Stephen Spender Movies
The made-for-cable The Colt takes place in Virginia in the fourth year of the Civil War. The mare owned by young Jim Rabb (Ryan Merriman) of the First Michigan Cavalry gives birth to a colt, which battle-weary Sgt. Longacre (Steve Bacic) orders Jim to shoot so as not to slow down the other soldiers in the unit. Jim refuses to do so, risking severe disciplinary action. As it turns out, the Confederates strike before Longacre does, stealing both colt and mare. Again defying orders, Jim heads out alone to rescue his beloved horses, saving the life of a dying Rebel prisoner along the way. Ultimately, the colt proves to be an inspiration to Jim's comrades in arms, and is duly immortalized by another member of the First Michigan, army artist Covington (Darcy Belsher). An uplifting tale of unassailable innocence in the midst of America's bloodiest war, The Colt made its Hallmark channel debut on July 9, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ryan Merriman, Steve Bacic, (more)
- 2004
- PG13
- Add Mary Higgins Clark's The Cradle Will Fall to QueueAdd Mary Higgins Clark's The Cradle Will Fall to top of Queue
The Cradle Will Fall stars Angie Everhart as a prosecutor who is investigating a serial killer terrorizing a hospital where she herself is being treated fertility problems. As she begins to uncover the truth about what is going on, she fears that she may be involved much more deeply than she had ever imagined. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Angie Everhart
When a failed assassination attempt occurs on the President's (Cotter Smith) life by the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), it's Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his School for Gifted Youngsters who are targeted for the crime. While Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry) try and locate the assassin, Cyclops (James Marsden) and Xavier (also known as 'Professor X') seek answers from their old foe Magneto (Ian McKellan) in his glass cell...Little do they know they're walking into a trap set by the villainous William Stryker (Brian Cox), a mysterious governmental figure that figures into Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) secretive past, along with information about the X-Men's operation, supplied by Magneto through a mind-controlling agent. Meanwhile Wolverine, just home from a failed mission to regain his memory, is in charge of the students when a crack-commando team led by Stryker infiltrates the school by order of the President. With a mansion full of young, powerful mutants and the ferocious Wolverine in babysitter mode, can he defend the school against the one man who can answer his questions? What roles do the sinister Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) and Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu) have in all of this? Why does Stryker want Professor X and his Cerebro machine? With the war between humanity and mutants escalating to extremes, can the rest of the X-Men trust their old foes to help them? Director Bryan Singer returns and raises the stakes in this sequel to the highly lauded 2000 adaptation of Marvel Comics' X-Men. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, (more)
- 2003
Made for television, Phenomenon II is not so much as sequel to the theatrical feature Phenomenon as it is a remake--and as such, it is rather obvious that the film is the pilot for a proposed TV series. Christopher Shyer stars as California mechanic George Malley, who after being literally struck down by a bolt from the sky develops hyper-intelligence, mental telepathy, the ability to foretell the future, and a skill not covered in the first Phenomenon: the power to heal. Unfortunately, George also suffers from terrible headaches, suggesting that his "gift" is more bogy than blessing. Plus, try though he might to use his heightened senses to do good for others, he succeeds only in driving everyone away--including his own mother (Jill Clayburgh). Eventually, it is discovered that George's superhuman brilliance is the freakish result of a brain tumor that will eventually kill him. To best use the time he has left on earth, George hits the road, seeking out people in need of his peculiar talents. . .and, it is hoped, a cure for his fatal affliction. When Phenomenon II initially aired over ABC on November 1, 2003, it was introduced by the star of the original Phenomenon, John Travolta. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2002
Dark Angel borrows a page from The Twilight Zone in this episode, set in the idyllic, picture-perfect town of Willoughby. That the community is too perfect to be true is demonstrated rather forcefully when Max (Jessica Alba) and Logan (Michael Weatherly) arrive in Willoughby, searching for Ray White (Brayden Bullen), son of their longtime nemesis Ames White (Martin Cummins). The climax involves a bizarre ritual and the omnipresence of White's burgeoning alternative-Manticore cult, The Familiars. And elsewhere, Max's pal Sketchy (Richard Gunn) is given an unusual assignment on his new job as tabloid reporter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1999
Dubbed as a Canadian counterpart to American Beauty (1999), this film satirizes suburban banality. Graham Greene plays a white-bread father who slowly descends into an emotional morass when he gets sacked from his job. Meanwhile, a timid health food restaurateur toys with adding meat to the menu and tries to dump her boyfriend. Bad Money was screened at the 1999 Vancouver Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Graham Greene, Karen Sillas, (more)
- 1995
Narrated by Ian Redford, this award-winning documentary profiles the modernist British author, essayist, and critic Virginia Woolf, whose best-known works include the novels Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and Orlando: a Biography, as well as the essay A Room of One's Own. The program features Anna Massey as the voice of Woolf, with Woolf's granddaughter Juliet Nicolson serving as the voice of Woolf's lover Vita Sackville-West. Highlights also include new footage at locations where Woolf lived and worked, archival footage, photographs, and interviews the author's niece and nephew. Directed by John Fuegi and Jo Francis, this program won the Distinguished Documentary Feature Award of the International Documentary Association. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi
- 1995
Three pairs of slacker dweebs wander mindlessly amongst the ultra-homogenized urban desert of strip malls, fast food joints and sprawling car lots in this funny look at modern urban youth from Canada. Though the characters have adventures, some of them life-threatening, the boys, though not unintelligent, are too numbed by the continual commotion of flashing lights, sounds, sales pitches and the never ending drone of the radio, to notice. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joel McNichol, Stephen Spender, (more)
