Stephen McHattie

Bruce McDonald, critically acclaimed director of The Tracey Fragments, teams with A Clockwork Orange author Anthony Burgess to adapt Burgess' own novel about a small town in the grip of a mysterious frenzy. It may be Valentine's Day, but for caustic radio personality Grant Mazzy (Steohen McHattie) that's just another reason to be miserable. Mazzy used to be a certified radio superstar, but working in Pontypool is a far shot from working in the big city. But today, as Mazzy prepares for his regular routine of reading the weather, updating school closings, and pleading his case for a little on-air controversy to producer Sydnie Bryer (Lisa Houle), the arrival of an unexpected visitor signals the beginning of a disturbing phenomena in the small town of Pontypool. Heading to work, Mazzy is nearly run over by a distraught woman who seems to have lost her grip on reality. Later, reports of a shootout between provincial police and a group of local ice fishers is made even more bizarre by the revelation that they were all screaming gibberish, running around nude, missing body parts, and reportedly drunk. By the time a riot breaks Dr. Mendes (Hrant Alianak)' office it's obvious to Mazzy that the residents of Pontypool are suffering from a strange form of contagious dementia, but what has caused this bizarre outbreak and, more importantly, how can it be stopped? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The fourth installment of the Jesse Stone series finds restless New England police chief Stone (Tom Selleck) fighting boredom by attempting to solve a twelve year-old cold case involving a murdered bank teller. Jesse Stone is a transplanted L.A. cop who thrived on big city adrenaline, but ultimately buckled under the pressure. Exiled to Paradise after suffering though a nasty divorce and being busted for drinking on the job, Stone now leads a quiet life of writing parking tickets and trying to suppress the urge to cut loose with the booze and babes. When one of his officers out on maternity leave and the other recovering from a recent gunshot wound, Stone turns to some old cold cases to keep himself occupied. Twelve years ago, a local bank teller was killed in broad daylight. Though the gunman responsible for the crime was never brought to justice, Stone soon uncovers a crucial piece of evidence that went overlooked during the original investigation. Now, as this once-cold case gradually begins to heat up again, Stone continues his investigation into an alleged rape that tool place aboard a yacht during Race Week. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Released from prison after serving ten years for pummeling his opponent to the point of inflicting severe brain damage, working class pugilist Donnie Rose (Rossif Sutherland) finds his efforts to start life anew complicated by simmering racism and long-suppressed vengeance. In the aftermath of Donnie's notorious bout with aspiring boxer Charlie Carvery (K.C. Collins), racial tensions in Halifax, Nova Scotia sharply divided the community between black and white. During his sentence Donnie not only honed his boxing skills to near perfection, but he also entered into a furtive affair with his black cellmate - a fact which he struggles to keep from his deeply prejudiced brother Keith (Greg Bryk. Though Charlie's vengeful father George (Danny Glover) has long looked forward to the day he will take revenge on the man who destroyed his son's life, the conflicted father discovers that he simply isn't a killer when finally given the opportunity to pull the trigger on Donnie. Subsequently offered $20,000 to step into the ring with fearsome local boxing champion Ossie Paris (Flex Alexander) for a high profile grudge match that will surely spell his doom, Donnie soon finds help coming from the most unlikely of places. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Sean Patrick Flannery and Rod Taylor star in this horrific tale of a small town overrun by a conspiracy of flesh eating ravens. Middletown sheriff Wayne Merkle (Flannery) has grown used to the quiet life over the years, and like the other citizens of his bustling community he could have never suspected what horrors were about to unfold during his last day before moving to the city with his pretty new bride Cynthia (Kristin Booth). The first sign that something was amiss in the skies over Middletown occurred when outcast farmer Clyde (Stephen McHattie) was attacked. But the locals have all grown tired of Clyde's bizarre exploits over the years, so when he comes into town claiming that he was attacked by ravens most folks simply laugh him off. Their guffaws soon turn to blood-curdling screams, however, when the local girl's soccer team comes under attack and the citizens are forced to barricade themselves in the town diner. While Sheriff Merkle and his good friend Doc (Taylor) do their best to board up the diner and ensure the safety of the citizens, they quickly discover how futile their efforts were when the flesh-eating fowls make quick work of the flimsy shelter. It seems that local farmer Oskar (John Ralston) has been hiding some particularly unsettling developments from his fellow townspeople as of late, leaving the average citizens easy pickings for the razor-talon terror that circles above. As the day turns to night and the jet-black feathers of death become indistinguishable from the darkened sky, the few remaining survivors will wage one last, desperate stand against the army of merciless killers that circle overhead. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Tom Selleck returns to the role of small-town police chief Jesse Stone in this prequel to the CBS TV movie Stone Cold. Having been booted from the LAPD for drunkenness (brought on by his grief over his wife's death), Stone heads to tiny Paradise, Massachussetts, where through the auspices of local banker Hastings Hathaway (Saul Rubinek) he is appointed chief of police. His first assignment is to investigate the murder of his predecessor Lou Carson (Mike Starr), whose death may or may not be tied in with a local domestic-abuse case involving minor mob functionary Jo Jo Genest (Stephen Baldwin). Although his new staff has a lot of trouble dealing with Stone's eccentricities--not least of which is insisting upon taking his pet dog Boomer wherever he goes--Jesse gradually wins them over. Along the way, he also tries to melt the heart of his staunchest adversary, attractive attorney Abby Taylor (Polly Shannon--all the while fending off the advances of banker Hathaway's libidinous wife Cissy (Stephanie March). Based on a novel by Robert B. Parker, Jesse Stone: Night Passage was originally telecast on January 15, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A series of massive tidal waves decimate the entire East Coast, leading a renegade expert on man made ecological disasters and weapons of mass destruction to suspect that a force far more human than Mother Nature is at work in this terrifying mini-series starring Angus Macfayden, Tom Skerritt, and Karin Vanasse. The first wave hit the East Coast without warning, with subsequent tsunamis following in quick succession. Before long towns all along the coast have been destroyed, and scientists are at a loss to explain just where these gigantic waves originated. When top scientists fail to find a conventional explanation for the waves, renegade ecological expert John McAdams (Macfayden) is called upon to offer a hypothesis. Upon consulting with Oceanographic Institute genius Sophie Marleau (Vanasse), McAdams begins to suspect that the waves are man made disasters specifically designed to keep the population in check. After McAdams makes his suspicions public, another scientist attempts to uncover who is behind the conspiracy and is promptly murdered - leaving McAdams as the prime suspect in the killing. Later, McAdams discovers the true identity of the terrorist whose sub-aquatic nuclear missiles are holding an entire country in fear. But as the earth begins to quake and the seas begin to swell once again, it may already be too late to stop the latest attack. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A tough cop must deal with some ugly crimes in a small New England town in this made-for-TV mystery. Jesse Stone (Tom Selleck) is the thick-skinned chief of police in the small town of Paradise, MA; while Stone has a good heart, he's not the sort of man who wears his emotions on his sleeve, and often turns to whiskey when his work gets to be too much for him. When a series of unexplained murders begin occurring in Paradise, Stone begins to suspect Andrew Lincoln (Reg Rogers) and his wife, Brianna (Jane Adams), a pair of eccentric artists who have a fascination with violence. But when 16-year-old Candace Pennington (Alexis Dziena) is brought in to see Stone by her mother and father after she's been raped, Stone is a bit puzzled by the parents' reaction to the crime, and wonders if there might be some link between this assault and the murders. Stone Cold was based on the best-selling novel by noted crime author Robert B. Parker. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

David Cronenberg directed this screen adaptation of a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke which explores how an act of heroism unexpectedly changes a man's life. Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) lives a quiet life in a small Indiana town, running the local diner with his wife, Edie (Maria Bello), and raising their two children. But the quiet is shattered one day when a pair of criminals on the run from the police walk into his diner just before closing time. After they attack one of the customers and seem ready to kill several of the people inside, Tom jumps to the fore, grabbing a gun from one of the criminals and killing the invaders. Tom is immediately hailed as a hero by his employees and the community at large, but Tom seems less than comfortable with his new notoriety. One day, a man with severe facial scars, Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris), sits down at the counter and begins addressing Tom as Joey, and begins asking him questions about the old days in Philadelphia. While Tom seems puzzled, Carl's actions suggest that the quiet man pouring coffee at the diner may have a dark and violent past he isn't eager to share with others -- as well as some old scores that haven't been settled. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, simian villain Gorilla Grodd has organized the Secret Society, a tightly-knit team of fellow baddies. With the members of the Justice League falling prey to petty squabbles and ego tripping, it looks as if the Secret Sociey will be able to take over the world with the greatest of ease. It is up to The Green Lantern to set things aright -- but without the cooperation of his fellow Leaguers, he may well fail in his mission. ~ All Movie Guide

After countless faithful translations to the big screen -- not to mention one timeless, Oscar-winning musical version -- Charles Dickens' tale of downtrodden London youth is given a gritty, contemporary spin in this independent Canadian production. This time told from the point of view of the Artful Dodger, Twist transposes the story of Oliver Twist to modern-day Toronto, where Dodge (Nick Stahl) is a smack-addicted male hustler working the streets when he comes across foster-home runaway Oliver (Joshua Close). The two strike up a fast friendship and Dodge makes the boy his apprentice, introducing him to a world of drugs, prostitution, and squalid, rent-free living, overseen by the formidable pimp Fagin (Gary Farmer). But Oliver finds his loyalties torn between his nascent attraction to Dodge and his son-like affection for Nancy (Michèle-Barbara Pelletier), the girlfriend of and pusher for the powerful drug dealer Bill Sykes. Written and directed by former child actor Jacob Tierney (The Neon Bible), Twist first made its appearance on the festival scene at the 2003 Venice and Toronto fests. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two part story, Superman's perennial nemesis Lex Luthor breaks out of prison. The fugitive is pursued by the Justice League, who soon realize that Luthor is dying. As a "last stand" against the Leaguers in general and Superman in particular, Luthor manages to organize his own team of super-villains called The Injustice Gang, among them the Joker, Star Sapphire, the Shade, Copperhead, Cheetah, and Ultra-Humanite! Clancy Brown and Mark Hamill, who were heard as Luthor and the Joker in several previous animated versions of Batman and Superman, repeat their roles here. Both episodes of "Injustice for All" were released on DVD in tandem with another Justice League two-parter, "The Brave and the Bold," in October of 2004. ~ All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, the League faces a new foe in the form of Aresia, a renegade Amazon from Wonder Woman's home island. Leading a pack of Injustice Gang members, Aresia commits a series of seemingly pointless crimes, humiliating Batman in the process. Wonder Woman dispatches Hawkgirl to Amazon Island to root out the motives behind Aresia's crime wave. Meanwhile, the villainess' gang neutralizes Superman, Green Lantern, and Flash -- making it crystal clear that, for whatever reason, Aresia is conducting a deadly vendetta against the entire male population of Earth. ~ All Movie Guide