J.J. Johnston Movies

In this high-tension thriller, Christopher Reeves plays Dempsey Cain, a paralyzed detective (ironically, it was filmed a year before the tragic accident that would make him a quadriplegic) whose arrogance and penchant for perfectionism has alienated his family to the point that his wife Gail (Kim Cattrall) turns to his brother Nick (Edward Kerr) for love. Nick is also a cop, but unlike Dempsey, he tends to be irresponsible and sloppy. It was he who was responsible for Dempsey's paralysis. Dempsey knows that Nick and Gail are trysting. This coupled with his disability makes life unbearable. Wanting to end his life, but knowing that his million-dollar life insurance policy will not cover his suicide, he approaches Nick and Gail with the perfect solution -- to murder him and make it look like a burglary. Dempsey plans his demise to the nth degree. Unfortunately, despite his careful scheming, Dempsey makes one fatal flaw -- he did not include his suspicious, resentful and jealous colleague Allan Rhinehart (Joe Mantegna) into the equation and things go horribly awry. ~ Sandra Brennan, 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

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

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

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

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

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

Though Kelly (Christina Applegate) loses an audition for a sitcom role, the producer (George Wyner) is impressed by her impromptu description of the Bundy clan. As a result, the sitcom is rewritten to resemble a certain extremely popular Fox series about a dysfunctional family living in Chicago--and take a look at that cast! Inside jokes abound in this classic entry, including a pointed reference to housewife-activist Terry Rakolta, a swipe at the Fox network's low-power UHF affiliate lineup, and a clever amalgam of the names of series creators Ronald Leavitt and Michael G. Moye. ~ 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

The third entry in the violent cycle of prison dramas has street-kid turned prizefighter Too Sweet back in the slammer again. Because he is such a great fighter, he finds himself caught in the uncomfortable position of having to choose whether to fight for the warden or for the crook who rules the inmates. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Ray (Ken Olin) is a young adult and has a girlfriend whom he lives with quite happily. However, the agreed-upon date of their marriage is coming up, and he's not quite sure he wants to make that kind of commitment. His buddies Dennis, Elliot, and Vinny have their own commitment problems. Dennis (Kevin Bacon) isn't sure he wants to stay away from his buddies long enough to get his music career going in Hollywood; Elliot (John Malkovich) knows that he's homosexual but thinks that being gay means fitting all sorts of ugly stereotypes -- stereotypes he is determined to avoid at all costs; and Vinny (Tony Spiridakis) commits himself all too frequently and often to the nearest desirable female. Meanwhile, cousin Al (Joe Mantegna) is in trouble with his wife, and only the intervention of a well-intentioned psychotic (Jamie Lee Curtis) can put him back on the right track. ~ 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