Alexander Pollock Movies
A small-town history teacher with a decidedly different approach to public education raises the ire of a stuffy biology teacher who's looking to win the "Teacher of the Year" award in this made-for-television family-oriented comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and David Paymer. Mr. D (Reynolds) doesn't just teach history, he lives it; and his passion for the oft-dreaded subject is infectious. Though the kids and the faculty all love Mr. D, biology teacher Matt Warner (Paymer) views the newly arrived educator as little more than another roadblock in his path to take the "Teacher of the Year" prize. The son of wildly popular educator Stormin' Norman (John Astin) -- a man who had achieved the astonishing feat of winning the top teacher award for 43 years in a row -- Matt Warner is desperate to prove his worth as a teacher by following in his fathers formidable footsteps. When Warner learns a secret about Mr. D that could bring the newly arrived teacher down and place Warner directly in position to take the Teacher of the Year title, the entire town of Fallbrook learns an important lesson that can't be taught in a textbook. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Paymer, Ryan Reynolds, (more)
This talking-animal action comedy from Lawrence Guterman, the co-director of Antz (1998), follows on the heels of the Babe and Dr. Dolittle films. Unknown to humans, a secret war has been raging between cats and dogs for eons, but a fragile truce has long held the order of the animal kingdom in place. Now the balance of power has tipped, as a researcher, Professor Brody (Jeff Goldblum), is about to invent a vaccine that will erase all human allergies to dogs. This is too much for the autocratic Mr. Tinkles (Sean Hayes), a white Persian kitty bent on world domination. The Brody home becomes ground zero for the renewed conflict between feline and canine, with a young Beagle puppy named Lou (Tobey Maguire) caught in the middle as the new point man for his species' cause. Cats and Dogs co-stars Elizabeth Perkins and Alexander Pollock, as well as the vocal talents of Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Jon Lovitz, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Joe Pantoliano. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins, (more)
- 1999
Seriously injured in the auto accident that killed her husband, Clare Miller (Dana Delany) has a bizarre near-death experience while on the operating table. Confined to a wheelchair after the tragedy, Clare suddenly discovers that the dream may have been no dream at all: She now has the power to heal. First curing her own physical infirmities, Clare moves on to heal others who are suffering. Unfortunately, these "miracles" are limited: Clare seems totally unable to heal the emotional problems that have distanced her from her friends and loved ones, problems that only seem to be getting worse. First telecast by ABC on March 15, 1999, the made-for-TV Resurrection is a remake of the 1980 Ellen Burstyn film of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Delany, Brenda Fricker, (more)
- 1997
It is not merely jealousy that prompts psychology major Darcy Canfield (Rena Sofer) to mistrust her widowed father Derek's new bride Joan (Linda Evans) and Joan's daughter Melinda (Bridgette Wilson). In fact, the audience is way ahead of Darcy: Joan is revealed early on to be a serial killer of wealthy husbands, who with the help of the equally sociopathic Melinda has bumped off a number of former mates for their money--and, of course, Dr. Derek Canfield (Alan Rachins) is loaded! This time, however, Joan falls in love with Derek and drops her plans to bump him off. Not so Melinda, who now takes it upon herself to eliminate not only her stepdad but also her own mother. In the end, it falls to Darcy to use her college-honed psych kills in a desperate effort to expose Melinda before she can kill again! Capped by one of those endings which suggests that "it ain't over till it's over", the made-for-cable The Stepsister was first broadcast May 7, 1997 by the USA network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Adapted by John Robert Hoffman from his own play, the made-for-TV Northern Lights stars Diane Keaton as Roberta Blumstein, a high-strung New Yorker whose well-ordered lifestyle is set on its ear with the arrival of a child. No, not Roberta's child, but the son of her recently deceased brother Frank. The kid's name is Jack, and he is no more fond of Roberta than she is of him--at least, not at first. Gradually, however, the two lost souls come to find each other in the most unlikeliest of places: A quaint New England community that Roberta would under normal circumstances have never been caught dead in. Although the original play was a one-character monologue, the TV version features scores of eccentric and lovable supporting characters--among them one Joe Scarlotti, played by author Hoffman, and Ben Rubadue, portrayed by Maury Chaykin, the star of the Diane Keaton-directed theatrical feature Unstrung Heroes. Produced for the Disney Channel, Northern Lights was originally telecast on August 23, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This speculative TV movie is set in the year 2008, as grief-stricken married couple Skye (Elizabeth Perkins) and Rick (Bradley Whitford) struggle bravely to overcome the death of their son. "Shock" is hardly the appropriate word to describe the couple's reaction when they meet another child who looks exactly like their own boy. It soon develops that Skye and Rick's son was the product of "Baby 2000," a top-secret -- and highly illegal -- cloning experiment conducted at a fertility clinic. Will the couple blow the whistle on the clinic's crooked activities, or will they be mollified into silence by being given an exact duplicate of the son they have lost? Refreshingly, the man responsible for the experiment, Dr. Wesley Kozak (Alan Rosenberg) is not portrayed as a Frankensteinish villain, but instead as a compassionate, concerned scientist who truly believes that "Baby 2000" has been conceived for the benefit of humankind. Cloned originally aired September 28, 1997, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
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
