Arne Schmidt Movies
Finding Forrester star Rob Brown steps into the cleats of Heisman Trophy-winning gridiron giant Ernie Davis in director Gary Fleder's inspirational sports docudrama. As a young boy reared not far from the northern Pennsylvania state line, Davis dreamed of blasting through the end zone and scoring a triumphant touchdown while fans rose to their feet and cheered. When Davis later became a star running back for the Syracuse Orangemen, his dreams were finally on the way to becoming a reality. Under the wing of coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid), it seemed as if there is nothing that could stop Davis from entering into the annals of sports history; even during an era in which the civil rights movement was just gaining momentum, this fledgling gridiron giant never once doubted his ability to rise to the top. When Davis was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after being drafted into the NFL, however, his will to survive soon eclipsed his dreams of success. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Brown, Dennis Quaid, (more)
A man with the ability to see the future and change the outcome of events before they occur is forced to choose between saving himself and saving the world in this supernatural thriller starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day, The Edge). Cris Johnson (Cage) is a Las Vegas magician who possesses the unique ability to witness the events of the immediate future moments before they happen. As a child Cris was subjected to a series of cruel experiments by government scientists and doctors, but a change of name and a new identity allowed the tortured psychic to elude detection and start a new life away from the prying eyes of his former captors. Though his clairvoyant vision only extends a few minutes into the future, it has still allowed Cris to eke out a living as a low-rent Las Vegas magician while earning a little extra cash at the blackjack tables. Up to this point in his life Cris has never used his power for anything substantial, but when he experiences a vision of Los Angeles being incinerated in a nuclear holocaust, the small-time magician realizes that he could hold the key to saving millions of lives. But as low as he has tried to lie in recent years, Cris has never completely escaped detection by the government. Now, as terrorists prepare to unleash the ultimate horror on an unsuspecting city, FBI counter terror agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) sets out to capture Cris and convince him to use his exceptional gift to prevent the nuclear nightmare from becoming a terrifying reality. Jessica Biel, Peter Falk, and Thomas Kretschmann co-star in the film, which is based on a short story by acclaimed sci-fi author Philip K. Dick. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, (more)
A new renegade fighter rises to defend the United States from an internal threat in this action thriller. Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) of the National Security Agency has successfully dealt with a number of threats to America's safety, but he faces a whole new challenge when he discovers a potent terrorist cell that has ties to the upper levels of the American military. Gibbons learns that George Deckert (Willem Dafoe), the secretary of defense, has been training a secret military faction to stage a coup against the United States by kidnapping and assassinating the president of the United States (Peter Strauss). Convinced there's no one he can trust within his circle of operatives, Gibbons turns to Darius Stone (Ice Cube), currently serving time in a maximum security penitentiary. Stone once served with Gibbons in the Army, and also took part in a mutiny against Deckert; despite his reckless side, Gibbons is certain Stone's fearless nature and peerless fighting skills make him the one man who can take on Deckert and his troops. XXX: State of the Union is the sequel to the 2002 hit XXX, though neither star Vin Diesel nor his character, Xander Cage, appear in this picture. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ice Cube, Willem Dafoe, (more)
- 2004
- PG
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Iconoclastic film director Samuel Fuller spent decades nurturing his dream project, a movie about his experiences in the Army's First Infantry Division during World War II, but it wasn't until 1979 that he was able to finally bring the picture before the cameras. Unfortunately, Fuller was forced by his producers to work with a scaled-down budget, and he did not have final cut on the film; after his first rough cut ran nearly four-and-a-half hours, the studio took over editing on the project, and Fuller was vocally unhappy with the final results. In 2003, critic and film historian Richard Schickel initiated an effort to restore The Big Red One to a form that more closely resembled Fuller's original vision; using a large cache of newly discovered footage and the director's shooting script as a guide, the 113-minute theatrical version was expanded to 158 minutes, adding depth and detail to Fuller's sweeping and episodic tale of a hard-as-nails sergeant (Lee Marvin) and four inexperienced recruits under his command (Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Bobby Di Cicco, and Kelly Ward) as they battle their way across Africa to Europe between 1942 and 1945. Schickel's reconstruction received enthusiastic reviews when it went into limited release in the fall of 2004. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, (more)
Tim Burton directs the fantasy drama Big Fish, based on the book Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Southern writer/illustrator Daniel Wallace. Billy Crudup plays William Bloom, a young man who never really knew his dying father, Edward (Albert Finney) outside of the tall tales he told about growing up, making his way, and meeting his mother (played as a young woman by Alison Lohman and in older age by Jessica Lange). During Edward's last days, William and his wife Josephine (Marion Cotillard) hold bedside vigil as the old man recollects elaborate memories of his youth (in which he is played by Ewan McGregor). Still doubting the the legends and folklore, William makes a journey to meet a mysterious woman (Helena Bonham Carter) from whom Edward had bought property. Steve Buscemi and Danny De Vito also star. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, (more)
- 2002
- PG13
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The director (Rob Cohen) and star (Vin Diesel) of the previous summer's hit The Fast and the Furious (2001) are reunited for this spy thriller billed as a next-generation James Bond adventure. Diesel stars as Xander Cage, a nihilist extreme sports enthusiast nicknamed "Triple X" because of a large tattoo covering his back and neck. Cage's illegal stunts and poor attitude (he's given to spouting dialogue such as, "Have you ever been punched in the face for talking too much?") land him in jail, where he's recruited/blackmailed into government service by the National Security Agency's Augustus Gibbons, who likes Cage for his skills and expendability. The new secret agent is assigned to infiltrate a Russian crime ring called Anarchy 99, whose access to biochemical weaponry is making the United States extremely nervous. With the help of some high-tech gadgets from weapons master Toby Lee Shavers (Michael Roof), Cage is able to make his way into Anarchy 99, where he targets the group's leader Yorgi (Marton Csokas) and falls for the organization's second-in-command, Yelena (Asia Argento). XXX (2002) is the first in a hoped-for franchise of sequels for the film's producer, Revolution Studios. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vin Diesel, Asia Argento, (more)
Screenwriter Randall Wallace, a specialist in sweeping historical epics, steps behind the camera for this fact-based Vietnam War drama that reunites him with his Braveheart (1995) star Mel Gibson. Gibson is Lt. Col. Hal Moore, commander of the First Battalion, Seventh Cavalry, the same regiment fatefully led by George Armstrong Custer. As part of the Pleiku Campaign of late 1965, Moore is assigned to an action at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Drang Valley, an area that would come to be known as the "The Valley of Death." Moore soon finds himself and his men contained to an area about the size of a football field, surrounded by more than 2,000 enemy troops and engaged in the first major battle of the war. Heroism becomes the order of the day as men like Moore, chopper pilot Bruce Crandall (Greg Kinnear), and Lt. Henry Herrick (Marc Blucas) refuse to yield, in spite of heavy losses of life. The film co-stars Madeleine Stowe, Chris Klein, Keri Russell, and Sam Elliott. We Were Soldiers is based on the book We Were Soldiers Once...and Young by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (retired) and UPI reporter Joe Galloway (played in the film by Barry Pepper). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson
In this drama, two U.S. Marines who stood side by side on the field of battle are reunited in a court of law. Attorney Hayes Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones) once aspired to a career as an officer, but a serious injury in Vietnam put an end to his military future, leaving him bitter and resentful. Col. Terry L. Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) fought alongside Hodges and once saved his life; when Childers is threatened with a court martial for ordering his troops to fire on civilians during a raid on an American embassy, Hodges is the only lawyer that he can trust, and the case gives Hodges a chance for revenge against the military system that he feels has wronged him. Rules of Engagement also features Kim Delaney, Ben Kingsley, Blair Underwood, and Anne Archer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, (more)
Just as the university research team is about to prove that their new technique will permit water to be used as a fuel, their laboratory is sabotaged and the lab manager is killed. Eddie Kasalivich (Keanu Reeves) stumbles onto the scene and manages not only to witness the sabotage, but to escape from it. When he tries to talk about it to authorities, he discovers that they think he and the other project survivors committed the crime. In reality, a group of energy companies have conspired with interested parties in the government to completely erase all notion of the existence of a way to use water as fuel. The project sponsor (Morgan Freeman) wants Eddie to turn himself in, but before he can do that, he must find enough evidence to clear himself and his friends. But in order to succeed, Eddie must avoid assassination attempts by the real perpetrators. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, (more)
A successful retired jock and his geeky younger brother play out their sibling rivalry by coaching rival little league football teams in this family comedy. Ed O'Neill plays the older brother, Kevin O'Shea, a former Heisman Trophy winner whose gridiron exploits have made him a local hero in his small Illinois hometown. Kevin is the almost unanimous choice to head up the town's Pop Warner football team, and he happily builds an imposing team from the best local players. One of the few objectors is Kevin's young brother Danny (Rick Moranis), an awkward, bespectacled gas station owner who empathizes with the kids rejected from the team, including his own athletic daughter Becky (Shawna Waldron). As revenge, Danny starts his own competing team of misfits, taking on the coaching duties himself. Naturally, despite the total ineptitude of Danny and his players, they eventually find themselves major underdogs in a climactic battle against Kevin's well-trained juggernaut. Director Duwayne Dunham and a team of four screenwriters hit all the expected sports film conventions, throwing in a few innocent romantic subplots and cameos by real football players for good measure. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rick Moranis, Ed O'Neill, (more)
- 1993
- PG13
In this road movie, the motorists are a pair of preteens--brothers Josh (Jacob Tierney) and Sam (Noah Fleiss)--who hit the highway after their parents announce their pending divorce. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacob Tierney, Noah Fleiss, (more)
John Ritter and Pam Dawber star as Roy and Helen Knable, a suburban American couple having marital problems. Roy has become a couch potato, and a resentful Helen wants him to ditch the remote. When the demonic Spike (Jeffrey Jones) offers Roy a deal on the ultimate satellite TV system, Roy doesn't realize that he's just signed away his soul. Roy and Helen are sucked into their own television, where they endure a gauntlet of Hellish television shows such as "Northern Overexposure" and "I Love Lucifer." When their kids Darryl (David Tom) and Diane (Heather McComb) realize that their parents are on the twisted television, they set out to rescue them. Stay Tuned contains several inspired delights, in particular an original cartoon short by Looney Tunes legend Chuck Jones. The film was the debut of writing team Tom S. Parker and Jim Jennewein, who would stay in the wacky comedy genre with a whopping four major releases in 1994. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Ritter, Pam Dawber, (more)
As a clairvoyant, Demi Moore awaits signs from beyond that her true love, whomever he may be, is waiting for her, somewhere. When New York butcher George Dzundza shows up on the tiny North Carolina island where Demi lives, she is convinced that he is the man predestined to be her husband. After the wedding, Demi moves into George's blue-collar neighborhood, where she successfully commisserates with such eccentrics as withdrawn teenager Max Perlich, frustrated singer Mary Steenburgen, unlucky-in-love actress Margaret Colin, over-analytical psychiatrist Jeff Daniels, and lesbian Frances McDormand. As Demi helpfully tries to chart the destinies of her new friends, she fails to notice that Dzundza is falling in love with Steenburgen. Though there are many traumatic detours along the way, Demi's psychic talents have very positive effects on at least one of the characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Demi Moore, Jeff Daniels, (more)
Based on a true story as related by neurologist Oliver Sacks, Awakenings stars Robin Williams as the Sacks counterpart, here named Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Something of a klutz and naif, Dr. Sayer takes a job at a Bronx psychiatric hospital in 1969. Here he's put in charge of several seemingly catatonic patients who, under Sayer's painstaking guidance, begin responding to certain stimulati. Apprised of the efficacy of a new drug called L-DOPA in treating degenerative-disease victims, Sayer is given permission to test the drug on one of his patients: Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro), who has not communicated with anyone since lapsing into catatonia as a child. Gradually, Lowe comes out of his shell, encouraging Sayers to administer L-DOPA to the other patients under his care. Julie Kavner and John Heard also star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Robert De Niro, (more)
The Package, a thriller involving political assassination and intrigue, is an excellent action feature using a familiar theme and providing good performances by the cast. Boyette (Tommy Lee Jones) is a prisoner entrusted to Gallagher (Gene Hackman) for transportation back to the United States. Boyette escapes and Gallagher must find him. In doing so, Gallagher finds himself getting into far more than he had bargained for as he becomes involved in a political assignation plot that he must stop. Both Hackman and Jones are excellent in reprising familiar roles. Hackman is never better than when portraying the decent man in a precarious position, and Jones plays Boyette with the same cunning and intelligence that he brought to The Executioner's Song. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy, (more)
In the John Hughes-scripted The Great Outdoors, John Candy stars as Chet Ripley, an oafish paterfamilias who takes his family on a vacation at a lakeside resort. Their enjoyment is seriously compromised when brother-in-law Roman Craig (Dan Aykroyd) shows up with his wife and kiddies. The rest of the film is an ongoing war between Ripley's carefree aggregation and Craig's obnoxiously prissy brood, and making things worse, a driving rainstorm forces both families to remain under one roof well-past their threshold of patience. Annette Bening makes her film debut as Aykroyd's ill-tempered wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, (more)
The "exchange murders" plot gambit, played with utter solemnity in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, is used as the launching pad for raucous laughter in Throw Momma From the Train. Director/star Danny DeVito plays Owen Lift, a middle-aged bachelor, totally dominated by his gorgon mother, played with hilarious ferocity by Anne Ramsey. Billy Crystal co-stars as Larry Donner, a creative-writing professor, saddled with a vituperative, thoroughly despicable ex-wife, Margaret (Kate Mulgrew). Signing up for Larry's writing course, Owen has trouble at first with character development and construction in his stories. Larry recommends that Owen watch a screening of Strangers on a Train, which he considered a model of tight, concise storytelling. Owen is so entranced by the film that he decides to emulate Strangers star Robert Walker. That is, Owen wants Larry to bump off his mother, in exchange for Owen's murder of Margaret. Without being asked, Owen does away with Margaret (or so it seems), then hounds Larry to the point of killing "Momma." This being a comedy, the actual consequences of the swap-murder plot aren't nearly as calamitous as in the Hitchcock film. Cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld would apply the "black humor" lessons learned in Throw Momma From the Train for his own directorial debut, The Addams Family (1991). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny DeVito, Billy Crystal, (more)
Paul Verhoeven's American breakthrough film, Robocop, is an exceedingly violent blend of black comedy, science fiction, and crime thriller. Set in Detroit sometime in the near future, the film is about a policeman (Peter Weller) killed in the line of duty whom the department decides to resurrect as a half-human, half-robot supercop. The RoboCop is indestructible, and within a matter of weeks he has removed crime from the streets of Detroit. However, his human side is tortured by his past, and he wants revenge on the thugs who killed him. The film was later followed by two feature-length sequels and a live-action television series, neither of which were as successful as the original film. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, (more)
Best-selling author Michael Crichton wrote and directed this science fiction thriller that combined the influences of Blade Runner (1982), comic books, and Crichton's ongoing fascination with the dangers of high technology. Tom Selleck stars as Sergeant Jack Ramsey, a single father in the near future, when robots have largely replaced humans in performing menial labor. However, the robots occasionally malfunction, threatening human life and requiring a specialist like Jack, who terminates the haywire "runaways." Investigating a particularly nasty series of recent cases, Jack and his new partner Karen Thompson (Cynthia Rhodes) discover a connection between the runaways and Charles Luther (Kiss frontsman Gene Simmons). Luther, a maniacal genius, is masterminding a plot to create an army of killing machines. With time running out, it's up to Jack and Karen to match wits with Luther and save humanity. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, Cynthia Rhodes, (more)
Bob Logan (Kris Kristofferson) and Ernie Wyatt (Treat Williams) are freewheeling U.S. border patrol officers in a tiny Texas town. Though they're "oil and water" in terms of personality, they're a dynamite team on the job. Coming across a million dollars in stolen money, their relationship threatens to unravel. Upright Wyatt is all for turning in the money, but Logan has other ideas. Soon, however, they're reunited against several common enemies, including a team of overzealous FBI agents. Flashpoint is based on a novel by George La Founteine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kris Kristofferson, Treat Williams, (more)
- 1984
- R
Similar to the 1991 Dead Again starring Kenneth Branagh, this story of reincarnation and murder also features two couples who meet again in a new lifetime. Brooke Ashley (Jaclyn Smith) is a ballerina and Michael Richardson (Nigel Terry) is her lover, and they both perish in a fire that destroys their home. Fifty years go by, and Gregory Thomas (Terry), a screenwriter, sees an old film clip of Ashley who could easily pass for his fiancee Maggie Rogers (Smith). Intrigued by this coincidence, he starts to research a screenplay on the ballerina's life, and to help get more material, he visits a medium (Shelley Winters) who used to know her. The medium reveals that Gregory is the reincarnation of the dead Richardson -- which means the former couple is back together again. Before any celebration is in order, some of the increasingly sinister mystery of how and why the couple died in the long-ago fire has to be cleared up. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jaclyn Smith, Nigel Terry, (more)
Set at an indeterminate point in the future, this drama with an overt anti-communist message begins as an ostensible war movie: Russian and Cuban forces have invaded the U.S. and are viciously eliminating the inhabitants of a small town, when a group of teens escapes and plans a counterattack. Jed (Patrick Swayze), Robert (C. Thomas Howell), and six of their friends watch in amazement as soldiers parachute into their town and start shooting. The teens grab a pickup truck, stock up on supplies at the local store, and head for the hills. Meanwhile, the men in the town -- after a minimal resistance -- are rounded up and held at a drive-in theater converted into a concentration camp. The sadistic Soviet military then make them watch acclaimed Russian director Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 classic Alexander Nevsky, as their punishing rehabilitation begins. Meanwhile, after minimal resistance from the adults, a Cuban, Bella (Ron O'Neal), is put in charge and is not certain how he can really defeat the teen army. The Soviets and Cubans have so far defeated the American Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, but these teens are really something else. After a successful ambush, the teen guerrillas gear up for future forays, when they are suddenly betrayed by one of their number and by doubts about the morality of what they are doing. Red Dawn is noteworthy for being the first movie released with the PG-13 rating, created by the MPAA after public outcry over violent content in the PG-rated Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, (more)
Heart Like a Wheel stars Bonnie Bedelia as real-life racing champion Shirley "Cha Cha" Muldowney. Overcoming sexist hurdles, Shirley works hard to qualify for the major auto race competitions of America. Firmly in her cheering section is her dad (Hoyt Axton), and--at least at first--her husband, mechanic Jack Muldowney (Leo Rossi). When Jack, jealous of Shirley's success, leaves her, she casts her lot with troublesome banned racer Connie Kalita (Beau Bridges). The film comes to a head at the 1966 National Hot Rod Association World Championship, which Shirley eventually wins three times. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bonnie Bedelia, Beau Bridges, (more)
Director Wim Wenders made his American film bow with the ultra-stylish Hammett. Based on the speculative novel by Joe Gores, the story concerns real-life detective novelist Dashiell Hammett (Frederic Forest), who early in his career is involved in a complex mystery that will profoundly influence his later works. While hacking away for pulp magazines, Hammett is asked by Jimmy Ryan (Peter Boyle), his old boss at the Pinkerton agency (and the model for the writer's "Continental Op" character), to help out on a particularly difficult case. Before long, Hammett is prowling the nooks and crannies of San Francisco in search of a missing Chinese prostitute-blackmailer (Lydia Lei). Among the several delectable "inside jokes" in Hammett is the presence of Elisha Cook, who'd appeared in the 1941 film adaptation of Hammett's Maltese Falcon, as Eli the Cab Driver. Cinematographers Philip H. Lathrop and Joseph Biroc work overtime to invest Hammett with the "feel" of a classic 1940s detective yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frederic Forrest, Peter Boyle, (more)
