Frank Yablans Movies

The fifth film version of the classic 19th century children's tale by Ouida (aka Marie-Louise de la Ramée), A Dog of Flanders tells the story of young Nello (Jesse James), a boy growing up with his grandfather Jehan (Jack Warden) after the death of his parents. Although Jehan has little in the way of material wealth, he loves his grandson and tries to encourage him in his pursuits; Nello also has the support of his best friend Aloise (Madyline Sweeten) and the love of his faithful dog, Patrasche. Following in the footsteps of his late mother, Nello has an interest in art and has taken up drawing. His work catches the eye of Michel La Grande (Jon Voight), a famous artist who lives in town and offers Nello encouragement. However, as he grows older, the friendship between Nello (now played by Jeremy James Kissner) and Aloise (now played by Farren Monet) is jeopardized because her family feels that a lower-class boy like Nello is not a fit companion for a respectable girl like their daughter. Hoping to earn money and advance his career as an artist, Nello enters a competition for painters on the advice and coaching of La Grande. However, the prize goes to a less skilled but more socially prominent art student. Discouraged, Nello and Patrasche leave home for a journey that will teach them and those around them an important lesson about friendship. A Dog of Flanders represents a change of pace for director Kevin Brodie, whose previous credits include the college comedy Delta Pi and the thriller Treacherous. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Good gorillas meet bad gorillas while human beings search for treasure in this jungle advnture saga. R.B. Travis (Joe Don Baker) is the ruthless head of Travi-Com, a telecommunications firm on the cusp of a major breakthrough in laser communications technology. However, Travis needs diamonds to finish the project, so he sends a group of men to Zaire, where he's told that a large supply of the gems can be easily found. When the men go missing, Travis sends his trusted assistant Karen Ross (Laura Linney), a one-time CIA associate, into the jungle to find both his staff and the jewels. Hoping to keep her mission a secret, Karen travels to Zaire in the company of Peter (Dylan Walsh), a researcher on primate development who is hoping to return Amy, a gorilla who has been taught sign language and can "speak" English with the help of a glove-controlled computer device. Also travelling with them is Herkermer (Tim Curry), a Romanian with a secret agenda: he's convinced that Amy can guide him to the Lost City of Zinj, where he believes that King Solomon's Mines are located. Upon arrival, the group is met by Monroe Kelly (Ernie Hudson), a self-described "great white hunter who happens to be black," and they discover that the jungle holds a menace that they weren't counting on: a tribe of bloodthirsty gray gorillas. Congo was based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

As directed by Gary Sherman, this thriller tells the story of a young girl who makes telephone calls to a man who she later finds out is a serial killer. Lisa (Stacy Keanan) is a 14-year-old girl whose mother Katherine (Cheryl Ladd), having been herself an unwed mother, forbids her to have dates until she is 16 years old. Katherine has raised Lisa alone and has a good business as a florist, but due to her own past trauma, never dates. Lisa retreats into a fantasy world and finds men, follows them, and begins making enticing telephone calls to them. One of the men turns out to be a handsome restaurant owner, who also likes to kill women, tracking them down very much the same way that Lisa does. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

An ambitious priest discovers that honoring the Ten Commandments isn't as easy as he imagined in this drama. Father John Flaherty (Christopher Reeve) is a Catholic priest who was ordained during World War II, and soon found himself forced to fight enemy forces while serving as a chaplain in the Army. As his life and career in the church moves on, Flaherty finds himself frequently torn between his duty and devotion to the church and his ambitions, appetites, and the notion that the ends can justify the means. Flaherty eventually rises through the church hirarchy to win an appointment at the Vatican, where he helps to manage the church's finances. When the Vatican's books reveals a major cash flow crisis, Flaherty suggests a rather unusual plan to Cardinal Santoni (Fernando Rey) -- buy hard-to-find American goods at a discount, and then sell them at a profit to mafia kingpins, who will then sell them on the black market at premium prices. As Flaherty and Santoni debate the ethics of this scheme, Flaherty meets and finds himself becoming attracted to Clara (Genevieve Bujold), a postulant nun. Posing as an American businessman, Flaherty romances and seduces Clara, until she discovers his secret. Monsignor also stars Jason Miller, Robert Prosky, and Joe Patoliano. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

While taking a train trip from L.A. to Chicago, mild-mannered George Caldwell (Gene Wilder) makes the acquaintance of Hilly Burns (Jill Clayburgh). As they indulge in a brief bit of spooning, Hilly tells George that her boss is on the verge of exposing a group of vicious art forgers. Later that evening, George sees the body of Hilly's boss being thrown off of the train. Detective Sweet (Ned Beatty) agrees to investigate, but he too is bumped off. The instigator of these outrages is master forger Roger Devereau (Patrick McGoohan), who, with his crony Mr. Whiney (Ray Walston) is planning a particularly diabolical crime. Worse still, they take Hilly prisoner so she can't tip off the cops. When George is also targeted for elimination, he manages in slapstick fashion to elude the killers. Falling off the train, he ends up being arrested on some trumped-up charge or other by a local sheriff. He makes his escape in the company of petty thief Grover Muldoon (Richard Pryor) -- and that's only the beginning. A box-office smash, Silver Streak paved the way for the equally successful 1980 Wilder-Pryor vehicle Stir Crazy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Brian De Palma returns to the mind-blowing potential of telekinesis in the follow-up to his 1976 horror hit Carrie. While vacationing with his psychic son, Robin (Andrew Stevens), and close associate Childress (John Cassavetes), government agent Peter Sandza (Kirk Douglas) survives a terrorist attack, only to discover that it was staged by Childress so he could kidnap Robin for his own nefarious purposes. With the assistance of another psychic (William Finley) and Hester (Carrie Snodgress), an employee at the Paragon Institute for Psychic Research, Peter discovers a telekinetic Chicago high-school girl named Gillian (Amy Irving), who may be able to help him find Robin. Even though they have never met, Gillian can see Robin's memories and experiences telepathically, and she knows that he is in trouble. But Childress knows all about Gillian, too, and he is not about to let Peter's paternal quest get in the way of his plans for harnessing their psychic power. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Fed up with watching vicious criminals walk on technicalities and loopholes, judge Michael Douglas accepts his older colleague Hal Holbrook's invitation to join "The Star Chamber." This sub-rosa organization consists of nine like-minded judges who endeavor to take the law into their own hands. Essentially, these are robed vigilantes, but Douglas joins them, determining that the end justifies the means. Before long, however, Douglas finds himself balking at sanctioning the murder of freed criminals -- and as a result becomes the target of the Star Chamber himself. Worth noting in the supporting cast of The Star Chamber are Diana Douglas, Michael Douglas' real-life mother, and Frances Bergen, widow of Edgar Bergen and mother of Candice Bergen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi