Christopher Kriesa Movies

Although the small town of Rutland, VT, lives contentedly in the shadow of the huge, newly constructed Rankin Dam, there are those who realize that the dam was built "below code" and with inferior materials for the purpose of saving a few bucks. City Counsel President Natalie Powell (Michele Greene) soon has reason to regret the short-cuts taken with the project when the town is threatened by a raging flood. Even worse: Natalie's architect husband David (Joe Lando) and son Garth (Matthew Eward) are trapped inside the dam. Made for television, Killer Flood: The Day the Dam Broke debuted over the PAX network April 25, 2003, the same day that the filmed was screened at a benefit premiere in the real-life Rutland, VT. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this action thriller, John Hunter (Matt Schulze) is a killer-for-hire whose parents were murdered by a secret society of criminals known as "The Guild." Hunter is determined to find out who within "The Guild" is responsible and take revenge upon them, but cracking their cover is no easy task, and along the way, Hunter falls in love with a woman who has fallen prey to their evil machinations. Downward Angel also features Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, Jonathan Banks, and Whitney Dylan; the film's story was later adapted into a comic book . ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

If it worked for Speed, it'll work for Runaway Car--or at least, that seems to have been the philosophy behind the making of this highly derivative made-for-TV actioner. Having suffered through an unusually rotten day on the job, timid nurse Jenny Todd (Nina Siesmaszko) heads to the garage where her 1978 Rambler Hornet is being repaired. Here she meets neurotic computer programmer Ed Lautner (Judge Reinhold), who asks her to give him a ride home. En route, Jenny picks up her baby nephew, as well as an unexpected hitchhiker: wiseguy skateboarder Dex Strang (Brian Hooks), whom Jenny may or may not have caused to suffer a nasty fall. Once the "dramatis personae" is established, the situation goes from bad to horrendous: The brakes jam, the door latches lock, the accelerator sticks at 100mph, and our wide-eyed heroine finds herself at the wheel of an out-of-control death machine, dangerously zooming through the busy city streets, barely avoiding crashes and collisions at every corner. The film's abundance of thrills, spills and impossible coincidences come to a climax of sorts when a police helicopter attempts to rescue Jenny's screaming nephew. Based (believe it or don't) on a true story, Runaway Car rolled off the Fox network TV-movie assembly line on January 21, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Popular comic and television personality Ellen DeGeneres had her first starring role in a feature film in this black comedy. Martha Alston (DeGeneres) is a thirtysomething single working as a producer for a talk show. Ever since Martha's younger sister got married, her parents have been after her to settle down, but Martha has had little luck finding the right guy. On Valentine's Day, Martha is depressed and drinking at a bar when she meets Whitman Crawford (Bill Pullman), who seems like the perfect man -- he's good looking, sensitive, intelligent, and affectionate. However, when she makes the mistake of telling her new beau that he can be himself around her, she discovers the real Whitman -- he's a horrible poet, he likes awful music, he enjoys shoplifting ("Stolen beer just tastes better!"), and he's a borderline psychotic who doses her with LSD for fun. What's more, his mother (Joan Plowright) and ex-girlfriend (Joan Cusack) hate Martha's guts and don't mind telling her so. So how can Martha convince her friends and family that she wants nothing to do with the man of her dreams? More importantly, how does she convince Whitman? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Another Tom Clancy political thriller is put to film with this made-for-television movie. Harry Hamlin stars as Paul Hood, the new director of an obsolete government crisis management center. Hood is assigned to downsize the center, but during first day on the job some nuclear warheads are hijacked by terrorists. Hood has to rise to the occasion and prove himself as a leader in unfamiliar territory. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

In this horror thriller, a psychically super-charged cop uses his unusual gifts to put a permanent end to a cop killer. Highlights include a few hallucination sequences, bad dreams and the trademark of Scanners-related films, an exploding head. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Lorenzo Lamas plays a bounty hunter who seeks revenge on the crime syndicate responsible for killing his brother and sister-in-law in this actioner. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Dissolute Civil War surgeon Doc Eli (Robert Culp) is now barnstorming with his own "Kickapoo Indian Miracle Elixir" medicine show. At first regarding Eli as a charlatan, Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) is forced to rely on his long-dormant surgical skills when Myra (Helene Udy) falls victim to an ovarian cyst. Similarly, Sully (Joe Lando) tries to "redeem" a disillusioned Cheyenne named Franklin (Pato Hoffman). As a bonus, two of the series' prominent supporting characters get engaged in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No sooner has Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour) hung up her shingle in Colorado Springs than the community is hit with an influenza epidemic. Using Charlotte's (Diane Ladd) recently foreclosed boarding house as a temporary clinic, Dr. Mike does her best to treat the disease, but the isolated townsfolk still can't get over their mistrust of a woman doctor. Things get worse as more and more locals fall victim to the epidemic -- including Dr. Mike herself. This is the first "official" episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mayoral candidate Dr. Rachel Olsen (Brigitte Nielsen) has a dangerous plan for swift justice in the form of a band of ex-convicts, called the Peacemakers, who roam the streets to do her bidding. When a boxer friend (Tony Burton) is killed by Olsen's thugs, an outlaw cop (Jeff Wincott) goes undercover to get evidence, and works his way up to the inner circle of the doctor's army. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

In this off-beat sci-fi adventure, a female scientist creates a sexy android version of herself and equips it with both the passionate emotions she lacks and a nuclear bomb. The trouble begins when the android is taken out for a test run and it ends up in the midst of a bank robbery where its internal bomb is accidentally activated. Things get worse, when the robot comes emotionally unglued and launches into a destructive rampage while enacting out its repressed creator's darkest desires. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Wes Craven's Shocker takes media manipulation to a new level in this story of an evil force emitted from television sets that has the power to kill. The film centers on high school athlete Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg). His estranged father is homicide detective Don Parker (Michael Murphy), who has been working on capturing an elusive serial killer plaguing the town. One night, during a particularly vivid nightmare, Jonathan dreams that while Parker is away on an assignment, his family is murdered by the serial killer. In the dream, Jonathan can identify the killer -- local television repairman Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi). Amazingly, it turns out that Jonathan's nightmare was reality. Using Jonathan's dream as evidence, Pinker is brought to trail, found guilty, and sentenced to death in the electric chair. Before his execution, Pinker makes a pact with the devil so when he is electrocuted, the electricity from the chair will give his spirit powers of evil. At first, Pinker's murderous spirit travels in and out of people's bodies, prompting the host to commit murder. But when it seems more effective to communicate with people by television signals, the spirit is willing and soon people suddenly become possessed by Pinker's spirit through TV screens and engage in murderous atrocities. All this is done by Pinker to exact retribution upon Jonathan, who was responsible for sending him to his death. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The A-Team goes on a fishing trip, partly for recreation, partly to hide out from the minions of their relentless pursuer Col. Decker (Lance LeGault). Unfortunately, the vacation is interrupted by the arrival of four desperate bank robbers, who have taken ranger Roy Sherman (Ken Swofford) and his daughter Jenny (Kristen Meadows) hostage. The challenge facing the Team is to thwart the villains before Decker can catch up to them. This is the final episode of The A-Team's third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide