Cathy Cahlin Ryan Movies

Tim Allen and Chiwetel Ejiofor co-star in writer/director David Mamet's martial arts drama Redbelt. Ejiofor plays Mike Terry, a jujitsu master who co-runs a very modest martial arts studio in Los Angeles with his bossy wife, Sondra (Alice Braga). Mike demonstrates an unwavering commitment to his craft and draws a cadre of defiantly loyal pupils including Joe (Max Martini), an LAPD cop. All told, it appears that he has chosen a peaceful and conflict-free path in life. The dedicated martial artist's fate takes an unanticipated turn, however, one evening when a young woman named Laura (Emily Mortimer) bursts into the academy in a state of near hysteria, and reaches for a policeman's gun when he tries to restrain her. One thing leads to another, and before long, Laura is regularly receiving martial arts lessons from Mike. As master begins to teach pupil and his martial arts philosophies emerge, his path also crisscrosses with that of a Hollywood movie star, Chet Frank (Tim Allen), when he saves the fellow from a beating at a local club and gets invited (along with Sondra) to Chet's house for dinner. Chet extends gestures of friendship, and Mike's guard breaks down; he speaks openly and candidly of a special martial arts method he employs that requires one of the participants to "assume a handicap." In time, the association with Chet leads to involvement in the motion-picture industry, and relations with a bevy of characters who aren't exactly what they seem -- including a pay-per-view fight mogul (Ricky Jay) and Chet's slimy and manipulative manager (Joe Mantegna). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

It looks like the career of the spectacular successful--and spectacularly corrupt--Farmington District Stike Force is about to screech to a halt in the the fifth season of the gritty cop drama The Shield. It's hard for Force leader Det. Vic Mackey (Michael Chilkis) to go about his business as usual (beating confessions out of prisoners, planting evidence, even committing cold-blooded murder) with Lt. Jon Kavanagh (Forest Whitaker) from Internal Affairs breathing down his neck. Dedicated to the point of manic obsession, Kavanagh puts the screws on imprisoned Force member Curtis "Lemonhead" Lemensky (Kenneth Johnson), hoping that Lem will crack and spill his guts about his coworkers' illegal tactics. Before long, each member of Mackey's team is suspected the other of disloyalty and playing along with Kavanagh, especially after the relentless investigator plants a bug in their favorite hangout, then moves into their headquarters. In other Season Five developments, closeted team member Julien Lowe (Michael Jace) is "outed", much to the astonishment of his coworkers. And after several near misses, Det. Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder), the "conscience" of the Strike Force, is finally promoted to Captain. Meanwhile, Off. Danielle "Danny" Sofer (Catherine Dent) still refuses to reveal the identity of her baby's father, though it really isn't all that hard to figure out who it is. At season's end, Vic arranges for Lem to be moved out of the country for his own good as well as the good of his coworkers. Unfortunately, Detective Shane Vendrell (Waylon Goggins), the loosest of the Force's "loose cannons", trumps all his previous outrages by making dead certain that Lem will never talk to anyone! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Aceveda (Benito Martinez) arranges for Monica (Glenn Close) to meet with community leaders to sell her forfeiture program. Antwon (Anthony Anderson) is at the meeting and attacks the program as racist. Julien (Michael Jace), speaking as a former resident of Farmington, defends it, but Aceveda sandbags Monica by coming out against the seizures. Later, Julien begins to have his own doubts about the fairness of the program. Claudette (CCH Pounder) finds out about Dutch's (Jay Karnes) deal with the DA's office, and gets very angry about it, even though the detectives are given a murder case. She attacks Monica because a low-level pot dealer's property was seized. Monica reprimands her, but later complains to ADA Encardi (Anna Maria Horsford) about the way her detectives were used. Lem (Kenny Johnson) wants to come back to The Barn, but Vic (Michael Chiklis) is worried about bringing him back because Lem and Shane (Walton Goggins) are on the outs, and Vic wants to keep Shane close. A drug counselor is murdered by a heroin dealer. Lem brings in Angie (Bree'Anna Banks), a juvenile whose addict mother, Hoda (Fylicia King), had a connection to the victim. This leads to Vic and his people finding a massive cache of heroin and weapons, which, unfortunately for Shane and Army (Michael Pena), turns out to be the property of Antwon. They don't have time to warn Antwon about the bust, and later, he makes his displeasure known. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Aceveda (Benito Martinez) starts a political battle against Monica (Glenn Close) over her department's property seizures. He also turns to a call girl, Sara (Abby Brammell), to help him work through his ongoing trauma over being sexually assaulted. Danny (Catherine Dent) and Julien (Michael Jace) pick up a graffiti artist (Vanetta Smith) who might be involved in fomenting a gang war. ADA Encardi (Anna Maria Horsford) tells Dutch (Jay Karnes) that the DA's office wants a "favor" in exchange for getting him and Claudette (CCH Pounder) back in their good graces. They're told to bust a drug dealer (Mel Winkler), who turns out to be very small-time, arousing Claudette's suspicions. A rapist escapes from the county courthouse and attacks another victim. Vic turns to Suvuto (Noel Guglielmi), a gang leader, for help in capturing the rapist, with decidedly mixed results. Shane (Walton Goggins) and Army (Michael Pena) make a power play, beating up on Antwon's (Anthony Anderson) lieutenant Halpern (Laurence Mason) when the man himself fails to show up at a meeting. Vic continues to go after Antwon, this time busting one of his many illegitimate children, Donald III (Edward Hendershott), on a minor charge. Vic also feeds Shane some information about one of Antwon's operations to see if the information will get back to Antwon. After promising Antwon protection from Vic, Shane asks to come back to The Barn. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Aceveda (Benito Martinez) goes over the edge while he's engaged with Sara (Abby Brammell). After another young black woman is found strangled, Monica (Glenn Close) takes Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) off the cop-killer case so that they can interrogate Kleavon Gardner (Ray Campbell) again. Unfortunately, their only witnesses are a husband and wife who seem more interested in attacking each other than in helping the police. While Vic (Michael Chiklis) and Monica interrogate Antwon (Anthony Anderson), Lem (Kenny Johnson), Shane (Walton Goggins), Ronnie (David Rees Snell), and Army (Michael Pena) are in Griffith Park, using the information they got from Pitarrio (Danny Martinez) to find Angie's body, so that Shane and Army will be in the clear, and Vic can really go after Antwon. They can't find the body, though, so Vic has to try to keep the interrogation under control. Lem goes back to Pitarrio to clarify the location of the body, taking his stash of heroin as collateral, but Monica pushes Antwon with leverage she has over his son, and Antwon, distraught, instructs his lawyer to phone in an anonymous tip about the body to the police. Vic is forced to try a new tactic. This was a special 90-minute episode. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

After his car accident, precipitated by his violent altercation with Shane (Walton Goggins) and Mara (Michele Hicks), Tavon (Brian J. White) is in the hospital with possible traumatic brain damage. Vic (Michael Chiklis) visits Shane at home to find out where he was last night, and sees through the couple's shaky cover story. Claudette (CCH Pounder) and Vic clash over his team's latest assignment, but it leads him to a bigger case involving a Byz Latz member sneaking contraband into Chino. Vic finds out that Aceveda (Benito Martinez) and a federal agent are interrogating his smuggling suspect, Aranis (Manuel G. Jimenez), about some marked bills in the money collected in the bust, and realizes that some of the cash from the "Money Train" robbery is marked. So while Aceveda and the fed try to track down the rest of the Byz Latz money, Vic is racing against them to make sure they don't find it. Vic's moves inadvertently lead to Aceveda having an ugly run-in with a couple of gang members. Julien (Michael Jace) and Danny (Catherine Dent) try to protect a woman who's being stalked by her ex-boyfriend. Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette are called in on another two rape cases involving an elderly women, and realize that there's a serial rapist on the loose. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Fans of The Shield were outraged when, at the end of the series' second season, it looked as if popular supporting character Officer Danielle "Danny" Sofer (Catherine Dent) had been fired from the Farmington District Strike Force. But when season three rolled around, it was revealed that Danny's termination was merely a publicity stunt to hype interest in the series during its summer hiatus. That said, there is definitely quite a change in the Strike Force as season three gets under way. Led by head honcho Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), the force seems determined to forsake its flouting of the law, as well as its major and minor digressions from honesty and ethics, and to play things strictly "by the book." This resolve, however, lasts only as long as the first episode: Upon discovering that two vicious rival street gangs have purchased powerful assault weapons, Mackey realizes that his old ways are the best ways, and before long he is back to breaking every rule in the book -- and not a few skulls in the process. Among the developments occurring during this season is the simmering feud between the Strike Force and the newly formed Decoy Squad, who squabble over every procedural matter and who have a habit of causing more trouble for themselves than for the "perps." Also, Vic is steamed that his former subordinate, Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder), has been made supervisor of the Strike Force. And along the way, one-time force member Julian Lowe (Michael Jace) makes a return appearance to clear a former partner of a murder charge. In the two-part season finale, the force is stalked by a relentless Armenian hit man; Vic Mackey's longtime nemesis, Captain Aceveda (Benito Martinez), once again thinks he has enough evidence to bring Mackey down for good; and Claudette is ensnared in a crisis of conscience -- a real rarity for this series! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mara (Michele Hicks) is pregnant, and Shane (Walton Goggins) announces to his co-workers that he's getting married, while Vic (Michael Chiklis) bites his tongue. Tavon (Brian J. White) wants to transfer out of the Strike Team, but at Vic's behest, he agrees to try to make peace with Shane. Danny (Catherine Dent) gets a domestic disturbance call that brings her to Julien's (Michael Jace) house. Dutch (Jay Karnes) tries a new interrogation tactic on an attempted murder suspect. When it backfires, he's forced to call upon the harried Claudette (CCH Pounder) for help. Aceveda (Benito Martinez) forces Danny and Julien to partner up again. Claudette assigns both the Strike Team and the Decoy Squad to a high-profile robbery/carjacking case in which a prominent homeless advocate was killed. Vic and Waylon (Gareth Williams), the leader of the Decoy Squad, decide to compete to solve the case, and make a friendly wager. Whichever team nabs the culprits first wins, and the losing team has to streak through The Barn. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

As the finale of the third season of The Shield opens, Vic (Michael Chiklis), Shane (Walton Goggins), and Ronnie (David Rees Snell) are dealing with the consequences of Lem (Kenny Johnson) torching the money from the "Money Train" heist. Lem will no longer get a cut, but there's still not much left to go around for all the risk they took, and as Aceveda (Benito Martinez) explains, if Lem leaves the group, the police chief will not replace him, and the Strike Team will not have enough members to continue. The team also confirms that they're being targeted by the Armenian mob, and Vic decides to take matters into his own hands in his pursuit of Margos (Kurt Sutter, uncredited). Claudette (CCH Pounder) doggedly continues to pursue the case of the drugged-up public defender, despite getting pressured by Aceveda to drop it. That case, and Dutch's (Jay Karnes) continued interest in Vic's possible involvement with the Armenians, makes them a very unpopular pair at The Barn. Meanwhile, Danny (Catherine Dent) scores points with her handling of the case of a local business owner (André Benjamin of OutKast) who resorts to aggressive tactics in trying to get the drug dealers and prostitutes off his block. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

With two children now needing intensive counseling, money in the Mackey household is very tight. After their patsy, Neil O'Brien (Jim Budig), is brought in for questioning about the marked money, Vic (Michael Chiklis) figures the Strike Team is in the clear, and asks them if he can take some of the loot. Shane (Walton Goggins), Lem (Kenny Johnson), and Ronnie argue about the wisdom of such a move. As Lem points out, "We said we wouldn't make the same mistakes as the dumbasses we catch." Dutch (Jay Karnes) interrogates O'Brien, and doesn't believe him when he says he found the cash, but they're forced to let him go. Aceveda (Benito Martinez) is trying to capitalize on his newfound popularity in the Korean community by cleaning up Koreatown. He assigns the Strike Team to capture Charlie Kim, a gang enforcer. The bust goes wrong, and two little kids are hit by Kim's stray gunfire as he escapes. The community blames the police, and Vic finds that Kim is always a step ahead as they try to track him down. He eventually realizes that someone is tipping the killer off. Dutch and Claudette (CCH Pounder) race to find an abused woman who has apparently taken up armed robbery. Danny (Catherine Dent) and Julien (Michael Jace) try to find two very valuable stolen chairs, with help from Taylor (RonReaco Lee), one of Vic's informants, who quickly develops an attraction to Danny. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

The first season of The Shield almost instantly establishes Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) as "Not Your Typical TV Cop." The leader of the Farmington District Strike Force, Mackey is mean, profane, violent, and some distance removed from honest. And it is not simply that Mackey is willing to beat a confession out of a perpetrator or plant false evidence to get a conviction: Our "hero" and several of his subordinates have strong ties with the Underworld -- and, as vividly demonstrated in the opening episode, Vic is perfectly capable of shooting down a "snitch" in cold blood to keep his peccadilloes from becoming public. Throughout season one, Mackey wages a battle of nerves with his superior officer, Captain Aceveda (Benito Martinez), who regards the detective as nothing more than a hoodlum with a badge and is determined to gather enough evidence to bring Mackey down for good. At the same time, Acevada knows that Mackey is "good copy" for the pro-police press, and he isn't about to ruin his most successful detective's career at the risk of destroying his own political ambitions.

Also introduced during The Shield's Emmy-winning inaugural season are Cathy Cahlin Ryan as Vic Mackey's wife, Corrine, and Joel Rosenthal as his austitic son, Matthew; Walton Goggins as Mackey's unpredictably dangerous second-in-command Det. Shane Vendrell; Kenneth Johnson as Det. Curtis "Lemonhead" Lemansky, who never speaks when cracking skulls will do; no-nonsense veteran detective Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder) and her trepidatious partner Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach (Jay Karnes); Officer Danielle "Danny" Sofer (Catherine Dent), an ally and sometimes "mole" for Captain Aceveda; Sofer's gay partner Officer Julian Lowe (Michael Jace); and long-suffering Assistant Chief Ben Gilroy (John Diehl), whose principal job seems to be to cover Mackey's butt. Season one ends with the Farmington PD under siege from ambush shooters after a riot, forcing Mackey and Aceveda to work together to locate the assailants -- while the fed-up Gilroy schemes to use the situation to rid himself of both men! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide