Jo Anderson
Love, death, and troubling secrets lurk beneath the surface of a quiet Iowa farming community in this independent drama. Ellen Biddle (Melora Walters) is a Iowa housewife who has reached the breaking point -- a drought is devastating the family farm, creditors threaten to foreclose on the property, and Ellen learns her husband, Paul (Tahmus Rounds), has been sleeping with Patsy (Jo Anderson), the unsatisfied wife of the town sheriff, Tom Gibson (Jamey Sheridan). One night, Paul comes home late from spending the evening with Patsy, and Ellen murders him with a shotgun. After cleaning up the scene of the crime and disposing of Paul's body, Ellen tries to go on with her life, but Tom -- with whom Ellen had a fling many years before -- begins poking around, seemingly interested in starting up with her again, though Ellen's mother (Diane Ladd) warns her daughter to keep her distance. Meanwhile, Tom is also running for mayor, but the behavior of his loose-cannon son, Richard (Kris Park), is quickly becoming a liability, while Richard finds an unlikely ally in his private war against his father in Ellen. Katherine Lindberg's debut feature was one of two films called Rain which was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melora Walters, Kris Park, (more)
- 2000
Based on the novel Fatal Exposure, this cautionary made-for-TV thriller stars John Corbett as dedicated scientist and ecologist Evan Thorne. When he tries to warn the authorities that the earth's ozone layer has eroded to such an extent as to endanger all mankind, Thorne is laughed off as a nut case and his career and credibility are destroyed -- largely thanks to the skulduggery of his rival Dr. Schiffren (Tom Irwin), a scientist who has sold his soul to the industrial community. But when whales begin dying at an alarming rate, airplanes crash, corpses catch fire, wildlife goes insane, and deadly insects threaten to engulf Los Angeles, it would seem that Thorne wasn't just whistling Dixie. Even so, it takes the combined efforts of Thorne, his politician ex-wife, Jennifer (Josie Bissett), formerly cynical reporter John Morgan (Bradley Whitford), and gorgeous female scientist Elizabeth Sorel (Jo Anderson) to bring the authorities to their senses and expedite rescue-and-evacuation proceedings. By film's end, the future of humanity rests in Evan's ability to construct a bomb that will restore the balance of nature. A standard disaster flick disguised as a profound pro-environmental screed, The Sky's on Fire was reportedly produced for cable TV in 1998, but did not formally premiere until it was telecast by ABC on July 15, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Corbett, Josie Bissett, (more)
Originally aired on HBO and directed by Apollo 13 star and space enthusiast Tom Hanks, among others, From the Earth to the Moon explores the ups and downs of space travel, beginning with President Kennedy's famous speech before Congress on May 25, 1961, and chronicling the journey to putting the first man on the moon. This highly acclaimed, Emmy-nominated, 12-episode series is available in a six-tape VHS set and a four-disc DVD set. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Andrews, Bryan Cranston, (more)
Sylvestor Stallone comes to the rescue in this disaster/adventure picture. A truck containing dangerous chemicals explodes in the Holland Tunnel, trapping those New Yorkers not killed in the explosion. Authorities know there are survivors, but cannot figure out what to do to save them. Ruptured water mains and leaks in the tunnel itself, which is beneath the Hudson River, will cause it to fill with water in a few hours. Of all the colorful characters trapped there, only Roy Nord (Viggo Mortensen), a mountain climber, has any ideas about what to do, but he quickly dies while attempting to save the others. However, Kit Latura (Sylvester Stallone) is a former city Emergency Medical Services director who was in the area of the explosion, and he knows the tunnel's construction quirks. He quickly convinces city officials to let him wend his way through the tunnel's maze of exhaust fans to help the exhausted survivors confront the obstacles that await them. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, (more)
- 1994
We'd rather not rehash the sordied Menendez murder case in this space; besides, it isn't necessary, inasmuch as no fewer than two TV movies were produced on the subject in 1994. The first was Fox's Honor Thy Father and Mother; the second, telecast less than a month later, was Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills. Two hours longer than the first film, Menendez spends half of its running time recounting the events leading up to the Menendez brothers' murder of the parents, while the second half devotes itself to their overpublicized trial. Lyle and Eric Menendez are played, respectively, by Damian Chapa and Travis Fine. Edward James Olmos and Beverly D'Angelo costar as the ill-fated parents, while Margaret Whitton is cast as attorney Leslie Abramson. Once past the most lurid aspects of the case-notably the Menendez boys' insistence that their crime was motivated by extreme parental abuse-this 4-hour wallow gets pretty tiresome. Menendez was originally telecast in two parts, on May 22 and 23, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward James Olmos, Beverly D'Angelo, (more)
- 1994
At the end of Sisters' fourth season, Alex Reed (Swoosie Kurtz), oldest of the Reed sisters of Winnetka, was patiently awaiting the release of her new husband, Big Al Barker (Robert Klein), who'd been jailed on a phony tax-fraud charge; Alex's younger sister, Teddy (Sela Ward), had become the bride of Detective James Falconer (George Clooney), who'd been investigating the rape of Teddy's daughter, Cat (Heather McAdam); and Alex, Teddy, and their other siblings Frankie (Julianne Phillips) and Georgie (Patricia Kalember) were trying to reconcile themselves to the discovery that they had a half-sister named Charley (Jo Anderson), the result of a three-decade affair between their late father and his trusted nurse. Season five begins on a tragic note, as Falconer is killed by a booby-trapped car. The only witness to the crime is wife Teddy, who is suffering from hysterical blindness. She eventually regains her sight, but the loss of her husband after only a few hours of wedded bliss has caused her to start drinking again -- whereupon Cat desperately tries to convince her mom to pull herself together. Only when Teddy almost causes the death of her nephew Evan (Dustin Berkovitz) does she come to her senses.
Later in the season, Teddy takes it upon herself to bring her husband's murderer, heroin smuggler Daniel Albright (Gregory Harrison), to justice; she also has an awkward meeting with Jack Chambers (Philip Casnoff), who received Falconer's heart in a transplant operation. Meanwhile, Big Al is paroled from prison when he rescues the governor's wife from drowning, and subsequently runs for mayor of Winnetka -- and wins. When Big Al suffers a mild heart attack, Alex takes over his duties, thereby increasing a workload that has already been intensified by her decision to care for Rosie (Kathryn Zaremba), the daughter of a terminally ill woman (Caroline McWilliams). Elsewhere, Alex's sister Georgie, not fully recovered from the personal problems that weighed her down in the previous season, begins her therapy sessions with smooth-talking shrink Dr. David Caspian (Daniel Gerroll). Not only does Caspian advise Georgie to "divorce" herself from her family, but he also plants the idea that her father molested her years earlier. Before long, Caspian's ulterior motives become crystal clear to everyone by Georgie -- he wants to get her away from her husband, John (Garrett M. Brown), and into his own bed. After she is seduced by Caspian, Georgie dutifully leaves John, only to have Caspian callously inform her that sex was merely a part of his therapy and that he doesn't love her. Also, newly divorced Frankie begins managing Lucky (John Wesley Shipp), a prizefighter whom she has inherited from her first customer when she'd been a marketing analyst. After a brief romantic fling with Lucky, Frankie leaves him (and the series) to head off to Japan on a new business venture, the world-wide promotion of a children's character named Cowletta the Cow. As for Lucky, he hires on as bodyguard for Daniel Albright as part of the sisters' plans to make Albright pay for Falconer's murder. In other developments, Charley is tentatively accepted into the Reed family during Thanksgiving dinner; with Bea's blessing, Alex assists in Truman's suicide, leading her to be put on trial for murder; and Caspian extends his sexual misconduct to another of the Reed sisters. The season ends with a fantasy episode, wherein everyone's dreams (briefly) come true on the enchanted island of Villa Esperanza. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Later in the season, Teddy takes it upon herself to bring her husband's murderer, heroin smuggler Daniel Albright (Gregory Harrison), to justice; she also has an awkward meeting with Jack Chambers (Philip Casnoff), who received Falconer's heart in a transplant operation. Meanwhile, Big Al is paroled from prison when he rescues the governor's wife from drowning, and subsequently runs for mayor of Winnetka -- and wins. When Big Al suffers a mild heart attack, Alex takes over his duties, thereby increasing a workload that has already been intensified by her decision to care for Rosie (Kathryn Zaremba), the daughter of a terminally ill woman (Caroline McWilliams). Elsewhere, Alex's sister Georgie, not fully recovered from the personal problems that weighed her down in the previous season, begins her therapy sessions with smooth-talking shrink Dr. David Caspian (Daniel Gerroll). Not only does Caspian advise Georgie to "divorce" herself from her family, but he also plants the idea that her father molested her years earlier. Before long, Caspian's ulterior motives become crystal clear to everyone by Georgie -- he wants to get her away from her husband, John (Garrett M. Brown), and into his own bed. After she is seduced by Caspian, Georgie dutifully leaves John, only to have Caspian callously inform her that sex was merely a part of his therapy and that he doesn't love her. Also, newly divorced Frankie begins managing Lucky (John Wesley Shipp), a prizefighter whom she has inherited from her first customer when she'd been a marketing analyst. After a brief romantic fling with Lucky, Frankie leaves him (and the series) to head off to Japan on a new business venture, the world-wide promotion of a children's character named Cowletta the Cow. As for Lucky, he hires on as bodyguard for Daniel Albright as part of the sisters' plans to make Albright pay for Falconer's murder. In other developments, Charley is tentatively accepted into the Reed family during Thanksgiving dinner; with Bea's blessing, Alex assists in Truman's suicide, leading her to be put on trial for murder; and Caspian extends his sexual misconduct to another of the Reed sisters. The season ends with a fantasy episode, wherein everyone's dreams (briefly) come true on the enchanted island of Villa Esperanza. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Swoosie Kurtz, Sela Ward, (more)
- 1994
In this coming-of-age drama follows a 13-year old girl living in Montana during 1946, as she copes with her father's adultery. Sally Mae Parker may be young, but she is not blind. She is quietly aware of the growing tension between her pregnant mother and her father, who recently returned from the war. Her mother is a strict, devout Christian. She is worried that both daughter and father are headed straight for hell. Her father is more worried about finding a decent job. Sally worries about her changing body and her crush upon a local teenage mechanic. Her father begins to have an affair with the widow next door; Sally soon finds out about it. During the rest of the film, she deals with the situation and becomes a young woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Madsen, Nicholle Tom, (more)
Set in contemporary Los Angeles as well as the Los Angeles of the 1940s, Dead Again explores a romance between two star-crossed lovers -- and the doomed passion they shared in their last lifetime. Los Angeles detective Mike Church (Kenneth Branagh) comes to the aid of mute, amnesia-victim Grace (Emma Thompson) and falls in love with her. He sets out to discover her true identity and the source of her terrible nightmares. Mike is aided in his investigation by hypnotist/furniture dealer Franklyn Madison (Derek Jacobi) who discovers that in a past life Grace was Margaret Strauss (also played by Thompson), who may have been mudered by her husband Roman (Branagh). ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, (more)
The November 22, 1963, assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy shocked the nation and the world. The brisk investigation of that murder conducted under the guidance of Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren distressed many observers, even though subsequent careful investigations have been unable to find much fault with the conclusions his commission drew, the central one of which was that the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, acted alone. Instead of satisfying the public, one result of the Warren Commission Report was that an unimaginable number of plausible conspiracy theories were bruited about, and these have supported a sizeable publishing mini-industry ever since. In making this movie, director Oliver Stone had his pick of supposed or real investigative flaws to draw from and has constructed what some reviewers felt was one of the most compelling (and controversial) political detective thrillers ever to emerge from American cinema. Long before filming was completed, Stone was fending off heated accusations of artistic and historical irresponsibility, and these only intensified after the film was released. In the story, New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) is convinced that there are some big flaws in the investigation of Oswald (Gary Oldman), and he sets out to recreate the events leading up to the assassination. Along the way, he stumbles across evidence that a great many people had reason to want to see the president killed, and he is convinced that some of them worked in concert to frame Oswald as the killer. Among the suspects are Lyndon Baines Johnson (the next president), the CIA, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Mafia. Over the course of gathering what he believes to be evidence of a conspiracy, Garrison unveils some of the grittier aspects of New Orleans society, focusing on the shady activities of local businessman Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones). Garrison's investigations culminate in his conducting a show trial that he knows he will lose and which he is sure will ruin his career in order to get his evidence into the public record where it can't be buried again. This movie won two of the many Academy Awards for which it was nominated: one for Best Photography (Robert Richardson) and the other for Editing (Joe Hutshing). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, (more)
Originally airing on the Hallmark Hall of Fame, this made-for-television adaptation of a novel by John William Corrington tells the story of a retired judge who decides to find out why his old pal is refusing to accept the Medal of Honor he should have been awarded years before. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
The title of this 2-hour Columbo entry is one of the most grievous puns ever perpetrated on the public. The "crown" in question is a gold one, placed in the murder victim's tooth by dentist James Read. Seeking redress against his wife's lover, Read has administered a slow-acting and untraceable poison in the victim's dental crown. Had not Columbo been assigned to the case, Read might have gotten away as clean as a hound's tooth (sorry!) Nancy Walker and Dick Sargent make cameo appearances in Uneasy Lies the Crown, which originally aired April 28, 1990 on ABC's Saturday Mystery Movie series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In this crime drama, a NYPD detective looks into the deaths of several policewomen and discovers that she is to be the killer's next victim. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
A telephone prank by 2 teenagers leads to their stalking by a psychotic killer, the person who answered the prank call. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
Two brothers (Richard Gere, Kevin Anderson) have inherited a large farm (once voted "Farm of the Year") from their father, but cannot keep it afloat. When the farm goes bankrupt, the pair decide to torch the place and take off across the Midwest, fleeing the law to become folk heroes for many rural farmers in the area. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Jason Campbell, (more)
- 1983
This made-for-TV remake of the Alfred Hitchcock adventure stars Patrick McGoohan as the head of a crew of smugglers; Jane Seymour plays his niece, who discovers the secret history of the title inn. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
