William Lucking Movies

The true story of a man who never gave up on his dreams of doing something big -- and doing it very, very fast -- provides the basis for this engaging comedy drama. Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins) was born in 1899 in Invercargill, New Zealand. From childhood, Munro had a passion for machines that moved fast, and when he was 21 he bought his first motorcycle, an Indian model with a 600 cc engine. Motorcycles became an obsession that stayed with Munro for the rest of his life, as he constantly tinkered with his beloved Indian machine, modifying the engine and frame, determined to see just how fast he could make it run. In 1967, Munro decided it was high time he proved to himself and the world just what he and his machine could do, and he booked passage for the United States, with the goal of breaking the world's land speed record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats. As Munro made his way across America to Utah, he discovered not everyone took his dream seriously, but some did, and he made a handful of friends along the way, including Ada (Diane Ladd), a widow who fell for Munro's rough charm, and Fernando (Paul Rodriguez), a car dealer who offered to help him. However, when he finally arrived at Bonneville, Munro was told his machine was unsafe to participate in the time trials, and -- far worse -- he was too old to ride. It took some intervention from a ranking American driver, Jim Moffett (Chris Lawford), before Munro was given his chance to ride the famous Salt Flats. The World's Fastest Indian was written and directed by Roger Donaldson, who early in his career made a documentary about the real Burt Munro, Offerings to the Gods of Speed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The 1995 novel by Dr. Gene Brewer becomes this drama from director Iain Softley. After a mugging incident at New York's Grand Central Station, Prot (Kevin Spacey), a man who claims to be an alien from the planet K-PAX, is turned over to a public mental hospital and the care of Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges). When medication fails to alter Prot's insistence that he is visiting from another world on a fact-finding mission, Powell gets more involved with his patient, who seems to have a calming effect on the other residents of his ward. At first convinced that Prot is a delusional who can be treated, Powell begins to wonder if his bizarre patient's story is true, particularly after the hospital's doctors find that Prot possesses the baffling ability to see ultraviolet light. As the date grows nearer when Prot claims he must leave Earth (a "class BA-III planet"), Powell becomes increasingly concerned that a psychiatric breakthrough must occur by then. K-PAX (2001) co-stars Alfre Woodard and Mary McCormack. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

After a member of Kira's former Shakaar Resistance group is killed, she receives a recording warning that several more of her old comrades-in-arms will die. Unable to stop the carnage, Kira comes to the terrifying conclusion that she is next on the hit list (and, by extension, so is her unborn child). Racing against time, she must expose the identity of the vendetta-seeking assassin, and what she learns is both shocking and saddening. First broadcast January 6, 1997, "The Darkness and the Light" was scripted by Ronald D. Moore from a story by Rene Echevarria. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having completed medical school, Carter (Noah Wyle) invites Benton (Eriq La Salle) to his graduation -- only to miss the festivities himself because he's too busy comforting his patient TC (Gabrielle Boni). Meanwhile, Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies), fed up with the bureaucracy and backstabbing of hospital politics, quits her job; and Greene (Anthony Edwards) is forced to back Weaver (Laura Innes) for the job of attending physician if he wants to appoint Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) as chief resident. This final episode of ER's second season includes an unresolved plot strand involving Benton, his erstwhile lover, Jeanie (Gloria Reuben), and an HIV examination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This horror film begins on a typical night in 1978 as seven-year-old Griffin Davis' parents are telling him a bedtime story about the Sandman. Meanwhile a serial killer with a taste for slaughtering families is dangerously close. Each of the families had a boy Griffin's age. His parents finish their story and leave the room. Later the police arrive just in time to save the frightened boy and capture the killer. Seventeen years pass and the murderer, known as The Sandman, is being prepared for execution. At the same time, Griffin, a rookie journalist and Megan, a photographer feel attracted to each other as they wait for the death. In his death row cell, Sandman is visited by a strange clergyman who bestows the killer with supernatural powers. After he is executed, his body changes into real sand. Assuming human form, the walking dune takes off after Griffin to finish what he started so long ago. Mayhem and murder ensue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

As the Sipowicz-Costas nuptuals approach, Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) expresses a desire to get married quickly in a Maryland civil service, while Sylvia Costas (Sharon Lawrence) wants a big, fat Greek Orthodox Wedding. Back on the job, Sipowicz and Simone (Jimmy Smits) investigate an execution-style multiple slaying at an upstate restaurant. And in the midst of a rape investigation, Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) expresses jealousy when his partner Lesniak (Justine Miceli) is reunited with her high-school friend Paul (Tom Verica), who happens to be the doctor tending to the elderly rape victim. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Made for video, the Canadian Murder So Sweet stars Harry Hamlin as a ladies' man with a smooth line and a cool approach. Trouble arises only whenever one of Hamlin's girlfriends starts insisting upon a committment. That's when he settles the argument with murder. Helen Shaver, who suspects that Hamlin is a killer but has no concrete evidence, decides to trap him by posing as a potential conquest. Murder So Sweet is a lot better than one might expect, thanks to the cast and the surehanded direction of Larry (Goodbye Columbus) Peerce. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While on tour promoting her book, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is slated to be interviewed at a prairie radio station by a Stern-ish "shock jock" named Marcus Rule (Jeff Yagher). It should not be surprising that Jessica makes short work of the abrasive Rule, coming out the victor in their on-air confrontation. It should also not be surprising that a murder occurs, the victim being one of the station's two feuding owners. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A woman loses her son and brother in a mysterious accident which yielded no bodies. Understandably distraught, she is hardly prepared to confront her "dead" brother, now hale and hearty. But the man insists that he's never seen her before. Together with her husband, our heroine investigates this puzzler, uncovering an insidious plot to create a "new" race of humans by wiping out their memory banks. Kim Griest, Gregory Harrison, Cicely Tyson and Kevin McCarthy star in the made-for-TV Duplicates, which made its debut over the USA Cable Network on March 18, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In New Orleans, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) attends the funeral of a legendary jazz musician. She also gets involved in a murder investigation--this one twenty years old, stemming from the unsolved slaying of the late musician's sweetheart. Evidently the reopening of this case also opens a few old wounds, as proven when the musician's favorite bass player also turns up dead. This episode boasts a strong cast of top African American character actors, among them Beah Richards and Julius Harris. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a mayor's political career is threatened by the avaricious land speculators who are trying to force her to give into their demands. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

15 years ago, Jessica's cousin Anne (Shirley Jones was about to be married when her fiancé was murdered, ostensibly by Anne's mentally unbalanced brother, who was promptly locked up in an institution. Now, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is in attendance when Anne decides to give matrimony a second chance. Unfortunately, Anne's new fiancé dies in a similar manner as her earlier beau--and by a bizarre coincidence, her brother has just been released from confinement! Look for a pre-3rd Rock from the Sun Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a bit role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide