Dominic Sena Movies
A successful music video and TV commercial director, Dominic Sena joined the burgeoning ranks of TV ad-bred feature film helmers in the 1990s. Born in Ohio, Sena entered the media industry as a cameraman in the early '80s. Moving to music videos as well as TV ads in the mid-'80s, he earned a Grammy for his direction of Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation 1814" (1989) and continued to make award-winning TV spots, including several for Nike, throughout the 1990s. Bringing his visual panache to feature films, Sena earned praise for his debut, Kalifornia (1993). Though it did not attract as much attention as outlaw couple movies True Romance (1993) and Natural Born Killers (1994), Kalifornia's well-honed atmosphere of irony and claustrophobia, and strong performances from new stars Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis, as well as up-and-comers David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes, gained admirers. For his next feature, however, Sena followed in the footsteps of his Propaganda Films brethren Simon West and Michael Bay and made the flashy, Jerry Bruckheimer-engineered wannabe blockbuster Gone in 60 Seconds (2000). Based on the 1974 car heist flick, Sena's version featured an all-star cast, including 1990's Bruckheimer fixture Nicolas Cage, and copious slick car chases, but it failed to maintain the expected worldwide box-office momentum of such prior Cage-Bruckheimer movies as The Rock (1996) and Con Air (1997). Sena teamed with another hotshot producer -- Matrix guru Joel Silver -- in 2001 for the pyro-techno action thriller Swordfish, starring John Travolta.Swordfish, however, did not live up to the cheeky promise of Travolta's opening spiel about Hollywood and Dog Day Afternoon (1975), devolving into a glossy but pedestrian action flick that wasted a sterling cast. Mirroring Gone in 60 Seconds' fate, Swordfish opened reasonably well, but failed to reach blockbuster status. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
A noble knight battles a wicked witch in a bid to save humanity from an ancient evil in this supernatural thriller starring Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman. Upon returning to his home in Europe, crusading knight Behmen (Cage) finds his faith beginning to falter due to the brutality he's witnessed on the battlefield. The Black Plague has decimated the countryside, forcing Behmen and his loyal companion, Felson (Perlman), to seek sustenance and supplies at the Palace of Marburg. They're weary from war, but they're about to discover that their struggle is just beginning. Commanded by the moribund Cardinal to deliver a suspected witch to the abbey where her powers can be abolished, Behman accepts the assignment under the condition that the young peasant girl will receive a fair trial. The church believes the girl to be the one responsible for the Black Plague, and they may be right, too. As the two men and a small group of chaperones set out on their arduous mission, they quickly realize that their young charge is something more than human, and that they're about to face an evil beyond human comprehension. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, (more)
A U.S. marshall tracking a vicious murderer through the Antarctic must locate the killer before the sun sets for six months, or risk being trapped in the dark with the madman for months on end in director Dominic Sena's adaptation of the graphic novel series by Greg Rucka. U.S. marshall Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) has been stationed at Antarctica's South Pole research base for two years, and now after turning in her resignation she's looking forward to finally going home. The last plane out leaves in just three days, and just after that Antarctica will not see the sun again for another 24 weeks. Then, just 72 hours before she is set to escape the coming darkness, a body is discovered in the ice -- prompting the first murder investigation ever to take place on the desolate Antarctic Circle continent. Little does Carrie realize that she's suddenly been thrust into a mystery over 60 years in the making, and that the killer is ready to strike again in order to protect a grim secret. Now, as the death toll starts to rise, loyalties shift, and a massive series of whiteouts blow bitter winds across the frozen landscape, the U.S. marshall who wanted nothing more than to escape the cold must work around the clock to catch a killer before the blinding white snow gives way to the deadly darkness of winter. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, (more)
Director Dominic Sena follows up his stylish action film Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) with this high-tech thriller. John Travolta stars as Gabriel Shear, a charismatic spy who plots to steal a multi-billion-dollar fortune in illegal government funds. In order to make his scheme work, however, Gabriel needs some help from a computer hacker, which is where Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) comes in. Stanley has been paroled from prison after serving a lengthy sentence for penetrating the FBI's cyber-surveillance operations. Issued a restraining order that keeps him away from computers and living penniless in a trailer park, Stanley wants only to be reunited with his daughter Holly, who's in the custody of his ex-wife, now remarried to a pornographer. Gabriel and his partner Ginger (Halle Berry) offer Stanley the chance to get his child back in exchange for his help, but the hacker soon realizes he's a pawn in a larger operation than the high-tech bank heist he thought he was perpetrating. In the meantime, a dedicated federal agent (Don Cheadle), the same man who once arrested Stanley, is trying to expose Gabriel's operation. Swordfish also stars Sam Shepard and Zach Grenier. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, (more)
In this action thriller, a master car thief has his skills pushed to the limit. Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage) can steal practically any car that crosses his path. While he has done well in his life of crime, he knows that there's a short future in theft, and he wants to get out of the business. But his retirement plans are interrupted when his younger brother Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) gets in trouble with a dangerous crime boss. To get his brother out of harm's way, Randall agrees to a profitable but risky scheme to steal 50 luxury cars in one night, with the help of several other car thieves, including Sara "Sway" Wayland (Angelina Jolie). A rival group of thieves is trying to pull the same stunt at the same time, and detectives Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and Drycoff (Timothy Olyphant) are trying to shut down both operations. Also starring Robert Duvall as Otto Halliwell, and Scott Caan as Tumbler, Gone in Sixty Seconds is a remake of the 1974 low-budget action hit of the same name, best remembered for a 40-minute chase scene in which 90 cars were destroyed. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, (more)
- 1995
A Catalonian actress falls in love with an Israeli-American seismic analyst in this Spanish lesbian romantic comedy set in Barcelona. The two meet while Anna, the actress works her day job as a tour guide and falls for one of the customers, Montserrat, the bisexual seismologist who has recently been employed by a local university. Anna is still hurting after the loss of a lover, while Montserrat feels emotional conflict about her sexual ambivalence. Still, the two begin an affair and move in together. Unfortunately, life becomes tumultuous when Montserrat discovers she may have to move abroad to further her career and Anna continues to try to get her newest monologue produced. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
This debut feature film from music video director Dominic Sena is a romp through the world of serial killing, which in its bleakness and moral bankruptcy looks backwards to Terrence Malick's Badlands and forward to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. Michelle Forbes plays hip, Mapplethorpe-esque photographer Carrie Laughlin, who wants to move to California for a fresh start. Her boyfriend, Brian Kessler (David Duchovny), is a writer who has an idea for a new book, a travel tome on the sites of serial murders. The two plan to go on a cross-country tour of the murder sites, with Brian writing the commentary and Carrie taking the pictures. But they need a couple to share the driving expenses; enter Grayce (Brad Pitt) and his girlfriend, Adele (Juliette Lewis, in a warm-up for her role in Natural Born Killers). Grayce is an ex-con looking to jump parole, while Adele is a childlike naïf. Soon the four are off to California, but the yuppie couple doesn't realize how close they are to their serial killer topic. It seems Grayce has murdered his landlord before their trip and bodies begin piling up disturbingly behind them as they make their way across the country. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, (more)
- 1989
This performance video is an extended "telemusical" that includes songs from the "Rhythm Nation" album, that covers various social issues. ~ Rovi
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