Robert Wald Movies
- 1994
- R
Based on the award-winning play by Sam Shepard, this drama offers an unblinking look at a family desperately clinging to the last threads of the American dream. Weston Tate (James Woods) is an alcoholic Viet Nam veteran struggling to hold on to the family's farm; he often brags about his grand plans for the place, but in truth the land is just one step away from foreclosure. His wife Ella (Kathy Bates) is determined to hold her family together, though she often dreams of running away and isn't above sleeping with corrupt land developer Taylor (Randy Quaid) if it will help keep the farm in her family's hands. Their son Wesely (Henry Thomas) has the soul of a poet and dreams of a better life, while his sister Emma (Kristin Fiorella) has inherited her mother's strength, but also her mother's burden in holding the Tates together. Noted filmmaker Bruce Beresford adapted Shepard's play for the screen and served as executive producer; Michael McClary directed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Woods, Kathy Bates, (more)
A clueless caveman meets his intellectual match in the form of Pauly Shore in this teen-oriented comedy. Dave Morgan (Sean Astin) is a high school student in Encino, California, where he spends most of his time with his dazed-and-confused buddy Stoney Brown (Shore) and tries to figure out why his girlfriend Robyn (Megan Ward) left him for thick-headed jock Matt (Michael DeLuise). Hoping to boost his low status in the High School pecking order, Dave wants to put in a swimming pool at his family's home for a massive post-prom party. While Dave and Stoney are digging the pit, an earthquake strikes that unearths a frozen caveman (Brendan Fraser). To Dave and Stoney's surprise, the frozen Neanderthal soon comes to life, and after a bath, a shave, and a new set of clothes, the boys are passing off their dim-witted-but-friendly companion "Link" as an exchange student from Estonia. Link soon becomes the most popular guy at school, and Dave is determined to use Link's social success as a way to win back Robyn and foil Matt. Encino Man marked the directorial debut of Les Mayfield, who previously produced the critically acclaimed documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Astin, Pauly Shore, (more)
- 1988
To Heal a Nation is the true story of Jan Scruggs (Eric Roberts), a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. In 1979, Scruggs, employed by the US Department of Labor, becomes obsessed with the dream of erecting a monument to those who died in Vietnam. In pursuit of this dream, Scruggs and his fellow fundraisers run up against bureaucratic indifference and public hostility-not to mention the reservations of certain veterans who disapprove of the monument's "radical" design. On November 13, 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is erected in Washington DC-an intensely emotional moment, vividly recreated by combining dramatizations with actual news footage. Originally presented as GE Theater TV production, To Heal a Nation debuted May 29, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Paul Verhoeven's American breakthrough film, Robocop, is an exceedingly violent blend of black comedy, science fiction, and crime thriller. Set in Detroit sometime in the near future, the film is about a policeman (Peter Weller) killed in the line of duty whom the department decides to resurrect as a half-human, half-robot supercop. The RoboCop is indestructible, and within a matter of weeks he has removed crime from the streets of Detroit. However, his human side is tortured by his past, and he wants revenge on the thugs who killed him. The film was later followed by two feature-length sequels and a live-action television series, neither of which were as successful as the original film. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, (more)
In this Spaghetti-western-like martial arts actioner, Texas Ranger J. J. McQuade (Chuck Norris) is up against the weapons-dealer Rawley Wilkes (David Carradine) after Wilkes kidnaps McQuade's partner and daughter and takes them to Mexico. McQuade's personal vendetta is encouraged by the government because Wilkes is hijacking U.S. arms shipments for his illicit weapons deals and the government wants him stopped. After the kidnapping incident, McQuade is assigned Kayo (Robert Beltran) a rookie patrolman, to accompany him in his fight, and he is also joined by FBI-agent Jackson (Leon Isaac Kennedy). Jackson and McQuade track down Wilkes' secret airstrip -- and that is when the fireworks begin. Every weapon known to human technology is brought into the picture as McQuade, also armed with his lethal hands and feet, goes ballistic. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, David Carradine, (more)
- 1981
- PG
This easy-going television movie is about Chris McBride (Michael York), a real-life naturalist who brings his wife and daughter to an African wildlife preserve to join him in a research project. The area has a special meaning to him because he was born there. His wife is not as enthusiastic as he is about leaving their familiar and comfortable world behind but changes her mind when she starts getting involved in the photography part of the project. A chance discovery of a pair of white-hued lion cubs (not albinos) raises disagreements on whether the family should do everything to help them survive, or just leave them alone. Eventually a compromise is reached that bodes well for the family and the fledgling lions and strengthens the family's resolve to fight off a poacher who wants to use the unusual cubs for his own profit. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael York, Glynnis O'Connor, (more)
- 1980
- R
As in several other films with this same theme, six young men and women head out for a hike in the woods, unaware that a crazed killer is on the loose looking for victims. About 30 years earlier, a group of gypsies were burnt to death in a forest fire, except for one small boy. Now the boy, all grown up and physically disfigured by the fire, is out to vent his rage on anyone who enters the forest. With a weak script, no characterizations, and lots of padding featuring wildlife (the animal kind) in the forest, this film might only be noted for the fact that it was one of the last movies in which Jackie Coogan appears. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debbie Thureson, Steve Bond, (more)
- 1978
- R
A group of summer campers who haven't seen each other in over a decade are called up by the camp owner for a strange reunion. Each of the guests brings a ton of emotional baggage as they try to figure out why they are there and try to work out past differences to relieve the past. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Abrams, Jake Barnes, (more)
