Laurence Mason Movies
Music video director Brad Furman teams with Josh and Jonas Pate, the creators of the NBC series Surface, for this independent drama tracing an armored truck driver's efforts to track down the thief who shot him during a heist, changing his life forever. John Leguizamo stars as the driver who must endure months of rehabilitation before setting out to track down the gunman, and Tyrese Gibson plays the man responsible for pulling the trigger. Rosie Perez and Bobby Cannavale co-star in a thriller that was shot guerrilla-style in the Latino neighborhoods of Los Angeles. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, (more)
- 2005
Cal (Joe Renteria), an old friend of Vic's (Michael Chiklis) who owns a restaurant, asks Vic to help him straighten out one of his employees, Cyril (Peter Pasco), who has a drug problem and has apparently disappeared. Vic goes out of his way to help Cal, which has negative repercussions when Cyril's problems turn out to be more serious, and he's involved in a shoot-out while robbing a store. Ben Gilroy (John Diehl, uncredited) turns up dead after apparently living a very rough life in Mexico. Aceveda (Benito Martinez) decides to shut down the AGC sting operation, because Louis (Dominic Hoffman) betrayed them, opening up a new company with seed money from the big clients he warned about the sting. Monica (Glenn Close) decides to offer Louis a deal to set up a new operation at the new company, angering Aceveda, who has not officially stepped down yet. Monica also gets the men's room fixed, and tells Aceveda that she plans to use a new forfeiture plan to seize criminals' assets and auction them off to pay for The Barn's upkeep and donate some cash to local social programs. Shane (Walton Goggins) has been shaking down the pimps and dealers on his beat, and is breaking in a new partner, Armando (Michael Pena of Crash), an Iraq War veteran. Vic confronts Shane about his possible connection to Antwon (Anthony Anderson), which Shane denies. But Vic still has his suspicions. Corrine (Cathy Cahlin Ryan) and Vic consider joining a class-action suit against a vaccine company. Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) bring in a prostitute (Donna Cooper) who's been raped, and Aceveda, still struggling with his own personal trauma, takes a special interest in the case. This episode also includes an uncredited appearance by Katey Sagal as Nancy Gilroy. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Aceveda (Benito Martinez) arranges for Monica (Glenn Close) to meet with community leaders to sell her forfeiture program. Antwon (Anthony Anderson) is at the meeting and attacks the program as racist. Julien (Michael Jace), speaking as a former resident of Farmington, defends it, but Aceveda sandbags Monica by coming out against the seizures. Later, Julien begins to have his own doubts about the fairness of the program. Claudette (CCH Pounder) finds out about Dutch's (Jay Karnes) deal with the DA's office, and gets very angry about it, even though the detectives are given a murder case. She attacks Monica because a low-level pot dealer's property was seized. Monica reprimands her, but later complains to ADA Encardi (Anna Maria Horsford) about the way her detectives were used. Lem (Kenny Johnson) wants to come back to The Barn, but Vic (Michael Chiklis) is worried about bringing him back because Lem and Shane (Walton Goggins) are on the outs, and Vic wants to keep Shane close. A drug counselor is murdered by a heroin dealer. Lem brings in Angie (Bree'Anna Banks), a juvenile whose addict mother, Hoda (Fylicia King), had a connection to the victim. This leads to Vic and his people finding a massive cache of heroin and weapons, which, unfortunately for Shane and Army (Michael Pena), turns out to be the property of Antwon. They don't have time to warn Antwon about the bust, and later, he makes his displeasure known. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Antwon (Anthony Anderson) now has a hold on Shane (Walton Goggins) and Army (Michael Pena), and uses it to get them to bust one of his competitors, and give Antwon half his stash to replace the heroin he's lost. Monica (Glenn Close) gets injunctions against the One-Niners, meaning the gang members can no longer openly associate with one another, making it difficult to do business. Vic (Michael Chiklis) stumbles into a DEA sting. The DEA is trying to tie Antwon's heroin supply to a Salvadoran stolen car ring, and the local cops work with them to make a bust, but Shane tips off Antwon, so they end up with nothing. Vic is able to track down another drug stash at a local church. Julien (Michael Jace) refuses to be a part of the raid, angering Monica, who later suggests he request a transfer. The church raid is ugly, but successful. Lem (Kenny Johnson) tells Vic that Angie has disappeared, and he worries that Shane might have turned her over to Antwon or even killed her himself. Vic doesn't believe it, even though Vic and Ronnie (David Rees Snell) have surveillance video of Shane and Antwon making deals and sharing information. Claudette (CCH Pounder) isn't speaking to Dutch (Jay Karnes). Investigating the strangling of a young black woman, they bring in Kleavon Gardner (Ray Campbell), who recently moved to L.A. from Texas, where authorities suspected him of being a serial killer. The case goes in a different direction, but Dutch still believes that Kleavon is a murderer. Dutch also decides to ask Corrine (Cathy Cahlin Ryan) out on a date. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Monica (Glenn Close) takes command of The Barn, and tells the troops that they will be implementing an asset-seizure program. She puts Vic (Michael Chiklis) in charge of all gang-related felonies. Units working under Vic are assigned to take Polaroids of all gang members, and their ink, in order to build a database. Vic now knows that Shane (Walton Goggins) and his partner, Army (Michael Pena), are working with Antwon (Anthony Anderson), and he lets Lem (Kenny Johnson) and Ronnie (David Rees Snell) know. Vic says they should keep Shane close and keep IAD off him, or it will come back to them. There's a gang war erupting in Farmington, and Monica wants it headed off quickly. Vic reluctantly goes to Antwon for help in stopping the violence between the One-Niners and the Spookstreet Soldiers. Choppa (Six Reasons), a drive-by suspect from the Soldiers, is brought in for questioning. He doesn't want to talk, so Monica threatens to seize his mother's house, which he paid for with drug money. She feels conflicted about throwing the family out on the street. When Choppa turns out to have made a pornographic rap video with Bounce (Tanya Alexander), the girlfriend of Puppethead (Kamil Beale), a member of the One-Niners, Vic thinks he's found what initiated the escalating gang violence, and reluctantly turns to Antwon for help in stopping it. Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) are still being blackballed by the DA, so they're assigned to catch a convenience store robber who buys a hot cup of coffee then throws it in the clerk's face. Dutch pressures Claudette to apologize to the DA. She refuses, and his frustration grows. He finally decides to go behind her back to make a deal. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
The show business comedy Fronterz concerns three struggling actors who grow disenchanted with their profession after seeing so many rappers without any acting experience winning major roles. They decide to start their own rap act, the Large Money Mercenaries, and invent fake personalities to fit. Soon they are skyrocketing to fame, but leading double lives produces serious problems for each member of the trio. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reno Wilson, Dennis Pressey, (more)
- 2003
Arrested on a trumped-up drug charge, John Clark Jr. (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) turns down the helping hand extended by his detective father (Joe Spano). Meanwhile, John Jr.'s partner, Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) puts the screws on Officer Laughlin (Anthony Mangano), whom Andy believes is responsible for the frame-up. Alas, the one clue that could clear John evaporates in the wake of an unexpected -- and tragic -- plot twist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Simmons
- 2001
- PG13
- Add A.I.: Artificial Intelligence to QueueAdd A.I.: Artificial Intelligence to top of Queue
Based on the 1969 short story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long, by Brian Aldiss, this science fiction fantasy bears similarities to Pinocchio (1940) and originated as a long-gestating project of director Stanley Kubrick that passed to his friend Steven Spielberg after Kubrick's death. Haley Joel Osment stars as David, a "mecha" or robot of the future, when the polar ice caps have melted and submerged many coastal cities, causing worldwide starvation and human dependence upon robotic assistance. The first mecha designed to experience love, David is the "son" of Henry (Sam Robards), an employee of the company that built the boy, and the grief-stricken Monica (Frances O'Connor). David is meant to replace the couple's hopelessly comatose son, but when their natural child recovers, David is abandoned and sets out to become "a real boy" worthy of his mother's affection. Along the way, David is mentored by a pleasure-providing mecha named Gigolo Joe (Jude Law) and a talking "super toy" bear named Teddy. His adventures take him to the Roman Circus-style "Flesh Fair," where mechas are destroyed for the amusement of humans; Rouge City, where Gigolo Joe narrowly avoids capture by police; and finally a submerged New York City, where David's creator, Professor Hobby (William Hurt) reveals the secrets of the boy's creation. Brendan Gleeson and narrator Ben Kingsley co-star in A.I., which was adapted from Kubrick's treatment by Spielberg, in his first crack at screenwriting since Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, (more)
- 1998
The homicide unit investigates the whipping and lynching of a wealthy white advertising executive in a historic black section of Baltimore. It turns out that the killing may have been payback for race-related crimes committed by the dead man's ancestor, a Civil War-era slavery advocate. Elsewhere, neither Pembleton (Andre Braugher) nor Gharty (Peter Gerety) can figure out why Bayliss (Kyle Secor), who has implicitly announced his homosexuality, would be interested in Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1997
Rap artist Daddy Kool (Shaun Baker) is shot, but refuses to cooperate with the police investigation of the shooting. Abby (Paige Turco) tells Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) that she wants him to be the father of her child -- and that's all. Accused of framing Officer Szymasnki (Christopher Stanley) on a drug charge, Lt. Fancy (James McDaniel) launches his own investigation. And the Feds approach Simone (Jimmy Smits), asking his help in nailing mobster Joey Salvo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
The D.A.'s office charges teenager Chris Pollit (Wil Horneff) as an adult in a murder case. The teen's lawyer, Helen Brolin (Maria Tucci), aims for a not-guilty plea by claiming that her client is "violently predisposed." Her argument: The killer was born with an extra Y chromosome, and thus is inherently unable to discern right from wrong. Broadway musical comedy favorite Helen Gallagher plays it straight as the killer's anguished foster mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
