Mike Genovese Movies

Tim Allen and Chiwetel Ejiofor co-star in writer/director David Mamet's martial arts drama Redbelt. Ejiofor plays Mike Terry, a jujitsu master who co-runs a very modest martial arts studio in Los Angeles with his bossy wife, Sondra (Alice Braga). Mike demonstrates an unwavering commitment to his craft and draws a cadre of defiantly loyal pupils including Joe (Max Martini), an LAPD cop. All told, it appears that he has chosen a peaceful and conflict-free path in life. The dedicated martial artist's fate takes an unanticipated turn, however, one evening when a young woman named Laura (Emily Mortimer) bursts into the academy in a state of near hysteria, and reaches for a policeman's gun when he tries to restrain her. One thing leads to another, and before long, Laura is regularly receiving martial arts lessons from Mike. As master begins to teach pupil and his martial arts philosophies emerge, his path also crisscrosses with that of a Hollywood movie star, Chet Frank (Tim Allen), when he saves the fellow from a beating at a local club and gets invited (along with Sondra) to Chet's house for dinner. Chet extends gestures of friendship, and Mike's guard breaks down; he speaks openly and candidly of a special martial arts method he employs that requires one of the participants to "assume a handicap." In time, the association with Chet leads to involvement in the motion-picture industry, and relations with a bevy of characters who aren't exactly what they seem -- including a pay-per-view fight mogul (Ricky Jay) and Chet's slimy and manipulative manager (Joe Mantegna). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

On Christmas Eve, Carol brings one of her twin babies into the ER for a checkup, while the attending room is clogged with half a dozen very sick Santas. Overstepping her authority, Finch (Michael Michele) takes teenager Chad (Emile Hirsch) away from his mother (Roxanne Hart) so he can undergo treatment for alcohol abuse. Corday (Alex Kingston) tries to persuade patient Rollins (Lawrence Monoson) to have leg surgery. And Lucy (Kellie Martin) doggedly tracks down the off-duty Dr. Romano (Paul McCrane) to beg his help in a very delicate heart transplant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The ER swings into action when an abortion clinic is bombed. Ross (George Clooney) tries to save teenaged mother Zoe (Sally Livingstone) and her unborn baby, while Del Amico (Maria Bello) is asked to complete an abortion. Corday (Alex Kingston) is startled when she learns who is among the bombing victims -- and even more so when she finally realizes how she feels about Benton (Eriq La Salle). And a tragic personal loss casts a pall over the staffers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Simone (Jimmy Smits) regrets his covert participation in an FBI sting against Joey Salvo when he is suspended from the force by Internal Affairs. An arrogant journalist who earlier wrote an article smearing the New York Police Department continues rubbing people the wrong way after he is mugged. And the detectives investigate a particularly vicious murder which, suggests the victim's psychiatrist, may have been perpetrated by the dead woman's father. This final episode of NYPD Blue's fourth season comes to a characteristically jarring climax when Simone and Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) are caught in the crossfire of a mob hit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Greene (Anthony Edwards), Weaver (Laura Innes), and Doyle (Jorja Fox) argue over the treatment of a drunken woman who tried to kill her unborn child. Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) is surprised by the benign attitude of Al (Michael Beach) after he serves her divorce papers. And Lydia's (Ellen Crawford) marriage is over before it begins. This episode introduces Kirsten Dunst as Charlie, a teenaged dope addict -- and also (for the time being) bids farewell to Sherry Stringfield as Susan Lewis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Greene's (Anthony Edwards) miserable personal life continues to spill over into his professional one. Ultimately, he risks dismissal by admitting a patient (Michael Galeota) for observation against the orders of Pediatrics chief Dr. Neil Bernstein (David Spielberg). Meanwhile, Ross (George Clooney) faces a violation-of-ethics charge for spending the night with med student Harper (Christine Elise), and Jeanie Boulet (Gloria Reuben, now joining the series' regular cast) is surprised by the aloofness of her former lover Benton (Eriq La Salle) during her first day as the ER's new physician's assistant. And Carol (Julianna Margulies) encounters innumerable distractions while filling out the necessary papers to purchase her own house. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rule-bound Dr. Kayson (Sam Anderson) again incurs the wrath of Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) when he orders the early release of a heart patient named Vennerback (Michael Monks). But when Vennerback is brought back to the ER in critical condition, it is Lewis who is held responsible for the tragedy that follows. Elsewhere, Benton (Eriq La Salle) adopts a somewhat nasty method to stem the constant complaints of his student, Carter (Noah Wyle); and Lewis' pregnant sister, Chloe (Kathleen Wilhoite), announces her intention to move to Texas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

What do you get when you combine a Western with a Science Fiction film? You might get this shoot'em up in space. It is set in the distant town of Oblivion (it was actually filmed in Romania). Though it's a high tech town, it has the feel of an old fashioned Western outpost from the 1800's. The town is being terrorized by the snakelike, power-mad Redeye who is also out for the contents of local mines. He shoots the sheriff and disarms Stell Barr, his cyborg deputy. Enter Zack Stone, son of the late Sheriff Stone. Zack is of a rare breed, the empaths. Because he feels the pain of others, he walks a path of non-violence. Can he remain pacifistic in the face of Redeye's terrifying reign? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

After a terrible hurricane ravages a tropical island, a young doctor discovers an autistic child wandering about. This touching drama follows the doctor's attempts to help her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Exiled to Bajor, Kira becomes acquainted with The Circle, a radical Bajoran resistance movement. Apparently breaking away from the status quo, The Circle announces its intention to join the Federation. But the DS9 crew rightly suspects that there's a sinister motive behind The Circle's altruistic posture. Oscar winner Louise Fletcher guest stars as imperious Bajoran spiritual leader Vedek Winn, while Frank Langella is cast as the duplicitous Jaro. Originally telecast October 2, 1993, "The Circle" was written by Peter Allan Fields. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Whenever there's a TV movie about a "lone holdout" juror, you can bet that reality will be left behind at the front door. Killer Among Us is no exception. A Different World's Jasmine Guy plays a doubting jury member on a homicide case. She not only believes the defendant innocent, but suspects that the foreman of the jury, played by Dwight Schultz, is the guilty party. To make a long story short, which the scriptwriter didn't, Guy ends up being stalked by the real murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

From Hollywood to Deadwood is an agreeable private-eye yarn, at once a spoof and a tribute to the film noir output of the 1940s. Detectives Savage and Haines (Scott Paulin, Jim Haynes) are hired to locate Lana Dark (Barbara Schock), a movie actress whose absence is costing her studio tons of money. The two Sherlocks follow the evidence trail to Deadwood, South Dakota. Here, Savage begins a one-sided romance with the restless Lana. He learns that her disappearance was all part of an insurance scam. He further learns that now that he knows all, his life, not to mention the lives of Haines and Lana, aren't worth a plug nickel. Though the film wastes no time with inessentials, we learn a lot more about the emotional and psychological makeup of the three protagonists than is customary for films of this nature. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide