Michael Jace Movies

The Last King of Scotland director Kevin McDonald teams with screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan for this American adaptation of the hit British miniseries concerning the suspicious circumstances that set a rising congressman and a dogged reporter on a dangerous collision course. U.S. congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is handsome, unflappable, and ascending the ladder of power with unprecedented speed. He's the future of his political party, and as the chairman of a committee assigned to oversee defense spending, he's got all the right connections. As the presidential race draws near, Washington insiders begin to speculate that Collins will earn his party's nomination for the country's top job. The prospect of Collins becoming president seems less and less likely, however, when his research assistant/mistress is viciously murdered, and some unsavory truths begin to surface. Collins was once a close friend to Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), now a top reporter in the nation's capitol. Assigned the task of investigating Collins by his ruthless editor, Cameron (Oscar-winner Helen Mirren), McAffrey recruits fellow reporter Della (Rachel McAdams) in order to track down the truth and identify the killer. But McAffrey has just walked into a cover-up of unprecedented proportions, and in a game where billions of dollars are at stake, life, love, and integrity are luxuries that simply cannot be afforded. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Season Six of The Shield opens as Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chilkis) and the rest of the Farmington District Strike Force mourn the death of their colleague Curtis Lemensky (Kenneth Johnson), who was killed by a hand grenade just before he was to be shipped out of the country to prevent his revealing all of the Force's past peccadilloes to relentless Internal Affairs investigator Lt. Jon Kanvanagh (Forest Whitaker). Upon discovering that he is slated to be forcibly retired from the force, the embittered Mackey embarks upon a personal vendetta, bent upon killing the man responsible for "Lem"'s demise--never suspecting that the person he seeks is his own best friend and colleague, Det. Shane Vendrell (Waylon Goggins). . .who may well beat Vic to the punch by committing suicide. His one best chance of destroying the Strike Force gone, Kavanagh becomes more obsessively unhinged than ever, resorting to strongarming witnesses and tampering with evidence to bring Mackey down. This puts Kavanagh on the outs with his two most fervent supporters (and the only thoroughly honest members of the Force), Dutch Wagenbach (Jay Karnes) and newly promoted Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder). Wyms in fact is so disillusioned by Kavanagh's tactics that she puts her animosity toward Mackey on the shelf and affords Vic an opportunity to save his job. Other developments this season include the ever-growing (and ever-threatenng) political ambitions of Mackey's old adversary, Councilman Aceveda (Benito Martinez); and Off. Danielle Sofer's (Catherine Dent) revelation of the identity of her child's father (to no one's surprise, the man in question is her erstwhile lover Vic Mackey). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When two co-workers who can't see eye to eye in the office are unexpectedly forced to share a living space, their initial distain soon transforms into attraction in this lighthearted look at the romantic games people play from filmmaker Michael Whaley. Michael (Whaley) and Stacey (Torres) can barely get along at the office, much less tolerate each other as roommates - but when Michael and Stacey are forced to move in together, the snooping landlords and gossiping co-workers soon take a backseat to the undeniable affection that they begin feeling for one and other. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Army (Michael Pena) and Shane (Walton Goggins) are practicing to beat the lie-detector test that Monica (Glenn Close) is making them take, but Army is very nervous about it. At a meeting with community leaders, Assistant Chief Phillips (Nigel Gibbs) lets Monica know that the seizure policy is being reevaluated. She goes to Aceveda (Benito Martinez), blaming him. Aceveda offers to help her if she'll agree to a few modifications, but she refuses, telling Phillips that she'll quit if the program is stopped. Antwon's arrest has created a power vacuum among the One-Niners, and Vic (Michael Chiklis) uses that to his advantage, playing Halpern (Laurence Mason) and Weed (Petey Pablo) against each other to get information about the cop killings. This leads him to a pair of Nigerian suspects, and, surprisingly, to a Russian mobster with no clear ties to Antwon. Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) investigate a drive-by shooting at a local car wash, and find out that Billings (David Marciano) witnessed the crime, but did nothing to stop it, and reported it anonymously. Corrine (Cathy Cahlin Ryan) tells Vic that she's been dating Dutch, and is surprised to learn that the two cops have an antagonistic relationship. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Cal (Joe Renteria), an old friend of Vic's (Michael Chiklis) who owns a restaurant, asks Vic to help him straighten out one of his employees, Cyril (Peter Pasco), who has a drug problem and has apparently disappeared. Vic goes out of his way to help Cal, which has negative repercussions when Cyril's problems turn out to be more serious, and he's involved in a shoot-out while robbing a store. Ben Gilroy (John Diehl, uncredited) turns up dead after apparently living a very rough life in Mexico. Aceveda (Benito Martinez) decides to shut down the AGC sting operation, because Louis (Dominic Hoffman) betrayed them, opening up a new company with seed money from the big clients he warned about the sting. Monica (Glenn Close) decides to offer Louis a deal to set up a new operation at the new company, angering Aceveda, who has not officially stepped down yet. Monica also gets the men's room fixed, and tells Aceveda that she plans to use a new forfeiture plan to seize criminals' assets and auction them off to pay for The Barn's upkeep and donate some cash to local social programs. Shane (Walton Goggins) has been shaking down the pimps and dealers on his beat, and is breaking in a new partner, Armando (Michael Pena of Crash), an Iraq War veteran. Vic confronts Shane about his possible connection to Antwon (Anthony Anderson), which Shane denies. But Vic still has his suspicions. Corrine (Cathy Cahlin Ryan) and Vic consider joining a class-action suit against a vaccine company. Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) bring in a prostitute (Donna Cooper) who's been raped, and Aceveda, still struggling with his own personal trauma, takes a special interest in the case. This episode also includes an uncredited appearance by Katey Sagal as Nancy Gilroy. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Monica (Glenn Close) takes command of The Barn, and tells the troops that they will be implementing an asset-seizure program. She puts Vic (Michael Chiklis) in charge of all gang-related felonies. Units working under Vic are assigned to take Polaroids of all gang members, and their ink, in order to build a database. Vic now knows that Shane (Walton Goggins) and his partner, Army (Michael Pena), are working with Antwon (Anthony Anderson), and he lets Lem (Kenny Johnson) and Ronnie (David Rees Snell) know. Vic says they should keep Shane close and keep IAD off him, or it will come back to them. There's a gang war erupting in Farmington, and Monica wants it headed off quickly. Vic reluctantly goes to Antwon for help in stopping the violence between the One-Niners and the Spookstreet Soldiers. Choppa (Six Reasons), a drive-by suspect from the Soldiers, is brought in for questioning. He doesn't want to talk, so Monica threatens to seize his mother's house, which he paid for with drug money. She feels conflicted about throwing the family out on the street. When Choppa turns out to have made a pornographic rap video with Bounce (Tanya Alexander), the girlfriend of Puppethead (Kamil Beale), a member of the One-Niners, Vic thinks he's found what initiated the escalating gang violence, and reluctantly turns to Antwon for help in stopping it. Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) are still being blackballed by the DA, so they're assigned to catch a convenience store robber who buys a hot cup of coffee then throws it in the clerk's face. Dutch pressures Claudette to apologize to the DA. She refuses, and his frustration grows. He finally decides to go behind her back to make a deal. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Aceveda (Benito Martinez) goes over the edge while he's engaged with Sara (Abby Brammell). After another young black woman is found strangled, Monica (Glenn Close) takes Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) off the cop-killer case so that they can interrogate Kleavon Gardner (Ray Campbell) again. Unfortunately, their only witnesses are a husband and wife who seem more interested in attacking each other than in helping the police. While Vic (Michael Chiklis) and Monica interrogate Antwon (Anthony Anderson), Lem (Kenny Johnson), Shane (Walton Goggins), Ronnie (David Rees Snell), and Army (Michael Pena) are in Griffith Park, using the information they got from Pitarrio (Danny Martinez) to find Angie's body, so that Shane and Army will be in the clear, and Vic can really go after Antwon. They can't find the body, though, so Vic has to try to keep the interrogation under control. Lem goes back to Pitarrio to clarify the location of the body, taking his stash of heroin as collateral, but Monica pushes Antwon with leverage she has over his son, and Antwon, distraught, instructs his lawyer to phone in an anonymous tip about the body to the police. Vic is forced to try a new tactic. This was a special 90-minute episode. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Although the gritty cop drama The Shield would become the FX's network longest-running dramatic series during its fourth season, a serious drop in ratings at the end of season three could well have precipitated the show's cancellation. Giving the program a major shot in the arm was the addition of two new regulars, Glenn Close and Anthony Anderson. Close is introduced as Monica Rawling, the new captain of the Farmington District Strike Force and the new (nominal) boss of tough, brutal, and borderline-corrupt Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis). Rawlings has been appointed to her post after Mackey's former captain and longtime enemy David Aceveda (Benito Martinez) is elected to the city council. Though certainly not enamored of Vic's strong-arm tactics and questionable ethics, Rawling is willing to give the detective a relatively free hand in dealing with the district's most vicious drug dealers. Even so, both Aceveda and Rawling intend to closely monitor Vic's movements, forcing him to play it "straight" (or as straight as he's capable of being) throughout the season. The promotion of Rawlings has a profound effect not only on Vic but also on his fellow detective Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder), who is bitter over not being promoted to captain herself.

Anthony Anderson is cast as Antwon Mitchell, at once the most formidable and most frustrating adversary that Mackey and his team have ever come up against. Once a powerful drug lord, Mitchell has managed to win release from prison, and is now regarded by many of the power elite as a reformed man, a dedicated community activist. Of course, Vic (and the viewers) known that Mitchell hasn't changed a bit, and in fact is a more dangerous mob leader and drug pusher than he'd been before his arrest thanks to strong ties with the Russian mafia. But to the public at large, Mitchell is virtually a saint, and thus above suspicion when the you-know-what hits the fan. Even when Vic and Rawlings have Mitchell dead to rights, he manages to wriggle out of their clutches, leading Vic to suspect that there's a mole in the ranks of the strike force -- a mole who may or may not be his longtime colleague Shane Vendrell (Walton Goggins). Vic's determination to expose Mitchell heats up after several cops are murdered in a well-planned ambush. In giving Vic a tacit carte blanche to blast Mitchell's operation apart, Rawling puts her own job on the line. Ironically, what ultimately seals Rawling's doom is not her war against drugs, but her fierce determination to bring the city's most heinous child abusers to justice. Bringing Glenn Close and Anthony Anderson to the fold turned out be the best thing that had happened to The Shield in years. The series ended its four season posting its best-ever ratings -- indeed, some of the best ratings in the entire realm of cable television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two men are found executed with their feet cut off, and it's soon determined that they're members of the Armenian mob. While Dutch (Jay Karnes) investigates the case, Vic (Michael Chiklis) and his Strike Team realize that the Armenians think the "Money Train" robbery (from season two) was an inside job. A routine drug bust leads to a cache of ammo, which Vic discovers intended for a large number of MP-5 weapons that were stolen from the military. Vic works his contacts in the Byz Latz and the One-Niners in an effort to track down the guns before they are used in a potential gang war. Claudette (CCH Pounder) clashes with Aceveda (Benito Martinez) when he delays turning control of The Barn over to her. Corrine (Cathy Cahlin Ryan) hires Owen (Vincent Angell) to tutor Matthew (Joel Rosenthal) and informs Vic that she is going back to work to help pay for it. Vic also argues with Shane (Walton Goggins), who wants to buy a car for his new girlfriend, Mara (Michele Hicks). Danny (Catherine Dent), working as a school security guard while she appeals her firing, learns that Aceveda can get her back on the force if she'll agree to keep an eye on her fellow officers for him. An agent from the treasury department shows up at The Barn to speak with Aceveda because some of the money stolen from the Armenians had been marked during a sting operation. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Shane (Walton Goggins) now knows that Mara (Michele Hicks) stole the 7,000 dollars from the "Money Train" stash to send to her mother, Stella (DeLane Matthews), in Indio. At first, he tries to keep the information under wraps, and he and Mara come up with a cover story in hopes of keeping Stella quiet, but when Stella starts demanding more money, and gets a message to contact the Treasury Department, he tells the rest of the Strike Team. Lem (Kenny Johnson) points out that Mara would rat out the rest of the team to save Shane. Vic (Michael Chiklis) tries to keep everyone working together. The team finds a patsy (Jim Budig) to take the rest of the marked money. Aceveda (Benito Martinez) has been tracking Juan (Kurt Caceres), the Byz Latz gang member who assaulted him, and when Juan commits a convenience-store robbery, Aceveda is there to stop it, shooting one of his accomplices, while Juan escapes. The local media hail the captain as a hero. He assigns the Strike Team to help him find Juan. Vic realizes that Aceveda had been following Juan, and suspecting that it might have something to do with the stolen loot, he warns Byz Latz leader Diagur (Frankie Rodriguez) to get Juan out of the country. Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) use parking tickets to find a suspect in the "cuddler rapist" case, and interrogate the man's wife (Rebecca Pidgeon), leading to a huge break in the case. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

As the finale of the third season of The Shield opens, Vic (Michael Chiklis), Shane (Walton Goggins), and Ronnie (David Rees Snell) are dealing with the consequences of Lem (Kenny Johnson) torching the money from the "Money Train" heist. Lem will no longer get a cut, but there's still not much left to go around for all the risk they took, and as Aceveda (Benito Martinez) explains, if Lem leaves the group, the police chief will not replace him, and the Strike Team will not have enough members to continue. The team also confirms that they're being targeted by the Armenian mob, and Vic decides to take matters into his own hands in his pursuit of Margos (Kurt Sutter, uncredited). Claudette (CCH Pounder) doggedly continues to pursue the case of the drugged-up public defender, despite getting pressured by Aceveda to drop it. That case, and Dutch's (Jay Karnes) continued interest in Vic's possible involvement with the Armenians, makes them a very unpopular pair at The Barn. Meanwhile, Danny (Catherine Dent) scores points with her handling of the case of a local business owner (André Benjamin of OutKast) who resorts to aggressive tactics in trying to get the drug dealers and prostitutes off his block. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

A thief and a lawman join forces to hunt down a common enemy in this action thriller. Tony Fait (DMX) is a master thief who, along with his crew (Gabrielle Union, Anthony Anderson, and Drag-On), pulls off a major score when they steal a cache of highly valuable black diamonds. However, the hard-as-nails Tony has a soft spot for his young daughter Vanessa (Paige Hurd), and Ling (Mark Dacascos), a former detective turned ruthless criminal, kidnaps Vanessa, demanding a ransom from Tony for her return -- the stash of black diamonds. The jewels have already been stolen, however, from Tony's fence Archie (Tom Arnold), and are now in the hands of a powerful underworld boss (Chi McBride). Determined to get back his daughter whatever the cost, Tony and his gang set out to find both Ling and the diamonds, but he soon gets some invaluable help from an unlikely corner -- Su (Jet Li), a government agent from Taiwan who was once Ling's partner, and has an old score to settle with him. Cradle 2 the Grave also features Kelly Hu and Roxana Brusso. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Armadillo Quintero (Danny Pino), a Mexican drug dealer, is in L.A. and is making his presence felt, brutally murdering two captains from rival gangs. Mackey (Michael Chiklis) has hired Gordie Liman (Mark Rolston), a private detective, to track down his missing wife, but he's not having much luck. While Mackey's been preoccupied with his domestic situation, Shane (Walton Goggins) has been increasing the Strike Team's involvement in the drug trade, and using their "retirement fund" to do it. When Mackey tries to take some of the money out to pay Liman, he finds out it's all tied up in a huge cocaine shipment. Things get worse when the shipment turns out to be tainted, nearly killing one of Tio's (Cedric Pendleton) men. Mackey soon learns that Armadillo and his brother, Navaro (Emilio Rivera), based in Mexico, are responsible for both the gang killings and the tainted drug shipment. Lanie Kellis (Lucinda Jenney), a civilian auditor, is investigating "The Barn," so Aceveda (Benito Martinez) asks Mackey to keep his act together, but Mackey decides to bring the Strike Team to Mexico to get their drug money back. The team takes Navaro hostage to get the money. Back in L.A., no one is willing to come forward against Armadillo except Mayda (Chelsea Rendon), a little girl whose brother Armadillo murdered. Dutch (Jay Karnes) wants to let her testify, but Claudette (CCH Pounder) is frightened for the child's safety. They bring Armadillo in for questioning, but don't have enough to hold him. Julien (Michael Jace) asks a struggling single mother out on a date. Lanie lets Aceveda know that his enemies on the city council want her to find dirt on him. He tells Mackey that he'll watch his back if Mackey gets his head back in the game. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide