Ron Recasner Movies

The 8-hour TV miniseries Blind Ambition was originally telecast May 20 through 23, 1979. This 105-minute feature-film version, prepared in 1982, seems a bit rushed at times, but overall does a credible and coherent job of storytelling. Based on John Dean's book Blind Ambition, with elements of Maureen Dean's Mo woven in by screenwriter Stanley R. Greenberg, this is the saga of the Watergate affair, as experienced by Dean (Martin Sheen) and hia wife Maureen (Theresa Russell). As the Nixon administration goes down in flames, the Deans' marriage is sorely tested-as is Dean's success-at-any-price credo. Rip Torn plays Nixon like something out of a Greek Tragedy; some viewers accepted his interpretation, others found it jarringly inaccurate. Others in the cast of "usual suspects" include Michael Callan as Charles Colson, Lonny Chapman as L. Patrick Gray, William Daniels as G. Gordon Liddy, Fred Grandy as Donald Segretti, Christopher Guest as Jeb Magruder, Lawrence Pressman as H. R. Haldeman, William Windom as Richard Kleindienst, James Greene as E. Howard Hunt, Logan Ramsey as J. Edgar Hoover, and Al Checco as judge John Sirica. Also known as The John Dean Story, Blind Ambition earned two Emmy nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This belated sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is directed by Peter Hyams. Roy Scheider plays the astronaut/skipper of a U.S.-Soviet space mission, sent to find out what happened to the missing Discovery flight that carried Keir Dullea into the beyond in the original 2001. Scheider's polyglot crew includes Americans John Lithgow and Bob Balaban (the latter a computer whiz, responsible for the notorious HAL 9000) and Russians Helen Mirren, Elya Baskin and Natasha Schneider. The reason for this international mixture is that the world is on the brink of nuclear war, and it is hoped that the space mission will assure east-west solidarity (in this respect, 2010 dates far more than 2001, given the collapse of the Iron Curtain). When the astronauts catch up with Dullea, still in orbit around Jupiter, producer/director/writer Hyams attempts to demystify the enigmatic climax of 2001. Arthur C. Clarke, author of the story upon which 2001 was based, appears in 2010 as a man on a park bench. Incidentally, the voice-over credited to Olga Mallsnerd is actually Candice Bergen. (The name Mallsnerd is a play on the name of one of the characters created by her ventriloquist father Edgar.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two teens just out of high school are the computer experts who run across a Soviet plot to steal the plans of a high-tech helicopter in this routine spy thriller. The Russians monitor the NASA launching pad from an offshore trawler. They recruit one of the local students to infiltrate the computers and monitor the top secret plans. Stock footage of rocket launches and military planes are included in this feature directed by Monte Markham, who also plays Colonel Mark Denton. Mostly the feature shows people at the computer and lacks the excitement of other films of the genre. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-cable TV psychological thriller, a sister must prove that her brother's new girl, a nurse, is a deeply troubled psycho-killer who would rather see her lovers die than fall into another woman's clutches. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the early '90s, Brian Bosworth made the seamless transition from football bad boy to onscreen bad ass. In Stone Cold, the Boz plays cop Joe Huff, a brute force specialist. The FBI contracts him to take down a biker gang known as the Brotherhood, who have been implicated in drug trafficking and several murders. Joe assumes the personality of John Stone and goes undercover. His mission seems not to bust the gang but rather to kill with excessive force. Before he can take the law into his own hands, however, he has to get in with the gang's leader, the impressively tough Chains. The Boz doesn't disappoint, and he gets his chance in the final confrontation where he takes on several score of the Brotherhood in the street battle to end all street battles. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide

The Houston, Texas police department is thrown into an uproar when someone discovers a bag full of severed human hands. Each one has a different number tattooed on the palm and the police suspect a serial killer. Things take an even stranger turn when they enlist the aid of an unusual boy with telepathic powers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica (Courteney Cox) have a date on the anniversary of their relationship, but the event is spoiled by a blast from the past, courtesy of the gone-but-not-forgotten Janice. Meanwhile, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) must find somebody to pose as his "twin" in a medical study, so that he can raise money for some new publicity photos. And Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) take classes in self-defense -- and are given a free demonstration in "Unagi." ~ All Movie Guide