Zach Grenier Movies
An actor whom you've probably seen in more films than you realize, Zach Grenier possesses the rare ability to take the smallest of roles and transform them into memorable appearances that stick with audiences long after the credits have finished -- even if his frequently unsympathetic characters have often met an unpleasant demise. It was this ability and skill that found Grenier steadily building a career with appearances in such blockbusters as Cliffhanger (1993), Donnie Brasco (1997), Shaft (2000), and Swordfish (2001). Born in February 1954, Grenier's family lived a somewhat nomadic existence in his early years, moving 18 times before the worldly teen graduated from high school, where, in his junior year, the young man discovered his love of the stage while performing in a production of Shakespeare's Henry V. Continuing to hone his acting skills and frequently appearing on-stage following graduation, Grenier appeared in such other plays as Talk Radio and A Question of Mercy, and made his film debut in the 1987 drama The Kid Brother (aka Kenny). Soon appearing in such films as Working Girl and Talk Radio in 1988, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil the following year. The actor's parts may have been small, but his talent was growing and appearances memorable; his roles continued to expand throughout the '90s, and viewers saw the rising star in Twister and Maximum Risk (both 1996), among several other movies. A turn as Joseph Goebbels in that year's Mother Night gave him a chance to prove his dramatic skills in front of the camera, and a subsequent role in David Fincher's cult hit Fight Club (1999) found him holding his own well against the film's talented leads. Alternating between television and movies in subsequent work, Grenier starred in the little-seen thriller Chasing Sleep (2000) and joined the cast of the popular weekly suspense series 24 in 2001. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide- 2004
Al (Ian McShane), cleaning a bloodstain off the floor of the Gem, offers some advice. "You might, Dan (W. Earl Brown), want to learn how to indicate interest in a girl without murdering another person." E.B. (William Sanderson) has murder on his mind, suggesting to Al that offing Seth (Timothy Olyphant) and Alma (Molly Parker) in their sleep might be the best way to gain control of Alma's gold claim. But then smallpox vaccine arrives in the camp, along with news of a probable treaty with the Sioux, and Al, sensing a change of times, preaches patience. "We are about to be swimming in money," he tells E.B. Alma, having taken Trixie's (Paula Malcolmson) words to heart, is ready to accept E.B.'s bid and return with the girl (Breeseanna Wall) to New York, but Seth insists on assaying her claim first. Ellsworth (Jim Beaver) is just the man to do it, but at the claim, he lets Seth get far enough ahead of him that he can say to Dan, "If I'm to get my throat cut...I'd rather not exert myself further." With Dan's reassurance, Ellsworth points out a rich vein of gold to Seth. Trixie, meanwhile, has apparently decided that her prospects for continued survival in Deadwood are poor. On returning to camp, Seth meets with Al, who tells him, "If a treaty is signed, it'd be wise for you and me to paddle in the same direction." Seth wants Al to guarantee Alma's safety, and he does. Flora (Kristen Bell), knowing that Cy (Powers Boothe) suspects her, convinces Miles (Greg Cipes) that it's time for them to make their move. Joanie (Kim Dickens) tries to protect her, but as Cy puts it to one dismayed onlooker, "You could help your delicate sensibilities by turning the f*ck away." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2004
Jewel (Geri Jewell) goes to see the Doc (Brad Dourif) to try to convince him to make some kind of brace for her. "Draggin' my leg really makes Al crazy," she explains. At first, Doc is reluctant to risk causing further harm to Jewel, but eventually he reconsiders. Al (Ian McShane) arranges for Silas (Titus Welliver) to head back to Yankton with a powerful message for the magistrate who's trying to shake him down. A.W. (Jeffrey Jones is excited by the arrival of a new camera. Sol (John Hawkes) and Trixie (Paula Malcomson) have a tryst in the hardware store, but a witness later brings unexpected trouble for them. Charlie (Dayton Callie) visits the No. 10 in his capacity as fire inspector, much to the chagrin of owner Tom Nuttall (Leon Rippy), a pioneer who now feels that the camp is getting away from him. Perhaps that's why he goes along when Con Stapleton (Peter Jason) asks him for a recommendation to Al for the vacant position of Deadwood's sheriff. Seth (Timothy Olyphant) isn't particularly pleased with the appointment, and mentions his displeasure to Al, who seems to think that Seth would make an excellent replacement. Cy (Powers Boothe) assigns Leon (Larry Cedar) to stir up animosity against the Chinese. Alma (Molly Parker) appoints Ellsworth (Jim Beaver) to oversee her expanding mining operation. Her father, Otis Russell (William Russ), arrives in town, and does not seem to have the best intentions toward his daughter and her gold claim. This episode was scripted by Ricky Jay, who plays Eddie Sawyer. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Playwright Neil Simon got his first big break in the early '50s as a staff writer on Sid Caesar's fabled television series Your Show of Shows, and this comedy (adapted by Simon from his play) takes a fictionalized look at the backstage chaos that went into producing one of the landmarks of television's golden age. Max Prince (Nathan Lane) is the star of The Max Prince Show, a popular comedy-variety series with ratings that have begun to slip; Prince's show is still a major hit on the East Coast, but network executive Cal Weebs (Colin Fox) insists that it's too sophisticated for the Midwest, and urges Prince to dumb down his act. Prince has also become the whipping boy of newspaper columnist Walter Winchell (Frank Proctor), and between the tensions of producing a hour of top-quality comedy each week and being pestered about his ratings, Prince is beginning to unravel. His relationship with his wife Faye (Sherry Miller) and their children is falling apart, and stress is eating him alive. Prince's brother Harry (Richard Portnow) is Max's assistant, and his last line of defense against both the network and his writing staff, which spend its days coming up with business for the show while hurling humorous invective at each other and anyone else within earshot. (The actors playing Max's writers include Mark Linn-Baker, Victor Garber, Dan Castellaneta, Saul Rubinek, Peri Gilpin, and Zach Grenier.) Laughter on the 23rd Floor received its world premiere at the 2001 Palm Springs Film Festival and was scheduled for showings several months later on the Showtime premium cable network (who co-produced the feature). The film was directed by Richard Benjamin, who previously teamed with Mark Linn-Baker for another comedy inspired by the career of Sid Caesar, My Favorite Year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nathan Lane, Mark Linn-Baker, (more)
- 2001
Amanda Burton starred in this intense two-part British miniseries as Laura Tracey, a minor employee of a major international banking firm. While going through a routine record search, Laura found a number of irregularities in the bank's overseas accounts. Further investigation revealed that certain of the bank's CEOs were using company funds to finance a large drug cartel. Upon reporting her findings to the authorities, Laura realized that the lives of herself and her family were in danger, thus she agreed to enter a witness protection program. This middle-aged "change of life" forced Laura and her husband Dominic (Neil Pearson), previously a college professor, to assume jobs that both have been avoiding all their lives: Now she was nothing more than a housewife, while he was reduced to teaching grade-school children. Worse still, a Mexican hit man, hired to shut Laura up before she could go to trial, was coming ever closer to locating and eliminating the fugitive family. Capped by a truly startling denouement, The Whistle-Blower was first telecast in the U.K. on April 14 and 15, 2001, and has since been seen as a single, 170-minute "movie" over the BBC America cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amanda Burton, Neil Pearson, (more)
- 2001
The strangled body of a woman is found in the Bronx. The victim had an abundant supply of Ecstasy in her handbag, a clue which leads the detectives to a drug dealer named Paz (Peter Greene). As the investigation proceeds, a past murder case is reopened -- whereupon the D.A.'s office comes to the disturbing conclusion that an innocent man may have been convicted. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Reporter Nicole Graf (Elizabeth Berkley), who helped the squad in the Mangrini murder case, makes no secret of her lust for Det. Baldwin Jones (Henry Simmons), but he chastely prefers the traditional courtship approach. Back on the job, retired English detective Jimmy Cheatham (John Standing) offers his assistance when the squad investigates a rape-murder. Cheatham is of the opinion that the killer is the same person who committed a string of crimes in London, and he insists upon being on hand when the squad converges on the suspect's hiding place -- a mortuary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Ed Saxon (Jeff Daniels) is an English professor of some repute whose life is thrown into serious chaos when his wife, Eve, fails to return home one day. After a sleepless night, Ed phones the police, who find no trace of Eve, save her abandoned car. Later Ed, by now exhausted and disheveled, is visited by a young student (Emily Bergl) who is concerned about his absence from class and has stopped by to drop off some food for him. The student has an obvious attraction towards Ed, and he lets her in the house, where she has an accident that results in a nosebleed and a blood-soaked sweater that she leaves behind. Inevitably, detectives come calling on Ed, who is close to a fatigue-fueled nervous breakdown and nearly loses it completely. His fragile state is further exacerbated when he discovers a mysterious object under a chest of drawers, causing him to veer more precipitously towards an all-encompassing emotional collapse. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Daniels, Emily Bergl, (more)
- 1996
In an echo of a racist incident in Connecticut in 1995, an anti-Semitic "code message" in a high school yearbook may be the key to the murder of an art teacher. Comparatively speaking, tracking down the likely killers is the easy part. The problems for the D.A.'s office begin when McCoy (Sam Waterston) goes head to head with bigoted attorney Roy Paine (Chris Cooper), infamous in legal circles as "the Klan Lawyer." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
This independent film is about four homeless people in Brooklyn, and how they manage to get by from day to day. At the beginning, it depicts the lives of Sammy, his heroin-addicted girlfriend and his crack-addict brother. Sammy's brother and girlfriend raise money by selling their bodies for sex. Sammy seems to get by through foraging and fishing. They live together in an unused, semi-abandoned warehouse through an arrangement made with its caretaker/watchman. Their lives gain dramatic poignancy when they are joined by a young runaway boy named Shiner. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1995
A woman under the care of fertility doctor Jordan Delbert (David Margulies) dies under suspicious circumstances. An investigation reveals that Delbert has illegally donated his own sperm to expedite at least 31 pregnancies. In trying to prosecute Delbert, the D.A.'s office is stymied by the laws of confidentiality -- not to mention the fiercely self-protective "don't ask, don't tell" stance taken by the doctor's past patients. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Dan Hedaya guest stars as a self-proclaimed werewolf who demands to be locked up at the 15th Precinct, claiming "intimate" knowledge of a recent murder. Meanwhile, a desperate Polish couple searches for their son, a homeless man is hauled in on a murder charge, and Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) discovers that the much-older fiancée of his teenaged son (Michael DeLuise) is chronically unfaithful. But all of this pales in comparison to the ordeal of Laura (Sherry Stringfield), who is an eyewitness to mob boss Giardella's assassination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
An old "urban legend" is woven into this complicated tale of illegal medical procedures. The DA's office brings charges against a prominent surgeon (Paul Roebling) and the millionaire father (Fritz Weaver) of a kidney-transplant patient. It appears that the much-needed kidney was "harvested" against the will of the donor. "Sonata for a Solo Organ" represents a reunion of sorts for series regular Michael Moriarty and guest star Fritz Weaver, who previously appeared in the landmark miniseries Holocaust. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Kenny is a Canadian kid who has a couple of pals and, like a lot of the other lads, idolizes the jock his pretty older sister has chosen as her boyfriend. However, Kenny was born without legs or even the lower part of his body. He gets around (quite well, in fact) on his arms. He has been given a prosthesis that makes him look "normal," but he protests, rightly, that it was made so as to keep other people from getting upset at the sight of him -- it only slows him down. When his sister runs away during the filming of a documentary about how his family has coped with his handicap, he embarks on a solo journey to Philadelphia to find her. There, she pours out her heart, complaining that everything she values in her life has been turned inside out so as to serve and support her legless brother. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Caitlin Clarke, Liane Alexandra Curtis, (more)
The true story behind the murders that many crime scholars believe to be the most perplexing series of unsolved crimes in modern history comes to the screen in chilling detail as Fight Club and Seven director David Fincher steps behind the camera to tell the mysterious tale of the infamous Zodiac killer. A relentless serial killer is stalking the streets of the San Francisco Bay Area, leaving citizens locked into a constant state of panic, and baffled authorities scrambling for clues. Though the killer sadistically mocks the detectives by leaving a series of perplexing ciphers and menacing letters at the crime scenes, the investigation quickly flatlines when none of the evidence yields any solid leads. As two detectives remain steadfast in their devotion to bringing the elusive killer to justice, they soon find that the madman has control not only over their careers, but their very lives as well. Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, (more)
Director Dominic Sena follows up his stylish action film Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) with this high-tech thriller. John Travolta stars as Gabriel Shear, a charismatic spy who plots to steal a multi-billion-dollar fortune in illegal government funds. In order to make his scheme work, however, Gabriel needs some help from a computer hacker, which is where Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) comes in. Stanley has been paroled from prison after serving a lengthy sentence for penetrating the FBI's cyber-surveillance operations. Issued a restraining order that keeps him away from computers and living penniless in a trailer park, Stanley wants only to be reunited with his daughter Holly, who's in the custody of his ex-wife, now remarried to a pornographer. Gabriel and his partner Ginger (Halle Berry) offer Stanley the chance to get his child back in exchange for his help, but the hacker soon realizes he's a pawn in a larger operation than the high-tech bank heist he thought he was perpetrating. In the meantime, a dedicated federal agent (Don Cheadle), the same man who once arrested Stanley, is trying to expose Gabriel's operation. Swordfish also stars Sam Shepard and Zach Grenier. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, (more)
A complex tale of uneasy alliances along the Kansas/Missouri border during the Civil War, Ride with the Devil concerns Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich), a proud son of the South ready to fight for the Confederate cause after his father is killed by Union troops. Chiles's best friend, Jake Roedel (Tobey Maguire), joins the Bushwhackers, a group of renegade Southerners aligned with the Confederate Army, even though his family supports the Union cause. The two young men, used to the slow pace and gracious lifestyle of the South's privileged class, are soon confronted with the chaos of battle. Their comrades include valiant leader Black John (James Caviezel), paranoid madman Pitt (Jonathan Rhys Myers), Southern gentleman George (Simon Baker), and Daniel (Jeffrey Wright), a slave from George's plantation. The Bushwhackers hide out in a barn near the home of Sue Lee (singer/songwriter/poet Jewel, in her film debut), a pregnant widow whose husband died in battle three weeks after their marriage. Roedel and Sue Lee begin a chaste romance, but it remains to be seen if the war will permit them to stay together. Adapted from the novel Woe to Live On by Daniel Woodrell, Ride with the Devil was directed by Ang Lee, whose previous project was a very different look at America's past, the 1970s domestic drama The Ice Storm (1997). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Skeet Ulrich, Tobey Maguire, (more)
In this darkly comic drama, Edward Norton stars as a depressed young man (named in the credits only as "Narrator") who has become a small cog in the world of big business. He doesn't like his work and gets no sense of reward from it, attempting instead to drown his sorrows by putting together the "perfect" apartment. He can't sleep and feels alienated from the world at large; he's become so desperate to relate to others that he's taken to visiting support groups for patients with terminal diseases so that he'll have people to talk to. One day on a business flight, he discovers Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a charming iconoclast who sells soap. Tyler doesn't put much stock in the materialistic world, and he believes that one can learn a great deal through pain, misfortune, and chaos. Tyler cheerfully challenges his new friend to a fight. Our Narrator finds that bare-knuckle brawling makes him feel more alive than he has in years, and soon the two become friends and roommates, meeting informally to fight once a week. As more men join in, the "fight club" becomes an underground sensation, even though it's a closely guarded secret among the participants. (First rule: Don't talk about fight club. Second rule: Don't talk about fight club.) But as our Narrator and Tyler bond through violence, a strange situation becomes more complicated when Tyler becomes involved with Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), whom our Narrator became infatuated with when they were both crashing the support-group circuit. Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club was directed by David Fincher, who previously directed Pitt in the thriller Seven. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, (more)
This drama about an undercover cop who learns the hidden dangers of working his way inside the mob was based on a true story. Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI agent who is given an assignment to infiltrate the Mafia; calling himself Donnie Brasco, he befriends Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), a low-level mob hit man whose personal life is in tatters. Lefty's marriage is falling apart, his son is a junkie, and his health is failing, which only adds to his growing disillusionment about having spent 30 years with the Mafia (and killing 26 people) with little to show for it. But in Donnie, Lefty sees someone who can succeed where he failed; he takes the young man under his wing, and under Lefty's tutelage Donnie quickly rises through the ranks of organized crime; however, the longer he plays the role of the gangster, the more Joe Pistone finds himself becoming Donnie Brasco in his increasingly rare off hours; it drives a wedge between himself and his wife (Anne Heche) and children, and Joe realizes that a break in character among the hoodlums he's come to know could mean a death sentence for himself and his family. Just as importantly, Joe has come to regard Lefty as a close and trusted friend, and Joe realizes that when the day comes where he has to turn in his Mob associates, he'll be ending Lefty's life as surely as if he put a slug in his head himself. The supporting cast includes Michael Madsen as Sonny, Lefty's boss, and Bruno Kirby as Nicky, one of Sonny's henchmen. The real-life Joe Pistone today lives under an assumed name with a 500,000-dollar contract on his life still in effect. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, (more)
Alain Moreau (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a French cop whose colleagues make a startling discovery -- a man named Mikhail, who was killed in a high-speed chase with police, looks exactly like him. Curious about the stranger with his face, Alain is told by his mother Chantal (Stephane Audran) that Mikhail was in fact his twin brother, whom her poor family was forced to give up at birth. Alain wants to know more about the brother he never knew, but the more he learns the more troubling the news becomes; it seems that Mikhail was involved with gangsters, corrupt FBI agents, and a gang of drug dealers. In order to avenge his brother's death and get to the bottom of his sad story, Alain assumes Mikhail's identity and travels to New York City, where to maintain his cover he takes up with Alex Minetti (Natasha Henstridge), Mikhail's tough-as-nails girlfriend, before finding himself hip-deep in danger with Mikhail's associates. Maximum Risk was the first American film from noted Hong Kong action director Ringo Lam, whose City on Fire has often been cited as a key inspiration for Reservoir Dogs. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Natasha Henstridge, (more)
- 1995
- R
This urban drama examines the diverse lives of the patrons of a fictional bar for the rich and famous, El Casbah. Among them are the playboy heir to a margarine fortune, Mickey Jelke, and Jack Cale, a handsome actor who has become a new client and works hard to ingratiate himself to others. Using the influence of a press agent and a pimp, Jack becomes friends with Mickey and his lover Pat Ward, a tough, worldly young woman. When Mickey is cut out of the family will, he suggests that Pat become a call girl so they can continue living in luxury. Suddenly Jack reveals his true identity; he has been working undercover for the politically ambitious New York City district attorney. The district attorney uses Jack's information to frame Mickey which gets him billed as the Big Apple's king of vice, and no one is very happy by the time the trial comes around. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Whaley, Peter Gallagher, (more)
In Cliffhanger, Sylvester Stallone plays Gabe Walker, a member of a mountain-climbing rescue team. Gabe is haunted by an incident from his past when he couldn't save the girlfriend of his best friend, Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker), from falling to her death. As the story begins, Gabe has left mountain-climbing rescue work and has set up business in Denver. He returns to the mountain rescue office to persuade his lover, Jessie (Janine Turner), to quit and come back to Denver with him. While he is begging Jessie to head out to Denver, things are happening in the skies overhead. A gang of professional crooks headed by psychotic Eric Qualen (John Lithgow) has hijacked a U.S. Treasury plane carrying millions of dollars. But the plane crashes, and the bad guys find themselves stranded on top of a mountain with the money (put into three cases) scattered around the wreckage and with no way to get down off the pinnacle to retrieve the cases. They put in a phony distress call that is received by the mountain rescue team. Gabe agrees to take part in one last rescue attempt, and they head up to help rescue the thieves. But Qualen has plans for the rescuers -- to force them to climb through the dangerous snow-covered peaks to find the three suitcases of cash. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, (more)
Liebestraum is a moody, stylish suspense thriller written and directed by British director Mike Figgis. Nick (Kevin Anderson) is an architectural writer who goes home to be with his dying mother, Mrs. Anderssen (Kim Novak) from whom he was separated as a baby. There he meets an old friend and has an affair with the friend's wife, who was herself adopted after her mother went insane. Through a series of coincidences and a good deal of investigation Nick learns some terrible truths concerning everyone. The film, while beautiful to look at, and with a wonderful score composed by Figgis, is more interested in style and emotion rather than cogent explanations for the actions of the characters, however, taken for what it is, a mood piece, Liebestraum succeeds beautifully. Figgis has beautiful technique and is greatly aided by Juan Ruiz-Anchia's stark and evocative images. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Anderson, Pam Gidley, (more)
Shock to the System is a black comedy about a middle-aged advertising executive (Michael Caine) who loses his long-awaited promotion to a younger man (Peter Reigret). In frustration, Caine accidentally pushes a panhandler in front of a subway train--and he gets away with the death. Realizing that committing murder might be a little easier than he previously had thought, he begins plotting the murder of several of his corporate enemies. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Elizabeth McGovern, (more)
