Abraham Benrubi Movies

Offbeat Memphis detective (Jason Lee) has a passion for his city and blues music. But this Southern charmer's loose crime-fighting manner clashes with his boss's disciplined style. Spinning around the detective's life are his spirited mother, his overly sensitive partner, and a fellow sleuth struggling with financial problems. ~ Dean Maurer, Rovi

An unathletic junior college student works to realize his dream of playing for the MLB while courting a pretty volleyball player who displays the athletic prowess that he so sorely lacks. Calvin Marshall (Alex Frost) is a good kid with big dreams. Despite knowing that the young player will never make it to the big leagues, his coach, Doug (Steve Zahn), recognizes Calvin's dedication to the game, and decides to keep him around as a morale-boosting bench warmer. Meanwhile, likeable Calvin strikes up a tentative romance with Tori (Michelle Lombardo), a statuesque volleyball star with a quick smile and a warm heart. But just as Calvin and Tori are getting to know one another, the bumbling baseball player tells an innocent lie that threatens to destroy any chance for a meaningful relationship. Despite the many setbacks Calvin faces both romantically and professionally, he struggles with the realization that his only hope for getting the absolute most out of life is to accept the little disappointments along the way, and turn his failures into learning opportunities. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In his 1961 speech to the National Association of Broadcasters Newton Minnow claimed that television had become a "vast wasteland," and with this comedy the warped folks at National Lampoon prove that Minnow's so-called "vast wasteland" has since been flooded by a festering cesspool of filth and depravity. Absolutely nothing is sacred as Jackass stars Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy, and Jason "Wee Man" Acuna skewer small screen conventions by targeting everything from reality television to talk shows. For viewers looking to find out just how far the bar has been lowered, who better to turn to than the satirical minds at National Lampoon? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

E.B. White's classic children's story comes to the screen in this live-action adaptation with an all-star voice cast. Fern Arable (Dakota Fanning) is a young girl growing up on her family's farm. When a sow gives birth to some piglets, Fern's father (Kevin Anderson) intends to do away with the runt of litter, but Fern has become attached to the little pig and persuades her father to let him live. The pig, named Wilbur (voice of Dominic Scott Kay), becomes Fern's pet, but when he grows larger, he's put in the care of Homer Zuckerman (Gary Basaraba), a farmer down the road. Fern is still able to visit Wilbur regularly, and it soon occurs to both of them that pigs tend to have a limited life expectancy on a farm, and that unless something unusual happens, Wilbur will eventually becomes someone's dinner. Charlotte, a friendly spider, hatches a plan to make Wilbur seem special enough to save by weaving messages about the "terrific" pig into her web, and she soon persuades her barnyard friends to join in her plan. Charlotte is voiced by Julia Roberts, while the other actors who provide the voices of the animals on Zuckerman's farm include Robert Redford, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Buscemi, Kathy Bates, Cedric the Entertainer. Thomas Haden Church, and André Benjamin. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

FBI agent-turned-reluctant beauty queen Gracie Hart (played by Sandra Bullock) is taking on both bad guys and high glamour again in this sequel to the comedy smash Miss Congeniality. After her undercover mission at the Miss United States pageant becomes public knowledge, Gracie becomes something of a celebrity, and the FBI uses her notoriety to generate positive PR for the bureau; however, Gracie would like to get back to some solid police work, especially after scuffling with fellow female agent "Sam" Fuller (Regina King), who isn't impressed with Gracie. Despite their differences, the two find themselves working side by side when two of Gracie's pals from the pageant -- contest winner Cheryl Frasier (Heather Burns) and master of ceremonies Stan Fields (William Shatner) -- fall victim to kidnappers. As she did on the first film, Sandra Bullock served as both producer and star for Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, while director John Pasquin's credits include several episodes of the situation comedy George Lopez, also produced by Bullock. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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, Rovi

As season nine of ER opens, a grieving Dr. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) elects to return to the ER after the death of her husband, Mark Greene. Meanwhile, Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) and Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) have survived the smallpox scare that caused the lockdown and riot at Chicago County at the end of season eight -- and as a bonus, they have fallen in love. Elsewhere, lesbian Dr. Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) comes to grips with her pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage, and puts her job on the line by giving secret medical treatment to an alderman who still hasn't "come out." Dr. Romano (Paul McCrane) becomes even more irascible after losing his right hand and forearm in a helicopter mishap; no longer able to operate, he is placed in charge of the ER, where his erratic behavior soon proves to be not only annoying but dangerous. Troubled East European émigré Dr. Luka Kovac (Goran Visnjic) is accused of hitting on a nurse, becomes involved in a fatal traffic accident, and puts his job in jeopardy with a disastrous misdiagnosis. The tensions escalating between African-American ER staffers Gallant (Sharif Atkins) and Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) explode when both are temporarily held as suspects in a murder at the doctors' favorite watering hole, Magoo's -- and later, Pratt is on the verge of exiting the ER, but he redeems himself by saving the life of a mother whose baby was cut from her womb. Mercurial Dr. Chen (Ming-Na) reveals that she once gave up a child for adoption. Plagued by the psychological problems of her mother and brother, recovering alcoholic Abby begins drinking again. Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) returns from a brief holiday with a new husband (Donal Logue) in tow. And several episodes are built around Paul Nathan, an overaged medical student (Don Cheadle) suffering from Parkinson's disease. The year's most noteworthy newcomer is Leslie Bibb as brash, outspoken med student Erin Harkins. Season nine ends with the culmination of a story arc begun when Carter finds himself re-examining his priorities after a brush with a dedicated storefront-clinic doctor (Ed Asner). Ultimately, Carter joins Kovac in a Doctor Without Borders project, tending to the sick and wounded in a dismal Congolese field hospital while a political revolution rages around them. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi

Curiously, there were no major cast defections during the seventh season of the award-winning hospital drama ER. However, two new characters make their first appearances this season: psychiatrist Dr. Kim Legaspi (Elizabeth Mitchell), who coerces ER chief Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) to admit that she is a lesbian; and 19-year-old pediatrics intern Rena Trujillo (Lourdes Benedicto), who latches onto Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) -- who in turn is trying to wean himself from a dangerous dependency on drugs and booze, brought about by a double tragedy in the previous season. The season's predominant plotline involves Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), whose romance with Dr. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) results in a baby and a marriage -- and who, in a more disturbing development, is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Another subplot concerns the ongoing feud between doctors Romano (Paul McCrane) and Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), culminating in Benton being fired from the ER and blacklisted throughout the Chicago medical world; though he is eventually reinstated, Benton is saddled with additional problems vis-à-vis his gangbanger nephew Jesse (Andrew McFarlane) and Jesse's girlfriend, Kynesha (Toy Connor). Also, OB nurse Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) finds herself strapped for cash in her efforts to enter medical school, and is drawn to Carter -- though their budding relationship is sorely strained when she becomes his AA sponsor. Meanwhile, East European émigré Dr. Luka Kovac (Goran Visnjic) continues to suffers flashbacks to past tragedies in his war-torn homeland. Among the season's notable guest stars as Sally Field, in an Emmy-winning turn as Abby's bipolar mother, and John Cromwell as a dying Catholic bishop who tries to reawaken the embittered Kovac's faith in God. The unforgettable season seven finale finds the ER under siege by the homicidally vengeful father of a child whom Greene had removed to foster care. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi

It's another year of triumph and tragedy in the emergency room of Chicago's County General Hospital as ER enters its fifth season. New to the cast this year is Kellie Martin as inexperienced and somewhat klutzy medical student Lucy Knight, who soon proves to be a major thorn in the side of her supervisor, Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle). Even so, Carter and Lucy grow quite fond of one another, with the possibility of a serious relationship waiting in the wings. The season's major plot developments include the decision by British doctor Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) to remain in the U.S. as intern for the prickly Dr. Robert Romano (Paul McCrane), a career move she soon has cause to regret; Romano's later brush with sexual-harassment charges; the efforts by Dr. Benton (Eriq La Salle) to find proper treatment for his hearing-impaired son and the tempestuous relationship between Benton's HIV-positive former girlfriend Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) and police officer Reggie Moore (Cress Williams); Benton's later, epiphany-sparking odyssey at a backwater clinic in Mississippi; another career-threatening crisis for Dr. Ross (George Clooney), who must shoulder much of the responsibly of the death of an ALD patient; a mini-tragedy involving Greene and his profoundly disturbed patient, a Nigerian-born janitor (Djimon Hounsou) who cannot overcome memories of torture at the hands of his countrymen; and the ascension of abrasive Dr. Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) to ER chief, after the first candidate turns out to be a phony physician. ER makes media history this season, first by reaching its 100th episode (which, appropriately enough, deals with a woman who was born 100 years earlier at Chicago County), then by emerging as the most expensive weekly TV drama series in history, budgeted at 13 million dollars per episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jay Ward's fondly-remembered cartoon series about a klutzy king of the jungle gets the big-screen, live-action treatment in this comedy from Walt Disney Pictures. A young boy named George becomes lost in the jungles of the African nation of Bukuvu following a plane crash, where he's rescued and raised to manhood by an articulate ape called Ape (voice of John Cleese). George grows to become a strapping adult (played by Brendan Fraser) who is cheerful and good-hearted but not terribly bright, not to mention his nasty habit of running into trees while swinging on vines from one part of the jungle to another. Ursula Stanhope (Leslie Mann), an heiress from San Francisco, travels to Bukuvu for a safari, both to satisfy her thirst for adventure and because she's trying to get away from the snooty Lyle Van Der Groot (Thomas Haden Church), whom she is engaged to marry even though she doesn't like him very much. Lyle follows Ursula to Bukuvu, hoping to catch up with her and locate the legendary White Ape of the Jungle; when Ursula becomes stranded and is rescued by George, Lyle is determined to rescue her from the savage ape man, even though George is a greater threat to himself than anyone else. George finds himself infatuated with the lovely Ursula, and he hopes to win her heart, even though he's a bit rusty on the particulars of the human courtship ritual (Ape tries to help by lending him a copy of "Coffee, Tea, or Me?"). We also get to meet George's faithful pet Shep, an elephant who seems to have gotten the idea that he's a Cocker Spaniel. Blaxploitation legend Richard Roundtree also appears as Bukuvu dignitary Kwame. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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, Rovi