National Treasure (2004)

National Treasure

Why do adults think that kids don’t know what they are doing? After getting the cryptic letter codes from the Silence Dogood letters needed to locate the next clue in their scavenger hunt for the legendary Knights Templar treasure, Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) wonders aloud whether the copied results are correct. The young lad next to him gives him the hairy eyeball implying that is question he may regret asking.


Director:  Jon Turteltaub
Writer:  Jim Kouf; Oren Aviv; Charles Segars; Cormac Wibberley; Marianne Wibberley
Cast:
Nicolas Cage -  Ben Gates
Diane Kruger -  Abigail Chase
Justin Bartha -  Riley Poole
Sean Bean -  Ian Howe
Jon Voight -  Patrick Gates
Harvey Keitel -  Sadusky
Christopher Plummer -  John Adams Gates
David Dayan Fisher -  Shaw
Stewart Finlay-McLennan -  Powell
Oleg Taktarov -  Shippen
Stephen Pope -  Phil
Annie Parisse -  Agent Dawes
Mark Pellegrino -  Agent Johnson
Armando Riesco -  Agent Hendricks
Erik King -  Agent Colfax
Don McManus -  Dr. Stan Herbert









Never Look Back (1996)

Never Look Back

Sometimes help appears from the most unlikely sources. Jill Kendall (Nicole Freeman) is in Miami after fleeing an abusive boyfriend and her unsupportive parents, when she drops by a cabaret for lunch. There she meets Mona (Girlina) and Billee (Candis Cayne) who call themselves “gender illusionists” and take her under their wing. She’s looking for a career in modelling and her angels know all of the do’s and don’ts to help her along. But as she gets rich and famous, Jill is the target for all those who want a piece of of her. But she doesn’t forget who was on her side at the start.


Director:  Stephen Kinsella
Writer:  Stephen Kinsella
Cast:
Nicole Freeman -  Jill
Chris Sery -  Keith
Candis Cayne -  Billee
Girlina -  Mona
Steve Kinsella -  Oliver
David Asili -  Maurice
Tony Pompile -  Jake
Angel Boris -  Kathy
Christina Rumore -  Cindy
Patrica Cook -  Jean
David Anthony Pizzuto -  Jack Kendal
Carolyn SeRine -  Madeline
Greg Pittman -  Kenny
Chad Ayers -  Sal
Brian Davis -  Arnie
Jason Varge -  Lothario









New Best Friend (2002)

New Best Friend

How well do you know someone as they become a big part of your daily life? Alicia Campbell (Mia Kirshner) glides into the life of Hadley Ashton (Meredith Monroe) becoming indispensable, charming, helpful, subservient, manipulative, corrupting and eventually switching roles in her life. Watching this happen is so reminiscent of the process that Mia Kirshner uses so successfully in her role on the TV show, The L Word.


Director:  Zoe Clarke-Williams
Writer:  Victoria Strouse
Cast:
Mia Kirshner -  Alicia Campbell
Meredith Monroe -  Hadley Ashton
Dominique Swain -  Sidney Connors
Scott Bairstow -  Trevor
Rachel True -  Julianne McDowell Levinson
Taye Diggs -  Artie Bonner
Glynnis O’Connor -  Connie Campbell
Joanna Canton -  Sarah
Eric Michael Cole -  Warren
Oliver Hudson -  Josh
Dean James -  Max
J. Michael Hunter -  Charlie
Edmund J. Kearney -  Dean
Don Henderson Baker -  Haas
Shawn Michelle Cosby -  Joanie
Ralph Price -  Eddie









Night at the Museum (2006)

Night at the Museum

Mockery is spiteful even if it unintentional. Rebecca (Carla Gugino) is writing her doctoral thesis on the tracker for the Lewis and Clark expedition, Sacajawea (Mizuo Peck). Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), the new night security guard, tells her that she can find out more by questioning the exhibits because they come alive after sundown. Rebecca is crestfallen when she thinks he is making fun of her, the history geek, and all of the work she has dedicated her college life to doing.


Director:  Shawn Levy
Writer:  Ben Garant; Thomas Lennon; Milan Trenc
Cast:
Ben Stiller -  Larry Daley
Carla Gugino -  Rebecca
Dick Van Dyke -  Cecil
Mickey Rooney -  Gus
Bill Cobbs -  Reginald
Jake Cherry -  Nick Daley
Ricky Gervais -  Dr. McPhee
Robin Williams -  Teddy Roosevelt
Kim Raver -  Erica Daley
Patrick Gallagher -  Attila the Hun
Rami Malek -  Ahkmenrah
Pierfrancesco Favino -  Christopher Columbus
Charles Q. Murphy -  Taxi Driver
Steve Coogan -  Octavius
Mizuo Peck -  Sacajawea
Kerry van der Griend -  Neanderthal #1









No Reservations (2007)

No Reservations

How much can you miss somebody? If it is a day away, maybe some. If it is a week, maybe a bunch. If it is a month, maybe a boatload… Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is caring for her recently orphaned young niece, Zoe (Abigail Breslin) when she discovers Zoe has been sneaking into the den to watch video of her mom and both realize how much of a loss it is for both of them.


Director:  Scott Hicks
Writer:  Carol Fuchs; Sandra Nettelbeck
Cast:
Catherine Zeta-Jones -  Kate
Aaron Eckhart -  Nick
Abigail Breslin -  Zoe
Patricia Clarkson -  Paula
Jenny Wade -  Leah
Bob Balaban -  Therapist
Brian F. O’Byrne -  Sean
Lily Rabe -  Bernadette
Eric Silver -  John
Arija Bareikis -  Christine
John McMartin -  Mr. Peterson
Celia Weston -  Mrs. Peterson
Zöe Kravitz -  Charlotte
Matthew Rauch -  Ken
Dearbhla Molloy -  Anna
Stephanie Berry -  School Principal Ellen Parker









No Such Thing (2001)

No Such Thing

Let’s take a moment and look at it from the monster’s point of view. You have no contemporaries, people shun you, you can breath fire but you look like you’ve been carved out of a log. In essence, you’re monstrous. Along comes a slip of a girl who works in TV and offers you your 15 minutes and what happens? You become a media darling, get blasted out of your head, annoy everyone with your demands and treat everyone with whom you come into contact… monstrously. Who’d want you and why would you stick around to take the chance?


Director:  Hal Hartley
Writer:  Hal Hartley
Cast:
Margrét Ákadóttir -  Rental agent
Robert John Burke -  The Monster
Julie Anderson -  Beautician
Sarah Polley -  Beatrice
Anna Kristín Arngrímsdóttir -  Sólveig
Ilene Bergelson -  Ethel
Guðrún Bjarnadóttir -  Marta
Bessi Bjarnason -  Captain
Helgi Björnsson -  Leó
Julie Christie -  Dr. Anna
Stacy Dawson -  Mugger
María Ellingsen -  Karlsdóttir/Gate-Manager
Anthony Giangrande -  Journalist
Erica Gimpel -  Judy
Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson -  First mate
Brynhildur Guðjónsdóttir -  Ticket clerk









Near Dark (1987)

Near Dark

There is an allure to the mythology of vampires. It comes across in the way they move, the way they seduce, the way they dress. Sure, they have weaknesses like the daylight thing, the lack of variety in their diet, the brooding which, I guess, is meant to be attractive. But this is small potatoes to the long life, the long term wealth investments and the loyalties of bestseller fiction writers. So along comes Jesse (Lance Henriksen), Mae (Jenny Wright), Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein) and the others in this motley vampire band of trailer trash and blow all of the fangy coolness built up over the years. It’s not surprising that they get their comeuppance in such a desultory fashion. I’d imagine the vamp PR firm had no trouble allowing the script writer to arrange for their sunny demise.


Director:  Kathryn Bigelow
Writer:  Kathryn Bigelow; Eric Red
Cast:
Adrian Pasdar -  Caleb Colton
Jenny Wright -  Mae
Lance Henriksen -  Jesse
Bill Paxton -  Severen
Jenette Goldstein -  Diamondback
Tim Thomerson -  Loy Colton
Joshua John Miller -  Homer
Marcie Leeds -  Sarah Colton
Kenny Call -  Deputy Sheriff
Ed Corbett -  Ticket Seller
Troy Evans -  Plainclothes Officer
Bill Cross -  Sheriff Eakers
Roger Aaron Brown -  Cajun Truck Driver
Thomas Wagner -  Bartender
Robert Winley -  Patron in Bar
James LeGros -  Teenage Cowboy









The Nanny Diaries (2007)

The Nanny Diaries

How are you supposed to grow into a decent human being when you’re raised by strangers? Annie Braddock (Scarlett Johansson) tries to ameliorate the situation by being the sort of nanny for Grayer X (Nicholas Art) that will provide the positive influences in his life that his parent are too busy to undertake. She makes events into adventures in exploration, song and positive reinforcement that go unnoticed by the kid’s parents.


Director:  Shari Springer Berman; Robert Pulcini
Writer:  Shari Springer Berman; Robert Pulcini; Emma McLaughlin; Nicola Kraus
Cast:
Scarlett Johansson -  Annie Braddock
Donna Murphy -  Judy Braddock
John Henry Cox -  Dean
Alicia Keys -  Lynette
Lewis Payton Jr. -  Bike Messenger
Sonnie Brown -  Human Resources Director
Georgina Chapman -  TriBeCa Fashionista
Nicholas Art -  Grayer
Jodi Michelle Pynn -  Screeching Lady
Mike Rad -  Dude
Laura Linney -  Mrs. X
Joanna Heimbold -  Glamour Mom
Marla Sucharetza -  Charity Mom
Phoebe Jonas -  Xanax Mom
Allison Sarofim -  Eating Disorder Mom
Tina Benko -  Shopaholic Mom









National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

One side of my family ancestors are Scots and Irish immigrant farmers who have been here for more than 200 years, settled in assorted parts of the country. The other side worked in stone in the north of England and answered the North American call for cannon fodder in WWI. Until about two years ago, I knew none of this. I knew my grandparents’s names and where one of them was born. So when Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) tells the US president (Bruce Greenwood), after he sorta kidnaps him, that everything he is is because of his ancestors, I can understand. Two years ago, I might have gone along with the astrology of my birthday since the description seems to hold. But now that I know some of my ancestry, I have a better grasp on why I am who I am. But I’m having trouble figuring out my sister. Maybe she was adopted.


Director:  Jon Turteltaub; Jon Turtletaub
Writer:  Marianne Wibberley; Cormac Wibberley; Gregory Poirier; Ted Elliott; Terry Rossio; Jim Kouf; Oren Aviv; Charles Segars; Jerry Bruckheimer; The Wibberleys
Cast:
Nicolas Cage -  Ben Gates
Justin Bartha -  Riley Poole
Diane Kruger -  Abigail Chase
Jon Voight -  Patrick Gates
Helen Mirren -  Prof. Emily Appleton
Ed Harris -  Mitch Wilkinson
Harvey Keitel -  Agent Sadusky
Bruce Greenwood -  The President
Ty Burrell -  Connor
Michael Maize -  Daniel
Timothy V. Murphy -  Seth
Alicia Coppola -  FBI Agent Spellman
Albert Hall -  Dr. Nichols
Armando Riesco -  FBI Agent Hendricks
Joel Gretsch -  Thomas Gates
Christian Camargo -  John Wilkes Booth