Ferland, Guy

Sleeper Cell - American Terror - The Complete Second Season

In SLEEPER CELL: AMERICAN TERROR the Muslim undercover FBI agent Darwyn (Michael Ealy) discovers that another terrorist cell in Southern California is planning a catastrophic attack that will be more successful than the last attempt. Meanwhile Farik escapes out of the country and directs another terrorist operation beginning a parallel storyline between Southern California and the Middle East.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097368513945 Manufacturer No: 851394

Sleeper Cell: American Terror is so consistently excellent that the series' cancellation seems woefully premature. Citing budgetary costs and the popularity of newer shows (like Weeds), executives at Showtime ended the series after this superb second season, which benefits from its limited 8-episode run by maintaining a riveting combination of brisk pacing, intelligent plotting, and an admirably meaningful effort to explore the true nature of Muslim faith. For posterity, both seasons of Sleeper Cell will gain lasting value for their astute and illuminating depiction of Islamic devotion on both sides of the battle against radical Islamic terrorism. In this regard, American Terror is even better than the first season, as it deepens our understanding of the religious and philosophical differences between undercover FBI agent Darwyn Al-Sayeed (Michael Ealy) and Farik (Oded Fehr), the radical Islamic terrorist (with connections to Al-Qaeda) who continues to mastermind attacks on American soil. As American Terror begins, Farik is enduring brutal torture at the hands of his American captors while Darwyn, still undercover, is pretending to lead a new sleeper cell consisting of a former Latino gang member (Kevin Alejandro) who became an extremist in prison; a closeted gay Iraqi ex-patriot (Omid Abtahi) raised in London; and a Dutch nanny (Thekla Rueten) with personal reasons for hating America.

While Farik's former right-hand-man Ilija (Henri Lubatti) struggles in vain to return to a quiet, normal life, American Terror takes all of its characters into darker, more dangerous territory, and heightened realism gives the series even greater emotional impact as unexpected tragedies befall several supporting characters. While Ealy and Fehr continue to anchor the series with their finely nuanced performances, these episodes ultimately lead to a powerful finale that, in many respects, returns Darwyn to where he began--with potentially greater threats looming in his future. While Fox TV's 24 favors nonstop action and increasingly implausible plotting, Sleeper Cell: American Terror presents a frighteningly authentic scenario that honors Islam while demonstrating how it's been perverted by radicals with evil intentions. Because the second season has a cliffhanger ending that may never be resolved, it's a pity the series wasn't allowed to continue, and the DVD extras offer minimal compensation: They consist of "Infiltrating the Final Cell," an interesting interview between Ealy and two of Sleeper Cell's FBI consultants; "The Enemy Within" (a first-season recap); and "Farik's Story," a pointless 90-minute assembly of nearly all of Oded Fehr's scenes from American Terror. Why bother, when it's all better viewed in the context of the episodes? --Jeff Shannon

Sleeper Cell

As a praiseworthy effort to enlighten viewers about peaceful practice of the Muslim faith and lesser-known aspects of domestic terrorism, Sleeper Cell succeeds as a conventional thriller with its heart in the right place. Originally broadcast in late 2005, Showtimes's 10-hour limited series owes more to familiar Hollywood plotlines than to the precise realities of radical extremism, and authenticity frequently takes a backseat to well-crafted suspense. So, while it may not earn a high score in terms of absolute realism, the series works far better on an emotional level, beginning with the revelation that newly released prisoner Darwyn Al-Sayeed (Michael Ealy, from Barbershop and Their Eyes Were Watching God) is actually an undercover FBI agent and practicing Muslim, recruited to infiltrate a sleeper cell of Islamic radical extremists led by Farik (played by Israeli-born actor Oded Fehr, from The Mummy and The Mummy Returns), the mastermind of a Jihadist plot to detonate a chemical bomb in a crowded Los Angeles sports arena. Representing a broad spectrum of anti-American sentiments, Farik's band of holy warriors includes a hot-tempered Frenchman (Alex Nesic), a Bosnian chemist (Henri Lubatti), and a young, Berkeley-born American (Blake Shields) with a post-military beef against the U.S. government. While clandestinely reporting to his FBI handler (James LeGros), Darwyn is forced into deadly circumstances that continuously threaten to blow his cover and get him killed. His ill-advised romance with a single mother (Melissa Sagemiller) poses further threat to the integrity of his investigation, which ultimately involves everyone from local LAPD detectives to the senior staff of the White House.

As the terrorist plot unfolds, Sleeper Cell is by turns intense, dramatically involving, and philosophically illuminating as Darwyn struggles to reconcile his undercover activities (which connect him to murder, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, etc.) and his passionate devotion to Islam as a peaceful religion. With a number of Islamic consultants, writers, and directors, series creators Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris (the team responsible for Bulletproof Monk) have admirably attempted to balance national fear of terrorism with a very sympathetic and positive depiction of the law-abiding Muslim majority. In a subtle but somewhat one-dimensional performance, Ealy conveys the spiritual anguish of Darwyn's stressful situation, while Fehr provides stark contrast, portraying Farik as a smart, charismatic source of constant threat, ruling over his fellow terrorists with passionate conviction. As the series nears its powerful two-hour finale, their clash of ideologies plays out like an above-average episode of 24, sharing elements of Reservoir Dogs as each isolated member of the sleeper cell nears his individual fate. With plenty of surprises along the way, Sleeper Cell grabs your attention and never lets go, even when you're aware that a real-life scenario would play by a different set of rules. --Jeff Shannon

Sleeper Cell takes viewers behind the veil of an U.S. home-grown terrorist group tracking the harrowing challenges faced by a FBI agent determined to learn its secrets. Having posed as a prisoner inside a federal penitentiary a young agent (Michael Ealy) develops contacts that enable him to infiltrate an Islamic terrorist cell in Los Angeles. The cell is led by an intimidating charismatic extremist (Oded Fehr) who considers all acts of violence moral when serving the greater good of his cause. But early in the investigation something goes wrong placing lives and the integrity of a three-year mission in serious jeopardy.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS UPC: 758445210927 Manufacturer No: SHO21092D

Dirty Dancing - Havana Nights

The sinuous world of 1950s Cuban dance halls provides the setting for Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, a "reimagining" that shares with the original movie a deep love of sexy young people pressed tightly together on the dance floor. Fresh from New England, bookish and lovely Katey (Romola Garai, adorable in the charming but little-seen I Capture the Castle) meets a fiery young busboy named Javier (Diego Luna, Y Tu Mama Tambien) at a snooty hotel. Before you can say Tito Puente, the two have found a common language in the sensual swaying of their limbs, despite the resistance of Katey's mother (Sela Ward). It's all ridiculous, of course--the dialogue is atrocious, the characters tortilla-thin, and the politics embarrassing--but that's hardly the point. Luna is dreamy, there's lots of sweaty dancing, and Patrick Swayze makes an appearance--what more can you ask from a movie called Dirty Dancing? --Bret Fetzer

Bang Bang You're Dead

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Our Guys

Telling Lies in America

Joe Eszterhas (formulaic screenwriter of many overpaid projects, most infamously Basic Instinct and Showgirls) somewhat redeems himself with this semi-autobiographical story. His mouthpiece is Karchy Jonas (Brad Renfro), a Hungarian-born immigrant (like Eszterhas himself) growing up in Cleveland in 1960. His pop (Maximilian Schell) works hard to send Karchy to an expensive high school, where Karchy is ostracized by the rich kids and labors to find acceptance. Into town walks itinerant rock DJ Billy Magic (Kevin Bacon), the quintessence of cool with a dark charm. Magic needs a teen to run errands for him (mostly carrying payola envelopes), so he hosts a "High School Hall of Fame" contest to help him find an assistant. Karchy, who idolizes Magic, wins the contest by forging signatures of his classmates on postcards. Magic knows of Karchy's deception and is intrigues by it, as that is the kind of dishonesty he's looking for in his assistant. Karchy's lying grows into a major character trait, forcing the kid into many difficult social situations, not the least of which involves government officials investigating the slippery Magic for payola and threatening to jeopardize Karchy's family's citizenship status if he doesn't cooperate. Although no less a formula plot than other Eszterhas stuff, this one's lifted a bit by the director's personal connection to the story and by a great, charismatic performance by Kevin Bacon. Much more could be written about the connection between lying and storytelling, and fending for oneself in the mendacious jungles of Hollywood, but suffice it to say that Karchy eventually grows up to write Showgirls. --Jim Gay

Telling Lies in America

Joe Eszterhas (formulaic screenwriter of many overpaid projects, most infamously Basic Instinct and Showgirls) somewhat redeems himself with this semi-autobiographical story. His mouthpiece is Karchy Jonas (Brad Renfro), a Hungarian-born immigrant (like Eszterhas himself) growing up in Cleveland in 1960. His pop (Maximilian Schell) works hard to send Karchy to an expensive high school, where Karchy is ostracized by the rich kids and labors to find acceptance. Into town walks itinerant rock DJ Billy Magic (Kevin Bacon), the quintessence of cool with a dark charm. Magic needs a teen to run errands for him (mostly carrying payola envelopes), so he hosts a "High School Hall of Fame" contest to help him find an assistant. Karchy, who idolizes Magic, wins the contest by forging signatures of his classmates on postcards. Magic knows of Karchy's deception and is intrigues by it, as that is the kind of dishonesty he's looking for in his assistant. Karchy's lying grows into a major character trait, forcing the kid into many difficult social situations, not the least of which involves government officials investigating the slippery Magic for payola and threatening to jeopardize Karchy's family's citizenship status if he doesn't cooperate. Although no less a formula plot than other Eszterhas stuff, this one's lifted a bit by the director's personal connection to the story and by a great, charismatic performance by Kevin Bacon. Much more could be written about the connection between lying and storytelling, and fending for oneself in the mendacious jungles of Hollywood, but suffice it to say that Karchy eventually grows up to write Showgirls. --Jim Gay

Delivered

Will Sherman is a pizza delivery guy with some major problems. A deranged killer is turning his tape-recorded revenge fantasies into reality. Now Will must clear his name and stop the homicidal maniac before he claims his next victim... his ex-girlfriend.