Mike Frislev Movies

Sideways star Thomas Hayden Church appears alongside Academy Award-winner Robert Duvall in a dramatic mini-series shot in the classic western tradition. The year is 1897. As Print Ritter (Duvall) and his estranged nephew Tom Harte (Church) travel the slow road to reconciliation, they reluctantly find themselves forced to care for five abused and abandoned Chinese immigrants while simultaneously attempting to deliver a herd of horses across the plains. Soon confronted by a gang of malevolent kidnappers who intend to abduct the girls and use them for the own nefarious purposes, Print and Tom determine to keep their young charges out of harms way while ensuring that their valuable delivery reaches its intended destination. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A small-time English gangster with a big criminal appetite schemes to take over a family tavern in the Irish countryside, only to discover that the stubborn proprietors aren't willing to give up their business without a fight. Brendan Dempsy and Andy Curtis star in a dark crime comedy from first-time feature filmmaker Mike Scullion. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The often-controversial story of one of the world's most popular entertainers comes to life in this made-for-cable biographical drama. Michael Jackson (played by Flex Alexander) grew up in the spotlight as a member of the popular R&B combo the Jackson 5, but his youthful success came with a price -- robbed of a normal childhood, as he grew to be a man, Jackson found himself increasingly eager to remake his life into the childhood he never had. In the 1980's, Jackson's solo career caught fire, and his album Thriller became the biggest selling album of all time, moving over 40 million copies and making him wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. But as Jackson struggled to repeat its success, his public image and reputation became increasingly eccentric, and as allegations of drug abuse, excessive plastic surgery, and inappropriate behavior with children were thrown at him, Jackson found himself trapped between his desire to entertain his fans and proving to the world that he was a normal and law-abiding man. Produced for the VH1 cable network, Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story was first aired in 2004 as court proceedings were scheduled to begin against Jackson, who had been accused of child molestation. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cult figure Robert Downey, Sr. directed this offbeat comedy set in the eccentric environs of Los Angeles. Hugo Dugay (Alyssa Milano) is a young woman who makes her living cleaning swimming pools when she isn't busy looking after her mother Minerva (Cathy Moriarty), who's hooked on gambling, and her father Henry (Malcolm McDowell), who's hooked on alcohol and a number of drugs. One day, Hugo finds herself with over 40 pools to look after, complicated by the fact that L.A. is in the midst of a drought and she's forbidden to use city water lines to fill them. This is especially unwelcome news for Chick Chicalini (Richard Lewis), a crime boss who is having a party and insists on having a clean pool with fresh water for the occasion. In hopes of easing Chick's anxieties, she cooks up a complicated scheme involving a tanker truck and a quick trip to the Colorado River. Hugo also encounters a mysterious hitchhiker (Sean Penn) who may have magical powers and deals with other customers, including overwrought filmmaker Franz (Robert Downey, Jr.), and Floyd (Patrick Dempsey), a handsome man with whom Hugo is falling in love, despite the fact that he's suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Robert Downey, Sr. co-wrote Hugo Pool with his wife Laura Downey, who herself died from ALS at the age of 36. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide