Paul Haggis Movies

Russell Crowe teams up with Academy Award-winning writer/director Paul Haggis (Crash) and co-star Elizabeth Banks for this Lionsgate thriller concerning a man willing to break his wife out of prison in order to get her out of a murder conviction. Liam Neeson heads up the supporting cast, which includes Brian Dennehy, Olivia Wilde, and RZA. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Based on the Oscar award winning film of the same name, Crash follows the lives of a seemingly unconnected group of people living in Los Angeles. At first, none of the very different lives led on screen seem to overlap, from hotshot record producer Ben Cendars (Dennis Hopper) to hair-trigger cop Kenny Battaglia (Ross McCall). But as the underlying tensions between class, race, gender, and politics find their way into everyday situations, it soon becomes apparent that all of these characters are inextricably linked, for better or for worse. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

The Dialogue: Paul Haggis features Hollywood insider Mike De Luca interviewing the screenwriter responsible for Million Dollar Baby and Crash. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Fraser (Paul Gross) is unexpectedly reunited with Victoria Metcalf (Melina Kanakaredes), the only woman he has ever truly loved--even though he'd been forced to arrest her the last time they met. Now, Victoria claims that she is being pursued by her former partner in crime Jolly (Denis Forrest), who thinks that the woman has absconded with $500,000 from a recent bank robbery. Protesting her innocence, Victoria turns to Fraser for protection--but could she have another, more sinister agenda in mind? First broadcast on Canadian television, this episode made its US debut on June 2, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fraser (Paul Gross) witnesses an apparent suicide attempt by a delusional man who is searching for someone who has been dead for five years. Further investigating the situation, Fraser comes to the conclusion that a local private mental institution is a hotbed of crime. Going undercover as a patient (he has no trouble being committed after mentioning the fact that he owns a deaf wolf named Diefenbaker), Fraser tries to find out the secret behind the institution's ominous "Blue Room"--and stumbles upon a sinister wholesale-murder scheme. Due South creator Paul Haggis shows up unbilled as one of Fraser's fellow inmates. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a computer glitch declares that Ray (David Marciano) is dead, he and Fraser (Paul Gross) head to their bank to correct the error and free up Ray's money. Once at the bank, the two lawmen recognize one of the cleaning crew as a crook of their acquaintance--and before long, our heroes are in the middle of a bank robbery. Locking themselves in the vault, Ray and Fraser set off the bank's sprinkler system in hopes of foiling the thieves, only to nearly drown themselves in the process. And as if this isn't bad enough, Ray's sister Francesca (Ramona Milano) manages to get herself snatched as a hostage. Camilla Scott makes her first series appearance as Constable Margaret Thatcher, Fraser's beautiful but contentious new boss. Originally broadcast on Canadian television, this episode made its US debut on December 8, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In search of the scoundrel who murdered his mountie father, sweet-tempered, straight-arrow RCMP constable Benton Fraser (Paul Gross) shows up in the nail-tough 27th Police Precinct of Chicago as the tongue-in-cheek cop series Due South launches its first season. Teaming with sardonic, streetwise Chicago police detective Ray Vecchio (David Marciano), Benton manages to track down his quarry, but in so doing behaves in such an unorthodox manner that his Canadian superiors deem it wise to keep Fraser permanently in the Windy City, assigning him to the local Canadian Consulate. Season one proves to be quite a period of adjustment for the naïve Constable Fraser and his hearing-impaired pet wolfhound Diefenbaker, as they not only acclimate themselves to Chicago customs and procedures, but also attempt to create a cozy home out of their rundown apartment in one of the town's grungiest neighborhoods. Much to the dismay of rule-bound 27th Precinct Captain Welsh (Beau Starr), Benton continues to assist the brash, flashily-attired Det. Vecchio in his investigations, nearly always getting results despite his bizarre (to say the least methods). Meanwhile, the handsome young mountie becomes the object of attraction to two local females: Elaine Besbriss (Catherine Bruhier), the Precinct's pretty civilian aide, and Ray's loudmouthed younger sister Francesca (Ramona Milano). As for Ray, he welcomes Benton's input if only because it enables him to one-up a team of rival detectives, Jack Huey (Tony Craig) and Louie Gardino (Daniel Kash), otherwise known as "The Duck Boys" (Huey and Louie, get it?) Another of Benton's new friends is police medical examiner Dr. Esther Pearson (Deborah Rennard).
A number of recurring characters are introduced this season, including the Fraser family's longtime friend Buck Frobisher (Leslie Nielsen), and endearing pathological liar Ian McDonald (Rino Romano) -- not to mention the ghost of Benton's father (played by Gordon Pinsent), who occasionally materializes in the closet of Benton's office at the Canadian Consulate to offer advice and consul. Although the proceedings are generally lighthearted, things take a somber turn in a two-part episode wherein Benton is reunited with his "lost love," career criminal Victor Metcalf (Melina Kanakaredes), who enmeshes the impressionable mountie in an unsavory crime caper that threatens to forever drive a wedge between Benton and Ray. Also making trouble for the partners is relentless States Attorney Louise St. Laurent (Lee Purcell), who has persuaded herself that Fraser and Vecchio are "dirty" cops. Though canceled by CBS at the end of its first season, Due South was renewed for a second year on Canadian television, courtesy of the CTV network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Leslie Nielsen guest stars as Sgt. Buck Frobisher, a legendary Canadian mountie who is idolized by our hero Benton Fraser (Paul Gross). Frobisher's daughter Julie (Cali Timmins) solicits Fraser's help when Buck disappears from view, one week shy of retirement. Resurfacing in Chicago, an uncharacteristically frightened-looking Frobisher reveals that he is being pursued by an old enemy, escaped criminal Harold Geiger (William Smith). It is up to Fraser to rescue Frobisher and to restore the old trooper's self-respect. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Just before Christmas, Fraser (Paul Gross) and Ray (David Marciano) are put in charge of young Del Porter (Ryan Philippe), who claims to have witness a bank heist. In truth, Del is trying to shield his father William (James Purcell), the wheelman for a gang of bank robbers disguised as sidewalk Santas. The two lawmen take it upon themselves to straighten out the situation and to persuade William from further disillusioning his loyal son. This Yuletide episode includes an altogether appropriate reference to O. Henry, author of "Gift of the Magi." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Karate-champion-turned-movie-star Chuck Norris was ideally cast as the title character in the contemporary Western series, Walker, Texas Ranger. Introduced as a two-hour TV movie on April 21, 1983, the weekly, hour-long CBS series starred Norris as Cordell Walker, who worked out of the Dallas office of the Texas Rangers with his youthful partner, Baltimore-born former football pro Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard Jr.). While Jimmy, like his superiors, preferred to rely upon modern crime fighting techniques -- computers, forensic science, strict adherence to civil liberties and due process -- the impassive, taciturn Walker was generally of the opinion that criminals were subhuman scum, worthy only of a slug in the face or a kick in the groin. Kicking, in fact, was a Walker specialty, notably whenever he came within close proximity of a locked door or bolted window. Though she didn't always approve of his methods, Walker's off-and-on girlfriend, assistant D.A. Alex Cahill (Sheree J. Wilson), admired his strong sense of justice and fair play, especially when protecting those weaker than himself. Too, Alex found Walker extremely handy whenever she got kidnapped, which seemed to happen at the rate of once every other week! Despite his loyalty to his friends, those close to Walker remained so at their own risk, inasmuch as the bad guys were not above hurting them to get to him. Others within Walker's orbit included his old pal C.D. Parker (Noble Willingham), a former Ranger who, after being invalidated out of the service, opened up a restaurant; Uncle Ray Firewalker (Floyd Red Crow Westerman), the sagacious old Native American who raised Walker from childhood and had taught him the value of restraint and contemplation -- unless of course, violence was absolutely called for; Carlos Sandoval (Marco Sanchez), an undercover detective who owed his life to Walker; and Walker's former martial arts student Trent Malloy (James Wlcek), who owned a karate school (and who, teamed with Carlos Sandoval, was briefly spun off into his own TV series, Sons of Thunder). During the series' final seasons, undercover Rangers Francis Gage (Judson Mills) and Sydney Cooke (Nia Peeples) linked up with Walker's team. In the course of events, Uncle Ray Firewalker passed away; C.D. Parker was killed by a band of elusive assassins who intended to work their way up to Walker in their efforts to knock off every Texas Ranger in Dallas; and in the series' seventh season, Walker and Alex became engaged, with wedding bells ringing at the end of season eight and the birth of a baby daughter in the final episode. After ending its CBS run on July 28, 2001, Walker, Texas Ranger launched what was apparently an endless rerun cycle in syndication and on cable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After bringing the story of the American soldiers who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima to the screen in his film Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood offers an equally thoughtful portrait of the Japanese forces who held the island for 36 days in this military drama. In 1945, World War II was in its last stages, and U.S. forces were planning to take on the Japanese on a small island known as Iwo Jima. While the island was mostly rock and volcanoes, it was of key strategic value and Japan's leaders saw the island as the final opportunity to prevent an Allied invasion. Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) was put in charge of the forces on Iwo Jima; Kuribayashi had spent time in the United States and was not eager to take on the American army, but he also understood his opponents in a way his superiors did not, and devised an unusual strategy of digging tunnels and deep foxholes that allowed his troops a tactical advantage over the invading soldiers. While Kuribayashi's strategy alienated some older officers, it impressed Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), the son of a wealthy family who had also studied America firsthand as an athlete at the 1932 Olympics. As Kuribayashi and his men dig in for a battle they are not certain they can win -- and most have been told they will not survive -- their story is told both by watching their actions and through the letters they write home to their loved ones, letters that in many cases would not be delivered until long after they were dead. Among the soldiers manning Japan's last line of defense are Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), a baker sent to Iwo Jima only days before his wife was to give birth; Shimizu (Ryo Kase), who was sent to Iwo Jima after washing out in the military police; and Lieutenant Ito (Shidou Nakamura), who has embraced the notion of "Death Before Surrender" with particular ferocity. Filmed in Japanese with a primarily Japanese cast, Letters From Iwo Jima was shot in tandem with Flags of Our Fathers, and the two films were released within two months of one another. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A successful 30-year-old (Zach Braff) with a the perfect girlfriend (Jacinda Barrett) and a lucrative outlook on life struggles with the increasing pressures of adulthood as he weighs the merits of settling down with the woman who loves him against risking it all to be with a comely co-ed (Rachel Bilson) in director Tony Goldwyn's remake of Gabriele Muccino's 2001 comedy drama. Crash and Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis adapts a script originally penned by Italian filmmaker Muccino, and Casey Affleck, Blythe Danner, Eric Christian Olsen, and Tom Wilkinson co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The fourth installment of the Terminator series follows an adult John Connor (played by Christian Bale) as he attempts to organize a human resistance force which could prove to be mankind's last true hope in the war against the machines. Opening in the year 2018, Terminator Salvation finds John Connor's certainty about the future shaken by the sudden appearance of a mysterious stranger named Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), whose last memory is of sitting on death row and awaiting execution. Unable to determine whether Marcus was sent from the future or rescued from the past, Connor begins to wonder whether there is still any hope left for the human race as the robots grow more powerful and aggressive than ever before. It appears that Skynet is preparing a devastating final attack designed to eliminate the human resistance once and for all, leaving Connor and Marcus with no choice but to strike back at the cybernetic heart of Skynet's operations. Once there, the two battle-scarred soldiers discover a devastating secret regarding the potential annihilation of all humankind. Anton Yelchin fills Michael Biehn's shoes as a young Kyle Reese in the first installment of a planned Terminator trilogy from director McG (Charlie's Angels). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide