Juan A. Riojas Movies
- 2000
When a man named Darin Macnamara (Douglas Roberts) comes to Angel Investigations for help in rescuing his brother from the demons who kidnapped him, Angel (David Boreanaz) investigates and soon learns that Darin's story was a ruse. The organizer of a Wolfram & Hart-sponsored fight club, Darin enslaves Angel and forces him to battle a demon in a gladiatorial deathmatch. Angel wins but learns that he'll have to keep fighting each night or die; the bracelet that's been placed on his arm will kill him if he removes it or escapes. Angel holds Darin's brother, Jack (Scott William Winters), hostage in an attempt to rouse the other slaves to rebellion and force Darin to release him; rather than comply, Darin simply kills his own brother. Wesley (Alexis Denisof) and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) eventually help Angel break up the gladiator ring, but not before Angel encounters Lilah Morgan (Stephanie Romanov), a Wolfram & Hart lawyer who will become one of his major nemeses. Originally broadcast February 29, 2000, on the WB network, "The Ring" marked season one, episode 16 of the supernatural comedy drama. In the episode's opening sequence, Cordelia tries out a new online demon database, the illustrations on which come from actual Angel creature production sketches. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
The sophomore film from former music video and commercial director Michael Bay, this fast-paced action yarn featured rapid-fire editing, a cutting-edge rock soundtrack and liberal use of shots awash in a haze of burnished hues, all trademarks of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. Nicolas Cage stars as Stanley Goodspeed, an FBI chemical weapons expert handed a unique assignment. Francis X. Hummel (Ed Harris), an insane Marine Corps general, has taken 81 tourists hostage on the abandoned island prison of Alcatraz. He and his men are threatening to bomb San Francisco with deadly gas unless $100 million is paid in war reparations to the families of servicemen killed in covert operations. Goodspeed is teamed with former British spy John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery), the only man ever to escape "The Rock," as well as a Navy SEAL team. When their military escorts are ambushed, it's up to odd couple Goodspeed and Mason to break into Alcatraz and stop Hummel. The Rock was the last film produced by Simpson, who died of a drug overdose before the film's release. Solo, his partner Bruckheimer continued making the sort of glossy, frenetic films for which the duo was famed. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, (more)
In a futuristic, high-tech world run by huge corporations, Parker Barnes (Denzel Washington) is an L.A. policeman serving time for killing the psychotic who murdered his wife and child. Lindenmeyer (Stephen Spinella), a Dr. Frankenstein of the computer era, has created a monster, Sid 6.7 (Russell Crowe), a virtual reality entity which is programmed with the character traits of scores of mass murderers. Sid 6.7 has escaped the control of its creator and is now running amok. The privatized police force in charge of keeping the peace in the city is run by Elizabeth Deane (Louise Fletcher). Barnes has volunteered to test a new criminal tracking system based on a virtual reality device. His job is to find Sid 6.7, with the help of psychologist Madison Carter (Kelly Lynch). Barnes gets out of prison and reinstated to the police force to pursue his dangerous prey. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Kelly Lynch, (more)
- 1995
A visitor to the ER (Catherine Lloyd Burns) must make a crucial decision after her boyfriend commits suicide, while novice nun Sister Elizabeth (Amy Ryan) likewise finds herself at an emotional crossroads. Elsewhere, the ER staff (and the viewers) discovers that Carter (Noah Wyle) is from an incredibly wealthy family. Swift (Michael Ironside) becomes increasingly displeased with Greene (Anthony Edwards), who has allowed his domestic troubles to take precedence over his work. Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) is at the end of her rope with Chloe (Kathleen Wilhoite). And the mystery of missing-in-action Dr. Div Cvetic is solved. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Alex (Theresa Russell is a government agent who trades sex for state secrets. Will (Scott Glenn) is a taciturn demolition expert troubled by a violent past. When the two find themselves being pursued by the same nefarious spy ring, bullets start flying and bedsprings start creaking. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1993
A much-hated slumlord who has long been victimizing the denizens of his racially mixed neighborhood heads to the local church to seek absolution from the priest--who happens to also be the slumlord's son. The sinner subsequent dies, and it is determined that a poison spray was the murder weapon. As luck would have it, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is teaching a course on mystery writing in the selfsame church...and she has just finished discussing the various and sundry uses of poison! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Clint Eastwood delivers one of his finest performances, as a secret service agent haunted by his past in Wolfgang Petersen's taut thriller In the Line of Fire. Eastwood plays Frank Horrigan, a secret service agent who keeps thinking back to November 22, 1963, when, as an agent hand-picked by President Kennedy, he became one of the few agents to have lost a president to an assassin. Decades later, psychotic Mitch Leary (John Malkovich) is stalking another president (Jim Curley) running for re-election. He has spent long hours studying the psyche of Frank Horrigan, and he taunts Horrigan (feeling that there is a bond between them), telling him of his plans to kill the president. After his conversation with Leary, Horrigan makes sure he is assigned to presidential protection duty. Horrigan has no intention of failing his president this time around, and he is more than willing to take a bullet. But everything goes Leary's way -- he is smart and cagey and the president's aides refuse to alter the itinerary. As the election draws closer, Horrigan's chances to catch Leary look to be less and less a possibility, and he begins to doubt his own abilities -- both now and in the past, when Kennedy was murdered. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, (more)
- 1993
This made-for-television drama first aired on NBC and was made shortly after the tragic stand-off in Waco, Texas when a conflict between the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and a group of cultist led by charismatic leader and self-proclaimed messiah David Koresh turned into a bloody battle that left the believers' compound burned and many dead. Soon after the dust settled, investigations revealed that the bloodshed may have been unnecessary. Filmed on location, near Tulsa, Oklahoma, the film recounts events before, during and after the catastrophe. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Daly, Dan Lauria, (more)
