Craig Anderson Movies

First time director/screenwriter Antonio Negret details the frightening trend of kidnapping in Colombia with this tense tale of a young photographer who is abducted and held for ransom as his desperate parents scramble to raise the money that could save their child's life. Jose Gutierrez (Roberto Urbina) is a Colombian photographer in his early twenties who had come to America in order to pursue an education. Upon returning to his homeland, Jose is greeted by his good friends Jaime (Andres Toro), Pedro (Roberto Cano), and Luiza (America Ferrera. In the following days, Luiza attempts to show Jose just how much beauty Colombia truly has to offer. Despite the undeniable beauty of the land, however, Colombia holds a hidden danger that many fail to see until it's too late. Unfortunately for Jose, the night he realizes his love for Luiza and his homeland is the very same night that vicious kidnapping ringleader Manuel (Carlos Valencia) decides to strike. Now, realizing that their son's fate relies solely on the speed with which the ransom can be delivered, Jose's parents Marta (Alejandra Borrero) and Carlos (Tony Plana) hire an American "Kidnap and Ransom" company led by the experienced John (William Atherton) and his partners Victor (Cameron Daddo) and Charlie (David Sutcliffe) to negotiate with the quick-tempered Manuel. When Marta and Carlos' insurance company denies the claim and John attempts to reason with the increasingly erratic kidnapper, Victor begins to fear that time is running out and rounds up a team of special ops soldiers to search for Jose by helicopter. With only ninety-minutes to go before the deadline is up and Jose is killed, the race is on to either deliver the ransom or confront the kidnappers with force and firepower. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An unremarkable parking-enforcement officer living a low-key existence of solitary lunches in the park, lonely dinners at home, and superhero comics that at least afford him the quiet release of fantasy enrolls into a clinical trial for antidepressant pills, only to find that it has some decidedly unexpected side effects, in directors Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore's quirky comic-book superhero comedy. Les Franken (Michael Rappaport) leads an unassuming life that rarely deviates from a strict regiment of working, eating, sleeping, and comic book reading. His only two friends are a pair of stoners who own a local comic shop, so Les determines to shake things up a bit by volunteering as a test subject for an experimental drug designed to curb depression. When the drug appears to give Les special powers, the doctor in charge of the clinical controlled test insists that Les is simply experiencing an unanticipated psychological reaction to the medication. But Les is convinced that his powers are genuine, and as he ditches his work uniform in favor of more superhero-appropriate threads, he is about to find out once and for all whether he truly is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, or his depression, combined with the strange side-effects of the drug, has somehow propelled his superhero fantasies to the forefront of his damaged psyche. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Originally titled American Meltdown, this speculative made-for-cable melodrama begins as a group of six terrorists, bearing names like Khalid, Shafig, and Ziad, take over a nuclear power plant in San Juan. It turns out that the terrorists' actions are merely symbolic, and that no real harm is intended -- but things get tragically out of control, and soon the military and the government are in full spin mode to gloss over and wash their hands of a deadly nuclear meltdown that threatens to destroy everything within driving distance of the plant. In a virtual reprise of his characterization in the TV series 24, Arnold Vosloo portrays the head of the terrorists, who are more "home grown" than anyone is willing to admit. The film is shot in a punchy, fast-cut, hand-held "breaking news" style, alternating dizzily between color and black-and-white to give it a documentary feel. Meltdown was presented by the FX cable channel on June 6, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This sentimental made-for-TV drama was based on the bestselling novel by Donna VanLiere, which in turn was inspired by the popular song of the same name. Rob Lowe stars as Robert Layton, a workaholic attorney who sorely neglects his family, even during the Christmas season. Clearly, Layton is overdue for a "humanizing" treatment, which comes in the form of a little boy named Nathan Andrews (Max Morrow). Learning that his mother, Maggie (Kimberly Williams), is dying from congenital heart failure, and unable to financially rely upon his underemployed father, Jack (Hugh Thompson), Nathan goes about collecting tin cans and other throwaways so that he can afford an expensive pair of red shoes for his ailing mom. Nathan's plight not only touches Layton, but also has a heartwarming trickle-down effect on the lawyer's estranged family. The Christmas Shoes debuted December 1, 2002, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Spinsterish New England college professor Gwen Barry (Frances Fisher) takes advantage of a prison work furlough program by hiring soon-to-be-released convict Dalton Roy (Derwin Jordan) as a handyman. As time goes by, Gwen falls in love with Dalton, and he reciprocates. Upon his release, however, Dalton breaks off with Gwen in favor of a sweetheart closer to his own age, college student Tamara (Kandyse McClure). But by now, Gwen's affection has morphed into an unhealthy obsession, and she is fully willing to destroy Dalton rather than see him slip through her fingers. Filmed in Nova Scotia, the made-for-cable Passion and Prejudice debuted April 17, 2001 on the USA network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As the result of a freak accident, Jay Berman (Barclay Hope) lies comatose in a hospital bed. Despite the admonitions of friends, family members and medical experts, Jay's steadfast wife, Lainey (Rebecca De Mornay), and the couple's young daughters refuse to accept the negative prognosis that Jay will never snap out of his coma, tenaciously holding on to the faint hope that he will somehow revive before the Christmas holidays. During her long vigil in the hospital, Lainey befriends Ted Merrick (Henry Czerny), whose own wife is in an irreversible coma, and whose response to the tragedy provides a startling contrast to Lainey's unswerving faith. Meanwhile, Lainey's loyal best friend, Alice (Melanie Mayron), experiences marital strife of a different variety as she tries to keep the Berman family's spirits up. Adapted from a novel by former nurse Elizabeth Berg, the made-for-cable Range of Motion was shown over the Lifetime network on December 4, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on an "Oprah Book Club" selection by novelist Mary McGarry Morris, Songs in Ordinary Time is set in Vermont in the 1960s. Sissy Spacek plays Mary Fermoyle, divorced mother of three children. Mary's life is forever changed with the arrival of an enigmatic stranger named Omar Duvall (Beau Bridges), to whom the Fermoyle family extends their hospitality. Drawing closer to the personable but secretive Omar -- who is also extremely popular with all the kids in the neighborhood -- Mary is forced to confront the possibility that her erstwhile sweetheart may be an escaped criminal. Songs in Ordinary Time debuted over CBS on October 22, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The late Robert Urich completed work on this cable-TV movie only a few days before undergoing cancer surgery. Set in the early months of the Great Depression, the story involves Angus Feagan (Urich), a Detroit family man who has lost both his job and his freedom. Arrested for a crime he didn't commit, Feagan finds that his fate is in the hands of his three children, who in their efforts to get their dad sprung before Christmas are set upon enlisting the aid of no less than President Herbert Hoover (Thomas Peacocke). In this spirit, the youngsters set out for Washington DC--and when their mother (Diane Scarwid) finds out, a frantic thousand-mile chase ensues. In fine old Frank Capra tradition, the kids encounter a variety of eccentric characters en route to the White House, all played by actors whose faces are reassuringly familiar, even if their names are not. The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue premiered over the Family Channel on December 15, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alfre Woodard and Charles S. Dutton star as sister and brother in this made-for-television Hallmark Hall of Fame production about an African-American family's struggle to retain their heritage. The drama tells the story of an impoverished black family whose history is told in the carvings on the family piano. Boy Willie (Dutton) wants to sell the piano and use the money to buy farmland, but sister Berniece (Woodard) won't part with it. The film chronicles their struggle to come to terms with their family's past, and its future. The critically acclaimed film was based on August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play and was nominated for numerous Emmy awards. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide