Michael Cudlitz Movies

An ex-con gets sucked back into a life of crime immediately after serving a 13-year prison sentence for manslaughter, and fights to protect the woman he loves and her young daughter from his dangerous former best friend. Back in the day, AJ (Triple H) would have done anything to protect his best friend, Jack (Michael Rapaport), a two-bit gangster and the son of Dr. Vic (Bruce Dern) -- the city's toughest crime boss. When Jack became the victim of a violent attack, AJ killed his assailant without a second thought. When the judge throws the book at AJ, the hardened convict looks forward to the day he'll get out of prison and start a small business. Meanwhile, Jack marries Claire (Parker Posey), the love of AJ's life, and together they raise a daughter, Pepper (Juliette Goglia). The very day Jack picks up AJ from prison, the short-fused thug gets an itchy trigger finger that could land his buddy right back behind bars. The situation grows increasingly tense as Dr. Vic attempts to handle the situation quietly just as he comes under investigation by Louisiana Tax Board agent Martha (Julie White) for dealing in counterfeit cigarettes. When Jack flees and Dr. Vic decides that the only way to get the job done right is to do it himself, AJ realizes that Claire and Pepper are in mortal danger and races to their rescue. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The filmmaking trio behind the hit sci-fi sequel Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines re-team to explore a future in which humans live in isolation while only communicating with their fellow man through robots that serve as social surrogates and are better-looking versions of their human counterparts. Bruce Willis stars as an FBI agent who enlists the aid of his own surrogate to investigate the murder of the genius college student who invented the surrogates. As the case grows more complicated, however, the withdrawn detective discovers that in order to actually catch the killer he will have to venture outside the safety of his own home for the first time in many years, and enlists the aid of another agent (Radha Mitchell) in tracking his target down. Jonathan Mostow directs co-screenwriters Michael Ferris and John Brancato's adaptation of the graphic novel by author Robert Venditti and illustrator Brett Weldele. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An English professor at a small private college finds his shot at tenure threatened by the sudden arrival of a pretty Yale PhD. onto the staff in this collegiate comedy form the producers of Rushmore. Charlie Thurber (Luke Wilson) isn't interested in school politics, and as a result his career is stalling out. But Charlie's a hit with the students, so when his chance for tenure comes up he's confident he'll get a fair evaluation. That confidence is shaken, however, when Elaine Grasso (Gretchen Mol) is hired on to the English staff. A published writer from a prestigious pedigree, Elaine has accomplished the things that Charlie's only dreamt about. Even Charlie's aging father, a celebrated professor, seems disappointed that his son hasn't accomplished more. Enter Jay Hadley (David Koechner); Jay is an anthropology teacher at the college who also happens to be Charlie's best friend. Jay isn't willing to sit idly by while Elaine takes Charlie's job, and is soon channeling all of his energy to sabotaging the well-intending newcomer's career. But despite being envious of Elaine's accomplishments, Charlie just can't bring himself to hate her; on the contrary, his attraction to her is growing by the day. As the time comes to make some decisions that will most certainly affect the course of his career, Charlie realizes that the only path worth walking is the one that you carve out for yourself. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A minor crook finds himself in major peril when a "hot" weapon goes missing in this violent crime thriller. Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) is a low-level "mechanic" in the Mafia who hopes to rise through the ranks by doing whatever is needed. One night, a drug deal goes very wrong when police show up and try to close down the operation; shots break out and a battle ensues, with a pair of of cops meeting a particularly violent fate at bad end of a gun barrel. Joey is given the gun that killed the policemen and is told to make it disappear so it can't be used as evidence; however, before he can do that, the weapon is stolen by Oleg (Cameron Bright), a friend of Joey's young son, who takes the pistol and uses it to shoot his abusive stepfather. Now that the gun is implicated in high profile crimes, it's vitally important that Joey find it as soon as possible, but his search for the firearm is complicated by the fact that Oleg's stepdad is affiliated with a rival gang of Russian mobsters, and that Rydell (Chazz Palminteri), a seriously corrupt police detective, is hot on Joey's trail. Joey's search for the gun takes him through the grim criminal netherworld of the city, where he must face off against nearly every sort of crook, con artist, and deviate that has ever walked the earth. Running Scared is from writer-director Wayne Kramer, who made a name for himself with the well-reviewed independent feature The Cooler. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

As usual, one group of CSI members investigates a death, while another group checks up on a second murder. Specifically, Grissom (William L. Petersen), Warrick (Gary Dourdan), and Nick (George Eads) look into a shooting that occurred during a casino heist, while Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) and Sara (Jorja Fox) probe a homicide at a remote desert convenience store. As the team compares notes, it appears as if there is a strong connection between the two crimes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An occult group, the Sisterhood of Jhe, is attempting to open the Hellmouth and bring about the end of the world -- so what else is new? Xander (Nicholas Brendon) recieves a good wolloping in a fight with the Sisterhood and the rest of Buffy's (Sarah Michelle Gellar) gang suggests he opt out of future rumbles. Feeling like a big loser, Xander begins attempting to be cool. This includes driving a 1950's Chevy Bel Aire and hanging out with Jack O'Toole (Channon Roe), a school bully. Soon, Xander's new cool group of friends even includes Jack's old gang buddies -- raised from the dead. Apparently, Jack is also one of the walking dead and now he and his gang are going to blow up Sunnydale High. Scared and unsure of what to do, Xander runs into Faith (Eliza Dushku) by running his Chevy over a Sister of Jhe she is fighting. Later, in her hotel room, Faith repays Xander by taking his virginity. A reinvigorated and confident Xander returns to Sunnydale High to stop Jack and the other dead boys from bombing the school. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi

Having run out of excuses and exhausted his supply of self-denial, Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) undergoes prostate surgery. Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) returns to the 15th, acknowledging that he is father of Gina's baby, while Abby (Paige Turco) herself gives birth. Back on the job, the cops investigate the death of a one of five army buddies during a reunion -- leading to the disturbing conclusion that a major act of terrorism has been planned for "Y2K" on New Year's Eve of 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Everybody's favorite underdog youth hockey team hits the ice for a third adventure in D3: The Mighty Ducks. This time out, the Ducks' improbable success under lawyer-turned-hockey player Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) has earned the group of misfits a certain degree of fame, and the entire team is given scholarships to attend Eden Hall Academy, an upscale private school with a rich and snobbish student body. The Ducks are dismayed to discover that they have a new coach, Ted Orion (Jeffrey Nordling), and they soon learn that, as freshmen, they get precious little respect from the Varsity team, and the team's melting-pot lineup makes them stick out like a sore thumb in the white, upper-class surroundings of Eden Hall. However, by the film's final reel, the Ducks will have taught their fellow classmates a lesson about teamwork and overcoming adversity. This proved to be the last film in the Mighty Ducks series, but it was followed by an animated television series that improbably turned the team into hockey stars from another dimension. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The brief but eventful life of actor and martial arts trailblazer Bruce Lee is portrayed in this drama, based on a biography written by his widow Linda Lee Caldwell. Lee is introduced to the study of martial arts as a child living in Hong Kong by his father (Ric Young); the father dreamed that a demonic armored dragon would take his son from him, and wanted young Bruce to be able to protect himself. Bruce continues his training as he grows to adulthood, and after the cocky teenaged Lee (Jason Scott Lee, no relation to Bruce) seriously injures a prominent British citizen while fighting a gang of troublemakers at a dance, he's sent to San Francisco. While working as a dishwasher, Bruce begins to study philosophy, and in time develops a personal martial arts discipline, Jeet Kune-Do, which blends Kung Fu fighting techniques with lessons gained from his philosophical research. Bruce decides to open a martial arts academy on the advice of his fiancée Linda (Lauren Holly); Linda and Bruce encounter resistance as a mixed-race couple, especially from Linda's mother Vivian (Michael Learned), and Bruce earns the enmity of traditional Chinese martial arts experts for his new style. But after a strong showing in several public tournaments, Bruce's fighting skill and charisma attracts the attention of TV producer Bill Krieger (Robert Wagner). Bruce is cast as Kato, the karate-trained sidekick on the series The Green Hornet, and while the show is short-lived in America, it's a huge success in Asia, leading to a series of films based around Bruce's remarkable fighting skills. Sadly, shortly before the release of the film that would make him a major screen star in the United States, Enter The Dragon, a mysterious brain disorder sends Lee into a coma that soon kills him. In a tragedy with eerie timing, Bruce Lee's real-life son Brandon Lee died shortly before this film was released, the result of an accidental shooting while completing the picture The Crow. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Robert Redford's lyrical direction sets the tone for this evocative adaptation of author Norman MacLean's memoir of his idyllic Montana youth. The MacLean family is presided over by the strict but encouraging Rev. MacLean (Tom Skerritt) and his loving wife (Brenda Blethyn). Craig Sheffer stars as the young Norman, the older son in his family, who takes his school work and writing a bit too seriously for Paul (Brad Pitt), the impetuous younger son, to take much stock in. Paul would rather have a good time, drink and play cards than get involved with academic study. Where Norman wants to be a college literature professor, Paul would prefer to stay in Montana all his life and wrangle some kind of job writing for a local newspaper. But, ironically, Paul is the better fly fisherman and in this way attains a sense of perfection. The film also details the MacLean boys' involvement with a colorful group of town's people -- including a young Indian woman Paul decides to date and the defiant Jessie (Emily Lloyd), whom Norman later marries. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi