Brenda Devine Movies
- 2002
A young Irish servant girl travels to Newfoundland in an attempt to build a new life for herself and her infant daughter in director John. M. Smith's Gemini Award-winning miniseries. Mary Keane (Aoife McMahon) is a humble servant who has been raped and abused her entire life, but she's determined that her young daughter will not suffer the same grim fate. Now, after departing from their native Ireland, Mary and her daughter wind up at an isolated fishing station run by benevolent soul Thomas Hutchings (Colm Meany). But sickness and starvation run rampant in this harsh environment. Perhaps if all of the fugitives and lost souls who have wound up in this unforgiving no man's land can band together and make it through the hard times, there will finally be hope for the future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colm Meaney, Aoife McMahon, (more)
- 2001
Noted screenwriter Wesley Strick made his directorial debut with this offbeat suspense story. Ted (Anthony Michael Hall) and Eve (Sheryl Lee Diamond) are a couple who've just moved into a beautiful old house, which has an unusual feature in the basement -- a hidden bar room which was used as a "speakeasy" during Prohibition. Eve has for some time wondered if Ted is entirely faithful to her and she gets an answer when she's called to the hospital after Ted's been in a serious auto accident, and discovers his mistress is already at his bedside. Eve discovers Ted has been cheating on her with a variety of women for years and she decides to do something about it. Shortly after Ted is released, he mysteriously disappears and no one has any idea of where he's gone. While she isn't telling, Eve knows the truth about Ted -- she's locked him up in the basement speakeasy, and is keeping him captive so he can't run around on her. While Eve is happy to know where Ted is at all times, Police Detective Grant (Alex Carter) keeps popping by to ask questions, and Eve finds herself tempted by another man while struggling not to let down her guard. Hitched was produced for the USA cable network, where it first aired in 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Michael Hall, Sheryl Lee, (more)
Yasmine Bleeth stars in this "drawn from the headlines" TV movie as Diane Shepherd, the idealistic producer for the bomb-throwing talkfest "The Howard Grant Show." At present, Howard's most controversial guest is Kelly Reilly (Jenny Lewis), a drugged-out prostitute and single mom. Taking a protective interest in Kelly, Diane endeavors to redeem the girl and put her on the right path--an act of largesse that is coldly vetoed not only by the Springer-esque Howard Grant (Peter Scolari), but also by Diane's ratings-driven boss Sadie (Veronica Hamel), who subscribes to the philosophy that "Everyone in this business is a whore--but we're highly paid whores." Like so many other films which try to "expose" the seamier side of the talk-show industry, Talk to Me exudes an air of smug superiority, but Yasmine Bleeth's surprisingly forceful performance compensates the script's self-righteous shortcomings. The film made its ABC network bow on October 20, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yasmine Bleeth, Veronica Hamel, (more)
