Jim Grimshaw Movies

In this action thriller, the only things standing in the way of world destruction are two guys in an ice cream truck. On a remote island in the South Pacific, a secret weapons project (code name "Elvis") goes wrong, and a new chemical weapon, safe when frozen but deadly when thawed, is allowed to escape. Eighteen soldiers are killed, leaving behind only the scientist who created the formula and the officer in charge of the project, who is saddled with most of the blame. Ten years later, Tim Mason (Skeet Ulrich) is working at a diner in Montana when an old friend, Dr. Richard Long (David Paymer), is seriously wounded by Maj. Andrew Brynner (Peter Firth). It seems that Dr. Long helped create Elvis and Maj. Brynner was the officer who took the fall for the disaster ten years ago. Near death, Long gives Elvis to Mason and tells him that it has to be kept solidly frozen and delivered to Fort Magruder, 90 miles away. But how to keep it at zero degrees until then? A logical solution presents itself when Arlo (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who drives an ice cream truck, makes a delivery to the diner. Mason drafts Arlo into helping him transport Elvis to safety, and before long Brynner's men are hot on the trail of the icy chemical weapon. First-time director Hugh Johnson learned his craft in part through his work as a cameraman for Ridley Scott: he was the cinematographer for White Squall and G.I. Jane. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Bigotry and values are questioned when a Black West Point cadet is singled out and harassed by fellow cadets and senior officers. ~ All Movie Guide

Melissa Gilbert-Boxleitner and Mel Harris star as two female police officers fighting the police force in this made-for-TV movie about sexual harassment in the workplace. After Miranda Berkley (Harris) breaks up with her boyfriend/superior officer, she and her partner find themselves on-the-job without any support from fellow officers. They lodge a formal complaint against their superiors and are then forced to suffer the consequences from their angry male colleagues. Based on a true story, this made-for-TV movie debuted on May 11, 1993. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Cult director Frank Henenlotter does the seemingly impossible by breathing new life into this horror-comedy series about the twisted escapades of the Bradley Brothers: the deranged but sensitive Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) and his monstrously-deformed former Siamese twin Belial. The previous installment had the siblings settling a nasty dispute in a particularly grisly manner... but appearances can deceive, as the original Basket Case proved with its similar denouement, which the director casually ignored in order to move things along. This time, Duane and Belial are still a bit miffed at each other but eventually make cute when it's learned that Belial is going to be a daddy -- thanks to a stomach-churning tryst with the similarly-shaped mutant Eve in the previous chapter. Things seem to be returning to relative normalcy in their newfound home -- considering that said home is Granny Ruth's sanctuary for "Unique Individuals" whose curator (Annie Ross, reprising her role) offers bed and board to an ensemble of freaks with cartoonishly-large deformities. It is only when the entire group sets out for the Georgia clinic of Uncle Hal -- a specialist who is capable of delivering Eve's plentiful offspring -- that their revels come to an end, thanks to a redneck sheriff and his thick-headed deputies, who don't exactly take a shine to their kind. It's up to Belial to save the day, which he does with bloody gusto thanks to a mechanical exoskeleton built by Uncle Hal's ingenious multi-armed son. Despite falling into some of the same pitfalls as the previous film (namely the slightly-too-outrageous mutant makeup), this is a stylish coda to the series, with strong and very funny performances from the leads and some memorably grotesque moments -- especially a bizarre road-trip sing-along by the freaks and the jarring air of "cuteness" in the disgusting birth scene. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

The Top Gun team of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, director Tony Scott, and superstar Tom Cruise reunite for this excursion into stock-car racing that incorporates the vroom and rumble of deafening car engines with a rehash of the same elements that worked so effectively in Cruise's Top Gun, The Color of Money, and Cocktail. Cruise plays stock-car driver Cole Trickle, a young fireball on the Southern stock-car circuit who has loads of talent but no conception of how to channel that talent in to racing success. When Tim Daland (Randy Quaid) commissions veteran stock-car racer Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) to built a car and hires Cole to drive it, Harry must instill in Cole his philosophy of winning and teach him how to channel his raw talent into success -- or, as Harry puts it, "controlling something that's out of control." Cole immediately comes into conflict with the circuit's star driver, Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker), and their hijinks on the track causes them to smash up their cars and lands them both in the hospital. Because of his injuries, Rowdy is forced to withdraw from the circuit competition. With no rival to torment, Rowdy becomes Cole's supporter and friend, while Cole revs up his motors for Dr. Claire Lewicki (Nicole Kidman), the attractive brain specialist who supervises Cole's recovery from the crackup. Cole's health is restored, and he begins to race again, chastened and hanging onto Harry's every word. Cole appears to have centered himself for success, but in an orgasmic grand finale, Cole must compete against Russ Wheeler (Cary Elwes), a dastardly driver who not only wants to see Cole defeated but permanently disabled. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this police drama, a rookie cop finds his idealism nearly destroyed when he discovers that most of the officers in his new precinct are corrupt. This is based on a true story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Precocious Pippi Longstocking (Tami Erin) falls off her father's pirate ship and washes up in a small coastal town in Florida. She causes social worker Miss Bannister (Eileen Brennan) no end of trouble and influences two neighbor kids with her mischief-making and infectious attitude. Pippi uses her magic powers to beguile the locals but also to help save some orphans from a burning building. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Windmills of the Gods was adapted for television by John Gay from a best-selling novel by Sidney Sheldon. Jaclyn Smith plays an American college professor, appointed US ambassador to Romania. While attending a peace conference, Jaclyn's life is placed in jeopardy by an all-powerful secret organization. Whom can she trust: American president Michael Moriarty, Rumanian top dog Franco Nero, fellow scholar David Ackroyd, or confrence chairman Ian McKellan? Or none of the above? This wide-ranging romantic adventure was lensed in several exotic locales, from Bucharest to Chile. Originally presented in two parts, Windmills of the Gods debuted February 7, 1988, directly opposite the ratings-busting TV-movie Elvis and Me. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed by onetime Rookies co-star Georg Stanford Brown, Alone in the Neon Jungle has all the earmarks of a TV pilot film-albeit a better-than-usual example of the genre. Suzanne Pleshette plays a no-nonsense police captain, assigned to the town's most corrupt police district. In attempting to clean things up, She is handicapped by the fact that she can't tell her friends from her enemies. Director Brown costars as a police sergeant who turns out to be a valuable ally to the new captain. Filmed in Pittsburgh, Alone in the Neon Jungle was first telecast January 17, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A sprawling adaptation of the same-named novel by David Nevin, the three-part CBS miniseries Dream West starred Richard Chamberlain as colorful, controversial American explorer John Charles Fremont (1813-1890). The story detailed the visionary (and occasionally mercenary) Fremont's lifelong war against shortsided authority figures, beginning with his early skirmishes with the "brass" as an Army officer. In 1842, Fremont embarked upon his greatest adventure, heading an expedition to map the Oregon Trail -- the first step towards opening the entire North American continent to free and unimpeded exploration. His mission pitted Fremont against hostile Indians, the Mexican army, and the U.S. government itself. Along the way, he crossed paths with scores of historical figures, including Kit Carson, Jim Bridge, John Sutter, and President Abraham Lincoln. Alice Krige, Richard Chamberlain's vis-à-vis in the earlier Wallenberg: A Heroes' Story, co-starred as Jessie Benton, the headstrong senator's daughter who became Fremont's wife. Running seven hours in all (plus commercials), Dream West was originally telecast from April 13 to 15, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide