Robert Wisden Movies

300's Zack Snyder brings Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' critically acclaimed comic book Watchmen to the big screen, courtesy of DC Comics and Warner Bros. Pictures. Set in an alternate universe circa 1985, the film's world is a highly unstable one where a nuclear war is imminent between America and Russia. Superheroes have long been made to hang up their tights thanks to the government-sponsored Keene Act, but that all changes with the death of The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a robust ex-hero commando whose mysterious free fall out a window perks the interest of one of the country's last remaining vigilantes, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley). His investigation leads him to caution many of his other former costumed colleagues, including Dr. Manhattan, Night Owl (Patrick Wilson), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), Sally Jupiter (Carla Gugino), and her daughter, The Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman). Heralded for bringing the world of superheroes into the literary world, Watchmen gave the super-powered mythos a real-life grounding that had been missing in mainstream comics to that point. The film adaptation had languished in one form of development hell or another for years after the book's release, with various directors on and off the project, including Terry Gilliam, David Hayter, and Darren Aronofsky, as well as Paul Greengrass, whose eventual dismissal stemmed from budget conflicts with the studio. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Based on the autobiographical book by political journalist Mort Kondracke (here played by Bruce Greenwood, the made-for-TV Saving Milly lovingly chronicles the marriage of Kondracke and his wife Milly (Madeline Stowe)--a union that ended on a note of tragedy. The story begins in Chicago in 1966, when Mort, a cub newspaper reporter, falls for Milly Martinez, a Vassar-bred political activist. The two lose track of one another when Kondracke is transferred to Washington, but a chance meeting years later results in marriage. During the period in which Mort establishes himself as a political pundit and Milly pursues her own successful career as a therapist, Mrs. Kondracke diligently helps Mr. Kondracke overcome his alcoholism. And when in 1987 Milly is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, it is Mort's turn to repay her love and devotion, nursing her through her long illness, helping her come to grips with reluctantly rely on the help of others for the first time in her life, and laboring tirelessly to stir up public awareness of his wife's affliction. Adding an extra layer of depth to the drama is the subplot involving the learning disabilities of the Kondrackes' daughters. Actor Michael J. Fox, himself a Parkinson's victim, makes a significant cameo appearance film, which though it ends with Milly's death is nonetheless optimistic and inspirational in tone. And before you ask, Robert Wisden is seen as Fred Barnes, Kondracke's genial cohost on the Fox News Channel's The Beltway Boys. Saving Milly mades its CBS network debut on March 13, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In June of 2002, 13-year-old Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her own bedroom in Salt Lake City, a crime witnessed by her younger sister Mary Katherine. The desperate search for Elizabeth evolved into a gigantic media event, as her anguished parents combined forces with the authorities -- and a number of top-rated cable talk show hosts -- to follow any lead, big or small, that would help them find their daughter. Eight months into the girl's disappearance, hopes for her safety were growing dim -- until, miraculously, she was spotted only a short distance from her home, accompanied by a pair of bizarre and seriously disturbed personalities, Brian David "Emmanuel" Mitchell and Wanda Barzee. Originally telecast November 9, 2003, by CBS, the made-for-TV Elizabeth Smart: The Long Way Home is divided into two plains of action: the ordeal of the abducted Elizabeth and her uncanny ability to keep her wits and optimism intact despite the ever-growing possibility that she would never see her parents again; and the dogged determination of Elizabeth's parents Ed and Lois, who against all odds, never gave up hope that their daughter was still alive and well. The film was released shortly after Elizabeth's rescue. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Hoping to enhance his reputation, an unbalanced lawman kidnaps Chloe (Allison Mack) for the express purpose of staging a spectacular rescue. Poor Chloe is bound, gagged, blindfolded, and buried alive in a tiny vault stuffed with toy teddy bears. Outside of the rogue lawman, the only person who has an inkling of Chloe's whereabouts is Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), who, after sustaining a head injury, is able to "see" the girl's plight through the eyes of the kidnapper -- a power that places Lana's life in dire jeopardy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally conceived as a TV miniseries (but generally shown in a single three-hour installment), this lavish adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen stars Bridget Fonda as the icy-hearted title character. Arriving incognito at the alpine inn run by a man named Wolfgang (Robert Wisden), the embittered Snow Queen makes it her mission in life to ruin all chances of romance for Wolfgang's beautiful daughter, Gerda (Chelsea Hobbs). To this end, the Queen exercises her magic over Gerda's bellhop boyfriend Kai (Jeremy Guilbaut), literally freezing the boy in his tracks. In order to save her beloved, Gerda must undertake a grueling odyssey through the Four Seasons (each of them briefly appearing in human form), culminating in a final, frigid showdown with the spiteful Snow Queen. After its December 7, 2002 debut on the Hallmark cable network, The Snow Queen was almost immediately released in a deluxe DVD edition. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The disturbing teenage phenomenon of self-mutilation gives substance to this standard "troubled daughter/monster mom" cable TV movie. Sullen, friendless schoolgirl Dawn Cotrell (Kimberlee Peterson) has been showing up at home with strange slashes on her skin. It soon becomes painfully obvious that Dawn is cutting herself to alleviate stress. Rather than deal with the problem like an intelligent adult, Dawn's mother, to whom appearances and total control are everything, merely hides all the knives in the house and orders her daughter to cease and desist. With no one to turn to -- certainly not her milquetoast of a father (Robert Wisden) -- poor Dawn resorts to even more desperate and destructive measures to work out her frustrations. Can compassionate therapist Dr. Parella (Rhea Perlman) come to the rescue before it's too late? Based on Steven Levenkorn's novel The Luckiest Girl in the World, Secret Cutting originally aired over the USA network on May 30, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This chilling drama cautions parents about the potential dangers of letting children have unsupervised access to the Internet. The story centers on a troubled, emotionally isolated teenaged girl who turns to the Net chat-rooms for the solace and companionship she needs. It does not take long for an unscrupulous user to find her and to start a virtual love affair that results in her visiting his apartment. Suddenly mister nice-guy turns into a creep and takes her hostage, leaving her computer-illiterate mother (Cheryl Ladd) to somehow navigate the complexities of the worldwide web in a desperate search for the kidnapper's identity and location. Fortunately, the police and an expert hacker are beside her. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This opening episode of Stargate SG-1's second season resolves the "cliffhanger" established at the end of Season One. As the earth gears up for an attack from the parasitic Goa'ulds, the SG-1 team, led by Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), is still trapped on the Goa'uld war vessel commandeered by Klorel (Alexis Cruz), son of the megalomanic enemy leader Apophis (Peter Williams). The fact that Klorel inhabits the body of Skaara, onetime close friend of O'Neill, makes his villainy all the more intolerable. Realizing that there is no hope for escape, the SG-1 crew prepares to blow up the Goa'uld ship with themselves aboard, rather than allow it to descend upon earth. At a crucial moment, a brief ray of hope is provided by the presence of Bra'tac (Tony Amendola), the mentor of SG-1's Jaffa member Teal'c (Christopher Judge). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Francis Ford Coppola is one of the executive producers of this revenge-themed telefilm. After insurance agent Tom Casey (Rob Lowe) reports on the suspicious actions of teens near his apartment building, Tom and his pregnant wife Sally (Jennifer Grey) are threatened by the teens in a series of confrontations. The TV movie premiered January 4, 1998 on ABC. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

In this combination caper comedy and offbeat romance, Emily (Alicia Silverstone) is a wealthy but petulant young woman desperate to get the attention of her millionaire father, Alexander Hope (Jack Thompson). In fact, she's so desperate that she decides to stage her own kidnapping; she sends a ransom note, ties herself up, and locks herself in the trunk of her BMW, waiting for daddy to come to the rescue; however, Emily's timing is a bit off, because ten minutes later, hunky car thief Vincent (Benicio Del Toro) steals the BMW with Emily still in it. Vincent and his partner in crime, Greg (Harry Connick Jr.), eventually discover the car's trunk has an unexpected surprise. When Emily is unable to convince them to help her with her scheme, she becomes a problem the carjackers can't get rid of, especially after Alexander refuses to pay her ransom, and his creepy right-hand man, Raymond (Christopher Walken), heads out to find her. Of course, losing 200,000 dollars in mob money is not making Vincent's life any easier, nor is having the emotionally problematic Emily fall in love with him. Excess Baggage was the first feature from Alicia Silverstone's production company First Kiss. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The first episode of the TV series Stargate SG-1 takes place one year after the events in the 1994 Stargate theatrical feature. After quickly establishing that the Stargate portal was developed by an ancient Earth civilization in order to contact other solar systems, the focus of the story shifts to Col. Jack O'Neil (Richard Dean Anderson), who has been in retirement ever since defeating the megalomaniac Ra on the planet Abydos. Restored to active duty by General Hammond (Don Davis), who is now in charge of Earth's Stargate Project, O'Neil is instructed to rescue scientist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), who may have survived the destruction of Abydos' Stargate. Assembling an exploratory team including his old comrades Kawalsky (Jay Acovone) and Ferretti (Brent Stait), as well as astrophysicist Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), O'Neill manages to locate Jackson, who has found a huge cartouche in hieroglyphics, indicating that there are thousands of Stargates throughout the galaxy. The trick now is to hide this valuable information from the evil Apophis (Peter Williams), a revived mythological Egyptian god who intends to use the Stargate technology to take over the universe. Originally telecast as a two-hour episode, "Children of the Gods" has since been divided into two hour-long installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The true story of fabled Canadian truck driver Diana Kilmury is vividly realized in this made-for-TV drama. Barbara Williams stars as Kilmury, a tough-talking, chain-smoking tyro who, as the first female vice-president of the Canadian Teamsters, fearlessly spearheads a movement to expunge the union of its most corrupt officials. Kilmury's professional struggles are counterpointed by her personal travails as the mother of a mentally challenged son. Stuart Margolin is featured as Diana's longtime lover (and staunchest supporter) John, while the really Diana Kilmury makes an appearance at the end of the film. The winner of a cable ACE award, Mother Trucker: The Diana Kilmury Story aired on Canadian television before its American TV debut over the TNT channel on October 22, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A true-life story of sexual harassment in the workplace is told in this thought-provoking made-for-television movie. Gail O'Grady stars as Lt. Paula Coughlin, the Navy officer who lodged sexual harassment complaints after the infamous 1991 Las Vegas Tailhook convention. Coughlin took on the military and a scandal erupted as the story became public. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi