Venus Terzo Movies

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, All Movie Guide

Based on a comic book series created by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti, the made-for-cable Painkiller Jane stars Emmanuelle Vaugier as Jane Elizabeth Browning, a young Marine captain who is the sole survivor when her Special Ops force is exposed to a biochemical "retrovirus" weapon after raiding an illegal lab. It turns out that the retrovirus has endowed Jane with miraculous self-healing powers, making her virtually invulnerable. Unfortunately, she isn't given much of an opportunity to exercise this unique gift before she is locked up in a military hospital on orders from government shrink Lucas Knight (Tate Donovan). Unwilling to act as guinea pig for an upcoming series of medical experiments, Jane escapes her confines and becomes a fugitive, not only from the government but also from a secret conspiratorial cartel which numbers Dr. Knight (aka Lucas Insley) among its members! She spends the rest of the film thwarting villains and writing wrongs (usually in Bionic Woman-style slow motion action scenes), with the help of her new cohort, handsome thief Nick (Eric Dane). Former Shaft star Richard Roundtree is seen as Jane's Marine mentor Col. Watts, who reluctantly assumes the "Inspector Javert" role in tracking her down on behalf of the authorties. Billed as an "original event" when it first aired December 9, 2005 on the Sci-Fi Channel, the entertaining but highly derivative Painkiller Jane has "two-hour series pilot" written all over it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While escaping the forces of Ogami, Dylan (Kevin Sorbo), Rommie (Lexa Doig), Tyr (Keith Hamilton Cobb) and Harper (Gordon Michael Woolvett) are rescued by an archaic-looking space vehicle. It turns out that the rescue ship is an exploratory vehicle launched from Earth 3000 years ago. The ship's crew is still alive and unaltered, thanks to the ship's incredible speed. Alas, the vehicle's inability to perform slipstream travel may mean that the four Andromeda crew members are marooned forever with the Earthlings. The only hope lies in the possibility that the exploratory craft's power may be able to regenerate the disabled Maru--but this operation had better be completed before the disgruntled Earth crew foments a mutiny. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Part of ABC's sporadic TV-movie series "Crimes of Passion", I Know What You Did stars Rosanna Arquette as Stacey Keane, a high-profile lawyer who specializes in defending accused rapist. In a prime example of grim irony, Stacey is attacked and sexually assaulted in her own home. Freeing herself from her assailant, Stacey accidentally kills the man, then hides his body. Unfortunately, there was a witness (Lawrence Monoson) to Stacey's desperate act of self-defense. . .and he will remain silent only for a price. The fact that the heroine's fiancé (Steven Eckholdt) is one of the investigating officers only serves to underscore the marked resemblance between this film and Alfred Hitchcock's early talkie Blackmail. I Know What You Did was originally telecast on January 11, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The ad copy for this ABC TV movie (part of the network's "Crimes of Passion" series) pretty much says it all: "Lying. Manipulation. Murder. The Things We Do For Love." Police detective Rick Barrish (Greg Evigan) is enmeshed in a sordid love triangle with his female partner Dusty (Alexandra Powers) and his mysterious new fiancée Laura Trevelyn (Brenda Bakke). At the same time, Barrish is piecing together the distrurbing clues--and following the trail of corpses--involved in a major heroin case. The two separate plot strands are inextricably intertwined as the story races to a truly unexpected climax. Based on a novel by a former Miami crime reporter, Edna Buchanan's Nobody Lives Forever originally aired March 26, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Teenager Carly Astin (Chandra West) is terrified of the new boyfriend brought home by her single mom Diana (Morgan Fairchild) -- so much so that she runs away from her Salt Lake City home and into the clutches of seductive, smooth-talking Brad Winters (Ricky Paull Goldin). Unfortunately, Winters is a "recruiter" for various houses of prostitution, some of them disguised as strip joints. Thus, Carly ends up taking her clothes off for libidinous strangers in a seedy Seattle nightspot, where she manages to remain more or less unsullied thanks to the maternal ministrations of older stripper Adrian (Venus Terzo) -- who is murdered for her troubles! It falls to Carly's mother Diana to come to her senses, shed her slimy beau, and rescue Carly from what used to be labeled "the fate worse than death." Based on a true story, the made-for-TV Into the Arms of Danger: A Moment of Truth Movie debuted February 3, 1997, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV western stars Rick Schroder as a hotheaded cowboy who guns down the man responsible for the death of his parents. On the run from his victim's powerful father, Schroder is sheltered by old codger Wilford Brimley. Brimley seems to be operating out of friendship, but his reason for keeping Schroder alive is deliberately obscured until close to the end. Blood River was written by John Carpenter, a name usually associated with science fiction and horror. Though set in the Wild West, the film was lensed in Alberta and British Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This semisweet backwards glance at 1960s impulsiveness stars Margaret Langrick as a Canadian college freshman. She undergoes a bit of a culture shock when her white-bread values are challenged by her new hippie friend Liisa Repo-Martell. With a trio of her new and old chums, Langrick heads to Portland to attend a wedding. Once they arrive at the ceremony, the girls wreak a little bit of sexual havoc amongst the male guests before deciding to journey on to California. Thus a pattern is set for the previously shy and sheltered Langrick of letting her heart rule her head-a pattern ending up as far afield as Europe! American Boyfriends was the sequel to the equally fey, funny and freewheeling My American Cousin (1985). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this thriller set against the majestic backdrop of the Alaskan wilderness, the late John Denver stars as a retired FBI agent seeking to clear the name of a close friend. Disillusioned with his job as a G-man, Jim Clayton retires from the FBI and goes into the airfreight business with his best friend. When Clayton's pal is murdered and branded a bootlegger, the former agent embarks on his most treacherous mission to date - clearing the name of an innocent man. Martin Kove, John Rhys-Davies, and Richard Masur co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide