Tom Fridley Movies

This impressive entry in the popular horror series brings back the relentless killer Jason Voorhees, this time as a supernatural zombie. Tommy Jarvis, now played by Thom Matthews, accidentally resurrects Jason when he impales the killer's corpse with a metal pole during a lightning storm. Numerous murders follow, beginning with Tommy's friend (Ron Palillo) having his heart torn out of his chest by the zombie killer. Implicated in the crimes by a mean-spirited sheriff (David Kagen), Tommy is freed from jail by the sheriff's daughter, spunky Megan (Jennifer Cooke). The cast converges on Camp Crystal Lake, which has been renamed "Camp Forest Green" by superstitious locals, in time for Tommy to send Jason back to the bottom of the lake, if only temporarily. Harry Manfredini's score is among his best, and the makeup by Martin Becker, Gabe Bartalos, R. Chris Biggs, and others is outstanding. Cooke makes an appealing heroine as Megan, although Matthews' Tommy has lost the interesting mental disturbances of previous entries and becomes just another bland hero. Tom McLoughlin's direction is effective, and the film has a memorably funny supporting turn by Bob Larkin as a grumpy drunken caretaker. Alice Cooper sings the title song, "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)." Although no classic, this is a solid horror film with a witty script and engaging characters. Jason would rise again to face a telekinetic teen in the disappointing Friday the 13th, Part VII: The New Blood. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

A seat-of-the-pants militia attitude gets a boost from this conventional drama about the heroics of a teen son anxious to free his father from captivity in a small Middle Eastern nation. Doug's (Jason Gedrick) father is an Air Force pilot who was shot down on a mission near the border of an Arab country and is now held hostage. Failing adequate U.S. intervention causes a desperate Doug to enlist his school chums in a wild plan to essentially sneak away with two Air Force jets and take off on a mission to rescue his father. He convinces the veteran Chappy (Louis Gossett, Jr.) into flying one plane, while Doug himself flies another (he learned how to pilot from his father). Yes. If audiences believe all this, then the ending should come as no surprise either. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Made for television, Moving Target bears a few faint echoes of the 1986 theatrical feature Out of Bounds. Jason Bateman plays a teenaged musician returning home from summer camp. He is hardly greeted with open arms; as a matter of fact, his family has moved out in his absence. Compounding this traumatic turn of events, Jason becomes the quarry of a syndicate hit man (Jack Wagner)--and of the US Justice Department. It dawns on the boy that he'd better locate his family before anyone else does. Jason Bateman's leading lady in Moving Target is Chynna Phillips, daughter of musicians John and Michelle Phillips, and later the star of the TV biopic Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A Long Island couple struggles to accept the fact that their son is gay after he comes out of the closet at his cousin's wedding. Every Friday, Shirley Hirsch (Lainie Kazan) invites over a pretty Jewish girl for Shabbat dinner. Her son, Nelson (John Lloyd Young), is single, and she's determined to help him find the perfect mate. When Nelson reveals that he's already involved in a relationship, his mother drops by his apartment in hopes of meeting the lucky girl. Once there, she meets Angelo (Jai Rodriguez), who introduces himself as Nelson's decorator, and assumes that their pretty neighbor Sybil (Carmen Electra) is her son's significant other. Later, at his cousin's wedding, Nelson reveals the truth about his sexuality, prompting a heated feud between his parents. When every attempt to understand their son's lifestyle ends in failure, Nelson's parents decide to have dinner with Angelo's parents, and discover the power of compassion. Subsequently doing their best to keep Nelson's sexuality a well-guarded secret, Shirley and Martin (Saul Rubinek) realize that all bets are off when their son and his partner attempt to adopt a child, and make national headlines in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director Jon Turteltaub followed up the hit While You Were Sleeping (1995) with this fantasy similar to Charly (1968) and a film from the previous year, Powder (1994). John Travolta stars as George Malley, a humble mechanic in a rural California town. On his 37th birthday, George celebrates at a pub with friends Nate (Forest Whitaker) and Doc (Robert Duvall), the local physician. When he steps outside, George observes a bright light in the sky that knocks him briefly unconscious. When he awakens, George has incredible intellectual powers. He checks books out of the library in armfuls, becomes an inventor, a psychic, has telekinetic powers, predicts an earthquake, and memorizes Portuguese in minutes. Using his newfound powers, George becomes a hero, but he can't totally win over the spooked townsfolk or the standoffish Lace (Kyra Sedgwick), a single mom burned by love once too often. As George's kindness breaks down Lace's reserve and a romance begins, his fame spreads, bringing him to the attention of the FBI and curious university scientists. Similarities between George's powers and the alleged benefits of Travolta's religion, Scientology, led to charges that the film was veiled pro-Scientology propaganda. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Offering an updated take on William Golding's Lord of the Flies, complete with anti-fascist metaphors, this drama is set at a summer camp where the kids rise up against their counselors and start running things themselves. It is based on a novel by William Butler, The Butterfly Revolution. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

It's a slow night at the local single's bar, so three guys end up sitting around sharing their widely-differing viewpoints on finding romance. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi