Ross E. Milloy Movies
Harry Hook directed this second screen adaptation of William Golding's cult novel about a group of British schoolchildren who revert to savagery when marooned on a deserted island. The new adaptation replaces British school children with a group of American military cadets and instead of a shipwreck, their plane crashes into the sea. The children swim ashore onto an island and try to fend for themselves, with the only surviving adult wracked with fever and crazed with pain. As the children get the feel of the island, the group separates into two different camps: Ralph (Balthazar Getty) and his followers prefer to act civilized and want to expand their efforts toward finding a way off the island; on the other hand, Jack (Chris Furrh) and his band revert to painting their faces, carrying spears and exploiting the island for survival. When the chances for rescue become less and less likely, the two factions go to war with each other, with tragic results. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Balthazar Getty, Chris Furrh, (more)
A hot tamale tries to throw off a different sort of heat in this comedy of small-town manners. Carnelle Scott (Holly Hunter) is best-known in her hometown of Yazoo City, MS, for her unrepentant promiscuity. An orphan taken in by her genteel relatives, she idolizes her older cousin, Elain Rutledge (Mary Streenburgen), a former Fourth of July "Miss Firecracker" contest winner who is taking time out from her life as a pampered wife in Atlanta to give a speech on "My Life as a Beauty" at this year's pageant. Determined to follow in Elain's footsteps, Carnelle puts a damper on her libido and enlists the help of local seamstress Popeye Jackson (Alfre Woodard) in preparing for the pageant. She also implores Elain to let her borrow the red dress in which Elain won the contest in 1972. Meanwhile, Elain's brother, ne'er-do-well Delmount Williams (Tim Robbins), arrives with a get-rich-quick scheme that involves hocking the family estate. Into this mix steps Mac Sam (Scott Glenn), one of the men who contributed to Carnelle's scandalous past. Adapted by Beth Henley from her own play The Miss Firecracker Contest, Miss Firecracker finds Hunter reprising her stage role. The actress also starred in Henley's Crimes of the Heart on Broadway, although she did not appear in the 1986 film adaptation. Woodard and Steenburgen previously appeared together in Cross Creek. Miss Firecracker was shot on-location in real-life Yazoo City. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
- Starring:
- Holly Hunter, Mary Steenburgen, (more)
A prequel to Horton Foote's 1918, On Valentine's Day was filmed in 1984, then held back from release till 1986. On the titular day, Elizabeth Vaughn (Hallie Foote, Horton's daughter) and Horace Robedeaux (William Converse-Roberts) elope. Horace stubbornly refuses to ask for financial assistant from his parents or in-laws, so the penniless couple is compelled to live in an inexpensive boarding house. Their fellow tenants are the usual assortment of eccentrics, including alcoholic Bobby Pate (Richard Jenkins), spinster Miss Ruth (Carol Goodheart), heartbroken George Tyler (Steven Hill) and garrulous young Bessie (Jeanne McCarthy). After several months of enduring the woes of the other boarders, Horace swallows his pride and agrees to allow father-in-law Michael Higgins to support him and Elizabeth. There's a reconciliation, but one tinged with the premonition that Horace and Elizabeth aren't out of the woods yet. Together with Portrait of a Marriage (never released theatrically), On Valentine's Day and 1918 were later reedited and incorporated into a Horton Foote TV trilogy on the PBS network. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- William Converse-Roberts, Hallie Foote, (more)
- 1985
- R
Director Louis Malle scrutinizes modern-day racism in Alamo Bay. The scene is the Texas coast, where local fishermen resent the "intrusion" of Vietnam refugees. Fair-minded shrimp supplier Wally (Donald Moffat) hires several Vietnamese workers, which serves to further infuriate the locals. The most vociferous of Moffat's opponents is a fisherman, Shang (Ed Harris), who faces bankruptcy due to loss of business. A town meeting designed to settle the issue erupts into violence when Vietnamese emigre Dinh (Ho Nguyen) accuses some of the locals of bending the law for their own purposes. A desperate Shang asks his former lover Glory (Amy Madigan) for financial aid, a delicate situation in that she is Wally's daughter. When the Ku Klux Klan arrives on the scene to drive the Vietnamese out, Glory sides with the refugees, resulting in strong friendship between herself and Dinh. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Amy Madigan, Ed Harris, (more)
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