Max Wright Movies

Nine years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a small town in the Pacific Northwest still struggles with the troubling legacy of U.S. policies against Asian-Americans. In December 1950, just off the shores of San Piedro Island in Washington, a Japanese-American man named Kazuo Miyamoto (Rick Yune) stands accused of murder after his close friend Carl Heine (Eric Thal) is found drowned in icy waters. As the trial gets under way, with Alvin Hooks (James Rebhorn) prosecuting Kazuo and Nels Gudmundsson (Max Von Sydow) defending him, reporter Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke) covers the proceedings for the local newspaper. It's difficult for Ishmael to view the trial objectively, as his first love was a Japanese-American girl named Hatsue (Youki Kudoh), who later married Kazuo. Now, Ishmael has discovered that, when the Japanese-American residents of San Piedro Island were sent to internment camps during World War II, Carl's mother used their incarceration to scuttle a land purchase by Kazuo's family. This could suggest a motive for murder, but Ishmael is reluctant to step forward with the story. Snow Falling on Cedars was based on the best-selling novel by David Guterson, adapted for the screen by Ron Bass and writer/director Scott Hicks. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Are Drew's stomach pains the result of stress over the impending wedding of Mimi (Kathy Kinney) and Steve (John Carroll Lynch)--or is he nauseated by the prospect of a romance with Kate (Christa Miller)? Pumped full of DrugCo hallucinogens supplied by helpful Lewis (Ryan Stiles), Drew (Drew Carey) dreams that he has a long conversation with his stomach (played by Max Wright of Alf fame), who reveals the source of his illness and comes up with a surprising solution. And during the pre-nuptual conversation with her priest, Mimi reveals her earlier marriage to pop star Eddie Money--who resolutely refuses to sign the obligatory annulment papers! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

John Larkin (Timothy Hutton would seem to have the ideal life: A great job, a beautiful home, a happy marriage. Nonetheless, John has always been nagged by the feeling that "something is missing." The truth of this suspicion is violently driven home when John is inexplicably kidnapped from his home in the middle of the night by two sinister strangers. Managing to escape, John makes his way back to his wife (Suzy Amis--only to find out that she's not his wife at all, but instead a doctor for a top-secret government agency. Laboriously putting the pieces together, John realizes that he has never truly existed as a human being since he was nearly killed in a car crash: Instead, he is a semi-android, his brain implanted with false and misleading memories--all part of a master scheme to transform him into a "perfect" government assassin! Not dissimilar to such theatrical technothrillers as Total Recall, the made-for-TV Dead By Midnight (you'll have to see the film to understand the title's grim significance) was first aired by ABC on November 23, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This episode was a crossover with the NBC sitcom Caroline in the City, hence the surprise guest star. The important plot points: Ross' son, Ben, is "misplaced" on a bus by the errant Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc). Ross (David Schwimmer) has a disturbing reaction to Monica's (Courteney Cox) kiwi-lime pie. And Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) doesn't get to sing at the Central Perk tonight -- but she does get to perform anyway. The DVD version of this episode includes material not seen in the syndicated version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A crime fighter created in the 1930s and popularized in movies, pulp novels, and a radio show starring a young Orson Welles, The Shadow came back to life in 1994 in this slick, well-cast production. Alec Baldwin stars as Lamont Cranston, a murderous opium dealer reformed by a Tibetan mystic, who teaches him how to use his keen mental powers to manipulate others. As penance for his past misdeeds, Cranston masquerades as a degenerate New York City playboy by day and secretly plays the heroic Shadow by night, staving off evildoers with a network of agents and a cab-driving sidekick (Peter Boyle). A greater challenge arrives when Cranston must fight Shiwan Khan (John Lone), the final descendent of Genghis Khan, who has received training from the same Tibetan master who instructed Cranston. Shiwan plans to use atomic weapons to take over New York and then the world. At the same time, Cranston meets socialite Margo Lane (Penelope Ann Miller), and, although he's instantly enamored of her, he discovers that her psychic abilities render his secret identity vulnerable. The Shadow was directed by former music video creator Russell Mulcahy, whose feature film debut Highlander (1986) was a cult classic. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Former Alf regular Max Wright appears as an author to whom Murphy (Candice Bergen) has granted authorization to write her biography. Once the deal is signed, Murphy begins to fret over what her friends and colleagues will say about her when interviewed for the upcoming book. This results in an "all-star nightmare" for our heroine, featuring a number of real-life politicians and journalists--including virtually the entire cast of 60 Minutes! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The fourth and final season of ALF was marked by the additional of a new recurring character: J.M. J. Bullock as Neal Tanner, obsequious younger brother of Willie Tanner (Max Wright), whose household has been hosting visiting space alien ALF for lo these past three years. Neal's apparent determination to remain with his brother's family on a permanent basis makes it all the more difficult for the Tanners to keep ALF's presence a secret from the dreaded Alien Task Force. A more significant addition to the cast had occurred at the tail end of season three, when Willie's wife, Kate (Anne Schedeen), gave birth to the family's third child, a son named Eric. Accustomed to trading wisecracks with the Tanner's older kids, Lynn (Andrea Elson) and Brian (Benji Gregory), ALF finds his conversations with baby Eric to be rather one-sided, so he finds other ways to express his fondness for the kid -- such as changing his first diaper in the season opener. From this point, let's jump ahead to the season finale, as chaotic an episode as has ever been concocted for any sitcom. Contacted by Skip and Rhonda, two fellow space creatures who like ALF had managed to escape the planet Melmac before it exploded into oblivion, ALF is invited to join his countrymen in establishing a new space colony. After bidding a tearful farewell to the Tanners, ALF prepares to leave their home -- when suddenly the minions of the Alien Task Force descend upon our nonplussed hero and place him under arrest! And that's the last we see of ALF until the 1990 TV movie Project: ALF, which belatedly details his fate after his capture. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"It's the craziest wedding of the year!" promised the ads for the TV movie Going to the Chapel. Well, maybe not the craziest, but certainly the silliest. The thinnish plot concerns the roadblocks standing in the way of the impending wedding of Scott Valentine and Michelle Greene. As a means to sustain audience interest, the producers populated the supporting cast with a veritable village full of top TV names: Cloris Leachman, John Ratzenberger, Max Wright, Dick Van Patten, Eileen Brennan and Barbara Billingsley. First shown October 9, 1988, Going to the Chapel died in the ratings opposite the blockbuster biopic Liberace: Behind the Music. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Adapted from a true story and made for the video stores, Dangerous Company concerns convicted criminal Ray Johnson, who spent almost 30 years in prison before rehabilitating himself. ~ John Bush, Rovi

The cozy, respectable, and rather dull existence of the Tanner family is inexorably altered when an alien spaceship crashes into the family's garage in the opening episode of ALF's first season. Out pops a short, furry, orange-haired, and long-nosed space creature, who explains that he is Gordon Shumway from the recently destroyed planet Melmac. Nicknamed ALF (Alien Life Form) by the Tanners, our hero is invited to join the household, though before long, dad Willie Tanner (Max Wright) wishes he'd turned ALF over to the authorities. Not only does ALF stick his huge nose into everyone's business, but he also breaks everything he touches and eats like food is going out of style -- and he never tires of trying to chow down on the family's pet cat, Lucky. Meanwhile, Willie Tanner, his wife, Kate (Anne Schedeen), and their kids, Lynn (Andrea Elson) and Brian (Benji Gregory), work overtime trying to hide ALF's presence from their boorish neighbors, Trevor and Raquel Ochmonek (John LaMotta, Liz Sheridan). Additionally, the Tanners attempt to keep ALF a secret from Kate's overbearing mother, Dorothy (Anne Meara), though she eventually tumbles to his existence and agrees to keep mum. Though ALF was not the most popular sitcom on NBC's 1986-1987 schedule (that honor was bestowed upon The Cosby Show), the series performed well in the ratings during its first season, ranking at number 28 right between Miami Vice and Hunter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the second episode of Cheers' three-part season four finale, Diane (Shelley Long) is convinced that councilwoman Janet Eldridge (Kate Mulgrew) will dump Sam (Ted Danson) once Janet has lost the election. But not only does Janet remain attached to Sam, but she insists that he fire Diane. Convinced that he's doing Diane a favor, Sam prepares to let her go -- but Diane beats him to the punch. Meanwhile, Norm (George Wendt) braces for a visit from his rapacious sister-in-law. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi