Skip Schoolnik Movies

Back in human form but lacking any memory of her past life or her recent stint as a higher being, Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) turns up at the hotel, much to the delight of the love-struck Angel (David Boreanaz). Worried that the truth of Cordelia's demon-fighting past will upset her, Angel and the gang try to hide the truth of their situation. But with Angel slurping pig's blood from a jar, Lorne (Andy Hallett) walking around with green skin and horns, and Gunn (J. August Richards) and Fred (Amy Acker) rushing off to fight some particularly messy demons, it isn't long before the terrified Cordy demands the truth. When she does hear it, she can't believe it, but a close encounter with a demon convinces her. Connor (Vincent Kartheiser), who's been lurking outside the hotel, rescues Cordy from the beastie and agrees to give her sanctuary. His typically blunt honesty about the demon world and his abiding sense of melancholy get to Cordy, who decides to ally herself with Connor. Meanwhile, Wesley (Alexis Denisof) continues his sexual alliance with Lilah (Stephanie Romanov) but heads out to save Cordy when he overhears Lilah discussing details of a Wolfram & Hart plot against her. Wes and Angel join Connor and Cordy in battle, but the attack turns out to be a diversion. The real target of Wolfram & Hart's sting is Lorne, whose psychic abilities have allowed him to glimpse intimate knowledge of a coming apocalypse from inside Cordy's addled brain -- a vision involving the phrase "slouching toward Bethlehem." By the time Angel & Co. reach Lorne, a burrowing demon has literally stolen the visions from inside his head. Originally broadcast October 27, 2002, on the WB network, "Slouching Toward Bethlehem" marked season four, episode four of the supernatural comedy drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon's first cult-favorite horror-comedy drama, used its supernatural trappings as the breeding ground for countless metaphors about adolescence, young adulthood, and female empowerment. But Angel, its spin-off and Whedon's second successful outing for the youth-oriented WB network, uses the mysterious demon realm to literalize the nebulous grey areas -- moral and ethical, professional and romantic -- that suddenly leap out at young adults once they've left the nest. A detective comedy-cum-supernatural soap opera with a conscience-stricken immortal as its ambiguous hero, Angel follows the adventures of the titular vampire and an ever-expanding group of sidekicks as they seek to "help the helpless" in the glamorous shadows of Los Angeles. If the cheap math for Buffy is Wonder Woman plus The Munsters times Beverly Hills 90210, then Angel is more like Dark Shadows meets Melrose Place with a dash of L.A. Law.

David Boreanaz leads the cast as Angel, a handsome, brooding hunk who, like many Angelenos, doesn't look his age. Born nearly 250 years ago to a stern Irish father and christened Liam, he spent his youth as a dissolute and drunken lecher. Then he met Darla, an American beauty. She promised to show him the world, and she did -- after making him, like her, an immortal, soulless fiend. As Angelus, Liam terrorized Europe for a century before a gypsy curse restored his human spirit to his demon-animated body. With the knowledge of his vampiric sins burning a hole through his newfound soul, Angel spent most of the 20th century a useless wreck. Then, as chronicled on Buffy, he was recruited by the mysterious Powers That Be to serve as a champion in the fight between good and evil. Buffy fans are no doubt aware that Angel's gypsy curse has a loophole that strips him of his soul the instant he achieves a moment of true happiness -- say, for instance, a night of passion with a certain previously chaste vampire slayer. It was this conceit that allowed Angel to serve as both ally and nemesis to Buffy, and, by precluding any real future for their epic romance, set the stage for his decision to seek atonement in L.A. The quest for redemption, then, is Angel's carrot; the possibility of sliding back into atrocity is his stick.

For the show's first four seasons, fellow Buffy veteran Charisma Carpenter served as Boreanaz's comedic and sometimes romantic foil. As the show slowly morphed from a tongue-in-cheek comedy-adventure to an action-packed metaphysical melodrama, Carpenter's Cordelia Chase developed from the spoiled brat of the Buffy years to the kooky girl Friday of Angel Investigations to a champion in her own right. Some longtime fans were therefore outraged when the popular star was written out of the regular cast at the end of the fourth season. Others, however, were relieved that Angel survived a close brush with cancellation to return for a fifth season with an addition to the cast: James Marsters, reprising his Buffy the Vampire Slayer role as Spike, Angel's romantic rival, longtime antagonist, and fellow vampire-with-a-soul. Other recurring and regular cast members have included the late Glenn Quinn as the half-human, half-demon Doyle; Buffy refugee Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndham-Price, a bumbling "rogue demon hunter" who eventually becomes truly roguish; J. August Richards as Charles Gunn, a street-smart vampire hunter with hidden depths; Amy Acker as Winifred "Fred" Burkle, a damsel-in-distress turned super-scientist; Andy Hallett as Lorne, a horned, green-skinned demon who can read your future, but only if you sing karaoke for him; future Law & Order babe Elisabeth Rohm as a Scully-esque police detective; Julie Benz as Darla, Angel's oft-resurrected vampire paramour; Vincent Kartheiser as Connor, Darla and Angel's rebellious (and human) teenaged son; and Christian Kane and Stephanie Romanov as a pair of lawyers at Wolfram & Hart, the evil law firm that Angel fights for four seasons and eventually takes over. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a reporter attempts to protect her small son (the result of her brief tryst with a presidential candidate) from the prying eyes of a shady political advisor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a divorced dad fights for visitation rights with his daughter after she and her mother are relocated to an unknown locale as part of the Federal Witness Protection program. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Directed by Brian Gibson, this television mini-series stars Steven Bauer as an undercover DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, whose kidnapping and subsequent murder lead to an intensive investigation. The shocking findings all pointed towards a disturbing connection between the Mexican government and high-profile druglords. Based on a true story, Drug Wars also features Benicio Del Toro, Elizabeth Pena, Treat Wilson, and Miguel Ferrer. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

The fourth in a seemingly endless parade of Amityville sequels, this passable TV knock-off features an item of possessed furniture from the notorious haunted house -- a concept inspired by a series of novels by John G. Jones and exploited in no less than three films of the series. This time it's a lava lamp from the accursed site that houses the evil, traveling cross-country from an Amityville garage sale (now there's a title for a sequel) to an oceanfront California estate, whereupon it releases the demonic forces within to exert their vile influence on a young girl by assuming the form of her late father. To this end, the demon animates various household appliances to whittle down the cast in death scenes which are neither shocking nor original -- much like the rest of this film. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Glitz was a disappointment for fans of the Elmore Leonard novel on which it was based. Jimmy Smits stars as a savvy Miami police detective Vincent Mora, who is wounded in a shoot-out. Convalescing in Puerto Rico, Mora falls in love with a beautiful woman who later dies under suspicious circumstances. Unable to pursue the case officially, Mora conducts a private investigation of the case. Along the way, he makes the acquaintance of a sprightly lounge singer (Markie Post) and a seriously disturbed ex-con (John Diehl). To many viewers, the title was appropriate: Glitz was plenty of style with little substance. The film was first telecast October 21, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hide and Go Shriek is pedestrian stalker nonsense, this time featuring the usual group of sex-mad teens camping out overnight in a gigantic furniture superstore (owned by one of the kids' parents) and being picked off by a mysterious killer. The creepy ex-con, who both lives and works at the store, is presented as an obvious red herring, but the killer's true identity comes straight out of left field with a loopy homosexual subplot that serves virtually no purpose other than to tie up one of several dozen loose ends. Competently filmed but shamelessly derivative of countless other slasher films (which weren't particularly original in the first place), this non-thriller offers little of interest apart from a director with a cute name -- the one and only Skip Schoolnik. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this sci-fi film an astronaut finds himself endowed with superhuman powers after he was exposed to severe radiation resulting from a solar disturbance during the time he was in space. He uses those powers to find the one who murdered his colleague. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Japanese-made Galaxy Express offers the spectacle of a real locomotive, chugging its way through the solar system. In Willie Wonka fashion, the locomotive guides its passengers into realizing their heart's desires--which of course usually turns out not to be what they've expected. The central character herein is a little boy, who wishes to learn the secret of immortality. He does...and he doesn't like it one bit. Touted as a children's movie, Galaxy Express is grim going at times. Best not to see this film right after the funeral of a loved one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A crack military team led by pilot Ace Hunter (Barry Bostwick) is called in to save democracy in a small nation threatened by tyranny. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide