Mark Moses Movies

When the mischievous antics of a precocious 12-year-old girl result in the outcome of the United States presidential election hinging on the vote of her apathetic, likable loser of a father, the man who thought that life had long since passed him by is reluctantly thrust into the national spotlight in this political-themed comedy starring Kevin Costner. Bud Johnson (Costner) is your typical American -- a simple man and loving father who never would have thought he had the power to change the world. Though when election day finally arrives and Bud prepares to cast his ballot, his overachieving daughter Molly proves to be the catalyst for a stunning series of events that place the fate of the free world in the hands of a man more comfortable slinging cases of beer -- her father. The two candidates are portrayed by Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer, with Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci as their campaign managers. George Lopez also stars as a local TV-station manager who has to deal with the political factions as they set up camp in the small town. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An FBI agent finds himself crossing the gender line again in the name of national security in this sequel to the comedy hit Big Momma's House. Tom Fuller (Mark Moses) is a computer whiz who is under investigation by the FBI, who suspect he may be the man behind a dangerous piece of underground software that would allow terrorists and criminals to access secured intelligence files online. The Bureau is looking for a way to get inside Fuller's home to find out what he's doing when a golden opportunity presents itself -- Fuller and his wife, Leah (Emily Procter), are in the market for a nanny to help look after their three children. The FBI sends in Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence), who will once again impersonate feisty septuagenarian Hattie Mae Pierce, better known as "Big Momma." "Big Momma" gets the job, but while trying to dig up the truth about Fuller's possible criminal connections, Malcolm also finds himself developing a close relationship with the suspect's wife and kids. Malcolm also finds himself offering unlikely romantic advice to his new partner, Kevin (Zachary Levi), and developing a new appreciation of the day-to-day travails of his wife, Sherrie (Nia Long). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An awful lot of awful things happen in the outwardly respectable neighborhood surrounding Wisteria Lane during the first season of Desperate Housewives, beginning with the suicide of Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) -- who still manages to stick around in spectral form to serve as the series' narrator. Why did she do it -- and what exactly is her husband, Paul (Mark Moses), trying to cover up by throwing that old box he'd dug up from the backyard swimming pool into the river? Then there are Mary Alice's housewife friends Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher), Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross), and Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria). Divorcée Susan starts dating handsome plumber Mike (James Denton), only to be undercut by the neighborhood's resident vamp, the much-married Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan). Lynette has given up a high-paying business career to take care of her family, only to be rewarded with the cutthroat competitiveness of husband Tom (Doug Savant), the miserable behavior of her children, and the open scorn of such obnoxious neighbors as Maisy Gibbons (Sharon Lawrence). Control freak Bree, described by the ABC publicity folks as "Martha Stewart on steroids," finds her life spiralling out of control when her husband, Rex (Steven Culp), divorces her and her sociopathic son, Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom), adopts a "so what" attitude after striking down an old woman with his car. And sexy ex-model Gabrielle is cheating on her moonstruck millionaire husband, Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira), with hunky 17-year-old gardener John (Jesse Metcalfe). And that's only a sample of what season one has to offer. Want more? Well, you asked for it! Susan accidentally burns down Edie's house and is blackmailed on that account by a Mrs. Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook) -- who is later killed by Paul Young, but it is Mike who is arrested for her murder. Later still, Susan is descended upon by her ex-husband, Karl (Richard Burgi), and her intrusive mother, Sophie Bremmer (Lesley Ann Warren). As for Lynette, she finds out that her husband's sainted father (Ryan O'Neal) is a serial philanderer. Also, after painfully adjusting to the breakup of her marriage, Bree starts going out with pharmacist George Williams (Roger Bart); Paul Young's son, Zach (Cody Kasch), inexplicably drops out of sight; and it is revealed that the oh-so-judgmental Maisy Gibbons has been sleeping with practically every man in the neighborhood -- including Bree's ex Rex! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The body of a woman, infested with bugs and insects, is found in the desert. Grissom (William L. Petersen) does not follow the conventional wisdom that the woman's husband is responsible. In other developments, a missing person's car turns up unexpectedly at a bus station, several valuable art treasures are stolen, and Warrick (Gary Dourdan) is suspected of gambling while on duty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara becomes this sprawling historical epic. As in Shaara's novel, director Ronald Maxwell focuses on a handful of major players to dramatize the events of July 1863, when the armies of the Union and Confederacy clash at the small Pennsylvania town of the title. Among them are Martin Sheen as General Robert E. Lee, who disagrees with his top advisor, General James Longstreet (Tom Berenger) over battle strategy, and Jeff Daniels as Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a college professor whose unorthodox techniques save the day (and possibly the war) for his beleaguered army. Other cast standouts include Richard Jordan in his final film appearance as the ill-fated General Lewis Armistead, and cameo roles for Civil War buff Ken Burns and media mogul producer Ted Turner. Filmed on-location at Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg was shot as a television miniseries for Turner's TNT cable channel, but earned a limited theatrical release. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Television anchor Barry Barron (Elliott Gould) is killed after he becomes involved with a breaking story, but is raised as a zombie by a voodoo spell. Not quite the stumbling idiot that most of the undead are known for, Barron has to solve his own murder and uncover the story. He is helped in his quest by a spiritualist (Mabel King). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Michael Pare and Mary Mara star in this thriller about two police detectives who fall into a passionate relationship as they investigate a murder among the wealthy and privileged. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The second of three films by co-writer/director Oliver Stone to explore the effects of the Vietnam War (Platoon and Heaven and Earth are the others), Born On The Fourth Of July tells the true story of Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise), a patriotic, All-American small town athlete who shocks his family by enlisting with the Marines to fight in the Vietnam War. Once he is overseas, however, Kovic's gung-ho enthusiasm turns to horror and confusion when he accidentally kills one of his own men in a firefight. His downfall is furthered by a bullet wound that leaves him paralyzed from the chest down. He returns home, spends an appalling, nightmarish stint in a veterans' hospital, and follows an increasingly disillusioned and fragmented path that ultimately leaves him drunk and dissolute in Mexico. However, Kovic somehow turns himself around and pulls his life together, becoming an outspoken anti-war activist in the process. The film is long but emotionally powerful; many consider it Stone's best work and Cruise's best performance. Both were nominated for Oscars, as was the film itself, but only Stone, who co-wrote the film with Kovic from the latter's book, won for Best Director. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

A tracking gunman is joined by his collegian son in an effort to catch a homicidal religious freak in this made-for-cable western. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide