Amy Goldberg Movies

Two best friends and a British nature enthusiast set out on a wilderness adventure they'll never forget in this sequel to the rowdy 2004 comedy Without a Paddle. Upon venturing into the woods in search of a high school sweetheart, a pair of best buds (Oliver James and Kristopher Turner) is joined by a wild Brit (Rik Young) who couldn't resist the call of the wild. As the stakes get higher and the squirrels turn hostile, the hapless trio attempts to navigate a raging river while realizing that sometimes nature isn't all it's cracked up to be. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Jane Doe:The Wrong Face is one of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as Simi Valley housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her neighbors occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. Kathy is summoned by her NSA superior Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) to tackle the mysterious kidnapping of Caroline Raphaelson (Roxanna Zal), wife of crusading prosecutor Phil Raphaelson (John Rubinstein). No one ever saw anyone entering or leaving the room in the health spa from which Caroline, who'd been undergoing cosmetic surgery, was snatched. Still, the fact remains that a ransom demand has been made, said demand being that Caroline's husband arrange for the release of Ray Jackson (Michael Bailey Smith), a shady construction executive being held on a money-laundering rap. Complicating Kathy's investigation is Jackson's staunch insistence that he is innocent and that he completely disapproves of the kidnapping, and the subsequent disappearance of the 16-year-old girl who'd impersonated Caroline while the abduction was allegedly taking place. Jane Doe: The Wrong Face) was originally telecast on June 19, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jane Doe: Vanishing Act is the first of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as Simi Valley housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. Having previously worked as a spy, Kathy is pulled out of an 18-year retirement by NSA operative Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) in hopes that she will be able to locate a missing file containing all of America's defense secrets, which was stolen from a plane in flight--along with the computer whiz who created the file. Adhering to her policy of "eliminating the impossible", Kathy--cover name "Jane Doe"--tries to figure out a logical method by which the file was heisted, a task made difficult by the vague recollections (and shady pasts) of the witnesses to the crime. As she gets deeper into the case, Kathy herself is placed in harm's way, to say nothing of her unwitting family. Jane Doe: Vanishing Act originally aired January 21, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ambitious young advertising man Phillip Fielder (Chad Lowe) has no time for relationships, and seems to have affection only for his creature comforts -- a source of great dismay for his erstwhile girlfriend, Holly Ford (Marin Hinkle). When his orphaned nephew, an autistic eight-year-old named Zachary (K'Sun Ray), comes to live in Phillip's lavish apartment, Phillip wants no part of surrogate fatherhood and tries to pass the youngster along to his cousin Rose (Miriam Flynn), who happens to live near a group home for special children. But Zach nixes this idea and insists upon living with Phillip, thus throwing together two extremely self-absorbed, obsessive-compulsive characters under one roof. This being a Hallmark Channel presentation, Fielder's Choice will undoubtedly work its way toward a happy and heartwarming finale, though it definitely takes some doing! The film made its TV bow on June 18, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Hallmark Channel TV movie is one of a series starring John Larroquette as McBride (no first name), a hard-nosed cop turned compassionate defense lawyer, specializing in "lost causes." On this occasion, McBride's client is one-half of a popular FM radio "shock jock" team, accused of murdering his partner. The cops think they have the suspect dead to rights: Not only did he have motive and opportunity, but a recording exists of the victim's last moments on earth, which were broadcast for all to hear, and which seem to confirm the suspect's guilt. Of course, this being a made-for-cable movie, such airtight evidence can't be trusted--especially when McBride finds out that everyone at the radio station hated the dead man's guts. As in all previous McBride films, the climactic "You done it" scene is staged in flashback form, with McBride himself appearing as a sidelines spectator to the foul play. McBride: Tune In For Murder was first broadcast on August 14, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jane Doe:'Til Death Do Us Part is one of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as suburban housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. This time around, Armand Nostrum (Tom Castranova), a notorious illegal arms dealer serving a life term in prison, apparently dies of heart failure just before he was to blow the whistle on the others in his operation. Kathy--code name "Jane Doe"--is brought into the case when Nostrum's body disappears from the prison hospital, despite the tightest of security measures. As she tries to figure out what has happened and why, the possibility arises that the "dead" man was anything but! This is the episode in which Kathy is finally permitted to tell her husband Jack (William R. Moses) of her covert activities--and in the bargain, our heroine honors us with a lengthy and very broad imitation of a "typical" Mafia princess! Jane Doe: 'Til Death Do Us Part first aired March 11, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Hallmark Channel TV movie is one of a series starring John Larroquette as McBride (no first name), a hard-nosed cop turned compassionate defense lawyer, specializing in "lost causes." Serving on a jury in the trial of Claire Harriman (Paula Trickey), McBride is not persuaded that Claire attempted to poison her business-tycoon husband. Though the proceedings end in a mistrial, Claire's reputation is in tatters, and she turns to Bride in hopes of proving her innocence during the inevitable retrial. Although it turns out that practically everyone who knew Claire's late husband--especially the members of his immediately family--had ample motive and opportunity to bump him off, McBride begins to wonder if he has allowed his heart to rule his head, and that Claire may just be guilty after all. McBride: Murder Past Midnight initially aired February 4, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After the death of his beloved wife, Helen (Lynne Moody), wealthy African-American suburbanite William Campbell (James Earl Jones) finds that Helen has left behind a "living will" in the form of a videotape. As William watches the video, his late wife urges him to take his huge personal library down to the tough inner-city neighborhood and to establish a reading room. Though confused by this request, William does exactly that, only to find that none of his new neighbors seem inclined to read -- not until he posts a sign reading FREE SODA. Ever so slowly, a few "regulars" trickle into the reading room, among them an idealistic young special-ed teacher (Joanna Cassidy), a high-schooler (Keith Robinson) studying for his SATS, and a little girl (Gabby Soleil) who hopes to get her mother to learn to read. For the most part, however, William's little sanctuary is the target of break-ins and the hangout for local gang members, and with this in mind it isn't surprising that several people encourage him to pack up and get out -- none more adamantly than the Reverend Rashid Rahim (played by George Stanford Brown, the film's director), a self-appointed urban activist who perceives in William a threat to his supremacy. Eventually, whether or not William stays or goes boils down to his attempt at "redeeming" a youthful thief named Javier (Douglas Spain) -- and it is at this point in the narrative that William finally understands why Helen wanted him to open up the reading room in the first place. Filmed with the endorsement of the National Center for Family Literacy, The Reading Room was produced for cable's Hallmark Channel, where it first aired on November 26, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Hallmark Channel TV movie is one of several starring Kellie Martin as Samantha "Sam" Kinsey, the owner of a British-style American bookshop which traffics in mystery novels. This time out, Sam scores a coup when she manages to get reclusive mystery writer Donald Fiske (William Katt) to make a rare personal appearance at her "Mystery Woman" bookshop. Also on hand is the writer's bitchy wife Jody (Sheree J. Wilson) and his troubled son Cameron (AJ Trauth), not to mention a somewhat disreputable videogame developer named Randy (Jamie Elman), who has persuaded Sam to carry his latest creation, an addictive game called "Whodunnit?", in her store. When Fiske is murdered, Randy is the primary suspect, the result of an ownership squabble over "Whodunnit" which not only involved the dead man, but also some very shady characters from Russia. Though Randy seems to be guilty as hell, Sam nonetheless works overtime to prove his innocence, a task complicated when Sam is assaulted and Jody is kidnapped. Mystery Woman: Game Time premiered August 21, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A belief in "angels on earth," not to mention a belief in oneself, may enhance the enjoyment of this made-for-cable drama. Jaclyn Smith stars as Kay Woodbury, a tough, no-nonsense judge whose intractability in legal matters is intensified by a number of personal crises, including a bitter feud with her jurist father and her anguish over the recent remarriage of her ex-husband. Thus, Kay is no mood to play nice when teenager Sally Powell (Lyndsy Fonseca) is brought before her. Harboring an intense hatred for the father who apparently abandoned her, Sally is a seemingly incorrigible delinquent who has already "flunked out" in four foster homes. Figuring that she could no worse than anyone else, Kay takes Sally home on a trial basis. The girl proceeds to behave as atrociously as possible, but surprisingly Kay does not decide to write her off as a bad job, but instead concludes that what the girl needs is someone to trust and something to believe in. In this spirit, Kay locates Sally's birth father (C. Thomas Howell), and, upon being convinced that he was not motivated by selfishness when he dropped out of his daughter's life, secretly contrives for Sally and her dad to reconnect -- and in so doing Kay finds her own way toward forgiveness, not only of those whom she feels have wronged her, but also of herself. Ordinary Miracles made its Hallmark Channel debut on May 7, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Weary and dispirited following the death of his wife Lorraine (Meredith Baxter) and after suffering a mild stroke, Buddy Bishop (Ronny Cox) anxiously reaches out to his estranged daughters Sarah (Tracy Needham) and Beth (Natasha Gregson Wagner), asking that they join him for a Christmas reunion. Despite a multitude of their own problems, Sarah and Beth agree--but they're not too happy about spending the holidays in the old, boarded-up house that Buddy had shared with his late wife. Circumstances change dramatically when the Bishops awaken one morning to find a beaming Lorraine waiting for them in the kitchen as if nothing had ever happened to her! The "resurrection" of Lorraine leads to a moving and inspirational conclusion in the made-for-cable Angel in the Family, which first aired December 18, 2004 on the Hallmark channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though some observers feel that the made-for-cable Dangerous Waters was merely a derivation of the earlier theatrical feature River Wild, be assured that the later film includes a few novel and unanticipated twists. While on a rafting trip with her kids and her newboyfriend Bob (Matt McCoy), river expert Sarah (Connie Selleca) is waylaid by escaped convicts searching for stolen money. Earlier, Sarah had rescued an unconscious man, who may or may not be connected with the crooks. Whatever the case, Bob takes charge of the situation, apparently playing for time by claiming he knows the location of the money--mainly because he's the one who hid it. A deadly game of cat-and-mouse between captors and captives develops, followed by an even more harrowing excursion down the rapids and towards safety. Throughout it all, however, Sarah cannot help but wonder what Bob is up to--and why? First telecast by the Fox Family channel on February 7, 1999, Dangerous Waters was filmed under the title Imminent Danger, and still goes by that name in reruns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide