Desert Saints
There's lots of desert in this made-for-cable caper, but not many saints. Banks (Keifer Sutherland) is a hit man for hire and Bennie (Magnolia's Melora Walters) is the abused wife he takes on as an accomplice. She just wants a ride out of town. If it means driving the getaway car while Banks makes his next hit--so be it. As the duo drives from Arizona to Mexico for his next assignment, Banks turns out to be more sensitive than he at first appears, while the seemingly ditsy Bennie turns out to be smarter. Jamey Sheridan (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) plays the FBI agent who's hot on their trail.Desert Saints, which was coproduced by Meg Ryan and premiered on Cinemax, is a taut thriller with a twist at the end. What it lacks in humor and excitement, it makes up for with solid performances and an abundance of lost highway atmosphere.--Kathleen C. Fennessy