Glenn Taranto Movies
His wife convicted of a murder she swears she did not commit, a college professor plots to break her out of prison in this thriller starring Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson. John Brennan (Crowe) and his wife, Lara (Elizabeth Banks), were happily married and raising a family when their lives fell apart in the blink of an eye. Lara has been charged with murder, and despite every effort to prove her innocence, the judge sentences her to an extended prison sentence. Meanwhile, on the outside, John files multiple appeals while struggling to raise their children and maintain his career. Lara's future starts to look especially grim, however, after the final appeal is rejected, and she admits that she'd rather commit suicide than spend the rest of her life behind bars. Determined to save his wife after the justice system fails her, John seeks the advice of ex-convict Damon Pennington (Liam Neeson), who staged his own daring prison escape, in order to draw up an airtight plan. Later, John prepares to put his life on the line for the woman he loves, and sets the plan into motion with the knowledge that one false move could be their last. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, (more)
Mad Men star Jon Hamm headlines this unusual low-budget mystery-thriller, as Detective Tom Adkins, a man haunted relentlessly by the disappearance of his ten-year-old son, Tommy, Jr. No leads immediately turn up in that case, but he does receive an early-morning phone call that draws him to the mangled and mutilated remains of a young boy slain 50 years prior. Tom takes on the case in an attempt to find absolution, and a second tale evolves, set 50 before, involving a man named Matthew Wakefield (Josh Lucas) and his son John. The baffling similarities between the Wakefield case and Tommy Jr.'s mysterious fate push Tom to the brink of sanity and ultimately lead him on a collision course with fate. Gradually, one step at a time, Tom stumbles onto the horrifying truth about what happened to his boy. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jon Hamm, Josh Lucas, (more)
Vacancy director Nimród Antal helms the crime thriller Armored, starring Columbus Short as Ty, an armored truck guard who gets wrapped up in a heist scheme hatched by his godfather and mentor on the job, Mike (Matt Dillon). Along with a team that includes Laurence Fishburne, Jean Reno, and Skeet Ulrich, the group makes off with a shipment of 40 million dollars, but things start to unravel when one of them kills a homeless man as they stash the cash. Ty, who almost didn't sign on to the job but caved when his house was on the verge of foreclosure and his brother nearly taken out of his custody by Child Welfare, breaks from the plan and locks himself in one of the armored trucks until he figures out a way out of the deadly scenario. While Ty is trapped inside the truck with half of the loot, the rest of the crew has only so much time before they're reported missing, bringing life-or-death decisions to a heist where no blood was to be spilled. Things get further complicated when a patrol officer (Milo Ventimiglia) comes snooping around the warehouse district where the crew has been hiding. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
- Starring:
- Matt Dillon, Jean Reno, (more)
Directed by the prolific Rob Zombie, The Devil's Rejects is a sequel of sorts to 2003's House of 1000 Corpses, and picks up several weeks after House left off. This time, the clash revolves around the tribe of violent lunatics and decidedly valueless family members of the original film, who have come to be known as the "Devil's Rejects." After learning of the extended family's horrific attacks, a SWAT team is sent to take them into custody; all but their crazed Mama escape. In addition to creating a full-fledged media circus, this sends the sociopath housemates on the run, and they initiate a deadly road trip. Meanwhile, Mama has to deal with a violent, vengeful sheriff (William Forsythe). The Devil's Rejects features Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Sheri Moon, Michael Berryman, and Ken Foree, among other cult horror regulars. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, (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)
Elizabeth (Alex Kingston) lashes out at Rachel (Hallee Hirsh) for nearly causing baby Ella's death. Greene (Anthony Edwards) worries that his brain tumor has returned. Carter's (Noah Wyle) mother (Mary McDonnell) continues "coping" with the long-ago death of her other son, Bobby, by living her life vicariously through a young leukemia patient. Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) is forced to hold down the ER fort virtually by herself when a bag of bad bagels causes the other staffers to suffer from food poisoning. And Abby (Maura Tierney) is attacked and beaten by her neighbor Brian (Matthew Settle) for offering support to Brian's abused wife. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
While John (Bill Brochtrup) is in Africa with his new beau, the squad's temporary PAA is part-time screenwriter Dave Moore (Dan Bucatinsky), whose presence arouses the muse deep within Det. Greg Medavoy (Gordon Clapp). Valerie (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon) waits an inordinately long time to inform Baldwin (Henry Simmons) that she has miscarried. After their passionate kiss, Andy (Dennis Franz) goes out of his way to avoid Connie (Charlotte Ross). A drunken Don (Stan Cahill) humiliates his wife, Rita (Jacqueline Obradors), in public. And back on the job, a rookie cop inadvertently tampers with evidence, a perp Andy (Dennis Franz) brought down 20 years earlier seems to be leading an exemplary life, and several skeletons are revealed in the closet of a saintly doctor who has been murdered. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Henry Simmons
Season Eleven of Murder She Wrote opens with an episode that would seem to have been inspired by the 1933 horror film Murders at the Zoo. Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) pays an extended visit to a California animal park, there to research her latest mystery novel. Inevitably, a real-life mystery begins to unfold when Mark Atwater (David Beecroft), fiancé of one of the park's workers, is killed by the venom of a deadly black mamba snake. It looks like an accident, but Jessica believes that the actual killer was of the two-legged rather than no-legged variety. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is shocked when her computer technician is murdered--and even more so when it turns out that the dead man was actually a rookie cop, working undercover. Investigating the situation, Jessica forms a strong bond with the late cop's veteran partner. At the same time, the murderer plans to strike again...and this time the target may be the victim's girlfriend. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
After surviving a blast from a double-barrelled shotgun, Henry Jackson (Joe Seneca) is still able and willing to identify his assailant. It turns out that the shooter is an outspoken white supremacist -- and a serial killer who preys upon minorities. This is why Assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) is astonished when the accused is defended by a prominent African-American lawyer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
A wealthy young bride is killed in what appears to be a mugging gone awry. The ensuing investigation reveals that the victim's husband was cheating on her. As it turns out, the solution to the case hinges on a valuable silver pin that was owned by the unfortunate woman. Nancy Marchand, best remembered as the aristocratic newspaper owner on Lou Grant and the mob matriarch on The Sopranos, is here seen as the imperious Mrs. Barbara Ryder. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The body of an unidentified teenaged girl is found floating in the river. The investigation conducted by Logan (Chris Noth) and Cerreta (Paul Sorvino) leads to several illegal sweatshops operating in New York, and an insidious racket which makes virtual slaves out of immigrant teens. In order to bring the villains to justice, Assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) exhumes a century-old case. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi









