Lou Felder Movies

After a bad day at work, a man suddenly gets a new job -- as the world's new Heavenly Father -- in this comedy. Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) is a television reporter working in Buffalo, NY, who has been growing increasingly dissatisfied with his existence, and after an especially bad day, he flies into a rage and curses God for making his life miserable. To Bruce's great surprise, the Supreme Being Himself (Morgan Freeman) appears, and tries to convince Bruce of the enormity of his task. Bruce, however, isn't buying it, so God gives him a chance to find out what he's up against; God bestows all of his powers on Bruce for a week, to see how he'd handle things. At first, Bruce has a great time bending the world around him to his will, much to the puzzlement of his girlfriend, Grace (Jennifer Aniston), but after six days God stops by to remind Bruce he hasn't done much to make the Earth a better place. Disappointed, God presents Bruce with an ultimatum -- he has one day to improve the world in a concrete way, or God will toss the planet back into the void. Bruce Almighty was directed by Tom Shadyac, who previously teamed with Jim Carrey for Liar, Liar and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The further misadventures of bumbling Los Angeles police Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) are chronicled in this third installment in the popular Naked Gun comedy series. This by-the-numbers entry begins with Drebin as a happily retired house-husband called back into action when an evil terrorist organization threatens Los Angeles. As in the other Naked Gun films, this plot is merely an excuse for an unhinged, rapid-fire succession of gags, ranging from satirical lampoons of cop movies to broad slapstick, all played with a perfectly straight face. Nielsen provides his familiar combination of complete witlessness and oblivious dignity as Drebin, and the film attempts to match the earlier Naked Gun films -- and the Police Squad! television series that inspired them -- in the number of jokes. However, the film proved less successful than its predecessors, as some viewers found that the freewheeling comic style of the earlier films had solidified into its own formula, now mildly entertaining but disappointingly predictable. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Oprah Winfrey appears as herself in this episode, in which Philip (James Avery) and the Bankses are invited to appear on Oprah's show during a week spotlighting "Political Candidates and Their Families." Conspicuous by his absence is Will (Will Smith), who was not invited on the grounds that he isn't really a Banks. But when Will shows up as a member of the studio audience, an angry Oprah challenges an embarrassed Philip on his "family values"--or lack of same! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second feature-length revival of the Get Smart television series (1965-1970) of blessed memory, Get Smart Again reunited Don Adams as bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart and Barbara Feldon as his wife, sultry "fellow" agent 99. Smart coerces 99 to drop her public-sector job and join him in thwarting the evil machinations of their old nemesis Siegfried (Bernie Kopell). Other alumni from the original TV series include Dick Gautier as Hymie the Robot, Robert Karvelas (Don Adams' cousin) as Larrabee, King Moody as Starker and Dave Ketchum as the ubiquitous Agent 13. A few concessions have been made to the passage of time (Smart's fabled shoe-phone now has "call waiting"), but the film scores highest on its nostalgic appeal, encapsulated by such catch-phrases as "Sorry about that", "Would you believe?" and "Missed it by that much." Get Smart, Again was first telecast February 26 (would you believe February 27?), 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This pre-teen comedy finds the studious Grover (Jay Underwood) using the notes of his late scientist father to complete a project. With unsolicited help from pigeon droppings, a substance is created that renders the consumer invisible for 30 minutes. The effectiveness decreases by five minutes with each dose, inexplicably expanding to 30 again on the eight attempt. This gives Grover the power to fulfill every hetero teen-male's fantasy; a visit to the girls locker room. Karen Black plays Grover's dizzy mom. . ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The A-Team's Thanksgiving celebration is put on hold when Stockwell (Robert Vaughn) orders our heroes to capture exiled political adviser A.J. Bancroft (Jeff Corey), who carries a diary implicating several high-ranking government officials in a sinister conspiracy. It turns out that Bancroft is willing to trade the diary for a reunion with a young woman who claims to be his long-estranged daughter Ellen--a woman whom Face (Dirk Benedict) is presently wooing. The situation reaches the crisis stage when the possibility arises that Bancroft is actually Face's father...which of course radically alters his relationship with Ellen! This is the famous episode in which the ending was originally determined by the call-in votes of the viewers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Faye Dunaway stars as a successful madam who is faced with difficulties from her "girls" in this made-for-TV movie. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) are assigned to handle 12 hours of a 24-hour effort to provide police protection for a government witness. The other 12 hours are the responsibility of a boozy, unreliable beat cop and a decidedly shady police detective. Even so, when the witness takes a fatal header off a high-rise building, it is Hunter who is charged with murder--and as it turns out, our hero is merely a small player in a much larger conspiracy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is the true story of Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz), a personable young man suffering from "lionitis," a fatal disease which causes hideous facial disfigurement. The son of freewheeling biker Rusty Dennis (Cher), Rocky is accepted without question by his mom's boyfriends and cycle buddies, but treated with pity, condescension, and disgust by much of the outside world. The local high school principal tries to get Rocky classified as brain-damaged so he won't have to enroll the boy in his school, but Rusty fights for her son's rights with the ferocity of a mother lioness. Rocky makes friends easily both at school and at summer camp. He also falls in love with Diana (Laura Dern), a blind girl who cannot see his deformed countenance and is entranced by the boy's kindness and compassion. Now that he's got his own life in order, Rocky sets about to wean his chronically depressed mother from her drug habit. Mask is the sort of story that might have ending up wallowing in its own pathos had the acting, direction and scriptwriting (by Anna Hamilton Phelan) been anything less than very good. The film proved a much-needed financial success for director Peter Bogdanovich, though unfortunately it didn't come soon enough to stave off his declaring personal bankruptcy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the writings and experiences of "gonzo" journalist Hunter S. Thompson, Where the Buffalo Roam details the adventures of Thompson (Bill Murray) and his attorney (Peter Boyle), whose character is rewritten as Mexican-American rather than Samoan, as they pillage and plunder their way across America on a drunken, drug-saturated mission to...well, their mission is as yet undetermined, but they set about it anyway. Highlights include a staged broadcast of the Super Bowl from Thompson's hotel room and a scene in which he escapes from the police with a little help from his trusty sidekick. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

It's H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) versus Jack the Ripper (David Warner) in the fanciful Time After Time -- and, per the film's title, the chase extends from the 19th century to the 20th. Wells has built a time machine in his cellar, which the Ripper uses as a means of escape. Both men find themselves in 20th century San Francisco, and, after a period of adjustment, they make themselves at home. The plot takes a dark turn when the Ripper, disappointed that Wells' dreams of a Utopian future have not come to fruition, resumes his murderous activities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide