Chris Mulkey Movies
Character actor and screenwriter Chris Mulkey is best remembered for his convincing portrayal of creepy former convict Hank Jennings in David Lynch's innovative television series Twin Peaks. A five-year veteran of the Children's Theatre Company of Minnesota, Mulkey, who had previously studied theater at the University of Minnesota, made his feature film debut in the comedy Loose Ends (1975). He made his screenwriting debut in 1988, with Patti Rocks. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
I Tried stars the members of Bone Thugs N Harmony in a gritty urban thriller that offers one example of how the members lives might have turned out had they not become hip-hop superstars. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
When a stylish gay student arrives for his first day at Brickland International High School, the threats he endures from the jocks and bullies is soon balanced by his friendship with two of the school's biggest misfits in director Russell P. Marleau's loopy teen comedy. For the most part, Brickland is your average European high school - with popular kids, athletes, geeks, and fashionistas all tallying for top dog status. When Chance arrives for his first day at Brickland decked out in a top hat and carrying a cane, football punter Brad Harden promptly singles him out for torment. Thankfully Chance has the kind of quick wits needed to deflect Brad's homophobic attacks. Upon making friends with sassy Twyla and geeky Hank, Chance quickly begins to learn the ropes at Brickland. Later, an excursion to the local drag bar, a bit of amateur sleuthing, and an burgeoning alliance with athletic musician and straight boy Levi finds Chance poised to achieve legendary status at Brickland. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tad Hilgenbrinck, Aldevina da Silva, (more)
Friday Night Lights shines brighter than ever as the critically acclaimed series arrives in a 4-disc collection in 5.1 surround sound! From producers Brian Grazer (The Da Vinci Code), Peter Berg (The Kingdom) and Jason Katims and inspired by the best-selling book and hit film, Friday Night Lights provides a heartfelt look at the families, friendships, and faiths of residents in a closely knit Texan town. Featuring an incredible ensemble cast, this intense and compelling show has critics saying "there is no finer or truer drama on network TV"
- Starring:
- Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, (more)
Sideways star Thomas Hayden Church appears alongside Academy Award-winner Robert Duvall in a dramatic mini-series shot in the classic western tradition. The year is 1897. As Print Ritter (Duvall) and his estranged nephew Tom Harte (Church) travel the slow road to reconciliation, they reluctantly find themselves forced to care for five abused and abandoned Chinese immigrants while simultaneously attempting to deliver a herd of horses across the plains. Soon confronted by a gang of malevolent kidnappers who intend to abduct the girls and use them for the own nefarious purposes, Print and Tom determine to keep their young charges out of harms way while ensuring that their valuable delivery reaches its intended destination. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Duvall, Thomas Haden Church, (more)
The unexpected death of a close friend prompts a group of developmentally arrested twenty-somethings to move beyond their youthful indulgences and face the frightening prospect of entering into the adult world in director Michael Oates' heart-rending but good-humored coming of age tale. The funeral of their faithful high-school pal Bender just days away, college hopeful Mitch (Kip Pardue), hard-working Stan (Eddie Kay Thomas), and perpetually wasted Dixon Josh Cooke) come together to pay tribute to their fallen friend by tooling around their old home town and straining to top their notorious high-school hi-jinks. Their lives seemingly pre-destined to follow some invisible but unwavering path, Mitch and Stan watch over their volatile friend Dixon as the troubled walking time-bomb attempts to bury his guilt for being at the scene of the accident but unable to save Bender's life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Kaye Thomas, Kip Pardue, (more)
- 2002
- Add Confessions of an American Girl to QueueAdd Confessions of an American Girl to top of Queue
Despite living in what she considers to be a less than perfect environment to raise the perfect family, pregnant teen Rena Grubb (Jena Malone) vows to escape the squalid trailer park that she calls home with a little help from the father she barely knows. If her living situation wasn't bad enough, Rena's frustration is compounded when she is rejected by her selfish boyfriend (Erik Von Detten) and forced to fend for herelf as she prepares to give birth to her child. As Rena sees it, the only chance her child has for happiness is the love of a stable family, so she convinces her mother (Michelle Forbes) to drive her family to the annual prison picnic in hopes that she can hold her family together for a bright future. Surrounded by barbed wires and high fences, Rena slowly begins to understand both her father's plight and the important role she can play in giving her child everything that she never had in life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jena Malone, Brad Renfro, (more)
- 1998
This TV drama, Lifetime's first original dramatic series, explores the relationship of white Mary Elizabeth O'Brian (Annie Potts) and black Rene Jackson (Lorraine Toussaint) who grew up together as good friends in segregated Alabama of the early '60s -- with Mae Middleton portraying Mary Elizabeth as a girl and Shari Dyon Perry in the role of the young Rene. After Mary Elizabeth became pregnant at 19 by her childhood sweetheart Collier Sims (Chris Mulkey), she and Rene drifted apart. With the death of Rene's civil-rights lawyer father, James (Courtney B. Vance), Mary Elizabeth attends the funeral, and their friendship begins anew, even though the two women followed divergent paths: Attorney Rene chose a career over a family, while Mary Elizabeth has several children from her beer-swilling hubby. Intercutting past and present, the series advances on a dual track, contrasting present-day progress with Alabama attitudes during the Civil Rights era. With music by Bob Hilliard, Burt Bacharach, the Temptations, and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, the series premiered August 18, 1998 on Lifetime. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Potts, Lorraine Toussaint, (more)
- 1998
Small-towners Ada (Barbara Mandrell), Pearhead (Morgan Rusler), Sis (Tina Lifford) and Vinegar (K. Todd Freeman) become convinced that God is communicating with them via mysterious calls from the pay phone in the town's café. This phenomenon is accepted as a miracle by everyone except local minister Erskine (Chris Mulkey), who has lost his faith in the wake of his wife's death. Inasmuch as Heavenly caseworker Monica (Roma Downey) has been assigned to redeem Erskine, it is necessary to demonstrate God's presence in a more palpaple fashion than as a celestial phone service. The metaphoric title of this episode refers to the favorite pastime of Erskine's daughter Bits (Renee Olstead). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this thriller, a serial killer with a difference meets the law in an unexpected way. A murderer is on the loose whose deadly obsession is dismembering women who attend law school; a beautiful female lawyer decides something must be done, and offers herself as bait to lure the criminal into a trap. But it turns out that the fiend is more clever than anyone expected, and he seems to have friends in high places who don't want him to be caught. Psychopath stars Madchen Amick as the attorney in danger and also features Bruce Dinsmore and Chris Mulkey. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Someone is poisoning beautiful women and influential men with a very rare vintage of red wine while listening to classical music on WZIN-FM, 95.8 on the Philadelphia radio dial. Detectives Lou Heinz (Chris Heyerdahl) and Samantha Parks (Lynne Adams) discover the rather elegant murders occur during the nighttime shift of disc jockey Anne Winslow (Molly Ringwald), and that the killer may be leading up to slaying Anne herself. Heinz decides to protect Anne personally and follow her on her date with the creepy music professor Richard Poe (Chris Mulkey) -- good thing, too, because Poe winds up attempting date rape. Poe seems the likely suspect for the murders, but Heinz can't make the charges stick, and the killings continue. Don't look now, but Anne and Poe are reunited as moderators for a big benefit concert, which gives Poe a very tempting opportunity to see his obsession through to the end. But then there's a twist. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Mulkey, Molly Ringwald, (more)
- 1995
The struggle of country music's mother-daughter duo The Judds is told in this made-for-television drama. Kathleen York stars as Naomi Judd (then known as Diana Judd) a single mother of two daughters, who turned to music as way to help positively influence her increasingly belligerent and rebellious eldest daughter Wynonna (then known as Christina). The movie chronicles Naomi's struggle to provide for her daughters (the youngest is actress Ashley Judd), the singing duo's rise from Nashville fame to national celebrity, the ups and downs that accompanied a working family relationship, and Naomi's eventual retirement from the music business. The movie was based on Naomi's autobiography Love Can Build A Bridge. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1995
It's Reversal of Fortune meets Jerry Springer in this made-for-TV miniseries, which concerns the true-life tale of a Texas oil magnate on trial for conspiring to murder his brassy ex-wife -- and for very successfully doing away with her lover and daughter. Texas Justice stars Peter Strauss as Cullen Davis, a millionaire businessman who falls in love with the tempestuous, lower-class Priscilla (Heather Locklear), a young woman with a checkered past and a temper to match. When their relationship goes sour, Cullen's jealousy flares up and he does the unthinkable -- but in the courtroom, he attempts to clear his name with the help of the grandstanding, high-powered attorney Richard Haynes (Dennis Farina). ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- 1994
A murder has been committed in Cabot Cove, and the body is found in the garage of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). Actually, two murders take place, and the cause of it all is the illicit affair between a married woman and the town bully. All the members of the couple's bowling league are suspected, but Jessica deduces that it took only one person to score the two strikes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
In this thriller, an assassin's threats cause a single mother, her son, and the G-man assigned to protect them to embark upon a desperate cross-country flight. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Scott Bakula, (more)
- 1992
Based on a true story, this is the saga of the survivor of an automobile crash who is left wheelchair bound and bitter. Ignoring friends and family, it becomes his sole quest to end his life with dignity. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cole, Craig T. Nelson, (more)
- 1992
Meticulously researched and elaborately produced, the two-part TV movie Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel is based on a true story. In addition, to quote the original print ads, "This is the one we won!" Incorruptible agents of the DEA declare war against Colombia's Medelin drug lords. To undermine the enemy, the Feds launch an undercover operation, targeted at the cartel's refineries. Alex Farina, Dennis Farina and John Glover head the enormous cast, which includes Julie Carmen in a standout performance as a Colombian judge. Filmed in Spain and Florida, part one of Drug Wars debuted January 19, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Lou Diamond Phillips stars in this contrived but entertaining thriller (which he also wrote) as Mitchell Osgood, an aspiring writer who runs a Los Angeles bookstore. When a heartfelt book about his father Haing S. Ngor fails to win him a publishing deal, Osgood decides to write something more eye-catching -- a book about recently-released serial killer Albert Merrick Clancy Brown. The media beats him to it, so the ruthlessly ambitious Osgood decides to spur Merrick to commit more crimes, hiring him to work at the bookstore and playing cruel mind games in hopes of setting Merrick off. He does, but the results are quite different from what Osgood had anticipated. Phillips' performance is weak, and the screenplay is predictably bland, but the film remains worthwhile thanks to a terrific job by Brown as the killer. Brown has turned in a number of fine psycho performances, but he has rarely been better than he is here, building from understated diffidence to full-blown psychosis in expert fashion. Grace Zabriskie and Willard E. Pugh co-star with Cecilia Peck. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clancy Brown, Cecilia Peck, (more)
- 1991
Based on a true story, the made-for-television movie Runaway Father is about a husband who fakes his death so he can abandon his family. After surviving 20 years of poverty, his wife discovers he is still alive, and she sues him to collect 17 years of back child support. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Mills, Jack Scalia, (more)
- 1990
In this made-for-cable adaptation of Roderick Thorp's crime thriller, Peter Weller stars as a Hollywood cop whose murder investigation runs into a wall of police corruption. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Weller, Sela Ward, (more)
- 1990
Gregory Harrison is the Angel of Death in this made-for-TV suspenser. In love with artist Jane Seymour, escaped convict Harrison vows to protect Seymour and her six-year-old son Brian Bonsall from any and all antagonists. Trouble is, Harrison is apt to love Seymour and her boy to death. If you don't care for the melodramatic angle, you'll love the scene wherein Harrison gains Seymour's confidence by agreeing to pose nude for her! Angel of Death premiered on October 2, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Keith Michell dominates this episode in the role of Dennis Stanton, ex-jewel thief turned insurance investigator. While probing into a theft and double murder, Dennis decides to use his own criminal knowhow to trap the culprit. At the center of the intrigue is a rare silver dollar, an icy dowager, and a few random suspicious-looking gentlemen with accents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
This "feature film" is comprised of scenes from the six-part sequel to the 1987 TV series Vietnam War Story. Each self-contained playlet involves one or more members of the American forces which occupied Southeast Asia in the 1960s. The first story involves a black GI (Tim Guinee) whose kindness to a Vietnamese girl has tragic consequences. Next, a soldier (Tate Donovan) on leave discovers that the war has taken a toll on his marriage. Then we watch as a group of grunts plan to "frag" their hateful captain. This is followed by the story of a careless soldier who is separated from his comrades in the middle of the jungle. The fifth tale involves a new recruit's last night of "freedom." The film concludes with the story of two nurses--one a vet, one a greenhorn--who are united in their struggle against horrific hospital conditions. Vietnam War Story: The Last Days was originally telecast on a sporadic basis between July 20 and December 7, 1988, over the HBO pay-cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
