Brian Cousins Movies

The brain-child of director and executive producer Straw Weisman, Man of the Year is billed as a reality/surveillance/improv/drama. In fact, the film was shot in one night, with no script and a cast of about 20 being followed around by an equal number of cameras. The story centers on Bill, a successful oil company executive played by John Ritter. At a party in honor of Bill, the audience is introduced to a number of people in Bill's life, including his wife, Carol (Heidi Mark); his bookie, Mickey (Dan Ponce); and his mistress, Vanessa (Khrystyne Haje). As the evening progresses, the mood of the party goes from festive to angry as all of the secrets in Bill's life become exposed, and his life begins to crumble around him. Suddenly, a gunshot is heard, someone is dead, and no one knows who the killer is. Completely improvised based on a loose story outline and a set of predetermined motivations for each character, Man of the Year premiered at the 2002 Method Film Festival in Pasadena, CA. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Christina Griffin (Natalie Radord), the mother of a half-human, half-Kromagg child, escapes with her baby from a Kromagg breeder camp and links up with Quinn (Jerry O'Connell) and his fellow Sliders. Claiming to be a friend of their missing colleague Wade Wells, who'd likewise been captured for breeding purposes, Christina offers to help them track Wade down. Instead, the Sliders are sidetracked by Christina's own litany of woes, including an unforgiving family, a relentless assassin, and a deadly virus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Amidst a heavy caseload including alleged parental abuse, suicide, and a teenage prostitute with aids, Ross (George Clooney) makes the acquaintance of Diane Leeds (Lisa Zane) from Risk Management. Meanwhile, Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) defends herself against the charges leveled by Kayson (Sam Anderson), with an unexpected payoff. And Benton (Eriq La Salle) argues with Jackie (Khandi Alexander) over how best to care for their ailing mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The owner of a gay bar is killed and a suspect is hauled in. The pregnant wife of Lt. Fancy (James McDaniel) goes into a very difficult labor. Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) investigates when a neighbor breaks out in a rash, ostensibly the result of a curse invoked by a crooked fortuneteller. And Dan Breen (Peter Boyle), the AA sponsor for Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz), ignores Andy's advice and pays a visit to his disturbed son Danny (Enrico Colantoni) -- with tragic results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally made for cable television, Roswell is an entertaining mix of purported actual events and science fiction. The narrative unfolds primarily in flashbacks as retired Army officer Jesse Marcel (Kyle MacLachlan) attends a reunion of the 509th Bomber Group and tries to come to closure on events that had taken place 30 years earlier. Back in 1947, Major Marcel had been part of a military team that investigated a crash site on a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. The debris recovered from the site had exhibited some remarkable properties such as being able to repair itself instantly after being cut, suggesting that it might have been of extraterrestrial origin. The military brass had ordered Marcel to go along with their phony story that the material was ordinary metal foil from a weather balloon, and he had reluctantly complied. By the time of the 1977 reunion, Marcel is suffering from a terminal illness, and he feels compelled to try to find out what had really happened at Roswell all those years ago. MacLachlan gives an effective performance, particularly when he portrays Marcel as an older man trying to understand his past. Evocative location shooting in the American Southwest adds cinematic impact. ~ All Movie Guide

When a super elixir (capable of either curing all diseases or being used as an all-powerful destructive weapon) is discovered in eastern Europe, a scientist (Curt Lowens) tries to hijack the formula. To prevent the elixir's safe return, he invents an android controlled by the use of thought-power alone. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

At the end of the first part of this episode, it looked as if Data had gone over to the Borg side and was prepared to do battle against the Federation. Loyal Next Generation viewers originally had to wait until the beginning of the series' seventh season -- September 25, 1993 -- to learn the outcome of this startling turn of events. Still under the influence of the Borg -- specifically, his own evil brother Lore -- Data has taken Picard, Troi, and Geordi prisoner, leaving Dr. Crusher in charge of the Enterprise. With only a skeleton crew at her command, Crusher valiantly mounts a defense against the inevitable Borg attack. Though it can be argued that the outcome of the battle is never really in doubt, a few surprises still await the spectator. Part two of "Descent" was written by Rene Echevarria. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While being transported from a Romulan ship to the Enterprise, Geordi and Ro suddenly vanish without a trace. While the crew assumes that the two have perished, they are in fact very much alive, but completely invisible. The rest of the episode focuses on Geordi and Ro's desperate efforts to communicate with their comrades, and to warn them of a Romulan booby trap. Written by Ronald D. Moore, "The Next Phase" was originally broadcast on May 23, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At the time of Longtime Companion's release in 1990, the devastating disease of AIDS was seen as a mysterious and deadly scourge, replete with rumors, lies, and panic. As the first narrative film to examine the AIDS epidemic, screenwriter Craig Lucas and director Norman René place the disease in an historical context, dramatizing the impact of the disease through time in a series of vignettes involving seven gay men. AIDS first made its presence felt surreptitiously, as an article in The New York Times reported on a rare cancer attacking gay men called Karposi's syndrome. Then the Village Voice began a series of in-depth articles concerning a "gay plague" which later became known as AIDS. The film follows the AIDS crisis through the lives of the seven main characters so that they are only aware of AIDS in the historical framework of each episode. The characters include former gay couple Willy (Campbell Scott) and John (Dermot Mulroney), first seen partying at a Fire Island club, who don't pay much attention to the mysterious article in The New York Times but become intimately effected by the disease. There is also Sean (Mark Lamos), a soap opera writer whose mind is slowly deteriorating because of the disease, and his supportive friend David (Bruce Davidson). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide