Harry J. Lennix

Set against the anti-war protests, rock & roll revolution, and mind-expanding psychedelia of the 1960s, Julie Taymor's hallucinogenic musical follows the arduous journey of star-crossed lovers Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) as they and a small group of musicians are swept up in the raging waters of the volatile counterculture movement. Guided through their journey by a pair known only as Dr. Robert (Bono) and Mr. Kite (Eddie Izzard), Jude and Lucy are eventually forced to find their way back to one another after being split apart by powerful forces beyond their control. The music in the film consists exclusively of songs made popular by the Beatles during the time period depicted in the movie. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Robert Townsend directs, writes, and stars in the thriller Black Listed. He plays a lawyer who becomes enraged at the number of dangerous criminals who have managed to utilize legal loopholes in order to beat the system and escape prison time. He convinces some friends to join him on a quest to clean up the streets, but their vigilante ways soon earn them unexpected enemies -- and cause them to question their own motives. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Actor Ray McKinnon (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) makes his debut behind the camera with Chrystal, a psychological drama written, directed, and produced by the long-time character player. The film stars Billy Bob Thornton as Joe, a man who returns home after a 16-year prison stint. Before his conviction, Joe was involved in a car wreck while being pursued by the authorities. Though he survived, Joe's wife Chrystal (Lisa Blount) suffered permanent injuries and the couple's young son was killed. While Joe seeks redemption, he must also contend with Snake (McKinnon), a drug dealer who is less than kind to the ex-con. Chrystal premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

This action-adventure, that features a terrorist plot from The Fugitive (1993), saw its October 2001 release date moved back four months as a result of real-life terrorist attacks on the United States. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Gordon Brewer, a Los Angeles firefighter who witnesses the deaths of his wife and child, innocent victims of a terrorist attack on a motorcade carrying Colombian dignitaries. Responsibility for the deadly explosion belongs to Claudio "The Wolf" Perrini (Cliff Curtis), a terrorist and rebel in Colombia's decade-long civil war. When times passes with no suspect being brought to justice, Brewer rejects the advice of FBI agent Peter Brandt (Elias Koteas) and travels to the jungles of Colombia to find and take revenge upon his family's murderer himself. Encountering a complex web of death squads, right-wing military officials, guerrillas, terrorists and drug-lords, Brewer is aided in his dangerous quest by an unlikely ally, the beautiful Selena Perrini (Francesca Neri), his quarry's wife. Collateral Damage (2002) co-stars John Leguizamo and John Turturro. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Rumor has it that this weekly, hour-long ABC series about America's first woman president was conceived in anticipation of Hillary Rodham Clinton's likely 2008 presidential bid. Whatever the case, Geena Davis starred as Mackenzie Allen, the politically unaffiliated vice president of popular conservative chief executive Teddy Bridges (Will Lyman). When Bridges fell mortally ill, his party did everything it could to persuade Mackenzie to step down and allow powerful Speaker of the House Nathan Templeton (Donald Sutherland) to assume the Presidency. But our heroine was not about to place the country in the hands of a vengeful, duplicitous sexist like Templeton, and thus upon Bridges' death she dutifully took charge of the Oval Office -- even though she had never had any burning political ambitions at any time of her life. Working hand in glove with her chief of staff (and also her husband!), Rod Allen (Kyle Secor), Allen's second in command, Jim Gardner (Harry Lennix), and Press Secretary Kelly Ludlow (Ever Carradine), the plucky Mackenzie managed to navigate the treacherous waters of the Potomac -- and along the way, she continually surprised both sides of the political spectrum by relying upon her own judgment, rather than pay homage to party pressure, polls, or political correctness. Also in the cast were Jasmine Anthony as Mackenzie's six-year-old daughter, Amy, and Matt Lanter and Caitlin Wachs as her teenaged twin offspring, Horace and Rebecca. Created by Rod Lurie of The Contender fame, Commander in Chief took the oath of office on September 27, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pomerantz (Jami Gertz) refuses to put a woman with Down's syndrome on a heart-transplant list; Greene (Anthony Edwards) and Doyle (Jorja Fox) try to persuade her to change her mind. Now that he is of legal age, Jad Houston (Chad Lindberg), suffering from terminal cystic fibrosis, insists upon being taken off life support -- but Jad's mother (Veronica Cartwright) won't hear of it, forcing Ross (George Clooney) to act as "mediator" between life and death. And the relationship between Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) and Fischer (Harry J. Lennix) becomes more serious. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The ER staff is galvanized by the brutal beating of Greene (Anthony Edwards) in the men's room. Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) is forced to make several difficult decisions involving the three men in her life. Carol (Julianna Margulies) accuses Ross (George Clooney) of giving preferential treatment to the child of a wealthy and influential family. Carter (Noah Wyle) and Benton (Eriq La Salle) forget their differences long enough to work together during a kidney transplant. And everyone is entranced by a sexy novel that has popped up mysteriously at the admittance desk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Released one year to the day after the 1995 Million Man March, in which a million African-American men marched peacefully in Washington, D.C. in a bid for greater unity and understanding, Spike Lee's Get On the Bus follows a group of black men who take a charter bus from Los Angeles to the rally in the nation's capital and watches as they interact and air their personal issues and concerns. George (Charles S. Dutton) is the organizer of the trip and de facto leader of the group. Evan Thomas (Thomas Jefferson Byrd) is a truck driver who travels to the march with his son (De'Aundre Bonds) chained to his belt by court order after the boy was arrested for petty theft. Kyle (Isaiah Washington) and Randall (Harry Lennix) are gay lovers who take no small amount of abuse from their fellow passengers. Gary (Roger Guenveur Smith) is the product of a mixed-race marriage who could pass for white but sees himself as black; he's also a cop, which does little to endear him to his peers. Flip (Andre Braugher) is an actor who seems more concerned with getting his next film role than the larger issues of the march. Jamal (Gabriel Casseus) is a good-natured young Muslim trying to lead a righteous life to make up for his violent past as a gang member. A film student (Hill Harper) is capturing the trip on videotape, and Jeremiah (Ossie Davis) sits in the back, reflecting on the struggles of African-Americans in the past and present. Financed by a private group of 15 black American men (among them Will Smith and Wesley Snipes), Get On the Bus speaks less of a single political goal than of the need for black men to set aside their differences to work for their common good. While the film falls short of openly criticizing Million Man March organizer Louis Farrakhan, it does present debate about Farrakhan's ideals and statements, ultimately coming to the conclusion that whoever brought this group together is less important than the fact that they came together in peace and brotherhood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This episodic adaptation of Will Kern's seriocomic play follows a Chicago cabbie (Paul Dillon) as he picks up various passengers on the city's South Side on Christmas Eve. Most are observed and let off in brief vignettes: religious nuts, a belligerent Indian man, a defensive lawyer, a druggie on a crack run, violently arguing couples, and so forth. The best bits involve an obnoxious businessman (John C. Reilly), a rape victim (Julianne Moore), and a scary weirdo (John Cusack) who directs the cabbie into a dark alley in a scene fraught with menace, only to pay and shake his hand. Finally, near the end of his rope, Dillon picks up a seemingly cheerful black architect (Reggie Hayes) who turns out to have just lost his mother. The architect lends a sympathetic ear as the cabbie pours out his sense of helplessness and frustration at the things he sees, and gives him some good advice. When the architect leaves, the cabbie hears the voices of his passengers and weeps. Then he readjusts his mirror and goes back to work. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

After being released from an institution, a manic-depressive attempts to get custody of her 5 children and struggles with the opposition of her oldest daughter and the foster parents. ~ All Movie Guide