Joel Blasberg Movies
- 2000
Set in Arizona (but filmed in Alberta), the made-for-TV thriller Children of Fortune stars James Brolin as Navy detective Dave Passenger. Assigned to investigate the murder of a sailor's girlfriend, Dave follows the trail of evidence to a small Arizona community where polygamy is still being practiced. Along for the ride is Passenger's estranged 15-year-old daughter Erica (Amanda Fuller), who has been invited to participate in the investigation by Dave in the hope that he can mend a few family fences while tracking down the culprit. Virginia Madsen appears in the role of the secretive Ingrid Bast, wife of the local sheriff (Michael Moriarty). Children of Fortune made its CBS broadcast debut on November 1, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This TV family drama series, set during the post-Civil War period, takes place on a bluegrass Kentucky horse farm where wealthy widowed patriarch Ned Logan takes in disruptive 17-year-old orphan Jeremy Bradford (Ron Melendez). Others in the Logan clan include Sean (Grayson McCouch), his short-fused brother Clay (Jeremy Garrett), teen Alice (Lea Moreno), and flirtatious younger sister Lexy (Sarah Rayne). Loreena McKennitt supplies the Celtic music track. Filmed in Richmond, Virginia, this series premiered October 9, 1998 on United Paramount Network. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brett Cullen, Jeremy Garrett, (more)
A priest has been murdered in the neighborhood of Inspector Paul Fein's youth, and it's up to the seasoned cop to crack the case in director David Greene's entry into the tense Family of Cops series. It's not going to be easy going back to the streets of his childhood, but despite the demons that linger in the shadows of every corner, this is one case he's not willing to let slip through the cracks. With all evidence pointing to the Russian Mafia as being responsible for the crime, Inspector Fein searches desperately for a witness who's willing to talk. As fear tightens its grip on the scared Russian community of Milwaukee, bodies continue to pile up and an unspoken code of silence threatens to stonewall the investigation. Now, with both his life and the lives of his family hanging in the balance, Inspector Fein must make the decision to pull back, or press forward and pray that the killer won't get to him before he gets to them. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Angela Featherstone, (more)
In this made-for-TV thriller, Paul Fein (Charles Bronson) is a veteran police detective whose son Eddie (Sebastian Spence) is also a cop. Paul is assigned to investigate the murder of a prominent businessman, and he soon learns that the field of suspects has been narrowed down to two -- the victim's sexually freewheeling wife Anna (Lesley-Anne Down), and Paul's wild-child daughter Jackie (Angela Featherstone). Neither Paul nor Eddie believe that Jackie could have committed the murder, and soon Paul is using himself as a decoy in a bid to find out more about what Anna does and doesn't know about her husband's death. Family of Cops was followed by two sequels. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
A tortured man finds himself caught in a middle-ground between hallucination and reality in this supernatural thriller, scripted by Bruce Joel Rubin of Ghost (1990) and My Life (1993).
Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) is a soldier stationed in Vietnam who undergoes a traumatic experience on the battlefield - the nature of which is initially unclear. The film then moves into his post-Vietnam experience in 1970s New York, where he feels consistently traumatized, but can never quite remember exactly what happened to him in Southeast Asia or to free himself from his anxieties over the recent tragic death of his young son (Macaulay Culkin). Though well educated, Jacob works as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and has become romantically involved with one of his co-workers, Jezzie (Elizabeth Pena), after divorcing his wife. Soon, Jacob's tenuous hold on reality starts to slip as horrifying events befall him; he is nearly run over by a subway train, pursued by faceless demons in cars, and spots reptilian tails and horns protruding from the bodies of those he encounters. Jacob also suffers severe panic attacks related to the chaos that may be reality, or may exist only in his mind. He seeks counsel from Louis (Danny Aiello), a kindly chiropractor, as his ex-wife Sarah (Patricia Kalember), fellow Vietnam vet Paul (Pruitt Taylor Vince), and enigmatic stranger Michael (Matt Craven) all try to help the tortured soul. Jason Alexander, Ving Rhames and Eriq LaSalle highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) is a soldier stationed in Vietnam who undergoes a traumatic experience on the battlefield - the nature of which is initially unclear. The film then moves into his post-Vietnam experience in 1970s New York, where he feels consistently traumatized, but can never quite remember exactly what happened to him in Southeast Asia or to free himself from his anxieties over the recent tragic death of his young son (Macaulay Culkin). Though well educated, Jacob works as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and has become romantically involved with one of his co-workers, Jezzie (Elizabeth Pena), after divorcing his wife. Soon, Jacob's tenuous hold on reality starts to slip as horrifying events befall him; he is nearly run over by a subway train, pursued by faceless demons in cars, and spots reptilian tails and horns protruding from the bodies of those he encounters. Jacob also suffers severe panic attacks related to the chaos that may be reality, or may exist only in his mind. He seeks counsel from Louis (Danny Aiello), a kindly chiropractor, as his ex-wife Sarah (Patricia Kalember), fellow Vietnam vet Paul (Pruitt Taylor Vince), and enigmatic stranger Michael (Matt Craven) all try to help the tortured soul. Jason Alexander, Ving Rhames and Eriq LaSalle highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, (more)
Foxes details the exploits of four teenage San Fernando Valley girls as they drink, dope and sleep their way into oblivion. Jeanie (Jodie Foster, in a standout performance), the most grounded of the quartet, deals with her burned-out working-student-mother (Sally Kellerman, also excellent) while playing mother to her cohorts; Annie (Cherie Curie), a promiscuous drug-vacuum, attempts to dodge her psychotic police officer-father while partying round the clock; Madge (Marilyn Kagan), an overweight tag-along, who tries desperately to fit in with her wilder friends; and Deirdre (Kandice Stroh); an insecure liar and also-ran. While the performances (particularly the aforementioned) are good, and the direction is solid, the script doesn't seem to go anywhere; maybe that's the point, though, since neither do the characters in their vacuous, instant-gratification-based existences. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Scott Baio, (more)
