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Chapelle Jaffe Movies

1996  
 
A bitter, nasty child custody battle is at the center of this fact-based TV movie. Having long since written off her divorced daughter-in-law Sarah (Tracey Gold) as an unfit mother, DeDe Cooper (Kate Jackson) anxiously awaits the slightest opportunity to take her granddaughter Josie (Laura Harris) away from Sarah for good. When Josie begins making disturbing references to "satanic rituals", DeDe figures it is time to take action. Before long, someone has kidnapped Josie--and Sarah, whose life has only just begun to find meaning via her relationship with her new beau Jack (Jeff Yagher), insists she has a pretty good idea who's responsible. What follows is a maelstrom of lies, deceptions, and ultimate vindication for one of the two principal characters. A Kidnapping in the Family originally aired February 26, 1996 on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1995  
R  
Sean Astin stars as the title character in this creepy made-for-cable adaptation of the Kurt Vonnegut classic. Set in a future America, where a small, elite group controls the masses, teen Harrison Bergeron is chosen to lead a movement that promotes mediocrity. Christopher Plummer stars as John Klaxon, the mastermind behind the attempt to uniformly dumb-down Americans. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

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1994  
 
A mother's happiness is shattered when she learns an awful truth about the man she married shortly after she had been brutally raped and left pregnant by a stranger. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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Starring:
Cynthia GibbRichard Grieco, (more)
 
1991  
PG13  
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In this made-for-cable TV movie, an attractive woman leaves her small-town life hoping to make it as a model. However, her success earns her more admiration than she bargained for when a deranged killer begins murdering her male friends. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

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Starring:
Jennifer RubinPeter Outerbridge, (more)
 
1991  
 
This made-for-cable Disney effort stars Jason Robards as the writer Mark Twain who, in the twilight of his life, met and befriended an 11-year-old girl named Dorothy Quick. Their relationship served as the basis for Quick's autobiographical book Enchantment: A Little Girl's Friendship with Mark Twain, on which Cynthia Whitcomb's screenplay is based. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

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1989  
PG13  
Where has director Michael Anderson been since Logan's Run? Earning his keep on such slick TV-style time-fillers as Millennium. Kris Kristofferson plays the head of an official committee investigating the head-on collision of two commercial jets. A thorough analysis reveals the presence of a weapon of unknown origin in the wreckage; it is also pointed out that some of the victims' watches are running backwards. This, coupled with the cryptic warnings by flight attendant Cheryl Ladd to drop the investigation, prompts Kristofferson to burrow further and uncover the truth: Ladd is a sentinel from 1000 years in the future, who has come back to the 20th Century to help repopulate her dying civilization. Plot pegs and obstacles are in the hands of such sideline characters as enigmatic professor Daniel Travanti and amiable android Robert Joy. Millennium was adapted by John Varley from his own story Air Raid. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Kris KristoffersonCheryl Ladd, (more)
 
1986  
R  
Confidential a Canadian-made, low-budget, but stylish thriller directed by Bruce Pittman, is the familiar story of a detective forced to solve a crime. Reporter Hugh Jameson (Neil Munro) disappears while investigating a murder that occurred 30 years ago. A reporter who is interested in the case finds that he now must solve both murders, but much to his surprise, he himself becomes a target. Though it was produced on a shoe-string budget, this is nonetheless a stylish, interesting thriller with decent production values, and Director Pittman makes the most of his cast and his interesting, script. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

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Starring:
Neil MunroAugust Schellenberg, (more)
 
1985  
R  
In an uneasy blend of sci fi computer hokum and human miscreants at work, this story of suspicious deaths in a hospital is ominous on various counts but not likely to keep tension high-strung. Dr. Frank Holt (Joe Spano) has already had one malpractice suit that cost him a job, so when one of his patients dies under odd circumstances he is particularly interested in finding out why -- especially when that one case is followed by others. His former lover Anna (Diane Venora) is called in, along with the hospital's attorney (Don Francks) to help investigate the deaths and discover their cause. Meanwhile, it is slowly revealed that unethical staff are placing bets on the patients' diagnoses and how long they will live. When a good friend of Dr. Holt's becomes seriously ill, he is certain these deaths are not of natural causes, and the investigation heats up. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

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Starring:
Joe SpanoDiane Venora, (more)
 
1983  
 
In this futuristic adventure, a man gets too enmeshed in virtual reality and ends up with his personality melded to the on-screen persona of Humphrey Bogart. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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1983  
R  
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Christopher Walken plays a schoolteacher, Johnny Smith, who awakens from a five-year coma. He discovers that he has acquired the ability to foretell a person's future simply by touching his or her hand. After seeing several examples, Smith's doctor (Herbert Lom) becomes convinced that Smith can not only predict the future, but also has the power to change it. This ability is given its severest test when Smith shakes the hand of ruthless political candidate Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen) -- and suddenly has a flash-forward to a nuclear holocaust. The Dead Zone is not only one of the best-ever Stephen King adaptations, but also one of the most consistently successful (and least gory) efforts of director David Cronenberg. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Christopher WalkenBrooke Adams, (more)
 
1982  
R  
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CIA computer technician John Savage seeks revenge for the terrorist killing of his girlfriend. Threatening to make public his insider's information, Savage forces his reluctant bosses to train him in the art of assassination. He then heads into enemy territory (at least, it was enemy territory back in 1982) on a search-and-destroy mission. There is nothing in The Amateur that we haven't seen elsewhere, but Savage and a solid cast of supporting players Christopher Plummer,Marthe Keller, Arthur Hill, Ed Lauter, Nicholas Campbell, Jan Rubes et. al.-- keep the proceedings lively. Robert Littell co-adapted the film's screenplay from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
John SavageChristopher Plummer, (more)
 
1981  
PG  
Based on a true story, this film follows the trials and tragedies that befall Walter Reamer (Tom Skerritt) and his wife, Olive (Ellen Burstyn), as they struggle to create a home and raise a family in the brutal Canadian frontier of 1919. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

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Starring:
Ellen BurstynTom Skerritt, (more)
 
1980  
R  
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After Third World terrorists abduct the Commander-in-Chief, it's up to Secret Service head William Shatner to get him back in this thriller based on a novel by Charles Templeton. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

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Starring:
William ShatnerHal Holbrook, (more)
 
1977  
 
This drama is based on the classic novel by W. O. Mitchell. In the story, two boys (Brian Painchaud and Douglas Junor) growing up in the Depression a small Saskatchewan town, must confront the hard facts of life as they mature. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

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Starring:
Brian PainchaudDouglas Junor, (more)
 
1976  
 
Richard Jordan plays Paul, a disillusioned American in search of the meaning of life. After his ex-wife attempts suicide, Paul retreats to Hong Kong. Here he tries to assuage his angst by becoming involved with several local lovelies. Still unsatisfied, Paul leaves the British protectorate, once more trying to find himself. Director Pierre Rissient co-wrote the existentialist script of One Night Stand with Michael White; the film was financed in France, lensed in Hong Kong, and performed in English. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Richard Jordan
 
1975  
 
Based on a popular Canadian stage play, this film tells the story of a young male writer who is romantically pursued by his ex-wife, an actress, and his (male) best friend. Featuring a bloody fight with the wife, coarse language, and a homosexual love scene, this film is not for everyone. More talk than action, this film was well-received by reviewers. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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Starring:
Brenda DonohueChapelle Jaffe, (more)