Lisa Eichhorn

The true story of Latvia's struggle for independence sets the stage for this epic-scale historical drama. Martins (Janis Reinis) is a Latvian patriot who joins the Army during World War I to help defeat Germany and help his homeland become a free state after hundreds of years of occupation. Martins's decision means he must postpone his wedding to beautiful Elza (Elita Klavina), though she pledges to wait for him. In 1918, the great war finally draws to a close, but while Latvia is finally free, Martins and a handful of other former soldiers learn that Russian and German forces are intent upon reclaiming the nation as their own. Determined that no one will take away their freedom, Martins organizes a band of homegrown guerillas to fight off the invaders. Rigas Sargi (aka Defenders of Riga) was the most costly Latvian film to date at the time of its release, and the sets constructed for the production were kept standing after shooting was completed and opened to the public as a historical exhibit. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, good friends change their feelings about each other over the course of their four years in college. Ryan (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and Jennifer (Claire Forlani) have known each other since grade school, though their oil-and-water personalities don't always mesh. Engineering student Ryan focuses on his studies and future career, while Jennifer likes loud music, partying, and not doing her homework. As they suffer their share of disastrous relationships, these two opposites begin to wonder if they were meant to be more than friends. The supporting cast includes Jason Biggs as Ryan's loudmouth roommate Hunter, Amanda Detmer as Jennifer's neurotic pal Amy, Alyson Hannigan as Ryan's sometime girlfriend Betty, and Heather Donahue, who is no worse for wear after her experiences in the Maryland woods in The Blair Witch Project. Director Robert Iscove also worked with Prinze on She's All That (1999). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Not to be confused with the 50-minute television documentary of the same name, the made-for-British-TV biopic Diana: The People's Princess stars Amy Seccombe as the title character. Rather than rehash the tumultuous marriage between Diana and Prince Charles (Robert De Newby), the film focuses on the protagonist's last 14 months on Earth, from her divorce in May of 1996 to her tragic death in August of 1997. Adroitly blending heartbreak with triumph, the script details Diana's loss of her royal title, her troubled relationship with sons Harry (Rory Jennings) and William (Freddie Sayers), her ongoing travails with the press and papparazzi, her extensive humanitarian activities (with Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa making token appearances), and her romance with Dodi Ay Fayed (George Jackos), who was fated to die with Diana in that infamous car crash. Seemingly dedicated to bestowing sainthood upon Princess Di, the film manages to make her antagonists as unpleasant and unsympathetic as possible, with an inordinate amount of scorn heaped upon Dodi's former fiancée! First telecast in the U.K. on April 12, 1998, Diana: The People's Princess debuted in the U.S. courtesy of the TNT cable network on August 29, 1999, on the eve of the second anniversary of Diana's death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Young lovers and small-time New Orleans scammers Coco Chavez (Carla Gugino) and Junior Armstrong (Simon Baker-Denny) move up a few rungs when they kidnap wealthy computer mogul Ben Dyson (Greg Wise) in Sebastian Gutierrez's neo-noir. During the crime, Coco kills Dyson's girlfriend, Patty (Beverly Penberthy), wife of Senator Rupert Hornbeck (Hal Holbrook). Assigned to the case are FBI Agent Sadie Hawkins (Emma Thompson) and Police Lt. David Friedman (Alan Rickman). When Hornbeck threatens Friedman instead of assisting him, the detective suspects that this is no ordinary kidnapping for ransom, and he does his own investigation. A conscience-stricken Coco realizes that she may have been set up to kill Patty, and she, too, takes matters into her own hands. A fairly complex tale of betrayal and corruption, Judas Kiss also spoofs noir conventions -- for instance, agent Hawkins is reading Jim Thompson's crime novel The Killer Inside Me, and he discusses the writer's works with Friedman during lulls in the action. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide

The remarkable life and tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales is the subject of this tribute, which explores her humanity and generous nature. This video includes exclusive interviews with friends and family, as well as documentary footage of her life, her times and her solemn farewell to this world. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Some say that to be the leader of a country is one of the loneliest jobs in the world. But being the child of a world leader can be doubly so. Constantly surrounded by security officers, restricted in movements and having almost every waking moment carefully monitored makes normalcy an impossibility. No one knows this better than young Luke Davenport, the son of U.S. President Davenport. He vents his loneliness, frustration and feelings of isolation from family and friends by being a brat to his private Secret Service agent. When the agent snaps from the strain in front of the First Lady, a new agent is assigned to Luke. He turns out to be the enormous Sam Simms, a bit of a rogue who managed to rise through the ranks by sheer determination rather than strict adherence to Secret-Service protocol. At first, Luke tries all his old tricks upon Sam. But instead of getting angry, Sam seems to actually understand. This touching comedy follows the eventual friendship that forms between the two misfits. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Most people fall in love and then have a baby, but one woman finds herself reversing the process in this romantic comedy. Grace Rhodes (Lisa Eichhorn) is a businesswoman inching into her 40s who has reached most of her career goals, but she is having a little trouble with her biological clock, which has started ticking very, very loudly. Grace hasn't had much luck in finding Mr. Right, and her friend Elaine (Caroline Aaron), who manages the not inconsiderable feat of being even more cynical about such matters than Grace, assures her that the man of her dreams doesn't really exist. Elaine is the first to suggest to Grace that if she wants a child and can't find a man, perhaps she should consider visiting a sperm bank. In time, Grace warms to the idea and eventually chooses sample #247. Grace becomes pregnant, and is very happy...until she starts wondering what sort of man her child's father really is. With Elaine's help, Grace cracks into the sperm bank's records and learns that #247 belongs to Peter Kessler (Stanley Tucci), a gifted but lonely photographer with serious commitment issues. Elaine meets Peter at the gallery he runs, and before long, a cautious romance begins to blossom between them, but Elaine isn't sure if this relationship is destined to last -- or when or if she should tell Peter that she's carrying his child. A Modern Affair was produced, directed, and written by Vern Oakley; it was his first feature film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

George Sluizer's 1992 English-language remake of his 1988 Dutch thriller The Vanishing follows the same plot-line as the original film, yet with one important difference. The film details a young man's (Kiefer Sutherland) search for his girlfriend (Sandra Bullock), who disappeared at a gas station after the couple had a fight. Where the original film didn't reveal what happened to the girlfriend until late into the movie, the 1992 version opens with her kidnapper (Jeff Bridges) plotting his abduction. Over the course of the film, Sutherland's search for Bullock is intercut with footage of Bridges that illustrates his mental illness and his repeated attempts to abduct women. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

As detective Cerreta (Paul Sorvino) recovers from his gunshot wounds, Logan (Chris Noth) adjusts himself to his new partner, Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach, in his first Law & Order appearance, save for an earlier guest-star appearance in a different role). Logan and Briscoe's current investigation results in the arrest of a suspect who claims self defense. In mounting his case against the accused, assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) is distressed to learn that he will be coming face to face with an old enemy from his law-school days. Elaine Stritch won an Emmy award for her performance in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pride and Extreme Prejudice was first seen January 17, 1990, on the USA Cable TV network. Brian Dennehy is atypically but effectively cast as an ageing CIA agent headquartered in West Germany. Dennehy has recently recovered from a nervous breakdown, and as a result he falls under the deadly scrutiny of both the CIA and the KGB. The weary "mole" is sent on a mission in the Eastern sector from which neither side expects him to return--in fact, they're hoping he won't. Just a tad outdated by late-breaking world events, Pride and Extreme Prejudice was written directly for television by Frederick Forsyth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An entertaining hybrid of Amicus-style horror anthology and gritty low-budget western, this first-time effort from writer-director Wayne Coe succeeds where many such genre-bending attempts have failed. The quartet of uneven but well-mounted stories are spun around a desert campfire by grizzled, menacing bounty hunter Morrison (a rousingly hammy James Earl Jones) and wet-behind-the-ears city slicker Farley (Brad Dourif). Morrison starts off with the tale of an Indian tribe's ritual revenge against the drunken cracker who desecrates their sacred burial ground; When Farley seems interested but unfazed, Morrison follows up with the more visceral story of a Good Samaritan who succumbs to temptation while rendering aid to a pregnant woman, leading to a particularly disgusting (though definitely original) demise. Appalled by the storyteller's lack of taste, Farley counters with a down-to-earth morality tale involving a prairie settler's young daughter who witnesses her father's horrifying act of hate, realizing that the man she trusted with her life is a very human breed of monster. Morrison acknowledges his companion's skill but offers another violent story according to his own idiom -- that of a slick gunfighter who gets his comeuppance by his own hand after winning a deadly competition. The stories feature fine acting and direction but are ultimately overshadowed by the engaging framing story and lack much of the dramatic payoff of their earlier British counterparts. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Agatha Christie's Murder in Three Acts represents Peter Ustinov's fifth appearance as Dame Agatha's brilliant, insufferable Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The scene is Acapulco, where retired actor Tony Curtis hosts two separate parties--both of them were blighted by the fatal poisoning of a guest. The police think the butler did it (honest!), but Poirot activates his "little grey cells" to pinpoint the killer amongst a group of wealthy and eccentric suspects. Filmed in Mexico, Murder in Three Acts was the latest (and to some reviewers the least) in a long line of Agatha Christie TV-movie specials produced by Stan Marguiles. Ustinov was Poirot in three of these, having first essayed the role in the theatrical feature Death on the Nile (78). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Perennial second lead Lisa Eichhorn is afforded a starring role in the independently produced Wildrose. Shedding her abusive husband, Eicchorn starts life anew by taking a job as a heavy-machinery operator in an otherwise all-male Minnesota iron mine. Relentless harrassed by her sexist coworkers, Eichhorn finds a friend in strip-miner Tom Bower. Their casual relationship develops into romance, while Eichhorn questions the wisdom of entering into another love affair so quickly after her disastrous marriage. Wildrose was magnificently photographed on location in Minnesota and Wisconsin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide