Michael Hagerty Movies

Nate (Peter Krause) continues his descent into quiet desperation as Fisher & Diaz prepares to bury the recently unearthed remains of a young husband and father who disappeared without a trace decades earlier. Adding to Nate's just-married angst, Lisa (Lili Taylor) spends her time micromanaging his finances instead of finding a new job of her own. She also goes ballistic when Brenda (Rachel Griffiths) turns up to make amends with Nate as part of a 12-step recovery program for sex addicts. Nate and Brenda share a few drinks, but he keeps his guard up and expresses none of his doubts about his sudden matrimony. David (Michael C. Hall), too, is haunted by an old lover: Terry (Matt Winston), a fellow singer in the gay men's chorus, who reminds David of their brief and frenzied encounter years ago in a department-store men's room. Ashamed of his own past repression, David is relieved to realize he's finally at peace with his sexual identity. Speaking of which, Claire (Lauren Ambrose) finds her feelings in disarray when Russell (Ben Foster), her supposedly gay best friend, declares that he's actually straight and wants to date her. She considers it -- until Olivier (Peter MacDissi), her manipulative art professor, advises her to shun emotional intimacy if she wants to become a great artist. Blowing Russell off, Claire focuses on her new job as Olivier's assistant. Federico (Freddy Rodriguez), too, hires a new sidekick: Arthur (Rainn Wilson), a mortuary school student who agrees to work for nothing but room and board at the Fisher house. As for Keith (Mathew St. Patrick), he's still stuck in the same terrible job as a rent-a-cop. A disturbing altercation with a fellow security guard, however, convinces him it's time to look for other employment. Originally broadcast March 30, 2003, on HBO, "The Trap" marked season three, episode five of the made-for-cable drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

In this independent romantic comedy, Tyler (Casey Peterson) is a thirty-something musician living in San Francisco's North Beach, while his girlfriend Paige (Jennifer Milmore) lives only a few blocks away. While Tyler loves Paige, he's more easily tempted than he ought to be, and when he meets a 19-year-old exotic dancer from New Orleans after a gig one night, his self-control fails him and he ends up sleeping with her. The next morning, Tyler discovers, to his horror, that everyone in the neighborhood seems to know about his indiscretion, and he desperately tries to get to Paige before she hears the news. After he learns that he's too late -- and Paige has made plans with someone else for the evening -- Tyler hatches a plan to creatively ruin her date in hopes that she might give him another chance. North Beach was the first feature film for the directing team of Jed Mortenson and Richard Speight Jr.; leading man Casey Peterson also wrote the film's screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The rats have taken over the lab in this tale of rodent terror that's sure to give even the most stringent animal lover nightmares. The Brookside Institute has long been known as the place the wealthy go to dry out and get it together, but deep within the walls of the pricey rehab center lurks a dark secret. Years ago, the scientists who worked in the institution conducted a series of gruesome experiments on countless lab rats, and though the scientists are long gone, the genetically mutated rats have multiplied, turning the pricey institute into their own personal breeding ground. With the patients in lockdown and the rats gaining an insatiable appetite for human flesh, it appears as if rehabilitation is about to take a back seat to survival for the patients of Brookside. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Leed VanderWal (played by Hopwood DePree) is a young man poised to assume a key role in his family's dynasty -- he's supposed to inherit Windmill Island, a slowly-decaying tourist trap in Holland, Michigan where visitors can witness an "authentic" recreation of a 17th century Dutch village. Windmill Island's attractions include a squad of clog dancers in traditional costumes, a cheese shop complete with an artificial cow kids can "milk" and a gift shop with hand-dipped candles and traditional footwear. Leed has already put in a few years at Windmill Village and is wondering if he wants to devote the rest of his life to propping up a decaying dream or if he should move to Detroit to make a new start. Leed also finds himself falling for Chrissy (Christine Elise), a girl from the city spending some time at the family's summer cottage, which aggravates his buddy Christopher (Richard Speight Jr.) and sparks jealousy in Winnie (Victoria Haas), a plain girl from Wisconsin with a crush on Leed and dreams of rising from the cheese shop into the stellar ranks of the clog dancers. Shot for a mere $60,000 by actor, writer and first-time director Hopwood DePree, The Last Big Attraction was a multiple prize winner at the 1999 Newport Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Absolutely nobody is who he or she seems in this stylish thriller about a guy who wants to get out of his fly-speck hometown, the girlfriend who wants to help him, and the successful friend who just might make it possible. When Bryce (Josh Brolin) returns to his tiny hometown of Tropico, NV, he finds pal Nick (Alessandro Nivola) still living there unhappily. One night the pair meets a beautiful blonde at the bar and eventually Bryce takes her back to the house where he's staying. When the girl, Lissa (Reese Witherspoon), reveals that she's under age and threatens to turn Bryce in for statutory rape, he panics, ties her up in the basement, and puts in an anguished call to Nick. Little does Bryce realize, however, that Lissa is actually Nick's very grown-up girlfriend, and that the two lovers have decided Bryce and the ritzy house where he's staying will play a major role in their bid to leave behind dead-end Tropico forever. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

In the series pilot, Ally (Calista Flockhart) goes to work for a former classmate (Greg Germann). ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide

Monica (Courteney Cox) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) are in danger of losing their illegal sublet, thanks to "good samaritan" Joey (Matt LeBlanc). Somehow the girls' salvation rests with Joey's dancing skills. In other news, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) has a more than professional interest in her new massage client Rick (Jason Brooks), and Chandler (Matthew Perry) can't wriggle out of his current arrangement with a workout center. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season One of The Drew Carey show concludes with the launching of a brand-new plot tangent that will permeate most subsequent seasons. Upon discovering that Winfred-Louder has been purchased by a Dutch business group, Drew and his fellow workers worry that they'll all soon be unemployed. Hoping to create a market for their talents, the gang pools their savings and opens up their own microbrewery. Believe it or not, it is Lewis (Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader), far from the brightest bulbs in the batch, who come up with the idea of a coffee-flavored beverage called "Buzz Beer." As it turns out, everyone's job at Winfred-Louder is safe--well, almost everyone's. This episode marks the only on-screen appearance of Drew's billious boss Mr. Bell (Kevin Pollack). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stars of country music fill out the cast of this made-for-TV western. Kenny Rogers plays a bounty hunter who sets off with his newlywed partner (Travis Tritt) to track down the kidnappers who ran off with Tritt's wife (Laura Harring). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

A rising young executive is ecstatic to learn that he is to be acting president at the small-town bank his company just purchased until he gets there and realizes that it is a sperm bank. This base little comedy centers on his attempts to make the place profitable and also chronicles the growing love between himself and the uptight but pretty biologist who works there. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

An honest man struggles to do the right thing, even if it means breaking the law, in this drama. Artie Lewis (Michael Keaton) is a scrupulously ethical cop who believes in his work, loves his wife Rita (Rene Russo), and stands by his partner Stevie Diroma (Anthony LaPaglia). Stevie is a single parent, and when he's shot and killed on duty, his three daughters (Grace Johnston, Rhea Silver-Smith, and Blair Swanson) are left with nowhere to go. Artie and Rita want to adopt Stevie's girls, but Child Welfare Services decides that their apartment is too small for three children. Artie needs to buy a house, which would require a $25,000 down payment that he doesn't have. Desperate, Artie grabs his gun and robs Beniamino (Tony Plana), a particularly scummy drug dealer who was peripherally involved in Stevie's death. Artie uses most of the take to buy the house, and he gives the rest to Father Wills (Vondie Curtis-Hall), who runs a local orphanage. However, what Artie doesn't know is that Beniamino's girlfriend Grace (Rachel Ticotin) is actually an undercover cop who won't stand by as Artie plays Robin Hood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Star Trek: The Next Generation inaugurated its fifth season with the conclusion of the fourth-season cliffhanger. The situation remains the same as in part one, with the Klingon Empire on the brink of a civil war. The source of the unrest is the Duras family, who Captain Picard suspects is in cahoots with the dreaded Romulans. Risking an apocalyptic war and sorely testing his friendship with his former Klingon officer Worf, Picard orders a Federation blockade on the Klingon/Romulan border. The former Next Generation regular who appeared in part one is again on hand, this time with full screen credit. Written by Ronald D. Moore, part two of "Redemption" first aired September 28, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide