Willie Nelson Movies
Texas born-and-bred musical legend Willie Nelson cracked into showbiz as a disc jockey in Fort Worth. He went on to join the Ray Price band, writing tunes for Price as well as a slew of other artists (Nelson's the man who penned Patsy Cline's signature tune "Crazy"). Fronting his own group, The Outlaws, Nelson played the tanktown and honky-tonk circuit before scoring with his 1975 hit "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain." In 1979, he made a laudable film debut as Robert Redford's sidekick in The Electric Horseman; one year later, he starred in the C&W "Intermezzo" clone Honeysuckle Rose (1980), for which he also wrote the score, including the chartbuster "On the Road Again." Nelson's acting resumé includes several made-for-TV westerns, among them 1990's A Pair of Aces and its 1992 sequel, and a 1987 remake of Stagecoach; he also appeared as "himself"--and a very weather-beaten self it was--in a 1995 TV-movie biopic of country star Dottie West. Nelson has been awarded five Grammy Awards, and in the early 1980s he organized the annual Farm Aid Benefit, which earned him a Special Humanitarian Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A beautiful assassin with a dark past botches an important assignment, setting her on a collision course with a deadly nemesis who has been lurking in the shadows and awaiting the perfect moment to strike. Ray (Kelli Fleming) is a killer who has learned to harness her anger and use it to her advantage. She's a lethal killer, and she always gets the job done. When ageing hitman Will (Willie Nelson) hires Ray to carry out a series of high profile assignments, the pair find their stories intertwining through a clandestine antique trade involving the Korean government. Just then, Ray's latest job goes horribly awry and an innocent woman is killed. In the aftermath of that tragedy, Ray finds herself fighting old demons as she prepares to take on a new nemesis. Can Will prevent Ray from making the same mistakes that he once made, and what is Ray's real connection to Will's boss and the Korean government? Find out the answer to these questions and more as the bullets begin to fly in a fast-paced martial arts action thriller from director Sam Um. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willie Nelson
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)
- 2008
- Add A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! to QueueAdd A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! to top of Queue
Satirist and comedy news host Stephen Colbert hosts this explosively patriotic Christmas special featuring guest appearances by such famous, important, close personal friends of Colbert as Elvis Costello and Willie Nelson. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Colbert
Country music star Toby Keith writes and stars in this road movie comedy inspired by his chart-topping hit of the same name. Beer for My Horses opens to find small-town deputies and longtime buddies Rack (Keith) and Lonnie (Rodney Carrington) quietly enforcing the law in a small Southern town. Things are relatively quiet in their neck of the woods, so when a violent drug lord (Carlos Sanz) kidnaps Rack's girlfriend (Claire Forlani) in response to seeing his brother (Greg Serano) get arrested, Sheriff Landry (Tom Skerrit) implores them to sit tight and let the professionals handle the case. But Rack and Lonnie aren't about to let Rack's girlfriend suffer any harm at the hands of the notoriously vicious kingpin, and after enlisting the aid of taciturn, bow-and-arrow-toting fellow lawman Skunk Tarver (Ted Nugent), the trio sets out to rescue the girl and ensure that justice is served. The CMT Films production is directed by Michael Salomon (A Glimpse of Hell), with Willie Nelson and Barry Corbin filling out the supporting cast. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toby Keith, Rodney Carrington, (more)
When the mischievous antics of a precocious 12-year-old girl result in the outcome of the United States presidential election hinging on the vote of her apathetic, likable loser of a father, the man who thought that life had long since passed him by is reluctantly thrust into the national spotlight in this political-themed comedy starring Kevin Costner. Bud Johnson (Costner) is your typical American -- a simple man and loving father who never would have thought he had the power to change the world. Though when election day finally arrives and Bud prepares to cast his ballot, his overachieving daughter Molly proves to be the catalyst for a stunning series of events that place the fate of the free world in the hands of a man more comfortable slinging cases of beer -- her father. The two candidates are portrayed by Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer, with Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci as their campaign managers. George Lopez also stars as a local TV-station manager who has to deal with the political factions as they set up camp in the small town. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Madeline Carroll, (more)
First-time feature filmmaker Laura Dunn transforms an idea suggested to her by legendary director Terrence Malick into a cinematic reality with an ambitious documentary detailing the rise of a West Texas farm boy-turned-wildly successful real-estate mogul, and the landmark environmental movement that his actions inadvertently set into motion. In the late-'70s, the city of Austin, TX, was ripe for change. Recognizing the remarkable potential for both growth and financial profit in such a rapidly expanding boomtown, aspiring real-estate tycoon Gary Bradley set his own American dream into motion by turning a 4,000-acre ranch into the biggest and fastest-selling subdivision in the entire state of Texas. His sizable development would stir controversy in the community, however, when the locals learned that it would likely mean the end of the delicate limestone aquifer and spring-fed swimming that has stood as a local landmark for generations. Determined not to let the precious natural resource run dry at any cost, the concerned citizens decided to do everything in their power to fight the development. In the ensuing battle, one of America's most powerful environmental movements was born. Robert Redford and Willie Nelson appear in a though-provoking film that weighs the economics of the American dream against the destruction of the natural world in an effort to explore just what price we, and future generations, are willing to pay for the luxuries of modern living. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2007
Eric Clapton: Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007 offers footage from that edition of the annual charity event. This particular line-up includes performances by Sheryl Crow, Buddy Guy, and Willie Nelson, as well as Clapton himself paying homage to his dear friend George Harrison. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Clapton
- 2007
This concert film captures the highlights of the 2007 Farm Aid Music festival, which marked the fundraiser's 20th anniversary. Some of the featured performers in the release include Emmylou Harris, Wilco, Widespread Panic, John Mellencamp, and more. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Voegele, Shannon Brown, (more)
An ambitious young woman (Jessica Simpson) attempting to navigate her way through the cutthroat corporate world becomes the unwitting pawn of two unscrupulous executives seeking to topple and replace the powerful head of an international conglomerate. Penelope Ann Miller, Luke Wilson, Andy Dick, Rachel Leigh Cook, and Jamie Kennedy co-star in director Scott Marshall's loose remake of the Mike Nichols' 1988 comedy Working Girl. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Simpson, Penelope Ann Miller, (more)
- 2007
- R
- Add The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning to QueueAdd The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning to top of Queue
Hazzard County's two rowdiest siblings are back and stirring up more mischief than ever in this prequel to the 2005 comedy adventure that explores the origins of the General Lee while finding out just how Bo (Jonathan Bennett) and Luke Duke (Randy Wayne) first incurred the wrath of bumbling greedy businessman Boss Hogg (Christopher McDonald). Hogg is set to foreclose on Uncle Jesse's (Willie Nelson) farm, and in order to save their crusty kin from financial ruin Bo and Luke agree to deliver his potent brand of moonshine to Hazzard County's thirstiest residents. Unfortunately for Bo and Luke, the nefarious Boss Hogg doesn't take kindly to the newly arrived competition. Subsequently thrown in jail and sentenced to sweat out the remainder of the summer on work detail, the crafty Duke boys enlist the aid of sexy cousin Daisy (April Scott) in outrunning the car with the star and making Boss Hogg's life unbearable through a series of outrageous schemes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Bennett, Randy Wayne, (more)
Soon after relocating from Texas to New York in a bid to make the big time, a 21-year-old actor enters into a turbulent relationship with a struggling singer/songwriter in writer/director Ethan Hawke's screen adaptation of his own debut novel. William (Mark Webber) is an aspiring actor with dreams of making it big. Upon arriving in New York City, William soon enters into a tenuous romance with Sarah (Catalina Sandino Moreno), a talented musician with a winning voice and keen songwriting skills. Love is a fickle thing, though, and in the thriving world of young and talented artists, it isn't always enough to make a relationship last. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Webber, Catalina Sandino Moreno, (more)
Filmmaker Turk Pipkin sets out on a global journey to probe the minds of nine Nobel Laureates in this documentary that seeks to find answers to some of the most pressing issues currently facing mankind. Everyone wants the world to be a better place for our children and the future generations that will follow, but how do we work to improve a world where famine, warfare, and strife seem to be more widespread than ever before? Follow Pipkin to the far corners of the globe as he poses this question, and many others concerning the future of our troubled planet to such great minds as Rick Smalley, Steven Weinberg, Dr. Harold Varmus, Desmond Tutu, Sir Joseph Rotblat, Jody Williams, Amartya Sen, and Ahmed Zewail. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
When a fading country music superstar Bo Price (Toby Keith) returns to his hometown for the funeral of his younger brother, a reunion with his high-school sweetheart drags the pain of the past into the present day and soon promises to change his life forever. Bo and Angela (Kelly Preston) have both lost the ones they love in a tragic accident, and now the time has come to say goodbye. For every end there is a new beginning though, and when Bo reunites with Angela and meets the daughter he has never known, the life-changing encounter stirs feelings that Bo had long-since buried after achieving stratospheric success. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toby Keith, Kelly Preston, (more)
The General Lee is back and so are the Duke boys in this big-screen adaptation of the hit TV series, brought to you by Jay Chandrasekhar of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe. Set in the "present day," the story follows Bo (Seann William Scott) and Luke (Johnny Knoxville) as they cruise around Hazzard County and wreck havoc in their classic 1969 Dodge Charger. Together with their scantily clad cousin Daisy (Jessica Simpson) and moonshining Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson), the two good old boys battle the corrupt county commissioner Boss Hog (Burt Reynolds) when he and local Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (M.C. Gainey) threaten to take away the family farm. John O'Brien has the lone writer's credit on the film, though additional uncredited rewrites were handled by the Broken Lizard gang. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, (more)
- 2005
- Add Willie Nelson and Friends: Live and Kickin' to QueueAdd Willie Nelson and Friends: Live and Kickin' to top of Queue
The man they call "The Red-Headed Stranger", Willie Nelson performs his several songs along with an eclectic lineup of musical guests in this concert release from Universal Music. Willie Nelson and Friends: Live and Kickin' features "Homeward Bound" with Paul Simon, "Me and Bobby McGee" with Sheryl Crow and Kris Kristofferson, "I'll Never Smoke Weed with Willie Again" with Toby Keith and Scott Emerick, and many others. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 2004
- Add Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt to QueueAdd Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt to top of Queue
The celebrated singer and songwriter Steve Earle once said "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." Earle was hardly the only artist of note who loved Van Zandt's poetic, elliptical songs of love and dashed hopes -- Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, the Cowboy Junkies, and Nanci Griffith are among the many performers who have recorded his work, and he was a key inspiration for much of the Texas singer/songwriter community, including Guy Clark, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, and Lyle Lovett. However, while Van Zandt was greatly admired by his peers and a small cult of passionate admirers, it was other artists who had hits with his songs, not him, and this gifted but troubled man was haunted by drug and alcohol addiction much of his life. Van Zandt also had difficult relationships with his family and three wives, and at the age of 20, he was given shock treatments which wiped out nearly all of his childhood memories. In the 1990s, Van Zandt's public profile began to grow larger, and he was signed to a major record label for the first time in 1996, but as often happened in his songs, fate stepped in, and Van Zandt died following hip surgery on New Year's Day, 1997. Filmmaker Margaret Brown, a longtime fan of Townes Van Zandt, examines both his life and his art in the documentary Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt, which includes interviews with many of his close friends, family members and collaborators, including Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Steve Shelley, Guy Clark, and many more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2003
- Add Willie Nelson: Live at Billy Bob's Texas to QueueAdd Willie Nelson: Live at Billy Bob's Texas to top of Queue
One of the legendary figures in country music, Willie Nelson performs a variety of his best-loved songs on this concert film that was recorded in his home state of Texas. This 2003 show offers selections from nearly every phase of the performer's nearly five decade career. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
A veteran mobster discovers the grass is greener on the other side in this broad independent comedy. Frank (Frank Adonis) is a 60-year-old Mafia lieutenant who has been entrusted with a suitcase full of high-quality marijuana that has arrived in Manhattan from the Deep South and is ready for sale. Frank, however, happens to make the acquaintance of Jade (Theo Kogan), an attractive young woman who sings with a punk-rock band. Jade turns Frank's head, and she, in turn, samples the wares from Frank's suitcase. Jade persuades Frank to try some of the weed, and before long he has a decidedly more forgiving attitude about life and those around him. Frank's new laid-back personality, however, doesn't go over well with his bosses, especially after the stash he was given goes missing and ends up being stolen and re-stolen by a dizzying variety of underground personalities. High Times' Potluck -- which, as the title infers, was produced and financed in part by the well-known marijuana advocacy magazine -- also stars Jason Mews, Frank Gorshin, Sylvia Miles, and Jason Isaacs; noted cannabis enthusiasts Tommy Chong and David Peel also make cameo appearances. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
George Armitage directs this big-screen adaptation of Elmore Leonard's The Big Bounce. Jack Ryan (Owen Wilson) is an occasional thief who tends to a judge (Morgan Freeman). A woman involved with Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinese), a real estate developer of questionable ethics, seduces Jack. Ritchie and the judge are old enemies, complicating Jack's moral dilemma when the girls asks Jack to help her double-cross Ritchie. The book was adapted once before with Ryan O'Neal in the Owen Wilson role. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, (more)
