Jennifer Sky Movies
Julian McMahon, Krista Allen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Alan Tudyk star in writer/director Charlie Loventhal's tale of lonely Los Angeles singles looking to meet that special someone at their friendly neighborhood grocery store. But romance doesn't blossom easy in the produce section, leaving these lovelorn urbanites to wonder why potential mates can't come with the same kind of "nutritional information" charts as their favorite foods. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
One of the biggest and most influential sci-fi hits of the 1990s gets raked over the coals in this comic parody of The Matrix. Nuvo (Scott Levy) hangs out with a group of pals who have an inordinate interest in getting high, and like his buddies he's always interested in the next new chemical to come along. Nuvo and his friends Swatch (Brigett Fink), Chad (Dane Moreton), and Theo (Vanilla Ice) have heard about a new drug called the Helix, but while they'd like to give it a try, word on the street is that it has rather unpredictable effects -- used properly, it can give its users deep enlightenment, but a bad trip can literally cause you to lose your mind. Nuvo's interest in the Helix is more philosophical than recreational, and he falls in with two mysterious figures, Infiniti (Samantha Brooke) and Orpheum (Dana Woods), who are searching for The One -- a person who can break through to a new level of understanding while tripping on the Helix. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Scott Levy, Samantha Brooke, (more)
From a script from first-time scribe James Gibson comes this filmed adaptation of ex-gangster Donald Goines' 1974 novel Never Die Alone. Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson (Juice, Bones), the films stars David Arquette as Paul Pawlowski, a reporter who takes an interest in gang kingpin King David, played by rapper/actor DMX. When King David is killed, Pawlowski happens upon the criminal's journal and envelops himself in his story. From there, the rise and fall of King David is covered in flashbacks as Pawlowski makes his way through the diary. Aisha Tyler and Jennifer Sky co-star. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- DMX, David Arquette, (more)
Jenny McCarthy, Melody Perkins, and Jennifer Sky guest star as the Stillman sisters, a trio of trampish bleach-blonde witches. Envious of the Charmed Ones, the Stillmans steal the girls' identities and powers. Whitelighter Chris (Drew Fuller) is now convinced that the Stillmans are actually Piper (Holly Marie Combs), Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), and Paige (Rose McGowan) -- and if he doesn't learn the truth soon, there will be serious long-range consequences. In separate developments, Phoebe is still having difficulty reigning in her empath powers, especially when her lover, Jason (Eric Dane), is concerned; and Piper tries to get baby son Wyatt to bond with his Whitelighter father, Leo (Brian Krause). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brian Krause, Dorian Gregory, (more)
Thirty-five years after his first television appearance in the feature-length Prescription: Murder, rumpled, raincoat-clad Lt. Columbo (who else but Peter Falk?) is still on the job in this made-for-TV movie. This time, Columbo moves about uncertainly in the Los Angeles rave scene, investigating the highly suspicious suicide of a tabloid reporter. The principal suspect is promoter Justin Price (Matthew Rhys), who had been confronted with incriminating photographs by the dead journalist. Additional intrigue is heaped upon the narrative when a mobster's son, who happens to be the ex-husband of Price's girlfriend Vanessa (Jennifer Sky), mysteriously vanishes. While the story is both entertaining and intriguing, the viewers could confidently depend upon two things: That Price is guilty as hell and that the disheveled Columbo will, at one point or other, pause before leaving the room with a "Just one more question...." Columbo Likes the Nightlife premiered January 30, 2003, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Matthew Rhys, (more)
During the magic act of an illusionist known only as Zephyr (Tom Noonan), a young woman volunteer from the audience disappears in the magician's on-stage cabinet. Unfortunately, the disappearance is permanent, and traces of blood inside the cabinet lead Grissom (William L. Petersen) to suspect that the woman has been killed. The trail of clues leads to a mysterious and spooky mansion, owned by the family of the missing woman. And on another front, Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) is convinced that the apparent fatal drug overdose of rock star Gus Kenyon was actually a meticulously staged murder. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Picking up where the multitudes of late '90s/early 2000s reality-based television shows left off is the unexpectedly shocking horror film My Little Eye, from director Marc Evans. Five twentysomethings are assembled to live together for a period of six months in a house specially outfitted with a bevy of webcams in order to collect a one million prize. The one major caveat being if anyone abandons the house prior to the end of the six-month period, no one will win anything. After introducing the different characters -- intelligent Danny (Stephen O'Reilly), slacker Rex (Kris Lemche), frat boy Matt (Sean CW Johnson), good girl Emma (Laura Regan), and actress wannabe Charlie (Jennifer Sky) -- the story jumps ahead to the last few days before the scheduled end of the contest. At this point, it becomes apparent that outside forces are somehow manipulating certain events within the house, and the household is sent into chaos as one of the participants is found dead. Another participant receives an ominous note, and shortly thereafter, the remaining participants begin to realize the true intensity of their mortal peril. My Little Eye premiered at the 2002 Locarno International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sean CW Johnson, Kristopher Lemche, (more)
Clearly inspired by such wall-to-wall action flicks as The Fast and the Furious and XXX, the endearingly mindless TV series Fastlane chronicled the adventures of two tough, hard-driving undercover L.A. cops. Answerable only to their leather-clad superior Billie Chambers (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen), officers Van Ray (Peter Facinelli) and Deaqon Hayes (Bill Bellamy) -- the latter was the brother of the former's murdered partner -- made mincemeat of a variety of nasty urban villains. This the heroes were able to do because they had full access to Billie's "Candy Store," a warehouse full of seized stolen goods, ranging from souped-up cars to state-of-the-art weaponry to hyper-sophisticated computer technology. The series was cocreated by McG, the former music-video director who'd helmed the 2001 theatrical feature Charlie's Angels. Played out larger than life and with tongue firmly in cheek, Fastlane proved to be everyone's favorite "guilty pleasure" when the series debuted on September 18, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Facinelli, Bill Bellamy, (more)
Evil robots, gratuitous explosions, and babes in silver lame bikinis. Set in 2525 after robots called Bailles have forced Earth's human population to retreat underground, a duo of nubile warriors fight their mechanical oppressors. Sarge (Victoria Pratt) and Hel (Gina Torres), who can communicate with a mysterious voice in her jaw, stumble upon Cleopatra (Jennifer Sky), a valley girl/exotic dancer from 2001 who slipped into a coma after a botched boob job. The three join forces and fight the robots. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gina Torres, Victoria Pratt, (more)
Callisto (Hudson Leick), the mortal enemy of warrior princess Xena (Lucy Lawless), has come back from Hades with a lot of mischief in mind. Callisto's plan involves placing the duplicitous Caesar (Karl Urban) on the emperor's throne and corrupting Xena. Not everything goes according to plan, but the dire predictions made by evil shamaness Atra in an earlier episode come to pass as the Roman legions prepare to crucify Xena and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor). Originally intending as the final episode of Xena: Warrior Princess' fourth season, "The Ides of March" ended up as next-to-last. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, (more)
When Ephiny (Danielle Cormack) is killed by Brutus (David Franklin), Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) is crowned the Queen of the Amazons. Meanwhile, Xena (Lucy Lawless) tussles with both Brutus' comrade in arms, Caesar (Karl Urban), and their mutual enemy, Pompey (Jeremy Callaghan). And a rebellious teenaged Amazon named Amarice (Jennifer Sky, in her first series appearance) attaches herself to the nonplussed Gabrielle. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, (more)
Relaxing from previous skirmishes in the town of Spamona, Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) finds times to train a new mare, Amarice (Jennifer Sky) falls in love with Joxer's new friend Arman (Mfundo Morrison), and Joxer (Ted Raimi) begins getting sentimental over Gabrielle. But there's no rest for Xena (Lucy Lawless), who must brace herself for a showdown with war lord Darcon (David Te Rare). Only one problem: Xena is now pregnant -- and she has no idea how it happened. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, (more)
Xena (Lucy Lawless) seeks out the shamaness Yakut (Kate Elliot) to explain why she's having nightmares about her unborn baby. Yakut explains that the spirit of the evil Alti (Claire Stansfield) is systemically sapping the life force of Xena's child so that she, Alti, can return to the land of the living. It is up to Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) to rescue both Xena and baby -- but she might have to sacrifice her own life in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, (more)
The messianic shaman Eli (Timothy Omundson) has successfully brought back Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) from the dead. But while Gabby seems none the worse for wear, the amnesiac Xena has returned with an entirely different personality; for one thing, she is far more concerned with pretty clothes than weaponry. In order to restore Xena to her normal self, a fragment from a broken silver-and-white chakram must be joined with its counterpart. Making this task well night impossible is the combined villainy of two war gods, Ares (Kevin Smith) and Kal (Antonio Te Maioho). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, (more)
Season five of Xena: Warrior Princess begins on a bleak note, inasmuch as both the titular Xena (Lucy Lawless) and her traveling companion, Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), had been crucified by the Romans at the end of season four -- thereby fulfilling the prophecy of the evil shamaness Alti. As Xena and Gabrielle's friends Joxer (Ted Raimi), Amarice (Jennifer Sky), and Eli (Timothy Omundson) mournfully set about the task of recovering their bodies, a full-scale war rages between Heaven and Hell to claim the ladies' souls. And thanks to the perfidy of Xena's old enemy Callisto (Hudson Leick), the spirit of Gabrielle is veering dangerously toward the Demonic. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, (more)
In episode six, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and friends attend a school field trip to the zoo. Also on the trip are Kyle (Eion Bailey), Tor (Brian Gross), and Heidi (Jennifer Sky), Sunnydale High's resident bullies. In attempting to protect the nerdy Lance (Jeff Maynard), Xander (Nicholas Brendon) follows them into the ominously closed hyena exhibit. Upon exiting the exhibit, everyone except Lance has seemingly taken on the predatory characteristics of the hyena. Xander begins hanging out with the four bullies and acting belligerent and nasty -- even verbally humiliating Willow (Alyson Hannigan). Among other things, the group eats the school's pig mascot. When questioned about the pig, Kyle, Rhonda, and Tor eat the principal -- alive! At first Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) does not believe Buffy's view that something is supernaturally wrong with Xander and comically states, "It's devastating -- he's turned into a 16-year-old boy. Of course, you'll have to kill him." But after researching Primals -- animal worshipers who imbue themselves with the spirits of animals -- Giles and Buffy go to the keeper of the hyena exhibit for help. The keeper turns out to be a Primal, and he attempts to draw the hyena spirit from Xander and the bullies into himself. After succeeding, Buffy throws him to the hyenas. ~ Rovi
Created by John Schulian and Robert Tapert, the New Zealand-filmed Xena: Warrior Princess was a spin-off of the tongue-in-cheek "sword and sorcery" series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. As introduced on Hercules, Xena (Lucy Lawless) was a fierce and formidable villainess, the leader of a vast army bent on destruction and devastation. There was some justification for this: As a child, Xena had witnessed the destruction of her home village and the brutal murder of her brother at the hands of a despotic warlord. At first forming her army to protect other peasants like herself, she became consumed with a lust for power and was soon conquering for the sake of being the conqueror. But through her association with the virtuous Hercules, Xena experienced an epiphany, casting off her former evil ways and devoting the rest of her life to making amends to her victims and protecting the innocent -- a task complicated by the many enemies she had made during her Warrior Princess years, who neither forgave nor forgot, and by the unsavory alliances she had forged during those same years. No sooner had Xena "seen the light" than she rescued the citizens of a village besieged by yet another evil warlord. Among those saved was young and beautiful Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), an aspiring "bard" (writer and artist) who became Xena's constant companion, first because she idolized the former warrior princess and was eager to experience adventure first-hand, but ultimately because she was Xena's devoted friend and confidant.
In the course of the series' six seasons, Xena and Gabrielle journeyed through Greece, Italy, Scandanavia, Africa, India, and China, with side trips to the Underworld -- ruled by Xena's erstwhile crony Hades -- and to the future, in which the two heroines found themselves in reincarnated form. Predicated on the theory that anything is possible in a fantasy series, both Xena and Gabrielle were "killed" and "resurrected" on several occasions, and both bore children who grew up to become their nemeses: Xena's daughter Eve (Adrienne Wilkinson) reached adulthood as the much-feared warrior queen Livia, the lover of war god Ares (Kevin Smith), while Gabrielle's offspring Hope (Amy Morrison), whose father was "force of darkness" Dahak, would have to be killed at her mother's hand in order to save Mankind (Xena also had reason to despise Hope; it was she who killed Xena's long-estranged son, Solon). In one memorable instance, Xena briefly assumed the form of another woman -- a metamorphosis necessitated by a real-life accident which sidelined Lucy Lawless for several weeks. Lest this all sound a bit grim and morbid, it must be noted that the series, like its predecessor, Hercules, had a healthy, irreverent sense of humor, as encapsulated by the light-hearted "disclaimers" which appeared at the end of each episode. There was also time to spoof such modern-day phenomena as beauty contests, spaghetti Westerns, Danny Kaye films, theme parks, pro wrestling, Broadway musicals, and even such TV shows as You Are There and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There was also a cheerily contemptuous disregard for the time line of "real" history, with Xena and Gabrielle crossing the paths of Julius Caesar, Ulysses, Genghis Khan, Cleopatra, David and Goliath, Brunnhilde, and many other past "celebrities," both genuine and imaginary. Generally, the series' jocular treatment of Myth, Mysticism, Religion, and Reality was accepted in the spirit in which it was intended; but on one occasion, an angry protest from a Hindu extremist group obliged the producers to remove the fourth season episode "The Way" from the series' rerun package.
Of Xena's many recurring characters, the best known and most often seen included Xena and Gabrielle's clumsy, wannabe warrior friend Joxer (Ted Raimi); Xena's mortal enemy, the blonde female warrior Callisto (Hudson Leick); troublesome traveling salesman Salmoneus (Robert Trebor); self-proclaimed king of thieves Autolycus (Bruce Campbell); Amazon princess Ephiny (Danielle Cormack), who enabled Gabrielle to join her all-female tribe; teenaged Amazon Amarice (Jennifer Sky), who became to Gabrielle what Gabrielle was to Xena; healer and shaman Eli (Timothy Omundson), Gabrielle's spiritual mentor; and an impressive array of "immortals," including the aforementioned Ares and Hades, goddess of love Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings), sea deity Poseidon (Charles Siebert, who also directed several episodes), and the puckish Cupid (Karl Urban, who also played Julius Caesar). And, of course, the star of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Kevin Sorbo, made a few courtesy calls on Xena. Syndicated in the U.S. beginning September 15, 1995, Xena: Warrior Princess was subsequently telecast in practically every English-speaking country in the world, then went on to virtually every other country where television existed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
In the course of the series' six seasons, Xena and Gabrielle journeyed through Greece, Italy, Scandanavia, Africa, India, and China, with side trips to the Underworld -- ruled by Xena's erstwhile crony Hades -- and to the future, in which the two heroines found themselves in reincarnated form. Predicated on the theory that anything is possible in a fantasy series, both Xena and Gabrielle were "killed" and "resurrected" on several occasions, and both bore children who grew up to become their nemeses: Xena's daughter Eve (Adrienne Wilkinson) reached adulthood as the much-feared warrior queen Livia, the lover of war god Ares (Kevin Smith), while Gabrielle's offspring Hope (Amy Morrison), whose father was "force of darkness" Dahak, would have to be killed at her mother's hand in order to save Mankind (Xena also had reason to despise Hope; it was she who killed Xena's long-estranged son, Solon). In one memorable instance, Xena briefly assumed the form of another woman -- a metamorphosis necessitated by a real-life accident which sidelined Lucy Lawless for several weeks. Lest this all sound a bit grim and morbid, it must be noted that the series, like its predecessor, Hercules, had a healthy, irreverent sense of humor, as encapsulated by the light-hearted "disclaimers" which appeared at the end of each episode. There was also time to spoof such modern-day phenomena as beauty contests, spaghetti Westerns, Danny Kaye films, theme parks, pro wrestling, Broadway musicals, and even such TV shows as You Are There and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There was also a cheerily contemptuous disregard for the time line of "real" history, with Xena and Gabrielle crossing the paths of Julius Caesar, Ulysses, Genghis Khan, Cleopatra, David and Goliath, Brunnhilde, and many other past "celebrities," both genuine and imaginary. Generally, the series' jocular treatment of Myth, Mysticism, Religion, and Reality was accepted in the spirit in which it was intended; but on one occasion, an angry protest from a Hindu extremist group obliged the producers to remove the fourth season episode "The Way" from the series' rerun package.
Of Xena's many recurring characters, the best known and most often seen included Xena and Gabrielle's clumsy, wannabe warrior friend Joxer (Ted Raimi); Xena's mortal enemy, the blonde female warrior Callisto (Hudson Leick); troublesome traveling salesman Salmoneus (Robert Trebor); self-proclaimed king of thieves Autolycus (Bruce Campbell); Amazon princess Ephiny (Danielle Cormack), who enabled Gabrielle to join her all-female tribe; teenaged Amazon Amarice (Jennifer Sky), who became to Gabrielle what Gabrielle was to Xena; healer and shaman Eli (Timothy Omundson), Gabrielle's spiritual mentor; and an impressive array of "immortals," including the aforementioned Ares and Hades, goddess of love Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings), sea deity Poseidon (Charles Siebert, who also directed several episodes), and the puckish Cupid (Karl Urban, who also played Julius Caesar). And, of course, the star of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Kevin Sorbo, made a few courtesy calls on Xena. Syndicated in the U.S. beginning September 15, 1995, Xena: Warrior Princess was subsequently telecast in practically every English-speaking country in the world, then went on to virtually every other country where television existed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, (more)










