Liz Jury Movies

Dick Van Dyke stars as a doctor-turned-detective in this made-for-television medical thriller. Van Dyke stars as Dr. Mark Sloan, the ring leader of a small group of doctors who investigate the death of a U.S. Senator (David Richards) during surgery. Sloan has his own interest in finding out the cause of death -- his ex-lover (Suzanne Pleshette) is the prominent heart surgeon who was at the helm. Unfortunately though, Dr. Sloan gets more than he bargained for and stumbles onto a plot of revenge and murder. This two-hour movie was one of several which introduced viewers to Van Dyke's character and led to the popular TV-series Diagnosis Murder. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

A yuppie and a hippie are the offbeat pairing of this character comedy in the tradition of earlier mismatched buddy films such as Midnight Run (1988). Kiefer Sutherland is uptight, 26-year-old FBI agent John Buckner, who's been assigned to escort an aging counterculture radical named Huey Walker (Dennis Hopper) to Oregon for trial on a charge that's decades old. Buckner finds Huey's lifestyle and beliefs irresponsible. Once the two are bound for their Pacific Northwest destination, Huey begins to play psychological mind games with the straight-arrow Buckner, convincing him that he's tripping on hallucinogenic drugs, getting him drunk, and setting him up with a hooker named Sparkle (Kathleen York). Huey trades places with his captor and soon a game of cat-and-mouse is afoot as the agent pursues the one-time radical, with surprising revelations abounding regarding Buckner's childhood and Huey's motivations for allowing himself to be captured. Flashback also stars Carol Kane, Cliff De Young, Richard Masur, Michael McKean, and Paul Dooley. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Robby Benson plays a talented but naive high school basketball star who wins a scholarship to a perfection-driven college. Here he discovers that he's way out of his league, easily outclassed athletically by his opponents and by his own team. In addition, he runs up against the sort of arm-twisting corruption that often occurs in a college where winning is the only thing. Only the support of his new girlfriend Janet (Annette O'Toole) sees him through his first two semesters. He must weather the bullying of his teammates and his mean-spirited coach (played byG. D.Spradlin). There was plenty of shuttling between cast and production staff in One on One. Besides starring in the film, Benson co-wrote the screenplay (with his father Jerry Segal), while director Lamont Johnson portrays Benson's alumni sponsor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide