Michael Bowen Movies
Prolific and versatile, actor Michael Bowen joined the casts of some of the most critically respected and lucrative pictures of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, nearly always enlisted as an unremarkable everyman. Bowen launched his career with bit parts in such pictures as Valley Girl (1983), Iron Eagle (1985), and Less Than Zero (1987), then graduated to supporting roles by the late '90s. He was particularly memorable as cop Mark Dargus, the partner of ATF agent Ray Nicolette (Michael Keaton) in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction follow-up, Jackie Brown (1997), then turned in a haunting portrayal of Rick, the dysfunctional father of game show contestant Stanley (Jeremy Blackman) in Paul Thomas Anderson's mosaic of contemporary L.A. life, Magnolia (1999). In the following decade, Bowen re-teamed with Tarantino for the neo-martial arts opus Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) and delivered an intense performance as a cruel and vile counselor at a rehab center in first-time director Monty Lapica's psychodrama, Self-Medicated (2005). He also took on a recurring role on the hit TV drama Lost as Danny Pickett, a hotheaded, tough member of the Others, during the second and third seasons of the series (2006-2007). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
A hapless groundskeeper aspiring to become a professional copywriter discovers that the key to overcoming her bad case of foot-in-mouth syndrome is maintaining a blog in which she purges all of her innermost anxieties in this romantic workplace comedy from director Michael Feifer (Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield and Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck). Samantha Billows knows she has what it takes to be a great copywriter, yet she always seems to say exactly the wrong thing at the worst possible moment. It's a problem that not even her therapist can solve, and one that might just cost Samantha her dream job at The Hunt Advertising Agency. Introduced to the wonderful world of blogging by a close friend, however, Samantha begins writing a blog entitled "Dear Me" that allows her to express her innermost fears so she can be confident under pressure. As a result, Samantha lands a Junior Copywriter position at the Hunt Agency on a temporary basis. Just when it seems that her career has gotten off the ground and things are going great, however, Samantha falls head over heels in love with Desmond, the head of Public Relations for their French client. Later, when a scheming co-worker discovers Samantha's blog, "Dear Me" becomes an office sensation. Now, as everyone attempts to get Samantha's attention in hopes of being featured on her blog, she quickly discovers that "Dear Me" has become popular for all the wrong reasons, and that it could destroy her job and her relationship with Desmond if she doesn't act fast. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Thompson, David O'Donnell, (more)
Ordered by his boss to take a long overdue vacation, a mild mannered Englishmen and terminal workaholic takes his family to Florida on a camping trip that immediately devolves into a disaster of grotesque proportions. Eric Bury has been working so hard that he's forgotten what it means to have a family. His teenage children can't stand him, and his wife is more sexually frustrated than ever before. When Eric's boss orders him to take a temporary leave, he decides that a connecting with nature might be just the thing to bring his family back together. Their destination: "Adventure Wonderland" - a derelict campground in Florida. Will the Burys be able to maintain their composure as their getaway becomes more bizarre and debauched with each passing day? When his wife decides to fulfill a lifelong fantasy involving a pair of motorcycle riding dwarves, Eric decides that it's high time to stop the madness before they all do something they'll really regret. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Harper, Gina Bellman, (more)
A charismatic psycho suspected of killing two innocent campers in a cold-blooded double homicide grows increasingly unstable as his suburban empire starts to crack at the foundations in director Chris Sivertson's adaptation of author Jack Ketchum's chilling take on the 1960s-era Charles Schmid murders. Ray Pye (Chris Senter) may be well out of high school, but the kids in his sleepy town are strangely drawn to the drug-dealing outsider who stuffs cans in his boots to boost his stature and sports pancake make-up to cast a rock-star aura. But Ray Pye isn't just eccentric, he's downright dangerous. It was during a weekend camping excursion with his sometime-girlfriend Jennifer Fitch (Shay Astar) and best pal Tim Best (Alex Frost) that Ray shot a pair of pretty campers simply to satisfy his own morbid curiosity, and after bullying his friends into silence, the case would go strangely unsolved. Despite the fact that one of the girls eventually managed to escape, she lay comatose in the hospital for months on end before eventually succumbing to her wounds. Local detective Charlie Schilling (Michael Bowen) suspected Ray of the crime from the very beginning, and now that the girl has died without being able to identify her killer, Schilling is determined to ensure that justice is served. These days the womanizing Pye has turned his attentions away from Jennifer and toward newly arrived rich girl Katherine Wallace (Robin Sydney) and innocent Sally Richmond (Megan Henning) -- a recent high-school graduate who, unbeknownst to Ray, is involved in a tender May-December romance with retired cop Ed Anderson (Ed Lauter). Now, as Katherine and Sally reject Ray's advances, and Tim and Jennifer's once undying loyalty begins to slip, the increasingly unstable pied piper's fragile ego spirals into an explosive tailspin. With the rage that's bubbling up in Ray threatening to send him on a murderous rampage, Detective Schilling and Ed Anderson desperately attempt to gather the evidence needed to arrest the swaggering psychopath before more lives are lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marc Senter, Shay Astar, (more)
- 2006
A college freshman is quickly seduced into the wild life, only to realize too little too late that there's a high price to pay for living large. Jimmy Bravo has just moved into Chandler Hall. He's making some new friends, and in the blink of an eye he's gotten swept up in a heady haze of fraternities, sex, and drugs. Before long Jimmy and his friends are making a killing as dealers. But you can only make so much money selling marijuana alone, and it doesn't take long for them to realize that the real money is in hard drugs. Later, Jimmy meets his true love and decides to get out while the going is good. At first the sacrifices he makes are all for her, though by betraying her trust and his own integrity to make yet another sacrifice for his friends, Jimmy finds the typical college experience rapidly morphing into a life or death experience. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesse Luke Dunn, Shanna Collins, (more)
Find the answers you have been looking for in the explosive third season of the show USA Today calls "the most gorgeous, audacious, expansive series on network TV." As the power of the island to both heal and destroy comes into sharp focus, the lines between good and evil are blurred and loyalties are challenged when the survivors of the crash become tangled within the lives of the Others. Plan your escape, and immerse yourself in all 23 episodes of Season Three. Go deeper than ever before in this seven-disc DVD box set, complete with hours of never-before-seen bonus features, including secrets from the world of the Others, behind-the-scenes featurettes, unprecedented access to the Lost writers room, and so much more.
- Starring:
- Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, (more)
4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42. Push the button and prepare to be blown away by the groundbreaking television event USA Today calls "TV's best series." The multiple Emmy Award-winning drama reaches new heights in its spectacular second season as the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 discover they are not alone in their battle against "the Others," and a contested decision to open the hatch reveals a new realm of mystery and intrigue. Prepare yourself for the DVD experience of Season Two, complete with over 8 hours of original bonus material you can't see anywhere else -- including unaired original flashbacks -- and you'll discover for yourself why "everything happens for a reason."
- Starring:
- Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, (more)
Gail O'Grady stars as Theresa Foley, a highly respected and much-decorated FBI hostage negotiator. Theresa's career goes down the tubes when she refuses to testify in court against her husband Frank (Michael Bowen), an FBI agent gone bad. Escaping from prison, Frank stages a daylight bank robbery, thereby creating the sort of hostage situation that only a crack negotiator like Theresa could possibly handle. But though the FBI is willing to press Theresa back into action, she knows only too well that Frank will be able to anticipate her every move -- and that he has a terrible vengeance in mind for his ex-spouse, one that will "take down" a number of innocent bystanders in the process. Made for cable The Hostage Negotiator was first presented by the USA network on May 22, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
This Yuletide-season TV movie reverses the standard "three girls on the make" formula of many an old 20th Century Fox movie, of which How to Marry a Millionaire is a choice example. This time out, a trio of enterprising young men decide to go on the prowl for rich wives, after first consulting a nonplussed department-store Santa with their intentions. The plan, as hatched by the impoverished heroes, Tom (John Stamos), Jason (Shermar Moore), and Mark (Joshua Malina), is as follows: They will pose as hot-shot Hollywood movie producers, the better to entice attractive and wealthy young women to invest in their newest "production" -- and hopefully, to entrap said women into matrimony. As so often happens in stories of this nature, however, love ultimately triumphs over money. A bit too top-heavy with racy double entendres and potentially unsavory situations, the film is redeemed somewhat by the presence of Dabney Coleman and Rhea Perlman, cast as an older couple named -- believe it or not -- John and Jackie Kennedy. How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale made its first Fox Network appearance on December 20, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Stamos, Joshua Malina, (more)
- 1996
The mother of Diane Russell (Kim Delaney) prepares to face the grand jury to answer questions about the death of Diane's abusive father. Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) unearth additional family intrigue as they look into the murder of a mobster's son. And Diane has problems with the overly amorous stepson of another murder victim and the suspect's slick lawyer -- not to mention a trail of evidence leading circuitously back to the suspect in the case being followed by Andy and Bobby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
In the aftermath of a student's suicide, a schoolteacher finds herself socially ostracized and facing criminal charges. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Michael Bowen, (more)
- 1994
Rosemary Clooney (aunt of series regular George Clooney) returns as a mysterious mental patient wandering the halls of the ER singing Christmas songs. Likewise invested with the Yuletide spirit is Benton (Eriq La Salle), who upon finding an organ-donor card among the effects of a brain-dead patient, begins informing potential recipients. Unfortunately, Benton has spread the "good news" too soon; the donor's wife (Amanda Rogers) refuses to okay anything until she gets a second opinion about her estranged husband's chances for survival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The third entry in the popular Beverly Hills Cop series finds Detroit cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) returning yet again to Southern California, this time on the trail of two car thieves turned murderers. As he teams up again with L.A. cop Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), Foley's investigation leads him to Wonder World, a theme park that is also the front for a major counterfeiting ring. More action and less wit are the trademarks of this film, which features Murphy dishing out his usual wisecracks, but with less flair and freshness than in the original film. Alan Young plays the old man who runs the amusement park, an interesting setting that still adds little to the tired premise. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, (more)
- 1994
An engineer tries to save people trapped on a nuclear-war-ravaged planet in this made-for-cable science-fiction fare. Stephen Baldwin stars as Adams, an engineer who is dumped onto a sand planet of the future, where the harsh conditions lead to constant fighting and brutality. The inhabitants have reverted to primitive tribal societies. He tries to teach the those left about farming and irrigation in hopes of saving them from destruction, but soon learns that peace cannot be had so easily. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1992
This version of the popular saga features two real teenagers playing the notorious killers Bonnie and Clyde who were also teens during the 1930's when they went on their mass killing spree. It was filmed on location at the actual crime scenes in East Texas. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Ashbrook, Tracey Needham, (more)
- 1991
This police story chronicles the true story of two partners who started out as best friends and later became the bitterest of enemies when one of them becomes corrupted. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Ryan White was the teenaged hemophiliac who contacted AIDS through a blood transfusion, then was barred from attending school in Kokomo, Indiana. All but ostracized by the community, Ryan's mother (Judith Light) engages the services of a high-powered attorney (George C. Scott) to win back her son's basic rights. While the film ends with Ryan triumphing over his human adversaries, no effort is made to sugarcoat the situation. Even after he has been welcomed by another school, we see how the boy is shunned by certain students and their parents; nor is there any glossing over the fact that Ryan's days are numbered, despite the boy's enthusiastic plans for the time he has left (young White died shortly after this TV movie was first telecast in 1989). Despite its inherent sadness, The Ryan White Story is a celebration of an exceptional young human being whose short life touched so many others in a positive, uplifting manner. While Lukas Haas portrays the title character, the real Ryan White appears in the small role of Chad, another hemophiliac AIDS victim. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
When young Chuck Murdock (Joshua Zuehlke) visits a nuclear missile site, he learns that one bomb would destroy the earth in less time than it would take a piece of silverware to drop from his hand to the floor. This information sends the sensitive boy into existential angst. Wondering why anybody should do anything when the world can be destroyed so quickly, and hoping to raise consciousness about nuclear weapons, Chuck quits his Little League team. He gains a little bit of local press. One of those stories is read by NBA star "Amazing Grace" Smith (Alex English), who is so moved by the boy's story that he too quits playing his sport. This produces a great deal of national press, as well as a handful of stars from other sports that decide to join the ranks of Amazing Grace and Chuck. Some powers that be in the sports world, as well as the government, do not look kindly upon these "strikes" and set about to end the movement. Amazing Grace and Chuck came near the end of a cycle of nuclear anxiety films that included Testament, The Day After, and Threads. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Alex English, (more)
- 1987
This made-for-television drama is based on the true story of a harrowing country abduction. Tracy Pollan stars as Kari Swenson, an Olympic biathlon athlete-in-training who is kidnapped by some reclusive, backwoods mountain men looking for marriage. The movie follows her captivity, the massive search and her recovery from both her physical injuries and the trauma of the experience. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1987
On Fire stars John Forsythe as the chief arson inspector of a major metropolis. After 22 years' service as a firefighter, Forsythe is summarily ordered to retire. He tries to fight this in court, but learns that, although mandatory retirement is illegal on a federal basis, it can be enforced on a local level in cases of life-threatening jobs. While this TV movie starts well with Forsythe's anger and confusion over being cast adrift at age 60, the script descends into by-the-numbers melodrama after a harrowing experience leaves Forsythe more scared and distracted than ever. Carroll Baker, the "Baby Doll" of the 1950s, is cast against type in On Fire as John Forsythe's patient and supportive wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
B.A.'s old college rival Jason Duke (Rick Fitts), now a bank employee, turns up missing. Despite his reluctance, B.A. (Mr. T.) agrees to look for Duke at the request of Jason's wife Debra (Sheila DeWindt), who happens to be B.A.'s former girlfriend. This assignment obliges the A-Team to descened upon Whispering Pines, Arizona, where virtually everyone in town is an accomplice in a scheme to steal gold from a nearby mine. Making matters worse, both Face (Dirk Benedict) and Murdock (Dwight Schultz) try to use the same "con" on the bad guys, neatly cancelling each other out--and nearly getting themselves killed in the process! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The angelic Mark (Victor French) is reunited (after a fashion) with his old Air Force buddy, who is now a border drug-enforcement agent. Unfortunately, Mark's friend has been murdered, but not before uncovering a dope-smuggling ring that is using model airplanes as a means of transportation. In the course of events, several other lives are threatened, including that of a young model-plane enthusiast (played by future Married...With Children co-star David Faustino). ~ All Movie Guide
Essentially a tale of romance mixed in with a dash of politics, this engrossing story involves Engracia (Victoria Abril), a young Mexican prostitute working just south of the border with the U.S., and two American border guards who are among her clients: Mitch (Scott Wilson), a tough, go-by-the-book Anglo who has no deep affection for Mexicans, and Chuck (Jeff Delgar), an idealistic new border guard who has yet to learn the ropes. In a few instances, the film exposes the prejudice against Mexicans, but otherwise, politics is secondary to what happens next. Chuck falls in love with Engracia, and the two get married in Mexico -- and then he smuggles her across the border that he himself has been hired to guard. Sure enough, the vile Mitch gets into the act and quite clearly, both Chuck and Engracia are heading for trouble. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Scott Wilson, (more)
Ditching school on a lark in favor of downing beers and raising hell at an abandoned mental hospital, two high school kids from the wrong side of the tracks make a horrifying discovery that will test their morals and serve as the catalyst for a dangerous battle of wills. Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez) and JT (Noah Segan) are the kind of kids more likely to be caught smoking in the boy's room than studying in the library, so when they skip out of class to explore a crumbling mental hospital it seems like just another days of mischief and mayhem. What seemed to be business as usual becomes anything but, however, when the two boys break through a rusted door leading to a dark boiler room and discover a naked woman tied to a gurney and covered in plastic. Since the door to the boiler room was rusted shut it seems unlikely that any living soul has inhabited the space for years, yet when the body shows signs of life JT immediately suggests that he and his pal should have a little lewd fun with their helpless captive. But while Rickie may be somewhat reckless, his moral compass still points in the right direction and he wants nothing to do with such sordid affairs. Later, when word of Rickie and JT's discovery gets out, tensions flare as events take a darkly disturbing turn. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shiloh Fernandez, Noah Segan, (more)
- 2005
- R
Monty Lapica's drama Self-Medicated tells the story of a 17-year-old boy who is having a very difficult time dealing with the grief he experiences after his father dies. After the boy slides into a wicked drug addiction, as well as legal problems, his mother reaches the end of her tether and has her son admitted to an adolescent hospital designed to force him into confronting his issues. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Venora, Michael Bowen, (more)
