Davis Guggenheim Movies

Inspired by the real-life events that followed the untimely 1988 death of William Shue (brother of cast members Elisabeth and Andrew Shue and executive producer John Shue) the feel-good sports drama Gracie unfolds in 1978 New Jersey. 15-year-old Gracie Bowen (newcomer Carly Schroeder) is still reeling from the passing of her brother Johnny (Jesse Lee Soffer), a star player on the high-school soccer team. When Gracie defies nearly everyone's wishes by vowing to replace Johnny under the aegis of cantankerous Coach Colasanti (John Doman), it irritates her parents (Elisabeth Shue, Dermot Mulroney) -- who encourage her to stick to activities better-suited to her gender -- and her best friend, Jena (Julia Garro), who warns her that athletic women are often considered "lesbos." The young woman persists, however, and wins the hearts of her most strident detractors, surmounting one obstacle after another and racing toward certain victory. Karen Janszen and Lisa Marie Petersen co-scripted; Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) directs, lacing the soundtrack with pop standards from that era, with Aretha Franklin's "Rock Steady" used as Gracie's training anthem. Dina Goldman created the film's meticulous 1970s production design. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Created by playwright David Mamet, the 60-minute action series The Unit dramatized the exploits of the Rangers, an elite team of top-secret military special ops. Fresh from his star-making stint on 24, Dennis Haysbert headed the cast as the unit's leader, Jonas Blane. His colleagues included brash, brazen, anti-authoritarian new recruit Bob Brown (Scott Foley), his superior officer Col. Tom Ryan (Robert Patrick), and veteran Mack Gerhardt (Max Martini), who at the beginning of the series was on the verge of burning out. The various covert missions undertaken by the unit were counterbalanced by the members' domestic problems, as personified by Jonas' long-suffering spouse, Molly (Regina Taylor), and Bob Brown's pregnant, volatile wife, Kim (Audrey Marie Anderson). Also, in a plot twist unparalleled in the annals of TV combat series, Tom Ryan was carrying on an affair with Tiffy (Abby Brammell), the wife of his comrade-in-arms Gerhardt. Based on a book by retired special-ops officer Eric L. Haney, The Unit debuted March 8, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The series premiere of the explosive action television series The Unit finds Jonas Blane (Dennis Haysbert)'s elite team of covert warriors joined by Bob Brown (Scott Foley) as they prepare to rescue a desperate group of European businessmen from a hijacked plane. Of course working on such an elite team not only takes a tool on the agent involved in the operations, but their families as well. Troubled at just how much power The Unit has over her personal life, Bob's wife Kim (Audrey Marie Anderson) soon finds comfort in the company of the other Unit wives. As Bob and Kim will soon discover, privacy is paramount in an elite organization such as The Unit, and there are some secrets that the team just can't risk letting out. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Seth (Timothy Olyphant) is out looking for Jack McCall when he's ambushed and nearly killed by a Sioux warrior. Later, Charlie (Dayton Callie), returning from Cheyenne, finds Seth, and Seth gives him the bad news about Bill. Charlie had already heard rumors, but tells Seth, "As often as he wasn't before, I'd hoped he wasn't this time, too." Back in Deadwood, Al (Ian McShane) has a customer with smallpox, and after conferring with Doc (Brad Dourif) and Cy (Powers Boothe), he calls a town meeting at the Gem to discuss the impending crisis. After seeing how she cared for Andy (Zach Grenier) without becoming infected, Doc asks Jane (Robin Weigert) to join Reverend Smith (Ray McKinnon) (who is suffering his own ailment) in helping care for the sick. E.B. (William Sanderson) manages to get Trixie (Paula Malcolmson) away from Alma (Molly Parker) long enough to get a good look at the widow, and recognize that she is not high. He relays this information to Al, who is uninterested in what might motivate Trixie to deceive him ("I'd rather try touching the moon than take on a whore's thinking"), but warns her that she'll pay if the widow doesn't keep using. Joanie (Kim Dickens) meets Ellsworth (Jim Beaver) when he stops into the Bella Union and tells her about his gold claim. When she isn't put off by his profanity, Ellsworth tells her, "Thank you for allowing me my full range of expression." When Cy later catches her discouraging Ellsworth from gambling all his money away, he expresses his frustration with her recent moodiness. "That's the way I always wanna touch you, just like that," he tells her, gently stroking her cheek. "Don't make me do it different." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Forget Gunsmoke and Bonanza. The HBO series Deadwood was as close to the "real thing" as any Western fan was ever going to see on television -- and in its pursuit of reality, the series was not afraid of smashing icons or skewering sacred cows. Could anything less be expected of executive producer David Milch (NYPD Blue)? The series began its story in 1876, two weeks after Custer's demise at the Little Big Horn, and in the midst of "gold fever" brought about by a major ore strike in the Black Hills of Dakota Territory. Into the wide-open and illegal settlement of Deadwood rode a terrifying variety of hard-bitten men and hard-living women. Keith Carradine headed the cast (at least in the early episodes) as gunfighter and Indian scout Wild Bill Hickok -- not the clean-cut hero of movie and TV fame, but an embittered, disillusioned, cold-hearted killer who trusted no one, least of all himself. Traveling to Deadwood with old friend Charlie Utter (Dayton Callie) and devoted, foul-mouthed sidekick Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert), Hickok quickly met and befriended former lawman Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant), the archetypal man with a past who held out hope (but not much) that Deadwood would permit him a new start in life. The destinies of both Hickok and Bullock were gradually intertwined with that of self-styled town boss Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), the manipulative, cheerfully decadent owner of Deadwood's biggest "saloon," the Gem. Several major and minor characters passed through Deadwood, some for a long time, some only as long as it took to be shot down in the street. One of the more fascinating peripheral characters was gimlet-eyed cardsharp Eddie Sawyer, well played by real-life magician and master card manipulator Ricky Jay. Festooned with sex, sadism, sudden death, rampant profanity, and mud, mud, mud, Deadwood was not your father's "cowboy" show. The series drew huge ratings and enthusiastic critical plaudits from the moment it made its first appearance on March 21, 2004 -- and within a few weeks of this debut, all audience expectations were dashed to bits when one of the series' "stars" paid homage to historical accuracy by being abruptly killed off. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With Ned Mason killed by Bill (Keith Carradine) and Seth (Timothy Olyphant), it seems clear that the Metz family was killed by road agents, and not Sioux. Al (Ian McShane) knows that the trail could lead back to him, and calls in Ned's brother, Tom (Nick Offerman), and his partner, Persimmon Phil (Joe Chrest), to discuss the matter. Worried about Bill's influence on Deadwood, Al tries to convince Tom to avenge his brother's death. Al is also concerned about what the little girl (Breeseanna Wall) will say if she regains consciousness, so while Doc Cochran (Brad Dourif) is tending to his whores, Al pays a visit to the doc's, where Jane (Robin Weigert) has been left to stand guard over the child. Sensing Jane's fear of him, Al warns her not to interfere with him. "If I take a knife to you," he says, "you'll be scared worse and a long time dying." Al sees that the girl is now awake, and dispatches his underling Dan Dority (W. Earl Brown) to deal with the situation. Doc, meanwhile, is also dispensing laudanum to Alma Garret (Molly Parker), who seems to have developed a dangerous habit. Her husband, Brom (Timothy Omundson), after an encounter near his claim with Ellsworth (Jim Beaver), realizes that he's been duped, and suspects Al. He decides to go to Bill for help. Sol (John Hawkes) tries to negotiate to buy their plot for the store, but Seth's temper, and Al's paranoia about their connection to Bill hamper his efforts. Charlie (Dayton Callie) encourages Seth's budding friendship with Bill, telling Seth that while he shares many traits with Bill, Seth also somehow manages to "get along with people, turn a dollar, look out for yourself." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Lannie's (Lucinda Jenney) scalding report on the Barn is leaked to the local newspapers, causing major embarrassment for Aceveda (Benito Martinez) and the Strike Team. Gilroy (John Diehl) calls Mackey (Michael Chiklis) to tell him that he's escaped house arrest, and that the DA wants him to rat Mackey out, so it would be in Mackey's best interest to help him get out of the country. Mackey is forced to deal with Gilroy, who may be setting him up, while a new officer, Aceveda's minority candidate, Tavon (Brian White), tries out for the Strike Team. The new police chief, Bankston (Ron Canada) lets Aceveda know that he plans to clean house, and Aceveda will have to resign after the city council election -- win or lose. While Claudette (CCH Pounder) works on a case -- involving an old woman who died of a heart attack around the time her home was broken into -- Lannie asks her for assistance in cleaning up the Barn. Danny (Catherine Dent), who's been tipped off by Claudette, angrily confronts Mackey about the murder in the holding pen that she's being blamed for. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Jamey (Karina Arroyave) is hauled out of CTU on a stretcher. Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) calls Nina (Sarah Clarke) and she tells him about Teri's (Leslie Hope) call, and about Jamey's suicide attempt. Teri calls again, but has to hide the cell phone when Eli (Silas Weir Mitchell) comes back looking for it. Teri and Kimberly (Elisha Cuthbert) play dumb. Rick (Daniel Bess) sees the phone, but doesn't tell Eli. Milo (Eric Balfour) begins tracing the call. Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) tells Sherry (Penny Johnson Jerald) that he still plans to go public with the story. Tony (Carlos Bernard) finds an encrypted e-mail that Jamey sent from her computer that morning with a man's name, "Ted Cofell," as the subject. Milo starts decoding it. The cops have an APB out on Jack. They pull him over, but he gets away again. Nina patches him through to Teri and Kim and he promises he'll save them. They hide the phone again as Eli returns, still looking for it. Jack listens in helplessly as he roughly interrogates them. Then the phone, low on battery power, starts beeping. Eli finds it, picks it up, and hears Jack issue a death threat. He hangs up before they can finish the trace. Rick tries to convince Eli not to tell Gaines (Michael Massee) about the incident. Nina gives Jack an address for Cofell (Currie Graham), an investment banker, and Jack heads there. Andre Drazen (Zeljko Ivanek) calls Gaines to complain that Palmer is still alive. He threatens to take back his money, and worse. Sherry calls Carl (Zach Grenier), who tells her he's "taken care of" the evidence against Keith. Milo decodes the e-mail. It's about a wire transfer to Gaines. CTU sends Alberta Green (Tamara Tunie) to take over for Jack, while Jack closes in on Cofell. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

The Fast and the Furious (2001) screenwriter David Ayer follows up that fast-paced action hit with this gritty cop drama from director Antoine Fuqua. Ethan Hawke stars as Jake Hoyt, a fresh-faced Los Angeles Police Department rookie anxious to join the elite narcotics squad headed up by 13-year veteran Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington). Harris has agreed to give Hoyt a shot at joining his team with a one-day ride-along during which Hoyt must prove his mettle. As the day wears on, however, it becomes increasingly clear to the greenhorn that his experienced mentor has blurred the line between right and wrong to an alarming degree, enforcing his own morally compromised code of ethics and street justice. As he struggles with his conscience, an increasingly alarmed Hoyt begins to suspect that he's not really being given an audition at all; he's being set up as the fall guy in an elaborate scheme. Training Day co-stars Tom Berenger, Scott Glenn, and recording artists Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Macy Gray. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

During Christmas week, Ross (George Clooney) again tries to extend a helping hand to surly homeless teenager Charlie (Kirsten Dunst); Doyle (Jorja Fox) comes to the aid of a battered wife (Gloria LeRoy); and a mangy orphaned dog is "adopted" by Greene (Anthony Edwards), who is under the impression that the mutt would make a good gift for his daughter, Rachel (Yvonne Zima). In another development, Greene and Weaver (Laura Innes) try to forge a policy regarding HIV-positive employees, an action which may force Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) out in the open. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Simone's (Jimmy Smits) investigation of a limo driver's murder leads to a vice ring. Henry (Willie Garson), the nephew of the woman from whom Simone inherited an apartment building, finally reveals what he knows about a murder that occurred just outside the building. Diane (Kim Delaney) has trouble explaining to Simone that she has been assigned to get the goods on handsome hoodlum Jimmy Liery. The sexually promiscuous Geri (Debra Christofferson) is "kicked upstairs." And a kidnapping plot is foiled by a new member of the precinct, Detective Jill Kirkendall (Andrea Thompson, in her first series appearance). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide