Tedd Dillon Movies
Pro wrestling star Hulk Hogan stars in this action-packed drama as a professional soldier who discovers too late that the commandos who've hired him are actually double agents working with the IRA. Outraged at the deception, the mercenary sets out to win revenge against the soldiers who double-crossed him. The Ultimate Weapon also stars Tedd Dillon and Cyndy Preston. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1992
- R
Director Alain Zaloum cowrote the screenplay of Canvas: The Fine Art of Crime with Brenda Newman. Gary Busey plays Ossie Decker, an aspiring artist with a genius for forgery. Decker goes to work for mob functionary John Rhys-Davies, the better to pay off a debt of honor owed by Decker's brother. He involves himself in a scheme to steal rare paintings, then palm off phonies as the genuine article. Eventually wearying of ripping off the art-loving public-and having nearly lost his life on at least one occasion--Decker wants out. But by now, he has painted himself into a dangerously tight corner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1991
- PG13
Television flavor-of-the-month Richard Grieco made his feature-film debut in this juvenile spoof of James Bond films. He plays a high-school senior named Michael Corben who has flunked out of his French class, but has the chance to make up his grade on the French Club's summer trip to Europe. On the airplane booked to transport the French Club to France is another man by the name of Michael Corben, and this man happens to be a super-spy. When he is killed, the hapless high-school senior is mistaken for the real spy by British intelligence. He becomes involved in a mad plot by Augustus Steranko (Roger Rees) in which Steranko and his evil assistant Ilsa Grunt (Linda Hunt) plan to dominate the European continent by converting the gold standard to coins that will bear Steranko's likeness. Corben goes along with it when he is provided with a red sports car, a tuxedo, and some high-tech weapons. Along with all the spy accouterments, he latches onto a sexy helper -- Mariska (Gabrielle Anwar). ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Grieco, Linda Hunt, (more)
Bette Midler stars as Stella Claire, a working-class, fun-loving barmaid in northern New York State. A brief affair with handsome Stephen Dallas (Stephen Collins) produces a daughter, Jenny (Trini Alvarado), whom Stella insists upon raising alone, despite Dallas' marriage offer. As the years pass, Stella and Jenny are a happy pair. Stella gives up bartending to sell cosmetics, supported by her friend Ed (John Goodman), a bartender developing a crush on her and a problem with alcohol. Dallas has stayed involved with his beloved daughter from afar and is now a urologist in New York City, engaged to a book editor (Marsha Mason). As Jenny reaches adulthood, Stella becomes aware that life with her father would provide her daughter with opportunities that she'd never have otherwise, so she devises a painful, self-sacrificing scheme to drive Jenny from the nest. Although functional as a tearjerker, many of the themes in Stella simply don't make as much sense in a modern age of healthy, fractured families, muting the drama of the tale's earlier versions, specifically Stella Dallas (1937). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, John Goodman, (more)
- 1985
Manhattan-based writer David Carradine falls victim to AIDS in As Is. Virtually abandoned by friends and family, Carradine is looked after by his gay lover, photographer Jonathan Hadary. Based on a play by William M. Hoffman, As Is wisely avoids editorial comment on the principals' lifestyle, nor does it wallow in the tragedy of the situation. As directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the film never quite overcomes the staginess of its source material; its principal strength lies in the byplay between its stars. The film was produced for cable television in 1985, and telecast early in 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
