J.J. Johnston Movies

Doglike Manticore refugee Joshua (Kevin Durand) has befriended Annie Fisher (Kandyse McClure), a blind woman who does not fear him because she cannot see him. Meanwhile, public hostility against Joshua and his fellow transgens is fueled by White (Martin Cummins) and Mrs. Morehead (Gabrielle Rose). The hysteria reaches a fever pitch when it appears that Joshua has kidnapped Annie. To save her fellow transgen, Max (Jessica Alba) may have to break her vow to avoid Logan (Michael Weatherly) -- even if it means infecting Logan with her deadly virus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two-part story, mobster Vito Capone (Perry Anzilotti) threatens to bump off Bud (David Faustino) unless the exercise video starring Kelly (Christina Applegate) and Raphael (John Carlos Frey) is finished by 5 PM. Unfortunately, Kelly and Raphael aren't speaking to each other--and when they DO speak, they nearly get Married. . .With Children knocked off the network. Meanwhile, Peg and Marcy are can't understand why Al and Jefferson are taking so long installing a satellite dish...little realizing that every husband in the neighborhood is using the Bundy roof as a refuge from their wives!. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Plagued throughout his life by fuzzy, disturbing memories, Coloradoan William Coit Jr. (Neil Patrick Harris) realizes that these memories may put a crimp in the happiness of his recent marriage. In his efforts to get at the root of his anxieties, Coit ruminates over his unhappy, unstable childhood -- and his much-married mother Jill (Bonnie Bartlett), who, in addition to her other peccadillos, has cheated her children out of their late father's inheritance. Can it be possible that the wanton Jill actually murdered William's father? And if so, what horrors are in store for Jill's brand-new husband (number ten!) if William does not take immediate action? Based on a true story, Legacy of Sin: The William Coit Story first aired October 3, 1995, on the Fox network. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Bundy family enjoys an unexpected streak of fabulous luck. Well, not everyone enjoys the streak: Al Bundy (Al Bundy) is convinced that his unexpected good fortune is merely a manifestation of the family curse. . .which invariably ends with death. Highlights of this episode include a fleeting Twilight Zone reference, and the announcement by Kelly Bundy (Christina Applegate) that her waitressing career has come to an end. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sami (Mark Taylor) is an American of Lebanese descent. As this drama opens, he is a standup comedian who simply wants to become successful and well-known, after the pattern of fellow Lebanese Danny Thomas. After he has returned from visiting Lebanon and reviews his experiences of the horrors of the civil war going on there, his mental state deteriorates and he becomes suicidal. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this Thanksgiving episode, Jackie comes back from the police academy to have dinner with the Conners. Roseanne's mother, Bev (Estelle Parsons), is less than thrilled to hear that her daughter is going to be a cop. Dan's dad, Ed (Ned Beatty) tries to sweet-talk Crystal (Natalie West). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Hoping to divest himself of his well-earned nickname, veteran moonshiner Hard Luck Jones (Fred Stuthman) steals a vintage armored personal carrier from Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke), who'd been using the vehicle to transport illegal cigarettes. Jones intends to transform the APC into Hazzard County's first "mobile still", and to that end he hides the valuable relic on the Dukes' property--potentially giving Boss yet another excuse to throw the whole Duke clan into the hoosegow. This episode was originally scheduled to air on December 21, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Crisis in Mid-Air is essentially a "problem drama" concentrating on a single individual. George Peppard plays a veteran air traffic controller who holds himself responsible for a mid-air collision. With an FAA investigator breathing down his neck, Peppard gets a chance to prove his value when another flight, with 235 passengers on board, puts in a "Mayday" call. The TV Guide ads for this television movie were a little misleading, suggesting that Peppard was in the cockpit rather than the control tower. Crisis in Mid-Air debuted February 13, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tim Allen and Chiwetel Ejiofor co-star in writer/director David Mamet's martial arts drama Redbelt. Ejiofor plays Mike Terry, a jujitsu master who co-runs a very modest martial arts studio in Los Angeles with his bossy wife, Sondra (Alice Braga). Mike demonstrates an unwavering commitment to his craft and draws a cadre of defiantly loyal pupils including Joe (Max Martini), an LAPD cop. All told, it appears that he has chosen a peaceful and conflict-free path in life. The dedicated martial artist's fate takes an unanticipated turn, however, one evening when a young woman named Laura (Emily Mortimer) bursts into the academy in a state of near hysteria, and reaches for a policeman's gun when he tries to restrain her. One thing leads to another, and before long, Laura is regularly receiving martial arts lessons from Mike. As master begins to teach pupil and his martial arts philosophies emerge, his path also crisscrosses with that of a Hollywood movie star, Chet Frank (Tim Allen), when he saves the fellow from a beating at a local club and gets invited (along with Sondra) to Chet's house for dinner. Chet extends gestures of friendship, and Mike's guard breaks down; he speaks openly and candidly of a special martial arts method he employs that requires one of the participants to "assume a handicap." In time, the association with Chet leads to involvement in the motion-picture industry, and relations with a bevy of characters who aren't exactly what they seem -- including a pay-per-view fight mogul (Ricky Jay) and Chet's slimy and manipulative manager (Joe Mantegna). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A talented character actor with an undeniable presence on the screen but an uncanny track record of losing roles to more marketable "name" actors decides to take matters into his own hands after losing out on one too many roles in director Monika Mitchell's blood-soaked showbiz satire. Max Matteo (John Cassini) knows that he has what it takes to make it as an actor, but it always seems like there's a producer's nephew just waiting in the wings to snatch the role just out from under him. Now, with nothing left to lose but the role that will most certainly be offered to someone else before the cameras start to role, Max decides to take his fate - as well as various blunt objects - in his hands to ensure a long and rewarding career in a business where there's truly no room for the weak. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Renowned character actor Joe Mantegna makes his directorial debut with this film adaptation of one of David Mamet's first plays, boasting such onscreen talent as Peter Falk, Charles Durning, and Robert Forster. Based on Mamet's experiences of working on Great Lake freighters while a grad student, the film centers on Dale (Tony Mamet, David's brother), an Ivy League college kid working on the Seaway Queen on an internship one summer. Though his romantic vision of life on the sea is soon dashed, he befriends a half-dozen members of the world-weary crew and learns about the unexpectedly rich -- and occasionally tragic -- lives they lead. This film premiered at the 2000 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

John McNaughton directed this Richard Price-scripted comedy about a cop who learns to love an unwanted gift from a gangster. Robert De Niro plays Wayne Dobie, a shy and reclusive Chicago cop who has never fired a gun. Dobie is an evidence technician who takes photographs at crime scenes, earning the moniker of "Mad Dog" for his diffident attitude. One day Dobie walks in on a convenience store holdup and saves the life of Chicago mob boss Frank Milo (Bill Murray). Frank is impressed by the way Dobie handled the holdup and wants to pay him back for saving his life. In thrall to Frank is Glory (Uma Thurman), who is working off her brother's gambling debts by living with the mobster. One day, Glory turns up at Dobie's house, explaining that Frank is giving her to him for one week as a gift. Initially Dobie wants nothing to do with Glory, but as the week goes on, he realizes he is becoming intensely attracted to her. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The November 22, 1963, assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy shocked the nation and the world. The brisk investigation of that murder conducted under the guidance of Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren distressed many observers, even though subsequent careful investigations have been unable to find much fault with the conclusions his commission drew, the central one of which was that the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, acted alone. Instead of satisfying the public, one result of the Warren Commission Report was that an unimaginable number of plausible conspiracy theories were bruited about, and these have supported a sizeable publishing mini-industry ever since. In making this movie, director Oliver Stone had his pick of supposed or real investigative flaws to draw from and has constructed what some reviewers felt was one of the most compelling (and controversial) political detective thrillers ever to emerge from American cinema. Long before filming was completed, Stone was fending off heated accusations of artistic and historical irresponsibility, and these only intensified after the film was released. In the story, New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) is convinced that there are some big flaws in the investigation of Oswald (Gary Oldman), and he sets out to recreate the events leading up to the assassination. Along the way, he stumbles across evidence that a great many people had reason to want to see the president killed, and he is convinced that some of them worked in concert to frame Oswald as the killer. Among the suspects are Lyndon Baines Johnson (the next president), the CIA, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Mafia. Over the course of gathering what he believes to be evidence of a conspiracy, Garrison unveils some of the grittier aspects of New Orleans society, focusing on the shady activities of local businessman Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones). Garrison's investigations culminate in his conducting a show trial that he knows he will lose and which he is sure will ruin his career in order to get his evidence into the public record where it can't be buried again. This movie won two of the many Academy Awards for which it was nominated: one for Best Photography (Robert Richardson) and the other for Editing (Joe Hutshing). ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi