Colin Fox Movies

Originally titled America's Son, this cable-TV biopic of John F. Kennedy Jr. begins at the end, with the plane crash of July 19, 1999, that took the lives of Kennedy, his wife Caroline, and his sister-in-law. From this tragic vantage point, the film segues into flashbacks detailing the very public life of J.F.K. Sr.'s only son, of whom it was once said, "The world knew his name before he did." Based on The Day John Died, a book by George Andersen, the film intimates that "John-John" would have been happy charting his own course in life, but was instead channelled into following in the Kennedy tradition by his iron-willed mother Jacqueline (played by Jacqueline Bisset, who'd previously essayed an à clef version of Jackie O. in the theatrical feature The Greek Tycoon). Thus, John enters law school, where he is twice humiliated by failing to pass the bar exam. Finally, as editor of the high-profile George magazine, John can stand on his own merits and not as an adjunct of the Kennedy mystique. Naturally, the film devotes time aplenty to J.F.K. Jr.'s well-publicized romances, notably his lengthy association with actress Daryl Hannah (here played by Tara Chocol) and his ultimate marriage to Caroline Bessette (Portia de Rossi). Somewhat undercutting the credibility of the restaged scenes is the producers' utilization of interviews with the actual friends and associates of John Jr. -- not to mention film clips of the "real" Kennedy, employed as bridges between scenes. America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story debuted January 12, 2003, on TBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While on the job at an abandoned Chicago office building, four electrical workers -- Dean (Richard Grieco), Ray (Richard Yearwood), Junior (Jason Jones), and Sheldon (Jeff Douglas) -- stumble upon a time portal. Instantly, Dean and Junior disappear, rematerializing in a modernistic alternate Chicago. Soon after, Ray and Sheldon follow their buddies -- a bad mistake, inasmuch as this parallel world is ruled by cannibalistic, spider-like humanoids. The four heroes link up with a group of survivors of the spider invasion, led by Dr. Morelli (Colin Fox), Elena (Kate Greenhouse), and Crane (David Newman). Will they be able to escape the rampaging arachnids and return to their own world, or will they be betrayed by a spy in their midst and delivered up to the omnivorous Spider Queen? Bearing more than a passing resemblance to the TV series Sliders, the made-for-cable Webs debuted June 28, 2003, on the Sci-Fi channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Maury Chaykin returns as wealthy, eccentric, ill-tempered, self-indulgent, and insufferably brilliant private detective Nero Wolfe, with Timothy Hutton as his wisecracking, skirt-chasing assistant and legman, as the A&E series bearing the blanket title A Nero Wolfe Mystery enters its second season. As in season one, most of the episodes are directly based on the original Nero Wolfe novels written by Rex Stout between 1934 and 1975. All of the episodes are ample demonstrations of the keen deductive and analytical skills of the overweight protagonist, who specializes in solving seemingly unsolvable crimes -- but only when he feels like doing so. The season opens with the two-part "Death of a Doxy," directed by series regular Timothy Hutton, in which Archie must explain the presence of a corpse in his apartment. In a later two-parter, "Motherhunt," Wolfe ignores his precious prize-winning orchids and rare beers long enough to track down the mother of an abandoned infant. Also spread over two episodes is "Too Many Clients," the title of which should be self-explanatory (Wolfe's many clients are the lovers of a libidinous murder victim). And in the final two-parter of the season, "The Silent Speaker," the case at hand is the death of a representative from the National Industrial Association. Curiously, the season ends with a rare single, self-contained episode: "Immune to Murder," in which Wolfe's talents as a gourmet chef are brought into play. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Playwright Neil Simon got his first big break in the early '50s as a staff writer on Sid Caesar's fabled television series Your Show of Shows, and this comedy (adapted by Simon from his play) takes a fictionalized look at the backstage chaos that went into producing one of the landmarks of television's golden age. Max Prince (Nathan Lane) is the star of The Max Prince Show, a popular comedy-variety series with ratings that have begun to slip; Prince's show is still a major hit on the East Coast, but network executive Cal Weebs (Colin Fox) insists that it's too sophisticated for the Midwest, and urges Prince to dumb down his act. Prince has also become the whipping boy of newspaper columnist Walter Winchell (Frank Proctor), and between the tensions of producing a hour of top-quality comedy each week and being pestered about his ratings, Prince is beginning to unravel. His relationship with his wife Faye (Sherry Miller) and their children is falling apart, and stress is eating him alive. Prince's brother Harry (Richard Portnow) is Max's assistant, and his last line of defense against both the network and his writing staff, which spend its days coming up with business for the show while hurling humorous invective at each other and anyone else within earshot. (The actors playing Max's writers include Mark Linn-Baker, Victor Garber, Dan Castellaneta, Saul Rubinek, Peri Gilpin, and Zach Grenier.) Laughter on the 23rd Floor received its world premiere at the 2001 Palm Springs Film Festival and was scheduled for showings several months later on the Showtime premium cable network (who co-produced the feature). The film was directed by Richard Benjamin, who previously teamed with Mark Linn-Baker for another comedy inspired by the career of Sid Caesar, My Favorite Year. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This historical drama, based on a true story, is set in Georgia in the mid-1800s. David Dickson (Sam Waterston) owns a large plantation, as well as a number of slaves who do the labor required to run it. Dickson finds himself attracted to one of his new slaves, a bright and willful teenager named Julia (Lisa Gay Hamilton); Dickson rapes Julia, and nine months later she gives birth to a daughter, Amanda. Amanda is fair-skinned and can pass for white, so Dickson raises her as his daughter without acknowledging Julia as the mother, fabricating a story that Amanda's mother died in childbirth. After Amanda (now played by Jennifer Beals) has grown to adulthood, Dickson dies, leaving his entire estate to her. However, Henry (Ron White), Dickson's younger brother, knows the truth about Amanda's heritage and questions the will in court; a high-minded lawyer named Charles Dubose (Tim Daly) agrees to represent Amanda in court as the sordid secrets of the Dickson family air in a public courtroom. Sam Waterston served as co-producer as well as male lead for A House Divided, which was produced for (and first aired by) the Showtime premium cable network. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Nero Wolfe (Maury Chaykin) is the world's greatest detective, and like any genius, he has his share of idiosyncrasies -- he loves orchids with an unnatural passion, he weighs a seventh of a ton, and--oh yeah--he never leaves his New York brownstone. Instead, he is aided by an army of foot soldiers headed by Archie Goodwin (Timothy Hutton). The film opens when Pete, a young windshield washer, is begged by a woman to call the police. She is then ushered into a car and whisked away. Thinking that she has been kidnapped, Pete gives Nero the scoop in exchange for half the reward money. When Pete later turns up dead, Nero kicks his investigation into high gear. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

In this romance, a wealthy, single woman dutifully dotes upon her ailing father while watching the man she once loved fool around with a pair of younger lassies. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This romantic historical drama is based on the diaries of Agnes Von Kurowsky, who while serving as a nurse during World War I had a love affair with a young man who would later become one of the great literary figures of the 20th century, Ernest Hemingway. In 1918, 18-year-old Hemingway has volunteered to fight in the great war; while he goes into battle imagining it to be a lark, he soon discovers that the realities of warfare are far more grim, and during a shelling attack in Italy, his leg is severely wounded. Hemingway has taken a great deal of shrapnel, and the doctors at the field hospital decide that amputation would be the quickest and most effective way to deal with the injury. However, the idea of losing a leg horrifies Hemingway, and he pleads with Agnes (Sandra Bullock), the Austrian nurse looking after him, not to let the doctors cut off his limb. Moved by Hemingway's concern, Agnes convinces the doctors to pursue other treatments, and she looks after him during his long and difficult convalescence. Love and passion bloom between the young and naive soldier and the 26-year-old nurse, but while he's eager for her to return home with him as he follows his muse as a writer, she regards him not as the love of her life but as a passing fling and thinks that he's too young to marry. Agnes eventually sends Hemingway a "Dear John" letter; later Hemingway would use her as the basis for several characters in his novels and short stories, not always flatteringly. In Love and War was directed by Richard Attenborough, previously an Academy Award winner for Gandhi. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Sylvestor Stallone comes to the rescue in this disaster/adventure picture. A truck containing dangerous chemicals explodes in the Holland Tunnel, trapping those New Yorkers not killed in the explosion. Authorities know there are survivors, but cannot figure out what to do to save them. Ruptured water mains and leaks in the tunnel itself, which is beneath the Hudson River, will cause it to fill with water in a few hours. Of all the colorful characters trapped there, only Roy Nord (Viggo Mortensen), a mountain climber, has any ideas about what to do, but he quickly dies while attempting to save the others. However, Kit Latura (Sylvester Stallone) is a former city Emergency Medical Services director who was in the area of the explosion, and he knows the tunnel's construction quirks. He quickly convinces city officials to let him wend his way through the tunnel's maze of exhaust fans to help the exhausted survivors confront the obstacles that await them. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Lindsay Wagner stars in this TV movie as Molly McKinley, a former nun now employed (and grossly underfunded!) as a rape counselor. A teenager named Sophia (Holly Marie Combs) seeks out Molly's help after she is raped by the scion of a wealthy family. Refusing to release a confidential file that would reveal Molly's past promiscuity--and thus seriously compromise her case against her assailant--Molly is sent to jail. The problem now becomes two-pronged: If Molly wants to be released, she must hand over information that may allow the rapist to go free; and if Sophia doesn't speak up, Molly's future career will be destroyed. Although the film would seem to be inspired by the 1988 theatrical feature The Accused, it was based on a true story. Sins of Silence originally aired February 20, 1996 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After misplacing their stolen loot, thieves focus on an innocent woman whom they believe knows where it is. ~ Rovi

This is the third in the Scanners series of films, where people have acquired telepathic powers (due to drugs taken by their mothers during pregnancy). This time a brother combats his adopted sister in a telepathic show-down when the sister takes an experimental drug that turns her toward evil. She schemes a plan to take over the world using her psychic powers and must be stopped. ~ Rovi

In this video production later shown on TV as well, young student Marty Hiller (Justine Bateman) needs a roommate and finds Alec Danz (Adam Baldwin). After beginning a brief affair with her new roomie, Marty realizes that he is becoming obsessed with her and will stop at nothing to possess her. ~ John Bush, Rovi