Victor Sarin Movies

In the Holy Bible, the Book of Revelations speaks of an event called "The Rapture," in which it is believed God will call those who have been saved to Heaven, while those who have not repented their sins will remain on Earth. Authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins have written a series of novels based upon the premise of how the Rapture would affect ordinary people in the modern world, and Left Behind is the first feature film to be adapted from their work. Rayford Steele (Brad Johnson) is an airline pilot whose relationship with his wife has gone sour; she responds by devoting more of her time and energy to the church, while he ponders having an affair with an attractive flight attendant, Hattie Durham (Chelsea Noble). In the midst of a flight to London, a number of their passengers mysteriously disappear, and chaos takes hold as a number of vehicles on the ground and in the air are suddenly unmanned. Meanwhile, Buck Williams (Kirk Cameron), a television journalist, is pondering the rash of sudden disappearances as he works on a report about Dr. Chaim Rosenzweig (Colin Fox), an Israeli scientist who has devised a formula that would make any soil on earth easy to cultivate. However, Cameron wonders if there's more to Rosenzweig than he first imagined when he discovers the doctor is in cahoots with two multi-millionaires who plan to broker the invention to promote their own agenda of international domination. Produced by Cloud Ten Productions, a Christian filmmaking concern, Left Behind was released with an unusual marketing strategy -- the film was made available on home video in October 2000, with a theatrical release scheduled to follow in February 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Waiting Game represents one of Canadian production house Alliance Atlantis' 1998 entries in the Harlequin series of telemovies. This romantic thriller stars the Grammy award-winning pop diva Paula Abdul as Amy and Chandra West as Sarah -- two best friends with common interests who move together to a small New England town to set up and run an art show. Sarah is engaged to be married to her dream guy, and Amy professes no interest in dating anyone, but the pair start to reconsider when they encounter a couple of alluring strangers at different times -- two men with a shadowy connection to one another, each of whom warns the women against the other. The men, as it turns out, are knee-deep in espionage, and involved with the CIA and the international drug trade -- and will carry Amy and Sarah into an exotic, enticing adventure. The Waiting Game co-stars Art Hindle and Jonathan Crombie. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Filmed in a special 3-D version of the IMAX high-definition film format, this short subject uses microscopic and time-lapse photographic techniques to explore the wonders that can be found in an ordinary home. Elly (Charlotte Sullivan) is helping her parents housesit at the home of her grandfather (voice of James Garner), an eccentric inventor. He leaves Elly directions on how to use some of his gadgets, ranging from an alarm clock that spits out soap bubbles to magnifying equipment that permits her to take an up-close look at bugs, plants, and other household items. For the film's 3-D screenings, audience members were issued special laser-controlled LCD glasses that acted as shutters, opening and closing in sequence to separate the right and left images for each eye at a rate of 95 times per second. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Two bored young practical jokers inadvertently scare up a heap of trouble in their backwater Mississippi town when they re-create the local myth, Gator Face, a swamp creature said to be half alligator and half human. Their little prank proves so effective that soon the town is swamped with media types. But things become serious when the National Guard begins combing the swamps and the real Gator Face shows up. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The often tragic lives of the residents of a Nova Scotia coal mining town are viewed through the eyes of a depressed young woman in this grim period drama. Set in the 1940s, the film begins with a brief, intentionally puzzling interlude before flashing back several years to focus on the story of Margaret MacNeil (Helena Bonham Carter). Margaret has suffered through the death of her father and her brother, both of whom perished while working as coal miners, and has subsequently developed a hatred for the mines that provide the town's primary source of economic support. When she finds herself attracted to charming stranger Neil (Clive Russell), she is thrilled to learn that he has no plans to work in the mines. When Margaret and Neil marry over the opposition of Margaret's stern mother (Kate Nelligan), financial troubles force him to go back on his word, with unfortunate results. Based on several short stories by Sheldon Currie, the film draws an unrelentingly bleak picture of its subject, concentrating on the numerous hardships, from black lung to deadly cave-ins, that haunt the coal-mining community, resulting in a gloomy and at times morbid drama. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This telemovie follow-up to ABC's hit Boston-based detective series Spenser: For Hire (1985-88) aired a little over five years after the original program wrapped. Adapted (like the weekly series) from mystery stories authored by Robert B. Parker, this outing finds ex-Beantown policeman Spenser (Robert Urich) visiting a New England small town to uncover the grimy truth behind a murder - and learning, in the process, that a syndicate of cocaine-running goons controls the town. He is assisted in his investigation by his girlfriend Susan Silverman (Barbara Williams). Parker and his wife, Joan H. Parker, co-authored the script. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Cold Comfort is an award-winning Canadian-made psychodrama about a psychotic father who kidnaps a man to keep his teen-aged daughter company. Stephen (Paul Gross), a handsome traveling salesman, is Floyd's (Maury Chaykin) birthday gift to his daughter Dolores (Margaret Langrick). Dolores and Stephen become increasingly attached and Stephen agrees to help Dolores escape from her father, to whom she is emotionally bound. When Dolores and Stephen try to escape, Floyd catches them and chains Stephen to a wall. Only Dolores can rescue him. Cold Comfort is grim, slow, and certainly not for everyone, but for those who appreciate intricate psychodrama, Cold Comfort is well worth viewing. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

In this well-wrought drama, WW II dramatically changes the lives of the Cooper family when its patriarch is called to battle, captured, and sent to a Japanese POW camp. Back at home the heretofore coddled wife, who doesn't know if her husband is still alive, must somehow figure out how to support her family and carry on in the British tradition of courage and dignity under pressure. Her solution is to join a swing band. As she becomes increasingly confident and independent, she begins wondering whether or not she still loves her missing spouse. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Returning to Toronto to attend a family reunion, a recently-jilted man gives a lift to an attractive young hitchhiker. Confusion abounds when the man's family members take the hitchhiker for his former fiancee. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

The present unfolds along with scenes from the past in this intense psychological drama about Edna (Martha Henry), a woman in the hospital who each day writes down her memories. Edna cannot (or will not) talk to her doctor, and nurses have to take care of her ordinary needs, including making her eat when meals arrive. Edna's stark hospital surroundings give way to the bright colors of her homelife as her memories surface while she writes. She is a devoted housewife, an excellent cook, and in love with her husband. Her husband Harry (Neil Munro) often compliments her on her cooking, fills their conversations with his life at work, and they seem quite normal if perhaps a little boring. But then something happens that will change Edna's attitude toward herself, resulting in a hospital stay, and her stubborn unwillingness to talk. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Suicide Murders was filmed for Canadian television in 1985. Saul Rubinek stars as a klutzy private eye in a small, peaceful village, where clients are virtually nonexistent. When several mysterious suicides occur in the village, Rubinek senses that there's dirty work afoot. He stumbles around town searching for clues, uncovering an intricate murder plot. The Suicide Murders made its below-the-border debut on America's Lifetime Cable Service in 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"Bix" Beiderbecke (1903-1931) was one of the best (and self-taught) cornetists in U.S. jazz history, playing at a time when Louis Armstrong was acclaimed for his jazz renderings, yet in no way similar to Armstrong in sound and style. Bix had hardcore conservative parents whose stance against jazz was unbending -- and who never appreciated Bix's attainments. The story of his successes and tragedies is told through interviews (including some with his contemporaries), historical footage, still photos, images of Edward Hopper's paintings (that emphasize Bix's period and Midwestern origins), and the music itself. Although Bix was playing the piano at the age of three, he later taught himself the coronet and made his fame on that instrument. At first, he did not read music but when he lost one job due to that inability, he took time out to learn. Some of his greatest solos include "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" and "Singing the Blues." Already addicted to alcohol in his early 20s -- partly at the influence of his so-called "friends," his health broke down at the age of 27, and although he tried to rehabilitate himself, he died of alcohol abuse one year later. Dorothy Baker's book and the later 1950s movie of the same title -- Young Man with a Horn -- was inspired by the life and legend of Bix Beiderbecke. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide