Dennis Bishop Movies

Best described as Dallas with a Latino flavor, the CBS drama series Cane dealt with a wealthy and powerful Cuban-American family, the Duques, who ran a luctrative rum-and-sugar business in South Florida. Sensing that he wasn't long for this world, patriarch Pancho Duque (Hector Elizondo) began making arrangements to turn over his business to a younger member of the family--but which one? The two leading contenders were Pancho's oldest biological son Frank (Nestor Carbonell) and his adopted son Alex (Jimmy Smits), who in his own sly-and-cunning way was the series' "J.R." character. As Frank and Alex fought tooth and nail over control of the Duque empire, Frank indicated a willingness to sell out to the rival Samuels family, if for no other reason than he was having an affair with Ellis Samuels (Polly Walker). Alex resisted the notion of a sell-out, not only out of loyalty to his adoptive father, but also because he was married to Pancho's biological daughter Isabel (Paola Turbay), making him son and son-in-law all in one! Befitting his status as the series' "hero-villain", Alex handled his business and personal affairs with equal ruthlessness, especially when it came to his dealings with his own son Jaime (Michael Trevino), who in the earliest episodes was being pressured to stay in college, though he himself was torn between joining the Army and making a commitment to his girlfriend Rebecca (Alona Tal). Cane premiered on September 25, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An autistic ex-con attempting to readjust to life on the outside finds that the past isn't so easy to escape as he becomes caught in the middle of a deadly triple-cross in director Stephen Purvis' labyrinthine thriller. For five long years Manny (Lou Diamond Phillips) has repaid his debt to society by serving time in a prison for the criminally insane. Now the day of his parole has finally arrived, and after returning to Reno Manny takes up residence at a local motel and soon finds employment as a clerk at the Hotel El Cortez. Upon striking up an amiable friendship with crippled prospector Popcorn (Bruce Weitz), Manny is quickly recruited to help his new friend convince wealthy gambler Russo (Peter Onorati) to invest in the struggling gold-hunter's potentially prosperous mine. Complications soon arise, however, when Arnie (James McDaniel), the vengeful cop who had arrested Manny, pressures the mentally handicapped ex-con to keep an eye on local drug dealer Jack (Glenn Plummer) - who is currently staying in the same hotel as Manny. When Jack's scheming girlfriend Theda (Tracy Middendorf) learns about Popcorn's goldmine and subsequently attempts to seduce Manny in hopes of learning more, shifting alliances and deadly secrets thrust all involved into a murderous game of betrayal and death. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Larry Brothers scripted this adaptation of the James Lee Burke novel that begins in a Louisiana penal colony during the 1830s. After middle-aged Allison (Kris Kristofferson) and young Holland (Scott Bairstow) make an escape, they take along Sana, a Choctaw (Irene Bedard, of Disney's animated Pocahontas) and head for the encampment of Sam Houston (Tom Skerritt) in East Texas. When Holland and Sana get too close, Allison tells Holland to drop her, and the two ride off, leaving her in the dust. Eventually, they link up with Houston and Allison's longtime pal Jim Bowie (Peter Coyote), but Bowie is off to confront General Santa Anna (Marco Rodriguez) at the Alamo. After the battle, Allison and Holland meet widow Dickinson (Karey Green) at the Alamo ruins. This TV movie premiered January 18, 1997 on TNT. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Sinbad offers some unusual advice on how to make friends in this wacky comedy. Kevin Franklin (Sinbad) is a guy who dreams of starting his own business. However, getting it off the ground is another matter altogether, and soon Kevin discovers that the two loan sharks who fronted him money want to be paid, and paid promptly, otherwise Kevin will be spending some time in the hospital. On the run through an airport, Kevin is trying to find a way out when he overhears Gary Young (Phil Hartman) wondering where his friend is. It seems that Gary has arranged a reunion with an old friend from childhood, but since he hasn't seen him in 25 years, he has no idea what he looks like today, beyond the fact that he's black. Kevin fits the bill that far and claims to be Gary's long lost buddy, which Gary buys hook, line, and sinker. Gary seems to enjoy bonding with his old friend, and Kevin likes staying at Gary's fine home (and raiding his large icebox), but Kevin discovers that impersonating a stranger is a lot more complicated than he expected after he's forced to perform oral surgery and give a speech at a grade school "Career Day" presentation. However, this is all small potatoes on the "oh, no" scale when the loan sharks track Kevin back to Gary's home in the suburbs. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This muddled attempt at creating a new supernatural serial killer franchise (in the mode of Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series) features perennial movie thug Brion James as sadistic mass murderer Max Jenke, who hacked up more than 100 victims with a meat cleaver before his eventual capture by dedicated cop Lucas McCarthy (Lance Henriksen). Unwilling to cease his homicidal spree after his death, Jenke had been conducting bizarre experiments in soul-transference prior to his capture; his execution in the electric chair subsequently transforms his evil essence into electrical current. In this new form, the seemingly unstoppable maniac launches a supernatural siege against McCarthy and his family until the tormented cop finally faces him down on his own nightmare turf. Originally conceived as another House sequel, this film consists of long periods of tedium punctuated by outbursts of graphic gore and surreal effects. This condition is partially the result of footage being shot by two separate directors; it seems as if neither of them knew what the other was doing. James is amusingly sleazy as the cackling madman, but his one-note material is not compelling enough to merit a recurring character. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Three friends face the disappointments of adulthood in this drama. Growing up in Ashville, Utah, a small town where traditional ideals still cling stubbornly to the hearts and minds of youth, Davey Hancock (Jason Gedrick) is the star of the high school's championship basketball team. Pretty cheerleader Mary Daley (Tracy Pollan) is Davey's girlfriend, and bright Danny Rivers (Kiefer Sutherland) is his best friend. Two years after graduating from high school, reality has dimmed their dreams; while Davey won a college scholarship to play ball, he washed out of the team and ended up back in Ashville, where he's now a police officer. While Davey still sees Mary, she wants more out of life than Ashville or her relationship with him can give her. And when Danny, who has spent much of his time since high school drifting in search of an ambition, returns to town to visit Davey and Mary, he brings along a surprise -- Bev (Meg Ryan), a drug-addled floozy with an unstable personality (and a gun) whom he married in Las Vegas three days earlier. Promised Land was also released on home video under the title Young Hearts. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Adapted by Horton Foote from his own television play, A Trip to Bountiful is set in 1947 Houston. Forced by circumstances to live her loathsome son (John Heard) and daughter-in-law (Carlin Glynn), elderly Geraldine Page wants nothing more out of life than to return to her home town of Bountiful. Escaping from her family's clutches, Page boards a bus to Bountiful, where she makes the acquaintance of young Rebecca DeMornay. The two women immediately hit it off, and their trip is a most pleasant one. Eventually, sheriff Richard Bradford, ordered to find Page and bring her back to her family, catches up with the old woman just 12 miles from Bountiful. Feeling sorry for Page, Bradford permits her to complete her sentimental journey, even though he knows full well that Bountiful is now a ghost town of empty ruins and dilapidated shacks. It doesn't matter, though: Page sees Bountiful just as it was when she left it, and for the first time in years she is truly happy and at peace with herself. After several near-misses, Geraldine Page finally won an Academy Award for A Trip to Bountiful (incidentally, the original TV production, which still exists in kinescope form, starred Lillian Gish and Eva Marie Saint). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi