John Kerry Movies
Set in a future in which society is controlled by an omnipotent corporation, this sci-fi thriller centers on a pair of fugitives from prison who attempt to survive in society addicted to virtual reality. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Costas Mandylor, Billy Wirth, (more)
An escaped convict fights for his rights while hiding out from the law in this action drama. Sam Gillen (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a thief who, despite his criminal past, is an essentially decent man; he ended up behind bars after taking a murder rap for his partner. Sam escapes from prison in a daring jailbreak, and he hides out on a remote farm while on the run from police. A young boy named Mookie (Kieran Culkin) finds the fugitive and takes him in; it seems that the farm belongs to his mother Clydie (Roseanna Arquette), and soon Mookie and his sister Bree (Tiffany Taubman) have become friends with Sam, and Clydie and Sam fall in love. However, Franklin Hale (Joss Ackland), an unscrupulous land developer, wants to buy Clydie's farm and isn't taking no for an answer. When Hale's thug Dunston (Ted Levine) tries to use force to drive Clydie off her property, Sam is ready to fight fire with fire. Nowhere to Run was co-authored by noted screenwriter Joe Eszterhas; Richard Marquand received his story credit posthumously. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rosanna Arquette, (more)
- 1991
Pink Lightning is a 1991 Fox Network TV movie set in the California of 1962. Five typically blinkered 60s ladies come of age in a male-dominated society. As sarcastically pointed out by TV critics in 1991, the five girls are conveniently compartmentalized into stereotypes: Nice Girl, Beautiful Girl, Bright Girl, Hot-to-Trot Girl and Married Girl; the marriage of the last one is the centerpiece of the film. The girls are portrayed (in no particular order) by Sarah Buxton, Martha Byrne, Jennifer Blanc, Jennifer Guthrie and Rainbow Harvest. Pink Lightning concludes with a pointed put-down of male superiority, which is supposed to make the silly proceedings leading up to the event (including a Thelma and Louise style drive down a deserted highway) seem profound. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Buxton, Martha Byrne, (more)
- 1990
This is one of several seventh-season Murder She Wrote episodes introduced by Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) but starring Dennis Stanton (Keith Michell), a jewel thief turned insurance investigator. Stanton's latest assignment is to investigate the suspicious events surrounding a fire that destroyed the hands of famous concert pianist Vaclav Maryska (Ricardo Montalban). The intrigue reaches a crescendo when Maryska's wife Milena (Patricia Neal) is murdered, with a veritable orchestra of suspects at Stanton's disposal. As usual, Stanton is more or less assisted by ditzy Rhoda Markowitz (Hallie Todd) and by flustered Lt. Catalano (Ken Swofford). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
A crazed hermit comes out of isolation to terrorize campers in the woods for a weekend getaway. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
When the drug craze of the '60s invades the straight-laced world of a military academy, a group of young cadets turn the school upside down. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
One of the bigger non-cartoon moneymakers for Disney in the 1970s, The North Avenue Irregulars is predicated on the premise of the "Neighborhood Watch" system. Priest Michael Hill (Edward Herrmann), newly arrived on North Avenue, decides to buck the patriarchal notions of his superiors by delegating church responsibilities to the neighborhood women. Since the ladies include Vickie, Jane, Anne, Claire and Rose (Barbara Harris, Karen Valentine, Susan Clark, Cloris Leachman and Patsy Kelly), we're well primed for a surfeit of feistiness. Father Michael entrusts the church funds to Rose, who loses it all at the race track. In trying to retrieve the cash, he comes up against an influential bookie ring, controlled by several of the above-suspicion town officials. The wily priest responds by organizing the ladies of his congregation into the North Avenue Irregulars, a two-fisted crimefighting unit. There's slapstick aplenty within the film's 99 minutes, including the expected comic car crash. North Avenue Irregulars is based on a (drawn-from-life?) novel by the Reverend Albert Fay Hill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Herrmann, Barbara Harris, (more)
- 1978
TV personality Ruth Beetson-White (played by futureNewhart costar Mary Frann) is determined to frame Morry Hawthorne (Ken McMillan), the manager of boxer Jesus Hernandez (Rocky Echevarria), on a trumped-up federal charge. Since Jim (James Garner) owns a percentage of Hernandez, Hawthorne's plight is of special interest to him. It later develops that several of Jim's fellow investors have been scammed by Hawthorne, but this doesn't make Ruth right; in fact, her involvement in the case may make her dead wrong. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Stretching the Airport concept as far as it will go, this third film in the series sticks a jet full of old actors 50 feet underwater in the Bermuda Triangle. Oxygen (and credibility) grows short, and Jimmy Stewart plays an art collector targeted for a heist. Jack Lemmon is the unfortunate pilot, and Christopher Lee shows up along with Brenda Vaccaro, Joseph Cotten, and Olivia de Havilland. Jerry Jameson, auteur of The Bat People, was selected to helm this entry featuring that film's star, Michael Pataki. George Kennedy, the only man to appear in all four Airport films, is along for the ride as well. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Lee Grant, (more)
- 1977
Bad Georgia Road, an unpleasant little thriller directed by John Broderick, is the story of a young woman (Carol Lynley) who inherits an illegal liquor distillery from a relative. She turns it into a money-making business only to come up against the mob, who is her chief competition. The direction by Broderick is haphazard, the performances are uniformly poor, and there is little emphasis on production values or plot coherence. The only saving grace of this dismal melodramatic thriller is an appearance by Andy Warhol star and underground film-actress Mary Woronov who gives some life to her role. All in all, Bad Georgia Road is a poor, forgettable film. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- 1976
- R
In this crime drama, a runaway girl from rural Montana heads for LA and ends up trapped within its darkest underbelly surrounded by crime, drugs, and sleazy people. Fortunately, her brother, a tough cowboy, comes to rescue her. But first he must find her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mitchum, Karen Lamm, (more)
- 1975
Crocker (Kevin Dobson) reluctantly, and regretfully, launches an investigation of his old high school pal Benny Morino (James Sutorius). An ex-convict, Benny had promised to go straight, but is now suspected of extortion and murder--and his lavish lifestyle and hair-trigger temper would seem to be proof of his guilt. Brad Dexter, best remembered as one of The Magnificent Seven in that 1960 film classic, appears as the head of a particularly insidious protection racket. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) goes undercover as a stevedore to investigate a series of dockside murders. Unfortunately, a waitress with a long-standing grudge against Baretta recognizes him. Will she blow the whistle on his cover, thereby putting both Tony and herself in jeopardy? Susan Tyrrell essays a dual role in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Edward Grover, (more)
- 1975
- R
Barbara Peeters's Summer School Teachers concerns three gals from Idaho going to teach at Regency High in Southern California, where they have three interwoven adventures: gym teacher Conklin T. (Candice Rialson) battles hyper-macho coach Sam Johns (Dick Miller) to start a girls' football team; chemistry teacher Denise Carter (Rhonda Leigh Hopkins) seeks to clear the name of a misunderstood juvie; and photography teacher Sally Hansen (Pat Anderson) gets involved with a pornographer. All three girls end up suspended from teaching after a series of bizarre events: there's a big conspiracy involving payola, a porno scandal, and a kidnapping at an abandoned warehouse. It all comes to a head -- as such films must -- at the big football game, which becomes an all-out brawl as various protest groups and do-gooders clash for liberation. The closing theme is a rallying cry for activism. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
