72% (3) A League of Their Own 128 min, PG, [Comedy, Drama, Family, Sport] [Penny Marshall] [01 Jul 1992]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 72%, Rotten Tomatoes: 78%, Metacritic: 67%, External Reviews
Awards: Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 6 wins & 11 nominations.
Actors: Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, Tom Hanks
Writer: Kim Wilson (story), Kelly Candaele (story), Lowell Ganz (screenplay), Babaloo Mandel (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: During World War II when all the men are fighting the war, most of the jobs that were left vacant because of their absence were filled in by women. The owners of the baseball teams, not wanting baseball to be dormant indefinitely, decide to form teams with women. So scouts are sent all over the country to find women players. One of the scouts, passes through Oregon and finds a woman named Dottie Hinson, who is incredible. He approaches her and asks her to try out but she's not interested. However, her sister, Kit who wants to get out of Oregon, offers to go. But he agrees only if she can get her sister to go. When they try out, they're chosen and are on the same team. Jimmy Dugan, a former player, who's now a drunk, is the team manager. But he doesn't feel as if it's a real job so he drinks and is not exactly doing his job. So Dottie steps up. After a few months when it appears the girls are not garnering any attention, the league is facing closure till Dottie does something that grabs attention. And it isn't long Dottie is the star of the team and Kit feels like she's living in her shadow.
Rotten Tomatoes: The All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League was founded in 1943, when most of the men of baseball-playing age were far away in Europe and Asia fighting World War II. The league flourished until after World War II, when, with the men's return, the league was consigned to oblivion. Director Penny Marshall and screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel re-create the wartime era when women's baseball looked to stand a good chance of sweeping the country. The story begins as a candy-bar tycoon enlists agents to scour the country to find women who could play ball. In the backwoods of Oregon, two sisters -- Dottie (Geena Davis) and Kit (Lori Petty) -- are discovered. Dottie can hit and catch, while Kit can throw a mean fastball. The girls come to Chicago to try out for the team with other prospects that include their soon-to-be-teammates Mae Mordabito (Madonna), Doris Murphy (Rosie O'Donnell), and Marla Hooch (Megan Cavanagh). The team's owner, Walter Harvey (Gary Marshall) needs someone to coach his team and he picks one-time home-run champion Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks), who is now a broken-down alcoholic. After a few weeks of training, as Dugan sobers up, the team begins to show some promise. By the end of the season, the team has improved to the point where they are competing in the World Series (which is no big deal, since there are only four teams in the league).
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66% (3) Point Break 122 min, R, [Action, Crime, Thriller] [Kathryn Bigelow] [12 Jul 1991]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 72%, Rotten Tomatoes: 68%, Metacritic: 58%, External Reviews
Awards: 1 win & 2 nominations.
Actors: Gary Busey, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty, Patrick Swayze
Writer: Rick King (story), W. Peter Iliff (story), W. Peter Iliff (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: Japan, USA
Plot: In the coastal town of Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers call themselves the ex-presidents. commit their crimes while wearing masks of ex-presidents Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. The F.B.I. believes that the members of the gang could be surfers and send young agent Johnny Utah undercover at the beach to mix with the surfers and gather information. Utah meets surfer Bodhi and gets drawn into the lifestyle of his new friend.
Rotten Tomatoes: Kathryn Bigelow's fourth action film follows FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) as he goes undercover to infiltrate a cache of Southern California surfers suspected of robbing banks.
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65% (3) Free Willy 112 min, PG, [Adventure, Drama, Family] [Simon Wincer] [16 Jul 1993]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 59%, Rotten Tomatoes: 57%, Metacritic: 79%, External Reviews
Awards: 7 wins & 2 nominations.
Actors: August Schellenberg, Jason James Richter, Jayne Atkinson, Lori Petty, Michael Madsen
Writer: Keith Walker (story), Keith Walker (screenplay), Corey Blechman (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA, France
Plot: Fishermen separate a young orca whale (Willy) from his parents and he ends up in a fish bowl at a marina. Meanwhile, a street kid runs afoul of the law and gets caught vandalising the marina, but his social worker gets him off the hook (so to speak) provided he cleans up his mess at the marina. While there, he befriends the whale and teaches him tricks, something the trainer hasn't been able to do. But when Willy is a dud in front of the audience, the marina owner plans some bad things, and the boy and his friends must try to (*** MAJOR SPOILERS ***) free Willy.
Rotten Tomatoes: The touching story of a boy and his killer whale made this family drama a surprise box office hit. Jesse (Jason James Richter) is a kid without parents who has bounced from one foster home to another and is living on the streets. One night, he's caught spraying graffiti with his friend Perry (Michael Bacall) in a theme park. Jesse and Perry are caught red handed by Dwight (Mykel T. Williamson), a policeman who thinks that Jesse needs a more stable and disciplined environment. Dwight arranges for Jesse to stay with a new foster family, Glen and Annie Greenwood (Michael Madsen and Jayne Atkinson), with whom Jesse has an initially stormy relationship. Part of Jesse's punishment involves cleaning up the damage he caused at the park, where the new attraction is Willy, a killer whale who is being trained to do tricks. However, Willy was traumatized when he was stolen from his family by mercenary fisherman and does not respond well to the genuine concern of his trainers, Rae (Lori Petty) and Randolph (August Schellenberg). Jesse and Willy, both stranded without families in a place where they don't fit in, develop a close emotional bond, and with Jesse's help, Willy begins to display aptitude as a performer. Thanks to his friendship with Willy, Jesse develops a new sense of responsibility and a healthier relationship with the Greenwoods. However, Dial (Michael Ironside), the owner of the park, doesn't much care for animals and isn't happy with the slower-than-expected progress of Willy's training; having insured the whale for $1 million dollars, he figures that Willy is worth more dead than alive, and Jesse, Rae, and Randolph have to rescue their aquatic friend and return him to the ocean when Dial seems ready to live up to his threats. Free Willy, which featured a star performance by a killer whale named Keiko (who is doubled in some scenes by animatronic models) included the theme song "Will You Be There," a top-ten hit for Michael Jackson, and spawned two sequels. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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55% (3) Prey for Rock & Roll 104 min, R, [Drama, Music] [Alex Steyermark] [04 Jun 2004]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 62%, Rotten Tomatoes: 55%, Metacritic: 48%, External Reviews
Actors: Drea de Matteo, Gina Gershon, Lori Petty, Marc Blucas, Shelly Cole
Writer: Cheri Lovedog, Robin Shushan
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English Country: USA
Plot: Prey For Rock & Roll is the story of Jacki and her all-girl rock and roll band, Clam Dandy, who are trying to make it in the LA club scene of the late 1980s. After ten years of being ignored by record producers, Jacki and the band find hope in one producer who promises to see them play and consider them for a contract. Jacki resolves to play this one last gig and then throw in the towel if she does not find success. Personal tragedies, however, threaten to rip the band apart, rocking the foundation of friendship and trust the women have built together. Ultimately, the band must find its strength in the music that is their passion and the thread that holds them together, inspiring them to prevail.
Rotten Tomatoes: Jacki (Gina Gershon, who also served as a producer) has always wanted to be a rock star. But after years of struggling to make it, she's turning 40, and she's thinking of giving it up. "Do you ever think about being 50 or 60 years old, hauling our gear around, passing out flyers, fighting with bookers, and still sweating around?" she asks her bandmates. Faith (Lori Petty), the talented lead guitarist, gives guitar lessons to hyperactive teens on the side. Faith is seriously involved with the much younger Sally (Shelly Cole of TV's Gilmore Girls), the band's good-natured drummer. Tracy (Drea de Matteo of HBO's The Sopranos), the bass player, is a trust-fund baby with a substance abuse problem and a manipulative lowlife boyfriend, Nick (Ivan Martin). Jacki's thoughts of quitting are put on hold when the band gets a shot at a recording contract for an independent label and a gig opening for X. Then Sally's big brother, Animal (Marc Blucas, formerly of TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer), arrives in town, fresh out of prison, and stirs up Jacki's romantic life. But when two tragic events shake the band, Jacki is again forced to consider finding something else to do with her life. Prey for Rock & Roll was written by Cheri Lovedog, based on her own experiences in the rock world. It was originally performed as a stage play at CBGB in New York. The stage production was directed by Robin Whitehouse, who gets a writing credit for the screenplay. The film marks the directorial debut of accomplished film music producer Alex Steyermark. It was shown at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival.
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64% (2) The Glass Shield 109 min, PG-13, [Crime, Drama] [Charles Burnett] [02 Jun 1995]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 65%, Rotten Tomatoes: 64%, External Reviews
Awards: 1 nomination.
Actors: Erich Anderson, Lori Petty, Michael Boatman, Monty Bane, Richard Anderson, Thomas Babson
Writer: Charles Burnett, John Eddie Johnson (screenplay "One of Us"), Ned Welsh (screenplay "One of Us")
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: France, USA
Plot: J.J. is a rookie in the Sheriff's Department and the first black officer at that station. Racial tensions run high in the department as some of J.J.'s fellow officers resent his presence. His only real friend is the other new trooper, the first female officer to work there, who also suffers similar discrimination in the otherwise all-white-male work environment. When J.J. becomes increasingly aware of police corruption during the murder trial of Teddy Woods, who he helped to arrest, he faces difficult decisions and puts himself into great personal danger in the service of justice.
Rotten Tomatoes: In this powerful drama, young J.J. is the first black police recruit to come into the L.A. Edgemar station, located in one of the toughest inner-city areas. Through J.J., the film examines several incidents of racist behavior amongst the cops and within the legal system.
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45% (2) Tank Girl 104 min, R, [Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi] [Rachel Talalay] [31 Mar 1995]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 53%, Rotten Tomatoes: 38%, External Reviews
Actors: Don Harvey, Ice-T, Lori Petty, Naomi Watts
Writer: Alan Martin (comic strip), Jamie Hewlett (comic strip), Tedi Sarafian
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: Tank Girl (Rebecca) and her friends are the only remaining citizens living in the wasteland that is Earth, where all the remaining water is controlled by Water and Power, the mega corporation/government that runs the territory. While incarcerated at W + P, Tank Girl and her new friend Jet Girl break out and steal... a tank and a jet. After meeting some mutant kangaroo/humans, and rescuing her little girl (adopted by her friends), the kangaroos and the girls kick Water and Powers' butt.
Rotten Tomatoes: This wild, futuristic action-fantasy is set in the year 2033 where drought and pollution have turned the Earth into a desert wasteland. The planet's water supply is controlled by a despotic company that is opposed by a few courageous rebels who regularly risk their lives to poach the precious fluid.
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27% (2) In the Army Now 91 min, PG, [Comedy, War] [Daniel Petrie Jr.] [12 Aug 1994]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 49%, Rotten Tomatoes: 6%, External Reviews
Actors: Andy Dick, David Alan Grier, Lori Petty, Pauly Shore
Writer: Steve Zacharias (story), Jeff Buhai (story), Robbie Fox (story), Ken Kaufman (screenplay), Stu Krieger (screenplay), Daniel Petrie Jr. (screenplay), Fax Bahr (screenplay), Adam Small (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: Bones and Jack are two guys with very little going right in their lives. The two decide to join the Army as part of the water purification team and eventually find themselves on the front lines in the conflict between the northern African countries of Chad and Libya. The two men, along with a few companions, have it upon themselves to save the day in combat, something they know little about.
Rotten Tomatoes: In this comedy adventure, Bones wants to open his own stereo shop with his best friend Jack. To earn the cash, Bones talks Jack into joining the Army reserves. When a mix-up occurs, the two friends find themselves driving a water tanker behind Libyan enemy lines.
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