Martin Ferrero Movies
- 1981
In the conclusion of the series' tenth-season opener "That's Show Biz", the arrival of a USO troupe sends the 4077th into a tizzy. The entertainers are especially welcomed by Col. Potter (Harry Morgan), who remembers seeing lead dancer Brandy Doyle (Greg Verdon) strut her stuff during WW1. But a pall hangs over the festivities when it becomes apparent that Brandy is going to need emergency surgery. Originally telecast as a 60-minute "special", "That's Show Biz" has since been re-edited as two half hour episodes for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
M*A*S*H launched its tenth season with an episode originally slated to air during episode nine. When a USO troupe arrives at the 4077th, at least two of the staffers have reason to celebrate. Klinger (Jamie Farr) has long idolized the troupe's lead comic Fast Freddie Nichols (Danny Dayton), while Col. Potter has harbored a secret crush for head dancer (and ex-stripper) Brandy Doyle (Gwen Verdon). Originally telecast as a 60-minute "special", "That's Show Biz" has since been re-edited as two half hour episodes for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Knightriders may well be the only cycle flick ever to be played out in suits of armor. A hardcase motorcycle gang led by Ed Harris has found itself a neat money-making gimmick. Dressed as the knights of the round table, the cyclists pick up a few bucks at local "renaissance" fairs, selling handicrafts made by the more talented members of the gang. Harris' great rival is Tom Savini, who has his own band of "black knights." Keep an eye out for a chucklesome unbilled bit by novelist Stephen King. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, (more)
- 1982
- PG
Neil Simon based his screenplay for I Ought to Be in Pictures on one of his more serious theatrical pieces. Walter Matthau is top-billed as Herbert Tucker, a struggling screenwriter who suddenly finds his 19-year-old daughter, Libby(Dinah Manoff), on his Hollywood doorstep. Having deserted his family years earlier, Herbert isn't keen on having his daughter around to cramp his lifestyle, which at this point consists of drinking his meals and telling lies to his faithful girlfriend, Stephanie (Ann-Margret). Libby takes it upon herself to put Herbert's life in order. There are plenty of angry outbursts and recriminations between father and daughter before the tearful, upbeat conclusion. Incidentally, Dinah Manoff is the daughter of actress Lee Grant, who'd previously co-starred with Walter Matthau in Neil Simon's Plaza Suite -- which, like I Ought to be in Pictures, was directed by Herbert Ross. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1984
When NBC head honcho Brandon Tartikoff demanded a flashy weekly series with "MTV Cops," executive producer Michael Mann responded with Miami Vice. The stars were Don Johnson as Sonny Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, members of Miami's Organized Crime Bureau. In the Miami Vice two-hour pilot, telecast September 16, 1984, Florida native Crockett and New York transplant Tubbs team for the first time; their mutual target is a nasty drug lord who has killed two people who were near and dear to the detectives. Gregory Sierra (replaced in the series by Edward James Olmos) costars as Crockett and Tubbs' superior. A triumph of style over substance, Miami Vice was for many years the most popular action series on network TV; it ran until July of 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The ninth and final season of Alice gets under way as Jolene (Celia Weston) and Vera (Beth Howland) take pity on fellow waitress Alice (Linda Lavin), who has endured several dateless weekends of late. Without Alice's knowledge, the girls place an ad on her behalf in a magazine's personal column, describing Alice in terms that go far beyond tantalizing! With this episode, Charles Levin becomes a regular in the role of Vera's husband Elliot, while Michael Durrell makes his first appearance as Alice's steady beau Nick Stone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
While still in Italy, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) proposes to Diane (Shelley Long). Diane immediately places a long-distance call to Cheers in Boston, ostensibly to deliver the good news to the gang. In truth, however, Diane secretly hopes that Sam (Ted Danson) will fly to Europe to stop the wedding. The late Nicholas Colasanto (Coach) appears briefly via outtakes from earlier episodes in this, the final program of Cheers' third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- PG13
This is teen drama concerns three friends, Margo (Daphne Zuniga), Kelly (Virginia Madsen), and Cece (Cynthia Gibb) whose only pursuit in life is men. The three young women go out to night spots to see what action they can pick up, and one evening Kelly's discarded date Clifford (Clayton Rohner) is conned into driving Margo and Cece to their favorite clubs. Meanwhile, Kelly is close to getting herself into serious trouble. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daphne Zuniga, Virginia Madsen, (more)
Michael Keaton stars as a wheeler-dealer who hopes to save a failing Pennsylvania automobile-assembly factory from having to close its doors. Keaton persuades a Japanese auto firm to reopen the factory, retrain its staff, and streamline the operation. It isn't long before the American-born workers grow to resent the disciplinary demands of their new Japanese bosses, setting the stage for a comic clash of cultures. The day is saved when it turns out that the poker-faced owner of the auto company possesses a really strange sense of humor. Gung Ho was later spun off into a short-lived TV sitcom, starring Scott Bakula of Quantum Leap fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Keaton, Gedde Watanabe, (more)
- 1987
- R
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Were it not for its profanity-laden opening scenes, John Hughes' Planes, Trains and Automobiles might have been suitable family entertainment: certainly it's heaps less violent and mean-spirited than Hughes' Home Alone. En route to Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with his family, easily annoyed businessman Neal Page (Steve Martin) finds his first-class plane ticket has been demoted to coach, and he must share his flight with obnoxious salesman Del Griffith (John Candy). A sudden snowstorm in Chicago forces the plane to land in Wichita. Unable to find a room in any of the four-star hotels, Neal is compelled to accept Del's invitation to share his accommodations in a cheapo-sleazo motel. Driven to distraction by Del's annoying personal habits, the ungrateful Neal lets forth with a stream of verbal abuse. That's when Del delivers the anticipated (but always welcome) "I don't judge, why should you?"-type speech so common to John Hughes flicks. The shamefaced Neal tries to make up to Del, but there's a bumpy time ahead as the mismatched pair make their way back to Chicago, first in a balky train, then by way of a refrigerator truck. We know from the outset that the oil-and-water Neal and Del will be bosom companions by the end of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but it's still a fun ride. The best bit: a half-asleep Del thinking that he's got his hand tucked between two pillows -- until his bedmate, Neal, bellows "Those aren't pillows!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, John Candy, (more)
The owner of an Irish castle decides to attract visitors by falsely claiming that the building is haunted, only to have a pair of real ancestral spirits start causing trouble in this uneven attempt at fantasy-comedy. The story centers on Jack and Sharon (played by Steve Guttenberg and Beverly D'Angelo), naive American tourists who are initially unimpressed by the owner's attempts at fraud but become more interested in the real ghosts, Mary and Martin (played by Daryl Hannah and Liam Neeson). This is especially true for Jack, who falls in love with the beautiful Mary, despite several centuries' difference in their ages. After the film's initial unsuccessful release, people involved with the production blamed studio interference for damaging director Neil Jordan's original vision, although Jordan is better known as a director of quirky, dark dramas (Mona Lisa, The Crying Game, Interview With a Vampire, The Company of Wolves). For whatever reason, the end result was an awkward, forced comedy that more often than not falls flat, squandering a strong collection of talent. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daryl Hannah, Peter O'Toole, (more)
- 1989
Cynical Philadelphia lawyer-turned-p.i. Jamey Sheridan aims his investigatory skills at an international smuggling ring. Sheridan wants to know who's supplying the weapons that are leaving the country, and who's supplying the drugs that are rolling in. The deeper he digs, the dirtier it gets; Sheridan unearths unholy alliances among idealistic freedom fighters, Central American drug lords, and corrupt American officials. Shannon's Deal was written by John Sayles, directed by Lewis (Jewel of the Nile) Teague, and scored by musical wizard Wynton Marsalis. Those concerned about Jamey Sheridan's wellbeing in this film should be advised that there was no way he'd turn up dead: Shannon's Deal was the pilot for an unsold TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Sylvester Stallone gives comedy another try in this farce set in the 1930s. Angelo "Snaps" Provelone (Stallone) is the wealthy and powerful head of the Chicago mob, but his ailing father (Kirk Douglas) doesn't approve of his life in crime, and on his deathbed, Dad makes Snaps promise to go straight. Determined to honor his late father's wishes, Snaps decides to go into banking -- just as his life has fallen into chaos. Anthony Russano (Vincent Spano) informs Snaps that he's hijacked $50,000 of his money and wants to marry his daughter. Snaps discovers that his daughter Lisa (Marisa Tomei) is actually involved with the chauffeur, Oscar (Jim Mulholland), but Anthony's girlfriend Theresa (Elizabeth Barondes) has convinced her beau that Snaps is her father. Snaps hopes to use this misunderstanding as a way of getting his money back, but in the meantime, he has to deal with a wary banking board, rival mob boss Vendetti (Richard Romanus), prissy elocution coach Thornton (Tim Curry), and Snaps' one-time girlfriend Roxanne (Linda Gray). Oscar's stellar supporting cast includes Don Ameche, Chazz Palminteri, Harry Shearer, Eddie Bracken, Yvonne DeCarlo, and Bruce Davison. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Ornella Muti, (more)
Despite his status as a major action star, Sylvester Stallone has made a number of attempts to remodel himself as a comic actor; one of his more infamous efforts in this direction was Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot!. Police detective Joe Bromowski (Sylvester Stallone) has just broken off his relationship with his girlfriend (and fellow police officer) Gwen Harper (JoBeth Williams), so Joe's mother Tutti (Estelle Getty) decides it's time to pay him a visit. Tutti proceeds to make Joe's life miserable by nagging him about his clothes, cleaning his apartment, washing his gun, tagging along on investigations, and somehow getting involved with a gun-running organization that the police have been trying to infiltrate. After this film, Stallone would stay away from comedy until 1997, when he played a cameo in another unenthusiastically received film, An Alan Smithee Film -- Burn, Hollywood, Burn. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Estelle Getty, (more)
Steven Spielberg's phenomenally successful sci-fi adventure thriller is graced by state-of-the-art special effects from the team of Stan Winston, Phil Tippett and Michael Lantieri from George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic. The film follows two dinosaur experts -- Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Dr. Ellie Sattler Laura Dern) -- as they are invited by eccentric millionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) to preview his new amusement park on an island off Costa Rica. By cloning DNA harvested from pre-historic insects, Hammond has been able to create living dinosaurs for his new Jurassic Park, an immense animal preserve housing real brachiosaurs, dilophosaurs, triceratops, velociraptors, and a Tyrannosaur Rex. Accompanied by cynical scientist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), who is obsessed with chaos theory, and Hammond's two grandchildren (Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello), they are sent on a tour through Hammond's new resort in computer controlled touring cars. But as a tropical storm hits the island, knocking out the power supply, and an unscrupulous employee (Wayne Knight) sabotages the system so that he can smuggle dinosaur embryos out of the park, the dinosaurs start to rage out of control. Grant then has to bring Hammond's grandchildren back to safety as the group is pursued by the gigantic man-eating beasts. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Neill, Laura Dern, (more)
- 1993
- PG
Following up his debut, Young Einstein (1988), Yahoo Serious wrote, directed and starred in this broad comedy as the titular hero, a modern-day, fictional descendant of a real-life Australian Robin Hood, Ned Kelly. Carrying on the family tradition of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, Ned crosses the wealthy Sir John (Hugo Weaving), who arranges the sale of Kelly's coastal property to a Japanese buyer. Forbidden by the Kelly family code of honor from stealing to profit himself, the motorcycle-riding Ned decides to raise the money needed to save his lands by going to America. Stateside, his bank robbery scheme falls through, but he finds stardom as the lead in a Hollywood motion picture that might give him the money to foil Sir John's greedy plans. Ned also encounters romance with a teller, the appropriately named Robin Banks (Melora Hardin). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yahoo Serious, Melora Hardin, (more)
A gangster is looking to get away from crooked deals and double-crossing people but ends up in the movie business anyway in this comic crime story. Chili Palmer (John Travolta) is a Miami-based loan collector for the mob trying to collect a gambling debt. His assignment takes him to Hollywood to collect money from Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), a mildly sleazy producer of low-budget horror movies. Although Chili intends to hurt Harry if necessary, he takes a certain liking to him and an even keener interest in Karen (Rene Russo), Harry's girlfriend, whom Chili recognizes from Harry's grade-B monster epics. It seems Harry has a script that he feels is Academy Award material, and he could get the project off the ground if he could get the right actor for the lead -- say, the well-respected but egocentric (and diminutive) Martin Weir (Danny DeVito). Chili thinks he has a feel for the movie business and decides to see what he can do to persuade Weir to get behind the project. Chili soon finds himself hip deep in the film industry, which at least puts him in contact with a higher grade of scumbags than he's used to. But Chili isn't the only criminal Harry's been dealing with; he's been obtaining financing from Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo), a drug dealer with a highly uncertain temperament. An intelligently constructed crime story and a hilarious look at the absurdities of the film business, Get Shorty was based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard; Leonard based Chili on a real-life former gangster of his acquaintance, though Chili's model never worked in Hollywood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Gene Hackman, (more)
A successful career criminal considers getting out of the business after one last score, while an obsessive cop desperately tries to put him behind bars in this intelligent thriller written and directed by Michael Mann. Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) is a thief who specializes in big, risky jobs, such as banks and armored cars. He's very good at what he does; he's bright, methodical, and has honed his skills as a thief at the expense of his personal life, vowing never to get involved in a relationship from which he couldn't walk away in 30 seconds. Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) is an L.A.P.D. detective determined to catch McCauley, but while McCauley's personal code has forced him to do without a wife and children, Hanna's dedication has made a wreck of the home he's tried to have; he's been divorced twice, he's all but a stranger to his third wife, and he has no idea how to reach out to his troubled step-daughter. While McCauley has enough money to retire and is planning to move to New Zealand, he loves the thrill of robbery as much as the profit, and is blocking out plans for one more job; meanwhile, he's met a woman, Eady (Amy Brenneman), whom he's not so sure he can walk away from. The supporting cast includes Val Kilmer as Chris, one of McCauley's partners; Ashley Judd as his wife Charlene; Jon Voight as Nate; Hank Azaria as Alan Marciano; and Henry Rollins as Hugh, who is beaten up by Hanna. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, (more)
The world's most athletic Golden Retriever is back, and he's becoming a family man in this, the second sequel to the 1997 hit Air Bud. Josh Framm (Kevin Zegers) suddenly has a lot to get used to -- his mom Jackie (Cynthia Stevenson) has just tied the knot with her boyfriend Patrick (Gregory Harrison), and now that Josh and his best friend Tom have made the school soccer team, Coach Montoya (Miguel Sandoval) informs them that the team has gone co-ed -- Emma, whose family has just moved to America from England, will be playing alongside the boys. As it turns out, Emma's family has a Golden Retriever named Molly, and Molly makes the acquaintance of Josh's basketball- (and football) playing pooch, Bud. Soon Bud and Molly are the proud parents of a litter of puppies, and Josh and Emma discover that Bud's previously displayed ball-handling skills apply to the soccer field as well. But while Josh, Emma, and Bud are trying to push their team to the state championships, the clown-turned-dogcatcher Snively (Michael Jeter) has evil plans for Bud and his new family. Air Bud: World Pup marked the directorial debut of Bill Bannerman, who had previously worked as a producer and assistant director. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Zegers, Caitlin Wachs, (more)
Shown on the Fox network, this made-for-TV biopic stars David Ramsey as legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, whose story is told largely in flashbacks. Beginning with Ali's childhood, when he was known as Cassius Clay, Ali: An American Hero traces the boxer's career, love life, and eventual devotion to Islam. Joe Morton appears as Malcolm X, and the cast also features the talents of Vondie Curtis Hall and Clarence Williams III, the latter as Ali's father Marcellus Clay. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Ramsey, Clarence Williams III, (more)
Set amidst the controversy of the handover of the Panama Canal from America to Panama in late 1999, this espionage thriller follows seductive British spy Andrew Osnard (Pierce Brosnan), who has found himself recently banished to Panama. When Osnard stumbles into a tailor shop, he meets Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush), a garrulous sort with an unmatched penchant for "fluence" -- that is, fabricating wild tales with real-life details. Osnard threatens to expose his shady past, until Pendel agrees to provide him with information about the political situation in Panama. Pendel's wife Louisa (Jamie Lee Curtis) tries to remain unscathed by her husband's constant follies, which escalate and put him in the midst of international discord, while also threatening the shaky relationship between himself and Osnard, who cannot escape each other's grasp. Based on John le Carré's popular 1996 novel, the film also features Catherine McCormack, David Hayman, and young Daniel Radcliffe, who completed this film before his starring role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, released later in the year. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush, (more)
