Alex Kurtzman Movies

Based on the graphic novel by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Cowboys & Aliens starts in 1800s Arizona, where the local cowboys, headed by gunslinger Zeke Jackson (Robert Downey Jr.), and the indigenous Apache tribe have been feuding fiercely for quite a while. Their skirmish is interrupted, however, by the appearance of a spaceship, commanded by an alien creature that's bent on enslaving the human race. It's time for a six-gun shoot-out between these cattle rustlers and space invaders, and there might even be a temporary peace between the cowboys and Indians as they both take aim at these extraterrestrial uninvited guests. Jon Favreau directs from a script by Star Trek scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, with help from Lost's Damon Lindelof. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Sandra Bullock stars in the romantic comedy The Proposal, as a Canadian immigrant who creates a demanding and difficult work environment for her subordinates at the office. When the news arrives that she's about to be deported to the Great White North, she rushes into a marriage of convenience with her young assistant (played by Ryan Reynolds) to prevent such a catastrophe from occurring. 27 Dresses' Anne Fletcher directs from a script by Peter Chiarelli for Touchstone Pictures. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan star in Disturbia director D.J. Caruso's race-against-time thriller concerning two strangers thrust together by a mysterious telephone call, and their frantic efforts to discover why they have inexplicably become the nation's most wanted fugitives. Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) were complete strangers at the beginning of the day, but that changed the instant a strange woman called to threaten both their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Suddenly forced into a series of increasingly dangerous situations, Jerry and Rachel must now take orders from a woman who's using everyday technology to track and control their every move. As the situation intensifies and the hapless duo are deemed the country's most wanted fugitives, they must work together in order to discover who it was that turned their lives upside down, and what they can do to thwart the criminal mastermind's cunning yet diabolical plan. Billy Bob Thornton, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, and Anthony Mackie co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Forget the stories of aspiring scriptwriters striving for decades to turn a buck: Hollywood scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orzi met in high school, formed a writing partnership, and in less than ten years established themselves as two of Tinseltown's most sought-after scenarists. Orzi and Kurtzman also carved-out a genre niche, specializing in mega-budgeted, effects-heavy pictures such as Mission: Impossible 3, The Island and Star Trek XI. The Dialogue: Learning From the Masters - Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci finds the men sharing with aspiring screenwriters their inside secrets and experiences from working in the industry. The writers discuss such subjects as imparting new life to Robocop, writing "accented" dialogue and scripting slick action scenes. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The legendary Mexican hero returns to the screen in this swashbuckling sequel to the 1998 box-office hit The Mask of Zorro. It's 1850, and the people of California, eager to improve their difficult lot in life, have launched a campaign to become part of the United States. Don Alejandro de la Vega (Antonio Banderas) has become aware of a plot by moneyed Europeans to block the campaign for statehood through nefarious means, and it looks as if Alejandro's heroic alter ego, Zorro, may have to return to duty. However, Alejandro's wife, Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones), has grown weary of his secret life, and she demands that he choose between his family and his clandestine career as a champion of the people. This leads to a rift between Alejandro and Elena, and the couple separates, with Alejandro moving out while Elena continues to care for their son, Joaquin (Adrian Alonso). A few months later, Alejandro finds that Elena is already being wooed by Armand (Rufus Sewell), a suave French nobleman who wants her hand in marriage. However, Alejandro also learns that Armand is actually part of a plot to prevent California from attaining statehood by tampering with an upcoming election; meanwhile, there may be more to Elena's involvement with Armand than romantic courtship. Zorro must come to the rescue of the people of California and perhaps his beloved Elena as well before they both fall into dangerous hands. The Legend of Zorro was directed by Martin Campbell, who performed the same duties on The Mask of Zorro. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cunningly presaged by the cliffhanger at the end of season one, the first episode of Alias' second season confirmed what heroine Sydney A. Bristow (Jennifer Garner) -- college student by day, counterespionage agent the rest of the time -- had feared most: that "The Man," the evil leader of a vast criminal cartel, was no man at all, but instead Sydney's supposedly dead mother, former KGB agent Irina Derevko (played by new series regular Lena Olin). Though Irina would eventually claim to have reformed and insisted that she was looking out for Sydney's best interests, her actions -- which included innumerable double-crosses, sellouts, and betrayals -- would seem to indicate otherwise. Even so, nothing that was ever "indicated" on Alias was ever quite what it appeared on the surface. Meanwhile, both of the spy organizations for which Sydney worked, the CIA and the more sinister SD-6, were dedicated to destroying the cartel formerly run by Irina and now in the hands of her mercurial lieutenant, Sark (played by another new series regular, David Anders). The two rival agencies also continued their search for the missing Rambaldi fragments, which when assembled would become a terrifying weapon of mass destruction, as well as "The Bible," the operations manual used by Irina's old criminal empire.

Still embittered by the knowledge that she had been used all her life by SD-6, Syd persisted in covertly working against the organization by throwing in with the CIA, under the supervision of agent Michael C. Vaughn (Michael Vartan), who by the time season two rolled around, was making no secret of his love for Syd. Two other SD-6 operatives, computer genius Marshall Flinkman (Kevin Weisman) and agent Marcus Dixon (Carl Lumbly), likewise crossed over to the CIA, with tragic results for at least one of them. Syd was given even more reason to despise the espionage business when she learned that, as a child, she had been a guinea pig for a program designed to indoctrinate spies at an early age -- a program developed by her own father, Jack Bristow (Victor Garber). There was another "father figure" in Syd's life in the form of her SD-6 boss, Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin), who despite his cruel cunning and ruthlessness was genuinely fond of both Bristows. Sloane would launch a second career as a solo villain when, disillusioned by the SD-6, he bolted the organization and set about to harness the awesome power of the Rambaldi device for his own purposes. His replacement at SD-6 was the no-nonsense Geiger (Rutger Hauer), who, shall we say, harbored no great love for either Syd or Jack. In addition to Rutger Hauer, season two of Alias would feature guest-star turns by Faye Dunaway as the duplicitous head of SD-6 counterintelligence; Richard Lewis as a CIA counterintelligence analyst investigating Vaughn; and Christian Slater as a scientist who was kidnapped by the renegade Sloane -- and whose past life experiences bore striking resemblances to those of the Bristow family.

Elsewhere, it was business as usual for crusading journalist Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper), who doggedly continued his crusade to expose and destroy SD-6 and all the other agencies in the Alliance of Twelve. The basic through line of Alias took off on a radical and wholly unanticipated new direction with its January 26, 2003, episode "Phase One." In this truly shocking entry, Syd's roommate, Francie (Merrin Dungey), was murdered and replaced by an exact double, thereby further blurring the series' distinction between its heroes and its villains. Also in that episode, the CIA put an end to SD-6, thus freeing Sydney from her double-agent balancing act and allowing her and Vaughn to finally express their feelings for each other. But even those developments paled in comparison with Alias' second-season cliffhanger finale, in which after being rendered unconscious in a fight with the "bad" Francie, Syd awoke to discover that two whole years had passed -- and her erstwhile lover Michael Vaughn was now beyond her reach! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Vienna on the trail of "The Man," who may or may not have information pertaining to her late mother, Sydney (Jennifer Garner) is unexpectedly reunited with her ex-lover, fellow SD-6 agent Noah Hicks (Peter Berg). Meanwhile, Syd's father, Jack (Victor Garber), consults with CIA psychiatrist Judy Barnett (Patricia Wettig) about his nagging premonition that his wife (and Syd's mom) may still be alive. And what of the Rambaldi Prophecy -- and who will crack the secret behind that prophecy first? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having learned that assassin Martin Shepard (John Hannah) is linked to her past and her mother's death, Sydney (Jennifer Garner) helps Shepard escape from a Bucharest mental asylum. Meanwhile, sinister SD-6 chieftain Sloane (Ron Rifkin) angrily vows to "make an example" of the as-yet-unknown mole in his organization, and Will (Bradley Cooper) discovers the true identity of the elusive "Kate Jones" -- too late to do him, or her, any good. On the brighter side, Charlie (Evan Dexter Parke) tries to make amends to his fiancée, Francie (Merrin Dungey), with a Thanksgiving dinner to end all Thanksgiving dinners. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kevin Sorbo makes a guest appearance in his familiar role as legendary muscleman Hercules. Teaming up with old friends Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), Hercules tries to prevent Zeus (Charles Keating) from killing Xena's unborn child -- a move borne of Zeus' fear that the baby will fulfill the prophecy that the Olympian gods will be destroyed by "a child not begotten of man." Meanwhile, Xena heads down to the Underworld in search of the Helmet of Invisibility -- and in the course of her nether travels, she is reunited with her deceased son, Solan (Nicko Vella). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As indicated by its title, this episode is a partial homage to Casablanca, especially the scenes wherein Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and Morrigan (Tamara Gorski) lose their chance for romance during a lengthy flashback. The substance of the story, however, involves the Oracle of Cyprus (Alison Quigan), who has gloomily predicted her own death. Setting the tale in motion is the sudden appearance of a young woman named Havisha (Simone Kessell), who has apparently been revived from the dead for the express purpose of committing murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Arriving on the island of Eire, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) is lauded as "The Chosen One" by the Celts. This does not rest well with the despotic Druids, who want to maintain their supernatural hold over the people. Likewise, Hercules himself balks at being selected to lead the Celts until circumstances make him reconsider. Tamara Gorski makes her first appearance as the demigod Morrigan, who, in her avaricious efforts to take charge of the Druids, experiences quite an Epiphany. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide