Bill Cort Movies
Drug user Jane (Samantha Mathis) lives on the streets, but Jane's addiction puts her in the hospital after she overdoses. A doctor determines she's HIV-positive and plans tests, but she slips away and returns to the streets. She's followed by sick teen Tony (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who sees her as a substitute mother. The two assist each other and use stolen cash to move into a nice hotel. However, Jane is helpless once Tony begins dying of AIDS. Shown at the AFI/Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samantha Mathis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (more)
This exercise in patriotic, high-tech action centers on a select group of Navy commandos and their battles against a Middle East terrorist group. This particular squadron is led by a pair of rivals: cocky, fiery Hawkins (Charlie Sheen) and stoic, unflappable Curran (Michael Biehn). When an anti-terrorist mission goes awry, allowing an enemy leader to escape with a supply of stolen American missiles, both men are certain that, given another chance, they can redeem themselves and the squad. Their rivalry plays out against a background of high-powered amphibious battles, allowing the film to revel in dangerous stunts and advanced weaponry. Joanne Whalley-Kilmer provides brief romantic relief as a journalist with important information, but the focus remains on the macho interplay between Hawkins and Curran. Co-written by former Navy Seal Chuck Pfarrer (with Gary Goldman), the film presents authentic details about the elite unit, but the bulk of Navy Seals tends to rely on familiar combat film conventions. Viewers seeking rapidly paced action sequences will not be disappointed, though other viewers may be less likely to overlook the predictable storyline and routine characters. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Sheen, Michael Biehn, (more)
A deliciously nasty black comedy, Heathers is set at a cliquish high school in Ohio. The most exclusive of those cliques is the Heathers, comprised of the prettiest and most popular girls in town. The group's leader is the manipulative Kim Walker, who orchestrates the humiliation of anyone who fails to meet her standards. Eventually, Heathers member Winona Ryder begins to exhibit a conscience; together with her hardcase boyfriend Christian Slater, Ryder plots to avenge all the unfortunate victims of the group. Before long, Heather (Kim Walker) ends up dead along with Kurt and Ram, with poignant suicide notes posted near their bodies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, (more)
Based on the autobiographical book by Chris Oyler, the made-for-TV Go Toward the Light is a sometimes wrenching, ofttimes inspirational AIDS drama. Claire and Greg Madison (Linda Hamilton and Richard Thomas) discover to their horror that their hemophiliac son Ben (Joshua Harris) has contracted the deadly virus through a tainted transfusion. Faced with the likelihood that Ben will not live out the year, the grief-stricken Madisons vow to make every day of that year count and to see to it that their son will not have to endure his agony alone. The excellence of the performances are matched by the script (by Susan Nanus and Beth Polson) and direction (Mike Robe). Go Toward the Light debuted November 1, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Hamilton, Richard Thomas, (more)
- 1988
During a political fundraiser in San Francisco, a necklace is stolen (apparently) and a man murdered (positively!) The dead man was a powerful publisher with senatorial ambitions, whose body was found on the balcony of the hotel room occupied by Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury); the necklace belonged to the decedent's wife. Suspecting that the man accused of the crime--a professional jewel thief who'd hidden himself in Jessica's room--is not guilty, Jessica sets about to crack the case. Keith Michell makes his first series appearance as the delightfully larcenous Dennis Stanton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
Never released in the theaters, this film consists of a series of short skits and parodies of television and the movies, and stars Richard Belzer, Martin Mull, and Harry Shearer. The film's 1981 production date explains the presence of Joan Hackett, who died in 1983. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pamela Sue Martin, Joan Hackett, (more)
- 1986
Jason (Alan Thicke) and Maggie (Joanna Kerns) are shocked when the PTA turns down their offer to chaperone a school dance. Apparently, the head of the PTA thinks that the couple is too permissive for the job, but by the time daughter Carol (Tracey Gold) gets wind of the story, she is convinced that her mom and dad have been deemed thoroughly "unacceptable" as parents! Appearing as PTA president Mrs. Hinkley is none other than former Mousketeer and Beach-movie heroine Annette Funicello--a casting coup that passed by without any sort of publicity fanfare when this episode originally aired in 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- PG
During the peak of the slasher-movie boom of the early '80s, there were numerous attempts at Airplane!-style horror parodies, all of which fell considerably short of their comic targets and vanished into cable-TV obscurity. Hysterical, an abortive vehicle for the questionable comic talents of the Hudson Brothers, is perhaps the weakest of the lot. Bill Hudson plays Fred Lansing, a writer vacationing at a rustic lighthouse in the deceptively idyllic Oregon fishing town of Hellview, where he is tormented by the apparition of Venecia (Julie Newmar), a local woman who killed herself one hundred years ago. The lovelorn Venecia wishes to use Fred's body as the vessel for the spirit of her dead husband, Captain Howdy (Richard Kiel, once again typecast as a great big guy), and isn't particularly interested in Fred's opinion on the matter. When Howdy apparently grumbles to life, several townspeople are subsequently murdered in ghastly ways, leading a pair of bumbling detectives (Mark Hudson and Brett Hudson) to investigate the horrific history of the Hellview lighthouse and generally make nuisances of themselves. Filled with insipid puns, tired sight gags, silly musical numbers, and unfunny cameo appearances from the likes of Bud Cort and Charlie Callas, this inept spoof has perhaps three genuine laughs scattered throughout its ninety-minute runtime, amounting to only one decent joke per half-hour of wasted film. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Hudson, Mark Hudson, (more)
- 1979
Way back in 1936, moonshiner Swamp Molly (Neva Patterson) saved the life of Jesse Duke (Denver Pyle). Now, 33 years after the fact, Molly wants the Dukes to repay the favor by helping her make one last, big moonshine run in broad daylight--which of course would mess up the probation of Luke (Tom Wopat) and Bo (John Schneider), something that Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) and Sheriff Roscoe (James Best) have been anxiously awaiting for a long, long time! This is the first episode filmed in California, and the first in which Boss and Roscoe are depicted as bumbling buffoons rather than credible "bad guys." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Kojak (Telly Savalas) is one of several authority figures who dismiss the claims of Julie Winston (Brooke Adams), a young and friendless newcomer to the Big Apple, when she insists that she has been threatened by a "dead" man. According to Julie, her tormenter was a known felon who had previously been reported killed in a house fire. By the time the police realize that Julie was telling the truth, it is too late for the unfortunate girl--whereupon a guilt-stricken Kojak vows to avenge Julie's death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
- PG
Alexander Main (Jack Lemmon) is a tired, middle-aged bail bondsman who hears from his former girlfriend Maritza (Genevieve Bujold) for the first time in quite a while. The news isn't good: Maritza is accused of the attempted murder of her abusive lover, and she hopes that Alex can get her out of jail. Alex arranges to have Maritza released into his custody, but while their romance begins to blossom once again, their relationship is still doomed to failure. This downbeat romantic comedy was based on the novel The Bailbondsman by Stanley Elkin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Geneviève Bujold, (more)
- 1974
Ernest Borgnine guests stars as a mountain hermit named Jonathan in this two-hour episode. Though she is a bit jealous of her new baby brother, Laura (Melissa Gilbert) is horror-stricken when the infant dies. Feeling somehow responsible for this tragedy, Laura runs away from home and climbs a mountain, hoping to get "closer to God." As Charles (Michael Landon) conducts a frantic search for Laura, wise old Jonathan takes a compassionate hand in the matter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1969
The murder of a stockbroker tips Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) to Organized Crime's latest racket: obtaining valuable stock certificates which are then used as collateral for large Mob loans. At the center of this scheme is the beautiful but treacherous Meredith Schader (Michele Carey), who targets vulnerable male stockbrokers, pretends to fall in love with them, then blackmails them into doing the Mob's bidding. Meredith's latest victim is wealthy but lonely Val Palmer (Barry Nelson), who is blissfully unaware that he is being set up for the worst fall of his life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
There's not much "down time" for Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) as they go about their rounds in this episode. Of primary importance is the recovery of a stolen car, the trunk of which contains the owner's pet boa constrictor. Elsewhere, the two officers mediate an out-of-control neighborhood argument, and attempt to rescue two people from a smoke-filled room. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
An exclusive LA country club provides the setting for this sudsy melodrama that centers on a handsome assistant golf pro and the women that love him. One woman is particularly desperate to have him. It also follows the efforts of a conniving former-caddy to take the assistant's job. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Wagner, Anjanette Comer, (more)
