Skip O'Brien Movies

A lonely stretch of highway leads to a date with terror in this thriller. Jim Halsey (Zachary Knighton) and Grace Andrews (Sophia Bush) are a young couple in the midst of a long-distance road trip when, during a rainstorm, they take pity on a hitchhiker, John Ryder) (Sean Bean), and give him a lift. Jim and Grace soon come to regret their benevolence when Ryder reveals himself as a violent madman determined to see them dead. Luck is with Jim and Grace, and they're able to throw off Ryder and get back on the road, but as it happens their troubles are just beginning. Ryder has already killed a handful of people and is planting evidence that suggests Jim and Grace are the murderers; now the couple is on the run from the law as they search for Ryder in a bid to clears their names. The Hitcher is a remake of the 1986 cult horror classic of the same name; the new version was produced by Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller, who previously produced remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Amityville Horror. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

CEO Lawrence Hammond (John Sanderford) and his trophy wife Erin (Darby Stanchfield) are murdered after being lured to a vacant lot. With only the CEO's bizarre last words as a clue, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) figures out that Erin, and not Lawrence, was the murderer's target. And there's more: Erin's death may be linked to baseball star Scott Gregorio (Christopher Wiehl), who is currently poised to break the single-season homerun record. Finding a kindred spirit in Gregorio, Monk races to reveal the killer so that the ballplayer will pull himself out of a potentially devastating slump. The detective hits upon the solution under the unlikeliest of circumstances--while he is (ineptly!) umpiring a Little League game. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Did middleweight boxing champ Laroi Steele die accidentally from the beating administered in the ring by his hated rival Javier Molina (Greg Serano)? Or was this accident actually premeditated murder? Grissom (William L. Petersen) leans decidedly toward the latter option. Meanwhile, Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) investigates the shooting of an L.A. gang member, while Nick (George Eads) looks into a violent jewelry-store heist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Feeling ignored by his friends, Drew (Drew Carey) fakes an emergency in order to get the old gang back into his house. Alas, once everyone is gathered together under one roof, the house is surrounded by a pack of wild, revenge-crazed dogs (who have apparently also cut the phone lines!) Forced to spend the night in Drew's basement, the gang learns more than they bargained for as they page through their host's super-secret high school journal. In the end, it's Mimi (Kathy Kinney) to the rescue--but not in the way that anyone could have imagined. Appropriately enough, tonight's prerecorded musical number was originally performed by Three Dog Night. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The CSI team is called in after four monks are shot to death at close range while worshipping in a Buddhist temple. As Grissom (William L. Petersen) looks into this possible hate crime -- and also advises Sara (Jorja Fox) to be more respectful of the dead than usual -- Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) dolefully reopens a homicide case in which her best friend was killed. It seems that the man convicted of the crime has sworn on his deathbed, and before the cameras of a TV news program, that he is innocent. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A bomb goes off in the lobby of a Las Vegas office building, resulting in several casualties. Investigating, Grissom (William L. Petersen) and Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) zero in on a security guard with a working knowledge of explosives. After going to bed with the hooker he has befriended, Nick (George Eads) is the primary suspect when the woman turns up dead -- and Eckley (Marc Vann) has the unenviable task of determining Nick's innocence or guilt. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The body of a woman who worked as a book restorer for a historical society is found in the metal cage used to protect rare volumes. In their efforts to determine if the death was from natural causes or murder, Grissom (William L. Petersen) and Nick (George Eads) receive unexpected assistance from the woman's autistic co-worker. And Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) and Sara (Jorja Fox) investigate the fatal crash between a train and an SUV, a tragedy that might have been the outgrowth of road rage. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Grissom (William L. Petersen) is skeptical when the former tenant of a blood-spattered, abandoned apartment insists that he has a reasonable explanation for the gory mess -- and that his currently missing girlfriend is off visiting her parents. As expected, the parents claim that they haven't seen their daughter in weeks -- but with no corpse at hand, Grissom may not be able to make his case against the suspect stick. Elsewhere, Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) and Nick (George Eads) are forced to enter into the realm of urban legend when a body dressed in scuba-diving gear is found lodged between two trees near Lake Mead. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

At first, all evidence points to suicide when a construction worker plummets 12 stories to his death. Grissom (William L. Petersen), however, flies in the face of conventional wisdom when he surmises that the victim was murdered -- a verdict staunchly opposed by Sheriff Mobley (Glenn Morshower). Meanwhile, Nick (George Eads) and Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) investigate the death of a teenaged epileptic who was undergoing an unorthodox form of therapy with a female psychologist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When a deaf man is run over by a car, the early evidence suggests that this is just another case of vehicular homicide. But the CSI unit quickly determines that the victim was actually dead before the accident occurred. Making things difficult is the obstructive attitude of the school in which the dead man was enrolled. And in another case, five customers of an upscale coffee shop are slain in an apparent mob hit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Early evidence indicates that the man found killed at a pottery store died while attempting to rob the establishment. But Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) soon discovers a link between this death and an unsolved kidnapping 16 years before. And, in another development, Sara (Jorja Fox) is convinced that a woman has died of spontaneous combustion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the premiere episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle), head of the Las Vegas PD's forensic team, resents the presence of novice team member Holly Gribbs (Chandra West). Brass' efforts to scare Holly result in tragedy, but not before the unit investigates a disturbing variety of crimes: overnight-shift head man Grissom (William L. Petersen) looks into a suspicious suicide, number-two team member Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) joins Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) in probing the death of a not-so-homeless drunk, and Warrick's friendly rival Nick Stokes (George Eads) searches for a woman who drugged and robbed a hapless tourist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This drama examines the personal, political, and racial dilemmas facing a group of college freshmen as they begin their first semester at Columbus University. Malik (Omar Epps) is an African-American student attending on a track scholarship; academics are not his strong suit, and he goes in thinking that his athletic abilities will earn him a free ride through college. Fudge (Ice Cube), a "professional student" who has been at Columbus for six years so far, becomes friendly with Malik and challenges his views about race and politics in America, while Professor Phipps (Laurence Fishburne), a black man who teaches political science, firmly tells Malik that he will not be graded on a different standard either because of his race or his ability to run quickly. With Deja (Tyra Banks), Malik finds a girlfriend, a tutor, and a training partner all rolled into one. Meanwhile, Kristen (Kristy Swanson), a somewhat naive young woman from California, meets a boy named Billy (Jay R. Ferguson) after both have had too much to drink at a beer blast; Kristen soon becomes a victim of date rape and becomes involved with a campus feminist group to deal with the painful experience. While working with the women's group, Kristen gets to know Taryn (Jennifer Connelly), a strong but understanding woman who is also a lesbian, and she finds herself becoming attracted to her. And Remy (Michael Rappaport) is a confused young man from the Midwest who feels lost in the multi-cultural atmosphere of Columbus. He is approached by Scott (Cole Hauser), a member of a group of racist skinheads, who believe that Remy is a perfect candidate to help carry out his group's violent goals. Keep an eye peeled for Gwyneth Paltrow, who has a bit part as a student; rap stars Busta Rhymes, D-Knowledge and Mista Grimm also appear in supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi