Michael Rogers Movies

A B-movie actress takes aim at a notoriously smutty filmmaker, and realizes that in order to destroy his career she'll have to make a major compromise in this cutting showbiz satire. When skin-flick director Jerry Farber attempts to fondle then fires his latest starlet, she hires a lawyer who vows to make him pay. But just as revenge is within her grasp, the infuriated actress finds herself faced with an even greater moral dilemma - this time involving her chauvinistic new boss. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

As the foundation of the Mayan civilization begins to crumble, one man's previously idyllic existence is forever changed when he is chosen as a sacrifice needed to appease the gods in director Mel Gibson's mythic, end-times adventure. The Mayan kingdom is at the absolute height of opulence and power, but leaders are convinced that unless more temples are constructed and more human sacrifices made, the crops, and ultimately the people, will suffer. Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is a peaceful hunter from a remote forest tribe whose life is about to be changed forever. When Jaguar Paw's village is raided and he is prepared as a sacrifice that the Mayan deities have demanded, the brave young hunter is forced to navigate a horrific new world of fear and oppression. Fearlessly determined to escape his captors and save his family from a harrowing demise, Jaguar Paw prepares to risk it all in one final, desperate attempt to preserve his dying way of life. However, few who have seen the sacrificial alter of the Mayans have managed to live to see another day. Now, in order to rescue his pregnant wife and young son, Jaguar Paw will have to elude the most powerful warriors of the Mayan kingdom while using his vast knowledge of the forest to turn the tables on those who would rather see him dead than set free. Inspired by such ancient Mayan texts as the Popul Vuh, Apocalypto marks a comprehensive collaboration between director Gibson, Cambridge-educated screenwriter Farhad Safinia, and world-renowned archeologist and Mayan culture expert Dr. Richard D. Hansen -- whose services as a special consultant on the film lent the production an unprecedented degree of historical accuracy. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

French director Elie Chouraqui adapts the novel of the same name into this drama, that, although set in 1991, became tragically topical in the weeks before its release due to the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Andie MacDowell stars as Sarah, a photo editor for Newsweek and the happily married wife of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Harrison Lloyd (David Strathairn). Harrison has been reconsidering his career of covering the world's war zone "hot spots" in order to spend more time with his family, and is accused by his colleague, Kyle (Adrien Brody), of playing it too safe in his risky profession. Harrison elects to accept one more combat assignment to cover the simmering tensions in Croatia, a conflict that quickly erupts into a full-scale, genocidal Civil War. Informed that Harrison is believed to have been killed in the fighting, Sarah refuses to accept her husband's death and becomes convinced that she's seen him, alive, in a news broadcast. She travels to Croatia on a quest to find him, and is eventually aided by Kyle, as well as two of Harrison's other colleagues, Yeager (Elias Koteas) and Stevenson (Brendan Gleeson). The group, armed with cameras instead of weapons, witnesses the horrors and atrocities unfolding in the region, while tracing the elusive path of Harrison, who may well be dead already. Harrison's Flowers was distributed by Universal Focus, the art house division of Universal Pictures that previously released Mulholland Drive (2001) and Billy Elliott (2000). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

When popular hockey player Matt Clerk dies before his time, he is promptly reincarnated as an Olympic-level figure skater. Only one problem: In his new incarnation, "he" has become a "she" -- Sarah Bryan by name. Retaining his macho-masculine sensibilities despite his curvaceous female frame, the hero (heroine?) has a lot of maturing to do before he's able to go for the gold. Aaron Smolinski plays the protagonist before the metamorphosis, while Nicholle Tom is seen as the "reborn" Sarah. Also in the cast are real-life skating stars Tara Lipinski and Nancy Kerrigan (and please note how no cracks are being made about broken limbs). Made for cable, Ice Angel was first telecast by the Family Channel on March 5, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Crimes of Passion: Badge of Betrayal is the cable-TV and home-video title of an "ABC World Premiere Movie" that originally aired January 6, 1997 as simply Badge of Betrayal. Newly arrived from the Big City, professional cop and single mom Annie Walter (Michele Greene) joins the small-town Wyoming police force headed by Sheriff Dave Ward (Harry Hamlin). It doesn't take long for Annie to ascertain that Ward is a crook, a grafter, a sadist, a possible murderer--and a sexual predator. She'd like to blow the whistle on Ward, but he is too powerful in the community to be touched; moreover, he can ruin her in an instant, and has already arranged for the property value of her house to be depleted so that she'd be financially destroyed if she ever moved out of town to tell her story. With the help of a courageous attorney, Annie formulates a plan to (hopefully!) ensnare Ward in his own web of corruption. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

US Marshal Mickey Dane is sent back to his native Prague to investigate the assassination of a Cuban UN ambassador. The prime suspect is professional hit woman Simone Rosset, the lesbian co-owner of a posh restaurant there. The other owner is Simone's girl friend. Mickey catches Simone, but then she escapes. He and his partner CIA-agent Alex Reed, catch her again and take her into the countryside until they can sneak her back into the States. As time passes, Mickey begins suspecting that she is innocent of the crime. Simone swears that she has retired and hasn't left the Czech Republic in over five years. Finally convinced, he and she head back for Prague only to find themselves even more deeply entangled in a complex conspiracy, treachery and violence. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The tragic wreck of the super-tanker Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska on March 24, 1989 was one of the most devastating ecological disasters in recent history. Immediately after the ship ran aground and began pumping over 11 million gallons of suffocating oil from its ruptured hold, experts were sent out to assess the damage and clean up the mess. This gripping docudrama tells their story. Much centers on the conflict between local officials, the fishing industry, and the Exxon official sent out to oversee the clean-up and take the rap. With unflinching moral outrage, the filmmakers point out that much of the aftermath could have been minimized had the officials in charge been better prepared and not spent so much time involved in useless red-tape and petty bureaucratic bickering. Most of the film was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, but it also utilizes archival filmclips of the actual disaster and clean up efforts. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The lives behind Playboy models are examined in this made-for-television movie. The film focuses on three women who decide to go against the judgement of their families and friends and pose for the notorious adult magazine. The posers are Ivy League student Abigail Baywood (Amanda Peterson), working mother Meredith Lanahan (Lynda Carter) and broker Janet Janeway (Michele Green). Each woman has her own motivation for the risky move, and despite the lack of support from loved ones, each one comes to terms with her decision. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

Chuck Norris stars in this derivative action film (directed by his brother, Aaron Norris) which bears more than a passing similarity to Steven Seagal's Marked for Death. Norris plays Cliff Garret, a Seattle cop who is mortally wounded in a drug bust. Garret's condition is grave but he manages to pull through. However, the Seattle police have plans for him and put out the word that Garret has died. When Garret regains his strength, he is given a new identity as hit man Danny Grogan and is assigned to go undercover and infiltrate the crime family of Marco Luganni (Al Waxman). "Grogan" must bring both Luganni and rival gang-lord Andre Lacombe (Marcel Sabourin) into police custody. But his past comes back to haunt him in the person of Ronny Delany (Michael Parks), a goon from Grogan's Garret days, who threatens to blow his cover. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Harrison Ford delivers one of his most-acclaimed performances in Peter Weir's adaptation of Paul Theroux's novel (scripted by Paul Schrader). Ford plays Allie Fox, an inventor embittered by the blighted landscape of the contemporary United States. As he tells his oldest son, Charlie (River Phoenix), "Look around you. It's a toilet." He moves his wife (Helen Mirren) and kids -- Charlie, Jerry (Jadrien Steele), April (Hilary Gordon), and Clover (Rebecca Gordon) -- to the rain forests of Central America, where he plans to create a new civilization starting with his own nuclear family. Allie's family compliantly goes along with his scheme to build a free society, but slowly notices that his obsession has turned him into a tyrannical fascist. Rather than create a utopia, Allie's driving egomania demands total subservience from his downtrodden brood. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Family Ties' Meredith Baxter Birney stars in this made-for-television movie about a woman threatened with losing her son to her ex-husband. Following her divorce, Margaret's son Aaron is the only person who matters to her. But when Margaret unexpectedly begins showing symptoms of mental-illness, the boy's father decides she is incapable of safely caring for their child. Determined to retain custody, Margaret embarks on a courtroom fight as well as a fight to maintain her own sanity. Nick Mancuso also stars. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi