Albert T. Dickerson Movies
A team-building wilderness weekend turns into a waking nightmare when a group of adventurous L.A. executives fall prey to a relentless killer. Asked by her boss to join a paintball battle in the Northern California wilderness, gaming engineer Lee (Haylie Duff) eagerly accepts. After all, what better way to show up her cocky male colleagues than to lock them in her sights and squeeze off a round of paint-soaked humility? But these woods aren't as deserted as the boss had anticipated, because lurking amidst the foliage is a violent gang of survivalists who are determined to keep their location secret. When these two worlds collide, the body count starts to rise. Now locked in a vicious battle for survival in the middle of nowhere, the only hope for these white-collar city slickers is to embrace their own killer instincts, and teach their attackers a lesson in ferocity ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
An honored soldier returns home attempting to pick up his life where he left off before the war, only to find that his oldest friend is his newest enemy in this western starring Lou Diamond Phillips. Bobby Hathaway (Phillips) served his country with pride; now all he wants is to rest easy while enjoying the company of friends and family. Upon realizing that his childhood friend (Vincent Spano) has grown up to become a ruthless land baron intent on swindling regular folks out of their rightful properties, Bobby vows to protect both his land and his family even if it means putting his own life on the line to do so. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Diamond Phillips, Vincent Spano, (more)
- 2008
- Add An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong to QueueAdd An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong to top of Queue
It's always tough to move to a brand new school, especially when the year is already half over. This is exactly the spot Chrissa is in after finding herself the newest kid in the fourth grade and a prime target for the popular girls known as the "Mean Bees". When the biggest, meanest bully of the bunch becomes Chrissa's biggest competition on the swim team, Chrissa must find a way to stand her ground and end the bullying. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
A vengeful sheriff sets out to capture the escaped convict who murdered his wife and son in this gunpowder stained western starring Luke Perry and C. Thomas Howell. When his family was killed, Sheriff Matt Austin swore that he would take violent revenge on the man responsible for that woeful misdeed. But when Sheriff Austin discovers that the very same villain has been hired by a wealthy land baron to steal some valuable land from a terrified widow and her young son, he realizes that he must act quickly before any more lives are lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Perry, C. Thomas Howell, (more)
A happy and successful family man is lured down the destructive path of revenge after his son is killed and his wife brutalized in a vicious home invasion. Thomas Archer (Ron Eldard) had it all, a successful career as a senior associate at a prominent architectural firm, a beautiful wife, and a wonderful child. Just when it seemed that things couldn't get any better for Thomas, however, his life was suddenly transformed into a waking nightmare. One night, a violent criminal breaks into Thomas' home, attacking his wife and senselessly murdering his innocent young son. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Thomas implores the police for help in catching the criminals while attempting to pick up the pieces of his broken life by visiting a highly respected therapist (Christopher Plummer). When local law enforcement fails to turn up any leads, Thomas' therapist suggests that the vengeful father contact a mysterious group with the resources to ferret out his son's killer and let the father exact the any kind of justice that he sees fit. His marriage failing, Thomas decides to take his therapist up on the offer, sending the lives of everyone involved down a dark path from which there is no escape, and no return. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Eldard, Til Schweiger, (more)
Robert Tate Miller adapts Lynn Austin's best-selling, Christy Award-winning 2001 novel for the screen in the family-friendly drama Hidden Places. Sydney Penny (All My Children) stars as Eliza Wyatt, a Christian widow and mother of two grappling with a loss of faith, and forced to pull in the harvest before the bank forecloses on her family property. At the end of her rope, Eliza receives some greatly valued assistance from down-and-out military veteran Gabe Harper (Jason Gedrick) and venerable Aunt Batty (The Partridge Family's Shirley Jones). The film thus sings an ode to selfless love, the commitment to family, and the necessity of faith in God and others. Yelena Lanskaya directs this Hallmark Entertainment production. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sydney Penny, Jason Gedrick, (more)
A Los Angeles defense attorney discovers that in order to marry the love of his life, he'll first have to convince her rugged father that all lawyers aren't sharks. James White (Jeremy London) is a successful young lawyer who will soon be happily married if all goes as planned. Deeply in love with country-bred doctor Sadie Ryder (Dorie Barton), James plans on asking for his true love's hand in marriage when the pair head back to rural Pine Gap to celebrate Christmas with her family. Trouble is, Sadie's gruff father Karl (James Gammon) doesn't care much for city boys, and the less said about his opinion of lawyers the better. Over the course of the next week, James is prepared to do everything in his power to win Karl over, whether it be baling hay with the good old boys or heading out for the hunt despite the fact that he's never fired a gun. All the while, Sadie's well-meaning Aunt Trudy (Sally Struthers) does her best to convince her niece to date a real man, like the girl's rough-and-tumble high school sweetheart Clint (John Littlefield). Later, when a group of environmentalists hatch a plan to turn the county into a national park, it appears that the days of Ryder Ranch may be numbered. While James realizes that a good lawyer to help get the family out of their current jam, he realizes that Sadie's father isn't willing to listen to reason. Still determined to impress Karl and win Sadie's hand in marriage, James hastily sets out into the wilderness in order to prove that he can live off the land with the best of them. By the time the rescue team is called, few will doubt that James' love for Sadie is genuine. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy London, Dorie Barton, (more)
- 2005
After too many years away, brittle big-city doctor Sydney Ludwick (Lisa Hartman Black) returns to her home town of Bloomfield for a high school reunion. She is mildly surprised to find out that her widowed mother Helen (Rue McLanahan), with whom she hasn't communicated since the death of her dad, has transformed the family home into a bed-and-breakfast. Likewise bidding fair to bring change to Sydney's life is the fact that her high school sweetheart Gus (Dale Midkiff) is now a widower. But nothing quite prepares Sydney for the revelation of a dark secret that her mother has been harboring for years, with the tacit assistance of local pastor Ed Jenkins (Don Harvey). The background music is provided by country singer Clint Black, husband of the film's leading lady. Produced for cable's Hallmark channel, Back to You & Me originally aired on July 23, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
In this sequel to the extraordinarily popular 2004 cable movie Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus, Steve Guttenberg returns in the role of Nick, son of the soon-to-be retired Santa Claus (John Wheeler) and heir to the North Pole toyshop. Likewise, Crystal Bernard repeats her characterization of Beth Sawtelle, the widowed mom who has agreed to marry Nick so that his "destiny" will be fulfilled. Nick and Beth have only four days before the Christmas Eve deadline to tie the knot, lest the Santa Claus Legacy crumble into dust. Unable to handle the wedding plans herself, Beth makes the tactical error of turning to her society-doyenne mother Joanna (Mariette Hartley) for help--and as it happens, Joanna just plain despises Nick, and isn't about to let her daughter marry "beneath her station" (Nick of course could solve the problem by revealing that his dad is Santa Claus. . .if only Joanna believed in Santa Claus!) Also returning from Single Santa Meets Mrs. Claus are Armin Shimerman as the Senior S.C.'s head elf Ernest (who prefers the title "executive assistant") and Dominic Scott Kay as Beth's son Jake. Making its television debut on December 17, 2005, Meet the Santas broke the record set by its predecessor, posting the highest-ever ratings for a Hallmark Channel movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
After the death of his beloved wife, Helen (Lynne Moody), wealthy African-American suburbanite William Campbell (James Earl Jones) finds that Helen has left behind a "living will" in the form of a videotape. As William watches the video, his late wife urges him to take his huge personal library down to the tough inner-city neighborhood and to establish a reading room. Though confused by this request, William does exactly that, only to find that none of his new neighbors seem inclined to read -- not until he posts a sign reading FREE SODA. Ever so slowly, a few "regulars" trickle into the reading room, among them an idealistic young special-ed teacher (Joanna Cassidy), a high-schooler (Keith Robinson) studying for his SATS, and a little girl (Gabby Soleil) who hopes to get her mother to learn to read. For the most part, however, William's little sanctuary is the target of break-ins and the hangout for local gang members, and with this in mind it isn't surprising that several people encourage him to pack up and get out -- none more adamantly than the Reverend Rashid Rahim (played by George Stanford Brown, the film's director), a self-appointed urban activist who perceives in William a threat to his supremacy. Eventually, whether or not William stays or goes boils down to his attempt at "redeeming" a youthful thief named Javier (Douglas Spain) -- and it is at this point in the narrative that William finally understands why Helen wanted him to open up the reading room in the first place. Filmed with the endorsement of the National Center for Family Literacy, The Reading Room was produced for cable's Hallmark Channel, where it first aired on November 26, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Earl Jones, Georg Stanford Brown, (more)
Ambitious young advertising man Phillip Fielder (Chad Lowe) has no time for relationships, and seems to have affection only for his creature comforts -- a source of great dismay for his erstwhile girlfriend, Holly Ford (Marin Hinkle). When his orphaned nephew, an autistic eight-year-old named Zachary (K'Sun Ray), comes to live in Phillip's lavish apartment, Phillip wants no part of surrogate fatherhood and tries to pass the youngster along to his cousin Rose (Miriam Flynn), who happens to live near a group home for special children. But Zach nixes this idea and insists upon living with Phillip, thus throwing together two extremely self-absorbed, obsessive-compulsive characters under one roof. This being a Hallmark Channel presentation, Fielder's Choice will undoubtedly work its way toward a happy and heartwarming finale, though it definitely takes some doing! The film made its TV bow on June 18, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The made-for-cable The Family Plan will probably seem a breath of fresh air to anyone who hasn't seen such movies as Picture Perfect and Good Neighbor Sam, or who can't remember the mid-1960s TV sitcom Occasional Wife. A longtime employee at Sugar Dot Bakeries, Ms. Charlie McKenzie (Tori Spelling) faces dismissal when the company is taken over by a conglomerate. It seems that new CEO Walcott (Greg Germann) is a staunch advocate of Family Values, and prefers to employ people who are married and with children. Since Charlie cannot meet either one of these requirements, she hastily concocts a job-saving hoax, "borrowing" her best friend's daughter (Kali Rocha) to pose as her own child, then hiring unemployed actor Buck Maddox (Jordan Bridges) to impersonate Charlie's nonexistent dental-hygienist husband. The you-know-what threatens to hit the fan when Germann moves next door to Charlie and her "family". The Family Plan originally aired over the Hallmark channel on February 17, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tori Spelling, Greg Germann, (more)
Produced for cable's Hallmark channel, The Long Shot stars Julie Benz as expert equestrienne Annie Garrett. Forced by her demanding mother, Bonnie (Laura Johnson), to live under the shadow of her sister, Katie, who won 37 blue ribbons for her horsemanship before her death in a freak accident, Annie is further burdened when her no-good husband, Ross (John Livingston), deserts her. With her seven-year-old daughter, Taylor (Gage Golightly), in tow, the cash-strapped Annie accepts a very difficult job as a groomer and trainer on the Colorado horse farm owned by the no-nonsense Mary Lou O'Brien (Marsha Mason). Despite her heavy workload, Annie thrives in her new environment, forming a strong "friendship" with a horse named Tolo, whom she hopes to ride to victory in a high-stakes contest. Alas, Annie's opportunity to finally live up to the accomplishments of her late sister Katie may be permanently scuttled when Tolo is suddenly struck blind. The Long Shot was first broadcast on April 18, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Benz, Marsha Mason, (more)
Weary and dispirited following the death of his wife Lorraine (Meredith Baxter) and after suffering a mild stroke, Buddy Bishop (Ronny Cox) anxiously reaches out to his estranged daughters Sarah (Tracy Needham) and Beth (Natasha Gregson Wagner), asking that they join him for a Christmas reunion. Despite a multitude of their own problems, Sarah and Beth agree--but they're not too happy about spending the holidays in the old, boarded-up house that Buddy had shared with his late wife. Circumstances change dramatically when the Bishops awaken one morning to find a beaming Lorraine waiting for them in the kitchen as if nothing had ever happened to her! The "resurrection" of Lorraine leads to a moving and inspirational conclusion in the made-for-cable Angel in the Family, which first aired December 18, 2004 on the Hallmark channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
It's yet another version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, with a gender-bender twist. Tori Spelling stars as Carol Cummings, a fabulously wealthy and enormously successful TV talk show host -- and a first-class shrew. Caring little for anything but the money and the celebrity that her job accrues, Carol mercilessly bullies and harangues everyone with whom she works, from her ulcerated producer Jimmy Fields (Michael Landes) to her long-suffering personal assistant Roberta Timmons (Nina Siemaszko), a single mom who dares not risk losing her job -- especially with Christmas just a few days away. While feverishly putting together a Yuletide TV special, Carol is visited by the ghost of her Aunt Marla (Dinah Manoff), who in her time was an even more insufferable diva than her niece. Warning Carol to change her ways before it is too late, Aunt Marla further proclaims that Carol will that evening be visited by three spirits who will show her the error of her ways. From this point forward it's the same old story, though it's fun to watch Gary Coleman as the Ghost of Christmas Past (appropriately in the form of a washed-up sitcom star!) and especially William Shatner as a Dr. Phil-style Ghost of Christmas Present. Also, the film represents one of the few times that the Scrooge character has a living love interest -- namely, Jason Brooks as John, a well-known Good Samaritan who continues to pine for Carol even after she has decided that he's the proverbial millstone around her neck. A Carol Christmas was first telecast by cable's Hallmark Channel on December 7, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tori Spelling, Dinah Manoff, (more)
- 1997
- R
Pulp fiction writer Jim Thompson's novels have been adapted into noirish movies such as The Grifters and this one, directed by Michael Oblowitz. This unusual dark tragedy is narrated by Marty (Billy Zane), a successful investigative reporter who is unhappy with his shy and sick wife. As children, Marty and his twin sister Carol (Gina Gershon) saw their father and his mistress murdered in their home. Their mother (Rue McClanahan) took the children on the road, and they had a tumultuous childhood before finally settling in a small town in California. Marty and Carol had an incestuous relationship, and now they resume it after Marty leaves his wife and job to visit his sister and mother. Carol has been divorced and has become a cheap hooker. Marty soon hooks up with a classy, highly professional policewoman, Lois Archer (Sheryl Lee), who has a secret need to treated abusively, and they spend decadent weekends together at a beach cottage that Lois and her husband own. Marty and Carol plot to get the cabin for themselves after Carol poisons a couple of gangsters who are horning in on her prostitution business. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Zane, Gina Gershon, (more)
- 1988
- PG
The sequel to Saturday the 14th, this horror-comedy traces the adventures of nice-guy teen Eddie Baxter (Jason Presson) as he saves the world from the brink of supernatural destruction. After moving into a decrepit, inherited mansion with his family -- a collection of oddballs who eat nothing but junk food yet cling to a Leave It to Beaver sense of normalcy -- Eddie is the only one to notice the mysterious mists that spill up from the basement and engender odd behavior in everyone but himself and lovable old Gramps (Ray Walston). The entire family, from Eddie's dad (Avery Schreiber) to his freeloading Aunt Alice (Rhonda Aldrich), soon begins conducting late-night chocolate-fudge sculpture classes in the kitchen. Chairs begin eating people, Aunt Alice spouts werewolf-style facial hair, and monsters begin issuing forth from a crack in the basement floor. Soon, a leggy blond vampire named Charlene (Pamela Stonebrook) has taken up residence in the Eddie's room; she tells the boy he's set to inherit the mantle of darkness from a fiend known as The Evil One (Leo V. Gordon) at the stroke of midnight on Saturday the 14th. As signs and portents proliferate, Eddie must decide whether to reject temptation or bask in his newfound powers. Help arrives unexpectedly in the form of Leonard Cavendish (Phil Leeds), Gramps' deceased best friend. Saturday the 14th Strikes Back co-star Avery Schreiber spent much of the '80s being distracted by the hearty crunch of Doritos snack chips in a long-running series of TV commercials. Audiences will remember Ray Walston from his role as Uncle Martin in the '60s TV show My Favorite Martian, while veteran comedy player Phil Leeds would go on to play tooth-obsessed Judge Happy Boyle on the '90s Fox comedy Ally McBeal. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Presson, Ray Walston, (more)
