Ira Heiden Movies

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

Sydney (Jennifer Garner) believes that computer wonk-turned-spy Marshall Flinkman (Kevin Weisman) is safely ensconced in CIA headquarters. In truth, however, Marshall has been captured and is being tortured by a bespectacled interrogator (Ric Young) who is determined to retrieve the Echelon Satellite code that Marshall has committed to memory. Once she realizes how much danger her co-worker is in, Sydney teams with Dixon (Carl Lumbly) for a daring escape plan. And back at SD-6's Credit Dauphine headquarters, Alliance counterintelligence head Ariana Kane (Faye Dunaway) revokes Jack's (Victor Garber) security clearance, part of an effort to link Jack with a murder and an extortion plot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pleading guilty to her crimes, Syd's mother, Irina (Lena Olin), is sentenced to death. Though there is little love lost between mother and daughter, Syd (Jennifer Garner) nonetheless tries to prevent her mother's execution by writing a letter to CIA director Devlin (James Handy), revealing her father Jack's (Victor Garber) involvement in Project Christmas, an insidious method of indoctrinating future secret agents at an early age -- and one for which Jack used the young Syd as a guinea pig. Meanwhile, Sloane (Ron Rifkin) comes closer to a reunion with his "dead" wife, Emily; and Vaughn (Michael Vartan) is shocked upon discerning the contents of Khasinau's so-called Red Ball. This episode was originally scheduled to air on November 3, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For every success story in Hollywood, there are dozens, maybe hundreds of people who exist on the fringes in a kind of limbo. They have given up on participating in life outside "the business," but don't really have enough much going on to warrant that. In this movie, a group of four such men get together at a low-key club in the Los Angeles area to hash over their experiences. The current situation of each man is reported to the audience by a waitress at the club, who has a sharp eye for these matters, even if she is one of the men's girlfriend. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Steve Martin stars in this remake of the 1950 Vincente Minnelli classic as shoe executive George Banks, whose happily married existence hits a bump when he greets his daughter Annie (Kimberly Williams), home from a semester studying in Europe. She tells her father that she is engaged to be married. When the shocked George asks to whom, she says his name is Bryan (George Newbern) and that he is an "independent communications consultant." George is even more shocked when he finds out what the wedding will cost (when George goes through the card file for invited wedding guests and is told someone is deceased, George chirps, "He died? That's great!"). As George is ignored during the mad preparations for the wedding, he wistfully looks back to all the good times he has had with Annie and sadly looks forward to the time when he loses his little girl. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Rob Lowe stars in this screwball comedy as Richard Dice, the college dropout who comes back home to St. Augustine, Florida to get his act together. He is selected for jury duty and falls for the defendant Molly Gilbert (Colleen Camp), a young woman he later recognizes as his grade-school sweetheart. Richard tries to gather the evidence that will lead to her acquittal. He is not alone in his pursuit of an elusive audiotape that recorded the murder for which Molly is on trial. Jessica James plays Richard's mother, who is courted by Freddie Boneflecker (Rick Jason). Johnny Cash sings some tunes co-written with director Peter Bogdanovich. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The best of the Elm Street sequels, this creepy, surreal fantasy features terrific effects, a fine young cast, and an air of grim fatalism that sets it apart from its giggly successors. Patricia Arquette stars as Kristen, whose nightmare leads to a slashed wrist which looks suspiciously like a suicide attempt. She is placed in a hospital psychiatric ward with a group of six other troubled teens who all dream about the same horribly burned man (Robert Englund) trying to kill them. Perhaps the most unusual thing about this picture, however, is the unexpected depth of sadness running through it. There are some achingly sweet moments in this otherwise frightening film which, though not disruptive, are impossible to analyze. The first and most bizarre of these is Heather Langenkamp's entrance, which inexplicably causes most viewers to get misty-eyed, and there are several similar scenes throughout the film. One answer can be found in the sensitive direction of Chuck Russell, who emphasizes the tragedy and utter hopelessness in these kids' lives and manages to wring some unexpectedly perceptive turns from his cast. This is a film in which a great deal of care was obviously lavished on individual scenes (the sets are outstanding) and performances. The results are well worth repeated viewings, and prove that sequels don't necessarily have to be inferior films. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

The acronymic B.R.A.T. Patrol originally aired as a 2-hour entry on The Disney Sunday Movie. The appropriately named title characters are the children of a group of Marine non-coms. Running roughshod around a UMC base, the "patrol's" reputation is so bad that no one believes the kids' story about overhearing a plot to steal valuable government equipment. In true Disney fashion, the kids take on the baddies themselves. Sean Astin is cast as the head BRAT, while Brian Keith (the ostensible "star," though he's billed fifth) does his usually over-loud overacting as the General. The B.R.A.T. Patrol first assembled for inspection on October 26, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide