Michael Ayr Movies
- 1991
Jerry Orbach makes a return appearance as Boston private eye Harry McGraw. Deep in Kentucky Horse Country, Harry investigates the murder of horse owner Randolph Sterling (Kevin McCarthy), who had been embroiled in a feud with his neighbor Lamar Morgan (Gregory Walcott) concerning a stud fee and two unexpected foals sired by one of Sterling's thoroughbreds. Real-life attorney Melvin M. Belli is appropriately cast as a judge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Originally telecast in two parts, Blind Faith was adapted from a fact-based book by investigative author Joe McGinniss. The scene is Toms River, New Jersey; the year is 1984. Insurance salesman Rob Marshall (Robert Urich) informs the authorities that his wife Maria (Joanna Kerns) has been murdered by a band of marauding thieves. Marshall claims that he and his wife were ambushed at a remote picnic area, and for a while everyone believes the man. But further investigation leads to the conclusion that Maria was the victim of a murder conspiracy, fomented by Marshall himself in order collect his wife's insurance. The climactic trial forces Marshall's three teenaged sons to bear witness against their own father. With grim irony, Blind Faith was first broadcast just before Valentine's Day, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- PG13
Lisa, a well-crafted, sly, thriller, directed by Gary Sherman tells the story of a young girl who makes telephone calls to a man who she later finds out is a serial killer. Lisa (Stacy Keanan) is a 14-year-old girl whose mother Katherine (Cheryl Ladd), having been herself an unwed mother, forbids her to have dates until she is 16 years old. Katherine has raised Lisa alone and has a good business as a florist, but due to her own past trauma, never dates. Lisa retreats into a fantasy world and finds men, follows them, and begins making enticing telephone calls to them. One of the men turns out to be a handsome restaurant owner, who also likes to kill women, tracking them down very much the same way that Lisa does. This leads to a very exciting conclusion when the killer mistakes Katherine for Lisa. Lisa, well-directed and well-acted, is a fine, satisfying thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheryl Ladd, D.W. Moffett, (more)
- 1989
Murphy's tough and relentless interview technique has a somewhat negative effect on a corrupt judge (John Capodice), who drops dead right in mid-telecast. Traumatized by this tragedy, Murphy is terrified to conduct any more interviews, meaning that her usefulness to "FYI" may be at an end. To overcome her fear, she begins attending a group therapy session conducted by Dr. Paula Hayes (Janet MacLachlan)--a tough cookie in her own right. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
To spice up their tepid social lives three ad execs from Manhattan place ads in the personals column of a local magazine. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1979
In this drama, David Rosen (Lee Strasberg) and his wife Becky (Ruth Gordon) have lived in the same Coney Island neighborhood for nearly all their married life. But the area is not what it used to be, and a gang leader named Strut (Kim Delgado) has decided to make Coney Island his new turf. Strut begins shaking down the merchants in the area, demanding payment for "protection" and using violence to deal with anyone who gets in his way. David refuses to give Strut protection money for the restaurant he owns, and as a result his diner is soon firebombed, while many of his neighbors are attacked and his synagogue is desecrated. When Becky dies, David decides that he can stand no more, and he plots his revenge against Strut and his underlings. Director Stephen F. Verona manages to combine a Death Wish-style revenge scenario with a mood piece that generates a very real nostalgia for what Coney Island once was -- and still is for many of the characters in this story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Gordon, Lee Strasberg, (more)
