Released in 2005
|
Cry Wolf (Unrated Widescreen
Edition)
Rated: PG13.
Starring: Jane Beard, Jon Bon
Jovi
In
Cry_Wolf, a group of students at a snooty prep school conjure a
serial killer when someone takes a hoax a little too seriously. Owen
(Julian Morris, Whirlygirl), who's just transferred to Westlake
Academy, quickly becomes enamored of Dodger (Lindy Booth, Wrong
Turn), a smart and sultry redhead who masterminds a game based on
lying and manipulating the other players. After a murder in the
nearby woods, Owen escalates the game by concocting a hoax about a
serial killer called the Wolf--a hoax that swiftly turns into
reality when the not-so-imaginary Wolf sends threatening e-mails to
Owen. Cry_Wolf mixes your standard slasher movie with your standard
secret-twist movie to no particularly effect. The Wolf--who wears an
orange ski-mask and wields a hunting knife--is a generic boogeyman;
text messages just aren't scary; and all the characters combined
couldn't muster up an engaging personality. This movie was obviously
made to fit a market niche, not because a writer or director had any
genuine inspiration or had to exorcise a personal fear--but even for
a b-movie this is meager stuff. Also featuring Jon Bon Jovi
(Vampires: Los Muertos), Gary Cole (Office Space), and Anna Deavere
Smith (The West Wing). --Bret Fetzer |
Released in 2002
|
Vampires:
Los Muertos ~DVD~
Rated: R Not for sale to persons under age 18.
Starring: Jon Bon Jovi, Natasha Gregson Wagner
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
Jon Bon Jovi stars in this trashy but pretty entertaining horror flick.
Vampires: Los Muertos centers on vampire hunter-for-hire Derek Bliss
(Bon Jovi), who gets bounties from the likes of the "Van Helsing Group"
for every bloodsucker he destroys. When a new client hires him to
hunt down a particularly powerful vampire queen in Mexico, he reluctantly
starts to form a team--only to discover that all his potential posse
members have just been killed. But soon he gathers a haphazard crew
(including Diego Luna from Y Tu Mama Tambien and Natasha Wagner from
Lost Highway) and sets off across the hot Mexican landscape. Vampires:
Los Muertos has some gaps in logic, but it's pretty lean and spry--in
the first 10 minutes, the vampire queen has already bitten off someone's
tongue--and it has enough cheap eye candy to be a satisfying low-budget
flick. --Bret Fetzer |
Released in 2000
|
Pay
It Forward ~DVD~
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment
Director: Mimi Leder
Pay It Forward is a multi-level marketing scheme of the heart. Beginning
as a seventh-grade class assignment to put into action an idea that
could change the world, young Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment)
comes up with a plan to do good deeds for three people who then by
way of payment each must do good turns for three other people. These
nine people also must pay it forward and so on, ad infinitum. If successful,
the resulting network of do-gooders ought to comprise the entire world.
Trevor's attempts to get the ball rolling include befriending a junkie
(James Caviezel) and trying to set up his recovering-alcoholic mother
Arlene (Helen Hunt) with his burn-victim teacher (Kevin Spacey), who
posed the assignment.
Jon Bon Jovi plays the part of Trevor's dad and Arlene's alcoholic
"missing" husband. |
|
Released in 2000
|
U-571
~DVD~
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, et al.
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Taut and gripping, U-571 follows the exploits of a fictional team
of World War II U.S. submariners who undertake a secret mission to
capture a German Enigma machine to decode German documents. Writer-director
Jonathan Mostow (Breakdown) tells an intense, economical tale, reminiscent
of the best classic war films, while infusing it with modern sentiments.
Spring 1942: A crew of young submarine sailors are on a much-needed
48-hour liberty when they're suddenly called together and engaged
in an expedition. At the helm are Lieutenant Commander Mike Dahlgren
(Bill Paxton), Lieutenant Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey), and
Chief Klough (Harvey Keitel). Other pivotal crew members include Tyler's
Annapolis pal Lieutenant Pete Emmett (Jon Bon Jovi, proving
his acting mettle) and Lieutenant Hirsch (Jake Weber), who, along
with Marine Major Coonan (David Keith), organizes the mission. As
much of the movie takes place in a submarine during WWII, there are
inevitable comparisons with the technical masterpiece Das Boot, but
Mostow's masterfully shot tale can hold its own. McConaughey's Tyler
is believably earnest as he comes to grips with the reality, tragedy,
and consequence of being in command. While this explosion-filled film
consistently maintains its tense pace (as did the underrated Breakdown),
it also presents with surprising restraint a genuine human story--and
the remarkable journey of an unexpected hero. --N.F. Mendoza -- |
Released in 2000
(Not in the U.S.)
|
Row
your Boat ~DVD~
Rated: NR
Starring: Jon Bon Jovi, William Forsythe, Bai Ling.
Director: Sollace Mitchell
Jamey Meadows (Jon Bon Jovi) is freshly released from Rikers Island
prison after taking the fall for his burglar brother, GIL (William
Forsythe). Back in Manhattan, Jamey is determined to lead a new crime-free
life and to become a productive citizen. Jamey loses his first job
when he stands up to his racist boss. Broke and homeless, Jamey is
forced to clean windshields on Houston Street for money. He encounters
Gil and his girlfriend, Patti, driving in their luxury car. Gil, a
church-going burglar who prides himself on being non-violent, feels
a fatherly responsibility to Jamey desperately needs money, he rejects
Gil's pleas to help him rob stores again - but Jamey's weakening.
Jamey lands a job as a New York City census taker and slowly saves
money to get out of his homeless shelter. He meets and falls in love
with Chun Hua (Bai Ling), a beautiful, young Chinese woman. To spend
time with her, Jamey pretends that he's a successful writer and becomes
her English teacher. He discovers that to support her baby, Chun Hua
has married Liu Wei-Yan, a cruel, elderly Chinese businessman who
treats her only as a showpiece. Chun Hua longs to return to her baby's
father, an improverished graduate student in China. Meanwhile, Gil
is trying to save his wife from Tony Lo Fat, a Chinese gangster to
whom Gil owes $50,000. Gil goes after Jamey to steal Chun Hua's keys
and rob her rich husband's townhouse for the money. Jamey refuses
and stalls Gil with a fake house key. Nonetheless, Gil breaks in and
kidnaps Chun Hua's baby as ransom for the money he owes to Tony Lo
Fat. In the film's thrilling climax, Jamey steals the baby back from
Gil, but not without terrible consequences. While escaping with the
baby in a dinghy on the Hudson River, Jamey loses his own life. Just
before he dies, Jamey hides an airline ticket to Beijing, purchased
with his saving money, underneath the baby's clothes. He has given
Chun Hua and her baby a way back to China. The film closes poignantly
with Chun Hua teaching Jamey's favorite childhood song, "Row Your
Boat," to her baby as they board the airplane |
Released in 1998
|
HomeGrown
~DVD~
Rated: R
Starring: : Hank Azaria, Billy Bob Thornton.
Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal
Released to only a handful of theaters in the spring and summer of
1998, Homegrown was neglected by nervous distributors who couldn't
figure out how to market a movie about marijuana farmers. As a result,
hardly anyone saw this cleverly plotted comedy-thriller about three
experienced pot growers in northern California (Billy Bob Thornton,
Hank Azaria, and Ryan Phillippe) who guard their valuable outdoor
crop against raids by the cops and unwanted competitors. When their
mysterious leader is apparently murdered, Thornton assumes the dead
man's identity to arrange one last, lucrative bumper-crop deal, but
pulling off the scam proves to be a lot harder than they'd anticipated.
While the three potheads seek refuge with an old colleague (Kelly
Lynch) and routinely sample their goods (which explains the film's
theatrical obscurity), Homegrown turns into a taut thriller fueled
by equal parts comedy and paranoid tension--an update of The Treasure
of the Sierra Madre with marijuana instead of gold! Featuring cameo
roles for Jamie Lee Curtis, Ted Danson, Jon Bon Jovi and John
Lithgow, this entertaining film fell victim to the misguided fear
that it promotes drugs and illegal activity. If anything, it promotes
interesting characters, catchy dialogue, and a welcomed alternative
to mainstream Hollywood comedies. --Jeff Shannon |
Released in 1998
|
No
Looking Back ~DVD~
Rated: R
Starring: : Edward Burns, Lauren Holly, Jon Bon Jovi.
Director: Edward Burns
The third film in writer-director-actor Edward Burns's "Long Island
Trilogy" is in some ways the slightest of the three, and that's a
blessing and a curse. By keeping things spare, Burns is able to focus
on the simple, honest humanity of his story, which centers on the
emotional dilemma of Claudia (Lauren Holly), a small-town waitress
whose engagement to blue-collar Michael (Jon Bon Jovi) is challenged
when old flame Charlie (Burns) returns after an extended absence.
Their shared history includes an abortion that left Claudia feeling
abandoned and resentful, and for good reason, given Charlie's reputation
for self-involved aloofness. As in his previous films, Burns demonstrates
a subtle hand with actors and a keen awareness of life's authentic
rhythm; this movie will strongly affect anyone who can relate to Claudia's
need to find herself, independent of her tenuous relationships. The
performances are uniformly superb: Holly expresses the confusion and
seeking quality of her character; Burns makes Charlie both charming
and bluntly self-serving; and Bon Jovi shows strong potential beyond
his rock-star handsomeness. Indeed, the film's only weakness is that
it's stretched too thin to be truly substantial, and Burns relies
far too heavily on a soundtrack (with heavy doses of Bruce Springsteen
and Sheryl Crow) that too often substitutes for dialogue. It's as
if Burns didn't trust his own material; he needn't have been so insecure.
--Jeff Shannon |
|
Released in 1997
|
Jon
Bon Jovi: Destination Anywhere (1997) ~VHS~
Destination Anywhere, which is a full-length LP by the artist Jon
Bon Jovi, gets transfered from the concept of the album to the big
screen. The idea behind this film, which works like a long music video
is the fact that Jon and his wife, are in mourning over their child
who was killed in an accident. As a result, both characters lives
are full of confusion, despair and heartache. Jon seems like a lost
soul in this film, he still hasn't gotten over the death of his child.
As a result he enters a world of depression. His wife, played by Demi
Moore is equally as frustrated and confused as Jon. The movie shows
their pain and how they are still trying to cope with the loss. I
was surprised at just how touching this film was, I was a little teary
eyed when it was over. I felt for all the characters, all the characters
seemed real to me. Not bad I say for a small little film like this.
This film shows the world that Jon Bon Jovi is indeed a great actor,
and a multi-talented entertainer. Demi Moore almost steals the show,
when on screen she sucks you in with her beauty and her emotions.
This is a must see for fans of both actors, especially Bon Jovi fans.
I find that this film gives new meaning to Jon's solo LP, Destination
Anywhere. I now appreciate it more and understand it better thanks
to this film. While a little on the depressing side, Destination Anywhere
still manages to be engaging and worthwhile on the strengths of it's
focused stars. Also stars Kevin Bacon, Annabella Sciorra, Whoopie
Goldberg. |
Released in 1997
|
Little
City ~DVD~
Rated: R
Starring: : Josh Charles, Annabella Sciorra, Jon Bon Jovi, Penelope
Ann Miller.
Director: Roberto Benabib
In the "little city" by the bay, the lives of Adam, Kevin, Nina, Rebecca
and Kate become interwined in a complicated web of sex, jealousy,
obsession and finally, true love. Adam(Josh Charles), an artist moonlighting
as a cab driver, is unable to maintain steady relationships with women.
He blames this on his fixation with his ex-girlfriend, Kate(Joanna
Going) who left him for a lesbian lover, Ann(JoBeth Williams). Carrying
this torch for Kate has led Adam to neglect his current girlfriend,
Nina(Annabella Sciorra) who turns to his philandering best friend,
Kevin(Jon Bon Jovi). The illicit affair starts off as purely physical
attraction, but ends up being much more once Kevin realizes his true
feelings for Nina. Another love triangle forms as Adam tries to juggle
his developing with Rebecca(Penelope Ann Miller) and his desire to
win Kate back. Rebecca is the new girl in town who discovers, in more
ways than one, just how small the single community is in San Francisco.
It is Rebecca's ability to take chances with her heart that eventually
wins Adam over in this charming picturesque film. |
Released in 1997
|
The
Leading Man ~DVD~
Rated: R
Starring: : Jon Bon Jovi, Anna Galiena, Lambert Wilson, Thandie Newton.
Director: John Duigan
British backstage theater romance about an American movie star who
seduces a playwright's lonely wife and his leading-lady mistress.
While it can't quite make up its mind whether it's a comic drama or
a light thriller, it's still very entertaining stuff. Bon Jovi is
surprisingly good as the brash, amoral Yankee, and Galiena and Newton
are fetching as the women caught in his web. |
|
Released in 1995
|
Moonlight
and Valentino ~DVD~
Rated: R
Starring: : Elizabeth Perkins, Whoopi Goldberg.
Director: David Anspaugh
A young woman cannot deal with the reality of suddenly being widowed--despite
the support of her best friend, her younger sister, and her ex-stepmother,
who rally around her. Unusual subject matter portrayed with skill
and unpredictability, though some will find it too talky and/or too
studied in its quirkiness. The young widow's stepmother hires a wall
painter to work on Rebecca's house and cheer her up. The painter is
Jon Bon Jovi, whose presence brings out all sorts of feelings
and fantasies in these women, specially Rebecca. One of the best moments
of the movie is when the four women make not so proper remarks on
his butt, believing he doesn't speak English, until they find out
he DOES speak English and has been listening to every word they said.
. |
Discography
Lyrics
Midis
Videography
JBJ's Movies
Library
|
