Andy Stahl Movies

Taken in by a well-to-do family and offered a second chance at life, a homeless teen grows to become the star athlete projected to be the first pick at the NFL draft in this sports-themed comedy drama inspired by author Michael Lewis' best-seller The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. Michael Oher was living on the streets when he was welcomed into the home of a conservative suburban family, but over time he matured into a talented athlete. As the NFL draft approaches, fans and sports radio personalities alike speculate that Oher will be the hottest pick of the year. Sandra Bullock stars in a film written and directed by John Lee Hancock (The Rookie, The Alamo). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Made for television and first telecast April 22, 2007 by CBS, Crossroads: A Story of Forgiveness) is based on the true story of Kansas City contractor Bruce Murakami, played by Dean Cain. On November 16, 1998, Bruce's wife Cindy (Chelah Horsdal) and daughter Chelsea (Katie Pezarro) are killed in a street accident by drag-racing teenager Justin Suarez (Shiloh Fernandez). Despite the admonitions of Bruce's surviving sons Brody (Landon Liboiron) and Josh (Ryan Kennedy), and those of family friend Melissa (Julie Warner), the bitter, vengeance-driven Murakami hires attorney Erin Teller (Peri Gilpin) to see to it that Suarez is punished to the full extent of the law. But during the boy's trial, Bruce experiences an epiphany, and realizes that revenge is not the answer. Without tipping off the ending of the film (which unfortunately was telegraphed by CBS' publicity campaign--to say nothing of the film's title itself), it can be noted that the real Bruce Murakami is the founder of Safe Teen Driver Inc. Filmed in British Columbia, Crossroads: A Story of Forgiveness was the 230th presention of The Hallmark Hall of Fame. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the best-selling books by Catherine Marshall, the original TV series Christy focused on 19-year-old Christy Huddleston, an idealistic schoolteacher who left a life of wealth and comfort behind to accept a job in the backward mountain community of Cutter, NC, in 1912. First telecast as a two-part, four-hour PAX Network miniseries on May 13 and May 14, 2001, Christy: Return to Cutter Gap picks up where the weekly series left off. Lauren Lee Smith replaces Kellie Martin as Christy, while Stewart Finlay-McLennan repeats his series role as the community's agnostic, Scottish-born doctor Neil McNeill. In part one of Return to Cutter Gap, titled "A Change of Seasons," the year is 1913, and Cutter Gap is in the throes of a deadly typhoid epidemic. The superstitious mountaineers believe that the illness has been brought on by such "outsiders" as Christy Huddleston and the community's new minister, Rev. David Grantland (James Waterston). Dr. McNeill realizes that the real cause of the epidemic is Cutter Gap's brackish water and squalid living conditions, but he is unable to convince the locals of his findings. Meanwhile, Christy suffers a crisis of faith when one of her closest friends dies of the fever, and on another front, she finds herself romantically torn between McNeill and Grantland. Part two, "A New Beginning," takes place three months later. This time, the community is literally torn apart by a raging storm. As the rest of the citizens head to the highest point in Cutter Gap, Christy and Dr. McNeill are stranded in a tiny hunter's shack. Shocked when McNeill declares his love for her, Christy rushes into the deluge, contracting a deadly fever. Also complicating matters is the presence of attractive aviatrix Harriet Quimby (Claudette Mink), who has apparently set her cap for McNeill. The story concludes with a wedding -- but which man does Christy choose for her life partner? Filmed in British Columbia, Christy: Return to Cutter Gap was originally telecast under the title Christy: Choices of the Heart). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

From the folks who brought you Baywatch, the made-for-TV Steel Chariots was described by one critic as a combination of Dallas and The Dukes of Hazzard. At base, the story involves the intramural rivalries in a Texas auto-racing family, which extends to open warfare between the sponsors who back the various drivers in the clan. Taking up most of the screen time are the various squabbles between sibling racers D.J. and Brett Tucker (Ben Browder, Gurney Brown), with the boys' parents, played by John Beck and Kathleen Nolan, virtually exiled to the sidelines. A subplot concerns the conflict between moonshining hotrodder Franklin Jones (Brian Van Holt) and his preacher dad (Randy Travis). Providing a modicum of authenticity to the proceedings is the climactic NASCAR-style race, along with appearance by such authentic track habitués as drivers Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett, mechanic Rusty Wallace and announcer Benny Parsons. Steel Chariots first aired September 23, 1997, on the Fox network. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) takes the law into his own hands after the legal system fails to adequately punish the men who brutally raped and beat his daughter, leaving her for dead. Normally, a distraught father could count on some judicial sympathy in those circumstances. Unfortunately, Carl and his daughter are black, and the assailants are white, and all the events take place in the South. Indeed, so inflammatory is the situation, that the local KKK (led by Kiefer Sutherland) becomes popular again. When Hailey chooses novice lawyer Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) to handle his defense, it begins to look like a certainty that Carl will hang, and Jake's career (and perhaps his life) will come to a premature end. Despite the efforts of the NAACP and local black leaders to persuade Carl to choose some of their high-powered legal help, he remains loyal to Jake, who had helped his brother with a legal problem before the story begins. Jake eventually takes this case seriously enough to seek help from his old law-school professor (Donald Sutherland). When death threats force his family to leave town, Jake even accepts the help of pushy young know-it-all lawyer Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock). ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Kim Basinger plays a burglar ex-con who's just been released from a 10-year stint and intends to go straight, when a big-time Atlanta crime boss kidnaps her six-year-old son and forces her to pull one last heist. She concocts an elaborate bank job but goes one step further and outwits both the bank and the mobster. ~ Rovi

The second In the Line of Duty fact-based TV movie of the 1990-1991 season, In the Line of Duty: Manhunt in the Dakotas stars Michael Gross as an urban FBI agent. His quarry is Gordon Kahl (Rod Steiger), leader of a right-wing extremist movement whose battle against authority has led to murder. Charged with killing two federal marshals, Kahl holes up in the Dakota hills, with his fanatical followers running interference as the feds close in. Though the film takes no sides, it details the sort of financial and social pressures that might bring forth a charismatic madman like Gordon Kahl. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This red-baiting action film stars Chuck Norris as Matt Hunter, a retired CIA agent who lives in the Florida Everglades. A communist invasion of Miami brings Hunter out of retirement to fight the encroaching hordes led by everyone's favorite low-budget bad guy, Richard Lynch. The film is extremely jingoistic, presenting the evil communists staging an invasion on Christmas, demolishing a church, and attempting to blow up a school bus full of children. From the same school of thinking which produced Rambo and Red Dawn, this film at least features some convincing gore by makeup wizard Tom Savini (Friday the 13th), working on his third gig for director Joseph Zito. Zito and Savini returned with Red Scorpion. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi