Michael Rooker Movies

Martial arts hero Steven Seagal developed, co-wrote, co-produced, choreographed, and debuted in this thrill ride -- a cop film with more attitude, and more plot, than its star had duties on the set. Seagal is Nico Toscani, an Italian immigrant, American patriot, ex-CIA agent, aikido specialist, and unorthodox Chicago policeman. He is as committed to his job as he is to his personalized brand of justice: expert and thorough bone-crushing. When the FBI orders his squad to ignore the mysterious shipment of military explosives they seized from a notorious narcotics dealer, Nico defiantly pursues his own investigation. With the help of his partner Jax (Pam Grier), he sifts through a tangled web of Catholic priests, illegal immigrants, and trained assassins to uncover a drug cartel run directly out of the CIA by an official named Zagon Henry Silva. Nico remembers the man from his CIA days in Vietnam, when Zagon used the agency (and the war) as a front for smuggling opium. At the time, Nico was too outranked to thwart him, but he will no longer let Zagon abuse his position to remain immune from prosecution -- especially now that the official has plans to murder a U.S. senator. Zagon may be above the law of most men, but he is certainly not above Nico's. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, Rovi

An explosive situation erupts when a mob war thrusts a yakuza, an ex-cop, and his adolescent daughter into a deadly, no-win situation. Booted in disgrace from the L.A. police force Bob Malone (Michael Rooker) suffers a seemingly endless unlucky streak. Matters don't improve when a robbery led by a crazed criminal (Bob Goldthwait) transpires at the bank where Malone is filling out foreclosure papers. Witnessing the crime, something inside Malone snaps and he single-handedly wipes out most of the robber gang. Unfortunately, the ringleader escapes and Malone ends up jailed by his corrupt former colleague Lt. Tony Dussecq (Tom Laughlin). At the same time, two Japanese yakuza arrive in L.A. to deliver a special message to L.A.'s most prominent Mafia don. The yakuza are in a restaurant when the bank robber (wearing a vest covered with explosives) bursts in and threatens to blow the place up. One of the Japanese, Koji (Ryo Ishibashi), intervenes in an explosive sequence. He too ends up at the police station just as Malone's feisty teen daughter Chelsea (Danielle Harris) arrives with bail money. The yakuza suddenly escapes, taking Chelsea and Malone with him as hostages. Now pursued by the crooked coppers and the mob, the unlikely threesome have no choice but to team up to survive. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Author Timothy Tyson's acclaimed novel is adapted for the screen in this sweeping civil rights drama from director Jeb Stuart. Set in Oxford, NC, in the 1970s, Blood Done Sign My Name tells the tale of Civil Rights leader Dr. Ben Chavis (Nate Parker), who played a pivotal role in desegregating North Carolina's public school system, and who would go on to become the youngest-ever executive director and CEO of the NAACP. The film centers on the racial tensions that flared after a white father and son were charged with murdering a black man, and were subsequently acquitted of the crime despite the fact that it took place in full view of the public. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

When a weary detective on the verge of retirement begins receiving ominous messages from a sadistic serial killer determined to stir up the past, the stage is set for a deadly confrontation in an all-star crime drama featuring Michael Madsen, Gary Busey, Meat Loaf, and Michael Rooker. Years on the job have shown Detective Harrison (Michael Madsen) more horror than most normal folks would experience in two lifetimes. As Detective Harrison prepares to pass the baton on to the up-and-coming rookie poised to take his place in the police force, the murder of numerous underworld heavies leave the befuddled veteran and his younger protégé grasping for clues. When the killer begins taunting Detective Harrison with a variety of stealthy clues and grisly photographs left behind at the crime scenes, an unsolved case from the past threatens to bring the sins of the past out of the shadows and into the light of the present. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The Top Gun team of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, director Tony Scott, and superstar Tom Cruise reunite for this excursion into stock-car racing that incorporates the vroom and rumble of deafening car engines with a rehash of the same elements that worked so effectively in Cruise's Top Gun, The Color of Money, and Cocktail. Cruise plays stock-car driver Cole Trickle, a young fireball on the Southern stock-car circuit who has loads of talent but no conception of how to channel that talent in to racing success. When Tim Daland (Randy Quaid) commissions veteran stock-car racer Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) to built a car and hires Cole to drive it, Harry must instill in Cole his philosophy of winning and teach him how to channel his raw talent into success -- or, as Harry puts it, "controlling something that's out of control." Cole immediately comes into conflict with the circuit's star driver, Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker), and their hijinks on the track causes them to smash up their cars and lands them both in the hospital. Because of his injuries, Rowdy is forced to withdraw from the circuit competition. With no rival to torment, Rowdy becomes Cole's supporter and friend, while Cole revs up his motors for Dr. Claire Lewicki (Nicole Kidman), the attractive brain specialist who supervises Cole's recovery from the crackup. Cole's health is restored, and he begins to race again, chastened and hanging onto Harry's every word. Cole appears to have centered himself for success, but in an orgasmic grand finale, Cole must compete against Russ Wheeler (Cary Elwes), a dastardly driver who not only wants to see Cole defeated but permanently disabled. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Writer/director John Sayles' dramatization of the most infamous episode in professional sports -- the fix of the 1919 World Series -- is considered by many to be among his best films and arguably the best baseball movie ever made. This adaptation of Eliot Asinof's definitive study of the scandal shows how athletes of another era were a different breed from the well-paid stars of later years. The Chicago White Sox owner, Charlie Comiskey (Clifton James), is portrayed as a skinflint with little inclination to reward his team for their spectacular season. When a gambling syndicate led by Arnold Rothstein (Michael Lerner) gets wind of the players' discontent, it offers a select group of stars -- including pitcher Eddie Cicotte (Sayles regular David Strathairn), infielder Buck Weaver (John Cusack), and outfielder "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (D.B. Sweeney) -- more money to play badly than they would have earned to try to win the Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Sayles cast the story with actors who look and perform like real jocks, and added a colorful supporting cast that includes Studs Terkel as reporter Hugh Fullerton and Sayles himself as Ring Lardner. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

This TV film was the 2-hour pilot for the Gideon Oliver series. Louis Gossett Jr. stars as Oliver, an anthropology professor who uses his knowledge of other cultures to solve mysteries. In the opener, Professor Oliver tackles the murder of an ex-lover, who'd been investigating a cult of satanists. The storyline takes side trips into the porn industry and "snuff" films, but Gossett emerges with his dignity and reputation unsullied. Gideon Oliver was one of three rotating series telecast in 1988-89 under the umbrella title The ABC Monday Mystery Movie; the other components were B.L. Stryker and old reliable Columbo. When Mystery Movie was picked up for a second season, Gideon Oliver was not retained. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though the title makes Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer seem like a cut-rate slasher flick, the film is actually one of the most disturbing and terrifying examinations of mass murderers ever filmed. Loosely based on the story of confessed murderer Henry Lee Lucas, the film follows Henry (Michael Rooker) as he selects innocent victims--occasionally with his roommate Otis (Tom Towles)--and kills them, capturing their murder on videotape. Many of these murders rank among the most brutal and violent ever portrayed on film. The violence and the clinical, detached portrayal of Henry and his horrifying actions make Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer a disturbing, thought-provoking film, but it certainly isn't one for every taste. Finished in 1986, the film wasn't released until 1990, when it was greeted with both positive reviews and considerable controversy. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

The November 22, 1963, assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy shocked the nation and the world. The brisk investigation of that murder conducted under the guidance of Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren distressed many observers, even though subsequent careful investigations have been unable to find much fault with the conclusions his commission drew, the central one of which was that the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, acted alone. Instead of satisfying the public, one result of the Warren Commission Report was that an unimaginable number of plausible conspiracy theories were bruited about, and these have supported a sizeable publishing mini-industry ever since. In making this movie, director Oliver Stone had his pick of supposed or real investigative flaws to draw from and has constructed what some reviewers felt was one of the most compelling (and controversial) political detective thrillers ever to emerge from American cinema. Long before filming was completed, Stone was fending off heated accusations of artistic and historical irresponsibility, and these only intensified after the film was released. In the story, New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) is convinced that there are some big flaws in the investigation of Oswald (Gary Oldman), and he sets out to recreate the events leading up to the assassination. Along the way, he stumbles across evidence that a great many people had reason to want to see the president killed, and he is convinced that some of them worked in concert to frame Oswald as the killer. Among the suspects are Lyndon Baines Johnson (the next president), the CIA, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Mafia. Over the course of gathering what he believes to be evidence of a conspiracy, Garrison unveils some of the grittier aspects of New Orleans society, focusing on the shady activities of local businessman Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones). Garrison's investigations culminate in his conducting a show trial that he knows he will lose and which he is sure will ruin his career in order to get his evidence into the public record where it can't be buried again. This movie won two of the many Academy Awards for which it was nominated: one for Best Photography (Robert Richardson) and the other for Editing (Joe Hutshing). ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The black sheep son of a wealthy family sinks deeper into corruption the harder he tries to pull himself out in this drama. Richter Boudreau (Eric Stoltz) is a small-time film critic with a checkered past and some bad debts who decides to return to his old home town of Tulsa in hopes of getting his life back in order, much to the dismay of his mother Cynthia (Mary Tyler Moore), who is sick of lending him money and would prefer to have nothing to do with him. Richter still carries a torch for his one-time girlfriend Vicky (Deborah Kara Unger), who these days is married (not especially happily) to Ronnie (James Spader), a low level drug dealer with loftier criminal ambitions. Richter owes Ronnie money from a long time ago and isn't in a position to say no when Ronnie asks him to help with his latest scheme; Cherry (Joanna Going), a stripper, was a witness to the murder of a prostitute, and since the killer, Bedford Shaw (Marco Perella), is the son of the richest and most powerful man in town, Harmon Shaw (James Coburn), Ronnie feels that this information has remarkable blackmail potential. Richter finds himself caught up in Ronnie's plan while fully aware of the danger of tangling with Harmon Shaw. He also finds himself falling into ill-advised romance with Cherry. Keys to Tulsa was the first directorial effort for producer Leslie Greif; Cameron Diaz and Michael Rooker also appear in supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A brother and sister grapple with family and lifestyle issues in this rock-n-roll drama. Real-life rocker Joan Jett stars as Patti Resnick, an unwed mother who sings and plays guitar in a Cleveland bar band with her brother Joe (Michael J. Fox). Estranged from her parents and struggling to make ends meet, Patti decides to dive headlong into a carefree rock-n-roll lifestyle. Good-guy Joe pulls away from music to provide some stability for her tiny son. It takes a family crisis to bring Patti back home and force her to face the prickly past with her devoutly Christian mother (Gena Rowlands). Despite a somewhat thin story, the film has solid performances all around, most especially from the refreshingly compelling Jett. Bruce Springsteen penned the title song. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

Kevin Smith's follow-up to his unexpected hit Clerks details the pointless story of T.S. (Jeremy London) and Brodie (Jason Lee), two suburban New Jersey slackers who decide to head to the mall in search of solace after being dumped by their girlfriends (Shannon Doherty and Claire Forlani, respectively). There the two young men machinate to appear on a game show being staged and also manage to meet comic-book magnate Stan Lee. However, complications arise when the girls show up. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi

Mississippi Burning is an all-names-changed dramatization of the Ku Klux Klan's murders of three civil rights workers in 1964. Investigating the mysterious disappearances of the three activists are FBI agents Gene Hackman (older, wiser) and Willem Dafoe (younger, idealistic). A Southerner himself, Hackman charms and cajoles his way through the tight-lipped residents of a dusty Mississippi town while Dafoe acts upon the evidence gleaned by his partner. Hackman solves the case by exerting his influence upon beauty-parlor worker Frances McDormand, who wishes to exact revenge for the beatings inflicted upon her by her Klan-connected husband Brad Dourif. Many critics took the film to task for its implication that the Civil Rights movement might never have gained momentum without its white participants; nor were the critics happy that the FBI was shown to utilize tactics as brutal as the Klan's. The title Mississippi Burning is certainly appropriate: nearly half the film is taken up with scenes of smoke and flame. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi