John Billingsley Movies

In the tradition of such psychologically-charged sci-fi outings as The Next One (1982) and K-PAX (2001) comes the cerebral science fiction opus The Man From Earth (2007). The story concerns Professor John Oldman, a scientist who summons a group of associates to a cabin one freezing night, and strikes them with a fantastic revelation: he is not a traditional human, but a 14,000 year-old immortal, who has survived centuries of evolution from the Cro-Magnon Era to the present. In the hours to follow, Professor Oldman's earth-shaking assertion about himself challenges the men on spiritual, scientific and historical levels. But the most incredible is yet to come - an even more astonishing truth in which the men's discussions culminate. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A hard-nosed Special Forces officer is transformed into a zombie-human hybrid who provides the only hope for preventing a zombie plague from infecting every living man, woman, and child on the planet in an all-out tale of undead terror starring Dean Cain. Bobby Quinn (Cain) was the perfect Special Forces operative. Tough, quick on his feet, and always ready for action, Quinn awakens one day in the morgue to discover that he isn't entirely human anymore. It seems that the nefarious Dr. Scott has been plotting to achieve unlimited power, and a contaminated swarm of Jindoo scorpions from Cambodia have unleashed a deadly zombie plague that threatens to spell the end of the human race. There's still time to save mankind though, and as Quinn leaps into action with a little assistance from smoldering film student Holly, military chef Judson, and a motley crew of hard-charging allies, these dogged soldiers may be able to fend off the living dead after all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A young schoolteacher with a serious fear of hospitals must face her worst fears when her boyfriend is injured in a car accident and spirited away to a nightmarish medical center where demons don medical scrubs and nefarious nurses bathe in the blood of their suffering patients. Amy's (Christine Taylor) boyfriend has just been involved in a major car accident, but when Amy receives word that her boyfriend has been taken to a hospital that no longer exists, she determines to face her fears and bring her boyfriend back home no matter what horrors await her. Accompanied by a concerned stranger (Jerry O' Connell) who remains steadfast in his determination to solve the mystery of St. Rosemary's, Amy is forced to enter a hallucinatory world of soul-shredding terror where nothing is as it seems and unspeakable horrors lie down every dark and lonely hallway. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The 12 Dogs of Christmas concerns a twelve-year-old girl named Emma who lives in a town that has outlawed owning dogs. She attempts to win over the hearts and minds of the town's mayor by putting together a memorable Christmas pageant using many of her canine friends. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

The Enterprise NX-01, Earth's first Warp Five spaceship, has been in service for a mere two years (2151-2153) as Star Trek: Enterprise enters its third season. Despite this relatively brief time frame, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his loyal multicultural, intergalactic crew have been assaulted by such hostile entities as the futuristic, genetically manipulative Suliban race, and the fearsome reptilian Xindi, whose villainies extended to a wholesale effort to destroy all humankind. Season three isn't going to be much easier for Archer and company, as they travel deeper and deeper into the uncharted Delphic Expanse in pursuit of the Xindi, who, though they may have been pushed back, are eager and willing to launch their next attack on Earth. In other developments, Archer and company have a prescient encounter with the Osaarian race; a slave named Rajiin (Nikita Ager) proves to be an unexpected nemesis for her rescuer, Archer; a crew of Vulcans confuses T'Pol with their "illogical" and extremely violent and unpredictable behavior; an "ancient" NX-class ship bearing a disturbing resemblance to the Enterprise is confronted by the crew; and an inexplicable time warp projects two of the crewpersons 12 years into the future -- and they definitely don't like what they see. This season's cliffhanger finale brings matters full circle, with Archer and his crew marshaling their combining strengths to prevent the Xindi from making a final -- very final -- assault on Earth, while another threatens looms on the horizon in the form of "The Sphere Builders." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This cable TV special spotlights people who aren't doctors, but who play doctors on TV. Actors from General Hospital, Scrubs, and the various incarnations of Star Trek discuss their experiences as fictional members of the medical profession, noting the intense research necessary for such roles, and also confessing the sheer joy of making "life and death" situations while the cameras are rolling. Hollywood Hospital was the pilot for a proposed series on the Discovery Health Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Defense attorney Claire Kubik (Ashley Judd) seems to have the perfect life. She has a high profile job at a big firm, a beautiful home outside San Francisco, and a husband, Tom (James Caviezel of The Thin Red Line), who loves her. Claire's biggest problem appears to be that she wants to have a baby, and she's having trouble getting pregnant. But when the police investigate a routine break-in at her home, they uncover the truth about her husband's identity, and her life is thrown into turmoil. Claire finds out that her husband's name is actually Ron Chapman, and that he's an ex-marine accused of murdering seven innocent civilians in El Salvador during a raid in the late '80s. He admits that he was there, and that he changed his identity to escape prosecution for the crimes, but he insists that he's innocent, and that the massacre was committed by another soldier under the orders of a powerful general (Bruce Davison), who is using Ron as a patsy to cover it up. Claire is eventually convinced that Ron's telling the truth. Faced with defending her husband in an unfamiliar military courtroom, Claire enlists the aid of Charles Grimes (Morgan Freeman), an ex-Army judge advocate with an axe to grind. Stonewalled by the military bureaucracy at every turn, they uncover a web of deception and disappearing witnesses, and they soon find their own lives in danger. High Crimes was adapted from Joseph Finder's novel by the husband and wife screenwriting team of Yuri Zeltser and Cary Bickley. The film was directed by Carl Franklin (One False Move), and co-stars Amanda Peet and Adam Scott. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

The Oprah Book Club best-seller by Janet Fitch makes it to the big screen in this adaptation from British director Peter Kosminsky. White Oleander recounts the traumatic adolescence of Astrid Magnusson (Alison Lohman), who finds herself an orphan after her short-fused, enigmatic artist mother Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer) is carted off to prison on murder charges. Astrid first finds herself in the care of Starr (Robin Wright Penn), a garish, born-again mother of two with a gruff but sensitive boyfriend (Cole Hauser). From there, she's shunted back to a state-run facility, where she tangles with other troubled teens and finds temporary solace in the arms of Paul (Patrick Fugit), a dough-faced comic book artist with dreams of moving to New York City. Astrid then lucks into a living arrangement with a successful but insecure actress (Renee Zellweger) who offers her unconditional love. But Ingrid's stifling influence continues to haunt her daughter, whether through the occasional prison visit or via manipulative letters to Astrid's caretakers. White Oleander received a Gala North American premiere at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival before reaching multiplexes later that fall. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

The first season of Star Trek: Enterprise may have begun in the year 2001, but it's 2151 A.D. so far as the stars (and the fans) are concerned. Now that the Vulcans have (none too enthusiastically) been persuaded to provide humans with star charts that will permit them to travel through deep space, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew are ready to climb aboard the Enterprise NX-01, Earth's first Warp Five starship. Loyally serving under Archer's command are attractive Vulcan science officer T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) (who has been sent along because the Vulcans aren't entirely convinced that the humans are advanced enough to handle the job alone); Archer's old pal Cmdr. Charles "Trip" Tucker III (Connor Trinneer), the ship's chief engineer; stuffy British munitions expert Lt. Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating); interstellar-travel veteran Ensign Travis Mayweather (Anthony "A.T." Montgomery), the Enterprise's helmsman; resident "brain" Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), the ship's communications officer; and Denobulan doctor Phlox (John Billingsley), who has a working knowledge of virtually every species and civilization in the galaxy. And we mustn't forget the ship's mascot, Archer's pet beagle, Porthos.

No sooner has the Enterprise undertaken its first mission than the crew discovers that they have become enmeshed in the long-running Temporal Cold War, and that they had better keep several steps ahead of a mysterious futuristic, genetically manipulative race called the Suliban. Along the way, the Enterprise personnel have their first major encounters with the redoubtable Klingons and the mercurial Ferengi (though the latter race is never identified by name), the sensitive Hoshi has her first panic attack, the entire crew becomes hostile and paranoid thanks to a hallucinogenic pollen, a rapidly growing alien baby threatens to engulf the Enterprise, the mystery of the "lost colony" Terra Nova is solved in rather disturbing fashion, Trip uncovers a startling secret about T'Pol, and a Suliban subversive manages to insinuate himself onto the ship. Also, fans of the old sci-fi series Quantum Leap should enjoy the episode "Detained," which reunites actors Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. The season ends with the first of Star Trek: Enterprise's cliffhangers, as Archer and former crew member Daniels (Matt Winston) are compelled to travel through time to thwart a deadly Suliban sabotage scheme. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A couple's worst nightmare becomes a reality as they find themselves behind bars with their children are taken away from them in this made-for-TV drama, inspired by a true story. Brenda and Scott Kniffen (Viginia Madsen and Jeffrey Nordling) are asked by friends to testify as character witnesses at a child custody hearing. After The Kniffens take the stand, a relation of their friends, who was upset by the testimony, tells authorities that Brenda and Scott are guilty of beating their young sons, molesting them sexually, and taking pornographic photographs of them. While there is no truth to the accusations, a prosecutor determined to prove he's tough on child abuse takes on the case, and his staff badgers Brandon Kniffen (Cory Dorkin) and his brother Brian (Ryan Wilson) into giving damaging statements and testifying against their parents in court. Brenda and Scott spend the next twelve years behind bars, fighting their case as best they can as they try to prove their innocence and become reunited with their children. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Veteran screenwriters John Brancato and Michael Ferris created this X-Files-esque supernatural thriller series about a group of psychics who help the haunted and the doomed. Each of the group has their own metaphysical strengths: Warren (Kevin J. O'Connor) is a high-strung psychic, Mark (Gabriel Macht) is a med student with an innate empathy for suffering, Satori (Melissa) uses trendy occult imagery to connect to the supernatural, and Albert (John Aylward) is both grumpy and blind with a heightened sixth sense. The pilot opens with university student Marian (Julianne Nicholson) freaking out over visions of her dorm room's dead former resident. She is invited to sit with the "others" along with Elmer Greentree (Bill Cobbs), a sage-like medium who has the ability to see the afterlife. Soon Marian joins the group and starts ghost-busting. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide