Jon Peters Movies
A hard-case kid who spent his formative years in and out of reform school, Peters settled down at 14 to go into his mother's line of work as a haircutter in a beauty shop. Armed with an instinctive genius for self-promotion, he amassed a huge celebrity clientele at his trendy Jon Peters Salon on Rodeo Drive, raking in millions by merchandising the salon's ancillary cosmetic products. Along the way, Peters made hundreds of valuable showbiz contacts, and married one of his best customers, actress Leslie Ann Warren. Privy to confidences that the Rich and Famous only reveal to their hairdressers, Peters was fairly hip to the ways and means of Hollywood by the time he fell in love with Barbra Streisand in 1974 (he divorced Warren a year later). Streisand trusted Peters enough to put her entire career in his talented hands. He produced her 1976 remake of Star is Born, which earned the derision of the "suits" and the drubbing of the critics, but which made a fortune and yielded an Oscar-winning song, Evergreen. Virtually overnight, Peters blossomed into an A-list producer, a status he sustained long after his breakup with Streisand. His subsequent productions included The Eyes of Laura Mars (1977) and Caddyshack (1980), all knocked by reviewers but eaten up by the public. In 1980, Peters teamed with former Casablanca Records and Filmworks exec Peter Guber; together with Neil Bogart, Peters and Guber formed the Polygram Productions, later renamed the Boardwalk Company. A series of mergers and selloffs later, Guber-Peters Productions was born in 1983. The team's willingness to take enormous chances with huge amounts of money transformed Guber and Peters into the wunderkind of Hollywood, especially after such critical and/or financial successes as The Color Purple (1985), Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Rain Man (1989). Shortly after reforming as Guber-Peters-Barris, the partnership took its biggest risk and scored its biggest hit with Batman: The Movie (1989), which won Peters and his partners a multimillion-dollar seven-year WB contract. Within months, they were wooed away by Sony Corporation, which offered Peters, Guber et. al. one billion dollars to assume chief executive posts at Sony's newest acquisition, Columbia Pictures. In 1991, after taking a bath with Bonfire of the Vanities, Jon Peters bolted Columbia for the independent Jon Peters Organization; within a year, he was back on his feet with Batman Returns (1992). Seldom one to joke about his accomplishments, Jon Peters has on at least one occasion flippantly compared moviemaking to hairdressing: "When I was in the hair business I produced huge spectacular shows. Film is just another form of production." A fairly deliberate producer who always took the time to nuture his projects, Peters would produce only eight films in the thirteen years following Batman Returns, with a trip to the ring in 2001's Ali preceding a return to the superhero arena with the 2006 blockbuster Superman Returns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1989
James Brolin costars with his son Josh in the made-for-cable Finish Line. The film's ad copy says it all: "His father made him run. The steroids made him win." In a justifiably melodramatic fashion, the film, based on a true story, examines the win-at-any-cost mentality of high school athletes and their parents. As is proven in the wrenching finale, that cost is a precious one. Finish Line premiered January 11, 1989, on the TNT cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Directed by Al Giddings, Ocean Symphony features an original musical store set to striking underwater photography. Whether it's the icy waters of the Arctic north, or the warm waters of the Carribean, the world of the sea is revealed in these eleven segments. Featured creatures include jelly fish, sharks, and a wide variety of whales.
~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In a early starring assignment, Keanu Reeves plays the head of a teenaged vigilante society. Reeves and his overachieving buddies intend to rid their school and neighborhood of drug users and vandals. But as their power increases, the vigilantes become more abusive and dangerous. Produced by the powerhouse Hollywood team of Jon Peters and Peter Guber, Brotherhood of Justice was designed as the pilot for a weekly series. The made-for-TV melodrama premiered May 18, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
There was once a time within living memory when people eagerly awaited a TV-movie starring Mister T. The Toughest Man in the World casts the former Laurence Turand as nightclub bouncer "Bruise" Brubaker. Marshmallow-soft on the inside, Bruise befriends a group of underprivileged kids at a youth center. The film bears a marked resemblance to Mister T's Saturday-morning cartoon series; whether it is better or worse is left to the viewer. I pity the fool who missed The Toughest Man in the World when it was first telecast on November 7, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Centerpoint Productions and MCA/Universal present this yoga routine starring world-renowned yogi Alan Finger, host of PBS's Yoga Zone. Originally released in 1983, Yoga Moves With Alan Finger is designed to offer participants a yoga-based workout that works the body and mind by not only stretching, strengthening, and toning, but also relaxing and centering. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Notoriously obsessive director Michael Mann and star Will Smith devoted nearly two years and over 100 million dollars from the coffers of Columbia Pictures and other financiers to creating this biography of boxing great Muhammad Ali, which focuses on the ten-year period of 1964-1974. In that time, the brash, motor-mouthed athlete quickly dominates his sport, meets and marries his first wife (Jada Pinkett-Smith), converts to Islam (changing his name from Cassius Clay), and defies the United States government by refusing to submit to military conscription for duty in Vietnam. His world heavyweight champion title thus stripped from him entirely for political reasons, the champ sets about to win back his crown, culminating in a legendary unification bout against George Foreman (Charles Shufford) in Zaire, dubbed the "Rumble in the Jungle." In his travels, Ali becomes a symbol of power to disenfranchised African-Americans everywhere and meets such luminaries as Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles), Martin Luther King Jr. (LeVar Burton) and Maya Angelou (Martha Edgerton). Ali features an all-star supporting cast that includes Jon Voight, Giancarlo Esposito, Jamie Foxx, Nona Gaye, Michael Michele, Joe Morton, Paul Rodriguez, Ron Silver, Mykelti Williamson, and Jeffrey Wright. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, (more)
Rosewood is the true story of an almost unknown incident in a small Florida town, (fictionalized, but faithful to the known facts, as documented in a 1994 report by the Florida Legislature). The town was inhabited almost entirely by quiet, "middle-class" African- Americans (most of them home and land owners and better off than average at the time.) On New Year's day, 1923, the town was wiped off the face of the earth by angry whites from a neighboring community. Based on palpably false testimony by a single white woman against one "Black" stranger, many of the men of Rosewood were hunted down and lynched, or shot, or burned. The rest of the town's residents fled into the swamps and never returned. At the time, official reports stated that two to six people from the black community were slain. Neither the perpetrators nor the victims spoke of the incident again, which was promptly forgotten until 1983 when a reporter stumbled across the old story and began investigating. Interviews with surviving victims indicated that the previous reports were wrong; in reality, between 70 and 250 people were killed in Rosewood during the four-day attack.
The film is a human story, about human envy, greed and lust, about the totally insane psychology of a mob, but also about the courage and decency of common folks facing an unbelievable onslaught of evil. The courage of the black residents is self evident, and the decency on the part of a few white neighbors is reluctant, until they realize that they can't live with themselves if they don't help the woman and children to escape. The most notable black heroes are Sylvester (Don Cheadle) -- a music teacher and the best-educated man in town -- and Mann (Ving Rhames) -- a stranger on horseback with Samson-like strength who becomes the focus of white hatred and black resistance. The penny-pinching, adulterous town grocer John Wright (John Voight), one of the few white residents, also plays a key role in saving lives, but before he does, he must resolve painful racial issues and make a difficult personal choice. Eventually, though, he sees enough of the mob's evil to know what he must do, and with the help of the reluctant owner-operators of the Gainesville railway, he does it. John Singleton's powerful epic film does not present a "comfortable" view of the circumstances of this grim, little-known page from American history. ~ Michael P. Rogers, All Movie Guide
The film is a human story, about human envy, greed and lust, about the totally insane psychology of a mob, but also about the courage and decency of common folks facing an unbelievable onslaught of evil. The courage of the black residents is self evident, and the decency on the part of a few white neighbors is reluctant, until they realize that they can't live with themselves if they don't help the woman and children to escape. The most notable black heroes are Sylvester (Don Cheadle) -- a music teacher and the best-educated man in town -- and Mann (Ving Rhames) -- a stranger on horseback with Samson-like strength who becomes the focus of white hatred and black resistance. The penny-pinching, adulterous town grocer John Wright (John Voight), one of the few white residents, also plays a key role in saving lives, but before he does, he must resolve painful racial issues and make a difficult personal choice. Eventually, though, he sees enough of the mob's evil to know what he must do, and with the help of the reluctant owner-operators of the Gainesville railway, he does it. John Singleton's powerful epic film does not present a "comfortable" view of the circumstances of this grim, little-known page from American history. ~ Michael P. Rogers, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, (more)
A pair of New York City cops collaborate on a plan to rob a cash-packed subway train in this action-comedy. Charlie (Woody Harrelson) and John (Wesley Snipes) are not just co-workers and close friends but also foster brothers. Because of this family connection, the reluctant John becomes involved in the more capricious Charlie's far-fetched scheme to rob the "money train" that collects the subway's daily grosses. Charlie needs the money for gambling debts, and robbing the train would have the added benefit of angering Charlie's and John's harsh, corrupt boss Captain Patterson (Robert Blake). Romantic interest is provided by a fellow police officer (Jennifer Lopez) who sparks rivalry between the brothers, but the film's main interest is in the violent events that surround the attempted heist, which naturally proves more complicated than planned. The film attempts to capitalize on the chemistry between Snipes and Harrelson, who had previously had a hit comedy with White Men Can't Jump (1992), but Joseph Ruben's unexceptional direction and a bland screenplay by Doug Richardson and David Loughery make the film less distinctive than its predecessor. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, (more)
In the original box-office smash Under Siege, action hero Steven Seagal played Casey Ryback, a U.S. Navy SEAL who saved the world from nuclear destruction by outsmarting and killing off terrorists who had commandeered a submarine. In this sequel, Seagal's Ryback character does the same sort of thing aboard a train. Ryback now has retired from the Navy and is taking his niece Sarah (Katherine Heigl) on a vacation. They board a train traveling through the Rocky Mountains. Criminal mastermind Travis Dane (Eric Bogosian) is using the train as a control center in his effort to kidnap a top-secret government outer space super-weapon. Dane built the weapon but then was fired by the government before it was deployed. He has hooked up with shadowy Middle Eastern terrorists who have offered him $1 billion to use the satellite to blow up the Eastern seaboard by targeting a secret nuclear reactor underneath the Pentagon. Dane shows the Pentagon that he's got control of the weapon by blowing up a Chinese chemical plant. Officials can't stop him because they can't locate his headquarters. As long as the train keeps moving, his location can't be fixed. Ryback learns of the plot and enlists a porter named Bobby (Morris Chestnut) to help him in his battle. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Seagal, Eric Bogosian, (more)
A single mother and her difficult son find family life isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be in this drama adapted from writer and professor Tobias Wolff's 1989 memoir of the same name. Nomadic, flaky Caroline (Ellen Barkin) just wants to settle down in one place, find a decent guy, and provide a better home for her handful of a son, Toby (Leonardo DiCaprio). When she moves to Seattle and meets the respectful, respectable Dwight Hansen (Robert DeNiro), she thinks she's got it made. Toby, however, feels differently after spending a few months with Dwight and his children and away from Caroline. The boy's stepfather-to-be seems to want to mold Toby into a better person, but to do so he emotionally, verbally, and physically abuses the kid. The marriage proceeds, and soon Caroline, too, recognizes Dwight's need to dominate everyone around him. She sticks with it, though, convinced it's the best thing for her son, and several years of dysfunction ensue. During this time, Tobias befriends another misfit, the possibly homosexual young Jonah (Arthur Gayle), while continuing to chafe under the yoke of his repressive stepfather. This Boy's Life provided the first lead role for future superstar DiCaprio. The film was written by Robert Getchell, who also penned such mother/son fare as Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and The Client. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Ellen Barkin, (more)
Brian De Palma's Hollywood sanitization of Tom Wolfe's scabrous satire stars Tom Hanks as Sherman McCoy, the "master of the universe," a shallow Wall Street investor who makes millions while enjoying the good life and the sexual favors of Maria Ruskin (Melanie Griffith), a Southern belle golddigger. Sherman and Maria are driving back to Maria's apartment from the airport when Maria takes a wrong turn on the expressway and the two find themselves in the South Bronx. She sees a black youth approaching Sherman's car and Maria, frightened, guns the engine, running over the teenager and killing him. The two drive away and decide not to report the accident to the police. Meanwhile, indigent alcoholic journalist Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis), anxious for a story to make good with his editor, comes upon the hit-and-run tale through local black community activist, Reverend Bacon (John Hancock). Bacon plans to use the hit-and-run case as a rallying point for the black community, while Fallow recognizes the press coverage inherent in prosecuting the callow Sherman. As Sherman is brought to his knees, the New York community fragments into different factions who use the case to suit their own cynical political purposes. Finally, Sherman is left without any allies to support him except for the sympathetic Judge White (Morgan Freeman) and the remorseful Fallow. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, (more)
Sylvester Stallone tries his luck with his first cop buddy movie in Tango and Cash, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. Stallone is Ray Tango, a Los Angeles narcotics cop who dresses in fancy suits, wears wire-rim glasses, and talks to his stockbroker more than he talks to his mother. Kurt Russell is Gabriel Cash, another Los Angeles narcotics cop who has long, disheveled blonde hair and dresses in worn-out sweatshirts. Together, Tango and Cash are the two best narcs in LA, which causes drug baron Yves Perret (Jack Palance) no end of distress. Since Yves controls a billion-dollar drug empire, Tango and Cash have to be taken out of the picture in some way. So Yves arranges for Tango and Cash to be framed for a crime. But the duo accepts a plea bargain that will give them 18 months in a minimum-security prison. Unfortunately, Yves arranges for their destination to be diverted to a maximum-security hell-hole where Yves's minions proceed to torture Tango and Cash --although they still have time to trade quips with each other. Ultimately, they escape from their torture chamber and seek out Yves and his gang. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, (more)
Self-centered, avaricious Californian Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) is informed that his long-estranged father has died. Expecting at least a portion of the elder Babbitt's $3 million estate, Charlie learns that all he's inherited is his dad's prize roses and a 1949 Buick Roadmaster. Discovering that the $3 million is being held in trust for an unidentified party, Charlie heads to his home town of Cincinnati to ascertain who that party is. It turns out that the beneficiary is Raymond Babbitt (Dustin Hoffman), the autistic-savant older brother that Charlie never knew he had. Able to memorize reams of trivia and add, subtract, multiply, and divide without a second's hesitation, Raymond is otherwise incapable of functioning as a normal human being. Aghast that Raymond is to receive his father's entire legacy, Charlie tries to cut a deal with Raymond's guardian. When this fails, Charlie "borrows" Raymond from the institution where he lives, hoping to use his brother as leverage to claim half the fortune. During their subsequent cross-country odyssey, Charlie is forced to accommodate Raymond's various autistic idiosyncracies, not the least of which is his insistence on adhering to a rigid daily schedule: he must, for example, watch People's Court and Jeopardy every day at the same time, no matter what. On hitting Las Vegas, Charlie hopes to harness Raymond's finely-honed mathematical skills to win big at the gaming tables; but this exploitation of his brother's affliction compels Charlie to reassess his own values, or lack thereof. A longtime pet project of star Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man was turned down by several high-profile directors before Barry Levinson took on the challenge of bringing Ronald Bass' screenplay to fruition (Levinson also appears in the film as a psychiatrist). All three men won Oscars, and the movie won Best Picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, (more)
The Witches of Eastwick, a memorable comedy with a dark edge, is based upon a novel by John Updike. On Thursday nights three female friends -- Alex (Cher), Sukie (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Jane (Susan Sarandon) -- meet to chug martinis, learn Chinese aphrodisiac cooking and lament the scarcity of eligible men. As they sit around, they fantasize about and describe their idea of the ideal male. Arriving in town the following day is Satan, disguised as mysterious stranger Darrell Van Horn (Jack Nicholson). One by one, Van Horne seduces each of the women. Then, strange things begin to happen. When the town matriarch Felicia (Veronica Cartwright) publicly denounces Van Horne, she sustains a nasty compound fracture. When she forces her editor husband to publish a story about Van Horne's sexual antics, Darrell gets his revenge with revoltingly large amounts of cherries. The women now see that they may be in danger and begin to plot their escape. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Nicholson, Cher, (more)
Rob Lowe stars as the title character, a young hockey prodigy with a gift for scoring, but no such penchant for pugilism -- when the gloves drop, so does he. Despite his fragility, Coach Chadwick (Ed Lauter) takes him on the roster for his stick-handling ability alone. However, he ends up being sent home after being singled out by a particularly nasty goon, Racki (George Finn), who pummels the "pretty boy" in brutal fashion. Disheartened, Youngblood heads back to the rural Canadian farm he calls home, where his father (Eric Nesterenko, a former player for the Chicago Blackhawks) and older brother (Jim Youngs) teach him the invaluable lesson that hockey is "no place for a nervous person" (to quote a famous NHL announcer). Overseen by his elders, he immediately begins a combat-training regimen to prepare for his return and imminent showdown with the evil Racki; meanwhile, he strikes up a relationship with the coach's daughter (Cynthia Gibb). ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Lowe, Cynthia Gibb, (more)
Cinematographer Michael Chapman directed this John Sayles adaptation of Jean M. Auel's best-selling ode to Cro-Magnon women. The story begins at the moment in pre-history when the last of the Neanderthal men were becoming extinct and the superior race of Cro-Magnons were starting to supersede them. Focusing on a tribe of wandering Neanderthals who adopt a young girl named, Ayla (played as an adult by Daryl Hannah). She grows tall, lithe, and smart. The Neanderthals quickly accept her into their tribe, but once a tribal member, Ayla begins to question the tribe's male chauvinistic presumptions. Unable to conceive of why only men are given weapons, she takes it upon herself to learn how to use a slingshot. She then questions the tribe's assumptions concerning sexual politics. She learns to count and becomes the assistant to the local medicine expert. As the seasons wear on, the tribe utilizes Ayla's knowledge for their own good while Ayla's continues to try the patience of the tribe with her unspeakable feminist demands. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daryl Hannah, Pamela Reed, (more)
According to high school wrestler Matthew Modine, a spiritual "Vision Quest" is necessary for him to decide his future. Thus, Modine starts behaving in a manner that amazes even himself. The crowning achievement of Modine's new outlook on life is his romance with 21-year-old artist Linda Fiorentino. Somehow, all of this boils down to the standard "underdog makes good at crucial sports event" finale. Essentially Rocky and Breaking Away redux, Vision Quest is saved by the spirited performances of its young protagonists. Of historical value is the brief appearance by Madonna, whose voice is heard throughout on the film's music track. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Modine, Linda Fiorentino, (more)
Jennifer Beals stars as Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel-mill welder by day, and bar dancer by night. Harboring dreams of a career in ballet, she is given financial support in this endeavor by her boss Nick Hurley (Michael Nouri) and moral support by demanding but big-hearted instructor Hanna Long (Lilia Skala). The film's signature scene is, of course, Alex's water-drenched dance audition, largely performed in long shot by her dance double Marine Jahan. Essentially an old-fashioned backstage yarn, Flashdance was given a contemporary spin by its pulsating, musical score featuring the Oscar-winning Best Song, Flashdance...What a Feeling, (music by Giorgio Moroder, lyrics by Keith Forsey and Irene Cara). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, (more)
In this casual, uninvolved comedy running on a low-octane script, a scruffy taxi company is about to be wiped out when its owner Harold (Max Gail) exhorts his cabbies to do what they can to help save the company -- and what they can do turns out to be a surprise to everyone concerned. Saving the day (and the film) are the likeable, eccentric drivers, introduced by means of a new trainee (Adam Baldwin) who rides around with each in turn. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Baldwin, Charlie Barnett, (more)
- 1981
- R
- Add An American Werewolf in London to QueueAdd An American Werewolf in London to top of Queue
While wandering the English moors on vacation, college yanks David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) happen upon a quaint pub with a mysterious patronage who warn them not to leave the road when walking after dark. Irreverent of such advice as characters in horror films always are, the two decide to find a short cut....David wakes up in the hospital with a nasty bite wound to his shoulder; the freshly deceased, and rapidly decomposing, Jack arrives soon after to deliver the grim news that, unless he commits suicide, David will become a werewolf when the moon is full. David dismisses the encounter as a hallucination, but all indicators point to lycanthrope; evenings of barking and bloodletting follow closely behind. While the story is thin and much of the tongue-in-cheek humor is overdone, there are plenty of genuine jolts thanks to makeup guru Rick Baker's eye-popping special effects. The werewolf, resembling a cross between a bear and a wolverine, appears frighteningly real, and, given the fantastic premise, the gore is most convincing (although surprisingly and refreshingly scant). The hospital dream sequences are creative, and the scenes in which the werewolf runs rampant through downtown London are particularly good. In all, An American Werewolf in London is an original, atmospheric film that manages both to scare and amuse. While dismissed by most American critics upon its release, the film managed to secure a place in the annals of American cinema when Baker won an Academy Award for his amazing effects and creature designs. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, (more)
The smash success Caddyshack became a prototype for countless other wacky T&A-tinged teen comedies of the early 1980s. At an exclusive country club for WASPish snobs, an ambitious young caddy (Michael O'Keefe) from an overpopulated home eagerly pursues a caddy scholarship in hopes of attending college and, in turn, avoiding a job at the lumber yard. In order to succeed, he must first win the favor of the elitist Judge Smails (Ted Knight), then the caddy golf tournament which the good judge sponsors. Of course, there are love interests as well -- one good, one naughty -- not to mention several foes he must vanquish along the way. The story itself serves to string along a series of slapstick scenes involving an obnoxious nouveau riche land developer (Rodney Dangerfield) who wants to turn the site into a condominium community; an oddball, Zen-quoting, millionaire slacker/golf ace (Chevy Chase); and a psychotic groundskeeper (Bill Murray) with a gopher-fixation. Caddyshack was a bona fide hit; throughout the '80s and '90s, director Harold Ramis would continue to create such hits as Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, and Analyze This. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, (more)
A shutterbug is haunted by psychic visions of the killer who is murdering all of her friends in this hit thriller. Intense and driven, successful photographer Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) has made a name for herself by juxtaposing sex and violence in her glamorous photos. But at the height of her success -- and just as a media backlash is brewing -- she begins to experience daydreams from the point of view of a serial killer as he relentlessly stalks and murders her associates. Her unbalanced ex-husband (Raul Julia) seems like an obvious suspect, especially when his new girlfriend is murdered and he goes on the lam. But Laura is shocked by the prospect that the killer could be somebody out to discredit her work, which she views as an artistic commentary on the degradation of the modern world. Under the protection of police detective John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones), Laura is unable to save even one of her friends from a violent end. Soon, she finds herself inside the mind of the killer as he marches down a familiar hallway: the one outside her own door. Co-written by Halloween director John Carpenter, Eyes of Laura Mars also features character actors Brad Dourif and René Auberjonois. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, (more)
The third remake of the 1932 drama What Price Hollywood?, this adaptation of A Star Is Born moved the story into the mid-1970's and changed the milieu from the movie business to pop music. John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson) is a rock star whose career has peaked; he is numbed by booze and cocaine, his music has lost its edge, and his performances have become painfully haphazard. One night, after a concert, he stumbles into a club where he sees a singing group fronted by Esther Hoffman (Barbra Streisand). John likes what he hears and loves what he sees; he tries picking her up, but soon realizes if he wants to see her, he'll have to ask her out on an actual date. He does, and before long the two become involved, although Esther has trouble with John's rock star lifestyle. One night, a typically burned-out John lets Esther sing a few songs at one of his shows; before long she's the talk of the record business. While Esther's star begins to rise, John's continues to sink, and while she desperately tries get John to clean up and focus on his music, it may be too late to save him. The song "Evergreen" earned this film an Academy Award for Best Song; the credits contain the amusing notice, "Ms. Streisand's Clothes from ... Her Closet." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson, (more)
The Man of Steel returns to the big screen with this continuation of the icon's film legacy that picks up after the events of the first two Christopher Reeve films. Some time has passed since the events of Superman II and the world has gotten used to life without Superman (Brandon Routh) ever since his puzzling disappearance years earlier. Upon his return, he finds a Metropolis that doesn't need him anymore, while Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on with another young suitor Richard White (James Marsden) in the meantime. As the hero begins to tackle the fact that life on Earth has continued without him, he is forced to face his old arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) and restore the life that was once his. Directed by Bryan Singer from a script by the writing team of X-Men 2, Superman Returns marks a return to the screen for the man in tights, whose production history has seen many failed attempts including a famous near-miss from Tim Burton and Kevin Smith with Nicolas Cage in the lead role, along with another from director McG and writer J.J. Abrams (Lost). Singer eventually won the prestigious gig when he pitched the idea to not tackle the origin story again, but continue with director Richard Donner's original vision. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, (more)
Yet another TV series is revived for the big screen, as Will Smith and Kevin Kline join forces as James T. West and Artemus Gordon, the most sophisticated government agents of the 1860's, in the film adaptation of The Wild Wild West. West and Gordon represent two opposite ends of the personality scale: West is a smooth-talking charmer and man of action who prefers to shoot first and ask questions much, much later; while Gordon is intensely methodical and cerebral, with a genius for gadgets and mechanical innovations. They're brought together by no less an authority than the President of the United States to track down an evil genius named Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh). Loveless was once an honored military leader and inventor until one of his schemes went awry and left him paralyzed from the waist down. Driven mad by the experience, Loveless is determined to get revenge on the United States by assassinating the President, using a 60-foot tall mechanical spider. Assisting Loveless is a team of beautiful female criminals, Miss East (Bai Ling), Amazonia (Frederique Van Der Wal), Munitia (Musetta Vander) and Miss Lippenreider (Sofia Eng). As the initially suspicious West and Gordon learn to work together, they also find themselves helped by an attractive woman, Rita Escobar (Salma Hayek), who has her own bone to pick with Loveless. Wild Wild West reunites star Will Smith with director Barry Sonnenfeld, who previously worked together on the hit Men In Black (1997). Wild Wild West features a hip-hop theme song from one-time Fresh Prince Smith, along with a more traditional Western score from composer Elmer Bernstein. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Kevin Kline, (more)
