Synopsis:
FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Originally a 1965 Jimmy Stewart vehicle, this FLIGHT gets a rough and ready updating for the new century, with the stalwart Dennis Quaid now inhabiting the title role. He's a pilot on a routine trip out to investigate...
FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Originally a 1965 Jimmy Stewart vehicle, this FLIGHT gets a rough and ready updating for the new century, with the stalwart Dennis Quaid now inhabiting the title role. He's a pilot on a routine trip out to investigate some remote oil rigs in the Gobi Desert, but things go wrong and he makes a crash landing in the middle of nowhere. For him, and the men along for the ride, a slow, tortured, thirsty death seems certain, unless the plucky mechanic in the crew (Giovanni Ribisi) can design a whole new plane from the wreckage. As with the original, this is a manly adventure of rugged survival and mechanical ingenuity, only this time there's a woman on board, Kelly (Miranda Otto) who generates some romantic sparks. Some of the other survivors are played by: Tyrese Gibson, Sticky Fingaz, Bob Brown and Kirk Jones. The men and one woman have to tangle with murderous desert raiders and numerous sandstorms in addition to the frequent squabbling amongst themselves. Director John Moore gets a lot of mileage out of the desert backdrop and Ribisi is solid as the mechanic with a troubled past. It was produced by William Aldrich, whose dad Robert directed the Stewart original. Edward Burns (THE BROTHERS McMULLEN) co-wrote the new screenplay.
CAST AWAY: Tom Hanks is Chuck Noland, a man in a hurry. His job for Federal Express has him traveling the world on a moment's notice, exhorting the company's employees to speed things up--"never turn your back on the clock." When he's suddenly called away for business on Christmas night, his tolerant longtime girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt) drives him to the airport. They have their Christmas in the car--and Chuck plunks an engagement ring into her lap right before he gets on the plane, telling her, "I'll be right back." But an unexpected storm cuts the plane's crew off from radio contact and blows them off course. Chuck is the sole survivor of the resulting crash, and washes up on a completely deserted island. Stranded there, he must give up everything that he once took for granted and learn how to survive all alone in the wilderness. From director Robert Zemeckis, CAST AWAY is a story of adventure and discovery surrounding one man's will to stay alive.
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