Kevin Hooks Movies

While the people of the Counter Terrorist Unit watched helplessly, Marwan's (Arnold Vosloo) nuclear missile was launched from somewhere in the Midwest, most likely headed toward a major city on one of the coasts, leaving CTU about three hours, coincidentally, to somehow stop it from reaching its target. Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) has no luck trying to engage the captured Marwan in some sort of negotiation. "I'm getting what I want," he tells Jack. Edgar (Louis Lombardi) notices that Marwan received a call from Richard Heller (Logan Marshall-Green), of all people, about a week ago, and Richard is brought in for questioning again. Tony (Carlos Bernard) ruefully notes of Jack and Audrey that while they seemed like a fun couple yesterday, Jack has since been responsible for her husband's death and now may have to torture her brother. Audrey begs Jack to let her talk to Richard for five minutes before Jack begins his hardball tactics. When Richard won't talk to her, Heller (William Devane) shows up, and gets the young man to acknowledge that an unsavory couple may have had access to his cell phone during the time in question. CTU manages to get an address for the couple, and Jack takes a team there. Before leaving with Jack, Tony has an emotional discussion with Michelle (Reiko Aylesworth) about their future together. At the apartment complex, CTU encounters a familiar and very dangerous foe. Meanwhile, somewhere deep under the White House, Logan (Gregory Itzin) and Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) engage in a political power struggle with Don Ashton (Denis Arndt), the overly ambitious Speaker of the House. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Michelle (Reiko Aylesworth) has captured Alvers (Lothaire Bluteau), but despite Gael's (Jesse Borrego) best efforts, the virus has been dispersed in the Chandler Plaza Hotel. Michelle calls Tony (Carlos Bernard) to tell him the bad news, and he's horrified to realize that she's calling from inside the hotel. He tells her to leave immediately, but she refuses, understanding that she might already be infected. Chappelle (Paul Schulze) tells Michelle that she's to shoot to kill if anyone tries to leave. She gets the hotel security chief, Phillips (Doug Savant), to help her keep everyone inside and maintain order. Alvers, knowing he's going to die, tells Michelle he'll tell her everything he knows if she promises to kill him once he starts showing symptoms of the virus. There are 11 other vials in play, and the virus has been modified, as they soon discover when Gael starts showing symptoms within an hour of being exposed. One hotel employee, Margolis (J.D. Cullum), overhears Michelle and Gael talking, and tries to escape. When that fails, he sets off the fire alarm, bringing a crowd of hotel guests down to the lobby. The guests demand to know why they can't leave, and Michelle tells them there's a toxic substance in the air outside the building. This story falls apart when a few people in the lobby start to get nosebleeds, and a full-scale panic breaks out. Meanwhile, Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) reluctantly lies to the police to back up Sherry's (Penny Johnson Jerald) alibi. Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) and Chase (James Badge Dale) allow Amador (Greg Ellis) to escape, hoping he'll lead him to the mastermind behind the virus plot, but their plans backfire, and Jack gets a call from an old friend. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Veronica Hamel of Hill Street Blues fame makes a guest appearance as the mother of plane-crash survivor Jack (Matthew Fox) as he experiences another of his character-revealing flashbacks during a period of delirium. Elsewhere on the island, the pregnant Claire (Emilie de Raven) suffers from unforeseen complications, and Boone (Ian Somerhalder) gallantly attempts to rescue a drowning woman, only to be nearly drowned himself. It seems that there may be a thief on the island, as the last of the water bottles mysteriously disappear just when Claire desperately needs them. And Jack continues to "see" a mysterious man in a suit at a distance; when he goes to investigate, he finds that the stranger may be, impossibly, someone very close to him. ~ Rovi

If not the best new drama series of the 2001-2002 TV season, Philly bade fair to be the loudest and most abrasive. NYPD Blue alumnus Kim Delaney stars as idealistic law school graduate Kathleen Maguire, who, after her divorce from assistant DA Daniel X. Cavanaugh (Kyle Secor), put out her shingle as a Philadelphia defense attorney. When Kathleen's partner Marion (Joanna Cassidy) suffers a nervous breakdown, she reluctantly goes into business with highly unethical lawyer Will Friedman (Tom Everett Scott), thereby launching a series-long shoutfest between the two strange bedfellows. If Will weren't headache enough, Kathleen also has to deal with slimy clients, ill-tempered judges, and a seemingly endless parade of eccentric courtroom habitué, most of whom have nothing but sex on their brains. Providing a bit of moral support and affection to the long-suffering Kathleen is her outspoken ten-year-old son Patrick (Scotty Leavenworth). It should be noted that a number of genuine Philadelphia lawyers actively disliked the series, labeling it "unrealistic" and "insulting" -- but they never said it wasn't entertaining. Executive-produced by the prolific Stephen Bochco, the weekly, 60-minute Philly was supposed to have been unveiled by ABC on September 18, 2001, but the network's coverage of the World Trade Center tragedy pushed the debut date up to September 25. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Greene (Anthony Edwards) takes care of his terminally ill father (John Cullum) at home, leading to a poignant moment between the elder Greene and Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston). Back at work, Corday tries to persuade an anorexic girl to continue treatment for her illness. Carol (Julianna Margulies) can't keep her mind on her work after receiving a silly birthday present. Carter (Noah Wyle) plunges back into his work and immediately runs afoul of ER policy. And Malucci (Erik Palladino) treats a young accident victim who is being sexually abused by her father. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The off-court lives of a team of professional basketball players, as well as their friends and family, are the focus of The Hoop Life, a made-for-cable movie that serves as pilot and introduction for a series produced for the Showtime premium cable network. The New England Knights lose the final game of the seven-game championship series after Marvin Buxton (Mykelti Williamson) misses a shot that would have put them ahead, and the players have to figure out what to do in the off-season. Buxton becomes obsessed with the missed shot and eventually goes ballistic at a youth basketball camp he hosts. Greg Marr (Rick Peters), one of Marvin's team mates, finds his infidelity is catching up with him when his wife kicks him out of their house. Coach Leonard Fero (Dan Lauria) is constantly doing battle with General Manager Eliot Pierce (Dorian Harewood) and owner Emily Yeager (Linda Thorson). And Curtis Thorpe (Cirroc Lofton), a high school hoops star who has decided to turn pro rather than attend college, has his eye on a contract with the Knights. However, after the death of his parents, Curtis's Uncle Kenny (Ray Anthony Thomas) takes over "management" of Curtis and puts a stake through his career by signing a contract for him to play pro ball in Greece. The Hoop Life also features a cameo by former NBA star Bill Walton as himself. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Kevin Hooks (Passenger 57) directed this action drama about an ex-convict tricked into trucking illegal weapons across state lines. Truckdriver Jack Crews (Patrick Swayze) fell asleep at the wheel, resulting in an accident that brought him a conviction of vehicular manslaughter and a two-year prison sentence. Minus a license to drive the big rigs, Jack works for a trucking firm as a mechanic to support his wife (Brenda Strong) and daughter (Erin Broderick). His paycheck doesn't cover his overdue mortgage payments, so Jack reluctantly accepts an offer from his new boss Cutler (Graham Beckel) to make $10,000 "off the books" with a no-questions-asked delivery of toilets from Georgia to New Jersey. Jack has doubts after he goes to Georgia to get his rig; Cutler's associate Red (Meat Loaf) gives Jack a driving partner (Randy Travis) and an armed duo (Gabriel Casseus and Brian Vincent). After the four depart, Red orders others to hijack the cargo. A lengthy chase begins -- with various vehicles from motorcycles to 18-wheelers trying to get Jack off the road. After Jack learns his truck is not flush with toilets but instead is filled with a cargo of AK-47s, he phones Cutler to resign, prompting Cutler to take Jack's wife and child as hostages. Jack then moves from neutral to high gear -- with smash-ups and shootouts just around the next curve. The soundtrack includes Rhett Akins' new interpretation of "Drivin' My Life Away" by Eddie Rabbit (who died at the age of 53 during the week this film was released). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

The fiancée of assistant district attorney Ed Danvers (Zeljko Ivanek) is shot and killed while shopping for her wedding ensemble. Already unnerved by the killing, and by his own self-doubts regarding his opposition to the death penalty, Danvers is none too happy that his perennial nemesis Pembleton (Andre Braugher) has been assigned to investigate the murder. Elsewhere, Kellerman (Reed Diamond) receives some disheartening news just before he is to testify before the federal grand jury; and while trying to help Kellerman defend himself against corruption charges, Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) learns the real reason that he was not promoted to captain. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This fast-paced action picture plays like Die Hard (1988) on an airplane. Grieving over the death of his wife at the hands of an armed robber and blaming himself for her death, anti-terrorism expert John Cutter (Wesley Snipes) is retiring from his dangerous job. The flight he's on is occupied by a coterie of FBI agents escorting the lethal terrorist Charles Rane (Bruce Payne), but as the aircraft is taking off, Rane's associates, who have also boarded the plane, take the vehicle by force and free their leader. With the aid of a sheriff on the ground, a pair of stewardesses (Alex Datcher and Elizlabeth Hurley) and his old friend, airport manager Sly Delvecchio (Tom Sizemore), Cutter puts his special training and martial arts skills to good use combating the kidnappers. The clever, dapper Rane has several surprises in store for his nemesis, however, including killing a hostage and an ally who's only pretending to be on Cutter's side. His options becoming increasingly limited, Cutter devises a dangerous plan that involves dumping the airplane's precious fuel reserves. Director Kevin Hooks cast his father, actor Robert Hooks in the role of federal agent Dwight Henderson. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

In this lively comedy, an African American yuppie rethinks life on the corporate fast-track after he falls in love with an ultra hip club promoter. Knowing that she finds him a total square, he seeks the advice of a swinging young mail boy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Deviating from the storyline of Alex Haley's book, and the classic 1977 miniseries that followed, the plotline of 1988's Roots: The Gift finds African-born slave Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton) and his plantation friend Fiddler (Louis Gossett Jr.) helping freed black man Cletus Moyer (Avery Brooks) smuggle runaway slaves to freedom. Roots: The Gift was set during Christmas of 1775 because it was slated for telecast during the Christmas season of 1988 -- December 11, to be exact. This telecast was timed to coincide with the posthumous publication of Alex Haley's book A Different Kind of Christmas, which had nothing whatsoever to do with Roots but did concern itself with runaway slaves at Yuletide. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi