Michael Daingerfield Movies

Developed by Leo Espinosa on behalf of DIC Entertainment and AG Properties, the weekly, half-hour cartoon series Sushi Pack vigorously emulated the Japanese anime format despite its North American origins. The series took place in Wharf City, where four anthropomorphic pieces of sushi (you heard right--sushi) and a wad of wasabi joined forces to fight crime on the docks of Bento Bay. These delectable do-gooders included Ikura Maki, a fearless, orange-colored salmon, the "hothead" of the team who shot sticky salmon balls at his enemies and feared nothing in the world--except, understandably, hungry bears; Crabby Crab, a klutzy, hard-shelled pink queen crab, who used the claws growing from her head to render the villains helpless in her trademark "Pincher" hold; Maguro Maki, a tough purple-hued tuna, the spirtual guru of the quartet, whose great strength lay in her intense powers of concentration; Tako Maki, an artistically-inclined blue octopus, who wanted nothing more than to live in peace, but was fully prepared to defend himself by shooting multi-colored ink at his opponents; and Wasabi Pow, a yellow-colored "super hottie", the smallest member of the team, who made up for his lack of verbal skills with his fighting prowess. The principal villains of the piece were the members of the Legion of Low Tide, led by a sneerish catfish known as the Titanium Chef. His stooges included the fatty tuna Toro, the mutated electric eel Ungai, Fugu the blowfish, Uni the evil sea urchin, and Mochi Mochiato, the first talking frozen ball of rice-coated ice cream in TV history. First telecast in the US on November 3, 2007, series' 52 fifteen minute episodes were doled out in weekly rations of two episodes per half-hour program. Produced and cowritten by TV animation stalwarts Tom Ruegger and Nicholas Hollander, Sushi Pack was part of CBS's "KEWLopolis" block, a three-hour manifest of FCC-required children's programs which the network's affiliates were permitted to telecast either on Saturday or Sunday mornings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This hastily assembled rehash of the infamous Laci Peterson murder case is based on Amber Frey's book Witness: For the Proseuction of Scott Peterson, which may explain why she comes off as the most sympathetic person in the film. Basically, the script adheres to the facts: The mistress of Scott Peterson (Nathan Anderson), Amber Frey (Janel Moloney) begins to suspect that something is amiss with her sweetheart when, during what is supposed to his trip to Europe, he is suddenly popping up on every TV station and cable service in the country, swearing up and down that he had nothing to do with the disappearance of his wife Laci and their unborn son Connor. Eventually, Amber decides to cooperate with the Modesto Police Department in their efforts to pin a murder rap on Scott, agreeing to wear a wire while conversing with Scott over his domestic travails. In his frenzied efforts to counteract previous lies by cooking up new ones, Peterson effectively puts the noose around his own neck--and Amber rightfully emerges as the heroine of the piece (though not, it is hinted, without putting her own life in jeopardy in process). Somehow, the film manages to work in several plugs for the self-help book "du jour", The Purpose-Driven Life. Produced for CBS, the made-for-TV Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution premiered May 25, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Four men are changed forever by an act of mercy -- changes which have a profound impact many years later -- in this blend of horror and science fiction based on a novel by Stephen King. Jonesy (Damian Lewis), Henry (Thomas Jane), Pete (Timothy Olyphant), and Beaver (Jason Lee) were four friends who, as schoolboys, rescued a boy with Down's Syndrome, Duddits (Donnie Wahlberg), from a savage beating at the hands of bullies. Their experience with Duddits left the boys profoundly changed, as they discovered they had developed psychic powers which allowed them to wordlessly communicate with one another, read the minds of others, and see events in the future. The four remained close friends into adulthood, and meet every year for a weekend get-together at a remote hunting lodge. However, one year Jonsey is approached by the spirit of Duddits, which leads him into a severe auto accident, though his wounds heal with mysterious speed and are gone by the time he and the guys get together a few months later. As the guys drink and swap stories, a desperately ill hunter makes his way into the cabin, whose body has become the host for a horrible wormlike creature, which breaks free and soon goes on a killing spree, leaving only Henry alive. In the wake of this attack comes a massive snowstorm, and Henry learns that these events are the first signs of a major attack by a powerful alien force which can assume any form it wishes. As duplicitous military leader Col. Abraham Curtis (Morgan Freeman) comes in to quell the menace, Henry finds himself in communication with the late Jonsey, whose previous near-death experience gives him an unexpected advantage in stemming the alien tide. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide