Tom Selleck embarks on a new phase in his career playing the police chief of a small New England town in "Jesse Stone: Stone Cold." This made-for-television movie is the first in a series of nine films based on Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone novels. The [..]
Bad Girls from Valley High (2005)
"Bad Girls from Valley High" is a teen comedy film someone should be ashamed to be associated with. That would be director John T. Kretchmer and screenwriters Robert Locash and Andrew Lane. This story of three high school teens causing trouble everywhere they go has horrible [..]
The World’s Fastest Indian (2005)
New Zealand cinema has reached its zenith with "The World's Fastest Indian." It is the true story of New Zealand motorcyclist Burt Munro who longs to take his act to America, and succeeds through tenacity and perseverance. New Zealand producer-director-screenwriter Roger Donaldson ("Dante's Peak" 1997) put [..]
The Italian (2005)
"The Italian" is a moving Russian drama film about a six-year-old boy living in an orphanage who embarks on a search for his birth mother. This is in spite of the fact that he has been designated for adoption by an Italian couple; hence, he has been [..]
The Island (2005)
"The Island" is a science fiction thriller about two human clones living in an isolated community where residents are held for organ harvesting to benefit their human counterparts. Producer-director Michael Bay ("Pearl Harbor" 2001) and screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci have a movie that heavily borrows [..]
Munich (2005)
Producer-director Steven Spielberg ("E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial" 1982) made a film that looks at the events surrounding the Israeli government's retaliation against the Palestine Liberation Organization for the murder of eleven of their athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in "Munich." The nearly three hour picture was [..]
The Honeymooners (2005)
A bad version of a moldy-oldy television series is brought to us courtesy of director John Schultz ("Like Mike" 2002) in "The Honeymooners." Schultz and the screenwriters (Barry W. Blaustein, Danny Jacobsen, David Sheffield, Don Rhymer) give us sloppy direction from a mediocre script, with the lines [..]
Once Upon a Mattress (2005)
Carol Burnett heads the cast in the 2005 made-for-television movie "Once Upon a Mattress." The familiar story was based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale "The Princess and the Pea" (1835). This is Burnett's third "Mattress" having appeared in other TV versions in 1964 and 1972. [..]
The Pacifier (2005)
Vin Diesel stars in "The Pacifier," where he plays a U. S. Navy SEAL lieutenant who is assigned to babysit a family of five children, which is a cover for a top secret operation. Director Adam Shankman ("A Walk to Remember" 2002) made the most of this [..]
The Gospel (2005)
"The Gospel" is a faith-based film that retells the New Testament story of the prodigal son in a modern day setting. Director-screenwriter Rod Hardy put together a movie with good writing and a well-paced storyline. The movie flows well and maintains the viewers interest from start [..]