Joseph Patrick Finn Movies

In an era distinguished by popular TV series in which the heroes are the villains (The Sopranos, The Shield), it should surprise no one that the most charming and likeable character in the CW comedy-drama series Reaper was the Devil Himself. The story got under way when 20-year-old slacker Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison), one of the least stellar employees at his local Work Bench home-improvement store, finally found out why his parents (Allison Hossack, Andrew Arlie) had always allowed him to goof off and drift aimlessly through life while simultaneously demanding so much from his overachieving kid brother Keith (Kyle Switzer). It turned out that Mom and Dad felt guilty about selling Sam's soul to the Devil (Ray Wise), before the boy had even been born. Once Sam turned 21, up popped the Devil again, demanding that our hero immediately go to work for him--or else. Sam's new job was as a Satanic "bounty hunter", tracking down and recapturing souls who'd managed to escape from Hell. Since the people whom Sam hunted down richly deserved eternal damnation, and since the immacuately-dressed Devil was such a warm, personable guy, Sam found his new assignment a lot more stimulating than his customary duties at the Work Bench. He even managed to enlist his best friends and coworkers Sock (Tyler Labine) and Ben (Rick Gonzalez) as his helpers, and to persuade Sock's ex-girlfriend, paralegal Josie (Valarie Rae Miller), to do the necessary research work on each "fallen demon". At the same time, Sam had to keep his "mission" a secret from his earthly boss Ted (Donovan Stinson) and his erstwhile girlfriend Andi (Missy Peregrym). Making its CW debut on September 25, 2007, Reaper played like an unholy alliance between Faust and Clerks--hardly surprising, since the series was coproduced by Clerks creator Kevin Smith. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Alan Rudolph directed and co-wrote this eccentric comedy about a woman who bumbles her way into fighting crime. Trixie Zurbo (Emily Watson) is a well-meaning but scatter-brained casino security guard, who dreams of a career as a private detective. Her ambition accidentally becomes reality when she's thrown into the middle of a series of events involving double-dealing state senator Avery (Nick Nolte), crooked real estate developer Red Rafferty (Will Patton), and his sleazy girlfriend Dawn Slotnick (Lesley Ann Warren). Along the way, Trixie finds romance with the suave Dex Lang (Dermot Mulroney). Nathan Lane appears in a supporting role as Kirk Stans, a flamboyant lounge singer. Trixie had its world premiere at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Spanish hack Rene Cardona, Jr. (of Aztec Mummy fame) directed this gory rip-off of The Birds (not a parody as its goofy title suggests) which follows a reporter/photographer team (Michelle Johnson & Christopher Atkins) as they investigate frequent reports of lethal bird attacks on humans. They eventually conclude that the attacks -- which are increasing in size, frequency and severity -- are part of an orchestrated avian plot against mankind. They could have saved themselves a lot of trouble by screening Hitchcock's classic chiller beforehand, just as viewers expecting a spoof of that film can save themselves the grief of enduring this bloody exercise, which pulls no punches in its graphic depiction of flesh-rending bird attacks. Gore-hounds should approve, as the makeup effects are painfully convincing, but die-hard Cardona fans may be disappointed to learn that no lady wrestlers actually step in to swat at the winged tormentors. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi