Ian Giatti Movies

This implausible adventure is for every empty-headed 12-year-old boy who wants a bullet-spewing weapon of destruction. Four teen-age sons of American servicemen taken prisoner during the Korean War set out to rescue their fathers. The crew was captured on their mission to destroy an American submarine rather than have it fall into enemy hands. The four sons, ranging in ages from 10 to 22, steal sealed plans from the Defense Department to help them free the prisoners. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

On her first day at an all-girls Catholic High School in Chicago, shy and reserved Janey Glenn (Sarah Jessica Parker) meets the wild and wacky Lynne Sands (Helen Hunt). Even though her oppressive dad, Col. Glenn (Ed Lauter), won't let her go, Lynne talks her into sneaking out to try out for a spot on the beloved show Dance TV. Janey wows the judges with her gymnastic ability and makes first cuts, conveniently assigned to a cute dance partner: blue-collar bad boy Jeff Malene (Lee H. Montgomery). They compete against the bratty rich girl Natalie Sands (Holly Gagnier), who sabotages them because she wants Jeff and the contest for herself. Janey and Lynne get revenge by inviting punks and street kids to crash her debutante ball. Natalie then resorts to making her wealthy industrialist dad, J.P. Sands (Morgan Woodward), threaten Jeff; If he doesn't let Natalie win, his dad (Biff Yeager) could lose his job at the factory. It all leads up to the live television broadcast of the Dance TV contest, right when Janey's dad races to the studio to stop her. Also starring Shannen Doherty as Jeff's little sister, Maggie. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

During the 1977 Ediburgh Film Festival, independent filmmaker Maurice Hatton made this feature story, using real-life actors, film directors, producers, etc., to enact improvisational roles in a film about filmmaking. In the story, Charlie (played by the film's real-life producer Charles Gormley) is going from person to person at the Edinburgh Film Festival in order to raise money for the production of an independent director's first "commercial" film, tentatively titled "Gulf and Western." The bluffs, lies, and outright rejections he receives are characteristic of those experienced by industry insiders, and this rather bleak, occasionally humorous feature became a favorite among filmmakers and industry cognoscenti. Among the well-known individuals who enact roles similar to their real-life activities are director John Boorman, actress Susannah York, director Wim Wenders, and agent Dennis Selinger. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi