Billy Parrott Movies

Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is back, and this time he's concocted his deadliest set of traps yet in this gore-soaked sequel written by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, and directed by Saw II's Darren Lynn Bousman. Picking up directly where its predecessor left off, Saw III finds Jigsaw near death and fighting to stay alive for one final game. Determined to show his protégé, Amanda (Shawnee Smith), what it truly means to carry out his deadly game, the ailing Jigsaw instructs his apprentice to kidnap unsuspecting doctor Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) in order to ensure that he survives long enough to see how his latest victim Jeff (Angus MacFadyen) fares when faced with the prospect of imminent death. As Lynn and Jeff both struggle to beat the clock and carry out their tasks before Jigsaw draws his final breath, a much larger plan begins to emerge that shows just how cunning the legendary killer can truly be. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Introduced in the first-season episode "The Man Who Knew Too Little", compulsive liar Ian MacDonald (Rino Romano) returns to make the lives of Fraser (Paul Gross) and Ray (David Marciano) miserable. This time out, Ian claims that extraterrestrials kidnapped his girlfriend Audrey (Amanda Tapping) just as he was about to propose to her. This turns out not to be the case--but even so, the story somehow ends up at Hangar 57 in Roswell (Roswell, Illinois, that is!) First broadcast on Canadian television, this episode made its US debut on February 23, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With virtually all of our favorite DeGrassi Junior High kids entering high school at the beginning of the series' fourth season, it was necessary to change the title to -- surprise, surprise -- DeGrassi High (besides, the old junior high building had burned to the ground at the end of season three). In addition to such familiar characters as Joey (Pat Mastroianni), Michelle (Maureen McKay), Snake (Stefan Brogren), Wheels (Neil Hope), and Spike (Amanda Stepto), two new cast members join the show this season: David Armin-Parcells as Claude and Byrd Dickens as Scott. The first day of high school turns out to be a bad news-bad news situation for Joey, who must not only deal with his old tormentor Dwayne (Darrin Brown), but also with his least favorite junior-high teacher, who has accepted a job at DeGrassi High; later on, Joey must endure the humiliation of being sent to remedial classes when he's diagnosed with a learning disorder. In other developments: Erica (Angela Deiseach) finds out she is pregnant, whereupon her twin sister, Heather (Maureen Deiseach), tries to talk her out of having an abortion. When her parents separate, Michelle moves in with her bigoted father, who disapproves of her black boyfriend, BLT (Dayo Ade) -- forcing her to find an apartment of her own. Arthur (Duncan Waugh) moons over Caitlin (Stacie Mistysyn), who has fallen for Claude -- who, in turn, seems willing to let her take the rap when they're caught spray-painting anti-war slogans at a nearby factory. Kathleen (Rebecca Haines) regrets going out with Scott when he becomes possessive and physically abusive. Single mom Spike must fend off boys who assume that she's "easy" and is later uncomfortably reunited with Shane, the father of her child, who had attempted suicide one year earlier. L.D. (Amanda Cook) faces an uncertain future when she is diagnosed with cancer. And toward the end of the season, Michelle puts her academic career on the line when she protests the dismissal of her favorite teacher, Ms. Avery (Michelle Goodeve). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the 1979 Canadian TV series The Kids From DeGrassi Street, this popular half-hour program for teens and preteens debuted on Canada's CBC on January 18, 1987, and was picked up stateside by PBS later the same year. Taped in Toronto, the series focused on the lives of the multiethnic students as DeGrassi Junior High, deftly shifting from comedy to tense drama and back again. Though the series focused on such potent real-life issues as drug addiction, teen pregnancy, smoking, parental abuse, drunk driving, abortion, and suicide, it never came off as preachy or pedantic, principally because the young actors -- most of them recruited from the Playing With Time repertory company -- essayed their roles with utter conviction and sincerity. Even more laudatory was the fact that the actors were not chosen for their looks or charisma but instead were as average and normal-looking as the series' legions of fans. During the series' five seasons on CBC, over 50 principal characters floated in and out of the proceedings. Among the most popular recurring characters were Joey (Pat Mastroianni), Snake (Stefan Brogen), Spike (Amanda Stepto), Wheels (Neil Hope), Caitlin (Stacie Mistysyn), twin sisters Erica and Heather (played by real-life twins Maureen Deiseach and Erica Deiseach), BLT (Dayo Ade), Yick (Siluck Saysanasy), Arthur (Duncan Waugh), Lucy (Anais Granofksy), L.D. (Amanda Cook), Simon (Michael Carry), Michelle (Maureen McKay), Alexa (Irene Courakos), and Melanie (Sara Ballingall). Three years into the series, the regulars graduated from junior high and moved on to high school, whereupon the series was retitled DeGrassi High, remaining as such until its cancellation two years later. Introduced during these final seasons were several new characters, notably Scott (David Armin-Parcells) and Claude (Byrd Dickens). After the series ran its course, many of the principals appeared in the movie-length special School's Out. And in 2001, Canada's CTV unveiled a spin-off series, DeGrassi: The Next Generation, with a fresh cast of students but with several favorites from the earlier series, now adults, cast as various parents and teachers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide