Michele Fazekas Movies
- 2007
In an era distinguished by popular TV series in which the heroes are the villains (The Sopranos, The Shield), it should surprise no one that the most charming and likeable character in the CW comedy-drama series Reaper was the Devil Himself. The story got under way when 20-year-old slacker Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison), one of the least stellar employees at his local Work Bench home-improvement store, finally found out why his parents (Allison Hossack, Andrew Arlie) had always allowed him to goof off and drift aimlessly through life while simultaneously demanding so much from his overachieving kid brother Keith (Kyle Switzer). It turned out that Mom and Dad felt guilty about selling Sam's soul to the Devil (Ray Wise), before the boy had even been born. Once Sam turned 21, up popped the Devil again, demanding that our hero immediately go to work for him--or else. Sam's new job was as a Satanic "bounty hunter", tracking down and recapturing souls who'd managed to escape from Hell. Since the people whom Sam hunted down richly deserved eternal damnation, and since the immacuately-dressed Devil was such a warm, personable guy, Sam found his new assignment a lot more stimulating than his customary duties at the Work Bench. He even managed to enlist his best friends and coworkers Sock (Tyler Labine) and Ben (Rick Gonzalez) as his helpers, and to persuade Sock's ex-girlfriend, paralegal Josie (Valarie Rae Miller), to do the necessary research work on each "fallen demon". At the same time, Sam had to keep his "mission" a secret from his earthly boss Ted (Donovan Stinson) and his erstwhile girlfriend Andi (Missy Peregrym). Making its CW debut on September 25, 2007, Reaper played like an unholy alliance between Faust and Clerks--hardly surprising, since the series was coproduced by Clerks creator Kevin Smith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bret Harrison, Tyler Labine, (more)
- 2005
In the final episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit's sixth season, the SVU team investigates when two police officers, both former army reservists who'd served in Afghanistan, lash out violently at their wives--after experiencing terrifying hallucinations and exhibiting suicidal tendencies. This bizarre behavior is linked to the anti-malaria drug Quinium, which is now apparently being peddled illegally. The climax finds Assistant DA Novak (Diane Neal) taking an unusually personal interest in proving that the Defense Department knew all about Quinium's disastrous side effects but had refused to reveal their findings; and at the same time, Detective Stabler (Christopher Meloni) has a showdown with his estranged wife. Law & Order regular Fred Dalton Thompson makes a cameo appearance in his familiar guise as DA Arthur Branch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Two young girls, Kerry Lynn Palmer and Dana McNamara, are raped and murdered--fourteen years apart. At the time of the first murder, Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) had nailed Gordon Rickett (Matthew Modine) as the perpetrator, only to let Rickett slip through his fingers. Now, Stabler is determined to sweat a confession out of Rickett for both murders, even if it means interrogating the suspect nonstop during the 24 hours he is able to keep him in the holding tank. But Stabler's colleagues are worried: will he be able to retain his professional detachment, or will his all-consuming hatred of Rickett get the better of the desperate detective? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2004
Mary Stuart Masterson makes the first of three appearances as psychologist Rebecca Hendrix, whom exacutive producer Fred Wolf had brought in as a temporary replacement while series regular B.D. Wong (Dr. Huang) was appearing in the Broadway musical "Pacific Overtures." Dr. Hendrix joins the SVU team to track down rapist Thomas Mathers (Dallas Roberts), who targets mentally or physically disabled women. Mathers' most recent victim is Hendrix's patient Miranda Cole (an Emmy-winning portrayal by Amanda Plummer). Unfortuanately, Miranda's schizophrenia, coupled with a plethora of contradictory evidence, may well allow Mathers to slip through the fingers of the authorities--and the fact that Hendrix and Detective Benson (Mariska Hargitay) absolutely cannot agree on anything further complicates matters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2004
Their suspicions aroused when a 12-year-old girl named Melanie (Holliston Coleman) lands in the hospital with complications relating to her pregnancy, SVU detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Munch (Richard Belzer) end up confronting a charismatic cult leader named Eugene Hoff (Jeff Kober). At any rate, that's what he's calling himself now: it seems that Hoff is a seasoned scam artist who, under a variety of aliases, has exploited gullible religious fanatics for his own crooked purposes. It turns out that Melanie is not only Hoff's wife, she is one of several of his wives--and this is not the most sinister aspect of the case. Series regular Mariska Hargitay earned an Emmy nomination for her perfomance in this harrowing episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
