Scott MacDonald Movies

A young man gets a crash course in the madness of war in this fact-based drama from director Sam Mendes. Anthony "Swoff" Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) decides to join the Marines, just like his father and his father before him, and signs on just in time to be sent to Iraq to fight in the Gulf War in 1991. After experiencing the rigors of boot camp, Swofford and his pal Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) are trained to be snipers, and under the leadership of Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx) and Lt. Col. Kazinski (Chris Cooper), the two land in the middle of a desert where they're up against an enemy they can't always see under a blazing sun with hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Swofford, Troy, and their fellow soldiers rely on the wits, their sense of humor, and their friendship of their brothers in arms to deal with a situation that doesn't much resemble what they saw on television at home. Jarhead was based on the memoirs of the real-life Anthony Swofford, who did serve as a sniper in the 1991 Gulf War; the title comes from military slang for a Marine enlistee. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The horrors of war flow deep in the veins of two young American G.I.s who desert their platoon during the waning days of World War II in Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 director Jeff Burr's chilling tale of terror on the battlefield. Despite the best efforts of Allied forces, Axis troops still have a stronghold over many key European outposts. With time quickly running out before they are attacked by the enemy and branded deserters by their own battalion, these two desperate soldiers soon team with a deadly band of killer orphans to take out a key Nazi base and secure yet another victory for the increasingly powerful Allies. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Although the popular science fiction series Babylon 5 had officially run its course, one final two-hour episode was deemed necessary to segue into the spinoff series Crusade. Thus, on January 3, 1999, the TNT Network offered the world premiere of Babylon 5: A Call to Arms. The year is 2266: After several years' development, the first destroyer prototypes based on the White Stars (proposed by B5 crew member Delenn in the fifth-season episode "Movements of Fire and Shadow") have been completed. While inspecting the results, Alliance President Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) experences disturbing visions of a future Apocalypse -- and of a doomsaying stranger named Galen. Sheridan's visions seem poised to become reality when the Drakh, the dreaded allies of the defeated Shadows, mount a counteroffensive against humanity. It is up to a new team of space warriors, manning the twin battlecruisers "Excalibur" and "Victory," to prevent Galen's predictions from coming true. Babylon 5: A Call to Arms was written by J. Michael Straczynski, and later novelized by Robert Sheckley. As for Crusade, that oft-postponed series finally debuted on June 9, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This German-made children's fantasy (with English dialogue) employs marionettes from Germany's acclaimed Augsburger Puppet Theatre to tell a tale of lovers in the rodent community beneath the streets of Manhattan. The screenplay was adapted from the children's book by Tor Seidler (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1986), illustrated by Fred Marcellino, and expanding on the 1995 short film pilot Monty Spinneratz. The tale focuses on artist Monty Mad-Rat Jr. and politician's daughter Isabella Noble-Rat. Isabella is impressed when Monty takes her on a tour of New York's underground sewers, but her family doesn't want her dating beneath her station. Meanwhile, the "democratcy" is threatened by both rising drain waters and a chemical concocted for a mass extermination of the rat populace. Fortunately, Monty has some magical Mexican shells which could save the situation. Four onscreen performers here (Lauren Hutton, Beverly D'Angelo, Jerry Stiller, Josef Ostendorf) have no strings attached. In Germany, this film opened to a $3 million box office. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

While in New York on an art-collecting expedition, a European princess is attacked and left comatose. Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) thinks that the princess' husband (Ian Buchanan) might know more than he's willing to admit about the crime. In other developments, a female member of the precinct makes a shocking proposition; Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) continues to lose weight; newly elected union delegate Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) must exercise discretion when faced with the possibility that one of the 15th's cops is a bigamist; and recovering alcoholic Diane (Kim Delaney) is assigned to an undercover case that threatens to push her off the wagon again. Future Law & Order: SVU star Christopher Meloni makes the first of several appearances as underworld operative Jimmy Liery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The crew of the Voyager must decide if their should put the safety of their allies before their own in this episode of the sci-fi series Star Trek: Voyager. The U.S.S. Voyager is on a search mission, trying to find a Maquis ship which has gone missing, when they're drawn into the Delta Quadrant by a mysterious but power individual known as "The Caretaker." The Caretaker knows he has only a short time to live, and is devoting the last of his days to establishing a colony of Ocampas on another planet. After the death of the Caretaker, Capt. Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the commanding officer of the Voyager, opts to destroy the Camps space station rather than allow their advanced technologies to fell into the glands of their enemies; however, this decision also leaves the Voyager crew stranded in space with no where to go. Star Trek: Voyager: The Caretaker first aired on January 18, 1995. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A pedestrian is struck and killed by a truck. An accident? Not so, insist the detectives and the D.A.'s office, especially when evidence reveals a link connecting the victim, a prominent baby food manufacturer, and the Russian mafia. Assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) promises that no harm will befall an important witness -- a promise which he is tragically unable to keep. This final fourth season episode of Law & Order also represented the series swan song of co-star Michael Moriarty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kidnapped by members of a Romulan underground movement, Troi's face is surgically altered, whereupon she is forced to impersonate a Romulan intelligence officer. It's all part of an elaborate defection scheme involving three high profile Romulan senators. Unfortunately, Romulan commander Toreth (Carolyn Seymour) suspects that something is afoot, and that Troi is an impostor. Scripted by Naren Shankar from a story by Rene Echevarria, "Face of the Enemy" first aired February 13, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Can a rough and tumble hockey player and a snooty ice dancer find love and a gold medal at the same time? That's the burning (or more appropriately freezing) question in this romantic drama. Kate Moseley (Moira Kelly) is a world-class figure skater training for the Olympics; she has genuine talent, but years of being spoiled by her wealthy family have made her all but impossible to work with. Doug Dorsey (D.B. Sweeney) is a hockey player with drive, skill, and a full complement of arrogance; his team is also on the fast track to the Olympics. Unfortunately, an eye injury suffered during a game affects Doug's peripheral vision enough to put him on the bench for the rest of the season. At the same time, Kate's colossal ego scares off yet another skating partner, and her coach, Anton (Roy Dotrice), needs to find a replacement as soon as possible. Desperate to stay in Olympic competition, Doug agrees to try working as Kate's partner, even though he has a hockey player's macho contempt for figure skating. Needless to say, the first few practices between Kate and Doug do not go well, but in time they learn to work together and become a pair to be reckoned with both on and off the ice. The Cutting Edge was released within a few months of the 1992 Winter Olympic Games. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide