Leland Orser Movies

A legendary gunman discovers why sometimes the simplest-sounding missions can also be the most dangerous when he attempts to recover a briefcase containing "the meaning of love" from a five-star hotel. Even the worst criminals tremble with fear upon hearing the name Malone (Thomas Jane). If only half of the rumors surrounding the tough-as-nails triggerman are true, then he's still the meanest guy ever to walk these unforgiving streets. Some say that Malone picked up his first gun after gangsters killed his entire family, and those are the most optimistic rumors concerning his shady background. Contacted by his point man, Murph, and asked to retrieve a briefcase from a haughty local hotel, Malone makes quick work of the thugs and hitmen who've been awaiting his arrival. But Malone didn't expect to walk into a shoot-out, and after pressing Murph for more information, he discovers that the man who contracted him for the perilous assignment was none other than powerful local mob boss Whitmore. Now that he has the briefcase, Malone is supposed to give it to blonde bombshell Evelyn (Elsa Pataky), who will in turn deliver it to Whitmore in exchange for her brother Sammy. Should the briefcase fail to materialize, Sammy will pay the ultimate price. Meanwhile, suspecting that the case contains work visas for a group of immigrant girls he wants to put to work as prostitutes, Whitmore recruits hulking giant Boulder (Ving Rhames) and blade-wielding psycho Mauler (Chris Yen) to get the briefcase back from Malone. Should they fail in achieving this simple task, deranged pyromaniac Matchstick (Doug Hutchison) will almost certainly succeed. Later, at the drop-off, Mauler kills Sammy, sparking an intense shoot-out during which Malone and Evelyn are separated. With nowhere to run and the three thugs fast gaining ground, Malone vows to protect the contents of the case and take down Whitmore once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Leland Orser's dramatic, live action short Morning observes a man beginning to rebound from a tragic loss, as he endures four successive mornings. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Philip Kaufman directs the detective thriller Twisted (originally to be titled The Blackout Murders), with a script by up-and-coming filmmaker Sarah Thorp. Ashley Judd plays troubled police detective Jessica Shepard, who works under the jurisdiction of the man who raised her as his daughter, police Commissioner Mills (Samuel L. Jackson). While investigating a serial murder case, Jessica -- who is has a proclivity for dangerous, drunken one-night-stands -- discovers that all of the victims are men whom she's recently bedded. Complicating matters are her bitter ex-boyfriend (Mark Pellegrino), her very curious therapist (David Strathairn), and her odd-behaving new partner Mike Delmarco (Andy Garcia). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Three people attempt to bend justice for their own purposes in this drama based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham. After a man dies in a shooting incident, his wife files a lawsuit against the company that manufactured the gun, with her lawyer, Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman), arguing that the firm in question knew the shop which sold the weapon was not following federal regulations pertaining to the sale of firearms. As the case goes to trial, the firearm manufacturer is taking no chances on the outcome of a potentially devastating case, and they hire as part of their legal team Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman), a "jury consultant" who makes it his business to see that he knows enough about the jurors to be able to guarantee the result of the trial. Fitch and his team have learned incriminating secrets about nearly everyone hearing the evidence, but Fitch discovers two factors he wasn't counting upon -- Nick Easter (John Cusack), the jury member who appears to have an agenda all his own, and Marlee (Rachel Weisz), a mysterious woman who has her own plans regarding bending the jury to her will. Bruce Davison, Jeremy Piven, and Bruce McGill round out the supporting cast. Incidentally, in John Grisham's original book, the case was filed against a cigarette manufacturer, but the producers opted to adjust the story after several real-life trials against tobacco companies. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Filmed under the title Breeders, the made-for-cable thriller Brother's Keeper concentrated on, as the print ads so delicately described it, "A serial killer -- a fallen cop." Throughout her life, Lucinda Pond (Jeanne Tripplehorn) has looked after and protected her younger brother Ellis (Corin Nemec), whose aberrant mental state was the result of constant abuse at the hands of his father (Brian Jensen). As an adult, Lucinda worked as a criminal investigator, while Ellis pursued a criminal career. Despite this, Lucinda continued to shelter her brother, carefully covering up for his many crimes. Fired for bungling the investigation of alleged serial killer Victor Orbin, Lucinda opens up a boat and tackle store at a remote lakeside community. Local homicide detective Travis Adler (Leland Orser) invites Lucinda to participate in another murder investigation, this one apparently perpetrated by the same killer who indirectly cost Lucinda her badge. At the same time, Ellis escapes from jail and goes off on a homicidal spree of his own, eliminating those whom he feels did his sister wrong, as well as a few abusive parents along the way. Gradually, Lucinda begins to deduce a connection between Ellis' escape and her current investigation -- but will she continue to protect her kid brother despite his murderous rampage? Brother's Keeper made its USA Network bow on January 29, 2002; it was supposed to have premiered as My Brother's Keeper, but this title was changed at the last minute to avoid confusion with the like-vintage CBS TV-movie My Sister's Keeper. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Filmed on location in Montreal and New York, The Bone Collector is a suspense thriller that combines Rear Window and Seven. Two cops on the trail of a brutal serial killer must see as one, act as one, and think as one before the next victim falls. Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) is an intelligent forensics detective who was paralyzed in the line of duty. The author of several books, he has a keen eye for detail and nose for clues that have made him a legend in the law enforcement community. Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie) is a street-smart policewoman in her twenties. On her last day as a street cop, before being transferred to a desk job, Amelia discovers a badly mutilated corpse. Rhyme is asked to investigate the case, but he declines. To him, it is an open-and-shut case not worth his time. But when he takes a close look at the evidence, he is intrigued, as the photos reveal complex messages in their details. The lunatic, who might be a taxi driver (a Scorsese allusion), amuses himself by paying homage to legendary murders in his own gruesome acts. Amelia is assigned to assist Rhyme, and she must be the eyes and ears of the quadriplegic detective. And they must capture the killer before he strikes again. Written by Jeremy Iacone and based on a book of the same title by Jeffrey Deaver, The Bone Collector was directed by the Australian thriller specialist Phillip Noyce, who directed such films as Clear and Present Danger and Dead Calm. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

Two centuries after Ellen Ripley's death, doctors aboard the space station Auriga clone her using a blood sample taken from Fiorna 161, in hopes of harvesting the queen embryo that was incubating inside of her when she was trapped on the remote penal planet. Finally succeeding after numerous attempts, they remove the alien and repair the clone for further study. Before long, the Ripley clone has gained consciousness, and displays superhuman capabilities that suggest it possesses alien DNA. When Ripley discovers that General Perez (Dan Hedaya) is keeping the queen in a heavily fortified room of the space station, she warns the military man and his scientists that the creature cannot be contained no matter how hard they try. Meanwhile, General Perez has hired a crew of space pirates to deliver the cryogenically frozen bodies of another ship to the Auriga so they can be used to breed more aliens. The leader of the pirates is Johner (Ron Perlman), a gruff mercenary who engages Ripley to no avail. When Call (Winona Ryder), one of Johner's crewmembers, admits that she was sent to assassinate Ripley, General Perez attempts to have the pirates executed. The result is a tense standoff between the pirates and the military men, with the aliens causing havoc after breaking free of their containment cells. Attempting a daring escape, Ripley and the pirates discover the lab where she was cloned before being forced to swim through the mess hall, which has been submerged in water during the aliens' escape. Discovering a carefully guarded secret about Call's past, Ripley attempts to convince her to alter the Auruga's course, which was set to Earth when the ship went into emergency mode. With the fate of mankind hanging in the balance, Ripley is captured by the aliens and taken to their nest, where she comes face to face with the mutated results of the scientists' experiments. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The jubilation experienced when a Martian probe finally returns from its mission is short-lived when it is discovered that one of the finds is very much alive and is only a small part of a huge invasive force planning to take over the earth. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A group of intrepid humans attempts to save the Earth from vicious extraterrestrials in this extremely popular science-fiction adventure. Borrowing liberally from War of the Worlds, Aliens, and every sci-fi invasion film inbetween, director Roland Emmerich and producer and co-writer Dean Devlin present a visually slick, fast-paced adventure filled with expensive special effects and large-scale action sequences. The story begins with the approach of a series of massive spaceships, which many on Earth greet with open arms, looking forward to the first contact with alien life. Unfortunately, these extraterrestrials have not come in peace, and they unleash powerful weapons that destroy most of the world's major cities. Thrown into chaos, the survivors struggle to band together and put up a last-ditch resistance in order to save the human race. As this is a Hollywood film, this effort is led by a group of scrappy Americans, including a computer genius who had foreseen the alien's evil intent (Jeff Goldblum), a hot-shot jet pilot (Will Smith), and the President of the United States (Bill Pullman). While some critics objected to the film's lack of originality and lapses in logic, the combination of grand visual spectacle and crowd-pleasing storytelling proved irresistible to audiences, resulting in an international smash hit. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Sydney Carpenter (Vanessa Marcil) has just learned that her husband is a low-down crook. Not long afterward, both Sydney's husband and her son are lost at sea. Though she grieves for her son, there is clearly an air of relief about Sydney whenever she discusses her hubby. Even so, when evidence surfaces that the deaths have been faked and that at least one of the two "victims" may still be alive, Sydney engages the services of a police detective, Jim Sanders (James Wilder), to uncover the truth--this despite the fact that the FBI has ordered Sanders and his department to steer clear of the case. To Love, Honor and Deceive first aired December 15, 1996 on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Unable to overcome the death of his son Andy Jr., Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) turns to the church for help. Back on the job, Sipowicz aids in the investigate of a holdup-homicide involving a pair of mismatched siblings; Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) participates in tracking down the murderer of two people, if for no other reason than to escape his marital problems; and John Irvin (Bill Brochtrup) bids yet another farewell to his colleagues. The episode ends with an affirmation of life, a renewal of hope, and the promise of a repaired romance. Justine Miceli (Adrianne Lesniak) makes her last series appearance in this, the final episode of NYPD Blue's third season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director David Fincher's dark, stylish thriller ranks as one of the decade's most influential box-office successes. Set in a hellish vision of a New York-like city, where it is always raining and the air crackles with impending death, the film concerns Det. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a homicide specialist just one week from a well-deserved retirement. Every minute of his 32 years on the job is evident in Somerset's worn, exhausted face, and his soul aches with the pain that can only come from having seen and felt far too much. But Somerset's retirement must wait for one last case, for which he is teamed with young hotshot David Mills (Brad Pitt), the fiery detective set to replace him at the end of the week. Mills has talked his reluctant wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), into moving to the big city so that he can tackle important cases, but his first and Somerset's last are more than either man has bargained for. A diabolical serial killer is staging grisly murders, choosing victims representing the seven deadly sins. First, an obese man is forced to eat until his stomach ruptures to represent gluttony, then a wealthy defense lawyer is made to cut off a pound of his own flesh as penance for greed. Somerset initially refuses to take the case, realizing that there will be five more murders, ghastly sermons about lust, sloth, pride, wrath, and envy presented by a madman to a sinful world. Somerset is correct, and something within him cannot let the case go, forcing the weary detective to team with Mills and see the case to its almost unspeakably horrible conclusion. The moody photography is by Darius Khondji; the nauseatingly vivid special effects are by makeup artist Rob Bottin, best known for more fantasy-oriented work in films like The Howling (1981). ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi