Chandra Wilson Movies

Having proven that it could stand on its own two feet without Desperate Housewives as its lead-in, Grey's Anatomy remained in its new Thursday-night slot as the seriocomic medical series entered its third season. In addition to established stars Ellen Pompeo (intern Meredith Grey) Patrick Dempsey (Dr. Derek Shepherd), Katherine Heigl (intern "Izzie" Stevens), Isaiah Washington (Dr. Preston Burke) et. al.. former recurring players Eric Dane (as plastic surgeon Mark Sloan) and Sara Ramirez (Dr. Callie Torres) have now been promoted to "regular" status. The season begins as the Seattle Grace Hospital medical team's favorite bartender Joe (Steven W. Bailey) provides those who came in late with a quick run-down of the events of the previous two seasons. Meredith is now torn between two lovers, Derek Shepherd and Dr. Finn Dandridge (Chris O'Donnell). The prickly relationship between Derek and his estranged-wife Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) is made even more so by the reappearance of their daughter. Intern Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) has decided to remain with her current amour, Preston Burke. And after seriously considering giving up the medical profession after the death of her beloved heart patient Denny, Izzie changes her mind when the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic is established. The first of the season's two most crucial story developments occurs when Chief of Surgery Richard Weber (James Pickens) announces his impending retirement, sparking a tense competition amongst Derek, Burke, Addison and Mark to take Weber's place. The apparent dark horse in this competition is Dr. Colin Marlow (Roger Rees), though Marlow makes his mark on the proceedings by coming between Cristina and Burke. Another major plot deveopment involves a disastrous collision between a cargo ship and a ferryboat, which threatens to claim the life of protagonist Meredith Grey (it also provides Izzie's former beau Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) the opportunity to become overly involved with an unidentified accident victim, played by Elizabeth Reaser). At season's end, Dr. Weber's successor is announced, Cristina and Burke are about to be wed, Callie demands that her husband George O'Malley (Sara Ramirez) make a commitment, and the interns sweat out the results of their first-year medical exams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Following its nine-episode inaugural season, the seriocomic medical series Grey's Anatomy returns with a full complement of episodes for its second year on the air--indeed, five of the unaired installments from Season One are added to the 22-episode manifest of Season Two, with even more to follow after the series begins offering two episodes per week at season's end. Picking up where the previous season left off, we find the romance between Seattle Grace Hospital intern Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and handsome neurosurgeon Derek Shephard (Patrick Dempsey) coming to an abrupt halt when Shepherd's estranged wife, neonatal physician Addison Montgomery, joins the staff. Likewise, intern Isobel "Izzie" Stevens (Katherine Heigl) leaves her boyfriend Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) in the lurch (despite the heating up of their romance during a "Code Black" emergency at the hospital) when she falls for heart-transplant patient Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Meanwhile, another intern, Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), deepens her relationship with cardiothroacic specialist Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), but that doesn't constitute a full commitment by any means; and senior surgical resident Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), aka "The Nazi", also finds herself Great With Child, and as such is briefly replaced by a woman who is her temperamental polar opposite. Other season highlights include an earth-shattering visit from Meredith's celebrated surgeon mother Dr. Ellis Grey (Kate Burton); an emotionally disastrous one-night stand between Meredith and intern George O'Malley (T.R. Knight); and a bittersweet story arc involving premature quintuplets. As the season approaches its climax, both Alex and Izzie are serious questioning their dedication to the medical profession; and there may be a change in the weather so far as Chief of Surgery Richard Weber (James Pickens) is concerned. When Emmy Awards time rolled around in the spring of 2006, the producers of Grey's Anatomy went home with a stauette in the "outstanding casting for a drama series" category. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Can a high-attitude African-American politician who says what he thinks stand a chance in a presidential campaign? Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock) is a straight-talking alderman representing a inner-city neighborhood in Washington, D.C. In the midst of a hard-fought race for the White House, the Democratic presidential and vice-presidential candidates are killed in an airline crash, and with little time to prepare a new campaign, the Republican candidate, Vice President Brian Lewis (Nick Searcy), seems all but guaranteed to win. With practically nothing to loose, party head Martin Geller (Dylan Baker) approaches Gilliam and asks him to stand as the Democrat's presidential candidate. While Gilliam is dubious at first, before long his streetwise style and willingness to face the issues head-on earns him surprising figures in the polls, especially after he persuades his short-fused older brother, Mitch Gilliam (Bernie Mac), to join the ticket as vice presidential candidate -- a big jump for a bail bondsman. Gilliam's love life also becomes more complicated as his ex-girlfriend Kim (Robin Givens) decides she wants him back now that he has a shot at the White House, even though Gilliam only has eyes for Lisa (Tamala Jones). Head of State marked the directorial debut for comic and actor Chris Rock, who also co-wrote and co-produced the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Reminiscent of a fine novel in depth and complexity, writer-director John Sayles' acclaimed drama uses the investigation of a 25-year-old murder as the framework for a detailed exploration of life in a Texas border town. The nominal center of the film is Sheriff Sam Deeds (the superb, subtle Chris Cooper), the chief law officer of the town of Frontera. The low-key Sam is also the son of the late Buddy Deeds (played in flashbacks by Matthew McConaughey), who also served as town sheriff and still maintains a legendary status for ousting the vicious, corrupt Charlie Wade (a memorably vicious Kris Kristofferson). The discovery of Wade's decades-old skeleton, however, calls this legend into question, and forces Sam to begin an investigation. During this search for the truth, Sam must come to terms with his own troubled emotions about his father and his still-lingering romantic feelings for Pilar (Elizabeth Peña), a Hispanic woman that Buddy had prevented him from seeing as a young man. Lone Star's scope encompasses not only this story but the whole town, addressing Pilar's difficulties as a schoolteacher, the conflict between incoming immigrants and border patrol officers, and the troubles faced by the African-American commander of the local military base. Sayles expertly moves between past and present, weaving his stories together to illustrate, as in his earlier City of Hope (1991), how the seemingly disparate parts of a community are in fact intimately interconnected. Raising issues of race, politics, and identity, Lone Star nevertheless focuses most of its attention on its complex, believable characters, well-performed by an excellent ensemble cast. One of the most financially successful of Sayles' low-key movies, Lone Star received glowing notices and an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

With the rest of the family out of town, Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) has the Huxtable house all to himself. Taking advantage of the sitaution, Theo's pals Howard (Reno Wilson) and Denny (Troy Winbush) talk hm into throwing a small, intimate party for themselves and their girl friends. You guessed it: The festivities quickly get out of hand and the house is overrun with a plague of uninvited guests, who wreak both havoc and damage in equal measure--and worst of all, Theo's girl never shows up! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide