Bovie Movie

The Bold Ones was the umbrella title given a group of rotating hour-long TV series, which ran from 1969 to 1973. Joining established Bold Ones components The Doctors and The Lawyers in 1970 was The Senator, starring Hal Holbrook as RFK-like Senator Hays Stowe. The pilot for The Senator was A Clear and Present Danger, which first aired March 21, 1970. In this 2-hour “problem drama”, Senator Stowe tackles the issue of air pollution after a close friend dies of emphysema. The Emmy-nominated Hal Holbrook, Sharon Acker (as Erin Stowe) and Cindy Eilbacher (as Norma Stowe) carried their roles over to the “Senator” series proper, while Michael Tolan was cast as Stowe’s aide Jordan Boyle, the role played in A Clear and Present Danger by Joseph Campanella.

Former NBC intern and Get a Life creator Chris Elliott stars as the title character, a recent graduate of the exclusive Fancy Lad Academy who unwittingly boards the wrong sea vessel and ends up a whipping post for its gruff, foul-mouthed crew after his predecessor (Andy Richter of The Late Show) falls overboard. Over the course of their adventures, Elliot eventually earns the respect of the crew as he also earns his manhood. This supremely silly film features sight gags and tastelessness galore, including a love scene with a woman who’s all hands — literally. Elliot’s old boss David Letterman appears in an amusing unbilled cameo as a sarcastic villager in port. In all, Cabin Boy works much in the same vein as Elliot’s former TV show; a crass sense of humor is helpful for full appreciation.

A well-regarded spec script by A-list screenwriter David Koepp became this stylish thriller from director David Fincher. Jodie Foster stars as Meg Altman, a single mother of an diabetic preteen daughter, Sarah (Kristen Stewart). Meg’s going through an unhappy divorce that forces her and Sarah to move into a new home. They choose a deluxe New York brownstone that coincidentally boasts an unusual feature: a “panic room,” a vault-like hidden space capable of literally sealing itself off from the rest of the building. With its thick steel door on springs, separate ventilation and communications systems, and video monitors linked to cameras mounted throughout the home, the room is an impregnable fortress. It quickly comes in handy when the Altmans’ new residence is invaded by a trio of thieves: Junior (Jared Leto), Burnham (Forest Whitaker), and Raoul (Dwight Yoakam). Meg and Sarah are able to secure themselves in the panic room before the robbers can get to them, but it turns out that Sarah’s medication is still on the outside, the phone’s not yet connected, and the loot the gang’s seeking is inside the panic room with them. A cat-and-mouse battle of wits ensues, with Meg trying to outwit their captors over the course of one very long night, as her daughter’s health dissipates. Panic Room (2002) co-stars Ann Magnuson, Patrick Bauchau, and Koepp’s fellow screenwriter, Andrew Kevin Walker, in a cameo role.

Jon Favreau and Famke Janssen star in this slick indie film about love, romance, and jealousy. Kate (Janssen) almost gets fired from her posh magazine job when she submits an overly graphic, overly personal article on oral sex. As she rewrites her piece, she reminisces on her past flames, particularly on her most serious relationship — with Adam (Favreau), a fast-talking, very neurotic painter. The film traces their romance from their initial heady meeting, to moving in together, to an unexpected pregnancy, and the inevitable breakup because Adam felt trapped. Devastated by Adam’s sudden defection, Kate goes on a dating spree and manages to drive him crazy by going out with handsome yet shallow video star Joey Santino (Josh Hopkins). Meanwhile, Adam grows increasingly obsessed with Kate’s private life. This film was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.

Joe Dante directed this satirical action-comedy about talking tech toys accidentally juiced-up with military microchips. After the defense industry firm Globotech takes over a small toy company, Heartland Play Systems’ CEO Gil Mars (Denis Leary) gives the green light to develop a new line of action figures, requesting an upgrade to more realistic figures from Heartland toy designers Larry Benson (Jay Mohr) and fumbling Irwin Wayfair (David Cross). Mars wants toys that act like the ones in TV commercials. The results are fierce fighting figures, the Commando Elite, programmed to seek out and destroy the kindly alien-like Gorgonites. In an effort to make the toys as natural as possible, Benson inserts Globotech’s most powerful military computer chips. Meanwhile, in quiet Winslow Corners, Ohio, toy-store owner Stuart Abernathy (Kevin Dunn) and his 15-year-old son Alan (Gregory Smith) are stuck in a failing business, so when Heartland truckdriver Joe (Dick Miller) stops by with the Commando and Gorgonite toys, Alan is convinced they will be hot sellers, commenting, “Maybe this store will finally make a little money.” With blistering blows to their blister packs, the Commandos burst out, receive orders from their leader Chip Hazard (voice of Tommy Lee Jones) and ready for an all-out assault on the Gorgonites. When the Gorgonite leader Archer (voice of Frank Langella) begins communicating with Alan, it causes the Commandos to perceive humans as another enemy, simply by their association with the “Gorgonite scum,” so an attack on the Abernathy house begins. Unfortunately, the Gorgonites can offer only limited assistance, since they have been programmed to lose. The film combines animatronics, puppetry, and computer animation. The Commando Elite voices include surviving actors from Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen (1967), while the Gorgonite voices reunited several This Is Spinal Tap (1983) cast members. A dedication to Phil Hartman (the voice of Phil Fimple) after the closing credits features a brief Hartman outtake.

For his first directorial project in six years, Robert Towne selected a timeworn romantic-triangle yarn, injecting the material with subtlety and conviction. Tequila Sunrise stars Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell as two lifelong friends who, in true James Cagney-Pat O’Brien fashion, grow up on the opposite sides of the law. One is a retired drug dealer (at least he says he is), the other a “celebrity” cop. Both fall in love with gorgeous restaurateur Michelle Pfeiffer. Veteran movie buffs will enjoy spotting director Budd Boetticher as a judge, and will welcome the presence in the production credits of cinematographer Conrad Hall, who earned an Oscar nomination for his richly textured color camerawork.