Vanessa Morley Movies
- 2005
Originally titled Echoes, this made-for-cable drama is set in Napa Valley wine country, sometime in the 1980s. Patricia Heaton (who also produced the film) stars as Sara, the daughter of strong-willed vineyard owner Alicia Anselmi (Lainie Kazan). Hoping to arrange a merger between Alicia and rival vintner Nick Di Cenzo (Tony Lo Bianco), Sara must first overcome the bitter 40-year-feud between ex-sweethearts Alicia and Nick, which began when each seemingly jilted the other during WW2. The delivery of a long-lost engagement ring proves beyond doubt that Nick had intended to marry Alicia, but evidently this does little to alleviate their mutual animosity. And when it appears that Sara intends to dump her fiancé Brian (David Hunt) in favor of Nick's nephew Tony (Vincent Spano), Alicia and Nick are all the more convinced that any merger between the Anselmi and DiCenzo families--even a merger that never comes to fruition--will result only in heartache for all concerned. The Engagement Ring originally aired over the TNT cable network on November 28, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Heaton, Lainie Kazan, (more)
- 1997
- PG13
A criminal genius who has carefully planned the ultimate score runs across an unexpected obstacle -- a 16-year-old computer hacker -- in this youth-oriented action-adventure story. Ozzie Paxton (Vincent Kartheiser) is a teenager with a knack for causing trouble; he's been expelled from the Shady Glen School, an exclusive private academy, for pulling one too many pranks on the faculty. Besides, he prefers to stay home with his computer, where for fun and profit he hacks into the systems of computer game designers, downloads new games before they can go on the market, and burns bootleg CD-ROMs that he can sell to his friends. One day, Ozzie's younger sister Melissa (Katie Stuart) talks him into giving her a lift to Shady Glen, where she still attends; looking for a little revenge, he sneaks into the school and intends to have a little fun with their computer system. As it turns out, Ozzie runs afoul of the school's new security chief, former British Secret Service agent Rafe Bentley (Patrick Stewart), who was hired by Principal Maloney (Brenda Fricker) after Ozzie's most recent bit of computer terrorism. But Bentley is not the friend of the law that he seems to be; several of the wealthiest families in America send their children to Shady Glen, and Bentley has a scheme to kidnap ten of the school's richest children and hold them for a ransom of $650 million. Ozzie is caught in the middle of Bentley's kidnapping plot and must now use his computer skills in order to save the children and put Bentley behind bars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Stewart, Vincent Kartheiser, (more)
