J.C. MacKenzie Movies

Tommy (Matt Gerald), Julien's (Michael Jace) old partner, gets word that his ex-wife and son have been found murdered in their home. A detective from Wilshire division, where the crime was committed, is questioning Tommy as though he were a suspect. This enrages Vic (Michael Chiklis), who sees it as a territorial pissing match between the Wilshire captain and Aceveda (Benito Martinez), so Vic gets Julien and Danny (Catherine Dent) to join him in going "off the grid" to find the killer. This leads to some complications, as they find out that Tommy may actually have been involved in the deaths. Danny threatens to report them to Aceveda when Vic's tactics go too far. Vic also learns that Corrine (Cathy Cahlin Ryan) has more than a professional relationship with Matthew's (Joel Rosenthal) therapist, Owen (Vincent Angell). Aceveda orders Dutch (Jay Karnes) to give a press conference about the serial rapists, despite his protestations. Forced to talk to the press without having made much headway in the case, Dutch decides to bait the rapist by questioning his virility. It seems to work, as the criminal contacts a reporter, offering to talk with Dutch face to face, on camera. Aceveda gets an unhappy visit from his wife, Aurora (Camilia Sanes), who, unaware that he's recently been sexually assaulted, wonders why he hasn't come home for a few days. The Strike Team and the Decoy Squad team up again, this time to catch local thugs who have been assaulting gay hustlers. When Shane (Walton Goggins) asks why he's been singled out to go undercover as a decoy, Trish (Nicki Micheaux) tells him that none of the other cops "look gay enough." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Apparently suffering from a mid-life crisis that causes moments of bizarre whimsy, billionaire computer executive Sidney Teal (J.C. McKenzie) pulls a gun and attempts to rob a couple outside a restaurant--and is killed in the process. Though beset with financial problems, and facing the possible loss of his trusted nurse Sharona (Bitty Schram), Monk (Tony Shalhoub)agrees to investigate Teal's death, and the reasons behind it. Perhaps the answer can be gleaned from the two people whom the dead man mugged...or perhaps the solution is in the hands of Officer Moretta (Jonathan Rannells) the cop at the crime scene who inexplicably ran away before back-up arrived--and hasn't been seen since. (Note: the scene in which Monk discusses clues pertaining to the earlier death of his wife with writer Kelly Street [Mary Black] was actually filmed for, but removed from, Monk's two-hour pilot episode). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Campbell Scott is both star and co-director of this elaborate (albeit economically produced) four-hour TV version of Shakespeare's immortal tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The film is based on Scott's earlier theatrical production of the same play, with several of the same actors repeating their same roles. Updated to 1900 New York, the text remains substantially the same as it has always been: Hamlet (Scott), the "melancholy" Danish prince, discovers to his horror that his late father, the King, was murdered by his brother (and Hamlet's uncle) Claudius (Jamey Sheridan), who upon ascending to the throne, added insult to injury by wedding Hamlet's mother, Gertrude (Blair Brown). Though his desire for revenge is strong, Hamlet does not want any more bloodshed, and concocts an elaborate scheme to "catch the conscience" of Claudius and force him into a confession. Part of this scheme involves Hamlet's feigned descent into madness -- which, as interpreted by Scott, may not be as "feigned" as he thinks it is. Caught in the middle of this intrigue is Hamlet's lady love, Ophelia (Lisa Gay Hamilton), daughter of Claudius' chief consul, Polonius (played in the manner of a protocol-conscious Victorian diplomat by Roscoe Lee Browne). Some of the choices made by Scott in adapting Hamlet to the screen -- the turn-of-the-century setting; the utilization of black actors in the roles of Polonius, Ophelia, and Laertes (who is played by Roger Guenveur Smith); the casting of Byron Jennings to play both the Ghost of Hamlet's father and the Player King, who pretends to be the father -- were applauded by the critics. Other innovations, notably the use of slow jazz music throughout the action, and Hamlet's violent treatment of poor Ophelia during the "Get thee to a nunnery" scene, were not so enthusiastically received. Whatever the case, Scott does a remarkable job with a tiny budget and a slim 29-day shooting schedule. In addition to the actors' lilting interpretation of the Shakespearean dialogue and soliloquies, the film boasts a truly exciting climactic duel, shot in long takes without the use of stunt doubles. Initially produced for a theatrical release, this Hamlet made its American debut as a cable TV miniseries on the Odyssey Channel, beginning December 10, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Returning home to attend her sister Linda's law-school graduation, a woman named Holly (Elizabeth Berridge) becomes painfully aware that Linda (Gabrielle Carteris) is a victim of spousal abuse. When Linda's husband Ray (J.C. MacKenzie) goes overboard with his violence, Holly takes drastic action, grabbing a gun and killing Ray! Unfortunately, Linda refuses to admit that Ray had beaten her, and it looks like Holly is in for a lengthy prison term unless her erstwhile guardian angel Monica (Roma Downey), in concert with fellow angel Andrew (John Dye)--already on the scene as hockey coach for Linda's son Alex (Joe Pichler)--acts quickly. This episode was originally slated to air on December 7, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

During its first year on the air, the weekly, hour-long ABC series Murder One was unique among legal dramas, in that it dealt with only a single murder case per season. Debuting September 19, 1995, the series spent all of season one focusing on the murder of a young substance-abusing woman, with her lover, obnoxious movie star Neil Avedon (Jason Gedrick), as prime suspect. Handling Avedon's defense were Chris Docknovich (Michael Hayden), Arnold Spivak (J.C. MacKenzie), Justine Appleton (Mary McCormick), and Lisa Gillespie (Grace Phillips), all ambitious young attorneys working for celebrated, controversial, and not entirely ethical criminal lawyer Theodore Hoffman (Daniel Benzali). Appearing for the prosecution were ruthless Assistant DA Miriam Grasso (Barbara Bosson), who worked for the even more ruthless DA Roger Garfield (Gregory Itzin). The Grasso-Garfield team included police detective Arthur Poulson (Dylan Baker) and investigator David Blalock (Kevin Tighe). Among the other first-season regulars were Patricia Clarkson as Theodore Hoffman's long-suffering wife, Ann; John Fleck as Hoffman's office manager, Louis; and Grace Phillips as his receptionist, Lila. While the "one case per year" gimmick attracted a lot of publicity, and -- for a while, anyway -- a lot of viewers, the ratings for Murder One fell precipitously as season one wore on. Thus, when the series returned for its second season, several changes had been imposed, the first being that three cases would be dramatized, rather than merely one. On the docket for season two were a political assassination in which DA Garfield was implicated, an O.J.-like celebrity murder case involving an arrogant basketball star, and a case involving a serial killer who preyed only on professional criminals. Series co-star Daniel Benzali was gone, replaced by younger but no less crafty and cunning defense attorney James "Jimmy" Wyler (Anthony LaPaglia). Also missing was Grace Phillips as Lisa Gillespie, whose replacement, hotheaded junior attorney Aaron Mosely, was played by David Bryan Woodside. Concluding its weekly run on January 23, 1997, Murder One briefly returned five months later in a miniseries format, remaining on the air from May 25 to 29, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Actress Susan Ruttan, who played the quietly efficient legal secretary on LA Law, does an artistic about-face in the TV movie Deadly Medicine. She plays a Texas pediatrics nurse who may have committed several "mercy killings" of her charges. 43 babies die under mysterious circumstances, with Ms. Ruttan seemingly always lurking in the corridor. When confronted by doctor Veronica Hamel, Susan threatens to accuse Ms. Hamel of the murders--and she does, with astonishing success. Though constructed like a network "mystery of the week", Deadly Medicine is founded on fact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Richard Price's grim best-seller, and directed by Spike Lee from a screenplay co-written with Price, Clockers takes the structure of a police procedural to build a chilling portrait of despair, hope, and the unanswered problem of black-on-black crime in an urban housing project. The film's haunting themes are vividly visualized during the opening credits, which run over police photos of dead young black men, shot and sprawled on sidewalks, in streets, and hanging over fences. Strike (Mekhi Phifer) is a 19-year-old African-American "clocker" -- the lowest link on the drug dealing chain -- who hangs around park benches and street corners selling small amounts of druges at all hours of the day. Strike drinks chocolate milk to soothe an ulcer and plays with model trains in his apartment, dreaming of a way out of his dead-end life. Drug kingpin Rodney (Delroy Lindo) asks Strike to kill another clocker, Darryl, for skimming money, saying that this will be Strike's ticket to a higher post in Rodney's organization. Darryl is indeed shot, and suspicion immediately falls on Strike, but a weary cop named Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel) thinks there's more to the case. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Inspired by the childhood experiences of actor George Hamilton, director Richard Loncraine's bittersweet period comedy tells the tale of one mother's attempt to find a new father for her two young boys after catching her husband with another woman. Beautiful but mercurial, Ann Devereaux (Renée Zellweger) has always gotten by on her own charms. Her husband, Dan (Kevin Bacon), is a successful bandleader, but when Ann becomes a witness to his infidelity, she packs their two sons, George (Logan Lerman) and Robbie (Mark Rendall), into her baby-blue Cadillac Coupe de Ville convertible and never looks back. The year is 1953, and Ann is convinced that her girlish charms are still as irresistible as ever. At first their trip is something of an adventure for everyone involved, but the harder Ann searches for a suitable mate the more she realizes that true gentlemen are a dying breed. As time wears on, flamboyant fledgling actor Robbie and cynical aspiring writer George begin to tire of changing schools, their increasingly humble lodgings, and their mother's romantic misadventures. It's a life of instability and unpredictability punctuated by moments of sheer panic, and as Ann forms a different future for her family than either of her sons could have ever imagined, observant George learns to look past her narcissistic exterior and appreciate the determination, dignity, and love that lies just beneath the surface. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Keanu Reeves tops this adaptation of the seminal 1951 sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still with this 20th Century Fox production. Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) helms the story of an alien traveler, Klaatu (Reeves), who heads to Earth along with his bodyguard robot, Gort, to deliver a warning of planetary destruction if the people of the world fail to stop laying waste to the environment. Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, and Kathy Bates co-star in the David Scarpa-penned film. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Martin Scorsese directed this fast-moving, epic-scale biopic documenting the life and loves one of the most colorful Americans of the 20th century, Howard Hughes. The Aviator follows Hughes (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) as the twentysomething millionaire, having already made a fortune improving the design of oil-drilling bits, comes to Hollywood with an interest in getting into the picture business. It doesn't take long for Hughes, with his passion for airplanes, to jump from producer to director of his first major film project, a World War I air epic called Hell's Angels, which took three years to complete thanks to the shift from silent to sound filming and Hughes' relentless perfectionism. However, the film was a massive hit, and the eccentric inventor became a mogul in Hollywood, making Jean Harlow (Gwen Stefani) a star and enjoying a romance with Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett). But Hollywood's old-boy network never fully accepted Hughes, and in time his passion for flying began to reclaim his attentions as he began designing new planes, setting air speed records, flying around the world, and risking his life testing aircraft. Hughes also found time to romance Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale) and founded his own airline, Trans-World Airlines, though as his ideas became bolder, his approach became more eccentric, and he gained many powerful enemies, including the head of Pan-American Airlines, Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin), and Senator Ralph Owen Brewster (Alan Alda), who attempted to prove that Hughes' radical design ideas were actually part of an effort to bilk taxpayers for millions of dollars through government contracts. The Aviator's star-studded cast also includes John C. Reilly, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe, Ian Holm, and Frances Conroy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide