Bill Kalmenson Movies

Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) has been forced to kill Chappelle (Paul Schulze). Back at CTU, it's determined that Saunders (Paul Blackthorne) has a 19-year-old daughter to whom he's been sending money. She's a student at UC Santa Barbara. Knowing that Saunders probably has surveillance on her, Jack tells Tony (Carlos Bernard) that they'll have to do a "plain sight swap," replacing the girl with a double so Saunders won't know she's missing. The closest match they can come up with for Jane Saunders (Alexandra Lydon) is, sadly, Kim (Elisha Cuthbert). Tony gives Kim the assignment, despite Chloe's (Mary Lynn Rajskub) reservations. But when Jack gets back to CTU and finds out about it, he goes ballistic. Kim manages to convince him that it's her duty. Jack gives her a gun, just in case. They take a chopper to UCSB, where the switch is made in the ladies' room of the library where Jane works. Kim isn't enough of a physical match to fool anyone who gets too close, and that's just what happens, forcing Kim to use that gun. Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) meets with his Cabinet and tells them what's happened with the hotel, and informs them that he's had a CTU agent murdered to meet the terrorist's demand. Meanwhile, Chase (James Badge Dale) goes to interrogate Susan Cole (Jenni Blong), the wife of the man who left the Chandler Plaza Hotel, and that man, William Cole (Patrick Fabian), goes to a pharmacy and then an emergency room, complaining of a nosebleed that just won't stop. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Grissom (William L. Petersen), Nick (George Eads), and Sara (Jorja Fox) would seem to have an open-and-shut case on their hands when a suspect is caught burying a body that has been shot three times. But, despite an overwhelming amount of evidence, Grissom doubts that the suspect is the guilty party. And in another development, Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) and Warrick (Gary Dourdan) must determine if a woman found dead in a health spa locker room was a victim of natural causes, murder -- or something else. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When an archaeologist uncovers an ancient Norse power stone, he returns with it to his New York City home. Too bad for the relic-digger, because it's not long before an evil spirit is projected from the stone into the archaeologist, turning him into a hairy beast. And too bad for the people of NYC, because this hairy beast goes on a vicious marauding spree that befuddles the local police. ~ Rovi

L.A. cop Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), whose wife has recently died, is a loose cannon with a seeming death wish. This makes him indispensable in collaring dangerous criminals, but a liability to any potential partners. Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), a conservative family man who wants to stay alive for his upcoming 50th birthday, is partnered with Riggs. As Riggs gets to know Murtaugh and his family, he begins to mellow, though his insistence on using guerilla tactics to catch criminals is still (put mildly) above and beyond the call of duty. The main villain is The General (Mitchell Ryan), a drug dealer responsible for the death of the daughter of one of Murtaugh's oldest friends. The General is also in charge of a deadly, militia-like gang of smugglers. Adding fuel to the fire is The General's chief henchman, played with all stops out by Gary Busey. Moviegoers familiar only with the relatively tongue-in-cheek Lethal Weapon sequels may be amazed to find out how dangerous and unpredictable Riggs is in the first Lethal Weapon -- and how likely it seems that Murtaugh might not survive until fade-out time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi