Jamie Croft Movies

Advertised as telling the tale of "The Man Behind the Myth," the expensive-looking but economically produced NBC miniseries Hercules stars Paul Telfer as the musclebound protagonist. The issue of a romantic fling between Alcmene (Elizabeth Perkins), the Princess of Thebes, and God of the Underworld Zeus, Hercules is banished by his mother and scorned by his envious half brother Iphicles (Luke Ford). In fact, for a while it seems as though poor Herc has nothing but enemies. In addition to his own mother and brother, our hero is hated by Zeus' wife, Hera -- so much so that a war breaks out between the two gods -- and by covetous Grecian monarchs Eurystheus (Kristian Schmid) and Anateus (Tyler Mane). Worse still, Hercules has managed to get on the bad side of the Delphic Oracle Tiresias (Kim Coates) by killing that worthy's three sons. As a means to destroy Hercules and prevent him from taking his rightful place beside the throne of Zeus, all manner of deadly tasks and challenges are thrown at the poor guy, enabling the producers to trot out innumerable CGI battle sequences. Fortunately, Hercules can rely upon the help and support of Alcmene's husband, Amphytron (Timothy Dalton), not to mention Herc's sidekick, the troubadour Linus (Sean Astin, going through his familiar Lord of the Rings paces in a different setting!); his sweetheart, the statuesque Goddess of Nature Deianeira (Leelee Sobieski); and, at least for a little while, Herc's wife, the Priestess Megara (Leeanna Walsman). By the time Hercules made it to the small screen, it had been pared down from a multipart miniseries to a single, 150-minute feature film, leaving several plot points unresolved and removing a number of key characters -- including the all-important Zeus and Hera, who never appear! Evidently NBC didn't have much faith in this Hallmark production, as witness the network's decision to telecast the film on May 16, 2005, directly opposite the series finale of Everybody Loves Raymond. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After a hiatus of over five months, Farscape resumed its fourth and final season with a foray into the distant past. Rescued by D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe) and the Moya crew from his wormhole odyssey, John Crichton (Ben Browder) discovers that he has inadvertently upset the Timestream. As a result, Crichton and his cohorts end up on Earth in 1986, just before John's father, Jack (Kent McCord), is about to serve as commander on the ill-fated Challenger shuttle flight. With virtually no time to spare, John tries to save his father's life, an action that will prevent the entire Farscape project from slipping into limbo. Elsewhere, the Moya crew encounter that curious native custom known as Halloween, and also attempt to steer clear of a nosy interloper. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This Australian animal adventure begins at a Queensland farm where young Billy (Jamie Croft), who lives with his widowed mother Penny (Rebecca Gibney), likes to watch the kangaroos, including baby Joey. Mean-spirited neighbor Dixon (Errol O'Neill) hires brutish Kanga Catcher (Harold Hopkins) to remove the 'roos. They are drugged and carted off, leaving Joey without a mother, so Billy heads for the city with Joey in his backpack. After he teams with Linda Ross (Alex McKenna), free-spirited daughter of American ambassador Ted Ross (Ed Begley Jr.), the two youths take off to reunite Joey with the kidnapped kangaroos. Sydney street scenes shown here are actually in Brisbane. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

The popular children's television show comes to the screen in this sci-fi adventure about a group of teenage superheroes battling an evil leader bent on world domination. The film's six heroes lead double existences as normal young teens who, when needed, don color-coded costumes to become the Power Rangers. Under the guidance of the valiant Zordon (Nicholas Bell), the Rangers fight crime with kung-fu skills and specialized attack vehicles. This time, the Rangers are battling Ivan Ooze (Paul Freeman), a millennia-old villain who hopes to take over the world with an army of phlegm creatures. The Rangers' only hope for victory is to acquire a special power source, leading to a dangerous journey into outer space. Despite the larger budget, the film remains true to the style of the show, which often recalls Japanese monster movies in its depictions of battling giant monsters through obvious special effects. The fast-paced fantasy action attracted a good portion of its intended youthful audience, while not becoming quite as much of a sensation as the TV series; some adults attacked the film for its reliance on violence (though of a bloodless, cartoon variety) and its status as a blatant promotional tool for the best-selling Power Ranger toys. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Aimed at children, this live-action Australian adventure follows an adorable golden retriever puppy on a cross-country search for the dingoes who comprise his doggy roots. Though the cocky young puppy's real name is Muffin, he prefers to think of himself as Napoleon. His quest begins at a children's birthday party where he frolics gaily with the children until he lands in a basket that has several helium balloons tied to it and is suddenly carried away. Eventually he lands on the rocky shore of distant Sydney Harbor. There he is befriended by a parrot-like galah named Birdo Lucci (other sly in-jokes for film buffs abound in the story). Together, the two buddies head into the bush in search of Napoleon's forebears. Along the way, they encounter a variety of native Australian critters including a koala, a kindly mother kangaroo, a hissy frill-necked lizard, a mean snake and a terrifying black cat who mistakes Napoleon for a giant mouse. Eventually, Napoleon meets his distant relatives too. Like the animals in Babe, this film's closest relative, the animals in this outing are endowed with human voices and qualities. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi