Jason Schombing Movies

A handful of heroes become superheroes under unlikely circumstances in this action drama adapted from the long-running Marvel comic-book series. Four astronauts are on a mission aboard a new experimental spacecraft when they are unexpectedly exposed to a massive dose of gamma rays. The accident causes strange and unexpected transformations in all four. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), top scientist and leader of the mission, can now stretch his body like elastic and is dubbed Mr. Fantastic. His partner and sweetheart, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), develops the ability to become invisible at will, and becomes known as The Invisible Girl. Her younger brother, Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), is renamed The Human Torch for his new talent of being able to summon up fire from his body when he chooses. And Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), pilot for the journey, mutates into a monstrous creature with superhuman strength and muscles like stone, known as The Thing. Together, the travelers become known as the Fantastic Four, and they set out to use their unusual skills to fight crime, quickly gaining a nemesis in another altered hero who uses his talents for evil, Doctor Doom (Julian McMahon). A long-gestating project that had been talked about by a number of filmmakers since the early '90s, Fantastic Four was previously the basis for a pair of animated television serials, and was made into a feature film in 1994 by producer Roger Corman, though that film was never officially released. (Fantastic Four creator Stan Lee has said the 1994 film was made only so that the producers could hold on to the rights to the characters, and that it was never intended to be distributed to the public.) ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In the tradition of the previous "backstage" TV movies about such iconic series as Batman, The Partridge Family, Gilligan's Island, and The Brady Bunch, this NBC effort promised to give the lowdown on the long-running (1977-1984) ABC sitcom Three's Company. In truth, there is little in this film that was not already common knowledge when it first aired on May 12, 2003, but it's still fun to see a cast of attractive actors portraying another cast of attractive actors. In case anyone needs reminding, Three's Company was the popular tickle-and-tease comedy series based upon the British Man About the House, in which a virile young heterosexual man was forced to pose as a homosexual so that he could remain the roommate of two sexy young ladies. It was perhaps the quintessential "jiggle" sitcom, thanks primarily to its well-endowed co-star Suzanne Somers (here played by Judy Tylor). Because of its risqué (but basically inoffensive) content, Three's Company was turned down by both NBC and CBS before ambitious ABC CEO Fred Silverman (played by Brian Dennehy) decided to take a chance on the property. The rest, as they say, is history, with Three's Company not only setting ratings records but also establishing a whole new threshold for what was and wasn't acceptable in network prime time. Inevitably, the show collapsed under its own weight, especially after the revolving-door cast changes which followed in the wake of the acrimonious defection of Suzanne Somers, but it was fun while it lasted. For the record, the other Three's Company stars were the multi-talented John Ritter (played by Bret Anthony) and the underrated Joyce DeWitt (Melanie Deane-Moore). The actual Joyce DeWitt also appears as herself in this movie, serving as narrator and sidelines commentator. Though the film often pulls its punches regarding the original series' backstage intrigues and legal entanglements, there is enough authentic detail remaining to satisfy the casual sitcom buff. Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company was filmed under the title Three's Company Revisited. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A crystal skull, an alien artifact found in a Mayan pyramid, comes into the possession of Jackson (Michael Shanks)--who promplty vanishes from sight. Apparently the only hope for bringing Jackson back rests in the hands of his grandfather Nick (Jan Rubes), who, having been shunned by the scientific community after claiming to find the same crystal skull back in 1971, is currently in a mental institution. The plot thickens when Teal'c (Christopher Judge) becomes temporary cartetaker of the ubiquitous skull. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A group of ten men come together for a bachelor party that goes horribly wrong in this made-for-TV drama. Mario Van Peebles and John Stockwell star as old friends Michael and Victor, both of them successful, well-off young professionals. The latter is about to be married, so Michael throws him a lavish party complete with booze, drugs, a pair of stripper sisters and some old friends that Michael would actually rather not see, including Pete (Andrew McCarthy), a street-smart drug dealer. When one of the girls is accidentally killed and her handler is shot in the ensuing confusion, the group of men reacts in completely different ways. Timan (John Henson) becomes completely unraveled, while others like Pete and Daniel (Kevin Dillon) keep their cool and try to come up with a viable plan to handle their new "problem." A next door neighbor (Jerry Stiller) who comes over to investigate the noise only compounds the problem. Stag bore almost precisely the same plot as Very Bad Things (1998), a more comic take on the story that was released theatrically one year later. The surviving stripper was played by former pop music star Taylor Dayne. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

This action thriller tells the story of Jonah, a daring cop with a hair trigger finger who finds himself suspended by Internal Affairs after he shoots a psycho-killer. His girlfriend Lisa is also in trouble as she tries to deal with the constant harassment of her boss, a dishonest city councilman. When her boss accepts a bribe for $3 million from the mob, Lisa decides to get her revenge and steal it. Jonah readily agrees to assist in the heist. Also involved is Dr. Chandler, a man with a genius for electronics. Problems ensue when Lisa finds herself attracted to Chandler. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The two-part "Suffer the Children," all about the investigation of a runaway's death, opens the third season of The Commish. With his wife, Rachel (Theresa Saldana), pursuing a new career in Buffalo, Tony Scali (Michael Chiklis), police commissioner of Eastbridge, NY, considers quitting his job, joining his wife, and starting a new career of his own as a private eye. Though this doesn't happen, Eastside's PD does lose a couple of its best officers, Carmela Pagan and Gordy Tuefel (respectively played in previous seasons by Gina Belafonte and Michael Patten). And at the tail end of season three, officer Stan Kelly (Geoffrey Nauffts) makes a startling and spectacular exit in a car explosion. In other developments, Tony must come to the rescue of wife Rachel twice, first when she is framed for murder, then when she is taken hostage by bank robbers; Chief of Detectives Cyd Madison (Melinda McGraw) is drawn into a potential fatal attraction; Stan Kelly's fiancée is implicated in a robbery; and one of the cops shakes up the precinct when he comes out of the closet. As the season draws to a close, Tony must deal with the fallacies and failures of the court system when trying to protect a little girl from being molested by her wealthy and well-connected father. ~ Rovi

Quite a lot of difficult cases cross the desk of Eastbridge, NY, police commissioner Tony Scali (Michael Chiklis) during season one of The Commish. Scali and his associates must tackle everything from rapists to child molesters to white supremacists -- and on a lighter note, the men in the department find themselves vying for the opportunity to pose for a "beefcake" calendar. Highlight episodes include the two-part "A Matter of Life and Death" (the series' pilot, though not the first episode to be shown), and "Charlie Don't Surf," which features a compelling performance by Hang S. Ngor of The Killing Fields fame. Changes occurring during the season's 22 episodes include the departure of Chief of Detectives Irv Wallenstein (Alex Bruhanski), who is almost immediately replaced by Paulie Pentangeli (John Cygan); and the announcement by Tony's wife, Rachel (Theresa Saldana), that she is about to become a mother -- again. ~ Rovi