Stephen McHattie Movies

Stephen Dorff, Val Kilmer, Jessica Gilsig, and Stephen McHattie star in this two-part mini-series inspired by the 1984 comic book series of the same name (which was later adapted into a popular video game by Ubisoft Entertainment). A young man with no recollection of the past is discovered in a forest, the only clue to his past being a tattoo that reads "XIII." Subsequently accused of assassinating the president, the man embarks on a desperate quest to discover his true identity and expose the conspirators attempting to use him as a scapegoat for a crime he didn't commit. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The fifth installment of the Jesse Stone franchise finds the Massachusetts police chief drawing the wrath of the Town Council after inadvertently being drawn into a shoot-out on the streets of Boston. Paradise, Mass. Police Chief Jesse Stone (Tom Selleck) has just been involved in a highly-publicized shoot-out that left his friend, State Homicide Commander Healy (Stephen McHattie), seriously wounded. As a result, the Boston Police Department's Internal Affairs division launches an investigation against Chief Stone, causing the dedicated lawman to be away from Paradise for extended periods of time and drawing unwanted attention from the Town Council. When Chief Stone fires the Paradise Police Department's most enthusiastic ticket-writer, the city's main source of revenue takes a serious hit. His status with the Town Council already faltering, the chief puts his own job in serious jeopardy by agreeing to help a celebrated out-of-towner search for her missing child. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A certified loser sets out to prove that he's "a real somebody" by procuring the three items that his childhood hero claims every winner has in this morbid comedy from writer/director Simon R. Ennis. Hard as he may try, Robert R. Mutt (Joshua Pearce) can never catch an even break; after failing to take his own life, he's kicked out of Riverside Mental Hospital for being too happy. Desperate to live up to his potential and prove that he's not a loser, Robert seeks out the advice of former local baseball superstar Clinton Manitoba (Michael Madsen). According to Clinton, there are three things a man needs to be whole: a woman, a nice wad of cash, and a championship ring. In no time, Robert has gotten mixed up in the drug racket, hooked-up with a roller-skating transvestite, and entered into an air hockey tournament. It may not be the most conventional path to success, but perhaps if Robert can stay true to his goal he can finally prove that he isn't the biggest nitwit in town. ~ 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

Sin City author Frank Miller's sweeping take on the historic Battle of Thermopylae comes to the screen courtesy of Dawn of the Dead director Zack Snyder. Gerard Butler stars as Spartan King Leonidas and Lena Headey plays Queen Gorgo. The massive army of the Persian Empire is sweeping across the globe, crushing every force that dares stand in its path. When a Persian envoy arrives in Sparta offering King Leonidas power over all of Greece if he will only bow to the will of the all powerful Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), the strong-willed leader assembles a small army comprised of his empire's best fighters and marches off to battle. Though they have virtually no hope of defeating Xerxes' intimidating battalion, Leonidas' men soldier on, intent on letting it be known they will bow to no man but their king. Meanwhile, back in Sparta, the loyal Queen Gorgo attempts to convince both the skeptical council and the devious Theron (Dominic West) to send more troops despite the fact that many view Leonidas' unsanctioned war march as a serious transgression. As Xerxes' fearsome "immortals" draw near, a few noble Greeks vow to assist the Spartans on the battlefield. When King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan warriors fell to the overwhelming Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, the fearless actions of the noble fighters inspired all of Greece to stand up against their Persian enemy and wage the battle that would ultimately give birth to the modern concept of democracy. ~ 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

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

Requiem for a Dream director Darren Aronofsky switches gears from drug-induced urban malaise to abstract science fiction with this time-tripping symbolic tale of a man's thousand-year quest to save the woman he loves. Moving between representational stories and images, this meditation on life and death focuses on the concept of the mythical Tree of Life that is said to bestow immortality to all who drink of its sap. In one of the film's allegorical timelines, a 16th century Spanish conquistador played by Hugh Jackman sets out to find the tree in order to save his queen (Rachel Weisz) from the Inquisition. Another conceptual story finds Jackman centuries later, struggling with mortality as a modern-day scientist desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi. The third and most abstract concept finds Jackman as a different incarnation of the same character-idea, this time questing for eternal life within the confines of a floating sphere transporting the aged Tree of Life through the depths of space. Still more avant-garde than his breakthrough film Pi, The Fountain finds Aronofsky almost completely abandoning conventional story structure in favor of something more cinematically abstract. Though the film was originally slapped with an R by the MPAA, Aronofsky & co. re-edited it to conform to a PG-13 rating. ~ Jason Buchanan, 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 first episode of a two-part story, simian villain Gorilla Grodd hopes to take advantage of dissension and disagreement within the ranks of the Justice League. Grodd organizes his own team of villains, including such nasties as Giganta, Sinestro, and Killer Frost. Inasmuch as Grodd's team gets along with one another a lot better than the members of the Justice Leage, it looks as though villainy will triumph over virtue this time around! ~ All Movie Guide