Kate Finlayson Movies
- 1995
When her little nephew visits her and her overbearing sisters, a rather naïve, simple-minded young woman finds herself inundated with terrifying memories of a childhood trauma. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
An attempted black comedy, Getting In endeavors to satirize the cut-throat competition surrounding the medical school admissions process -- a struggle that in this case literally turns deadly. Gabriel Higgs is an aspiring medical student, not out of a great dedication to his craft but due to pressure by his parents, who expect him to follow the long-standing family tradition of attending Johns Hopkins and embarking upon a prominent medical career. However, a poor showing in the admissions test and several other mishaps conspire to place Gabriel on the school's waiting list. Desperate to gain entrance to the school before being disinherited, Gabriel takes to bribing his fellow waiting-list candidates to ensure his admission. But when the students at the top of the waiting list start turning up dead in rather nasty ways, Gabriel finds himself in real trouble. He must discover who is committing these crimes before he is blamed -- or becomes the next victim himself. Easily forgettable, the film is mainly notable for featuring early performances by future television stars Matthew Perry and Calista Flockhart, and for being the directorial debut of Doug Liman, who would receive critical acclaim for his second film, Swingers. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristy Swanson, Andrew McCarthy, (more)
- 1993
This powerful fact-based made-for-TV drama follows a poor, illiterate woman as she bravely takes on the government child protective services in hopes that they will return her three children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Those who think that you can't make a suspense movie out of a true-life story wherein everybody knows the outcome are referred to the made-for-TV Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure. Jessica, of course, was the 18-month-old Texas girl who fell down an abandoned well in October of 1987. As the world looks on in anguish, the local fire chief (Pat Hingle) and police chief (Beau Bridges) supervise the efforts to rescue Jessica from her 22-foot-deep prison. The film effectively squeezes the 58 hours of the original incident into two, allotting plenty of time for a surface-level subplot involving the efforts of a Victim's Assistance Program volunteer (Patty Duke) to reassure Jessica's parents. In keeping with Hollywood child-labor requirements, little Jessica McClure is played by twin girls, Laura and Jennifer Loesch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
An archaeologist has come back home with a priceless gem in his possession. However, it was ill-gotten and his life is in extreme danger. After he's killed, his widow becomes the mark of several treasure-seekers. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Eilbacher, Steve Railsback, (more)
- 1988
A cocky, irresponsible professional golfer discovers that he will have to clean up his act if he wants to compete in the PGA tour. Based on a novel by Dan Jenkins, this drama originally aired on cable television. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
It's Christmas time in L.A., and there's an employee party in progress on the 30th floor of the Nakatomi Corporation building. The revelry comes to a violent end when the partygoers are taken hostage by a group of terrorists headed by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), who plan to steal the 600 million dollars locked in Nakatomi's high-tech safe. In truth, Gruber and his henchmen are only pretending to be politically motivated to throw the authorities off track; also in truth, Gruber has no intention of allowing anyone to get out of the building alive. Meanwhile, New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) has come to L.A. to visit his estranged wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), who happens to be one of the hostages. Disregarding the orders of the authorities surrounding the building, McClane, who fears nothing (except heights), takes on the villains, armed with one handgun and plenty of chutzpah. Until Die Hard came along, Bruce Willis was merely that wisecracking guy on Moonlighting. After the film's profits started rolling in, Willis found himself one of the highest-paid and most sought-after leading men in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, (more)
- 1985
- R
King of the City died on the vine when it was released under its original title in 1985; conditions hardly improved when it was reissued a year later as Club Life. Merely a recycling of the disco films of the 1970s, King of the City is lots of sound and fury, signifying nothing: one prominent TV reference book gave up on reciting its plot line, choosing instead to review the neon lighting! For what it's worth, the story involves Tom Parsekean (the idol of millions), who comes to LA to be an actor but winds up a bouncer in a disco owned by Tony Curtis. If you remain awake during the first minutes of King of the City, you'll get a kick out of Pat Ast, playing a lesbian bar owner. What Dee Wallace, who still had a career in 1985, is doing in this film is anybody's guess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
First telecast March 2, 1981, The Acorn People was adapted by director Joan Tewksbury from the book by Ron Jones. Ted Bessell plays a no-nonsense children's counselor who takes a job at a summer camp for severely handicapped children. The kids jokingly refer to themselves as "the acorn people"--a reference to the acorn necklaces that they've made for themselves, and to the fact that they'd never blossomed into full-grown "trees." Bessell is determined to remain detached from his charges, but with the help of nurse Cloris Leachman and assitant LeVar Burton, Bessell emerges from the two-week camp a compassionate, caring person, as fully concerned with the lives of the Acorns as the year-round staff. The Acorn People was filmed on location in Dallas, with several of the area's genuine handicapped children playing supporting roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
