Maverick (1994)

 

Maverick - 1994

Coming up next we have 1994's "Maverick", a story about a man who sets out to prove to himself that he's the best card player around.

The film's cast includes Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, James Garner, Graham Greene, Alfred Molina, James Coburn, Paul L. Smith, Art LaFleur, Danny Glover, Margot Kidder, Reba McEntire, and Jack Garner.

Out in the American West, Brett Maverick sets out to prove that he's the best card player around.  To do this, he plans on entering a high stakes poker game with a total pot worth $500,000.  However, Maverick is short a few thousand dollars for his entry fee.

He enters poker games in an effort to raise the money.  During one he meets an interesting cast of characters, including the hot-tempered Angel.  "From the moment I slapped eyes on this hombre, I smelled trouble...and refried beans," says Maverick.

He also meets Southern belle Annabelle Bransford, whose simple country girl ways are just a cover for what lies beneath her surface.

Maverick wins a large pot after bluffing during a game, which earns him the ire of Angel, who protests about Maverick's self-appointed rule of hardly ever bluffing.  Maverick just smiles and says, "This was one of the hardlys."

We find out that Annabelle Bransford also wants to enter that high stakes poker game, and she'll do anything to get the money to enter.  "The Widow Pork Chop conned me?  What is it with people nowadays anyhow?" asks a bewildered Maverick.

Traveling on the stage out of the town they are in, Maverick and Annabelle join forces with a certain Marshal Zane Cooper, who is in no mood to put up with Maverick's personality.

On their way to the riverboat poker game by stagecoach, the three cross some of America's most beautiful country.

Along the way, they stop to help a group of missionaries who have been attacked by "hostiles" and who want to make them pay.

Maverick and the gang agree to help for a percentage of any money recovered.  And when they find the ones responsible, Maverick has to get creative because they are outnumbered.  "The man who’ll blow your brains out is Marshal Zane Cooper.  You probably heard of him.  I know what you’re thinkin’.  He’s old and decrepit, gums his food and his women.  But he can still shoot straight.  After you is Ugly Annie Bransford.  When she was born, she came out backwards and no one noticed.  Hell, when she was a kid, she was so ugly her parents had to tie a pork chop around her neck so the dog would play with her," Maverick tells the outlaws.

Maverick also raises some money teaming up with a friend to con a European archduke out of some funding.

Of course, hot on Maverick's trail is Angel, who wants revenge for the bluff Maverick pulled during their poker game.

Naturally, Maverick makes it to the riverboat poker game, and he is reunited with Annabelle and Cooper, from whom he got separated.

The poker game is being hosted by Commodore Duvall, and everyone is excited to pay their money to gain entrance to the high stakes game.

Now, I don't need to tell you of the romance that ensues between Maverick and Annabelle.

I also don't need to tell you about the very interesting last hand of the final poker game or the winner of the $500,000 grand prize.

Nor do I need to tell you about the relationship between Maverick and Cooper.  I'll let you watch the film and find out all about it for yourself.

Cast rundown:

   Mel Gibson.............................Brett Maverick

   Jodie Foster............................Annabelle Bransford

   Graham Greene......................Joseph

   Alfred Molina..........................Angel

   James Coburn........................Commodore Duvall

   Paul L. Smith..........................The Archduke

   Art LaFleur.............................Poker Player

   Danny Glover..........................Bank Robber

   Margot Kidder.........................Margaret Mary

   Reba McEntire........................Spectator

   Jack Garner............................Porter

And that's it for Maverick.  James Garner, appearing in this film as Marshal Zane Cooper, originally appeared as Maverick in the hit 1950's TV show of the same name.  The role of Zane Cooper was first offered to Paul Newman, who turned it down.  Meg Ryan was the first choice to play Annabelle Bransford.  Julia Roberts and Michelle Pfeiffer were also considered just in case Jodie Foster wasn't available.

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Nim's Island (2008)

Nim's Island - 2008

Let's escape the heat of summer and go for an island getaway.  2008's "Nim's Island" provides us with just the type of summer fun that's sure to bring a smile to your face.  When a young girl named Nim is left alone on an island after her father is shipwrecked, she must bravely face the elements and intruders in order to keep her island haven a secret.

The film's cast includes Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler, and Michael Carman.

Nim Rusoe and her father, Jack, have an interesting life.  After the death of her mother when she was just a baby, Nim and her father sailed around the world.  In fact, they did it twice before she was four years old.

They came to an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and decided to make it their home.  Nim and Jack are the only human inhabitants of the island.  A supply ship comes periodically to bring them much needed supplies.

Nim's definitely not alone.  She's got plenty of animal friends to hang out with.  There's Galileo, a pelican.  Selkie is a sea lion.  And Fred is her lizard.

Jack is a marine biologist and researcher who writes articles about their island life for such prestigious publications as "National Geographic".

Nim and Jack go out to meet the supply ship one day.  Among the things they bring back is the latest Alex Rover adventure.  He is a daring guy who finds himself in all sorts of interesting scrapes.  Nim can't get enough of the books.

Of course, the author is nothing like the hero.  The real Alex Rover is a self-described "borderline agoraphobic" who can't leave her house and needs massive deliveries of Purell just to feel secure.  (In this day and age, don't we all?)

When Jack has to go and observe some new plankton in the ocean, Nim persuades him to leave her behind on the island.  With much reluctance, he agrees, promising to call her that night.  She cheerfully waves him off.

Meanwhile, Alex Rover is doing some research for her next book.  She writes to Jack and asks some questions.  Because Jack is away, Nim is the one to respond, and she couldn't be happier.  She's corresponding with her favorite author!

Jack does indeed find his new species of plankton, a variety he plans on naming "Protozoa Nim".  He calls Nim and describes it to her before wishing her goodnight.

Unfortunately for Jack, a massive storm kicks up and renders his boat useless.  It also knocks out all forms of communication.  He's now bobbing alone in the ocean with a bunch of hungry sharks circling his boat.

To make matters worse for Nim, she gets injured and some intruders seem to be headed straight for the island.  With Jack unresponsive to her calls, she does the only thing she can: contact Alex Rover.

After she backs a huge amount of Progresso soup and a ton of Purell, Alex makes the brave decision to leave her house and go help Nim.

Her journey to the island is anything but easy.  Her Purell gets confiscated by TSA.  A small plane turns into a nightmare with wings when she's forced to fly next to a chicken.  And she's finally turned off a boat with her suitcase on top of her head.

The intruders do make their way to the island.  Nim gets her animal friends to help fight for the peace of her home.  A gaseous sea lion and some flying lizards combine to drive the intruders away.  (An active volcano on the island doesn't hurt, either.)

Alex finally makes it to the island, but she has to be rescued from drowning by Nim in the process.  Nim is disappointed, because Alex is not whom she thought of at all when thinking of her hero.  When the sea lion eats her Progresso soup, Alex has to make do with a mixture of mung beans, roots, and meal worms.

They do, however, start to bond, and Nim has to come to terms with the fact that her father may never return.

But who should come sailing up at the right moment on a raft he's made, but Jack.  He scoops a relieved Nim into his arms.

He's also introduced to Alex Rover.  "The writer and the scientist.  That's how their story began.  How it ends, exactly?  Nobody knows," says Nim.

The three of them begin life together on the island surrounded, of course, by Nim's animal friends.

Cast rundown:

   Abigail Breslin................................Nim Rusoe

   Jodie Foster...................................Alexandra Rover

   Gerard Butler.................................Jack Rusoe/Alex Rover

   Michael Carman.............................Captain

And that's it for Nim's Island.  Jodie Foster gives a fun performance as the scared-of-everything writer Alexandra Rover.  She beat out Portia de Rossi for the role.  The sea lions used in the film were residents of Sea World Australia that were brought in for the movie.

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