J. Winston Carroll Movies

Still in their infancy when their parents were divorced, Kelly and Chris McClain (Michelle Trachtenberg) grew up in the city with her mother, while their cowboy father Charlie (Peter Strauss) remained in the wide open spaces. When their mom is murdered, the girls are court-ordered to live with their dad, and are bitterly resentful over the fact. For his part, Charlie is taken aback by Kelly and Chris' hostility, but is willing to try to mend fences between himself in his daughter. Curiously, the mystery as to who killed the girls' mother--and why--is all but forgotten as the film focuses on the emotional impact of Charlie's reunion with his long-estranged family, with special emphasis on the relationship between Charlie and oldest daughter Kelly. Filmed under the title Cowboy Dad, A Father's Choice made its CBS network bow on January 12, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this fifth TV movie based on the character of incorruptible Chicago detective Jack Reed, Brian Dennehy once again wears two hats as both star and director. A multiple murder has occurred in a suburban cemetery in broad daylight. Most of the victims are Russian immigrants, whose friends and relatives refuse to cooperate in the investigation conducted by Jack Reed (Dennehy). As he pursues the case, Reed learns that the central figure in the mystery is a militant Russian who is organizing several of his fellow émigrés into his own army. Meanwhile, Reed must also contend with influential mayoral candidate Gordon Thomas (Joe Morton), whose minions are strong-arming the department to drop vehicular homicide charges against his son. Despite his tawdry surroundings, Reed retains his patented wicked sense of humor, especially when reciting the required Miranda rights while cuffing perpetrators ("You've got the right to cable TV, and the right to free counseling by Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins.") Jack Reed: Death and Vengeance made its NBC debut on November 17, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This Canadian production stars Gordon Currie as a charming but awkward vampire who is awakened from a decades-long nap by a runaway golf ball and eventually tries to readjust to life in the '90s with the help of a nutty, philosophical cab driver (Justin Louis) and the lovely proprietor of an all-night downtown donut shop (Helene Clarkson). The prospect of a relationship with the smart and spunky pastry wrangler is hindered, however, by the presence of Currie's former lover (Fiona Reid), to whom the last 25 years have been somewhat less kind. Director Holly Dale gleaned a surprising amount of humor from this premise, including a cameo from Toronto's duke of dementia David Cronenberg as a sleazeball gangster who constantly berates his underlings. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Jeffrey (Ryan Reynolds) grew up with heady ideals of social activism as part of his everyday life. His parents spent the better part of their lives fighting for social justice in India. Now they are dead, and he is only fifteen year old. He has been sent to a small town in Ontario to live with his aunt Charlotte (Glynne Headly). It takes considerable effort, but he manages to make friends and fit into this new, much smaller world of his. However, when his aunt receives an unfair eviction notice from her sleazy landlord (Paul Anka), every bit of his background and training comes to play, and he works with her to put on a well-publicized hunger strike which wins them the admiration of the local citizens and more. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Nearly three decades after the cancellation of the original Untouchables TV series, Robert Stack reprises his role as gangbuster Eliot Ness, who returns from retirement to hunt for the killer of a former colleague and finds himself caught in a war between rival mob kingpins in 1947 Chicago. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

This Christmas-oriented TV-movie centers upon two teenaged orphans, Will (Kirk Cameron) and Violet Jenny Robertson. Both would like a family of their own, so Will abducts neglected or abused children in the dark of night. When they awaken, Will tells them they've died and gone to heaven. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Based on a true story, in 1971 a 17-year-old Canadian Indian, Donald Marshall, was imprisoned. He remained in prison for eleven years for a murder he did not commit. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

A wealthy invalid discovers her husband's scheme to have her killed in this made-for-cable thriller--remade from the 1948 feature starring Barbara Stanwyck. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

Though this police and courtroom drama did not do well at the box-office, some reviewers thought that the lead performances by Burt Reynolds and Theresa Russell were first-rate. Joe Paris (Reynolds) is a policeman suspended from active duty. He awakens from an alcoholic binge to discover that he is being charged for a murder he has no memory of. Jenny Hudson (Russell) is his court-appointed defense lawyer, a young feminist eager to prove herself in the courtroom. After some initial difficulties, the two cooperate to unravel the tangled circumstances behind the murder. Michael Crichton directed but did not collaborate on the story or screenplay. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this grim exploitation outing, a luckless detective begins working for a worried madam who wants him to find one of her hookers, a woman suffering from a dual personality, one of whom is a cold-blooded killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The Big Town is Chicago, circa 1957. Matt Dillon stars as a small-town crapshooter who heads to the Windy City to seek his fortune. There he becomes the pawn of two high-rolling professional gamblers, played by Lee Grant and Bruce Dern. He later gets mixed up in a revenge scheme cooked up by Diane Lane, the embittered wife of strip-joint owner Tommy Lee Jones. Before he knows what's happened, Dillon is embroiled in two torrid romances, one with Lane and the other with "nice" girl Suzy Amis; he also nearly loses his life by ending up in the middle of a deadly feud between Dern and Jones. Based on The Arm, a novel by Clark Howard, Big Town tends towards uneveness, a result perhaps of the defection of its first director, Harold Becker. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the journalistic tradition of the late publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst, the made-for-TV The Hearst and Davies Affair is superficial, but undeniably entertaining. Robert Mitchum plays Hearst, who at 52 takes 18-year-old Ziegfeld Follies girl Marion Davies (Virginia Madsen) as his mistress. The film repeats the standard party line that Hearst was deeply in love with Marion and would have married her had his wife granted him a divorce. We are offered a wide-eyed, good-natured Marion Davies who embarks upon an acting career only because "The Boss" wants her to. The controversial Thomas Ince affair, in which a famous movie producer died under mysterious circumstances on Hearst's yacht, has long been a subject of speculation (did Hearst shoot Ince because the latter had been carrying on with Marion?) No opinions are offered herein: Ince dies, he's borne off the yacht, and we're off to the next anecdote. The climactic scenes, set in the huge Hearst estate of San Simeon, were actually filmed in a Canadian mansion (the Hearst heirs are still a bit touchy on the subject of Marion Davies). Originally telecast January 14, 1985, The Hearst and Davies Affair is enjoyable, but our vote still goes to Citizen Kane (1941), Orson Welles' a clef version of the same story. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Public safety takes a turn for the worse in this hit comedy, which spawned a long-running franchise. As a crime wave sweeps through a major city, the mayor decides that part of the problem may stem from overly restrictive qualifications for police officers, so she opens the door of the city's Police Academy to anyone who wants to join. Soon, the new class is overrun with misfits and losers, including Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), who is given the choice of joining the force or going to jail; Karen Thompson (Kim Cattrall), a pretty cadet whom Mahoney has his eye on; Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), a mountain of a man who likes to tend flowers; and Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow), who has an uncanny ability to imitate the sound of practically anything. Constantly befuddled Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) and his lackey, Lt. Harris (G.W. Bailey), are none too thrilled with their new charges, but as they try to wash their hands of the cadets, Mahoney and his classmates become all the more determined to make good. The surprising success of Police Academy spawned six sequels and two TV series. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi