Wayne Cull Movies
- 2002
Vacationing on Seven Bay Island in the summer of her 16th year, budding poet Victoria "Vicky" Austin (Mischa Barton) is faced with the approaching death of her beloved grandfather (James Whitmore), who is suffering from leukemia. In hopes of briefly forgetting her troubles, Vicky begins assisting a handsome young researcher named Adam (Ryan Merriman) who is working with sea mammals. In this capacity, Vicky discovers that she possesses the unique gift of being able to communicate with dolphins -- and also finds herself romantically torn between Adam and a wealthy suitor named Zach (Jared Padalecki). Suspense enters the picture when the dolphins "tell" Vicky of an illegal driftnet fishing operation. Based on the 1981 novel by Madeleine L'Engle and location-filmed in Australia, A Ring of Endless Light made its cable-TV premiere over the Disney Channel on August 23, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mischa Barton, James Whitmore, (more)
- 2000
Even as security is beefed up in Australia in anticipation of the 2000 Olympics, someone manages to slip a deadly nerve gas device -- and a detonator -- on a 747 jet bound from Sydney to L.A. The authorities are uncertain as to whether the person responsible for this outrage is a terrorist or merely a lunatic; whatever the case, they scour the world in search of the perpetrator. Meanwhile, the 747 may well be unable to find a suitable landing place before the detonator goes off, forcing pilot John Prescott (Jack Wagner) and copilot Kim McGee (Christine Elise) to make some extremely tricky life-and-death decisions. As for the 300 passengers -- well, each one has his or her own story to tell, and the viewer hears practically all of them before the almost unbearably suspenseful denouement. The made-for-cable Nowhere to Land debuted March 12, 2000, on the TBS superstation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Wagner, Christine Elise, (more)
- 1988
In the original 1966 version of the Mission: Impossible adventure "The Legacy," IMF agents were assigned to thwart a plan hatched by the sons of four high-ranking Nazi officers to finance the launching of a Fourth Reich. In the1988 remake, the sons were rewritten as grandsons, but the basic plot remained the same. New IMF agent Nicholas Black infiltrates the neo-fascist conclave in order to locate a cache of hidden Nazi gold. The 1966 edition of "The Legacy" was written by Mann Rubin; the remake, which aired November 27, 1988, was scripted by Michael Lynn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Thaao Penghlis, (more)
- 1987
Young Edward (Philip Quast) is an impressionable lad who is used by friends and family in this offbeat drama. While attending a prim and proper boarding school, he loses his best friend when the young Asian hangs himself after repeated racial slurs and taunts from cruel classmates. When he is older, Edward (Marcus Gollings) is set up by his drug-dealing brother in a money-laundering scam. The crooked brother gets off, while Edward suffers the humiliation of being branded a criminal. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Quast, Noel Travarthen, (more)
- 1986
- PG13
A limp storyline refuses to go taut throughout this sci-fi adventure that patches together bits and pieces from its famous, multi-genre predecessors (the Indiana Jones series, The Deer Hunter, The Philadelphia Experiment, and others). The premise has John Hargreaves as Harris fly his plane through a time warp and land on Easter Island. Harris soon encounters the evil "Savage" (Max Phipps) who is looking for a magic stone -- left by spacemen -- that was used to erect the Aku-Aku giant heads and the enormous boulders of Stonehenge. "Savage" does not want to build a monument, the stone also gives its owner the power to destroy. Heroine Melanie Mitchell (Meredith Phillips) more or less stands around, as Harris and "Savage" duke it out. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hargreaves, Meredith Phillips, (more)
- 1985
Woven around premises that are hard to swallow, this is a saccharine story of how the love of a child can transform the worst situations into a day of sunshine. But since the child's mother, Carol (Deborra-Lee Furness), becomes a prostitute at one point, this is not exactly Disney fare either. Carol lives with Lindsay (Ivar Kants), who dotes on Carol's daughter, Jenny (Tamsin West), even though she does not seem particularly dotable. Cynical viewers will think "incest," but not so. Carol gets irked at Lindsay and moves out with Jenny to stay with Gaynor (Paula Duncan), a friend who happens to be a prostitute. Carol decides to try Gaynor's profession and after one night's work, she brings home 500 dollars -- the wages of sin can be profitable. Lindsay, now dying of an incurable illness, steals Jenny away from this life of vicarious inequity -- and Carol, overwhelmed by a suddenly awakened conscience, rushes to Lindsay's bedside. As harps play, the story continues on into even more rarified strata. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tamsin West, Deborra-Lee Furness, (more)
- 1984
This emotional true story is about Annie O'Farrell (Tina Arhondis -- who suffered brain damage at birth and as a result was later institutionalized with other children like herself, physically unable to mature past the age of 8 or 9, even though in chronological years they are much older. When therapist Jessica Hathaway (Angela Punch McGregor meets Annie for the first time, her interactions with the girl tell her that she has been misdiagnosed. Convinced that Annie's mind is functioning perfectly well, Jessica runs up against solid opposition from Annie's parents and has to bide her time until the girl reaches the age of 18. At that point, Jessica obtains an injunction to get Annie released from the home -- and begins her own session of therapy. Due to the non-fictional content of the film, the disagreements between Jessica and Annie's parents are sidelined, and, as in many other films of this type, the unusual court battles and subsequent change in the disabled patient are dramatic but not in keeping with the day-to-day reality of patients and clinical staff working to make small steps towards progress -- with never a chance for any miraculous recovery in the vast majority of cases. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Forsythe, Tina Arhondis, (more)
