Dale Dunham Movies
This fill-in-the-blanks children's comedy from Disney was such a success that it spawned a number of fill-in-the-blanks sequels -- along with a real-life professional hockey team. The basic story -- outcast coach handles a team of outcast kids and turns them from losers into winners -- has been told in a number of films, including Wildcats, The Bad News Bears, Hoosiers, and Youngblood. Here the sport is hockey. Emilio Estevez is Gordon Bombay, a high-powered lawyer haunted by an incident from his past: while playing pee-wee league hockey as a child, young Gordon missed a crucial shot in the state finals game, invoking the wrath of his coach, Mr. Reilly (Lane Smith). When Gordon is arrested for drunk driving, the judge orders him to take a leave of absence and coach a hockey team of misfit kids. At first, Gordon treats the coaching job with contempt. But when his team loses to a team led by his old coach Reilly, the fire under Gordon is lit. Inspired, he leads his team on a mission to succeed. The team begins to win games and soon they are ready to face Reilly's team for the big championship game. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emilio Estevez, Joss Ackland, (more)
- 1990
The Stranger Within, a frightening, well-done, made-for-TV thriller with a fine performance by Rick Schroder tell the story of a boy trying to convince a unstable woman that he is her long-lost son. Mare Blackburn (Kate Jackson) is an emotionally traumatized woman whose three-year-old son was kidnapped 12 years before. One day Mark (Rick Schroder) appears on her doorstep claiming to be her lost son who has escaped and returned to her. Mare is at first overjoyed then frightened when it is apparent that her "son" is a sociopathic killer. Rick Schroder shows remarkable range in this change-of-pace performance where he plays an unsympathetic and unappealing character with great energy and intelligence. The Stranger Within is a fine, frightening psychological thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In the aptly titled, Blood Hook, a mentally ill war veteran becomes a crazed killer hunting teenagers and killing them in a variety of inventive and very bloody ways during a local annual fishing tournament. This routine, very bloody teenage slasher thriller, directed by Jim Mallon, attempts to inject humor into the routine formula with uneven results. Blood Hook has little to recommend it other than some lovely Wisconsin scenery, but for fans of the genre, Blood Hook might be a refreshing change of pace. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Jacobs, Lisa Todd, (more)
