Jeff Weiss Movies
- 2000
A wealthy patroness of the arts is found murdered in her apartment, her hands severed from her body. The subsequent investigation turns up evidence that the motive for the murder may have been a painting, which bears a startling resemblance to the scene of the crime. Chief among the suspects is the victim's newest protégé -- who has a history of violence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Barely recognizable under a blonde wig and several layers of garish makeup, Kirstie Alley stars in this made-for-TV drama as Marty, a freewheeling waitress who compensates for the emptiness in her life with jokes and wisecracks. On the verge of finding emotional fulfillment with a new romance, Marty is crippled in a freak traffic accident. Her subsequent efforts to adjust to her paraplegic state are hampered by a vicious assault from a mugger -- not to mention her erstwhile boyfriend's desertion. Hitting rock bottom, Marty is awash in booze and self-pity when redemption appears in the unlikely form of a handsome, upbeat guy in a wheelchair named Joe Mulvey (Jason Beghe). Suddenly originally aired December 1, 1996, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirstie Alley, Jason Beghe, (more)
- 1996
The title of this made-for-TV period drama refers to a low-income suburban New Jersey housing project, which in the year 1958 represents the life's dream of vivacious Brooklyn housewife Gloria Goodman (Kirstie Alley. Weighed down with a well-meaning but boorish husband (Clancy Brown) and a pair of unruly children (Adam Lamberg, Tori McPetrie), Gloria can only dream of life beyond the four walls of her drab little apartment. Enter Bert Kramer (Gil Bellows), a freewheeling young "beat" writer who may well be the only person capable of liberating Gloria and paving the way towards that El Dorado known as Radiant City. The film made its ABC debut on March 31, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirstie Alley, Clancy Brown, (more)
Caroline and Lloyd (Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey) are a married couple constantly at each other's throats, masters at crafting acid-tongued barbs at the other's expense. Indeed, they are so obsessed with belittling each other that they never stop -- not even at gunpoint. Such is the premise of the acerbic comedy The Ref, which shows what happens when this quarrelsome duo is taken hostage. The gunman is Gus (Denis Leary), a thief on the run from the police, who kidnaps the couple as an insurance policy, planning to use their home as a hideout. But their incessant bickering proves more than Gus bargained for, forcing him -- for the sake of his own sanity -- into the unenviable role of peacemaker. To make things even worse for Gus, he discovers that he has taken the couple hostage the night of their big Christmas party, and the guests are already on the way. Not wanting to leave Lloyd and Caroline unattended, Gus opts to attend the party, pretending to be the couple's marriage counselor. This naturally leads to a series of comic confusions, as the hostage crisis and marital tensions head towards their inevitable conclusion. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denis Leary, Judy Davis, (more)
- 1994
Ten-year-old Wendy Sylvester (Stephi Lineburg) disappears from a foster home. The subsequent investigation reveals that Wendy had been subjected to neglect and abuse by her foster mother. The girl turns up in a specially designed "hiding place" within the home of her compassionate former teacher Arnette Fenady (Lisa Eichhorn), who insists that she is acting in the child's best interest -- but who is obviously an extremely disturbed woman despite her noble intentions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
- R
In this thriller, a young woman finds herself torn between two lovers, her husband and his employee. When she learns that one of the two is a serial killer, she finds herself forced to make a difficult decision. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Patton, Bebe Neuwirth, (more)
The true-story of a small town Louisiana molestation case is re-created in this made-for-cable drama. When a couple learns that their young son has been molested by a popular parish priest, they are offered a bribe in exchange to keep the story quiet. They soon find out that their son wasn't the only victim, and they have to decide if they want to fight the Catholic Church. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Blythe Danner, (more)
Businessman Larry Burrows (James Belushi) has a wife who ignores him, a screwball friend who won't leave him alone, and a car that continually breaks down. All that and more is enough to give him a mid-life crisis. After his car stalls once more, he enters a bar looking for help and encounters a bartender (Michael Caine) who shows him what his life would have been like, if he hadn't struck out in a baseball game back in high school. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Belushi, Michael Caine, (more)
- 1989
American Blue Note concentrates on a Manhattan jazz quintet. Peter MacNichol, Carl Capotorto, Tim Guinee, Bill Christopher-Myers and Jonathan Walker play the five musicians, each with individual crosses to bear. Allotting themselves one year to get booked into a major jazz club or else they'll split, the quintet performs a lot of nickel-and-dime gigs in the meantime. But only one of the five makes it to the band's "Valhalla." Louis Guss, Zohra Lampert and Trini Alvarado appear in peripheral roles. Filmed in 1989, the independently produced American Blue Note didn't get a distributor until 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter MacNicol, Carl Caportoto, (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)
- 1968
A group of disenfranchised radicals each under the age of 30 gathers often for coffee and intellectual discussions. They have worked for civil rights, the Appalachian poor, and the battle for racial equality. Now without causes to fill their lives, they feel an acute need to develop lives of their own. They discuss various ways to lead fulfilling lives while feeling guilty for abandoning the causes they championed so fervently in the past. One of them concocts a plan to assassinate the President (Lyndon Baines Johnson), but the group is divided as to whether to carry out the diabolical plot. The story unfolds in the six days leading up to what is only a proposed attempt on the chief executive. Although the group universally agrees LBJ is responsible for the deaths of many, some have reservations about carrying out the plan. Producer/director Robert Kramer makes a cameo appearance as a mental patient in this engaging political and social exercise in intellectual and philosophical discourse. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Rader, Tom Griffin, (more)
