Jon de Vries Movies

The most recent victims of an apparent serial killer are a woman who worked with underprivileged children and a sportscaster. Upon investigating the background of one of the victims, it is discovered that a fondness for kinky sex may have been the motivation for the murder. The captured killer tries to get off on the "Kojak" defense, claiming that his mind was "twisted" by watching too much television. The strategy used by McCoy (Sam Waterston) to attack this argument could well have been Law & Order producer Dick Wolf's own personal response to those who think that purging TV of violence is the solution to violence in real life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in 19th-century Louisiana, the made-for-cable film The Grand Isle is about a wealthy woman (Kelly McGillis) who discovers that she no longer believes in her pampered life as a socialite when she falls in love with a Creole artist (Adrian Pasdar). After she falls in love, she tragically tries to break away from her husband and his society. The Grand Isle is adapted from Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

A city pulses with racial problems, political corruption, and small-time crime in this ambitious microcosm of urban life, written and directed by John Sayles. Nick Rinaldi (Vincent Spano), a lost soul usually high on drink and drugs, has spent his life in one New Jersey city, getting free rides from his connected father (Tony LoBianco) and hearing the locals talk of his brother's death in Vietnam. Searching for more control, Nick quits the cushy contractor's job provided by his Dad, feeling that major events are about to happen to him. That feeling proves accurate -- by film's end his life will change, as will the lives of many others. Nick is only the center of the movie's sprawling collection of people and plotlines; Sayles takes full advantage of this expansive landscape, as he often begins shooting one conversation, only to pull back and eavesdrop on another, in one smooth, intriguing shot. By listening in, we slowly learn about the citizens and their dilemmas, as the city's woes bubble to a narrative climax. Many of Sayles' regular players are on-screen (the movie features 52 roles), including Joe Morton as a frustrated councilman and David Strathairn as a disturbed street person. ~ Norm Schrager, All Movie Guide

"Fat Man" and "Little Boy" were the nicknames given the atomic bombs that were dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the waning days of World War II. This elaborately assembled film is the story of the events leading up to the dawn of the atomic age. Paul Newman plays General Leslie Groves, a hard-nosed career soldier who in 1942 finds himself the reluctant "nursemaid" to a group of idealistic scientists in Los Alamos, New Mexico. As the military head of the top-secret Manhattan Project, Groves intends to have the operation run by the book--and failing that, to have things his way at all costs. The film's storyline narrows down to a battle of egos between Groves and atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Dwight Schultz), in his own way as contentious and childishly single-purposed as the general. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally telecast in two parts on March 27 and 28 of 1988, Lincoln was adapted from the bestselling "factual fiction" by Gore Vidal. Sam Waterston stars as Abraham Lincoln, with Mary Tyler Moore frighteningly convincing as the tragic Mary Todd Lincoln. Predictably, Part One of Lincoln deals with the inauguration, the outbreak of War, and the president's tiltings with his cabinet, while Part Two includes the Emancipation Proclamation, the appointment of General Grant (James Gammon), and the assassination. The throughline of the script is the deteriorating mental condition of Mary Lincoln, not to mention her injurious impulsiveness: at one point, Honest Abe must cover up the fact that Mary has stolen a copy of his inaugural speech and sold it. Evidently, the name of Gore Vidal was not considered enough of a drawing card by the NBC publicists, who insisted upon advertising Lincoln as the second coming of Gone With the Wind, adding the teaser tagline "The Untold Story." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This red-baiting action film stars Chuck Norris as Matt Hunter, a retired CIA agent who lives in the Florida Everglades. A communist invasion of Miami brings Hunter out of retirement to fight the encroaching hordes led by everyone's favorite low-budget bad guy, Richard Lynch. The film is extremely jingoistic, presenting the evil communists staging an invasion on Christmas, demolishing a church, and attempting to blow up a school bus full of children. From the same school of thinking which produced Rambo and Red Dawn, this film at least features some convincing gore by makeup wizard Tom Savini (Friday the 13th), working on his third gig for director Joseph Zito. Zito and Savini returned with Red Scorpion. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Michael Roemer both wrote and directed the 60-minute TV drama Haunted. Brooke Adams stars as a troubled young woman who returns to her Rhode Island home. Why she does this is a mystery: her childhood was a textbook example of misery, exacerbated by her spiteful adoptive mother and her abusive foster father. Unable to close old wounds with her family, Brooke befriends neighbor lady Trish Van Devere. But her new friend has serious problems of her own, forcing Brooke to mediate between Trish and her resentful daughter Ari Meyers. Haunted was first telecast March 20, 1984, as part of PBS' American Playhouse anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV film is an Americanized remake of the 1975 German film The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (based on the novel by Heinrich Böll). Shorn of most of her movie-star glamour, Marlo Thomas plays Kathryn Beck, whose one-night stand with handsome Ben Cole (Kris Kristofferson) all but ruins her life. Cole is suspected of being a political terrorist; as a result, Kathryn is seized by the authorities and relentlessly questioned. Her ordeal intensifies when she becomes the target of a ruthless investigative reporter. When she seeks legal aid, Kathryn finds that her basic civil rights aren't even as well protected as those of the fugitive Cole. Act of Passion: Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck premiered on January 24, 1984, minus the Act of Passion portion of the title, which was added later to pump up rerun ratings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide