Alex Kurtzman Movies

Although rogue SD-6 agent Cole has been subdued, Cole's evil cohorts, apparently commandeered by a shadowy figure known as "The Man," are still at large, assassinating any and all secret agents who are even remotely connected to the Rambaldi manuscript. Syd (Jennifer Garner) and Dixon (Carl Lumbly) head to Las Vegas, there to put a tail on the assassin's next target, K-Directorate agent Dahlgren (Patrick Pankhurst). This delicate and dangerous mission is seriously compromised when Syd's clueless roommate, Francie (Merrin Dungey), unexpectedly pops up in Vegas with her fickle fiancé, Charlie (Evan Dexter Parke), in tow. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Viewers who tuned into the premiere episode of ABC's espionage series Alias did so already knowing the basic premise: Heroine Sydney A. Bristow (Jennifer Garner) lived a double life, as a "typical" college undergraduate and as an uncover agent for a government organization which she assumed to be the CIA. Sydney never told either her fiancé, Danny Hecht (Edward Atterton), or her roommate, Francie Calfo (Merrin Dungey), about her covert off-campus activities, not out of any great fear of blowing her cover, but merely because she assumed no one would believe her. Then came the fateful day that Sydney let slip her secret to Danny -- who turned up murdered not long afterward. It was then that Sydney began to suspect that her CIA bosses were not all they seemed to be -- and indeed, the truth came out that she wasn't working for the CIA at all, but for a rival agency, SD-6, one of several such organizations gathered together in a rather sinister group known as the Alliance of Twelve. The cruel ruthlessness with which SD-6 went about its business was personified by Sydney's boss, Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin), an enigmatic character who was obviously very fond of Syd and the other agents, but who would not hesitate to sell anyone out who got in his way. Sloane was particularly nasty when dealing with those who would dare prevent him to carry out his obsessive, lifelong search for the fragments of the Rambaldi device, a doomsday weapon concocted some 500 years before by a Renaissance artist who happened to possess a Nostradamus-like gift of prophecy. Other perplexing facets of Sloane's personality were revealed in his curious relationship with Sydney's father, veteran SD-6 operative Jack Bristow (Victor Garber), as well as in an ongoing subplot involving Sloane's terminally ill wife, Emily (Amy Irving) -- who happened to be very close to Syd.

Upon realizing that she'd been a dupe of sorts, the embittered Syd allowed herself to be enlisted as a counterspy by the real CIA; thereafter, whenever she went on a mission for SD-6, she was given a countermission by her new bosses. Her contact at the CIA was Michael C. Vaughn (Michael Vartan), a man with quite a history of his own. As for Syd's father, Jack, he spent much of season one trying to make amends for so perilously misleading his daughter -- all the while trying to shield her from the truth about her supposedly long-dead mother, Laura, who in keeping with the title of this series was actually Irina Derevko, a KGB agent who'd been assigned to seduce Jack nearly a quarter of a century before. Other recurring characters included Francie's chronically faithless fiancé, Charlie (Evan Dexter Parke); Syd's fellow SD-6 employees, agent Marcus R. Dixon (Carl Lumbly) and computer expert Marshall J. Finkman (Kevin Weisman), who was blessed with a photographic memory; and Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper), investigative journalist for the Los Angeles Chronicle, whose determination to find out the facts behind the death of Danny Hecht and expose the activities of SD-6 rendered him a marked man. Getting back to Syd, she spent most of season one chasing and being chased, never quite knowing her friends from her enemies. A mid-season brush with a dangerous rogue agent (played by filmmaker Quentin Tarantino) put Syd on the trail of a vast criminal cartel, whose leader was known only as "The Man." The season's cliffhanger ending revealed that "The Man" was actually a woman -- none other than Syd's "late" mother. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Escaping the clutches of an illicit arms dealer, Sydney (Jennifer Garner) takes on her next counterespionage assignment. Her mission transports her to Madrid, where she is to purchase a 500-year-old drawing by the remarkably prophetic Renaissance artist Milo Rambaldi -- a sketch containing a portion of a code vital to the operation of a deadly nuclear device. In the course of events, Sydney continues to press her secret-agent father, Jack (Victor Garber), for details surrounding the death of her mother, Laura. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The six-season run of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys comes to a rousing climax involving a genuine, bona fide "monster rally." Perhaps hoping to patch up his differences with his wife, Hera (Meg Foster), the god Zeus (Charles Keating) releases her from bondage. Unfortunately, he also accidentally releases the three Titans -- Helios (Phil Grieve), Oceanus (Andrew Kovacevich), and Atlas (David Press), whose combined powers threaten to destroy both Olympus and the Earth. And there's an added threat in the form of Evander (Joseph Main), the all-powerful son of war god Ares (Kevin Smith). Before our hero Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) is able to bring order out of all this chaos, he finds himself in the thick of his greatest -- and possibly his last -- battle. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comic episode set in "the present," the production team responsible for the weekly series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys -- whose members bear striking resemblances to the series' principal characters -- are threatened with unemployment by studio boss Hollinshoffer (Robert Trebor) unless they can come up with some fresh new story ideas. Hoping to work in atmosphere of peace and quiet, the staff heads to Camp Wannachuck, a summer retreat presided over by perky counselor Sunny Day (Renee O'Connor) and the less-than-perky (and appropriately named) Norma Bates (Tamara Gorski). Before long, however, the production team is plagued by a series of murder attempts, and it falls to Kevin Sorbo, the actor who stars as Hercules (or is he the genuine article?) to save the day -- and to supply the staff with enough storylines to last them at least another season-and-a-half. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season five of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys begins as Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and Iolaus (Michael Hurst) head to Sumeria, there to help King Gilgamesh (Tony Todd), who for reasons not yet known has been utterly ignored by the Olympian Gods. It soon becomes obvious that Gilgamesh is in league with the demonic Dahak--and tragedy is in store for Hercules. This episode marks the return of Gina Torres as Nebula (no longer a pirate queen but instead a genuine princess) and also the farewell appearance of Iolaus (though not of the actor who plays him). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

As his mother Alcmerne (Liddy Holloway) lies dying, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) mournfully recalls his first taste of war. In a lengthy flashback, Young Hercules (Ian Bohen) and his equally youthful friends, Iolaus (Dean O'Gorman) and Jason (Chris Conrad), eagerly align themselves with King Eteocles (Ray Woolf) to ward off King Stavros' (Martin Baynton) Parthenon invaders. Can it be that all this bloodshed has no purpose, or will something good emerge from the carnage after all? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In present-day Hollywood, the staff of Renaissance Productions, the people responsible for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, are in a panic. An earthquake has struck Tinseltown, and the series' titular star, Kevin Sorbo, is missing. In order to save their jobs, the series' producers and writers (all of whom bear startling resemblances to other Hercules characters) are forced to audition new actors for the role of Hercules -- and failing that, they desperately improvise new "Hercules-less" story concepts. The tension results in open hostility amongst the staffers -- much to the delight of perennial Hercules villains Ares (Kevin Smith) and Strife (Joel Tobeck), who behave as if they're responsible for the whole mess. Fortunately, salvation is at hand in the form of...well, best not give too much of the story away. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This episode flashes back to the days of the younger Hercules, Iolaus, and Jason, played respectively by Ian Bohen, Dean O'Gorman and Chris Conrad. The three youthful Argonauts embark upon a mission to fight the Ghidra, the fearsome two-headed "pet" of Hera. Friction develops amongst the trio when the beauteous Medea (Jacinda Barrett) comes along for the ride; Jason is smitten by Medea, but her heart belongs to Hercules. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A shipwreck deposits Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) on the shores of Atlantis. Here he meets the fortune-telling Cassandra (Claudia Black), whose efforts to tell the warmongering King Panthius (James Beaumont) that Atlantis is doomed have fallen upon deaf ears. Both Cassandra and Hercules are thrown into prison, where Hercules discovers that Panthius was not only responsible for destroying his ship, but has enslaved thousands of shipwrecked sailors to mine the crystal necessary for the king's deadly, high-powered cannon. This episode was originally aired as the finale of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys' third season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Gina Torres makes her first series appearance as pirate queen Nebula -- or at least she's a pirate queen in this episode. The story proper find Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and Iolaus (Kevin Hurst) stranded on a strange island with Arachne (Josephine Davison), a seductive half-woman/half-spider. Ultimately, Hercules and Nebula must forget past differences and work together to prevent the impressionable Iolaus from being entangled in Arachne's web. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Michael Steinberg, co-director of The Waterdance, made his solo directorial debut with the Gen-X character study Bodies, Rest & Motion. Written by Roger Hedden, based on his own play, the film's title refers to Newton's First Law of Motion, which states essentially that a body at rest or in motion will remain in that state until acted upon by an external force. The film is set in the desert town of Enfield, AZ. Nick (Tim Roth) is a feckless television salesman who gets fired and impulsively decides that he and his girlfriend, Beth (Bridget Fonda), will move to Butte, MT, which he's read is "the city of the future." "I read that a while ago, so the future should be there by now," he enthuses. He waits until the last moment to tell Carol (Phoebe Cates), his ex and Beth's best friend, about the move. While Nick is working his last day, Sid (Eric Stoltz) comes to the couple's house to paint it for the next tenants. He quickly develops an interest in Beth. He, Beth, and Carol get stoned and hang out. When Sid hears about the move, he tells Beth that he's never left Enfield, and has no interest in traveling. Meanwhile, Nick decides to take off on his own. When Beth gets word of this from Carol, she finds solace in Sid's arms. Sid proclaims his love the next morning, and implores Beth to stay. Meanwhile, Nick visits his childhood home, looking for his parents, has an epiphany, and decides to return to Carol. The film features Alicia Witt (Urban Legend) in her first substantial part. There's also a very brief cameo by Peter Fonda, Bridget's father. Hedden would go on to collaborate with Stoltz again on Sleep With Me and Hedden's directorial debut, Hi-Life. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi