veteran for a winner-takes-all showdown in former music video director Ron Krauss' contemporary shooter. Guy Oseary, Brent Emergy, and Mark Morgan produce a script penned by Krauss and writing partner Tom Hietter. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This typically iconoclastic FX network comedy-drama series was dedicated to the proposition of "Stealing the American Dream." The Malloys were a family of "travellers", roving con artists who lived perpetually on the fringes of society and just outside the reach of the law. After years of running scams and fleecing the unsuspecting, Wayne Malloy (Eddie Izzard) began to wonder if it was all worth the effort. At the same time, Wayne's drug-addict wife Dahlia (Minnie Driver) had been released from prison after a two-year stretch, and was raring to go back on the road with her husband and her equally disreputable children Sam (Aidan Mitchell), Cael (Noel Fisher) and Dehliah (Shannon Marie Woodward). While barreling through the Southland in their RV, the Malloys were involved in a traffic accident (not their fault, for a change!) in which the other drivers, a married couple, were killed. Rifling through the dead motorists' belongings, Wayne and Dahlia discovered that the victims were Doug and Cherein Rich, an upper-middle-class couple who'd just purchased a mansion in a gated community somewhere in Louisiana. Thus handed an opportunity to start life anew, the Malloys "became" the Riches and moved into that selfsame mansion, using their conning-and-hustling skills to convince their new neighbors that they were whom they claimed to be. Carrying the charade to the ultimate, Wayne, alias Mr. Rich, sweettalked his way into a job with family lawyer Hugh Panetta (Gregg Henry), while Dahlia found work as a dental hygienist and the kids tried to fit in at the local high school. Of course, there was always the possibility (or rather the likelihood) that the Malloys would revert to their old dishonest ways, especially whenever the former crooked associates would breeze into town. Forever playing fast and loose with manners, morals and audience expectations, the weekly, 60-minute The Riches made its cable-TV bow on March 12, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A scary legend becomes a far more terrifying reality in this independent horror picture. Samantha (Fay Masterson), known to her friends as Sam, grew up in a small lakefront community, and though she moved away to the big city years ago, she still feels strong emotional ties to the town. On the anniversary of her father's death, Sam feels the need for some solace away from the city, and invites a group of her friends to join her for a long weekend at the family's lake house. Spending time in the woods proves to be a great tonic for Sam, and her best friend, Kate (Sandrine Holt), strikes up a romance with Jesse (William Gregory Lee), one of Sam's old friends who still lives nearby. One night around the campfire, Sam shares a spooky story with her friends -- a local tall tale about a deranged young man who murdered his family and has been haunting the woods ever since. While most of the group takes the story in the spirit of fun, one of them, Franklin (Stephen Bishop), makes a startling discovery -- there's an old diary in the house that appears to be the journal of the mysterious killer, which suggests the madman is still at large and not far away. Sam's Lake was the first feature film from writer and director Andrew Christopher Erin. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Three twentysomethings learn the hard way about how to behave in a cemetery in this independent horror story. Harris (Dominic Purcell), Sid (Marcus Thomas), and Kira (Josie Maran) are three longtime friends who are reunited under unfortunate circumstances when their pal Devin dies in an auto accident. After attending Devin's funeral, the three stage an impromptu wake at a nearby roadhouse, and after lots of drinking they return to his grave to pay their final respects. Sid finds a note on Devin's grave which contains what appear to be lyrics to a song; the revelers begin singing the song and dancing around the cemetery, trampling the nearby graves. It isn't long before Devin's friends discover they've made a serious mistake; the poem they sang was actually a magic spell, and by reciting it as they disrespect the dead they've awakened angry spirits, who begin terrorizing them in their homes. Worst of all, paranormal investigator Vincent (Tchéky Karyo) informs Harris that there's only one sure way to stop the ghosts from bothering them -- death. The Gravedancers received its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Fifteen-year-old CIA operative Cody Banks (played by Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz) is back in action in this comedy adventure, which sends the youthful secret agent to Old Blighty. Banks returns to Kamp Woody, the CIA training center disguised as a summer camp, where he's given a new partner, the bumbling but sharp-witted Derek (Anthony Anderson), and a new assignment, to track down a sinister double-agent who has made off with an experimental mind-control machine. The villain has made his way to Great Britain, so Banks is enrolled in an upscale private school in England, where he's forced to join the school band despite his lack of musical talent and finds himself working alongside Emily (Hannah Spearritt), a fellow teenage espionage agent. Keith David, Daniel Roebuck, and Cynthia Stevenson all return from the first film, while British filmmaker Kevin Allen takes over as director. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Three lifelong cheaters wise up in this gross-out college comedy, which marks the second feature role for Rushmore star Jason Schwartzman. It's the last semester of senior year for roomies Dave (Devon Sawa), Sam (Jason Segel), and Jeff (Michael C. Maronna), a trio of twenty-somethings whose enthusiasm for higher learning is matched only by their enthusiasm for root canals performed without the aid of anesthesia. As such, their entire collegiate existence has been an elaborate series of cons and scams designed to plagiarize essays, skip midterms, and covertly manipulate bell curves. When deranged geek Ethan (Schwartzman) -- who harbors a psychotic fixation for a flaxen-haired co-ed named Angela (James King) -- gets wind of their scheming, he blackmails Dave and the gang into contriving a date between him and his crush. But as Dave cozies up to Angela, he realizes that no amount of scheming can hide the fact that he's the one that's truly in love. Slackers went by a number of working titles while in production at the ill-fated upstart Destination Films; when Destination went belly-up, the film sat on the shelf for over a year before being picked up for release by Sony's Screen Gems division. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Academy Award-winning actress Sally Field makes her debut as a director of a theatrical feature with this gently satiric comedy. Mona Hibbard (Minnie Driver) is a woman from a small town in Illinois who never enjoyed much of a rapport with her parents. Looking for approval and validation, Mona began entering local beauty pageants in her early teens; now in her early 20's, Mona is still grimly determined to one day walk away a winner as she finds herself in the early innings of the Miss American Miss competition, organized by Verna Chickle (Kathleen Turner). Somewhere along the way, Mona became a single mother; determined not to let this stand in the way of a pageant victory, Mona has persuaded her best friend Ruby (Joey Lauren Adams) to raise her daughter Vanessa (Hallie Kate Eisenberg) as her own. However, Vanessa seems to have sensed that something is wrong; she feels a much greater bond with Mona than her "mother," and (like nearly everyone else), she's noticed that she looks a lot more like Mona than Ruby. Beautiful also features Kathleen Robertson, Bridgette Wilson, and Leslie Stefanson. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi