Michael Copeman Movies
- 1987
- R
A priest tries to help a young prostitute escape the life of sex and drugs in this exploitation drama. Father Jack (Chuck Shamata) tries to help 14-year-old Lindsay (Heather Kjollesdal) get off the streets to save her young life. Monsignor O'Brien (Art Carney) becomes concerned when Jack seems to be spending too much time trying to save the girl he believes belongs in a shelter. Lindsay left home after suffering from an incestuous relationship with her father, but now she turns tricks for her sleazy boyfriend Lenny (Daniel MacIvor). Jack hopes to intervene before the young teen ends up dead. Contains nudity and profanity. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Shamata, Heather Kjollesdal, (more)
- 1987
- R
The sublimely derivative Blindside stirs up a modicum of tension. The principal character is a onetime surveillance expert, who after purchasing a motel can't resist the temptation of spying on his guests. No, there's no shower stabbing here, but there isa brutal murder. Before long, our peeping-tom protagonist is up to his chin in drug-traffic intrigue. As the voyeuristic hero, Harvey Keitel is the most recognizable performer in Blindside; with the exception of the always welcome Lolita Davidovich, the rest of the cast is unremarkable. Filmed in 1986, Blindside was released in the US in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harvey Keitel, Lori Hallier, (more)
- 1987
Robert Hays stars in Murder by the Book in the dual role of mild-mannered mystery writer D. H. Mercer and his creation, hard-boiled private eye Biff Deegan. While writing his latest book, Mercer becomes so immersed in his material that he inadvertently causes Biff to come to life. Mercer teams up with his Chandleresque doppelganger to solve a genuine mystery involving art fraud, murder, and a beautiful lady in peril (Catherine Mary Stewart). Made for television, Murder By the Book was based on a novel by Mel Arrighi, titled (what else?) Alter Ego. It was filmed late in 1985 and first telecast on March 17, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
The fact-based NBC movie The High Price of Passion was adapted by Mel Frohman from the book by Russell M. Glitman. Set in and around Tufts University, this is a sad story of obsession and murder, focusing on middle-aged anatomy professor Williams Douglas (Richard Crenna) and greedy 21-year-old prostitute Robin Benedict (Karen Young). Hoping to literally buy Robin's love, Douglas showers her with money, ultimately squandering 67,000 dollars on the callous young woman. Not surprisingly, Robin plays Douglas for a sucker and laughs in his face, with tragic results. Told in flashback from the luckless Prof. Douglas' point of view, The High Price of Passion made its NBC debut on November 30, 1986 -- instantly stirring up a maelstrom of controversy when Tufts' board of directors strenuously objected to the film's suggestion that the University was located within shouting distance of Boston's red-light district. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Crenna, Karen Young, (more)
Considered fairly gruesome in its day, the original 1958 The Fly looks like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood compared to this 1986 remake. Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis star as Seth Brundle, a self-involved research scientist, and Veronica Quaife, a science-magazine reporter. Inviting Veronica to his lab, Seth prepares to demonstrate his "telepod," which can theoretically transfer matter through space. As they grow closer over the next few weeks, she inadvertently goads Seth into experimenting with human beings rather than inanimate objects. Seth himself enters the telepod, preparing to transmit himself through the ether -- but he doesn't know that he is sharing the telepod with a tiny housefly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, (more)
- 1986
This TV-movie was based on a true story of criminal culpability in the ecological crisis. Alan Arkin stars as an ex-convict hired in 1972 by smooth-talking Armand Assante, who runs a successful garbage disposal business. Even when Arkin finds out that Assante is a functionary of the mob, he chooses to look the other way and count his money. But within six years, it is obvious that the toxic waste dumped by Assante's firm is destroying the atmosphere. Arkin becomes an FBI informant--only to discover how deeply ingrained and how high up the social and political scale the corruption really is. Deadly Business manages the neat trick of being politically correct and entertaining all at once. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In this taut action drama, an unbalanced Vietnam vet goes off the beam and takes over Central Park in this made for cable outing that was filmed entirely in Toronto. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The Guardian is set in an upper-class New York apartment building, recently plagued by a series of break-ins and murders. The tenants eagerly enlist the services of former military officer John Mack (Louis Gossett Jr.) as the building's head of security. Slowly but surely, the tenants give up their freedom of movement to Mack, who runs the place like his own private fiefdom. Bristling over this infringement upon his rights, liberal-minded tenant Charles Hyatt (Martin Sheen) begins to suspect that the killings were orchestrated by Mack himself as a means of gaining power over his employers. Stirring up a respectable amount of suspense, the made-for-cable The Guardian debuted October 20, 1984, over the HBO service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Jovana (Milena Dravic) is a cross-country runner training for the Olympics with the help of a kindly priest. She meets a poor man on one of her journeys but falls for his black brother-in-law, a worker at the local crematorium. The worker is killed by his jealous brother-in-law and the first man is sentenced to death, but the woman continues her running as if nothing had happened in this dark comedy with tinges of satire and slapstick. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Beymer, Nina Axelrod, (more)
