Michael Ironside Movies

Hawk-like Marine Corps officer Benson Payne (Damon Wayans) attempts to whip into shape the usual assortment of misfit JROTC kids in this minor remake of The Private War of Major Benson. Of course, both the major and his pint-sized recruits have something to teach one another. Payne teaches them the value of self-discipline and instills self-confidence in them, and the recruits teach him to stop and smell the roses (not to mention the fact that kids sometimes need coddling rather than screaming). And, of course, there is the annual JROTC statewide competition, which the kids are obligated to win before the movie can end. While there are some funny moments (the major's exhibition in full-dress whites at a school dance, for example), the script seems too color-by-numbers to be interesting to anyone other than undiscriminating younger viewers. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, an honest lawman has to decide where his loyalties lie in a corrupt system. All his life, J.J. (Michael Boatman) has dreamed of being a cop, and after graduating from the Police Academy, he gets his wish, becoming the first African-American policeman based out of Los Angeles' Edgemar station. However, J.J. discovers that his race makes him an outsider among his fellow officers. His presence is not welcomed by his superior, Massey (Richard Anderson), and the only colleague who is truly hospitable to him is Deborah (Lori Petty), the only female cop at Edgemar and the target of as much abuse as J.J. Hoping to somehow fit in, J.J. digs into his work and tries to be "just one of the guys," ignoring the racism and corruption around him. However, one night J.J.'s fellow officer Bono (Don Harvey) pulls over Teddy Woods (Ice Cube), an arrogant and uncommunicative young black man, and in the midst of an illegal search of his car, he finds a gun; even though he knows that Bono acted improperly, J.J. put his loyalty behind the force and lies to support Bono's story. The gun's serial number matches that of a weapon used to murder the wife of Mr. Greenspan (Elliott Gould), a prominent Jewish businessman, and Woods is charged with the killing. However, J.J. discovers that the number of the gun had been altered, and he has to decide what to do when he realizes that Teddy could be sentenced to death without having committed a serious crime. The Glass Shield also features Bernie Casey, Sy Richardson, and M. Emmet Walsh. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Hilarity ensues in this Canadian comedy when a young Japanese man goes deep into the Canadian west in search of adventure, and finds instead a cultural clash. No Ogawa, a fast-food worker in Tokyo dreams of seeing real cowboys. His pen-pal Kate lives in rural western Canada. She is an artist and a lesbian only half-way out of the closet. She struggles against the narrow views of her community and is filled with self-doubt. No Ogawa could not have picked a worse time to suddenly appear at her door clutching a pair of spurs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Jeff Wincott plays Harlin Garret, once an enforcer for a criminal network preying on the city's citizens. After he's doubled crossed, a government agency with an agenda of their own, no less sinister than that of the crooks, creates a doppelgänger of Harlin to do its dirty work. Garret soon finds he has to fight enemies on all sides to win his freedom as well as that of the people. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this Canadian thriller, uneducated, disaffected white youths known as skinheads are attacking racial minorities. A government agent (Michael Ironside) investigating the incidents traces them to a wealthy, extreme right-wing, neo-Nazi businessman who is secretly bankrolling the skinheads, using them to do what he would like to do himself, but enabling him to keep his hands clean. The agent assembles a team (as in The Dirty Dozen) to fight back. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

The touching story of a boy and his killer whale made this family drama a surprise box office hit. Jesse (Jason James Richter) is a kid without parents who has bounced from one foster home to another and is living on the streets. One night, he's caught spraying graffiti with his friend Perry (Michael Bacall) in a theme park. Jesse and Perry are caught red handed by Dwight (Mykel T. Williamson), a policeman who thinks that Jesse needs a more stable and disciplined environment. Dwight arranges for Jesse to stay with a new foster family, Glen and Annie Greenwood (Michael Madsen and Jayne Atkinson), with whom Jesse has an initially stormy relationship. Part of Jesse's punishment involves cleaning up the damage he caused at the park, where the new attraction is Willy, a killer whale who is being trained to do tricks. However, Willy was traumatized when he was stolen from his family by mercenary fisherman and does not respond well to the genuine concern of his trainers, Rae (Lori Petty) and Randolph (August Schellenberg). Jesse and Willy, both stranded without families in a place where they don't fit in, develop a close emotional bond, and with Jesse's help, Willy begins to display aptitude as a performer. Thanks to his friendship with Willy, Jesse develops a new sense of responsibility and a healthier relationship with the Greenwoods. However, Dial (Michael Ironside), the owner of the park, doesn't much care for animals and isn't happy with the slower-than-expected progress of Willy's training; having insured the whale for $1 million dollars, he figures that Willy is worth more dead than alive, and Jesse, Rae, and Randolph have to rescue their aquatic friend and return him to the ocean when Dial seems ready to live up to his threats. Free Willy, which featured a star performance by a killer whale named Keiko (who is doubled in some scenes by animatronic models) included the theme song "Will You Be There," a top-ten hit for Michael Jackson, and spawned two sequels. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A former criminal is recruited to help cops in this made-for-television movie. Powers Boothe stars as Mace Moutron, also known as The Sandman, a former convict who is used by the police to help fight crime. More familiar and more satisfied with the swiftness of street justice, the Sandman decides to take some police matters into his own hands. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Deadbeat dads be damned. Patrick Swayze plays a con man who tries to live up to the ideals of "family values" by kidnapping his son and daughter from the evil clutches of a corrupt orphanage and taking them on a cross-country trip in his vintage convertible. To complicate matters, his daughter has been sexually molested by the head of the orphanage, who fears that she may prosecute if given the opportunity. This family drama is also a zany road movie as the re-united father and children flee the police on a quest to restore their family. ~ Laura Abraham, All Movie Guide

In this actioner, a Cuban drug lord blows up a Miami customs official and leaves his hapless partner to shoulder the blame. Now the surviving officer is determined to sneak into the drug lord's gang and bring them to justice. He is temporarily side-tracked when he sees the crime boss's seductive moll. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Blood, sweat, and betrayal in the South East Asian jungles is what drives this action thriller about sleazy Canadian diplomat Carl Pimmler (Michael Ironside), who sends Peter Kernan (Matt Salinger) and his wife Johanna (Sam Jenkins) into deepest, darkest Cambodia to deliver "medicine." When the two realize the true nature of the items they are toting, they struggle to flee for their lives. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Not so much a remake of Joseph H. Lewis's 1949 film noir classic as a variation on its themes, Guncrazy stars Drew Barrymore as Anita, a teenage girl who was born in a trailer park on the wrong side of the tracks and has been fighting a losing battle with respectability ever since. Anita was abused sexually by her mother's boyfriend (played by onetime Warhol "superstar" Joe Dallesandro), is the subject of lewd advances by the school bullies, and is looked on as a slut and a loser by her peers. When Anita has to find a pen pal for a class assignment, she ends up corresponding with a prisoner named Howard (James LeGros), who's serving time for manslaughter. Howard is one of the first people to address Anita with tenderness and respect, so when he gets parole, Howard moves in with her. Howard's obsessive love of guns, however, once again leads to violence, and the couple hits the road hoping to escape their fates. The debut film from director Tamra Davis, Guncrazy was originally shown on cable television, but received enough critical acclaim to merit a later theatrical release. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Set in a poisonous, ruined and anarchic 21st-century world ruled by amoral mutants, this "Road Warrioresque" adventure centers on the attempts of a motley band of travelers to cross the desiccated badlands in hopes of finding a mythical city where civilization and order make life peaceful and safe. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide