Sherman Howard Movies

A man who has developed an unhealthy obsession with a former lover becomes the focus of someone with evil on their mind in this independent thriller. Jeffrey (Daniel Sauli) is an architect who is sharing a flat in New York City with his friend Nicki (Heather Alicia Simms). One day, Jeffrey picks up a handsome man named Rene (Julien Lucas), but after spending the afternoon making love, they're interrupted by Nicki, and with the mood broken, Rene announces he wasn't interested in anything more than a one night stand. Jeffrey can't get his mind off Rene, and when he sees him on the street one day, he follows him. After discovering where Rene lives, Jeffrey learns that one of the apartments in his building has recently become vacant, and he decides to move in. While Nicki and Rene are both outraged by Jeffrey's behavior, which borders on stalking, Jeffrey soon discovers he has more to worry about than what his friends think of him. The previous tenant of Jeffrey's flat has gone missing, leaving his belongings behind, and after a hysterical visit from the missing man's lover, Jeffrey begins to wonder why landlady Gladys (Patti D'Arbanville) was so eager to have him move in right away -- and why she stops by so often. You Belong To Me was the first feature film from writer and director Sam Zalutsky. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A group of Klingon refugees, unaware of the long-standing treaty between their people and the Federation, arrive on the Voyager. Thanks to a coincidental chain of signs and portents, refugee leader Kohlar (Wren T. Brown) becomes convinced that B'Elanna Torres' (Roxann Dawson) unborn baby is destined to be the Klingon messiah. A chilling confrontation between Torres' lover, Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill), and Klingon religious fanatic T'Greth (Sherman Howard), who believes that Torres has "mongrelized" his race, climaxes the story. "Prophecy" initially aired on February 7, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This first episode of ER's fourth season originally aired live on September 25, 1997, with two separate telecasts for the East and West Coasts. A TV documentary crew follows Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) during a "typical" shift in the emergency room of Chicago's County General Hospital. Still not completely recovered from a brutal beating, Greene is none too happy about being a "TV star," sentiments shared by the ER's attending physician Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes), who regards the camera crew as an invasion of everyone's privacy. As it turns out, the documentary makers get more than they bargained for as they record for posterity a gang fight, an out-of-control patient, and a heart attack. In the midst of all this confusion, Dr. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) arrives from England to witness American surgical procedures. The syndicated version of "Ambush" combines scenes from both the East and West Coast broadcasts, expunging a number of conspicuous continuity errors and an embarrassing moment in which a crucial prop is misplaced. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

No sooner has Paul lost his job with those "weasels" at the Explorer Channel than he is nominated (once again) for the prestigious Silver Sprocket Award. Reluctantly, Paul attends the awards ceremony, certain that he is in for yet another disappointment. Can Jamie (Helen Hunt) and Ira (John Pankow) make the best of a bad situation -- assuming that this is indeed a bad situation? ~ Rovi

Another Tom Clancy political thriller is put to film with this made-for-television movie. Harry Hamlin stars as Paul Hood, the new director of an obsolete government crisis management center. Hood is assigned to downsize the center, but during first day on the job some nuclear warheads are hijacked by terrorists. Hood has to rise to the occasion and prove himself as a leader in unfamiliar territory. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

Hit List is a thriller about a professional hit man (Jeff Fahey) who is hired by an attorney (James Coburn) with the intent of killing drug lords. However, the attorney then introduces the assassin to a sexy widow, asking him to execute the man who killed her husband. Soon, the hit man can't separate his professional life from his personal life. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Responding to a distress call on a Talarian training ship, Picard finds himself in the middle of a bitter custody battle. The catalyst for this crisis is human teenager Jono (Chad Allen), who shows signs of severe abuse at the hands of his alien guardian. The problem is exacerbated when Jono refuses to betray his longtime tormentor. Originally telecast October 20, 1990, "Suddenly Human" was scripted by John Whelpley and Jeri Taylor from a story by Ralph Phillips. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

George Hickenlooper directs this psychological drama about an impoverished writer lost in a world of money, power, and male escorts. Though happily married with a young child, Byron Tiller (Andy Garcia) is struggling to make ends meet as a novelist. His last work, called "Hitler's Child," had an ignoble run in the bookstore bargain bins and his editor is not interested in his latest work about migrant workers. One day, he is approached by a dapper Brit named Luther Fox (Mick Jagger) who actually read Tiller's last opus. Luther explains that he runs an escort agency named Elysian Fields, which caters to rich women looking for intelligent companionship. Desperate for any kind of income source, Tiller takes the job while keeping the whole thing a secret from his loving wife (Julianna Margulies). He soon is rubbing elbows with the beautiful wife (Olivia Williams) of an aging Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. Gradually, Tiller finds himself immersed in this strange new world that he cannot quite understand, much less explain to his spouse. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Science fiction crime thriller from Louis Morneau, genre director and graduate of the Roger Corman school of filmmaking. Kylie Travis stars as Karen, a psychiatrist and former hostage negotiator with the Chicago Police Department. After a negotiation gone lethally wrong, Karen has quit and returned home to Texas, where her car breaks down on the side of the highway. Picked up by Frank (James Belushi) and his ex-wife Rayanne (Shannon Whirry), it becomes quickly evident that Frank, a psychotically violent and jealous man, is involved in some sort of illegal activity involving a stolen computer disk. During a break at a truck stop, Frank murders Rayanne. Karen escapes to a nearby government installation, where Brian (Frank Whaley), a scientist, is working on a time travel device. Karen uses the machine to turn back the clock a few hours and try to prevent Frank's murderous rampage, but her interference only makes things worse. Returning again and again to the past, Karen only succeeds in adding fuel to Frank's fire. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

I Come in Peace is a silly, derivative science fiction exploitation thriller which is a triumph of style and skillful direction, despite a plot that steals elements from numerous good films and mixes them with some appallingly bad acting. Jack Caine (Dolph Lundgren) is a not-by-the books police officer investigating the death of several people, including his partner, by a gang called the "White Boys." All the victims seemed to have died of drug overdoses, but Jack thinks that there is something more sinister afoot. His investigation reveals a plot by aliens who use the bodies to extract a chemical that is sold to addicts on their home planet. Originally entitled Dark Angel, I Come in Peace, while silly and confusing, has great production values and some excellent special effects. The main reason to see this film is because of the expert direction by former stunt-man Craig Baxley who manages to keep the action moving at a fast pace and tie up the loose ends of the threadbare story. The cinematography by Mark Irwin is outstanding and shows that imagination and a good visual sense can overcome a limited budget and a bad plot. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

Casualties of War was based on a New Yorker article by Daniel Lang. This, in turn, was inspired by a true incident which illustrated the dehumanizing aspects of the Vietnam experience. Michael J. Fox plays Eriksson, a member of an American squadron stationed in the deepest jungles of Southeast Asia. Sean Penn co-stars as Meserve, the squadron sergeant, who vows revenge after his best friend is killed. He orders his men to invade a village and "requisition" a young Vietnamese girl (Thuy Thu Lee), who is repeatedly tied, gagged and gang-raped. The horrified Eriksson refuses to participate in these atrocities, and he does his best to console the girl and to attempt to free her. Before this can happen, however, Meserve orders another man to kill the girl. Once he returns to camp, Eriksson attempts to file a report on the tragedy and to bring Meserve and the others to justice, but he is stonewalled by the brass and threatened with death by his fellow soldiers. Eventually Meserve and his co-conspirators are jailed for their crimes, but Eriksson can never forget his "compliance" in the incident by failing to save the girl. The script is by well-known playwright David Rabe. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi