Michael Bowen Movies

Ditching school on a lark in favor of downing beers and raising hell at an abandoned mental hospital, two high school kids from the wrong side of the tracks make a horrifying discovery that will test their morals and serve as the catalyst for a dangerous battle of wills. Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez) and JT (Noah Segan) are the kind of kids more likely to be caught smoking in the boy's room than studying in the library, so when they skip out of class to explore a crumbling mental hospital it seems like just another days of mischief and mayhem. What seemed to be business as usual becomes anything but, however, when the two boys break through a rusted door leading to a dark boiler room and discover a naked woman tied to a gurney and covered in plastic. Since the door to the boiler room was rusted shut it seems unlikely that any living soul has inhabited the space for years, yet when the body shows signs of life JT immediately suggests that he and his pal should have a little lewd fun with their helpless captive. But while Rickie may be somewhat reckless, his moral compass still points in the right direction and he wants nothing to do with such sordid affairs. Later, when word of Rickie and JT's discovery gets out, tensions flare as events take a darkly disturbing turn. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A charismatic psycho suspected of killing two innocent campers in a cold-blooded double homicide grows increasingly unstable as his suburban empire starts to crack at the foundations in director Chris Sivertson's adaptation of author Jack Ketchum's chilling take on the 1960s-era Charles Schmid murders. Ray Pye (Chris Senter) may be well out of high school, but the kids in his sleepy town are strangely drawn to the drug-dealing outsider who stuffs cans in his boots to boost his stature and sports pancake make-up to cast a rock-star aura. But Ray Pye isn't just eccentric, he's downright dangerous. It was during a weekend camping excursion with his sometime-girlfriend Jennifer Fitch (Shay Astar) and best pal Tim Best (Alex Frost) that Ray shot a pair of pretty campers simply to satisfy his own morbid curiosity, and after bullying his friends into silence, the case would go strangely unsolved. Despite the fact that one of the girls eventually managed to escape, she lay comatose in the hospital for months on end before eventually succumbing to her wounds. Local detective Charlie Schilling (Michael Bowen) suspected Ray of the crime from the very beginning, and now that the girl has died without being able to identify her killer, Schilling is determined to ensure that justice is served. These days the womanizing Pye has turned his attentions away from Jennifer and toward newly arrived rich girl Katherine Wallace (Robin Sydney) and innocent Sally Richmond (Megan Henning) -- a recent high-school graduate who, unbeknownst to Ray, is involved in a tender May-December romance with retired cop Ed Anderson (Ed Lauter). Now, as Katherine and Sally reject Ray's advances, and Tim and Jennifer's once undying loyalty begins to slip, the increasingly unstable pied piper's fragile ego spirals into an explosive tailspin. With the rage that's bubbling up in Ray threatening to send him on a murderous rampage, Detective Schilling and Ed Anderson desperately attempt to gather the evidence needed to arrest the swaggering psychopath before more lives are lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Monty Lapica's drama Self-Medicated tells the story of a 17-year-old boy who is having a very difficult time dealing with the grief he experiences after his father dies. After the boy slides into a wicked drug addiction, as well as legal problems, his mother reaches the end of her tether and has her son admitted to an adolescent hospital designed to force him into confronting his issues. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

The new owner of a dilapidated apartment building becomes the prime suspect in a series of brutal murders in this thriller starring Judd Nelson, Jennifer Carpenter, and Stacey Dash. Amanda Winters has just purchased the Grayson Arms, a crumbling apartment complex filled with rent-controlled tenants who all plan to remain precisely where they are. Unfortunately for all involved, Amanda has other plans for the property. Later, as the tenants begin to die in a series of gruesome accidents, Amanda is singled out as the prime suspect in the deaths. But Amanda isn't the only one with a reason to kill, because from the mysterious twins to the neurotic therapist who dwells in Grayson Arms, it seems that everyone has some kind of dark secret to protect. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Perhaps the most highly anticipated film of 2003, Kill Bill Vol. 1 marked the return of renowned filmmaker Quentin Tarantino after a six-year hiatus. Re-teaming the director with Uma Thurman for the first time since 1994's Pulp Fiction, the film was originally the first half of what was to be a three-hour-plus movie before being split into two films. Thurman stars as The Bride, one-fifth of a team of assassins called DiVAS. When The Bride opts to leave the outfit for a life of marital bliss, it doesn't sit well with her boss, Bill (David Carradine), so he has her former cohorts, played by Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, and Michael Madsen, show up at the nuptials, leaving behind a blood bath. Miraculously, The Bride survives a bullet to the head and, four years later, she sets out for revenge against her four assassins and their employer. The story is concluded in Kill Bill Vol. 2, released six months later. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

This Yuletide-season TV movie reverses the standard "three girls on the make" formula of many an old 20th Century Fox movie, of which How to Marry a Millionaire is a choice example. This time out, a trio of enterprising young men decide to go on the prowl for rich wives, after first consulting a nonplussed department-store Santa with their intentions. The plan, as hatched by the impoverished heroes, Tom (John Stamos), Jason (Shermar Moore), and Mark (Joshua Malina), is as follows: They will pose as hot-shot Hollywood movie producers, the better to entice attractive and wealthy young women to invest in their newest "production" -- and hopefully, to entrap said women into matrimony. As so often happens in stories of this nature, however, love ultimately triumphs over money. A bit too top-heavy with racy double entendres and potentially unsavory situations, the film is redeemed somewhat by the presence of Dabney Coleman and Rhea Perlman, cast as an older couple named -- believe it or not -- John and Jackie Kennedy. How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale made its first Fox Network appearance on December 20, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson followed his critical and commercial breakthrough Boogie Nights with this wildly ambitious story of lives intertwining on a single day in California's San Fernando Valley. Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), a successful producer of television game shows, left his wife when she contracted cancer to marry the younger and more beautiful Linda (Julianne Moore). Now, Earl has cancer himself, and Linda spends her day fetching medicines and trying to deal with the imminent death of her husband, whom she has only now come to love. Earl asks his nurse Phil (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to arrange a meeting with his estranged son, Frank Mackey (Tom Cruise), known for his self-help program "Seduce and Destroy," in which he preaches the importance of male sexual prowess; he cared for his mother after Earl left her, and he has no desire to see his father again. Earl's best-known show is hosted by Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), who also learns that he is dying. Jimmy's show pits bright adults against unusually smart kids; one of Jimmy's child contestants, Stanley (Jeremy Blackman), arrives late for a taping after being left stranded by his father Rick (Michael Bowen), who is supported by his more successful son. Meanwhile, Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), who was a champ on Jimmy's show as a child, is not having as much luck as an adult; he's just lost his job and needs to pay for some expensive dental work. Jimmy wants to reconcile with his estranged and emotionally fragile daughter Claudia (Melora Walters), who despises him and who will become involved with well-meaning police officer Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly), who has been desperately lonely since his divorce three years ago. Magnolia reunites much of the cast and crew of Boogie Nights and features eight original songs by singer/songwriter Aimee Mann and a musical score by Jon Brion. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this combination caper comedy and offbeat romance, Emily (Alicia Silverstone) is a wealthy but petulant young woman desperate to get the attention of her millionaire father, Alexander Hope (Jack Thompson). In fact, she's so desperate that she decides to stage her own kidnapping; she sends a ransom note, ties herself up, and locks herself in the trunk of her BMW, waiting for daddy to come to the rescue; however, Emily's timing is a bit off, because ten minutes later, hunky car thief Vincent (Benicio Del Toro) steals the BMW with Emily still in it. Vincent and his partner in crime, Greg (Harry Connick Jr.), eventually discover the car's trunk has an unexpected surprise. When Emily is unable to convince them to help her with her scheme, she becomes a problem the carjackers can't get rid of, especially after Alexander refuses to pay her ransom, and his creepy right-hand man, Raymond (Christopher Walken), heads out to find her. Of course, losing 200,000 dollars in mob money is not making Vincent's life any easier, nor is having the emotionally problematic Emily fall in love with him. Excess Baggage was the first feature from Alicia Silverstone's production company First Kiss. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The mother of Diane Russell (Kim Delaney) prepares to face the grand jury to answer questions about the death of Diane's abusive father. Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) unearth additional family intrigue as they look into the murder of a mobster's son. And Diane has problems with the overly amorous stepson of another murder victim and the suspect's slick lawyer -- not to mention a trail of evidence leading circuitously back to the suspect in the case being followed by Andy and Bobby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the aftermath of a student's suicide, a schoolteacher finds herself socially ostracized and facing criminal charges. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The third entry in the popular Beverly Hills Cop series finds Detroit cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) returning yet again to Southern California, this time on the trail of two car thieves turned murderers. As he teams up again with L.A. cop Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), Foley's investigation leads him to Wonder World, a theme park that is also the front for a major counterfeiting ring. More action and less wit are the trademarks of this film, which features Murphy dishing out his usual wisecracks, but with less flair and freshness than in the original film. Alan Young plays the old man who runs the amusement park, an interesting setting that still adds little to the tired premise. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide