Richard T. Jones Movies

A man is given an unusual opportunity at a second chance in life in this drama. John Nolan (Jeff Goldblum) is a successful but unsatisfied insurance agent whose life takes an unexpected turn one day when he happens to witness a robbery at a liquor store that goes horribly wrong. The store's counterman is shot in the midst of the confusion, and as he dies, Nolan discovers his name is Auggie Rose (Kim Coates) and that he had been released from prison only a few days earlier. Nolan is certain he was somehow responsible for the tragic shooting, and promises to honor his final wish by passing a message along to Lucy (Anne Heche), a woman who had been corresponding with Auggie while he was behind bars. When Nolan meets Lucy, he decides to tell her he's Auggie Rose, and soon he finds himself living a double life, romancing Lucy as Auggie while trying to keep up appearances with his wife (Nancy Travis). Auggie Rose was originally announced to star William H. Macy as John Nolan, but when scheduling conflicts forced Macy to drop out of the project, Jeff Goldblum signed on, less than two weeks before shooting began. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Produced for cable's BET network, Incognito can be described as an African-American variation of the sort of TV-movie fare that had previously been the exclusive province of such Caucasian actresses as Victoria Principal and Cheryl Ladd. Wealthy, gorgeous female executive Erin Courtland (Allison Dean) is raped by a lowlife named Derek Scanlon (Phil Morris), who manages to elude arrest and begins stalking the harried heroine. When it becomes obvious that Erin's sniveling fiancé Quinn (Roger Guenveur Smith) will be of no help to her whatsoever, Erin's dad Marcus (Ron Glass) engages the services of bulked-up bodyguard Jake Hunter (Richard T. Jones). To be sure, a romance ensues, with all the attendant clichés of this sort of formula film fare, albeit with fascinating side glances at such Afrocentric topics as sickle-cell anemia and social unrest. Adapted from a novel by Francis Ray, Incognito made its TV debut on September 17, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, this "Hallmark Hall of Fame" TV movie was produced by Rosie O'Donnell, who also stars as the profoundly mentally challenged Beth Simon. When Beth's father dies, her sister, Rachel (Andie MacDowell), a brittle, self-absorbed fashion photographer, takes charge of Beth -- who, having been allowed to grow up without learning anything of self-discipline and social propriety, is no prize herself. Though she loves her sister, Rachel is embarrassed by Beth's obnoxious, obstreperous behavior, especially when riding the bus, which she does religiously and obsessively every day, much to the dismay of the other passengers. (Be warned: this is not one of those lachrymose "lovable handicapped adult" movies so common to network television.) Also, Beth has been allowed by her overindulgent father to neglect her health and hygiene in a deplorable fashion. Gradually, the two sisters connect and manage to profoundly change one another. Those viewers and critics who condemned Rosie O'Donnell for her abrasive, over-the-top portrayal of Beth were generally those who had had little contact with genuine handicapped people; conversely, those who had such people in their own families, or who had worked extensively with them professionally, applauded O'Donnell for her disturbingly accurate performance. Adapted from the book by the real-life Rachel Simon (actually an English professor and not a photographer), Riding the Bus with My Sister was telecast by CBS on May 1, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The mother of all destiny. Her son, the future leader of mankind. Their protector, a terminator from the future. Together they must take back the future as Sarah Connor (300's Lena Headey) prepares her son to fight the war against machines determined to annihilate the human race. The clock is ticking. Can they stop Judgment Day? The man-vs.-machine tale that's thrilled millions gets a reboot in this series set after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Now the battlefield has shifted to the present. Will John Connor (Heroes's Thomas Dekker) seize his destiny? Will a cell phone salesman's chess program evolve into Skynet? Can the sweet but deadly cyborg (Summer Glau of Firefly) be trusted? Answers – and the fight for the future – are here and now.

Ian Truitner's horror film The Cutting Room stars Mark Elias as an inexperienced moviemaker attempting to complete a horror film. The production gets complicated when a real serial killer begins to take out members of the cast and crew. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A taxi driver is unexpectedly taken on the ride of his life in this stylish thriller from acclaimed director Michael Mann. Max (Jamie Foxx) is a cab driver who hopes to some day open his own limo company; one night behind the wheel begins promisingly when he picks up Annie (Jada Pinkett Smith), an attorney working with the federal government who is attractive, friendly, and gives him her business card after paying her fare. Max thinks his luck is getting even better when his next fare, Vincent (Tom Cruise), offers him several hundred dollars in cash if he'll be willing to drop him off, wait, and pick him up at five different spots over the course of the evening. Max agrees, but he soon realizes Vincent isn't just another guy with errands to run -- Vincent is an assassin who has been paid to murder five people who could put the leaders of a powerful drug trafficking ring behind bars in an upcoming trial. As circumstances force Max to do Vincent's bidding, the cabbie has to find a way to prevent Vincent from killing again and save his own skin, a task that becomes especially crucial when he discovers Annie is one of the names on Vincent's hit list. Collateral also stars Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, and Bruce McGill as police detectives hot on Vincent's trail. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Writer-director Christopher Scott Cherot (Hav Plenty) based his second feature, G, on F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, The Great Gatsby. Tre (Andre Royo), a writer for a music magazine, goes out to the Hamptons to interview a wealthy and mysterious rap mogul, Summer G (Richard T. Jones), who's recently bought a home there. Tre first stops in on his cousin, Sky (Chenoa Maxwell, who also starred in Hav Plenty) and her control freak millionaire husband, Chip (Blair Underwood). Tre soon learns that Chip is brazenly cheating on Sky, and he even witnesses Chip smack his girlfriend around. Tre doesn't have much luck getting close to Summer G, until the music impresario finds out that Tre is related to Sky, whom he dated in college. Summer G asks Tre to arrange a meeting with Sky, and Tre, apparently upset with the way Chip has been treating Sky, helps Summer G connect with his old flame. Summer G tells Sky that he still loves her, and she begins an affair with him. The snobby old money Chip, already predisposed to dislike Summer G because of his hip-hop lifestyle, suspects that there's something going on, and plots to have Summer G chased from their exclusive Hamptons neighborhood. G was produced by Andrew Lauren, fashion designer Ralph Lauren's son, who also appears in the film as Adam Gordon, Summer G's manager. G was shown at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival and at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

A prison drama centering on the travails of three friends unjustly imprisoned for a crime they didn't commit, Lockdown opens with Avery (Richard T. Jones), a talented young swimmer who desperately wants to free himself, his wife Krista (Melissa De Sousa), and their infant son from life in the projects of Albuquerque, NM. Avery's future seems bright when, after winning a regional swimming competition, he is approached by Charles Pierce (Bill Nunn), a talent scout who takes an interest in the young man's athletic promise. Unfortunately, Avery's dreams quickly disintegrate when he and his pals Cashmere (Gabriel Casseus) and Dre (De'Aundre Bonds) are pulled over by cops one night and framed for a robbery/murder they didn't commit. Faster than you can say "blatant miscarriage of justice," Avery, Cashmere, and Dre land in the slammer, where they are separated and forced to fend for themselves. Avery ends by getting a valuable prison education from his Ralph Ellison-quoting cellmate Malachi (Clifton Powell), while Cashmere quickly becomes part of the African-American gang network operating under the leadership of Clean Up (rapper Master P, whose No Limit Films produced the film). Dre, meanwhile, meets the worst fate of the three, resorting to heroin after he's gang-raped by a group of Nazi thugs. On the outside, Krista and Pierce work tirelessly to free the trio from prison. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide