Michael Shamus Wiles Movies

The interstellar battle between the Autobots and Decepticons rains destruction down on planet Earth as director Michael Bay adapts Hasbro and Takara's popular Transformers franchise into a big-budget, live-action summer tentpole extravaganza in this ambitious sci-fi action feature starring Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Bernie Mac, John Turturro, Jon Voight, and, of course, Optimus Prime and Megatron. Long ago, on the planet of Cybertron, a massive, powerful alien race divided into two factions, the noble Autobots, and the devious Decepticons. They fought for the sole access to a talisman known as the Allspark, a cube with the capacity to grant infinite power, and eventually the Autobots smuggled it off the planet's surface, hiding it in an unknown location on Earth. Now, hundreds of years later, the Deceptacons have come looking for it, and if the Autobots don't find it first, the Earth will be enslaved or destroyed by the evil aliens' use of its massive power. The Autobots don't know where the cube was hidden, but the information may be stored in the most unlikely of sources, as a gangly young Earthling named Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) who's just picked up his first car, has a strange connection to the Allspark's history, making him the unlikely ally of these enormous creatures, as they fight for humankind's survival and the chance to return home. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

San Francisco literally stinks to high heaven thanks to the longest garbage strike in the city's history. No one is more upset by the overpowering pungency than the germophobic Monk (Tony Shalhoub), who doubles his efforts to find out who murdered the union boss who called the strike in the first place. Growing progressively unhinged as the smell gets worse, Monk concludes that the guilty party was none other than San Francisco mayor Ray Nicholson (Chi McBride)--and when this proves not to be the case, Monk goes completely off the deep end, accusing rock star Alice Cooper of the dirty deed! Will Monk get his act together in time to find the real killer, or have his phobias finally destroyed his detective skills? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ned (Jeremy Renner of Dahmer) is a proud member of the Aryan Brotherhood who has been admitted to a mental institution for his involvement in a racially motivated murder. Dr. Magnuson (Cary Elwes) and Johnny (Ethan Suplee) have trouble keeping Ned in line. Boisterous and belligerent, he's prone to childish tantrums when things don't go his way. Still, the other inmates, like Joey (Eddie Kaye Thomas) seem to look up to him. Ned's life at the facility is upended with the arrival of Rachael (Gabrielle Union of Bring It On), a beautiful young black woman who's brought in shouting German, and seems to believe that she's possessed by the spirit of Adolf Hitler. At first, Ned mocks her, and attempts to provoke her, but soon, his feelings toward Rachael turn surprisingly tender. Eventually, Ned and Rachael open up to each other, revealing the past traumas that left them in such a screwed up state. Ned, still reluctant to give up the accoutrements of skinhead life, tells Rachael about his imprisoned father and his unhappy foster care experiences, and Rachael tells him about being sexually abused, and reveals that she has a young daughter. When Ned is released from the hospital, he convinces Rachael to leave with him, but the couple finds life together on the outside difficult. Neo Ned also stars Steve Railsback and Sally Kirkland. It was written by Tim Boughn and directed by Van Fischer (Blink of an Eye, aka Urban Jungle). It had its world premiere in the Narrative Feature Competition of the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Detective Lockwood (Jeffrey D. Sams), longtime friend and colleague of the CSI team, is killed during a daylight bank robbery. Grissom (William L. Petersen) determines that the fatal shot was fired from outside the building -- and that the three masked, high-tech bandits may not have been after the money in the safety deposit box that they stole. The trail of evidence leads to casino owner Sam Braun (Scott Wilson) -- an old and trusted friend of the CSI's Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger). This final episode of the series' third season ends as Grissom faces a daunting challenge regarding his hereditary hearing loss. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Michael Mann of Miami Vice fame was the principle guiding force behind the CBS cop drama Robbery Homicide Division. In a major casting coup, Mann managed to sign the extremely "hot" film star Tom Sizemore for the lead role of Sam Cole, a hard-nosed LAPD robbery-homicide investigator. As head of a crack team of gumshoes, the obsessive, relentless Cole solved all manner of baffling urban crimes. Lensed on high-definition film and possessed of the "cutting-edge" style which typified the Michael Mann ouevre, Robbery Homicide Division first aired on September 27, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the 1969 short story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long, by Brian Aldiss, this science fiction fantasy bears similarities to Pinocchio (1940) and originated as a long-gestating project of director Stanley Kubrick that passed to his friend Steven Spielberg after Kubrick's death. Haley Joel Osment stars as David, a "mecha" or robot of the future, when the polar ice caps have melted and submerged many coastal cities, causing worldwide starvation and human dependence upon robotic assistance. The first mecha designed to experience love, David is the "son" of Henry (Sam Robards), an employee of the company that built the boy, and the grief-stricken Monica (Frances O'Connor). David is meant to replace the couple's hopelessly comatose son, but when their natural child recovers, David is abandoned and sets out to become "a real boy" worthy of his mother's affection. Along the way, David is mentored by a pleasure-providing mecha named Gigolo Joe (Jude Law) and a talking "super toy" bear named Teddy. His adventures take him to the Roman Circus-style "Flesh Fair," where mechas are destroyed for the amusement of humans; Rouge City, where Gigolo Joe narrowly avoids capture by police; and finally a submerged New York City, where David's creator, Professor Hobby (William Hurt) reveals the secrets of the boy's creation. Brendan Gleeson and narrator Ben Kingsley co-star in A.I., which was adapted from Kubrick's treatment by Spielberg, in his first crack at screenwriting since Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

In this fish-out-of-water comedy, Jamie Foxx plays a man named Michael Dawson, though he's confused for both Puff Daddy and Mike Tyson by the citizenry of the podunk southwest town that serves as the setting for Held Up. Road-tripping Michael and Rae (Nia Long) stop in for gas in Michael's new vintage roadster, but she grabs a ride to the airport with a truck full of cowboys after learning he blew more than 10,000 dollars earmarked for buying a home on the automobile. Moments later, Michael loses the car as well when a youth cons him out of the keys. Just when his day couldn't get any worse, Michael lands in the middle of a botched hold-up by amateurs trying to knock over the convenience store. All variety of local law enforcement, from the sheriff (Barry Corbin) to truckloads of unofficial shotgun-toting "deputies," quickly descends on the scene. Michael tries to sweet-talk the frightened gunman (Eduardo Yanez), befriend his fellow hostages (Sarah Paulson and John Cullum), and plan how to reach the airport before Rae's flight leaves, all while not getting shot by the hair triggers inside and outside the store. The film was produced and originally publicized under the title "Inconvenienced." ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

A story about a career television journalist who eclipses her mentor, this drama's plot resembles that of A Star Is Born, and it shares the same screenwriters as those who penned the 1976 version of that film, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion. It's based loosely on the real-life story of newscaster Jessica Savitch. Sally Atwater (Michelle Pfieffer) gets a job at a Miami TV station based on a demo tape from her hometown of Reno, Nevada. The station's news director is Warren Justice (Robert Redford), a former high-profile Washington newsman whose career has suffered from his insistence on integrity. He makes Sally his gofer and criticizes her clothes and appearance while she begs him for a chance to go on-air. She becomes the station's weathercaster and Warren gives her the stage name of Tally. With Warren's constant advice, she breaks into news reporting and her star rises quickly as the two become romantically involved. She takes a better job in Philadelphia, with Warren's blessing, and there she soon eclipses the anchorwoman Marcia McGrath (Stockard Channing). From there, Tally's career continues to flourish, while her relationship with Warren takes some strange twists and turns. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Sully (Joe Lando) reluctantly agrees to guide Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) to the high mountain stream that she believes is the source of mercury poisoning. Despotic mine owner Craig Harding (Michael Cavanaugh) captures Sully and Dr. Mike as trespassers and refuses to allow them to return to Colorado Springs. Things take an ironic turn when Harding's own son (Jared Rushton) is poisoned by the polluted water. Meanwhile, back in town, Grace (Jonelle Allen) takes an important step in affirming her equality with her white neighbors. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Upon stopping for gas and directions on the Texas back roads, bickering yuppies Michelle (Kate Hodge) and Ryan (William Butler) get harassed by leering service-station owner Alfredo (Tom Everett). When the helpful intercession of a hitchhiker named Tex (Viggo Mortensen) leads to violence, the couple flees the area. Eventually, an unknown truck forces them off the road and into an accident with the sports utility vehicle of Benny (Ken Foree), a well-armed survivalist. Pursued by unknown assailants, Benny and his fellow accident victims must abandon both vehicles and armaments. Eventually all three end up trapped on the boggy forest estate of a family of cannibalistic serial killers who range in age from a feral little girl (Jennifer Banko) to an aged matriarch (Miriam Byrd-Nethery). The clan also includes the title character, whose chainsaw-wielding rampages are among the few direct links between this installment and the earlier two films in this series. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Two young women go to the mountains for a retreat and find themselves in the midst of murderous goings-on. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi