Ralph Alderman Movies
A travel agent in deep debt attempts to swindle a by-the-books insurance agent by claiming the corpse of a gangland hit as his long-missing brother in director Mark Mylod's dark crime comedy. Paul Barnell (Robin Williams) is in trouble. Saddled with a cantankerous wife (Holly Hunter) and unable to convince ambitious insurance company agent Ted (Giovanni Ribisi) to pay off the one-million-dollar claim on his brother, who has been missing for five years, Paul's debts are mounting as fast as his life is crumbling. When Paul discovers the corpse of a nameless man who ended up on the wrong side of the mob, desperation drives him to stage a grizzly death scene and make it look as if his brother has suffered a horrible fate. Though the local police force is easily taken by Paul's elaborate ruse, it's going to take a little more convincing before Ted is willing to sign off on the hefty insurance payment. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, (more)
- 2002
Apparently killed in a fall from a high hospital window, Tyler Randall (Reynaldo Rosales) in fact survives. Unfortunately, a kryptonite band on his wrist has become imbedded in Tyler's arm, imbuing him with the power to burn people to death with the slightest touch. Suffering under the delusion that he has been put on Earth to "euthanize" those who are already doomed to die, Tyler embarks upon a terrifying killing spree, which can only be halted by the one person immune to his power -- Clark Kent (Tom Welling). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Vogelsang (Stephen Lee) unearths information enabling Max (Jessica Alba) to reach out to her Manticore siblings -- but for a hefty price. At the same time, Logan (Michael Weatherly) is visited by his alcoholic ex-wife, Valerie (Brenda James), who insists that she has cleaned up her act and wants to come back into his life. Jealousy, betrayal, and a hidden wire figure prominently in the climax of this episode, which also introduces William Gregory Lee in the role of Zack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on the best-selling books by Catherine Marshall, the original TV series Christy focused on 19-year-old Christy Huddleston, an idealistic schoolteacher who left a life of wealth and comfort behind to accept a job in the backward mountain community of Cutter, NC, in 1912. First telecast as a two-part, four-hour PAX Network miniseries on May 13 and May 14, 2001, Christy: Return to Cutter Gap picks up where the weekly series left off. Lauren Lee Smith replaces Kellie Martin as Christy, while Stewart Finlay-McLennan repeats his series role as the community's agnostic, Scottish-born doctor Neil McNeill. In part one of Return to Cutter Gap, titled "A Change of Seasons," the year is 1913, and Cutter Gap is in the throes of a deadly typhoid epidemic. The superstitious mountaineers believe that the illness has been brought on by such "outsiders" as Christy Huddleston and the community's new minister, Rev. David Grantland (James Waterston). Dr. McNeill realizes that the real cause of the epidemic is Cutter Gap's brackish water and squalid living conditions, but he is unable to convince the locals of his findings. Meanwhile, Christy suffers a crisis of faith when one of her closest friends dies of the fever, and on another front, she finds herself romantically torn between McNeill and Grantland. Part two, "A New Beginning," takes place three months later. This time, the community is literally torn apart by a raging storm. As the rest of the citizens head to the highest point in Cutter Gap, Christy and Dr. McNeill are stranded in a tiny hunter's shack. Shocked when McNeill declares his love for her, Christy rushes into the deluge, contracting a deadly fever. Also complicating matters is the presence of attractive aviatrix Harriet Quimby (Claudette Mink), who has apparently set her cap for McNeill. The story concludes with a wedding -- but which man does Christy choose for her life partner? Filmed in British Columbia, Christy: Return to Cutter Gap was originally telecast under the title Christy: Choices of the Heart). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lauren Lee Smith, Diane Ladd, (more)
- 1998
Michael Rohl made his directorial debut with this Canadian comedy-drama in which Brian (Benjamin Ratner) loses his San Francisco garage job and talks pal Michael (Colin Cunningham) into joining him on a fishing trip. At an unmarked gravesite, they find a key inscribed "PUMZACH." This prompts them to cross the border into Nevada in search of a shaman who can translate the enigmatic inscription. After meeting medicine-man Martin Yellowcrow (Willie John Hanna), owner of flatulent canine Zacharia, they are joined by winsome waitress Corey (Madison Graie) and nerdy numismatist Wayne Newton (C. Ernst Harth). The group arrives in a small town where the locksmith finds a match for the key with lonely Jean (Betty Linde), mother of a missing son. Minus Wayne, they head back to California. Shot in Vancouver, this film was shown at the 1998 Vancouver Film Festival and the 1998 AFI Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Cunningham, Ben Ratner, (more)
