Wesley Thompson Movies
At the suggestion of Charles (David Ogden Stiers), Margaret (Loretta Swit) prepares to bury a time capsule at the 4077th. Hawkeye volunteers to help collect souvenirs for the capsule, but Margaret turns him down, worried that he will turn the whole ceremony into joke. Before Hawk inevitably proves that his intentions are honorable, Klinger (Jamie Farr) develops a fondness for Soon-Li Hahn (Rosalind Chao), a wounded Korean woman suspected of being an enemy sniper. Originally telecast as the next-to-last installment of M*A*S*H (though actually filmed after the series' celebrated feature-length finale), "As Time Goes By" is dedicated to the memory of the series' late technical advisor Dr. Connie Izay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
In this drama, a crack corps of female prison guards are assigned to watch over the men in the most dangerous cell-block. Mayhem ensues as the physical and emotional pressures the women face begin to take their toll. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
One of Sam's old teammates comes out of the closet during a TV interview. As a result, the gang at Cheers begins worrying that their favorite watering hole will soon be transformed into a gay bar. This somewhat skewered perception, fed by little "clues" here and there, is complicated by the fact that Norm, Cliff, et al. probably couldn't recognize a homosexual if their lives depended on it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
This made-for-TV fantasy was directed by former Starsky and Hutch star Paul Michael Glaser. In one of her earliest roles, Madeleine Stowe plays Dr. Sharon Fields, who stumbles upon a secret plot by a covert organization of women to take over the world and execute all the men. The veteran cast of this silly timekiller includes cult favorites Stella Stevens, Tamara Dobson, and William Schallert, as well as more mainstream performers such as Peter Scolari, Nicholas Pryor, and Jennifer Warren. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Convicted murderer Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald had hoped that, by telling his side of the story to investigative journalist Joe McGinniss, the authorities would be persuaded of MacDonald's innocence. Instead, McGinniss ended up unswerving in his belief of MacDonald's guilt, and the result was the devastating best-seller Fatal Vision. In this two-part TV adaptation of McGinniss' book, Gary Cole plays MacDonald, a former Green Beret officer, while Frank Dent essays the role of McGinniss. MacDonald's wife and two children are brutally murdered in their Fort Bragg, North Carolina home on February 17, 1970. The prime suspect, MacDonald insists that the killings were committed by a gang of stoned-out hippies, a story that at first is accepted in toto by the doctor's father-in-law Freddy Kassab (Karl Malden). But after MacDonald is officially exonerated, Kassab notices several holes in his son-in-law's story, and becomes convinced that MacDonald was in fact the murderer. Through Kassab's persistence, as well as the uncovering of new forensic evidence, MacDonald is ultimately convicted for all three murders in 1979. Since the TV premiere of Fatal Vision on November 18 and 19, 1984, there has been a growing movement by MacDonald's sympathizers to discredit McGinniss' book and to retry the case--a movement that has been hampered time and again by MacDonald's own erratic behavior. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Malden, Eva Marie Saint, (more)
The seventh cinema adaptation of the venerable stage farce Brewster's Millions stars Richard Pryor as Montgomery Brewster, a third-rate baseball player. Much to his amazement, Brewster discovers that he is related to deceased millionaire Rupert Horn (Hume Cronyn, who appears only in a videotaped "living will"). Even more amazing is the fact that Horn has left Brewster his entire $300 million fortune. The catch? Brewster must spend $30 million within 30 days, or he'll be left with nothing (in the earlier incarnations of Brewster's Millions, the hero was required to spend only a million, but this was, after all, the inflationary '80s). Aiding and abetting Brewster in his efforts to divest himself of his money are his catcher pal (John Candy) and an erstwhile lady friend (Lonette McKee), while his principal antagonist is a snotty attorney (Stephen Collins). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, John Candy, (more)
Steve Martin wrote and stars in this look at the promise and dreamtime of Los Angeles culture. Martin stars as Harris K. Telemacher, a light-hearted television weatherman who does wacky comedy in lieu of reports since, being in L.A., he has very little weather to report. He spends his time roller-skating through museums and spending time with California's beautiful people. But Telemacher is fired and discovers that his girlfriend Trudi (Marilu Henner) is having an affair. He walks away from the relationship and re-evaluates his life, getting advice from a friendly electronic highway road sign. The sign suggests that he call SanDeE (Sarah Jessica Parker), a sprightly and attractive Valley Girl he met in a clothing store. With SanDeE he experiences a liberating and carefree spirit. But Telemacher comes to realize that he has actually fallen in love with Sara (Victoria Tennant), a tuba-playing British journalist who is in California to do a feature on Los Angeles lifestyles. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, (more)
- 1993
- R
Lorenzo Lamas plays a bounty hunter who seeks revenge on the crime syndicate responsible for killing his brother and sister-in-law in this actioner. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
From director-writer Desmond Nakano comes this unusual role-reversal picture examining racism from a different perspective. Louis Pinnock (John Travolta) is a semi-literate worker in a chocolate candy factory. One day he makes a delivery to the mansion of wealthy Thaddeus Thomas (Harry Belafonte). He is noticed while he is unintentionally looking up at Thomas' wife, Megan (Margaret Avery), while she is undressing in an open window. Thomas makes sure that Pinnock is fired for this innocent indiscretion despite his years of reliable performance at the factory. Some time later, unemployed and destitute, Pinnock and his wife Marsha (Kelly Lynch) and children are evicted roughly from their home by police officers. Marsha's mother (Carrie Snodgress) takes in her daughter and grandchildren, but she won't let Pinnock stay. Police officers beat up Pinnock one day because, they say, he fits the description of a criminal suspect. Finally, Pinnock goes to Thomas's house to get an explanation for his firing, but Thomas doesn't remember the incident. Pinnock takes Thomas hostage and demands he be paid for all the hours of work he has missed. In this film, all the authority figures and wealthy people are black, and Pinnock is a member of a poor white underclass. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Harry Belafonte, (more)
Based on the popular cartoon character, this family-oriented "ghost story" is about a not-so-scary spirit who bonds with a little girl (Christina Ricci). The eternally irritable Ms. Carrigan (Cathy Moriarty) discovers that the only thing she's been left in her recently departed father's will is a rickety old house in New England. Naturally, the woman is furious about this, until her "close personal friend" and assistant, Dibbs (Eric Idle of Monty Python fame), discovers a secret message that a treasure may be concealed somewhere in the house. The two take off for Maine, only to learn that the house is haunted by Casper "the friendly ghost" and his three ghostly uncles Stinky, Stretch, and Fatso. After futilely recruiting an exorcist (Don Novello, more or less reviving his Father Guido Sarducci character from Saturday Night Live) and a "professional ghost exterminator" (Dan Aykroyd), she brings in a "ghost psychiatrist" (Bill Pullman) and his daughter Kat (Ricci). Innocently attracted to the young girl, Casper befriends Kat as they try to save the ghosts' home from the evil Carrigan. Eye-popping special effects highlight this magical story that touches (albeit lightly) on the theme of what lies at the heart of human desires. Clint Eastwood, Rodney Dangerfield, Mel Gibson and The Crypt Keeper (of Tales from the Crypt) all make cameos as apparitions in the mirror Bill Pullman looks into in the house. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, (more)
- 1996
Can it be that Paul (Paul Reiser) is the reason that Jamie (Helen Hunt) can't get pregnant? To find out once and for all, Paul donates a sperm sample in the obligatory jar. A simple act, to be sure, but one that has far-from-simple consequences involving a stolen car, an unscheduled visit from the New York City Bomb Squad, and the "Betty Boop" song. ~ All Movie Guide
Two brothers look for love under unusual circumstances in this independent comedy. Chris Remi (Derek Martini) and his brother Tony (Steven Martini) have an unusual family background: their parents, an Italian-American man and a Native-American woman, met on a tour of a Hollywood studio, and their Grandmother bestowed on them semi-traditional American Indian names, "Goat on Fire" and "Smiling Fish." These days, high-strung Chris and good-natured Tony share the house they grew up in following their parents' death in a traffic accident. Chris is having problems with his girlfriend Alison (Amy Hathaway), who bursts into tears whenever they have sex; meanwhile, Tony's girlfriend Nicole (Heather Jae Marie) is ready to give Tony his walking papers if he can't straighten himself out, though he's already got his eye on Kathy (Christa Miller), who delivers the mail in his neighborhood. Chris, who works for an accounting firm, is asked one day by his boss to pick up his Uncle Clive (Bill Henderson) from the airport. Clive used to work as a soundman for a independent African-American film company in the 1940s; he loves to reminisce about the old days and compares love to capturing "the perfect magnetic wave." Clive proves to be a romantic catalyst when Chris meets Anna (Rosemarie Addeo), an Italian immigrant who trains animals, and a fast friendship looks like it could grow into something more. The feature-film debut for Martin Scorsese protege Kevin Jordan, Smiling Fish and Goat on Fire) won the Film Discovery at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Derick Martini, Christa Miller, (more)
- 2000
Greene (Anthony Edwards) confronts unforeseen perils as he flies to Indiana and back with a heart-transplant patient. Carter (Noah Wyle) treats teenaged patient Trent Larson (Blake Heron), whose parents have not informed him that he is HIV-positive. Kovac (Goran Visnjic) tries to learn the identity of the mugger he has killed. And no sooner has Benton (Eriq La Salle) returned to work than he is placed in charge of the ER. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
The victims of a rampaging gunman are brought into the ER. It soon develops that the man responsible for the shootings is Derek Fosson (Ted Marcoux), the father of the boy whom Greene (Anthony Edwards) treated for abuse in the previous episode. Fosson is out to kill anyone connected with the foster-care facility where his son is currently residing -- meaning that Greene and his family may be the next targets. Elsewhere, Abby (Maura Tierney) discusses her future with a disapproving Kovac (Goran Visnjic). And Weaver (Laura Innes) confronts Romano (Paul McCrane) over the firing of her former lover Legaspi (Elizabeth Mitchell). This final episode of ER's seventh season ends with a cliffhanger involving a grim life-or-death decision in a hospital elevator. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Love really is a battlefield in this war of the sexes comedy that marks the directorial debut of Def Jam's How to Be a Player (1997) screenwriter Mark Brown. Vivica A. Fox stars as Shante, a knowledgeable veteran of the dating game who thinks she's found the perfect mate in the handsome Keith (Morris Chestnut). When Keith is spotted stepping out with Shante's arch-rival Conny (Gabrielle Union), the spurned lover institutes what she labels the "ten-day plan," an all-out assault on Keith designed to make him come crawling back to her. Shante's scheme includes sexy lingerie, home cooking, aloofness, and other tactics intended to make Keith regret his errant ways, but Keith is receiving contradictory advice from his allegedly worldly wise buddy Tony (Anthony Anderson). Two Can Play That Game is produced by Doug McHenry, director of Jason's Lyric (1994) and Kingdom Come (2001). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivica A. Fox, Lee Anthony, (more)
Five students driving through the desert encounter the inescapable stench of death in director David Payne's retro-inspired slasher/monster/supernatural horror hybrid. The highway has been inexplicably closed, forcing five young travelers into a mysteriously abandoned travel oasis where they are soon confronted with disturbing visions of maimed travelers. Disturbed by the grisly series of visions and determined to escape the spooky motel and diner before whatever killed the previous customers returns, the frightened travelers soon meet a frantic stranger who claims to have recently lost his wife to a terrifying entity that seems to hover between life and death. As the night falls, a blind grad student with heightened senses proves the only hope for survival as the body count begins to rise and the smell of death becomes too suffocating to endure. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Devon Gummersall, Derek Richardson, (more)
- 2006
- R
The American dream of a Mexican citizen who joined the U.S. military in order to gain citizenship fade into a waking nightmare when he returns from active duty in Iraq to discover just how drastically American culture has changed his wife and daughter. All Jesus wanted was to build a better life for his family. In order to do so, he signed up with Uncle Sam and went to defend the American flag on the front lines of Iraq. Now lamenting the fact that rampant consumerism and ravenous consumption have corrupted his wife and daughter and threatened the very foundation of his family, Jesus determines to reclaim his Mexican heritage by doing whatever it takes to cross the border back into Mexico. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Arquette, Patricia Mota, (more)
