William R. Greenblatt Movies

Credit cards and women on skates prove to be a dangerous mixture in this comedy. Frank Hopper (Jon Bon Jovi) is a former lawyer whose career has hit the skids, and he currently lives off the largesse of his more successful sister, Leona (Nora Dunn). Frank has dozens of business ideas, but has no way to finance them, until he heads out with his friend Carl (David Faustino) one evening and fills out a questionnaire in which he jokingly states his income is a million dollars a year. Suddenly Frank's mailbox is flooded with pre-approved credit cards, and with his new line of credit, Frank launches his dream project -- a women's hockey league. But it seems that the world is not yet ready for women playing professional ice hockey, and before long Frank is 300,000 dollars in debt, with a handful of credit agencies taking him to court to get back the money he's spent so far. Frank turns to his former girlfriend Jessica (Estella Warren), now a successful lawyer, to help him stay out of jail, but it seems their work is cut out for them when they learn Jessica's very competitive former beau Norman (Cary Elwes) is prosecuting Frank's case. National Lampoon's Pucked was directed by Arthur Hiller; it was his first directorial project since 1997's An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn, for which Hiller opted not to take credit. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young girl stuck in a horrific cycle of familial violence finds the power to build her own future from the place she least suspected in an inspiring tale of friendship and devotion starring Ossie Davis and Della Reese, and directed by Bruce Pittman. For years Jo Ann Foley (Madeline Zima) has suffered under the cruel hand of her ruthless grandfather. A chance meeting with kindly neighbors Honey (Reese) and her husband Too Tall (Davis) finds things looking up, however, as the nurturing couple provides Jo Ann with the support needed to break free of her grandfather's tyrannical grip. As the future lies before her ready to be molded however she sees fit, Jo Ann must now find the courage to let go of the past and seek the redemption needed to start life anew. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In 1974, Cicely Tyson and director John Korty (The Ewok Adventure) worked together on the acclaimed The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (winner of nine Emmys), and they reteamed for this updating of Charles Dickens' 1843 classic, A Christmas Carol. When miserly banker Ebenita Scrooge (Tyson) is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past (Michael J. Reynolds), visions prompt her to reflect on her life. An earlier female Scrooge was played by Susan Lucci in 1995, and a Mrs. Scrooge with Sally Kellerman is also in development. The TV movie Ms. Scrooge premiered December 10, 1997 on the USA Network. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this tender made-for-TV drama, four children are effectively orphaned when they are deserted by their mother. With nowhere else to go but some institution, the kids manage to locate their estranged grandmother. A bitter, and seemingly cold-hearted loner, the woman reluctantly takes the waifs into her farmhouse. They then do their very best to ingratiate themselves and make her love them. Unfortunately, this grandmother has a very tough outer shell and it will take plenty of hard work on the part of the kids. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Two aspiring mobsters follow a stranger in this drama. A local mafioso assigns free-lancers Dommy, an explosive young man, and Mickey, the inward one, a job following a "mark." They are to tail him until he comes finds a special briefcase; to get that briefcase, they are to use any means. The two novices are inept at their job. Finally, their stalking ends successfully in a shoot-out. Unfortunately they meet with revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In 1978, an East German waiter used a toy gun to hijack a Polish airliner heading for East Berlin and forced the pilot to land at an American Air Force base in West Germany. The best-selling book about the ensuing trial of the hijacker -- written by the presiding judge, Herbert J. Stern -- is given film treatment by director Leo Penn. The back story involves a West German contractor working both sides of Germany, who has fallen in love with a woman from East Berlin. The contractor arranges for the woman, her daughter and another man (Heinz Hoenig), who has children living in West Germany, to meet him in Gdansk, Poland, where he will give them false documents allowing them to get into West Germany. When the contractor is arrested, they must make other plans. Sneaking a toy gun on an airplane bound for East Germany, the man compels the pilot to steer the plane to West Germany, where he hopes to seek asylum and see his children. But this is the first time a hijacker has sought asylum in the west and it sets off a political firestorm. The American and West Germany governments have signed an international accord to prevent skyjackings and the Soviet government is pressuring them to prosecute the hijackers to the fullest extent of the law. The United States Justice Department wants a quick trial and hires a tough judge (Martin Sheen), who, they think, will prosecute the case swiftly and be done with it. However, the judge is more than the authorities have bargained for -- he wants the defendants to be given a fair trial and all of the rights guaranteed to them under the Constitution. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide