Brian Foley Movies
The curiously neglected A Dream to Believe (aka Flying) can be summed up as a distaff Rocky. Olivia D'Abo is starred as a teen-aged girl who dreams of becoming a top gymnast. Human, emotional and financial roadblocks do not dissuade D'Abo, nor do her own severe physical shortcomings. You can see the ending come a mile away, but there'll still be tears in your eyes. Filmed in Canada, A Dream to Believe enjoyed a second life in video stores thanks to the presence in the cast of a pre-stardom Keanu Reeves. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Olivia D'Abo, Rita Tushingham, (more)
Filmed in just four weeks one fine autumn in 1984, this amateur teen sex romp, with not a lot of sex but a lot of trying, was released a few years later as Screwballs II. A melange of young men and women with only physical contact on their minds have been put together in the same boarding school by their trusting parents. Some inkling of the level of the comedy involved is revealed by the names of these erstwhile students: Steve Hardman, Hugh G. Rection, and Marvin Eatmore. Enough said. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bryan Genesse, Lance VanDer Kolk, (more)
- 1985
- R
The early ups and later downs in the life of Joshua Shapiro (James Woods) more or less describe the trajectory of this semi-autobiographical film, adapted from the book by Mordecai Richler. Joshua is a Jewish Canadian writer who has returned from living in England for nearly three decades, only to see the major components of his life disintegrate around him. Flashbacks tell the tale of Joshua's childhood -- raised by a father who is an ex-boxer with a creative approach to earning a living (illegally) and a mother who earns her living as a stripper. Leaving this background and his coming-of-age behind him, Joshua flies off to England and gains a reputation as a writer, marrying a politically leftist but socially elite wife. On his return to Canada at the end of the '70s, everything around him collapses. His best friend dies, his brother-in-law kills himself, there is a smear campaign against him, and someone is out to blackmail him. Things only get worse, in fact, before they level off. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Woods, Gabrielle Lazure, (more)
- 1985
- R
In this frothy drama, the "heavenly bodies" belong to Samantha (Cynthia Dale), a woman determined to open a dance instruction school, and the people who come to learn dance there. Once the deserted warehouse-cum-dance-studio is refurbished, Cynthia's first class already has as much finesse as Fred Astaire at his apogee, so when Cynthia's ideal world is threatened by the owner of a rival health club, it is fairly easy for her students to come to the rescue with their deft dance routines. Life never seems to delve much below the balletic, athletic, or aerobic surface as the adventures of Cynthia, and her students continue along a self-absorbed course. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cynthia Dale, Richard Rebiere, (more)
In this sports melodrama that boldly illustrates the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, Lynn-Holly Johnson plays Iowa farm girl Alexis Winston, who has a God-given talent for ice skating. With the encouragement and training of the local ice-skating rink operator Beulah Smith (Colleen Dewhurst), she manages to win the first prize trophy at a regional ice-skating competition. At the competition, she is spotted by Olympic coach Deborah Machland (Jennifer Warren), who promotes her as an underdog competitor, and she skyrockets to fame. Her career is going like gangbusters, until she is blinded in a freak accident. But with the help of her caring boyfriend Nick (Robby Benson) and her encouraging father Marcus (Tom Skerritt), she overcomes her depression just in time to prove herself at a major competition. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lynn-Holly Johnson, Robby Benson, (more)
- 1971
- R
This dubious comedy is set in Hiroshima, 1945 and chronicles the attempts of a Quaker morale officer to see that African-American soldiers get more equal treatment. He tries to have a black singing group booked into the officer's club, but he can't. As the bigotry increases, there is little the officer can do. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
This film of the wartime exploits of Baron Von Richthoven, who was also known as the "Red Baron," was a relatively lavish Corman-brothers production, and is directed by Roger Corman. The film's airborne dogfight sequences are among its most notable features. Vintage World War I airplanes were used, and accidents during filming resulted in one death and several injuries. The evolution of airborne warfare from being a sporting game between gentlemen to its use as an instrument of total war is integral to the story. Von Richthoven (John Phillip Law), who becomes an air ace and an important German hero, was an early aeronautical rival of Hermann Goering (Barry Primus). So important was he to German morale that he was asked to retire from fighting, so that he could assume a position in the post-war German government. He refused, and was killed by a young Canadian (Don Stroud) in an airborne battle. Spookily enough, even though he died in the air, his plane is reputed to have landed intact. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
