Julie Donald Movies
- 1995
Season Two of Babylon 5 came to an end with the episode titled "The Fall of Night." Not satisfied with conquering the Narn, the Centauri continue waging war on other worlds. Sheridan's willingness to shelter a Narn warship causes friction during negotiations between the Centauri and the Earth. As the story rushes to a cliffhanging close, Keffer makes a startling discovery, and Ambassador Koch performs above and beyond the call of duty to save Sheridan's life. This final chapter in the series' "The Coming of Shadows" saga was written by J. Michael Straczynski); it first aired in the United Kingdom on August 15, 1995, then in America on November 1 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, (more)
- 1992
- PG
- Add Brain Donors to Queue
Brain Donors is a game attempt to redo the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera in a contemporary setting. John Turturro plays the "Groucho" character, a shifty lawyer (he's even given a Grouchoesque three-barrelled moniker). Bob Nelson is the "Harpo" counterpart, a puckish handyman. And Mel Smith completes the trio as a Chico-like cabbie. All three conspire to save a failing ballet company on behalf of dowager Nancy Marchand, who does a film-length impersonation of Margaret Dumont. At times, Pat Proft's script comes off more like a 3 Stooges short than a Marx Brothers romp, but that's not so bad. What hurts the film is its fluctuating pace, which shifts into neutral just when it should go into hyperdrive. Will Vinton's Claymation opening titles supply some of the film's biggest laughs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Turturro, Bob Nelson, (more)
- 1991
- Add The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw to QueueAdd The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw to top of Queue
The fourth of Kenny Rogers' Gambler TV movies, 1991's The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw is regarded by many Western diehards as the best. This time, gambler Brady Hawkes is en route to a high-stakes poker game in San Francisco. His travelling companions are a trouble-prone frontier Romeo (Rick Rossovich) and a feisty ex-saloon gal (Reba McEntire). Never mind that: The real attraction of Luck of the Draw is its enormous guest-star lineup of famous TV cowboy heroes of yore: Gene "Bat Masterson" Barry, Hugh "Wyatt Earp" O'Brien, Brian "The Westerner" Keith, Chuck "The Rifleman" Connors, Jack "Maverick" Kelly, Clint "Cheyenne" Walker, David "Kung Fu" Carradine, and "Virginian" co-stars James Drury and Doug McClure. The first portion of this two-part movie concentrates on setting up the plot; Part two is the card game itself, preceded by a boxing match refereed by Bat Masterson (Gene Barry). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenny Rogers, Reba McEntire, (more)
- 1990
Accused of murdering a top scientist (Mark Margolis) and causing the descruction of the Botanica Four space station, Riker is tried for murder on the planet Tanuga Four, where the judges are predisposed to enter a "guilty" verdict. What follows is a Rashomon-style testimony, which at one point suggests that Riker was having an affair with the dead man's wife (Gina Hecht). Hoping to save his colleague, Captain Picard uses the Holodeck to recreate the events leading up to the crime. Ed Zuckerman wrote the script for "A Matter of Perspective," which originally aired February 17, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
In this made-for-cable television horror thriller, a travel writer visits a historic hotel to write a story about it and inadvertently finds herself on the 13th floor where she witnesses a Satanic rite and tangles with an axe-wielding killer. She escapes, but no one believes her story because the hotel has no 13th floor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Dan Aykroyd must have practiced for months to perfect his Jack Webb inflections for Dragnet. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz's directorial debut (also written by Mankiewicz, along with Aykroyd, and Alan Zweibel) is a gentle spoof of the legendary '50s television police drama -- pitting '50s conservatism smack up against the attitudes of the '80s. Basically, the film is another 48 Hours or Beverly Hills Cop clone. Aykroyd stars as Joe Friday, the nephew of the original Friday. But with his brown suit, fedora, and lockjaw, he could just as well be the incarnation of Jack Webb. He is involuntarily assigned a smart alecky, street-wise partner, Pep Streebeck (Tom Hanks), and they are appointed to investigate a series of religious cult murders in L.A. The two cops follow the trail to a phony televangelist, the Reverend Jonathan Whirley (Christopher Plummer). From there, they are only at step away from uncovering an Orange County-based religious cult calling itself P.A.G.A.N. (People Against Goodness and Normalcy). After sneaking into a secret ceremony, Friday falls in love with the sacrificial victim Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul). So much so that even after his superior Captain Gannon (Harry Morgan, reprising his role from the '60s revival of the Dragnet program) orders him off the case, Friday continues on, with the requisite car chases and crashes that usually climax any '80s cop movie or comedy. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, (more)
