Bill Pullman

[8] William Hurt (Oscar-winner for Kiss of the Spider Woman) stars in this adaptation of Anne Tyler’s novel about a travel guide writer whose marriage crumbles after the death of his son. While recovering from a broken leg at the home of his sister and two brothers, he develops a relationship with an odd dog trainer, played by Geena Davis (The Fly). As he begins …

[5] Mark Ruffalo must really have it out for the DuPont company. First he co-starred in 2014’s Foxcatcher, an examination of the scandal behind John du Pont’s hosting of Olympic wrestlers that ended in tragedy. And now he plays lawyer Rob Bilott in Dark Waters, the true story behind DuPont’s attempts to cover-up their pollution of the environment and the poisoning of thousands of people. …

[3] Horror maestro Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream) tackles voodoo and zombification in The Serpent and the Rainbow. Bill Pullman (Spaceballs) stars as an anthropologist sent to Haiti by a pharmaceutical company seeking the ingredients of a powder that is thought to give the living every appearance of being dead. Victims are buried alive while still hearing, seeing, and feeling everything. Along …

[4] The first Independence Day is one of those films that strikes just the right tone, something between earnest and goofy-as-hell, genuinely terrifying and gloriously indulgent. It was like the best possible kind of Irwin Allen disaster movie, where the spectacle was off-set by a charming ensemble of personalities and attitude was an acceptable replacement for character development. In all these regards, the sequel fails to …

[5] Titan A.E. is an awkward mix of 2D and 3D animation from director Don Bluth (Secret of NIMH, Anastasia). It’s not as attractive as Bluth’s other films, and it also suffers from a weak script. There are kernels of dramatic potential, especially with humanity being on the brink of extinction, but the film is more concerned with conjuring arcade-like action and music video moments. …

[7] Beneath the cutesy veneer of this big-budget family spectacle is a surprisingly morose Ghost and Mrs. Muir subplot. The screenplay is a bit scattershot in its aim, but I have to give this flick major kudos for tackling the subjects of death and loneliness for a family audience. There are a few terrific little scenes between young Christina Ricci and Casper, an ILM confection …

[7] Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart star in this edgy action comedy about a stoner convenience clerk who discovers he’s a sleeper agent and deadly assassin for the CIA. Together with his devoted girlfriend, he dodges CIA operatives ordered to destroy him while also trying to figure out whether his whole life has been a lie. American Ultra is a surprisingly violent black comedy — …

[7] The Irwin Allen disaster epic is alive and well in this 1996 summer blockbuster in which evil aliens threaten to destroy Earth, leaving it up to a rag-tag team of politicians, soldiers, and scientists (plus a drunken crop-duster and a pole dancer!), to save humanity. The writing and directing team of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin (Stargate, Godzilla) almost strike the perfect tone for …

[7] Bridget Fonda and Bill Pullman star in this good old fashioned creature feature about a 30-foot crocodile that begins weeding out the population of a lakeside Maine community. The script is from TV titan David E. Kelly (Boston Legal, Ally McBeal, Picket Fences), so expect the same sort of neurotic, whacky characters that populate his shows. Oliver Platt and Brendan Gleeson provide most of …