Bruce Evers Movies
This taut, gritty made-for-TV drama is based on an off-Broadway play by Marsha Norman and follows the struggle of a female ex-con to reform despite the destructive influence of her terrible mother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Made for cable TV, Against the Wall represents filmmaker John Frankenheimer's return to the small screen. This in-your-face reenactment of the 1971 Attica prison riots is jam-packed with political and sociological implications. Refreshingly, none of the participants -- the prisoners, the guards, the high-profile mediators, the New York powers-that-be-are rendered in strictly good-guy or bad-guy terms by screenwriter Ron Hutchinson. Anyone old enough to have witnessed the original live TV coverage of the riot, however, will be able to discern who was truly responsible for its tragic outcome. While the 1971 TV-movie Attica was told from a journalist's point of view, Against the Wall is filtered through the eyes of idealist young prison guard Kyle MacLachlan. Director Frankenheimer (who in 1962 helmed the vastly different prison picture Birdman of Alcatraz)stage-manages the proceedings with his usual aplomb, though he uncharacteristically leans towards B-flick melodrama in some scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyle MacLachlan, Samuel L. Jackson, (more)
This follow-up to the sizable horror hit concerns a Maine teenager who discovers the eerie power of a legendary local haunt. Edward Furlong stars as Jeff Matthews, who, with his veterinarian father Chase (Anthony Edwards), moves to latter's small hometown of Ludlow, Maine, in order to escape unhappy memories. Jeff's divorced mother, low-budget horror movie actress Renee (Darlanne Fluegel), was recently electrocuted and killed in a freak accident -- the entire incident was witnessed by Jeff. In his new community, Jeff hears stories of an ancient Indian burial ground nearby where dead pets that are interred come back to life. Jeff also becomes friends with pudgy Drew (Jason McGuire), whose abusive, bullying dad Gus (Clancy Brown) is Ludlow's sheriff. When Gus kills his son's dog, Drew and Jeff bury the animal, which returns from the dead. When the vengeful dog kills Gus, Drew and Jeff bury the lawman in the cemetery and he comes back significantly the worse for wear, wreaking evil havoc that temporarily puts several of Ludlow's residents six feet under. The original Pet Sematary (1989) was based on a novel by Stephen King, who did not participate in the sequel. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Furlong, Anthony Edwards, (more)
Composer Richard Parker (Kevin Kline) and his wife Priscilla (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) live an ordinary suburban life until they meet their new neighbors Eddy (Kevin Spacey) and Kay (Rebecca Miller). The two couples become friends until some mate-swapping is suggested by the men. The plot takes a nasty turn, however, when Richard sleeps with Kay -- who turns up, the next morning, bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat. Soon, Richard is charged with the crime and must prove his innocence. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, (more)
- 1992
In this fact-based drama, a real estate agent is horrified to learn that a home buyer is the one who killed her policeman husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
Peter Dexter adapted his National Book Award-winning novel for this probing made-for-cable film featuring Dennis Hopper in the title role as an unrepentant racist in 1949 Georgia. Trout is a greedy and paranoid shopkeeper who murders the sister and mother of a black man who refuses to repay Trout's IOU. When Trout is arrested for the crimes, he can't comprehend why he would be aprehended for his actions. Lawyer Harry Seagraves (Ed Harris) arrives to represent Trout in court, but Seagroves dislikes defending a man whom he feels deserves to be punished. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Barbara Hershey, (more)
Businessman Larry Burrows (James Belushi) has a wife who ignores him, a screwball friend who won't leave him alone, and a car that continually breaks down. All that and more is enough to give him a mid-life crisis. After his car stalls once more, he enters a bar looking for help and encounters a bartender (Michael Caine) who shows him what his life would have been like, if he hadn't struck out in a baseball game back in high school. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Belushi, Michael Caine, (more)
In this docudrama based on true events, a mid-'80s Michigan housewife finds her life turned upside down when a vacation to Tehran with her Iranian husband turns into virtual imprisonment for her and her young daughter. Betty Mahmoody (Sally Field) is reluctant to visit the wartorn homeland of her doctor husband, Moody (Alfred Molina). But, depressed about the racism of the American medical establishment and pining for contact with his family, Moody convinces her to join him for a two-week jaunt. The Islamic fundamentalism and strange customs of Iran bewilder and frighten Betty and her daughter, Mahtob (Sheila Rosenthal). But nothing prepares her for Moody's announcement that the family will be remaining in Tehran indefinitely. Despite beatings and more pervasive psychological control from her husband and his relatives, Betty makes it to the Swiss embassy (there is no American ambassador at the time). There, she learns that as the wife of an Iranian, she is now automatically considered a citizen and that she has absolutely no parental rights over Mahtob in this country. Betty then endures several years as a virtual prisoner, escaping only with the help of Westernized Iranian friends. Based on the book by the real-life Mahmoody and William Hoffer, Not Without My Daughter was coincidentally released during the long build-up to 1991's Gulf War. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Field, Alfred Molina, (more)
- 1989
- PG13
Two wacky guys find both romance and fortune in the hamburger business in this comedy. Augie (Clark Brandon) and Drew (Randal Patrick) are a pair of longtime students at Hopkins University who've been making a living by pulling one semi-legal scam after another for years, but one day the dean (J. Don Ferguson) decides he's had enough of their antics and gets rid of them the best way he knows how -- he graduates them. Forced into the real world, the guys are looking for something resembling a career when Augie gets surprising news. His cousin Samantha (Tracy Griffith) runs a gas station where he works part time, but she's considering selling the place to Wrangler Bob Bundy (Jim Varney), the owner of a local burger chain who is convinced the gas station would be the perfect location for a new franchise. Drew figures if the place would be the right spot for a burger joint, they should open one themselves, and eventually Augie and Drew persuade Samantha to go along with the idea. The business gets off to a slow start, but things pick up when Drew's buddy Calvin (Lanny Horn) cooks up a special sauce for the burgers which has aphrodisiacal side effects. Wrangler Bob isn't about to give up without a fight, though, and hires corporate spy Dixie Love (Traci Lords) to get the inside scoop on the burger stand's sudden popularity. Fast Food also stars Kevin McCarthy, Michael J. Pollard, and Pamela Springsteen (Bruce's younger sister). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Brandon, Randal Patrick, (more)
- 1985
When the local police won't do much to thwart the antics of vicious mob bullies led by a crazed leader (Paul Koslo), a Vietnam vet throws his hat in the ring and pledges to put an end to the rowdy bully-rule. Soon his Vietnam vet friends have joined, too, and together put their jungle combat training to work and do some serious butt kicking. This is a violent film, not for those who dislike face-altering altercations. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Stone, Andy Wood, (more)
This red-baiting action film stars Chuck Norris as Matt Hunter, a retired CIA agent who lives in the Florida Everglades. A communist invasion of Miami brings Hunter out of retirement to fight the encroaching hordes led by everyone's favorite low-budget bad guy, Richard Lynch. The film is extremely jingoistic, presenting the evil communists staging an invasion on Christmas, demolishing a church, and attempting to blow up a school bus full of children. From the same school of thinking which produced Rambo and Red Dawn, this film at least features some convincing gore by makeup wizard Tom Savini (Friday the 13th), working on his third gig for director Joseph Zito. Zito and Savini returned with Red Scorpion. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, Richard Lynch, (more)
- 1984
In this misfired drama on the inflammable topic of spousal abuse, Carol Sabella's (Leslie Denniston) husband Tony (James Eckhouse) becomes increasingly more violent, yet nothing is done to stop his behavior. At first there is a "spanking" when Carol "misbehaves" -- that is weird enough, and in a sexploitation film something that would introduce a few whips and leather. In this yuppie setting, the husband's abuse gets steadily worse, but Carol keeps hanging in there -- even when she looks death in the face -- until finally she finds a safe house. For some viewers, the story may hew much too close to everyone's stereotype of the battered woman, rather than providing some insight into the "whys" of her responses -- seemingly inane here. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Eckhouse, Lisa Sloan, (more)
