Al Waxman Movies

Rob Morrow stars as investigating journalist Jonathan Neumann in this drama about police corruption in 1970s Philadelphia. When Neumann takes over the court beat for the Philadelphia Examiner, he quickly discovers wrongdoing at every turn, with cops beating suspects into often blatantly false confessions. As Neumann pieces together his story, he finds himself increasingly threatened by a posse of "goon squad" cops who tap his phone, break into his apartment, and even resort to physical assault. The Thin Blue Lie was originally screened on Showtime on August 13, 2000. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Wendy Crewson won the Canadian Gemini award for her towering performance as the title character in this made-for-TV biopic. Terminally ill with cancer, Sue Rodriguez wants to exercise the option of ending her own life, primarily to spare her family the trouble and expense of caring for her in her final months. The story explores the effects of Sue's decision on her loved ones, particularly her grief-stricken son who is determined to talk her out of suicide. Throughout, details of Sue's pre-illness existence are filled in via the time-honored "interior monologue" technique. Based on a true story, previously chronicled in the documentary Who Owns My Life?, At the End of the Day: The Sue Rodriguez Story aired in Canada in 1998, then was unveiled October 19, 1999 on the American Lifetime cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sidney Lumet filmed this hospital satire at a Canadian studio. Alcoholic Dr. Butz (Albert Brooks in old-age makeup) advises younger Dr. Werner Ernst (James Spader) to only treat patients with much insurance. "When the lawyers start crawling all over you," says Butz, "that's when you know you're a doctor." Ernst, a second-year resident working in the ICU with head nurse Stella (Helen Mirren), winds up in the middle of a dispute between two sisters (Kyra Sedgwick and Margo Martindale). One wants to pull the plug on their wealthy father; the other demands that he remain alive (at a cost of $112,800 a month). Soon events swivel from the money-mad medical mire to equally murky legalistics. Steven Schwartz's screenplay was adapted from the novel by Richard Dooling. Shown at the 1997 Chicago Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

In this drama, a naval officer named Annibal Ramirez (Aidan Quinn) is vacationing in Israel when he's arrested and questioned by Israeli agents, led by Amos (Ben Kingsley). Unknown to Annibal, he bears a striking resemblance to Carlos Sanchez (also played by Aidan Quinn), a famous and feared international terrorist wanted in several nations. Jack Shaw (Donald Sutherland) is a CIA operative who witnessed one of Sanchez's most brutal attacks in the 1970s and is obsessed with bringing him to justice. Shaw persuades Ramirez to join his team and to pose as Sanchez, convincing the nations who work with him that he's an unreliable traitor. While this would give Ramirez a chance to serve his country, it would also take him away from his wife Maura (Claudia Ferri) and his children, not to mention putting his life in grave danger. Carlos Sanchez was the name of an infamous terrorist (also known as "The Jackal") who was active in the 1970s and 1980s; while the "Carlos Sanchez" character is based on his fearsome exploits, the rest of the story is fiction. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Produced for the USA cable network, Holiday Affair is a remake of the classic 1949 theatrical film of the same name, which in turn was inspired by John D. Weaver's short story "Christmas Gift." Cynthia Gibb and David James Elliott step into the roles of widowed mother Jodie Ennis and department store salesman Steve Mason, the characters originally played by Janet Leigh and Robert Mitchum. "Meeting cute" while Jodie's son Timmy (Curtis Blanck) enthuses over a model train set, Jodie and the raffish but likeable Steve immediately hit it off, but she is already engaged to conservative lawyer Paul Davis (Tom Irwin, taking over from the original's Wendell Corey). The days between Christmas and New Year's Eve, Jodie finds herself in the unenviable position of choosing between two men whom she adores equally--a job not made easier by the well-meaning interference of son Timmy. The remake faithfully recreates most of the familiar setpieces from the 1949 version, including the Christmas-dinner sequence with Timmy's grandparents and a climactic confrontation in a courtroom over a case of mistaken identity. The presence of Al Waxman in the cast is a sure tipoff that, despite its New York City setting, the film was actually made in Canada. Holiday Affair first aired December 15, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This inspirational sports drama tells how Detroit Red Wings star Ted Lindsay stood up to the National Hockey League to prevent them from further exploiting the players. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The bond between a growing boy and his loving grandfather grows with every stitch the aging tailor makes in this heartfelt tale that shows that just because someone is gone, doesn't mean they have to be forgotten. In an act of undying love, Grandpa sews his wide-eyed grandson Joseph a special blanket designed to keep the youngster cozy on cold nights and chase away bad dreams. As Joseph grows taller and Grandpa keeps sewing, the family of mice that live under the young boy's floorboard feast on the fabric while forming a close-knit friendship with the warmhearted boy who snuggles up nightly under the blanket. When the blanket is gone and Joseph's fond memories live on, the growing boy must learn what it really means to make something out of nothing. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In this made-for-TV drama, a teenage girl named Sarah (Kathleen Robertson) is flying home to see her parents when she falls ill. While Sarah is convinced that she has simply come down with a bad cold, when she keels over and dies while crossing a street, an autopsy reveals that Sarah had in fact contracted the pneumonic plague. Dr. Nora Hart (Kate Jackson), the hospital's authority on epidemics and highly contagious diseases, now must track down as many people as possible who came in contact with the girl before the plague begins to spread -- including Calvin Phillips (Howard Hessman), a congressman Sarah met on her flight. Based on the novel The Black Death by Gweneth Cravens and John C. Marr, Quiet Killer also stars Jerry Orbach, Luis Guzman, and Al Waxman. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story is a made-for-cable adaptation of James Neff's Mobbed Up, a real-life account about Teamster president Jackie Presser. Brian Dennehy plays Presser, who was Jimmy Hoffa's successor as president of the Teamsters. Like Hoffa, Presser was caught between the Mafia, the FBI, and his own ambitions, and the film follows his rise to power, as well as all the trials and tribulations that arose while he was president of the Teamsters. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Werner Herzog's cinema of obsession (Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo) has always owed some of its emotional expressionism to the post-World War I genre of German mountain films (The Blue Light, The White Hell of Pitz-Palu), in which German mountain climbers are compelled to scale the heights of dangerous mountain peaks, achieving a form of purification and superiority. It was inevitable that at some point Herzog would tackle a mountain. Finally, with Cerro Torre: Schrei Aus Stein, he does. Donald Sutherland stars as Ivan, a journalist who instigates a rivalry between Roccia (Vittorio Mezzogiorno), a professional mountain climber who has braved the highest mountain peaks in the world, and Martin (Stefan Glowacz), a champion athlete of indoor climbing walls. But Roccia doesn't need a reporter to fuel a rivalry between the two, since Katharina (Mathilda May), Roccia's lover, is attracted to Martin. Ivan arranges for a TV special chronicling the efforts of Roccia, Martin, Katharina, and Ivan to conquer the peak of the unconquered Cerro Torre granite tower in Chile. Roccia keeps postponing the climb until finally Martin heads off to climb Cerro Torre by himself, accompanied only by a television crew. But the result of that journey causes Roccia to avoid the press, while Martin is greeted with skepticism. This unhappy response to their initial attempt causes Ivan, Roccia, Martin, and Katharina to confront the formidable peak again for a final confrontation with the silent mountain. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Chuck Norris stars in this derivative action film (directed by his brother, Aaron Norris) which bears more than a passing similarity to Steven Seagal's Marked for Death. Norris plays Cliff Garret, a Seattle cop who is mortally wounded in a drug bust. Garret's condition is grave but he manages to pull through. However, the Seattle police have plans for him and put out the word that Garret has died. When Garret regains his strength, he is given a new identity as hit man Danny Grogan and is assigned to go undercover and infiltrate the crime family of Marco Luganni (Al Waxman). "Grogan" must bring both Luganni and rival gang-lord Andre Lacombe (Marcel Sabourin) into police custody. But his past comes back to haunt him in the person of Ronny Delany (Michael Parks), a goon from Grogan's Garret days, who threatens to blow his cover. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

An arrogant Detroit cop (Jay Leno) must work with his efficient Japanese counterpart (Pat Morita) to corner an evil ganglord. ~ John Bush, Rovi