J.J. Abrams Movies
A prominent writer/producer of Hollywood features who later went on to make a name for himself as the creator of such popular small-screen hits as Felicity and Alias, J.J. Abrams has managed the rare feat of finding success in the all-too-often mutually exclusive worlds of both film and television. It was at the age of eight that the wide-eyed youth first discovered his love of film while on a Hollywood studio tour with his grandfather, and when the pair returned home, Abrams convinced his father to let him try his hand at filmmaking with the family's Super-8 camera. During the following decade, the young auteur grew increasingly comfortable behind the camera, and he continued to turn out his impressive amateur films at an exhausting rate. Later attending New York's Sarah Lawrence College and teaming with a close friend to pen a feature-film treatment, Abrams got his first taste of success when the screenplay was eventually adapted into the James Belushi comedy Taking Care of Business. In the following years, Abrams' career continued to gain momentum as he penned screenplays for such features as Regarding Henry, Forever Young, and Gone Fishin', and it was during this period that the ambitious screenwriter also began to try his hand at producing. As Abrams subsequently began to branch out by producing features that he had no hand in writing, such as The Pallbearer and The Suburbans, he also continued to write by contributing to the screenplay for Michael Bay's Armageddon.Abrams next made his first foray into television as the writer and creator of the hit television series Felicity -- which also found the tireless Abrams stepping into the director's chair for the first time in his professional career. As the series progressed, he was publicly vocal about his frustrations regarding the limitations of the series, and after joking that the series would be more interesting if the titular character had a secret life as a spy, the seed was planted for his most popular effort to date. Premiering on television in 2001, Abrams' second small-screen effort, Alias, told the story of a beautiful young international spy's efforts to battle the evil Alliance of 12 while attempting to find a balance between her secret and social lives. Not only did Alias immediately connect with television viewers, but it also found Abrams growing increasingly into his own as a writer and director. Three years later, Abrams had yet another hit on his hands as the writer/producer/director of Lost, which had the dubious distinction of being the most expensive television pilot ever produced. A haunting tale of a group of airplane-crash survivors stranded on a mysterious island, Lost stood alongside Desperate Housewives as one of the hits that kept the faltering ABC network afloat, picking up Emmy Awards and Golden Globes. Back in the world of film, fans were no doubt surprised when it was announced that Abrams would be returning to the world of features to direct the eagerly anticipated action sequel Mission: Impossible 3, which would serve as his feature-film directorial debut. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2001
The weekly, hour-long TV adventure series Alias wasted no time in establishing a high level of suspense. Its first episode, "Truth Be Told," ran a full 65 minutes, with no commercial interruptions -- and be assured that few viewers were willing to leave their seats for the duration. Jennifer Garner starred as college student Sydney Bristow, who during her senior year was recruited into SD-6, the shadowy "special operations" division of the CIA of which her father, Jack (Victor Garber), was a top functionary. Given a crash course in martial arts and high technology, Sydney still did not quite appreciate the gravity of her mission in life until she inadvertently caused the murder of her fiancé. Thereafter, she kept her profession a secret from everyone she knew -- and did her best to stay at least one step ahead of whatever enemy happened to be after her during a given episode. Created by Felicity's J.J. Abrams, Alias made its ABC network debut on September 30, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Syd (Jennifer Garner) and Jack (Victor Garber) join forces against both the SD-6 and CIA for the sake of their too-inquisitive friend, Will (Bradley Cooper). Also looking out for Will's safety is Vaughn (Michael Vartan), who in putting an end to a vital component of the Rambaldi device may well have sealed his own doom. As this final episode of Alias' first season races toward its cliffhanger finale, the fate of Sloane's (Ron Rifkin) wife, Emily (Amy Irving), is sealed, and Sydney at last comes face to face with "The Man" -- who, much to her shock and amazement, isn't a man at all, but instead.... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Hoping to get his hands on a vital missing page of the Rambaldi document -- and to beat the evil Mr. Sark (David Anders) and his confederates to the punch -- Vaughn (Michael Vartan) prevails upon Sydney (Jennifer Garner) to insinuate her way into the home of sinister SD-6 chieftain Sloane (Ron Rifkin). But Syd is none too keen on this assignment, since it will force her to take cruel advantage of her friendship with Sloane's terminally ill wife, Emily (Amy Irving, in her first series appearance). Meanwhile, Will continues his efforts to expose SD-6 to the public -- and must pay a terrible price in the process. Series producer/director Ken Olin appears unbilled as David McNeil. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Originally telecast right after Super Bowl XXXVII, "Phase One" was the most controversial and talked-about episode of Alias' second season -- and not only because of the notorious segment in which star Jennifer Garner appears clad only in a skimpy bra and panties. With Sloane (Ron Rifkin) having disappeared, SD-6 has a new head man in the form of Anthony Geiger (Rutger Hauer). The CIA orders Sydney (Garner) and Jack (Victor Garber) to get into Geiger's good graces so that they can find out his plans. But Geiger, whose feelings toward the Bristows are nowhere near as affectionate as Sloane's, would just as soon fire them both -- and even worse, since he has taken a peek at Sloane's confidential files on the mysterious Server 47, he is now armed with information that could result in the deaths of both Syd and Jack. The episode is climaxed by the abrupt and wholly unanticipated death of one of the series' most likeable characters -- thereby hurtling the carefully established Alias second-season story line into an entirely different direction. The CIA takedown of SD-6 in this episode also changes Alias' plot structure forever, eliminating the double-agent aspect of Sydney's actions and allowing her and Vaughn (Michael Vartan) to finally be together. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Taken into custody by the FBI, Sydney (Jennifer Garner) is relentlessly grilled about her own espionage activities and her involvement in the Rambaldi prophecies. What follows is essentially the "backstory" of Sydney's entire life, complete with painful memories of Daniel's murder, SD-6's duplicity, and the horrible truth about her double-agent mother. Meanwhile, Jack (Victor Garber) and Vaughn (Michael Vartan) race against time to rescue Sydney before she becomes completely expendable in the eyes of the SD-6 higher-ups. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Viewers who tuned into the premiere episode of ABC's espionage series Alias did so already knowing the basic premise: Heroine Sydney A. Bristow (Jennifer Garner) lived a double life, as a "typical" college undergraduate and as an uncover agent for a government organization which she assumed to be the CIA. Sydney never told either her fiancé, Danny Hecht (Edward Atterton), or her roommate, Francie Calfo (Merrin Dungey), about her covert off-campus activities, not out of any great fear of blowing her cover, but merely because she assumed no one would believe her. Then came the fateful day that Sydney let slip her secret to Danny -- who turned up murdered not long afterward. It was then that Sydney began to suspect that her CIA bosses were not all they seemed to be -- and indeed, the truth came out that she wasn't working for the CIA at all, but for a rival agency, SD-6, one of several such organizations gathered together in a rather sinister group known as the Alliance of Twelve. The cruel ruthlessness with which SD-6 went about its business was personified by Sydney's boss, Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin), an enigmatic character who was obviously very fond of Syd and the other agents, but who would not hesitate to sell anyone out who got in his way. Sloane was particularly nasty when dealing with those who would dare prevent him to carry out his obsessive, lifelong search for the fragments of the Rambaldi device, a doomsday weapon concocted some 500 years before by a Renaissance artist who happened to possess a Nostradamus-like gift of prophecy. Other perplexing facets of Sloane's personality were revealed in his curious relationship with Sydney's father, veteran SD-6 operative Jack Bristow (Victor Garber), as well as in an ongoing subplot involving Sloane's terminally ill wife, Emily (Amy Irving) -- who happened to be very close to Syd.
Upon realizing that she'd been a dupe of sorts, the embittered Syd allowed herself to be enlisted as a counterspy by the real CIA; thereafter, whenever she went on a mission for SD-6, she was given a countermission by her new bosses. Her contact at the CIA was Michael C. Vaughn (Michael Vartan), a man with quite a history of his own. As for Syd's father, Jack, he spent much of season one trying to make amends for so perilously misleading his daughter -- all the while trying to shield her from the truth about her supposedly long-dead mother, Laura, who in keeping with the title of this series was actually Irina Derevko, a KGB agent who'd been assigned to seduce Jack nearly a quarter of a century before. Other recurring characters included Francie's chronically faithless fiancé, Charlie (Evan Dexter Parke); Syd's fellow SD-6 employees, agent Marcus R. Dixon (Carl Lumbly) and computer expert Marshall J. Finkman (Kevin Weisman), who was blessed with a photographic memory; and Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper), investigative journalist for the Los Angeles Chronicle, whose determination to find out the facts behind the death of Danny Hecht and expose the activities of SD-6 rendered him a marked man. Getting back to Syd, she spent most of season one chasing and being chased, never quite knowing her friends from her enemies. A mid-season brush with a dangerous rogue agent (played by filmmaker Quentin Tarantino) put Syd on the trail of a vast criminal cartel, whose leader was known only as "The Man." The season's cliffhanger ending revealed that "The Man" was actually a woman -- none other than Syd's "late" mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Upon realizing that she'd been a dupe of sorts, the embittered Syd allowed herself to be enlisted as a counterspy by the real CIA; thereafter, whenever she went on a mission for SD-6, she was given a countermission by her new bosses. Her contact at the CIA was Michael C. Vaughn (Michael Vartan), a man with quite a history of his own. As for Syd's father, Jack, he spent much of season one trying to make amends for so perilously misleading his daughter -- all the while trying to shield her from the truth about her supposedly long-dead mother, Laura, who in keeping with the title of this series was actually Irina Derevko, a KGB agent who'd been assigned to seduce Jack nearly a quarter of a century before. Other recurring characters included Francie's chronically faithless fiancé, Charlie (Evan Dexter Parke); Syd's fellow SD-6 employees, agent Marcus R. Dixon (Carl Lumbly) and computer expert Marshall J. Finkman (Kevin Weisman), who was blessed with a photographic memory; and Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper), investigative journalist for the Los Angeles Chronicle, whose determination to find out the facts behind the death of Danny Hecht and expose the activities of SD-6 rendered him a marked man. Getting back to Syd, she spent most of season one chasing and being chased, never quite knowing her friends from her enemies. A mid-season brush with a dangerous rogue agent (played by filmmaker Quentin Tarantino) put Syd on the trail of a vast criminal cartel, whose leader was known only as "The Man." The season's cliffhanger ending revealed that "The Man" was actually a woman -- none other than Syd's "late" mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber, (more)
Cunningly presaged by the cliffhanger at the end of season one, the first episode of Alias' second season confirmed what heroine Sydney A. Bristow (Jennifer Garner) -- college student by day, counterespionage agent the rest of the time -- had feared most: that "The Man," the evil leader of a vast criminal cartel, was no man at all, but instead Sydney's supposedly dead mother, former KGB agent Irina Derevko (played by new series regular Lena Olin). Though Irina would eventually claim to have reformed and insisted that she was looking out for Sydney's best interests, her actions -- which included innumerable double-crosses, sellouts, and betrayals -- would seem to indicate otherwise. Even so, nothing that was ever "indicated" on Alias was ever quite what it appeared on the surface. Meanwhile, both of the spy organizations for which Sydney worked, the CIA and the more sinister SD-6, were dedicated to destroying the cartel formerly run by Irina and now in the hands of her mercurial lieutenant, Sark (played by another new series regular, David Anders). The two rival agencies also continued their search for the missing Rambaldi fragments, which when assembled would become a terrifying weapon of mass destruction, as well as "The Bible," the operations manual used by Irina's old criminal empire.
Still embittered by the knowledge that she had been used all her life by SD-6, Syd persisted in covertly working against the organization by throwing in with the CIA, under the supervision of agent Michael C. Vaughn (Michael Vartan), who by the time season two rolled around, was making no secret of his love for Syd. Two other SD-6 operatives, computer genius Marshall Flinkman (Kevin Weisman) and agent Marcus Dixon (Carl Lumbly), likewise crossed over to the CIA, with tragic results for at least one of them. Syd was given even more reason to despise the espionage business when she learned that, as a child, she had been a guinea pig for a program designed to indoctrinate spies at an early age -- a program developed by her own father, Jack Bristow (Victor Garber). There was another "father figure" in Syd's life in the form of her SD-6 boss, Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin), who despite his cruel cunning and ruthlessness was genuinely fond of both Bristows. Sloane would launch a second career as a solo villain when, disillusioned by the SD-6, he bolted the organization and set about to harness the awesome power of the Rambaldi device for his own purposes. His replacement at SD-6 was the no-nonsense Geiger (Rutger Hauer), who, shall we say, harbored no great love for either Syd or Jack. In addition to Rutger Hauer, season two of Alias would feature guest-star turns by Faye Dunaway as the duplicitous head of SD-6 counterintelligence; Richard Lewis as a CIA counterintelligence analyst investigating Vaughn; and Christian Slater as a scientist who was kidnapped by the renegade Sloane -- and whose past life experiences bore striking resemblances to those of the Bristow family.
Elsewhere, it was business as usual for crusading journalist Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper), who doggedly continued his crusade to expose and destroy SD-6 and all the other agencies in the Alliance of Twelve. The basic through line of Alias took off on a radical and wholly unanticipated new direction with its January 26, 2003, episode "Phase One." In this truly shocking entry, Syd's roommate, Francie (Merrin Dungey), was murdered and replaced by an exact double, thereby further blurring the series' distinction between its heroes and its villains. Also in that episode, the CIA put an end to SD-6, thus freeing Sydney from her double-agent balancing act and allowing her and Vaughn to finally express their feelings for each other. But even those developments paled in comparison with Alias' second-season cliffhanger finale, in which after being rendered unconscious in a fight with the "bad" Francie, Syd awoke to discover that two whole years had passed -- and her erstwhile lover Michael Vaughn was now beyond her reach! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Still embittered by the knowledge that she had been used all her life by SD-6, Syd persisted in covertly working against the organization by throwing in with the CIA, under the supervision of agent Michael C. Vaughn (Michael Vartan), who by the time season two rolled around, was making no secret of his love for Syd. Two other SD-6 operatives, computer genius Marshall Flinkman (Kevin Weisman) and agent Marcus Dixon (Carl Lumbly), likewise crossed over to the CIA, with tragic results for at least one of them. Syd was given even more reason to despise the espionage business when she learned that, as a child, she had been a guinea pig for a program designed to indoctrinate spies at an early age -- a program developed by her own father, Jack Bristow (Victor Garber). There was another "father figure" in Syd's life in the form of her SD-6 boss, Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin), who despite his cruel cunning and ruthlessness was genuinely fond of both Bristows. Sloane would launch a second career as a solo villain when, disillusioned by the SD-6, he bolted the organization and set about to harness the awesome power of the Rambaldi device for his own purposes. His replacement at SD-6 was the no-nonsense Geiger (Rutger Hauer), who, shall we say, harbored no great love for either Syd or Jack. In addition to Rutger Hauer, season two of Alias would feature guest-star turns by Faye Dunaway as the duplicitous head of SD-6 counterintelligence; Richard Lewis as a CIA counterintelligence analyst investigating Vaughn; and Christian Slater as a scientist who was kidnapped by the renegade Sloane -- and whose past life experiences bore striking resemblances to those of the Bristow family.
Elsewhere, it was business as usual for crusading journalist Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper), who doggedly continued his crusade to expose and destroy SD-6 and all the other agencies in the Alliance of Twelve. The basic through line of Alias took off on a radical and wholly unanticipated new direction with its January 26, 2003, episode "Phase One." In this truly shocking entry, Syd's roommate, Francie (Merrin Dungey), was murdered and replaced by an exact double, thereby further blurring the series' distinction between its heroes and its villains. Also in that episode, the CIA put an end to SD-6, thus freeing Sydney from her double-agent balancing act and allowing her and Vaughn to finally express their feelings for each other. But even those developments paled in comparison with Alias' second-season cliffhanger finale, in which after being rendered unconscious in a fight with the "bad" Francie, Syd awoke to discover that two whole years had passed -- and her erstwhile lover Michael Vaughn was now beyond her reach! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber, (more)
As season three of the ABC espionage series gets under way, secret agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) has still not entirely adjusted to the startling revelation that she has somehow lost track of two years in her life -- and that her partner and erstwhile lover Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan) is now married to Lauren Reed (Melissa George). Also, she is informed that her double-agent father, Jack (Victor Garber), who thought Sydney was dead, has been jailed -- in solitary confinement -- for a year, and her duplicitous boss, Sloane (Ron Rifkin), has disavowed his evil ways and "gone straight." But just as in previous seasons, what seems true on the surface is a different story as Sydney digs deeper into the mystery of her missing years. Placed back on active duty, Sydney tortuously tries to put the pieces back together, with Vaughn at her side and Lauren agonizing over the likelihood that her marriage is doomed. Various links to Sydney's past include her old nemesis Julian Sark (David Anders), who has hatched a scheme to cripple the nation's satellite system; and freelance thief Simon Walker (Justin Theroux), whose team is involved in stealing a dirty weapon. There are also unexpected encounters with Sydney's old friend Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper), newly dragged from the bowels of the Witness Protection Program, and the redoubtable Allison Doren (Merrin Dungey), the evil doppelganger of Sydney's murdered roommate, Francie. Throughout, there is a concerted effort to prevent Sydney's memory from coming back -- an effort engineered not only by her enemies, but by those who know that she is harboring a terrible secret that will destroy her once she knows all. In the mid-season episode "Full Disclosure," Sydney finally receives the whole shocking story about those lost two years, and her complicity in the murder of a Russian diplomat. Thereafter, we're back to the basics, with Sydney and Vaughn collaborating on a variety of top-secret missions, several tied in with the ubiquitous Rambaldi code, which when broken will lead to a super-weapon capable of wiping out all of humankind. And in the time remaining in season three, the scorned Lauren is at the center of a startling betrayal -- and, ultimately, Sydney is slapped with a bitter disillusionment that makes all past disillusionments in her life pale in comparison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber, (more)
Despite its late start in January of 2005 after a hiatus of eight months, the fourth season of Alias more than made up for lost time with a plethora of trials, tribulations, jaw-dropping revelations, big-time betrayals, and near-death experiences for the series' secret-agent heroine, Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner). Reeling from the disillusionment and embarrassment of her demotion, Sydney quits the CIA flat; however, it turns out that this is part of a master plan hatched by new CIA director Hayden Chase (Angela Bassett) to arrange Sydney's membership in Authorized Personnel Only (APO), a top-top secret black-ops organization. Sydney's co-workers at APO include several longtime associates: her father, Jack (Victor Garber); her partner and sometime lover, Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan); her steadfast previous partner Dixon (Carl Lumbly) -- and, much to our heroine's surprise, her duplicitous ex-chief, Sloane (Ron Rifkin), who has proven time and again that he can't be trusted. For her first APO assignment, Sydney is sent to Rio, where she has a fateful encounter with her latest adversary, Tamasaki (Rick Yune), a self-styled 21st century samurai. Previously a recurring character, Sydney's half-sister, Nadia Santos (Mía Maestro), becomes a full regular this season, the better to throw a monkey wrench into Sydney's volatile relationship with her father, Jack -- and to share with Jack a startling secret about Sydney's supposedly dead, supposedly traitorous mother. At the same time, Vaughn has a great deal of difficulty overcoming the treachery of his former wife, Lauren, and an equal amount of difficulty assimilating new and disturbing information about his own father. Major developments this season include a huge revival of interest in the Rambaldi code, which when broken may spell the doom of humankind; the surprising temporary recruitment of another of Sydney's longtime enemies, Julian Sark (David Anders), for a special APO mission; a grim prognostication that Sydney and Nadia are destined to duke it out to the death; and the resurrection of a long-presumed-dead central character, who will reveal anew to Sydney that she can never completely rely upon anyone or believe in anything, not even the evidence of her own eyes. Though the season ends with the good news that Sydney and Vaughn are engaged, any hopes for lasting happiness are dashed by still another shocking revelation -- and a spectacular car crash. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber, (more)
- 2001
Realizing that her secret-agent father, Jack (Victor Garber), is connected with the murder of her fiancé, Danny, Sydney (Jennifer Garner) agrees to work hand in glove with the CIA as a double agent, to bring down her present employers at SD-6 once and for all. Sydney's first counterespionage assignment involves locating a missing nuclear device and a deadly arms dealer named Anini Hassan (Aharon Ipalé). Elsewhere, Sydney's journalist friend, Will (Bradley Cooper), begins to suspect that she is involved in something other than your average "outside job," while her CIA connection, Vaughn (Michael Vartan), makes a potentially apocalyptic mistake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Her cover blown, Sydney (Jennifer Garner) is trapped in an SD-6 torture chamber by the sinister Sloane (Ron Rifkin), who has arranged an elaborate -- and very painful -- charade in order to coerce a confession from her. Sydney's dad, Jack (Victor Garber), must convince Sloane that she is still loyal to SD-6, but this plan may cost Jack his own life. And amidst all of this melodrama, at least one of the series' characters remembers that Christmas is coming soon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Jack (Victor Garber) manages to avoid having to kill his own daughter, Sydney (Jennifer Garner), but our heroine isn't out of the woods yet. Still working for the CIA to topple rival agency SD-6, Sydney travels to Crete to locate the stealth technology being developed by the terrorist Hassan (Aharon Ipalé). Alas, the tables are turned, and Sydney falls into the villain's clutches -- while her CIA contact, Vaughn (Michael Vartan), hesitates to take the necessary steps to save her life. Alias producer and sometime director Ken Olin makes a significant unbilled cameo appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Resolving the cliffhanger established at the end of season one, season two of Alias begins with college student-cum-secret agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) coming face to face with her presumed-dead mother, KGB agent Irina Derevko (Lena Olin, making her first appearance as a series regular). But the reunion is far from a happy one: Exposed as the master criminal whom Sydney has been tracking for months, the surly Irina displays decidedly non-maternal instincts by shooting her daughter in the arm and dashing off to parts unknown. Meanwhile, Syd's friend Will has published his exposé of the covert espionage agency SD-6, making him a marked man -- but not if Syd's father, Jack (Victor Garber), can protect Will from any and all assailants. And can it be that Syd's CIA contact, Vaughn (Michael Vartan), is really dead? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Sydney (Jennifer Garner) manages to clear Will (Bradley Cooper) of espionage charges, but she must still deal with the fact that her mother, Irina (Lena Olin), has betrayed her. The situation changes radically when Irina shows up, claiming that she was only pretending to conspire with Sloane (Ron Rifkin) to make sure that all portions of the deadly Rambaldi device would be turned over to the CIA. But can this "explanation" merely be Irina's way of luring Sydney into another trap? Whatever the case, this final episode of Alias' second season provides a whopper of a cliffhanger finale, with Sydney, emerging from unconsciousness after a fight with Francie's evil double (Merrin Dungey), discovering to her astonishment that she has been "out" for two whole years -- and that's only for starters! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
The 90-minute debut episode of Alias introduces Jennifer Garner as Sydney A. Bristow, who like many other undergraduates is working her way through college. Unlike her friends and fellow students, however, Sydney is not permitted to discuss her "outside job," not even with her roommate, Francie (Merrin Dungey) -- because Syd happens to be an undercover operative for the CIA. Or at least she thought she was working for the CIA until she reveals the nature of her profession to her fiancé, Danny Hecht (Edward Atterton) -- a revelation that results in Danny's murder. That's when Sydney discovers to her horror that the agency which employs her is not the CIA but instead a rival and somewhat sinister organization known as SD-6, under the aegis of the highly untrustworthy Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin). Though she'd sooner give up the spy game outright, Sydney is forced by Sloane into a deadly game of double-agent espionage, where no one -- least of all Sydney -- can tell the good guys from the bad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Michael Bay (The Rock) directed this science fiction action thriller in the When Worlds Collide tradition. After astronomy students discover a comet-asteroid collision, an asteroid fragment "the size of the Super Dome" threatens. It's destroyed by a secret USA defense in space, but a large chunk veers off toward Singapore. With another asteroid "the size of Texas" en route, a plan is devised to send oil drillers to land on the asteroid and drop a nuclear device down a 1000-foot shaft, a scheme calculated to crack the asteroid into two halves, saving Earth. NASA begins a crash program to train beer-besotted oil roughnecks for the mission. During a stopover to refuel at the Mir Station, the space station is accidentally destroyed, so a Russian cosmonaut also joins the team. Produced by Bay, Jerry Bruckheimer (Con Air), and Gale Anne Hurd (The Relic, The Abyss). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, (more)
Producer J.J. Abrams teams with writer Drew Goddard and director Matt Reeves for this frenetic tale of a powerful destructive force that descends upon New York City, and the four desperate people who put their lives on the line to embark on a perilous rescue mission. Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) is a young American professional who has recently been offered a coveted new job in Japan. Eager to send his older sibling off in style, Rob's younger brother, Jason (Mike Vogel), and his girlfriend, Lily (Jessica Lucas), organize a surprise going-away party to take place the night before Rob boards his Eastern-bound flight. As the party gets underway, Rob's longtime friend and current love interest, Beth (Odette Yustman), shows up with another man as the dejected guest of honor's best-pal Hud (T.J. Miller) encourages partygoer Marlena (Lizzy Caplan) to wish him an on-camera farewell despite the fact that they barely know one another. Moments after Beth storms out following a bitter skirmish with Rob, the entire New York City skyline goes dark. Power is quickly restored, prompting partygoers to turn their attention toward the news, where they learn that a freight tanker has been overturned in New York Harbor. Racing to the rooftop in hopes of getting a better look at the situation, the group is terrified to witness a massive explosion that rains debris across midtown Manhattan, causing mass chaos and unparalleled destruction. But the worst is yet to come, because it soon becomes apparent that this is not the work of a terrorist or an act of war, but a massive creature beyond human comprehension. Now, as the military moves in and the streets of New York City become a virtual war zone, Rob, Lily, Marlena, and Hud race to rescue Beth and get out of the city before the powers that be unleash the ultimate weapon of mass destruction on one of the most populated cities on the planet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, (more)
- 2009
Paramount orders up another bit of monstrous mayhem with Cloverfield 2, the sequel to the hand-held trip through Manhattan during a giant creature attack. The follow-up comes complete with the original creative team intact, with Matt Reeves returning to direct along with screenwriter Drew Goddard and producer J.J. Abrams. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Beginning on September 29, 1998, as a "teen angst" romantic drama, the weekly, 60-minute WB series Felicity evolved into a "young adult angst" affair by the time the series ran its course on May 22, 2002. Each of the series' four seasons represented a different year in the college life of its heroine, dewey-eyed Felicity Porter (Keri Russell). Enrolling at the University of New York in Greenwich Village so that she could be near her high-school crush Ben Covington (Scott Speedman), Felicity soon discovered that Ben wasn't interested in her -- at least not at first -- but she decided to remain in school anyway. Just as Felicity fluctuated between a pre-med and an art major during her stay at U. of N.Y., so too did her romantic inclinations shift between Ben and her dorm advisor Noel Crane (Scott Foley), with both men falling in and out of love with Felicity at regular intervals, and she with them. During the series' first and last seasons, Felicity would report on her progress -- scholastic and otherwise -- in audiocassette letters sent to her old and never-seen friend Sally (whose voice was supplied by Janeane Garofolo).
Other series regulars included Felicity's rather odd roommate Meghan Rotundi (Amanda Foreman), who may or may not have been into witchcraft; her best friend Julie Emrick (Amy Jo Johnson), who after several failed romances, one with Ben, dropped out of school -- and the series -- at the beginning of season three; another friend and classmate Elena Tyler (Tangi Miller), a girl of humble means who was attending college on a scholarship, and whose boyfriend, Tracy (Donald Faison), refused to have sex with her until marriage (he eventually "gave in," but wedding bells never rang); Ben's naïvely optomistic roommate Sean Blumberg (Greg Grunberg), he of the thousand-and-one "get rich quick" schemes and ultimately Noel's partner in an independent web-design firm -- not to mention the husband of the spooky Meghan; Javier Quintata (Ian Gomez), Felicity's gay boss at Dean & DeLuca, a campus café; Zoe Webb (Sarah Jane Morris), whom Noel weds at the end of season four; Lauren (Lisa Edelstein), young mistress of Ben's father, who ultimately bears Ben a child. Outside of the series' outrageous "double surprise" finale, which is right up there on the jaw-dropping meter with the last episodes of St. Elsewhere and Newhart, Felicity is best remembered for the shock delivered to its fans at the beginning of season two, in which star Keri Russell showed up with a new, very short haircut forsaking the long tresses that had become her trademark. With one stroke of the shears, both the series and its star became the darlings of the tabloid crowd -- and, of course, Felicity enjoyed the best ratings it ever had throughout its four-year history. ~ All Movie Guide
Other series regulars included Felicity's rather odd roommate Meghan Rotundi (Amanda Foreman), who may or may not have been into witchcraft; her best friend Julie Emrick (Amy Jo Johnson), who after several failed romances, one with Ben, dropped out of school -- and the series -- at the beginning of season three; another friend and classmate Elena Tyler (Tangi Miller), a girl of humble means who was attending college on a scholarship, and whose boyfriend, Tracy (Donald Faison), refused to have sex with her until marriage (he eventually "gave in," but wedding bells never rang); Ben's naïvely optomistic roommate Sean Blumberg (Greg Grunberg), he of the thousand-and-one "get rich quick" schemes and ultimately Noel's partner in an independent web-design firm -- not to mention the husband of the spooky Meghan; Javier Quintata (Ian Gomez), Felicity's gay boss at Dean & DeLuca, a campus café; Zoe Webb (Sarah Jane Morris), whom Noel weds at the end of season four; Lauren (Lisa Edelstein), young mistress of Ben's father, who ultimately bears Ben a child. Outside of the series' outrageous "double surprise" finale, which is right up there on the jaw-dropping meter with the last episodes of St. Elsewhere and Newhart, Felicity is best remembered for the shock delivered to its fans at the beginning of season two, in which star Keri Russell showed up with a new, very short haircut forsaking the long tresses that had become her trademark. With one stroke of the shears, both the series and its star became the darlings of the tabloid crowd -- and, of course, Felicity enjoyed the best ratings it ever had throughout its four-year history. ~ All Movie Guide
