P. Adrien Dorval Movies

The hottest summer on record turns downright chilly when some unexplainable crop circles appear in a local field, and representatives from a mysterious foreign oil company turn up hoping to buy the local grain elevator in this comedy starring Tom Green and Crispin Glover. As night falls over Laxdale, a series of strange events culminate in the discovery of some elaborate crop circles on a local farm. Before the locals have a chance to try and make sense of all the strangeness, Petrocon General Manager Veirgacht (Glover) appears in town and announces plans to purchase the local grain elevator. This plan doesn't sit well with former NHL player Bill Swanson (Green), because should Veirgacht succeed in convincing the locals to let Petrocon start searching for oil, Bill will be out of work. Later, Bill finds his old minor league hockey coach Arnie locked in his house and dying from hypothermia. Arnie claims that the only thing protecting him from some mysterious invaders is the cold, but promptly freezes to death before giving Bill any concrete information about who "they" are or why "they've" come to Laxdale. Now convinced of foul play, Bill enlists the aid of local barmaid Gina Larson in getting to the bottom of this extraterrestrial mystery. When local gear-heads Randy and Dwayne spontaneously combust during a joyride down a country road, the time finally comes to uncover Veirgacht's true intentions. Upon discovering that Petrocon is actually an "off world" time-share company intent on transforming the Earth into a lavish resort for extraterrestrials, Bill and Gina team up to find the aliens' Achilles heel and save the entire human race from being enslaved as cabana boys and chambermaids. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Vin Diesel returns as the nocturnally gifted antihero Riddick in this sequel to the 2000 cult item Pitch Black. Riddick, on the run from the law and evading mercenaries eager to claim the price on his head, seeks refuge on the planet of Helion, only to discover he's walked into a world in chaos. Helion has been seized by the Lord Marshall (Colm Feore), leader of the Necromongers, a race of bloodthirsty warriors determined to wipe out humanity throughout the universe. Aereon (Judi Dench), leader of Helion's "elementals," pleads with Riddick to join them in their fight for survival; Riddick agrees, hoping to fill out some of the blank chapters in his history along the way. As he plots his battle strategy against the Necromongers, Riddick becomes reacquainted with Kyra (Alexa Davalos), whom he knew as a girl but has since grown into a strong and beautiful woman eager to join him in the fight against the Lord Marshall. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The backdrop for this epic Western, which aired in August 2002 on the Hallmark Channel, will be familiar to fans of the genre and students of Western history. The Johnson County War took place in northern Wyoming in April 1892, growing out of the familiar story of big-money ranchers who suspected homesteader neighbors of rustling. Screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana adapted Frederick Manfred's 1957 novel, Riders of Judgment, which used some of the events and people but changed the names, including the county (which becomes Bighorn) and the main town (from Buffalo to Antelope). Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (1981) also employed elements of the Johnson County War in its story. Manfred's book and this film center on Cain Hammett (Tom Berenger), a lonesome cowboy who hankers for Rory (Michelle Forbes); she has married his younger brother Dale (Adam Storke) in spite of the fact that she really loves Cain. A third Hammett brother, Harry (Luke Perry), unlike his honest, homesteading siblings, is a rustler who runs afoul of Marshal Hunt Lawton (Burt Reynolds), who is in the employ of wealthy Lord Peter (Christopher Cazenove), an Englishman in cahoots with the owners of big ranches to exterminate all of the homesteaders, guilty or innocent. Cain Hammett's real-life counterpart, Nate Champion, was a prime target of mercenaries hired by the big cattlemen, and the siege of Cain's cabin, which was the opening salvo in the war, provides the film with its climax. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

Francis Ford Coppola is one of the executive producers of this revenge-themed telefilm. After insurance agent Tom Casey (Rob Lowe) reports on the suspicious actions of teens near his apartment building, Tom and his pregnant wife Sally (Jennifer Grey) are threatened by the teens in a series of confrontations. The TV movie premiered January 4, 1998 on ABC. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Young Bastian again seeks refuge from the problems of the real world in the mystical land of Fantasia in this second, inferior sequel to the sleeper 1984 hit The Neverending Story. The set-up is familiar, as Bastian Bux (here played by Jason James Richter), who has moved to a new town, again rediscovers the magical book that serves as the portal to Fantasia and finds solace in the power of imagination. Unfortunately, Bastian is having problems with a group of bullies known as the Nasties, who discover the boy's secret and steal the book. Their meddling wreaks havoc, ultimately releasing Fantasia's bizarre creatures into Earth's dimension. Naturally, it's up to Bastian to retrieve the book and return the Luck Dragon, Rock Eater, talking tree, gnomes, and other assorted creatures to their rightful home. Visually less impressive than its predecessors, and extremely distant from the Michael Ende book that was the series' original inspiration, The Neverending Story 3 made little impression on audiences or critics, who generally agreed that the film was the weakest of the series. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

In a 1991 episode of Jake and the Fatman, Dick Van Dyke guest-starred as Dr. Mark Sloan, who couldn't seem to keep his nose out of a murder investigation. Diagnosis of Murder is the two-hour TV-movie spin-off of that episode. This time, Dr. Sloan tags along with his police-sergeant son (Barry Van Dyke, the real life son of you-know-who) on another homicide case. The victim is a powerful business magnate whose questionable ethics have given plenty of people plenty of motive for the killing. Somehow or other, Dick Van Dyke finds time between his hospital rounds and his clue-hunting to perform a brief soft shoe. Diagnosis of Murder was the pilot for a potential series, which was sold under the slightly truncated title Diagnosis Murder. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Michele Lee plays the outwardly cheerful mother of two very different young sons. Rick Schroder, the oldest, is mom's favorite; Corin Nemic, the youngest, is his brother's literal whipping boy. Despite the most damning evidence, Ms. Lee refuses to let herself believe that Schroder is a sadistic psychopath...until it's too late. This tragic state of affairs was, alas, based on fact. The painfully convincing performances of Michele Lee and Rick Schroder effectively lift My Son, Johnny out of the "dysfunctional family of the week" TV movie syndrome. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mark Harmon plays an itinerant Depression-era carpenter in the made-for-TV After the Promise. When his wife dies, Harmon is declared an unsuitable parent purely on the basis of his financial situation, and his four children are made wards of the Court. Fighting against the seemingly invulnerable legal system of the era, Harmon struggles to regain custody of his children-a struggle that drags on for eight years. Robert W. Lenski's teleplay was inspired by a true story. Because of the time-span of the plotline, Harmon's four children are portrayed by 13 different juvenile actors. After the Promise debuted October 11, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A scheming police chief wants the mayor out so he can gain control, so he hires a ridiculous bunch of misfits to fill the local police force. His plan is that the city look so bad the mayor will get the bounce. The city's real policemen all get food poisoning at a party and the misfits must take over and get the job done. There's lots of dirty jokes and jiggling breasts here. ~ Rovi