Cynthia Dale Movies
Overwhelmed by the soul crushing mediocrity of his life and hopelessly embittered by his overbearing boss and cruel ex-wife, a suicidal man recruits a struggling filmmaker to document his last day on earth. Max Walker (Tom Sizemore) is a man consumed by the emptiness inside. He's tired of this world, and at the end of the day he plans on putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger. But quite a bit can happen over the course of twenty-four hours, and before that fateful bullet is fired there is much to be done. Determined to capture the events of the day for posterity, Max bestows sympathetic film student Bud (Corey Sevier) with a video camera and instructs him never to stop filming no matter what happens. Later, as Max roams the city confessing past misdeeds, sharing epiphanies, and railing against the injustices of the world, Bud makes good on his promise to capture every captivating moment. Finally freed from the rules of society and determined to live by his own rules, Max proves himself a man of deep emotional complexity as he commits random acts of heroism and shocking acts of insanity. The last order of business for Max is to confront his uncaring boss and his callous ex-wife, but just as his rage reaches a boiling point he finds his mission suddenly turned upside down due to the kindness of a young woman in a wheelchair. As the end of the day draws near and Max prepares for his final scene, one shocking revelation promises to change the lives of everyone involved. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Sizemore, Corey Sevier, (more)
Previously portrayed on stage and screen by the likes of Wallace Beery, Burt Lancaster and Jim Dale, colorful 19th century American showman Phineas T. Barnum lives again in the person of Beau Bridges) in this two-part, made-for-cable biopic. The film covers Barnum's career from his early exploitation of Joyce Heth (Lorena Gale), an elderly black woman who claimed to have been the nursemaid of George Washington, through the establishment of his famous "dime museum" of oddities (including the celebrated wall sign "This Way to the Egress") and concluding with such triumphs of showmanship as Barnum's promotion of "Swedish Nightingale" Jenny Lind (Jayne Heitmeyer), midget performer Gen. Tom Thumb (Josh Ryan Evans) and Jumbo the Elephant--not to mention his formation, with James Anthony Bailey (R.H. Thomson), of "The Greatest Show on Earth": the Barnum and Bailey Circus. Inevitably, however, Barnum's unbridled lavishness takes a heavy toll, not only on his bank account but also his personal life. Filmed in an appropriately larger than life fashion, P.T. Barnum was broadcast over the A&E Network on September 12 and 13, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Reuniting several China Beach talents, this three-hour, fact-based TV miniseries dramatizes the apparent government cover-up of the after-effects of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Exposure to toxic agents by some 100,000 men and women led to skin rashes, respiratory infections, and cancer, but the Department of Defense claimed the Gulf War Syndrome was psychosomatic. When Vietnam veteran and retired U.S. Secret Service agent Jim Tuite (Ted Danson) begins work with Sen. Donald Riegle (Brian Dennehy), he sees vets denied proper medical benefits and concludes billions in payouts would result if the government admitted that toxic chemicals were sprayed about during the war. Healthy Chris Small (Matt Keeslar) comes back from the Gulf War in only a few months with digestive and respiratory problems, while his wife Teri (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and baby daughter both experience rashes from contact with Chris. In the post-war operations, Waco farmer Jared Gallimore (Steven Weber) stumbles across uranium dust and has brain tumors by the time he goes home to his sister Jerrillyn Folz (Marg Helgenberger). Interview footage with real soldiers and officers is intercut into the drama, filmed in Toronto and the California Mojave Desert. Premiered May 31, 1998 on Showtime. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Danson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, (more)
The popular TV-series private eye Spenser (of Spenser For Hire) re-surfaces in this made-for-cable movie. Robert Urich returns to his role as the gumshoe. This time, Spenser comes to the aid of old flame Candy Sloane (Cynthia Dale), a reporter who needs Spenser's help and protection as she investigates a fraud ring. This drama was based on the book of the same name by Robert B. Parker. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
After misplacing their stolen loot, thieves focus on an innocent woman whom they believe knows where it is. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dean Anderson, Justine Bateman, (more)
Babycakes is an American remake of the raucous 1988 German comedy Sugarbaby. A pre-talkshow Ricki Lake stars as Grace Johnson, who works as a cosmetician in a funeral parlor. The elephantine Grace falls in love with pencil-thin ice skater Rob Harrison (Craig Sheffer). Despite Harrison's indifference, Grace maps out a meticulous campaign to overwhelm and seduce her dream lover. Made for TV, Babycakes had its premiere on February 14, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When there's a full moon over Brooklyn, anything can happen, and everything happens in the neighborhood where widowed bookkeeper Loretta Castorini (Cher) lives. First, Loretta agrees to marry a man she does not love, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello), simply because he knows how to propose properly. Before the wedding can take place, Cammareri must visit his dying mother in Sicily. In his absence, Loretta is supposed to try to patch up the differences between Johnny and his brother, bakery operator Ronny Cammareri (Nicolas Cage). Having never forgiven Johnny for indirectly causing the accident that crippled him, Ronny flies into a rage whenever his brother's name is mentioned. He does, however, fall for Loretta like a ton of bricks. After a torrid affair, Loretta tries to avoid Ronny out of respect to Johnny, but he's just too fascinating to resist. Meanwhile, Loretta's father (Vincent Gardenia) is fooling around with his mistress Mona (Anita Gillette), while Loretta's mother (Olympia Dukakis) is wooed by a college professor (John Mahoney). These brief flings are forgiven and forgotten, but there's still the delicate situation of Loretta being in love with her future brother-in-law. A now-classic romantic comedy, Moonstruck won Oscars for Cher, Olympia Dukakis, and screenwriter John Patrick Shanley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cher, Nicolas Cage, (more)
The Liberators, an ambitious 1987 entry in ABC's Disney Sunday Movie anthology series, was founded on fact. The film begins on a Kentucky plantation in the years before the Civil War. Robert Carradine, nephew of the plantation owner, has grown up with slave Larry B. Scott. Forced by the social structure of the era into a master/slave relationship, Carradine and Scott choose instead to head northward. Befriending a Quaker abolitionist (James Mainprize), the two friends become involved with the Underground Railroad, helping thousands of slaves escape to freedom. A romantic entanglement involving Scott and a lovely slave girl nearly costs the boys their own freedom as The Liberators races towards its climax. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Sadie (Debbie Reynolds) is a salty, streetwise New York cop, forced into early retirement. Her son (Brian McNamara) is a rookie police officer. Carl Kleinschmidt's script contrives to have Sadie and Son become partners: she performs a heroic deed while in "civvies," and is restored to the force. The rest of the film concerns itself with the younger cop's paranoia over living up to his mom's reputation, with time left over for a couple of romantic subplots. Filmed in Toronto and first telecast October 21, 1987, Sadie and Son represented Debbie Reynolds' first foray into the TV-movie field. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
To fully appreciate Boy in Blue, it's helpful to know a little bit about the sport of "sculling"-or competitive rowing. Nicolas Cage stars as the real-life Ned Hanlan, who at the turn of the century was Canada's foremost sculling champ. A wild, uncontrollable youth, Hanlan is "adopted" by a gambler named Bill (David Naughton), who promotes the boy on the sculling circuit for his own monetary gain. Ruthlessly businessman Knox (Christopher Plummer) assumes control of Hanlan's career, but when Ned discovers just how ruthless Knox can be, he casts his lot with the first honest man he's met, inventor-speculator Walter (Sean Sullivan). Hanlan's professional success is capped by his marriage to Margaret (Cynthia Dale), Knox's previously unattainable niece. The by-the-numbers Boy in Blue was given an R rating due to a few disposable sex scenes, thereby cutting its potential audience (hero-worshipping youths) in half. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Cynthia Dale, (more)
In this frothy drama, the "heavenly bodies" belong to Samantha (Cynthia Dale), a woman determined to open a dance instruction school, and the people who come to learn dance there. Once the deserted warehouse-cum-dance-studio is refurbished, Cynthia's first class already has as much finesse as Fred Astaire at his apogee, so when Cynthia's ideal world is threatened by the owner of a rival health club, it is fairly easy for her students to come to the rescue with their deft dance routines. Life never seems to delve much below the balletic, athletic, or aerobic surface as the adventures of Cynthia, and her students continue along a self-absorbed course. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Dale, Richard Rebiere, (more)
In this comical made-for-TV crime drama, a salty middle-aged policewoman on the cusp of early retirement decides to remain on her beat so she teams up with her son, a brand-new cop. The trouble is, he really would rather have been a stand-up comic and only joined the force to please his mom. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
It's Valentine's Day in the tiny mining town of Valentine's Bluff, Nova Scotia, and for the first time in two decades the residents are planning a holiday dance. The long hiatus is due to the tragic events of 20 years earlier, when a pair of mining supervisors were too busy enjoying themselves at the dance to prevent an accident from killing a large contingent of their workers. The lone survivor, Harry Warden, took his revenge the next year by removing the hearts of his bosses and promising similar carnage if ever another Valentine's dance were held. Unfortunately, the town's horny early-'80s youngsters aren't big on tradition, especially since Warden is locked up in an insane asylum. They go ahead with plans to celebrate the holiday -- even after a heart in a candy box shows up and beloved biddy Mabel (Patricia Hamilton) ends up enduring an involuntary tumble dry. Soon, bodies begin piling up, setting the stage for a climactic trawl through the mines and surprise revelations about the fate of Harry Warden. Shortly after the death of John Lennon, the MPAA made an example of this Canadian slasher film, forcing much of its gore to be excised. Nevertheless, My Bloody Valentine provided inspiration for Kevin Shields' influential band of the same name, which helped establish England's late-'80s shoegazer sound and paved the way for the post-rock of the 1990s. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, (more)



















