Alex Kingston Movies

A drug dealer moves on to bigger crimes in an effort to settle a score with disastrous results in this drama inspired by actual events. Though barely out of his teens, Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) has already built a lucrative career for himself selling drugs -- he has his own home, a luxury car, and posse of friends who do double duty as his crew, including Elvis (Shawn Hatosy), Frankie (Justin Timberlake), and Tiko (Fernando Vargas). While life at Johnny's house is usually a constant party interrupted by occasional dope deals, Johnny has lost all of his patience with Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), a regular customer who has run up a large tab that he can't pay. Determined to clear Jake's account, Johnny and his boys plan to kidnap Jake and hold him for ransom, but when they happen upon his 15-year-old stepbrother, Zack (Anton Yelchin), they impulsively decide to take the youngster instead. Jake's father, Butch (David Thornton), and his stepmother, Olivia (Sharon Stone), are already furious with their junkie son when they learn about Zack's disappearance, and aren't sure what they should do. Meanwhile at Johnny's place, Frankie takes a liking to young Zack, who already admires his brother's high-flying lifestyle, and introduces the kid to the joys of grown-up partying, which he takes to with dangerous zeal. Also featuring Bruce Willis as Johnny's father, Alpha Dog was based on the real-life story of Jesse James Hollywood, who at the age of 21 became one of the youngest people to ever appear on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A writer suffering from a creative block stumbles into a situation most middle-aged man would envy in this independent comedy-drama from writer and director Gary Walkow. Richard McMurray (Campbell Scott) is a novelist who enjoyed overnight success with the publication of his first book, The Trouble With Dick. Seven years later, Richard is working on his second novel but hates the story more with each passing day, while his marriage to a well-known actress is falling apart. Richard agrees to speak to the class of Diane (Alex Kingston), his former girlfriend who teaches a college literature course and inspired on of his novel's main characters. Spending the day with Diane is the last straw for Richard's wife, and she kicks him out of the house. During his lecture to the class, Richard comes clean about the sad state of his marriage and the fact he has no place to stay that night, and afterward one of the students, Kristin (Izabella Miko), offers Richard the use of the couch at her apartment. Jacqueline (Lizzy Caplan), Kristin's flatmate, is agreeable to Richard's presence, and offers a deal -- both Kristin and Jacqueline are aspiring writers, and in exchange for tutoring and "literary consultation," he's welcome to stay as long as he pleases. Before long, Richard's consultations with his new charges begin taking place in the bedroom, and Jacqueline informs him that she wants him to help her write a sexy novel that will help her become "the post-modern Jacqueline Suzanne." While Richard enjoys the ongoing ménage et trios at first, it doesn't take long for matters to become difficult and even dangerous. A sequel of sorts to Gary Walkow's first feature (called The Trouble With Dick), Crashing also features David Cross and Stephen Gyllenhaal. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Season four of ER opens with the famous "live" episode, which was originally telecast in "you are there" documentary fashion (with two separate stagings, one each for the East and West Coasts). This episode serves to introduce a new regular, British doctor Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston). Within a few weeks, Elizabeth has inaugurated a romance with irascible Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), who is presently occupied with caring for his deaf son, Reese. Another character, overachieving pediatrician Dr. Anna Del Amico (Maria Bello), graduates from recurring to regular status just in time to enter into a relationship with Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle). Also joining the cast this season is the obnoxious, obstreperous Dr. Robert Romano (Paul McCrane), whose dislike of Dr. Corday borders on the obsessive; and Carter's fabulously wealthy grandmother, played by Frances Sternhagen. Dr. Greene (Anthony Edwards) spends much of the season trying to overcome the physical and emotional scars after being severely beaten by an unknown assailant near the end of season three. When Dr. Ross (George Clooney) heads to California to handle funeral arrangements for his ne'er-do-well father, Greene accompanies him, and along the way he endures a painful reunion with his own parents. Elsewhere, Nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) breaks off her rekindled romance with Ross; gruff ER head Dr. Anspaugh (John Aylward) is "humanized" by the serious illness of his son; Dr. Weaver (Laura Innes) is appointed new acting chief of emergency services, leading to a brief fling with the CEO in charge of the cost-cutting organization that has purchased Chicago County; Greene makes a bid for the position of pediatrics attending physician, causing a sharp divide between those for and against his promotion; and Benton's ex-girlfriend Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) tries to lead a normal life and career despite her AIDs. The season closes with Ross in deep trouble (again!), this time over his unauthorized treatment of a drug-addicted baby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The impossibly obstreperous Dr. Robert Romano (Paul McCrane) matriculates from recurring to regular character as the Chicago-based hospital drama ER enters its sixth season. Other incoming cast members include Maura Tierney as OB nurse Abby Lockhart, who is introduced when she delivers the twin babies of Nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies); Goran Visnjic as troubled Eastern European émigré and war veteran Dr. Luka Kovac, Erik Palladino as zany Dr. Dave Malucci; and, back after a lengthy absence, Ming-Na as former intern and now full doctor Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen, who in her med-student days had been a formidable competitor to Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle). Conversely, a number of familiar characters make their exits this season, most notably George Clooney as maverick Dr. Douglas Ross and Julianna Margulies as long-suffering Nurse Carol Hathaway; the season's penultimate episode, detailing with the ultimate fates of Ross and Carol, is among the series' most famous sequences -- and one which was surprisingly kept secret until the very night of the telecast. Additional "defectors" include Gloria Reuben as HIV-positive Jeanie Boulet, who has gotten over her earlier romance with prickly Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle) and has wed police officer Reggie Moore (Cress Williams); and Kellie Martin as med student Lucy Knight, who is stabbed to death by a deranged patient, an attack that also seriously imperils the life of Lucy's erstwhile lover Carter -- who even upon recovery endangers himself by turning to drugs. Season five plot developments include Romano's ascension to chief of staff, a promotion given as part of a deal whereby Dr. Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) would be appointed ER chief; Romano's subsequent and surprising appointment of his verbal sparring partner Dr. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) as his assistant; Corday's blossoming romance with her colleague Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), and the reciprocal love affair between Corday's mom and Greene's dad (who dies later in the season); Benton's affair with Dr. Cleo Finch (Michael Michele), counterpointed by his incessant squabbling with his sister Jackie (Khandi Alexander); and guest star Alan Alda, who in a poignant story arc plays a celebrated surgeon in the first stage of Alzheimer's. The traditional season-ending cliffhanger finds Carter facing a crucial decision: seek out treatment for his ever-growing drug dependency or destroy whatever career he has left. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Resolving the cliffhanger ending of season seven, season eight of the award-winning hospital drama ER surveys the damage done when the emergency room of Chicago County was besieged by a gun-wielding lunatic whose son Dr. Greene (Anthony Edwards) had put in foster care. In subsequent episodes, two new characters are introduced: medical student Michael Gallant (Sharif Atkins) and intern Dr. Gregory Pratt (Mekhi Phifer), two polar-opposite personalities whose only common bond is the fact that they are both African-Americans. Under normal circumstances, the season's most dramatic development might have been the return after a five-year absence of Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield), who finds herself re-upping with the ER even though that hadn't been her original intention (the fate of Susan's troublesome sister Chloe and Chloe's daughter, Suzy, would be explained in a "crossover" episode with another NBC series, Third Watch). However, too much happens this season for any one plot strand to predominate. For starters, Dr. Benton (Eriq La Salle) enters into a bitter custody battle over his son, Reese, with Roger (Vondie Curtis-Hall), the widow of Reese's late mother, who had previously been helping to raise the boy, during which Benton's paternity is called into question; this and other crises ultimately inspire Benton to leave the ER and go to work in a small clinic with his current girlfriend, Dr. Cleo Finch (Michael Michele) -- who, ironically, has become exposed to the HIV virus, just like Benton's former sweetheart Jeanie Boulet. Elsewhere, nurse Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) tries to mediate an argument between her neighbors, only to get beaten up for her trouble; though East European émigré Dr. Luka Kovac (Goran Visnjic) seizes upon this incident to appoint himself Abby's "protector," she is still sweet on Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle). As for Carter, he is burdened with family problems brought about by his estranged parents -- especially his guilt-tripping mom. On a lighter note, a case of on-the-job political incorrectness gets several of the ER doctors "sentenced" to a weekend sensitivity-training session, which evolves into the series' own version of The Breakfast Club. In addition to the departing Eriq La Salle, season eight of ER marks the exit of Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene. After learning that his tumor has returned and is now truly inoperable, Greene slowly loses his faculties and wastes away, as his new wife, Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston), and daughter Rachel (Hallee Hirsh) stand by helplessly. Greene's final episode, largely told in flashback, is one of the series' most poignant moments. Curiously, however, the demise of Dr. Greene does not take place in the season finale; that particular episode is reserved for a cliffhanger situation involving a smallpox scare, a lockdown at the ER, and a riot -- not to mention a passionate kiss between two of the principal characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season ten of ER finds Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) returning to Chicago County after a brief sojourn with a Doctors Without Borders project in a war-torn Congolese field hospital. Reportedly, Carter's co-worker in this project, Dr. Luka Kovac (Goran Visnjic), was killed in the fighting -- but this report proves to be slightly exaggerated when Kovac himself reappears at the ER. In a related development, the romance between Carter and nurse Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) is stifled by the news that Carter has had a fling with his Doctors Without Borders co-worker Kem Likasu (Thandie Newton), who is carrying his baby. Elsewhere, Parminder Nagra joins the cast as nervous new med student Neela Rasgotra, who is mentored by Michael Gallant (Sharif Atkins), who in turn is now a doctor. Neela catches the eye of Gallant's longtime rival Dr. Pratt (Mekhi Phifer), arousing the jealousy of Dr. Deb Chen (Ming-Na). Later on, Neela passes her medical boards, but the more experienced Abby does not. Another newcomer to the cast is Glenn Howerton as Dr. Nick Cooper, a second-year resident. This season marks the departure of Paul McCrane as irascible Dr. Robert Romano, who has become all the nastier since being fitted out with a prosthesis after losing his hand and forearm in a helicopter accident; ironically, it is another helicopter, this one crashing off the hospital roof, which ultimately seals Romano's doom. Even more ironically, Romano's death saves the job of Dr. Archie Morris (Scott Grimes), whom Romano had just caught smoking pot on the job. In other developments, Dr. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) recovers sufficiently from the death two seasons ago of her husband, Mark Greene, to enter into a hot-and-heavy romance with Dr. Eddie Dorset (Bruno Campos), who happens to be married; later on, she is made head of surgery and juggles dating two other men at the same time. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) strikes up an unusual friendship with a suicidal architect (brilliantly portrayed by Bob Newhart). And Kerry Weaver's (Laura Innes) parter, paramedic Sandy Lopez (Lisa Vidal), gives birth to a baby boy, Henry; however, Kerry's euphoria is tragically cut short when Sandy later dies in a fire and Kerry ends up in a bitter custody battle with Sandy's family over the child. The season ends on another cliffhanger, as doctors Pratt and Chen are seriously wounded in a particularly nasty case of "road rage." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Terry Winsor directs this two-fisted tale of drug, guns, and murder based on a real-life gangland killing that left three dead in the snowy Essex backcountry. The film opens with cabby neophyte Billy (Charlie Creed-Miles) getting hired by suave drug baron John Dyke (Tom Wilkinson) to shuttle around recent ex-con Jason Locke (Sean Bean). Locke is a disaster waiting to happen; half-psychotic with a volcanic temper, he kills and disfigures without a second thought. Yet he takes a shine to his young driver and soon starts including him on his nefarious errands. Meanwhile, Locke arranges for his wife Lisa (Alex Kingston of ER fame) to call in a favor from Dyke and has the kingpin procure a shipment of ecstasy. Unfortunately, the E proves to be bad, hospitalizing scores of ravers and almost killing Locke. With his street rep trashed, the sociopath vows bloody revenge on his former partner, while Dyke and his lover Lisa plot Locke's demise. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

When Amanda Price ($Jemima Rooper) discovers a secret passage in her bathroom, she enters the fictional world of her favorite novel, Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice in this comedy from director Dan Zeff. Soon her presence changes the story that she knows so well, and Amanda must correct everything before it's too late. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

This is probably Peter Greenaway's most famous (or infamous) film, which first shocked audiences at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and then on both sides of the Atlantic. A gang leader (Michael Gambon), accompanied by his wife (Helen Mirren) and his associates, entertains himself every night in a fancy French restaurant that he has recently bought. Having tired of her sadistic, boorish husband, the wife finds herself a lover (Alan Howard) and makes love to him in the restaurant's coziest places with the silent permission of the cook (Richard Bohringer). Though less cerebral than Greenaway's other films, featuring deadly passions reminiscent of Jacobean revenge tragedies of the early 17th century, the picture still offers the director's usual ironic and paradoxical comments on the relations between eating and sex, love and death. The film is at once funny and horrific, and those who are not used to Greenaway's peculiar style might be even disgusted or shocked; however, one might mention Sacha Vierny's brilliant camerawork, Jean-Paul Gaultier's gaudily stylized costumes, and Michael Nyman's somber, pulsating music, which will haunt the viewer long after the film's end. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide

A luxury liner has capsized in the middle of the ocean, and it's up to the few remaining survivors to navigate through the treacherous, upside-down maze of terror and make their way to safety in the made-for-television remake of the 1972 disaster film. A terrorist has boarded the luxury liner Poseidon during a lavish New Year's Eve celebration, and when the blast of his bomb causes the immense ship to capsize, the struggle to make it out alive turns into a waterlogged nightmare as the ship slowly continues to take in water. But sinking isn't the only thing the survivors have to worry about, because within their midst the diabolical terrorist is waiting for just the right moment to finish the job he started when he planted the bomb. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

ER regular Alex Kingston stars as the title character in this British-produced biopic of first century A.D. "warrior queen" Boudica. After the death of her husband, King Prasutagus (Steven Waddington), the feisty Boudica becomes the leader of the Iceni, a Celtic tribe living in East Anglia. Though Boudica and her followers put up a valiant defense, their homeland is overrun by the Roman legions of the mad emperor Nero (Andrew Lee Potts), who has devised a hellish scheme to put the "ginger bitch" in her place. Beaten and bound by the conquering soldiers, Boudica is forced to watch as her daughters are brutally raped. Assuming that the Iceni queen has been humbled and no longer poses a threat to the Empire, Nero spares her life -- which turns out to be one of the emperor's biggest errors in judgment, as the vengeful Boudica and her army set about to prove in bloodthirsty fashion that she is, to paraphrase a much-later British monarch, a queen with "the heart and stomach of a king." In America, Warrior Queen proved to be an uncharacteristically violent Masterpiece Theatre offering when it was broadcast over PBS in the fall of 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide