Ann Kindberg Movies
- 2007
This spinoff from the popular ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy was a vehicle for Kate Walsh, repeating her role from the earlier series as brilliant neonatal surgeon Addison Forbes Montgomery Shepherd, the ex-wife of Seattle Grace Hospital's Dr. Derek Shepherd. Having relocated to Los Angeles, Addison immediately found employment at the high-end Oceanside Wellness Center, a freewheeling "alternative" hospital established by several of her former medical-school classmates. The large ensemble cast included Tim Daly as Dr. Pete Wilder, alternative-medicine specialist and equivalent to Grey's Anatomy's "McDreamy" (aka Derek Shepherd); Taye Diggs as Dr. Sam Bennett, internist and best-selling "self help" author; Audra McDonald as Dr. Naomi Bennett, fertility-and-hormone specialist and Sam's former wife; Paul Adelstein as Dr. Cooper Freedman, pediatrician and resident ladies' man; Amy Brennerman as Freedman's best friend, psychiatrist Dr. Violet Turner; and Chris Lowell as Dr. William "Del" Cooper, the hospital's laid-back receptionist and aspiring midwife. Also on hand were KaDee Strickland as Dr. Charlotte King, chief of staff at nearby St. Ambrose Hospital and staunch opponent of the unorthodox methods practiced at Oceanside; and Shavon Kirksey as Naomi's daughter Maya. Its format and "dramatis personae" previously established in a two-part episode of Grey's Anatomy in the spring of 2007, Private Practice premiered over ABC on September 26 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2007
Former X-Files star David Duchovny played for laughs rather than chills in this Hollywood-based Showtime dramedy, which first aired August 13, 2007. Duchovny was cast as writer Hank Moody, whose highly acclaimed best-selling novel "God Hates Us All" had been made into an innocuous romantic comedy film with Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise named "A Crazy Little Thing Called Love." The novel, alas, may have been the summit of Hank's literary career; after a lengthy professional slump, he was suffering from the mother of all midlife crises. To boost his tattered self-esteem, Hank had turned to booze and drugs, to say nothing of his innumerable one-night stands with an endless parade of nameless starlets, waitresses, and assorted floozies. As a result, his relationship with his 12-year-old daughter, Becca (Madeleine Martin), was somewhat shaky; while Becca's mother, Karen (Natascha McElhone), weary of Hank's self-destructive hedonism in particular and the L.A. scene in general, had become engaged to another man. At the same time, Hank's brief fling with a girl named Mia (Madeline Zima) would prove to sobering long-range ramifications...but we're getting ahead of ourselves. Rounding out the cast was Evan Handler as Charlie, Hank's agent and best friend (a unique combination in La-La Land!). The weekly Californication had originally been conceived as a theatrical feature by series creator Tom Kapinos, who'd been inspired by the famous cautionary bumper sticker "Don't Californicate Oregon." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Debuting December 4, 2005 on the Showtime network, the weekly, hour-long drama Sleeper Cell was at base an I Led Three Lives for the post-9/11 era, albeit with a bit more depth in, and understanding of, the villainous characters. In the opening episode, a disgruntled Muslim ex-convict named Darwyn Al-Sayeed (Michal Ealy) was recruited into a terrorist sleeper cell based in Los Angeles and headed by the fanatical Faris Al-Farik (Oded Eher). In order to best follow out his plans of sabotage and destruction in the US, Al-Farik posed as a Jewish-American named Yossi, who ironically worked for a security company. Similarly, the other members of the cell held down legitimate jobs while carrying out their dirty work--and, as if to put the lie to the assumption that terrorism has but one face, the others were drawn from a variety of ethnic and social backgrounds. Blue-eyed, blonde-haired All-American boy Tommy Emerson (Blake Shields) was the privileged son of liberal activists; Frenchman Christian Aumont (Alex Nesic), a former Skinhead and National Front member, led an outwardly respectable life as a suburban husband and father; and Al-Farik's Bosnian right-hand man Ilija (Henri Lubatti),who had witnessed the slaughter of his family by Orthodox Serbs, hid his terrorist activites behind the façade of a high-school science teacher. What none of the cell members realized was that Darwyn Al-Sayeed was likewise a "poser": He was actually an undercover FBI agent, assigned to infiltrate Al-Farik's cell and covertly thwart his various sinister schemes against national security. Only his FBI supervisor Rayl Fuller (James Legros) was aware of Darwyn's dual identity; others, including Darwyn's single-mom sweetheart Gayle Bishop (Melissa Sagemiller), had no idea of his actual mission. In keeping with pay-cable tradition, Sleeper Cell was infinitely more profane and violent than standard over-the-air action fare. And in many ways, the series was also infinitely superior to its non-pay cable competition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
The professional roles and real lives of a diverse group of surgeons collide unexpectedly in this Golden Globe-winning ABC television drama. As an intern at prestigious Seattle Grace Hospital, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) tries hard to live up to the reputation of her legendary surgeon mother while hiding the fact that her mom now suffers from Alzheimer's disease. As if life weren't complicated enough, Meredith also falls for her boss, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), a surgical resident recently relocated to Seattle from New York. Meredith's friend and rival Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) finds herself in a similarly taboo romance with Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), Derek's chief competition for the title of chief resident. As for Meredith and Cristina's fellow interns -- Isobel "Izzie" Stevens (Katherine Heigl), George O'Malley (T.R. Knight), and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) -- they've got problems of their own. Izzie doesn't want to be judged for her underwear-model past; Alex is better at bedding the ladies than bedside manner; and George can't get any of the women around him to see him as anything but a cuddly friend. All five interns answer to the roar of senior resident Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), affectionately known as "the Nazi." But even Dr. Bailey jumps to it when Chief of Surgery Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) is on the scene. Although it was a hit from the time of its mid-season launch -- in a plum post-Desperate Housewives time slot -- on March 27, 2005, Grey's Anatomy had sat on the shelf for a year before it saw the light of day. Creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes received plenty of accolades for her color-blind casting, but it was Oh who earned an Emmy nod and a Golden Globe statuette for her work on the show's first season. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee makes the leap from the big screen to the small screen for this Showtime drama concerning the battle waged between black, white, an Asian gangs for control of the San Francisco streets. A modern-day melting pot that has become home to some of the vicious street-gangs in the country, San Francisco is a city teeming with racial tension. When each gang lays claim to the streets in a desperate bid to establish their turf, the simmering tensions soon boil to the surface in a violent eruption of murder and chaos. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Crowley, Ken Leung, (more)
- 1999
One of several direct-to-video movies to make their American TV bows on the Lifetime cable channel, Total Stranger was filmed under the title Stranger in My House. Having just emerged from a nasty divorce, and with her daughter off at college, lawyer Patti Young (Lindsay Crouse) decides to make financial ends meet by taking in a younger female tenant, a student named Lara (Zoe McLellan). What Patti does not suspect--until it is too late--is that the deceptively sweet-natured Lara is a "serial invader", who has a habit of taking over the houses and lives of the people who trust her. The problem: Patti cannot get anyone to believe that Lara is sinister as Patti (and the viewer) knows she really is! Also starring Jay Thomas and Dan Lauria, this psychological thriller made its cable-TV debut several years after filming wrapped in 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Crouse, Zoe McLellan, (more)
- 1999
Virtually the quintessential "CBS Sunday Night Movie" (especially during the traditional "fall sweeps"), Anya's Bell is set in 1949, a time when handicapped people were feared, pitied, scorned, shunted away, but seldom treated as "worthwhile" human beings by so-called normal society. Della Reese stars as Anya Herpick, a middle-aged blind woman who has been cared for since birth by her elderly mother. Having seldom ventured outside her house, Anya has compensated for her loneliness by amassing a collection of small bells. When her mother suddenly dies, Anya is truly alone, and she is paralyzed with fear at the prospect. Enter 12-year-old delivery boy Scott Rhymes (Mason Gamble), whom has been written off by his parents as "slow" because he has never learned to read. At first wary of one another, Anya and Scott soon become the closest of friends. It is eventually revealed that Scott suffers from dyslexia (an all-but-unknown affliction back in 1949), for which Anya compensates by teaching him how to read the Braille alphabet, which turns out to be easier to comprehend than printed words. At the same time, Scott helps Anya to become more independent and self-reliant. The changes wrought on the two protagonists are both dramatic and heartwarming, clearing the path for a happy ending (relevant to the film's title) despite the death of one of the two. Filmed on location in Salt Lake City, Anya's Bell was first telecast on October 31, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A scientific experiment gone wrong causes a man to become his own evil twin in this made-for-TV thriller. Marty Stillwater (Stephen Baldwin) would seem to have it made; he has a beautiful wife, two loving daughters, and a great career as a bestselling mystery novelist. However, it soon seems there's a fly in the ointment -- or, more accurately, some of Marty's blood. An evil but brilliant industrialist's son is working with rogue scientists to create an army of superhuman mercenaries through DNA cloning who will do his bidding and conquer the world. However, a sample of Marty Stillwater's blood is used for the cloning process instead of DNA from the pumped-up warrior the would-be world leader had in mind. The clone, named Alfie, has murder on its mind, just as the scientists wanted, but it looks like Marty, talks a bit like Marty and even seems to share a few of Marty's thoughts -- enough of them that it finds Marty's home and moves in, and before long his family is wondering why Dad is displaying a split personality. Dean Koontz's Mr. Murder was originally shown as a two-part miniseries on ABC in April 1999. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Baldwin, Julie Warner, (more)
- 1997
Mary Tyler Moore is reunited with her onetime sitcom costar Edward Asner in this anything-but-funny TV movie melodrama. While closing down her restaurant late one night, Kathryn Stanfill (Moore) notices a prowler hanging around outside. She quickly summons the police, only to stand by in horror as one of the cops, a loose cannon named Brian Kaleen (Frederick Lehne), brutally and without provocation beats the prowler within an inch of his life. Jack Patkanis (Asner), the police department's Internal Affairs investigator, has long suspected that there have been a few rotten apples like Kaleen on the force, and urges Kathryn to report the beating. Suspended from the force, the psychotic Kaleen methodically mounts a campaign of revenge, using his police-department and political connections to financially destroy Kathryn's husband (Dennis Arndt) and frame her son (Adam Scott) on a murder charge. Payback was first telecast by ABC on February 10, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, (more)
- 1996
This made-for-television comedy picks up where the popular alien TV-series ALF left off. Captured by the military on his way back home, ALF is forced to undergo experiments at the hands of the unsympathetic Col. Gilbert Milfoil (Martin Sheen). Two military officers take pity on poor ALF and decide to free him from his captors. They escape and set out on a road trip that takes them on some bizarre adventures -- but ALF isn't out of the woods just yet. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Jensen Daggett, (more)
- 1995
It's Reversal of Fortune meets Jerry Springer in this made-for-TV miniseries, which concerns the true-life tale of a Texas oil magnate on trial for conspiring to murder his brassy ex-wife -- and for very successfully doing away with her lover and daughter. Texas Justice stars Peter Strauss as Cullen Davis, a millionaire businessman who falls in love with the tempestuous, lower-class Priscilla (Heather Locklear), a young woman with a checkered past and a temper to match. When their relationship goes sour, Cullen's jealousy flares up and he does the unthinkable -- but in the courtroom, he attempts to clear his name with the help of the grandstanding, high-powered attorney Richard Haynes (Dennis Farina). ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Inspired by a 60 Minutes story, the made-for-cable Stolen Babies is the fact-based story of supposed "angel of mercy" Georgia Tann. Throughout the 1940s, Ms. Tann oversaw the adoption of children from her Tennessee orphanage. Since she was considered a pillar of the community, few questioned Tann's methods. Only when dedicated social worker Anne Beals began chipping away at Tann's respectable veneer did a terrible truth come to light. The principal selling angle of Stolen Babies was the way-against-type casting of Mary Tyler Moore as purse-lipped, bespectacled, quietly sinister Georgia Tann (not surprisingly, Moore won an Emmy for this chilling performance). Lea Thompson was more traditionally cast as the whistle-blowing Anne Beals. Stolen Babies first aired March 25, 1993, over the Lifetime Cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Tyler Moore, Lea Thompson, (more)
A raging ex-wife exacts revenge on her former husband in this made-for-television drama. Based on a true story, Meredith Baxter stars as Betty Broderick, the well-to-do ex-wife of Dan Broderick (Steven Collins). Furious at Dan for divorcing her and attempting to get on with his life, the insanely jealous Betty instigates some nasty encounters that culminate with murder. Baxter gives an all-out, over-the-top performance as the crazed ex-wife. This installment was followed by another TV-movie entry, Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, The Final Chapter. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meredith Baxter, Stephen Collins, (more)
- 1989
Set in the early 1900s in a small Southern town, this made-for-cable television romance centers on the "scandalous" love affair that blossoms between a free-thinking, strong-willed Northern widow and the much older owner of a local general store. The plot is based on a novel by Olive Ann Burns. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- R
In this run-of-the-mill romantic drama, the title Independence Day refers to the usual Fourth of July fireworks festival in the U.S. but also to the dilemma of Mary Ann Taylor (Kathleen Quinlan) who lives in a small town but has a big ambition to go to the city and study photography for a profession -- should she go, or should she stay in her hometown with the man she loves? Focus on Mary Ann's dilemma slips to other characters -- her boyfriend's suicidal sister (Dianne Wiest) who is abused by her husband, the abusive husband's equally nasty father, and Mary Ann's boyfriend himself who is preparing his Camaro for the annual Fourth of July race. With the story moving from here to there, hampered by some extraordinary leaps of imagination, the narrative is thinned considerably by the time the Fourth is at hand. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathleen Quinlan, David Keith, (more)
After a tense, bloody beginning, The Toolbox Murders takes a turn first into TV movie-style suspense and then stumbles towards an incredibly silly conclusion. Despite a sensational reputation amongst splatter fans (including Stephen King, who provides a promotional blurb for the video release's packaging) the only gore occurs within the first 30 minutes, as a ski-masked maniac cuts a bloody swath through an apartment complex. Four attractive young women are dispatched in harrowing style with a variety of power tools, indicating a killer taking extreme sadistic pleasure in his work. It's no surprise when the apartment owner (Cameron Mitchell) is revealed to be the monster, but his claims of putting the "dirty" women out of their misery quickly doesn't jive with what's been presented earlier. He murders in order to avenge the unrelated car accident death of his only daughter, and to this end, kidnaps a virginal 15- year-old girl to replace her. Unfortunately, his nephew is also fixated on the dead girl, and has his own obsessions. Director Dennis Donnelly did most of his work in TV, thus the preponderance of familiar television faces on display: his brother Timothy Donnelly from Emergency!, Wesley Eure from Saturday morning's Land of the Lost, and Pamelyn Ferdin, a '70s sitcom perennial with many guest shots including The Brady Bunch and The Odd Couple. The incongruity of these appearances, along with the clumsily expressed psychosis of the villains, destroys any sense of dread created at the outset of The Toolbox Murders, and as a result, the only enjoyment that can be obtained from the film is ultimately derisive. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Pamelyn Ferdin, (more)
