Gary Jones Movies
- 1991
Partially filmed in Hawaii and Tahiti, And the Sea Will Tell was a two-part TV movie based on a real murder case. A wealthy couple (James Brolin and Deidre Hall) are killed on their yacht off the coast of a secluded South American island called Palmyra. The suspects are a hippyish pair (Hart Bochner and Rachel Ward) whom the rich folks had befriended. It's fairly clear that the hippies were involved in the crime: The question is, did the man do it while the girl looked on helplessly, or was she a willing accomplice? Richard Crenna plays real-life defense attorney Vincent Bugliosi, upon whose book And the Sea Will Tell was based. The first part of this teledrama premiered on February 24, 1991; part two, in which the girl's testimony consumes most of the screen time, was shown on February 26. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This family drama features the riotous exploits of a lovable seal who befriends a family of animal lovers living in Rockport Maine. The father in this family is Harry Whitney, the harbor master with a great love of animals. His wife Thalice, teenagers Steve and Paula also adore wild critters. But the one who loves them most of all is Toni, a grade-schooler. Every corner of their seaside home is filled with small animals. At work Harry battles the fishermen who hate the seals because they interfere with their catch. Their leader is Billy Baker who drinks too much. At school Toni is persecuted by her schoolmates, the sons and daughters of fishermen. Andre, the seal, has been separated from his clan and is sick. He is rescued by Harry, who brings him home. With Toni's special help, Andre returns to health and becomes a real handful by getting into innocent trouble at every turn. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Tina Majorino, (more)
A boy saves and befriends a mangy ex-circus dog and adopts him as a pet--without his father's knowledge. As the family moves across the country, the dog attempts to follow, getting into close calls and lots of adventures along the way. Will Bingo end up in the arms of his favorite boy? This spoof/adventure/comedy contains some violence and profanity. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cindy Williams, David Rasche, (more)
- 1995
- PG
Seinfeld's Jason Alexander stars in this made-for-television remake of the 1963 classic musical. Alexander stars as Albert J. Peterson, a man hoping to make his fortune and get the girl by promoting the big send-off for a newly drafted pop star named Conrad Birdie (Marc Kudish). A song-and-dance movie, actress-dancer Ann Reinking served as choreographer of this film. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 2002
The wealthy designer of the world's first fully computer-automated jetliner summarily fires one of his engineers, a disgruntled computer hacker. In retaliation, the engineer "kidnaps" the high tech jetliner from a hidden location on the ground, and threatens to destroy the plane during its maiden flight. The lives of the passengers, which include a prominent politician and his daughter, rests in the hands of a troubled ex-war hero. First broadcast on Spanish television in an R-rated version in October of 2002, Cabin Pressure "officially" premiered on November 15, 2002, courtesy of the American PAX network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Actress and writer Nia Vardalos, who became an overnight sensation with My Big Fat Greek Wedding, returns to the big screen with this gender-bending comedy. Connie (Vardalos) and Carla (Toni Collette) are best friends who've shared the same dream ever since they were teenagers -- making a name for themselves in the musical theater. However, after years of treading water on Chicago's dinner theater circuit and playing bottom-of-the-barrel nightclubs, the two are facing middle age with minimal career success. One evening after a performance, Connie and Carla have the misfortune of witnessing the murder of nightclub owner Frank (Michael Roberds) by low-level Mafiosi; the gals are seen by the shooters, and they hit the road in fear for their lives. Connie and Carla end up in Los Angeles, where they struggle to create new identities for themselves. After witnessing a drag review at a nightclub, they realize that even they have more talent than most of the men performing that evening, and they decide to pose as female impersonators in hopes of landing a gig. Connie and Carla's new act is an immediate hit, and soon they're the toast of L.A.'s gay community. But the women discover it's difficult to keep on fooling people into believing they're men, and things become even more complicated when the Mobsters discover that Connie and Carla are in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Connie finds herself falling for Jeff (David Duchovny), a regular guy looking for his cross-dressing brother who can't understand why he's developing a crush on a drag queen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nia Vardalos, Toni Collette, (more)
- 1992
Accompanied by Richie (Stan Kirsch), Tessa (Alexandra Van Der Noot) storms down to the courthouse to argue about her recent parking tickets. Almost immediately, both Richie and Tessa are taken hostage by a gang trying to free their leader, Bryan Slade (Andrew Divoff), who has just been sentenced to life imprisonment. In his efforts to rescue his friends, Duncan (Adrian Paul) is "killed" right before the eyes of a SWAT team. To avoid being exposed as an Immortal, Duncan is forced to carry out the rest of his rescue mission in secret, aided by feisty janitor's daughter Belinda (Andrea Libman). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrian Paul, Alexandra Van Der Noot, (more)
A man who may be on the verge of death quickly takes a thorough look at his life in this drama. Vincent Eastman (Richard Gere) is speeding along a mountain road in Canada when, while swerving to avoid a stalled van, he discovers that he's about to run headfirst into a trailer truck. As he's about to suffer a potentially fatal accident, Vincent finds himself flashing back on the events of his life -- most notably his relationships with his wife Sally (Sharon Stone), his mistress Olivia (Lolita Davidovich), and his daughter Meaghan (Jenny Morrison). While Vincent genuinely cares for Sally, he finds her cold and unemotional, but while the free-spirited Olivia has a passion for life that Sally lacks, Vincent can't bring himself to leave his wife for her. All parties involved feel that Vincent is hurting Meaghan with his inability to commit himself one way or the other, and his friend Neal (Martin Landau), a partner in his architectural firm, warns him that it is wrong for a man to live under two roofs at once. Intersection was an American adaptation of the 1970 French drama Les Choses de la Vie. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, (more)
In this Canadian children's drama, a young British Columbian boy attempts to build a moon rocket in his backyard. To do so, he must face many of the usual obstacles faced by boys in movies like this, including household chores, and bullies. His parents also take in foster kids. His newest foster brother is the androgynous looking native boy, Sam who at one point is mistaken for a girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cody Serpa, Simon Baker, (more)
Mike Nichols lends some comic structure to Carrie Fisher's best-selling confessional novel concerning a woman's struggles with drug addiction and mother-daughter rivalry (subjects Fisher admits to understanding all too well). Meryl Streep, in her most full-blown comic performance up to that point, plays Suzanne Vale, a popular movie actress well on her way to a Hollywood crack-up. Suzanne suffers from blackouts and memory lapses, and awakens in the beds of men she doesn't remember; she is a barely-functioning wreck on the set of her latest movie. When a coke dealer who delivers stops by her dressing room between takes, she swiftly finds herself being rushed to the hospital, suffering the effects of a narcotics bender. While in detox, Suzanne attempts to piece her life and career back together, but her confidence is shattered when her mother arrives at the rehab clinic -- Doris Mann, a famed film icon from the 1950s and 1960s (Shirley MacLaine). Doris is soon soaking up the adulation and applause of Suzanne's fellow recovering drug addicts. Upon Suzanne's release, she must compete with her mother for attention and fame as she tries to walk a thin line as a recovering drug abuser. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
Cashing in on the real-life influx of pesky "snake-head" fish in Midwestern lakes, this inexpensive sci-fi epic is set in a small Maryland fishing community called Cultus Lake. A dangerous strain of mutated snakeheads has decimated the lake's fish population, whereupon Doc Jenkins (played by X-Files' William B. Davis, aka "Cigarette-Smoking Man"), the shady owner of a nearby chemical plant, fills the water with pollutants to kill off the invaders. At the same time, the local leaders, desperate to pull Cultus Lake out of a severe financial slump, has dumped human growth hormones in the lake to improve the stock. You guessed it: Both the chemicals and hormones succeed only in making the snakeheads even larger and more ferocious--and worse still, they are now leaving the lake and crawling around on dry land, in search of human blood! Caught in the middle of the crisis is Sheriff Patrick James (Bruce Boxleitner) and the standard-issue beautiful female biologist Lori Dale (Carol Alt). An amalgam of every cheesy CGI effect ever seen on the many Jaws ripoffs that have proliferated as made-for-cable and direct-to-video thrillers, Snakehead Terror received its biggest audience when it was telecast by the Sci-Fi network on March 13, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
This episode takes place a decade into the future: The SG-1 team has been de-activated by the new President, the Goa'uld has been defeated, and all earthly diseases have been eradicated. This has come about thanks to the advanced technology of the Aschen, a seemingly benign alien race. But when the now-married Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) is given false information about her inability to bear children, it becomes obvious that the Aschen pose a sinister threat. The former SG-1 team members must send a message to their younger selves in the year 2000 to preserve the future of Mankind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
The SG-1 lands on Edora, a planet travelling in an asteroid belt. Upon discovering that the planet is in imminent danger from "The Rain", a cataclysmic meteor shower that occurs every 150 years, the SG-1 hurries to evacuate the Edorans. Alas, in his effort to rescue the planet's leader Laira (Michele Greene), O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) is left stranded on Edora, with no hope of rescue--and the helpless SG-1 crew must struggle with the acceptance of the Inevitable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
The SG-1 team investigates a mysterious Abydonian sandstorm, which seems to be whispering the name of team member Jackson (Michael Shanks). Amazingly, the storm metamorphoses into a young boy named Shifu (Lane Gates)--and thus is the team reunited with the Harcesis child of the Goa'uld Apophis and Jackson's Jaffa wife Sha're. Subsequently, Jackson (Michael Shanks) is endowed with the Goa'uld genetic memory--and the changes in his personality are disturbing indeed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
The SG-1 crew's memories are wiped out by an alien ruling elite. Now O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson is convinced he is Jonah, Carter (Amanda Tapping) believes herself to be Terra, Jackson (Michael Shanks) answers only to Carlin, and Teal'c (Christopher Judge) has been "reborn" as Tor--and all four have been put to work as slave laborers in an underground facility. Refusing to accept reports that the SG-1 team has been killed, General Hammond (Don S. Davis) mounts a rescue attempt--but even if he succeeds, will the team remember anything of their past lives? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
After Jackson (Michael Shanks) assists in the delivery of a baby on the planet Argos, the SG-1 team is invited by the planet's inhabitants to a joyous festival. The team cannot help but notice that the Argos population consists entirely of young, beautiful people who immediately fall asleep at sunset, awakening several years older the next day. It turns out that the Argosian lifespan is only 100 days, and that the inhabitants grow old at an accelerated rate. Seduced by the Argosian Kynthia (Bobbie Phillips), O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) inherits the planetary traits, ageing rapidly before his comrades' eyes. Carter must find out the cause behind this phenomenon--before O'Neill dies of old age. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) smells a rat when General Hammond (Don S. Davis) steps down as head of SGC and is replaced by the hawkish General Bauer (Lawrence Dane). Almost immediately, Bauer begins demonstrating that he's dealing from the bottom of the deck by breaking up the SG-1 team and starting work on a bomb designed to destroy "unfriendly" planets. In his efforts to thwart Bauer and restore Hammond to power, O'Neill finds an ally in the form of an old nemesis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
The first episode of the TV series Stargate SG-1 takes place one year after the events in the 1994 Stargate theatrical feature. After quickly establishing that the Stargate portal was developed by an ancient Earth civilization in order to contact other solar systems, the focus of the story shifts to Col. Jack O'Neil (Richard Dean Anderson), who has been in retirement ever since defeating the megalomaniac Ra on the planet Abydos. Restored to active duty by General Hammond (Don Davis), who is now in charge of Earth's Stargate Project, O'Neil is instructed to rescue scientist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), who may have survived the destruction of Abydos' Stargate. Assembling an exploratory team including his old comrades Kawalsky (Jay Acovone) and Ferretti (Brent Stait), as well as astrophysicist Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), O'Neill manages to locate Jackson, who has found a huge cartouche in hieroglyphics, indicating that there are thousands of Stargates throughout the galaxy. The trick now is to hide this valuable information from the evil Apophis (Peter Williams), a revived mythological Egyptian god who intends to use the Stargate technology to take over the universe. Originally telecast as a two-hour episode, "Children of the Gods" has since been divided into two hour-long installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
In the conclusion of Stargate SG-1's opening episode, Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and his SG-1 team have located scientist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), discoverer of the ancient Stargate technology enabling Earth to contact other solar systems. Jackson, who has proof that other Stargates exist throughout the galaxy, has for the last year been living on the planet Abydos with his alien wife, Sha're (Vaitare Bandera), and her brother, Skaara (Alexis Cruz). Sha're is kidnapped by the evil Egyptian god Apophis (Peter Williams), who hopes to use the Stargates to take over the universe with the help of the Goa'ulds, parasitic snake creatures who need humans as host bodies. Newly relocated to the planet Chulak, Apophis rules the populace with Sha're (her body taken over by Goa'ulds) as his queen. Though they cannot rescue Sha're, the SG-1 team hope to save themselves and Skaara, so that they can continue thwarting Apophis throughout the universe. In this pursuit, they find an unexpected ally in the form of Teal'c (Christopher Judge), a Jaffa soldier in Apophis' army who carries a larval Goa'uld in his own belly. Originally telecast as a two-hour episode, "Children of the Gods" has since been divided into two hour-long installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
On the planet P3X562, Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) comes in contact with some luminescent blue crystals--and is promptly infected by an alien species who generate an O'Neill replicant. The fake O'Neill takes place of the real one, assuming command of the SG-1 and setting out to locate Jack's estranged wife Sara (Harley Jane Kozak). When the authentic O'Neill revives, he joins Carter (Amanda Tapping) and Jackson (Michael Shanks) in a frantic search for his double, who will become dangerously unstable upon entering the earth's atmosphere. In the process, both O'Neills must come to grips with the death of Jack's son Charlie (Kyle Graham). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Responding to a message that has apparently been issued by his mentor Bra'tac, Teal'c (Christopher Judge) is unexpectedly reunited with his lost love Shan'auc (Musetta Vander). She claims to have found a way to communicate with her Gou'ald symbiote, and hopes to use her enhanced knowledge to destroy the Goa'uld once and for all. Skeptical at first, Teal'c is eventually convinced of Shan'auc's sincerity--but both he and Sha'auc may be victims of a deadly deception. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
SG-1 arrives at the primitive planet Tolla, where a volcanic eruption is destroying everything. The team manages to rescue a few surprisingly advanced humans, led by Omoc (Tobin Bell)--who are far from grateful. The Tollan Narim (Garwin Sanford) explains why the refugees are suspicious of SG-1's motives: Years earlier, Omoc's father had shared the Tollan technology with earth--resulting in a devastating war which stripped the planet of its civilization and left the surviving Tollans in a state of enslavement. As O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) tries to convince Omoc that the people of Earth have mended their ways, he is undermined by certain hawkish Pentagon officials, determined to wreak more havoc upon the hapless Tollans. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
The SG-1 team is convinced that their comrade Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) was burned to death during an escape from the planet Oannes. In truth, Jackson is still alive and a captive of the amphibious humanoid Nem (Gerald Plunkett). Playing for time, Jackson agrees to help Nem locate his partner Omorca, who lived on earth during the Babylonian era. As Jackson and Nem discover that they have more in common than might be suspected, Jackson's earthbound team members, who are now not so certain that Daniel is dead, undergo hypnosis in hopes of retracing the events leading up to their cohort's "demise." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Picking up where the series' second season left off, the first episode of Stargate SG-1 finds SG-1 crew members O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), Carter (Amanda Tapping) and Jackson (Michael Shanks) trapped on the home planet of evil Goa'uld queen Hathor (Suanne Braun). As Hathor attempts to bring O'Neill over to her side by implanting him with a Goa'uld symbiote, in the Jaffa city of Chulak Teal'c (Christopher Judge) tries to raise an army to rescue his SG-1 comrades, with the assistance of Teal'c's mentor Bra'tac (Tony Amendola). The fate of everyone may rest in a bold plan hatched by Stargate leader Gen. Hammond (Don S. Davis)--while a previous rescue attempt by the reckless Col Makepeace (Steve Majac) yields potentially dangerous side effects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Arriving on a dead planet, the SG-1 team finds an ancient artifact, which emits strange elecromagnetic signals. The team brings the artifact back to earth through Stargate, only to discover that they are transporting a self-destructive alien virus, one that grows more powerful and dangerous with each attempt on its life. In desperation, Carter (Amanda Tapping) suggests that O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) allow his body to be used as the alien's host so that the team can attempt to establish communications--but they'd better hurry before the entire earth is reduced to rubble. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
