Nik Hagler Movies

In this Disney comedy that bears a suspicious resemblance to The Mighty Ducks, the down-trodden cynical young misfits of a run-down Texas town, devastated by the closing of its one major industry, find renewed hope and spirit at the hands of a plucky British foreign-exchange teacher who introduces them to soccer. When British elementary school teacher Anna Montgomery arrives in the dusty town and first meets the depressed and frequently angry youths, she immediately knows she must do something to somehow make them feel better about themselves and so decides to enroll them into a soccer league. Naturally the kids are at first awful and are soundly pummeled during their first game. Fortunately, former high school football champ, Deputy Sheriff Tom Palmer decides to give the pretty and single Anna a helping hand, and between the two of them manage to whip the kids into shape so they can beat the arrogant state champion team, helmed by Palmer's old rival Jay Huffer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Clint Eastwood, hot off of his Academy Award win for Unforgiven, directed this small character study, appearing in the guise of a cops-and-robbers action picture. The film takes place during the fall of 1963. Eight-year old Phillip Perry (T.J. Lowther), the son of a devout Jehovah's Witness mother, is staying home while all the other children are out trick-or-treating. But then prison escapee Butch Haynes (Kevin Costner) appears in his kitchen. Needing a hostage to aid him in his escape from jail, he grabs Phillip. Phillip curiously looks up to Butch and willingly accompanies him. Butch gets rid of his fellow escapee after he tries to molest the child, and Butch and Phillip take to the Texas highway, on the run from the cops. The cop in pursuit in this instance is Police Chief Red Garnett (Clint Eastwood), riding in his sleek Populux Airglide trailer -- his "mobile command headquarters." On the road with Garnett is Sally Gerber (Laura Dern), a pushy pre-feminist criminologist, along with a creepy federal agent who is an expert sharpshooter. Butch is not particularly anxious to make it to the Texas borderline, and neither is Garnett in any particular hurry to catch Butch. As Butch and Phillip form a father-son attachment, the paths of Butch and Garnett gradually come together, in time for a final confrontation, after which Garnett confesses, "I don't know nothing. I don't know a damn thing." ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Martin Sheen stars as an American newsman in Rome who begins to investigate the appearance of several corpses found throughout Europe with their hands cut off. He soon uncovers not only plots of plutonium theft, but also of nuclear arms deals and dark political schemes. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

I Come in Peace is a silly, derivative science fiction exploitation thriller which is a triumph of style and skillful direction, despite a plot that steals elements from numerous good films and mixes them with some appallingly bad acting. Jack Caine (Dolph Lundgren) is a not-by-the books police officer investigating the death of several people, including his partner, by a gang called the "White Boys." All the victims seemed to have died of drug overdoses, but Jack thinks that there is something more sinister afoot. His investigation reveals a plot by aliens who use the bodies to extract a chemical that is sold to addicts on their home planet. Originally entitled Dark Angel, I Come in Peace, while silly and confusing, has great production values and some excellent special effects. The main reason to see this film is because of the expert direction by former stunt-man Craig Baxley who manages to keep the action moving at a fast pace and tie up the loose ends of the threadbare story. The cinematography by Mark Irwin is outstanding and shows that imagination and a good visual sense can overcome a limited budget and a bad plot. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

Set in a small town in Texas, a young man begins to lose interest in his sex-brained girlfriend and begins falling for her mother instead. This romantic comedy-drama features C. Thomas Howell, Ann-Margret, Kelly Preston and Charles Durning. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

Adam: His Song Continues is a sequel to the highly regarded fact-based 1983 TV movie Adam. The first film was the heartrending story of Floridians John and Reve Walsh (Daniel J. Travanti, JoBeth Williams) whose six-year-old son Adam was kidnapped and murdered in 1981, whereupon the Walshes lobbied for creation of the Federal Missing Child Act, which allowed public access to FBI files of other lost youngsters. The sequel, also starring Travanti and Williams, doesn't have the emotional drive of the original, but is still absorbing in its chronicling of John Walsh's efforts to create a advocacy service for missing kids--and the pressures brought to bear on Reve, who is expecting another baby. Both Adam films end with a roll call of missing children, with His Song Continues listing those children who'd been found since the first movie. The real-life John Walsh later became the host of a Fox "reality" series America's Most Wanted. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this martial-arts actioner, a gentle Japanese immigrant endeavors to quietly run a business in America. Unfortunately, gangsters refuse to leave them alone. Finally the quiet storekeeper has enough and reveals that he is in reality, a highly skilled Ninja master. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The "broken promise" was made to eleven-year-old Melissa Michaelsen, whose parents have deserted her and her siblings. Taken in by the County, Michaelsen has had to watch helplessly as her brothers and sisters are split up and farmed out to different families. One of the kids is even institutionalized. Juvenile court officer Chris Sarandon joins Michaelsen in her struggle to reunite her family under one roof. Broken Promise was originally offered as a "General Foods Golden Showcase" presentation. It was first telecast May 5, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi