Hy Conrad Movies
- 2006
Feeling personally responsible when one of his patients is charged with the murder of a cleaning lady, Monk's psychiatrist Dr. Kroger (Stanley Kamel) retires from practice. This of course sends Monk (Tony Shalhoub) into a tailspin: Not only has he been "abandoned" by Kroger, but he now must endure the tortuous process of finding another shrink. If for no other reason that to get Kroger back on the job, Monk determines to solve the murder--and in the process ends up kidnapped by a drug smuggler who didn't even know the dead woman. Can it be that Monk's fate rests in the hands of fellow patient Harold Krenshaw (Tim Bagley), the man whom he despises more than anyone else in the world? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
Season Five of Monk begins as San Francisco's most efficient--and most obsessive-compulsive--private detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) finds himself the central character of an upcoming movie. Much to Monk's relief, he won't be forced to play himself: Instead, the role of Monk has gone to Hollywood superstar David Ruskin (Stanley Tucci). Unfortunately, Ruskin is one of those method actors who insists upon meticulous pre-film research, and soon he is relentlessly dogging Monk's trail during a murder investigation. At first, Monk doesn't seem to mind, and actually enjoys showing off for Ruskin's benefit--but things take a sinister turn when Ruskin so loses himself in the role of "Adrian Monk" that he tries to exact his own personal vengeance against a suspect in the long-ago murder of Monk's wife Trudy! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Season Four of Monk begins as obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) seemingly meets his match in the form of private eye Marty Eels (Jason Alexander), whose disheveled appearance and careless manner evidently masks a keen analytical mind. Both Monk and Eels are working on robbery-murder at a jewelry store, and Monk is none too pleased that his rival is continually two steps ahead of him in uncovering evidence and arriving at the right conclusions--in fact, Eels' skills are something short of miraculous! Eventually, Monk discovers that Eels has been cheating all along with the help of his mother (!)...and it is a suddenly humbled and contrite Marty Eels who begs Monk's help when his duplicity puts his mom in harm's way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
While Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is in bed with the flu, Natalie (Traylor Howard) takes it upon herself to solve the murder of a pizza deliveryman. First off, she finds that the man killed is not man she thought he was. Next, she turns burglar to harvest a few likely clues, only to discover that a sinister figure has been watching her every move. And finally, she is taken hostage by the chief suspect in the case that Monk had been working on before he fell ill. As so often happens on Monk, two seemingly unrelated homicides are inextricably linked--but Natalie may not live long enough to find this out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
After witnessing a Chinese mob killing, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is placed in protective custody by Federal Agent Grooms (Josh Stamberg) and bundled off to a remote woodland cabin. Unable to sleep so far away from his natural habitat, Monk becomes oversensitized to the Sounds of the Night--including what seems to be a cry for help. The next morning, Monk's new neighbor Martin Willowby (Glenn Morshower) turns up missing, and Willowby's wife Melora (Faith Prince) is acting in a most peculiar fashion. Meanwhile, back in San Francisco, Lt. Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) is apprised of a new danger facing Monk when he reads a Chinese fortune cookie! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2004
While trying to retrieve a stolen newspaper, paperboy Nestor Alverez (Enrique Almeida) is killed on Monk's doorstep. In his efforts to determine the motive behind the killing, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) manages to solve two unrelated murders--but still can't find out why anyone would want to bump off a nice kid like Nestor. It takes an additional murder, coupled with the keen analytical eye of Monk's nurse-assistant Sharona (Bitty Schram), to finally crack the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2004
An act of sabotage causes a string of power blackouts in San Francisco--not to mention three deaths. Monk (Tony Shalhoub) unearths evidence indicating that the man responsible for the chaos is anti-military activist Winston Brenner. Well and good--except that Winston Brenner died nine years ago. This doesn't stop Monk from ardently pursuing the murderous "corpse", who has apparently struck again and claimed a fourth victim. Watch for a fleeting reference to Silence of the Lambs (1991), in which Monk regular Ted Levine (Captain Stottlemeyer) played wily serial killer "Buffalo Bill." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2004
Sharona (Bitty Schram) insists that she's been confronted by a dying man soaked in blood, but when Monk (Tony Shalhoub) investigates the body has disappeared and the "crime scene" is spotless. In the days that follow, Sharona comes face to face with the bloodied man on two further occasions, but is unable to convince anyone of what she's seen. Worried that she's been merely hallucinating, Sharona takes a few days off while her nurse friend Varla (Niecy Nash) takes her place. Before long, Monk is investigating whether or not Sharona has been telling the truth...if only to escape from the overbearing Varla! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
CEO Lawrence Hammond (John Sanderford) and his trophy wife Erin (Darby Stanchfield) are murdered after being lured to a vacant lot. With only the CEO's bizarre last words as a clue, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) figures out that Erin, and not Lawrence, was the murderer's target. And there's more: Erin's death may be linked to baseball star Scott Gregorio (Christopher Wiehl), who is currently poised to break the single-season homerun record. Finding a kindred spirit in Gregorio, Monk races to reveal the killer so that the ballplayer will pull himself out of a potentially devastating slump. The detective hits upon the solution under the unlikeliest of circumstances--while he is (ineptly!) umpiring a Little League game. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
A weekend vacation at a California seaside resort turns out to be business as usual for Monk (Tony Shalhoub), Sharona (Bitty Schramm) and Benjy (Max Morrow). The trouble begins when Benjy witnesses a murder--or does he? All existing evidence suggests that Benjy was either lying or hallucinating...especially when the "victim" shows up alive and well. But Monk smells a rat: Even by his own obsessive-compulsive standards, the alleged murder scene was way too clean for its own good! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
