George Martin Movies
- 1999
The detectives and the lawyers tackle the mystery of a female patient found beaten to death in a hospital lounge. Ingredients vital to the solution are a glib "gentleman" specializing in wooing wealthy women and the effects of Alzheimer's disease on the sufferer's family. The supporting cast of this episode features such reliable veteran players as Glynnis O'Connor and Kathryn Hays. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An Alcoholics Anonymous meeting brings together a disparate group of people struggling with addiction to drugs and liquor in this film based on Gary Lennon's play "Blackout." Jim (Richard Lewis) is in a bad mood as he sits in on an AA meeting in the basement of a church in New York City; he's prodded into speaking in front of the group for the first time in seven months, and he confesses that he desperately wants to get drunk. Three years before, Jim gave up a decade of dependence on booze and heroin for the sake of his wife, who has just died unexpectedly of an aneurysm, and before long, Jim runs out in search of a bottle. Meanwhile, the other members of the group share their own stories about their problems with substance abuse, including Rachel (Dianne Wiest), a physician who tries to uses her job to fill the void in her life left by the departure of her husband and son; Joseph (Howard Rollins), whose drunk driving put his five-year-old son in the hospital; Debbie (Parker Posey), a young woman who wishes she could have been Janis Joplin; Shelly (Amanda Plummer), whose force of will is being tested by an upcoming visit from her mother; Becky (Faye Dunnaway), a divorcee who is not sure how she'll handle losing custody of her child; Brenda (Lisa Gay Hamilton), an HIV-positive former junkie who was stealing syringes from her diabetic mother; and Louis (Spalding Gray), who is actually looking for the choir practice at the church; he then goes into a rhapsodic ode to the pleasures of beer which suggests that he has his own problems with the bottle. Drunks was the first feature film for director/producer Peter Cohn. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Lewis, Faye Dunaway, (more)
In this comedy, a woman discovers that it's impossible to get ahead in business without a man to guide her -- so she invents one. Laurel (Whoopi Goldberg) is an expert financial analyst with a top Wall Street brokerage; however, she keeps getting passed over for raises and promotions, and she's convinced that no one at her firm takes her seriously because she's a black woman. Frustrated, Laurel and her loyal assistant Sally (Dianne Wiest) open a new firm, but Laurel discovers that her fears were based firmly in reality: male clients don't want to take financial advice from women, especially women of color. So Laurel invents a white man, Robert S. Cutty, to be the firm's top adviser. Speaking on Cutty's behalf, Laurel passes along the fictional man's advice, which her new clients find to be quite sound, and when they stop by to see him, he always manages to be out of the office (and why wouldn't a man so successful be busy?). The ruse seems to work, and soon Laurel's business is going great guns, but an increasingly large number of her clients want to see Cutty face to face, which won't be easy to pull off. However, with the help of a drag queen, Laurel tries to remake herself into Cutty for a night in order to keep her firm afloat. The Associate was based on a novel by author Jenaro Prieto. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Dianne Wiest, (more)
- 1996
Season Seven of Law & Order begins with the good news that Assistant D.A. Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) was not immediately killed in the car accident which took her out of commission at the end of Season Five (though actress Hennessy would not return to the show, necessitating a later episode which confirmed beyond doubt that Kincaid was never going to come back). New to the D.A.'s office is Jamie Ross (Carey Lowell), an ambitious young woman whose approach to her job does not always meet with the approval of her partner Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston). In the season's first episode, Ross intends to use a gruesomely graphic audiotape to put the noose around the neck of carjacker-murderer Fernando Salva (Victor Sierra). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
It's 1958, and the producers of the quiz show 21 have a problem. Their current champ, Herbert Stempel (John Turturro), has a phenomenal memory and a broad range of knowledge. He's also a pudgy loudmouth with a grating personality, so Herbert is encouraged to "take a dive" and allow Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), a handsome and charming college professor, to become the show's new champion. Audiences like Van Doren, and he's certainly not averse to the money he's winning, but the ethics of the situation begin to trouble him, especially when the show's producers begin to give him the questions in advance. Director Robert Redford and writer Paul Attanasio paint a telling portrait of how the network heads and advertising men who manipulated the quiz shows were also able to manipulate the responsibility for the scandal away from themselves. While on the surface a story about the scandal itself, Quiz Show is just as importantly about a turning point in the 1950s when TV and advertising began to change American character and culture. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Turturro, Rob Morrow, (more)
- 1994
Bigotry and values are questioned when a Black West Point cadet is singled out and harassed by fellow cadets and senior officers. ~ All Movie Guide
As visually stylish as it is graphically violent, this thriller directed by Luc Besson concerns Mathilda (Natalie Portman), a 12-year-old girl living in New York City who has been exposed to the sordid side of life from an early age: her family lives in a slum and her abusive father works for drug dealers, cutting and storing dope. Mathilda doesn't much care for her parents, but she has a close bond with her four-year-old brother. One day, she returns from running an errand to discover that most of her family, including her brother, have been killed in a raid by corrupt DEA agents, led by the psychotic Stansfield (Gary Oldman). Mathilda takes refuge in the apartment of her secretive neighbor, Leon (Jean Reno), who takes her in with a certain reluctance. She discovers that Leon is a professional assassin, working for Tony (Danny Aiello), a mob kingpin based in Little Italy. Wanting to avenge the death of her brother, Mathilda makes a deal with Leon to become his protégée in exchange for work as a domestic servant, hoping to learn the hitman's trade and take out the men who took her brother's life. However, an affection develops between Leon and Mathilda that changes his outlook on his life and career. Besson's first American film boasted a strong performance from Jean Reno, a striking debut by Natalie Portman, and a love-it-or-hate-it, over-the-top turn by Gary Oldman. Léon was originally released in the U.S. in 1994 as The Professional, with 26 minutes cut in response to audience preview tests. Those 26 minutes were restored in the director's preferred cut, released in 1996 in France as Léon: Version Intégrale and in the U.S. on DVD as Léon: The Professional in 2000. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, (more)
The ghost of Frank Capra must have smiled when he saw Dave, an amusing and effective update of one of Capra's favorite themes -- the scrupulously honest little guy who becomes a force for good against a corrupt system. Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline) runs an employment agency and seems to genuinely enjoy finding work for people who need it. He also bears a striking resemblance to the president of the United States, Bill Mitchell (also played by Kline) and occasionally gets work as a Bill Mitchell impersonator. One day, Dave gets a call from the Secret Service -- for security purposes, they want to hire him to act as a decoy for an upcoming appearance by the president. All goes well, but later that evening President Mitchell suffers a massive stroke while in bed with his mistress. Wanting to keep the matter a secret, two of the president's top advisors appeal to Dave to stand in as Bill Mitchell until he regains his health. One of the men behind this scheme, Bob Alexander (Frank Langella), hopes to use Mitchell's absence to promote his own right-wing political agenda, but after a few weeks "in office," Dave decides it's time to promote some changes of his own that will help increase employment and keep homeless shelters open. Dave also finds himself growing fond of Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver), the President's wife, while Ellen sees in Dave the idealism her husband left behind years ago. Dave features numerous cameo appearances by politicians, Washington insiders, and journalists; Oliver Stone also appears to explain a conspiracy theory regarding sudden changes in Bill Mitchell's behavior. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, (more)
Mel Gibson made his feature film directing debut with this drama, loosely based on the book by Isabel Holland, which combines elements from The Elephant Man, Mask, Scent of a Woman, and The Karate Kid in a study of the capacity for human trust and compassion. Gibson plays Justin McLeod, a former teacher who, after having his face and his body terribly disfigured in an automobile accident, has taken to living alone in a big house in an island off the coast of Maine. McLeod works as a free-lance artist who undergoes the humiliation of being shunned by his neighbors and called "hamburger head" behind his back. McLeod keeps to himself and wants nothing to do with his neighbors. But one day an adolescent boy, Chuck Norstadt (Nick Stahl), comes knocking at his door desperate for a tutor. At first suspicious, McLeod gradually warms up to Chuck and they become pals. But their burgeoning friendship is frowned upon by Chuck's family and the local police chief, Stark (Geoffrey Lewis), apparently because of rumors circulating that McLeod had a record concerning child molestation. This piece of gossip threatens Chuck with the loss of his teacher and a new-found friend. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Nick Stahl, (more)
- 1992
The story begins when the son of prominent politician Edward Vogel (George Martin) is killed. Rather than cooperate with the prosecution, Vogel does everything in his power to impede the D.A.'s efforts to convict the boy's murderer. The reason? Vogel does not want it made public that his son was homosexual, and that he himself was being blackmailed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Directed by Joel Schumacher, Dying Young was adapted from a novel by Marti Leimbach. When Victor Geddes (Campbell Scott) discovers that he is suffering from leukemia, his wealthy family hires pretty, young Hillary O'Neil (Julia Roberts) to help nurse him through his chemotherapy treatment. As the two struggle through the debilitating effects of Victor's treatment, they fall in love and attempt to make the most of their time together. Campbell Scott's real mother, the late Colleen Dewhurst, plays his "reel" mother in the film. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Campbell Scott, (more)
Real-life sweethearts and film directors Ken Kwapis and Marisa Silver co-directed this throwback to the silver-screen romantic comedies of the 1940s, examining the different ways men and women view reality. Kwapis takes the male character's point of view, recalling a burgeoning relationship. Silver then takes a crack at the same story, recalling the same events from the woman character's point of view. Unfortunately, both perspectives are not that much different. Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Perkins star as Dan Hanson and Lorie Bryer, two reporters from the Baltimore Sun who are assigned to share space on the editorial page debating opposing viewpoints. Dan is the conservative philanderer. Lorie is the sensitive liberal. The new column becomes a big hit -- a shop owner exclaims, "Hey, it's the people who argue!" Although originally antagonists, Dan and Lorie become lovers. As their relationship grows, so does their popularity, and they end up hosting a popular television program. But Lorie wants commitment, and Dan doesn't. Frustrated, Lorie shies a coffee cup off Dan's noggin live on the air. Their ratings soar. And then the whole routine is played out again. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Perkins, (more)
Based on a true story as related by neurologist Oliver Sacks, Awakenings stars Robin Williams as the Sacks counterpart, here named Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Something of a klutz and naif, Dr. Sayer takes a job at a Bronx psychiatric hospital in 1969. Here he's put in charge of several seemingly catatonic patients who, under Sayer's painstaking guidance, begin responding to certain stimulati. Apprised of the efficacy of a new drug called L-DOPA in treating degenerative-disease victims, Sayer is given permission to test the drug on one of his patients: Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro), who has not communicated with anyone since lapsing into catatonia as a child. Gradually, Lowe comes out of his shell, encouraging Sayers to administer L-DOPA to the other patients under his care. Julie Kavner and John Heard also star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Robert De Niro, (more)
Robin Williams toned down his usually manic comic approach in this successful period drama. In 1959, the Welton Academy is a staid but well-respected prep school where education is a pragmatic and rather dull affair. Several of the students, however, have their thoughts on the learning process (and life itself) changed when a new teacher comes to the school. John Keating (Williams) is an unconventional educator who tears chapters of his textbooks and asks his students to stand on their desks to see the world from a new angle. Keating introduces his students to poetry, and his free-thinking attitude and the liberating philosophies of the authors he introduces to his class have a profound effect on his students, especially Todd (Ethan Hawke), who would like to be a writer; Neil ( Robert Sean Leonard), who dreams of being an actor, despite the objections of his father; Knox (Josh Charles), a hopeless romantic; Steven (Allelon Ruggiero), an intellectual who learns to use his heart as well as his head; Charlie (Gale Hansen), who begins to lose his blasé attitude; unconventional Gerard (James Waterston); and practical Richard (Dylan Kussman). Keating urges his students to seize the day and live their lives boldly; but when this philosophy leads to an unexpected tragedy, headmaster Mr. Nolan (Norman Lloyd) fires Keating, and his students leap to his defense. Dead Poets Society was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Williams; it won one, for Tom Schulman's original screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, (more)
Can an independent, contemporary woman find happiness with a guy who sells pickles? Isabelle Grossman (Amy Irving) is an attractive, intelligent Jewish woman in her early 30s. She has a good job and a nice apartment on the Upper West Side, and she values her independence; she often visits her grandmother Bubbie (Reiz Bozyk), who lives on the Lower East Side and wants Isabelle to meet a nice Jewish man and settle down. Bubbie goes so far as to obtain the services of Hannah Mandelbaum (Sylvia Miles), a matchmaker who finds the "perfect" man for Isabelle: a pickle salesman named Sam Posner (Peter Riegert). Isabelle thinks Sam is a nice enough guy, but she has a hard time imagining herself spending her life with the pickle man, and she isn't sure if she wants to pursue the relationship. However, Sam is taken with Isabelle and goes out of his way to change her mind. Crossing Delancy was directed by Joan Micklin Silver, whose breakthrough film Hester Street also examined Jewish culture on the Lower East Side, albeit from the vantage point of the 1890s. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amy Irving, Reizl Bozyk, (more)
On the occasion of wealthy patriarch Burt Lancaster's 77th birthday, his Long Island home is invaded by well-meaning family members. Lancaster is bored by the well-meaning interference of his grown children, but he thrives on the company of his grandchildren, especially 5-year-old Macaulay Culkin (in a terrific pre-star performance). To the kids, Lancaster reveals what he really wants as a birthday present: an old-fashioned Viking funeral! From this point on, the ending of Rocket Gibraltar is a "done deal", but getting there is all the fun. A superb, hand-picked cast--including Suzy Amis, Sinead Cusack, John Glover, Bill Pullman and Kevin Spacey -does full justice to Amos Poe's whimsical, often deeply touching script. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Suzy Amis, (more)
- 1986
Heartbreak House is a 1985 TV staging of the 1920 comedy by George Bernard Shaw. Rex Harrison stars as retired British sea captain Shotover, who tries vainly to maintain an even keel in his own household. The catalyst for the plot is Ellie (Amy Irving), a friend of Shotover's eldest daughter Heslone (Rosemary Harris). Having set her cap for a self-made industrialist (George Martin), Ellie is talked out of the union by Heslone, whereupon the younger girl claims she's taken up with an elusive and highly suspect stranger. As Shotover watches helplessly, the social structure that he has honored all his life crumbles before him--a symbol, claim Shaw's disciples, of the collapse of "proper" European society after World War I. This videotaped version of Heartbreak House premiered over the Showtime Cable service on April 16, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Harrison, Amy Irving, (more)
Woody Allen blurs the the boundaries between the real and unreal in this unique comic fantasy. The scene is a small town in the mid-1930s. Trapped in a dead-end job and an abusive marriage, Cecelia (Mia Farrow) regularly seeks refuge in the local movie house. She becomes so enraptured by the latest attraction, an RKO screwball comedy called The Purple Rose of Cairo, that she returns to the theatre day after day. During one of these visits, the film's main character Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), pauses in his dialogue, turns towards the audience, and says to Cecelia, "My God, how you must love this picture." Then he climbs out of the movie, much to the consternation of the rest of the audience and the other characters on screen. Liberated from his customary black-and-white environs, he accompanies Cecelia on a tour of the town, eventually falling in love with her. Meanwhile, the other Purple Rose characters, unable to proceed with the film, carry on a discussion with themselves. Desperately, the RKO executives seek out Gil Shepherd, the actor who played the hero of Purple Rose. Shepherd (also played by Daniels), is sent to Cecelia's hometown to see if he can repair the damage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, (more)
In this rather routine adaptation of the French hit, The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe, Richard (Tom Hanks) is a bicycling violinist who is innocently drawn into a nasty struggle for control of the CIA. Cooper (Dabney Coleman) is the unscrupulous current head honcho of the notorious U.S. agency, Ross (Charles Durning) is his nemesis, and Maddy (Lori Singer) works for Cooper. After Richard the violinist is forced into the picture, Maddy fights off an attraction to the rather dull man, and complications introduce enough gadgetry to fill a James Bond movie, almost. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Lori Singer, (more)
Falling in Love can be described as an urban American Brief Encounter. Reteamed for the first time since The Deer Hunter, Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep star as a married couple. Thing of it is, they're not married to each other. While Christmas shopping for their respective families, architect Frank Raftis (DeNiro) and graphic artist Molly Gilmore (Streep) "meet cute," their holiday packages becoming mixed up. What starts as a pleasant chance acquaintance blossoms into romance. Inevitably, however, both parties realize that what they're doing is wrong--a shade too late to save their marriages, as it turns out. The film ends with a bittersweet "one year later" coda. The natural charisma of its stars lends distinction to the otherwise so-so Falling in Love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, (more)
License to Kill is a serious TV movie dealing with the subject of drunken driving. The film begins when a popular high school girl is killed in a head-on collision by inebriated-businessman Don Murray. Though he's had a drinking problem for some time, Murray has dismissed it as a byproduct of the tensions of his job. Facing a manslaughter charge, the well-heeled Murray hires an expensive defense team....while the father of the dead girl (James Farentino), with hardly a penny to his name, is doggedly determined to see that Murray pays for his misdeed to the fullest extent of the law. The conflicting personalities of the two men are counterpointed by the anguish experienced by their wives (Millie Perkins and Penny Fuller). Written by William A. Schwartz, License to Kill debuted on January 10, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
People are disappearing all over the Big Apple. Nobody cares, though, because most of the missing are homeless. But when investigative reporter Murphy (J.C. Quinn) tips off principled photographer George Cooper (John Heard) to a government conspiracy involving the dumping of nuclear waste beneath the streets, Cooper decides to dig a little deeper. Soon he discovers the existence of C.H.U.D.s, or "Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers," derelicts who have become grotesque monsters after being exposed to the mountains of hazardous waste. Meanwhile, Captain Bosch (Christopher Curry), a cop whose wife is among the missing, forms an unlikely alliance with the Reverend (Daniel Stern), a leftist soup-kitchen cook who knows the score. Murphy, Cooper, Bosch, and the Reverend soon run up against the stonewalling tactics of Wilson (George Martin), a government toadie. As the titular monsters begin to tire of their underground habitat, the protagonists -- including Cooper's wife, beautiful model Lauren Daniels (Kim Greist) -- face a race against time to defeat not only the C.H.U.D.s, but the government's cover-up. The debut, and only film, from writer Parnell Hall and director Douglas Cheek, C.H.U.D. was followed by 1989's C.H.U.D. 2: Bud the C.H.U.D. Co-stars Stern and Heard would later appear together in the first two Home Alone pictures, while Curry would appear in the third. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Heard, Kim Greist, (more)
- 1983
- G
Reportedly made for television, The Beniker Gang seems to have "busted pilot" emblazoned on its forehead. The titular gang consists of five orphaned siblings. Andrew McCarthy, the eldest of the bunch, acts as surrogate parent. When he's not around, the rest of the kids look out for each other. The twin planes of action occur in the Beniker home, and in the newspaper officer where McCarthy writes an advice column. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrew McCarthy, Jennifer Dundas, (more)
- 1982
The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana was one of two 1982 TV movies inspired by the 1981 wedding of the Prince of Wales--and, like the competing Charles and Diana: A Royal Love Story was all glitter and no substance. Christopher Baines plays Prince Charles like a Monty Python imitation, while Catherine Oxenberg, a cousin of the real Charles, is decorative as Lady Diana Spencer. This leaves the real acting in the hands of Dana Wynter as Queen Elizabeth, Olivia De Havilland as the Queen Mother, and Stewart Granger as Prince Philip (if you must know, the ever-popular John Hadden portrays Prince Andrew). The fact that Catherine Oxenberg was a blood relative of the Prince of Wales did not prevent her from starring in the 1992 "sequel," Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After (We need not go into the shabby history of the Royals in this essay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Filmed independently in Boston, Dark End of the Street was the follow-up (but not the sequel) to the Boston-based indie Billy in the Lowlands. The same director (Jan Egleson) and star (Henry Tomaszewski) teamed up for this wholly believable evocation of blue-collar life in a big, impersonal metropolis. Tomaszewski and Laura Harrington portray white teenagers, who look on in horror as their African American friend is accidentally killed. The cast is largely comprised of performers from the Theatre Company of Boston. The one recognizable "name" in Dark End of the Street is veteran film baddie Lance Henriksen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Harrington, Henry Tomaszewski, (more)
