Phil Alden Robinson Movies

The historic HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, based on the non-fiction book by Stephen E. Ambrose, and executive produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, begins with "Currahee," named for the Airborne battle cry. The first episode shows the men of Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne, as they undergo their grueling paratrooper training. The drama begins in England, on the eve of the D-Day invasion, as two lieutenants, Richard Winters (Damian Lewis) and Lewis Nixon (Ron Livingston of Office Space) briefly reminisce about the horrible two years they spent training under Capt. Herbert Sobel (David Schwimmer of Friends), their mean-spirited commanding officer at Camp Toccoa in Georgia. The story then flashes back, showing Sobel ordering his men to run extra miles, repeatedly revoking weekend passes, and generally doing everything he can, it seems, to break their spirit. The troops bond together in their hatred of Sobel and tough it out, becoming the elite company of the regiment. Meanwhile, the straight-laced teetotaler Winters proves to be a resourceful and popular leader. When the troops are shipped to England in preparation for their assault on France, and begin combat exercises in the field, Sobel repeatedly freezes up. He panics and puts his men in harm's way. Things come to a head when, just before the planned invasion of Normandy, Sobel accuses Winters of disobeying a direct order, and the men of Easy Company desperately look for a way to stop Sobel from leading them into battle. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

In this tech-thriller from director Phil Alden Robinson, a group of five renegade computer hackers, led by Martin Bishop (Robert Redford), are hired by the government to steal a black box, containing a code-breaking machine, from the mathematician who invented the device. The government is able to persuade Martin to take the job by convincing him that they will drop a decades-old federal warrant for his involvement in computer fraud. Martin agrees and he takes his team on the mission, eventually taking the box. Shortly after the hackers have stolen the device, the mathematician turns up dead. Before long, the quintet realize that they've gotten themselves into more than they'd originally bargained for, as Bishop's old rival Cosmo (Ben Kingsley) enters into the fold. The eclectic ensemble also includes River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, David Strathairn, Mary McDonnell, and James Earl Jones. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

"If you build it, he will come." That's the ethereal message that inspires Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) to construct a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield. At first, "he" seems to be the ghost of disgraced ballplayer Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta), who materializes on the ballfield and plays a few games with the awestruck Ray. But as the weeks go by, Ray receives several other messages from a disembodied voice, one of which is "Ease his pain." He realizes that his ballfield has been divinely ordained to give a second chance to people who have sacrificed certain valuable aspects of their lives. One of these folks is Salingeresque writer Terence Mann (James Earl Jones), whom Ray kidnaps and takes to a ball game and then to his farm. Another is Doc Graham (Burt Lancaster), a beloved general practitioner who gave up a burgeoning baseball career in favor of medicine. The final "second-chancer" turns out to be much closer to Ray. That "magical" field in Dyersville, Iowa still draws thousands of baseball-happy tourists each year. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Chevy Chase added a classic comic hero to the film landscape with Fletch, one of his few truly popular star vehicles in a famously misguided post-Saturday Night Live career. Chase plays Irwin M. Fletcher, known to everyone as Fletch, a Los Angeles Lakers-loving investigative reporter with a gleeful disdain for deadlines and a knack for pushing the buttons of his frustrated editor (Richard Libertini). He's also known for donning numerous disguises and assuming zany false identities to help gain information. While pursuing an ongoing story about a powerful drug dealer who operates from Venice Beach, he comes across an intriguing offshoot in which he becomes intimately involved. Aviation executive Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) has an unusual proposition for Fletch: If Fletch agrees to an elaborate plan to kill him, for reasons Stanwyk refuses to divulge beyond explaining that he has bone cancer, Fletch will walk away with a healthy sum of money and a plane ticket to Brazil. Curious yet suspicious by profession, Fletch begins investigating Stanwyk's true motives, which leads him through numerous misadventures. Among them are a visit to a stuffy country club; a high-speed car chase with an unwitting passenger; repeat encounters with Stanwyk's wife (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), although she may not be his only one; and a trip to Provo -- that's Utah, not Spain. Inspired by a novel of the same name by Gregory McDonald, Fletch went from thriller to comedy as it was adapted into a vehicle for Chase. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

After a big-time country singer (Dolly Parton) brags that she can turn anybody in to a country-singin' star, she's out to prove she can live up to her talk when she recruits a cab-driver (Sylvester Stallone) as a country singer. He's scheduled to sing at a big-time NYC country night club and Dolly puts her ample powers to work in preparing her protege. ~ Rovi