Michael Mann Movies

The cabbies are astonished when Jim (Christopher Lloyd), a burned-out relic of the 1960s whose appearance and lifestyle can be charitably described as "unkempt" abruptly turns over a new leaf. Virtually overnight, Jim has brought perfection, order, and expensive creature comforts into his life--and he's even begun to take baths and change his clothes. The reason? Well, it seems that Jim had earlier picked up a couple of passengers who were discussing the "secret of success." Future Miami Vice producer Michael Mann also appears in a supporting role. ~ All Movie Guide

This gripping 1979 drama about the dangers of nuclear power carried an extra jolt when a real-life accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania occurred just weeks after the film opened. Kimberly Wells (Jane Fonda) is a TV reporter trying to advance from fluff pieces to harder news. Wells and cameraman Richard Adams (Michael Douglas, who also produced) are doing a story on energy when they happen to witness a near-meltdown at a local nuclear plant, averted only by quick-thinking engineer Jack Godell (Jack Lemmon). While Wells and Adams fruitlessly attempt to get the story on their station, Godell begins his own investigation and discovers that corporate greed and cost-trimming have led to potentially deadly faults in the plant's construction. He provides evidence of the faulty equipment, which could lead to another meltdown (the "China syndrome" of the title), to the station's soundman to deliver to Wells and Adams at a hearing on nuclear power. However, on the way to the hearing, the soundman is run off the road by evil henchmen, leading Godell to realize that his own life is threatened, possibly by his bosses at the plant. Driven to the edge of a breakdown, Godell takes over the plant's control room at gunpoint and demands to reveal his findings on TV. The plant's management, however, has other plans, and the facility itself is becoming dangerously unstable. Whether or not you agree with the film's clear anti-nuclear bias, its sobering message and riveting, realistic story and performances are still difficult to ignore. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Faced with the possibility that the 4077's supply of morphine is contaminated, the doctors and nurses are forced to rely on placebos instead. Oddly, the patients respond to the illusion that they're not in pain more than the actual fact. And that's not all: Nutty new recruit Boots Miller (Hamilton Camp) bids fair to get the Section 8 that Klinger (Jamie Farr) has long aspired to, while Hawkeye (Alan Alda), B.J. (Mike Farrell) and Charles (David Ogden Stiers) lock horns in a "tall tale" competition. This was the final episode of M*A*S*H's sixth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Clint Eastwood's first comedy feature proved to be one of his most profitable vehicles. Eastwood plays Philo Beddoe, a bare-knuckle boxer who travels from fight to fight in a beat-up truck, accompanied by his "pal" Clyde, a orangutan with a mean right hook, and his human buddy Orville (Geoffrey Lewis). During a stopover, Philo meets and falls in love with would-be country & western singer Lynn Halsey-Taylor (Sondra Locke). After a while, she wants to break off the relationship, but he doesn't -- a shaky plot peg upon which to hang several reels' worth of zany car chases and confrontations with such opponents as a gang of bikers and a battalion of hostile lawmen. Adding to the fun is Ruth Gordon as Eastwood's don't-mess-with-me octogenarian mother, and Beverly D'Angelo as an ace sharpshooter. The enormous box-office success of Every Which Way But Loose yielded an equally wacky -- and equally lucrative -- sequel, Any Which Way You Can. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Now that little Joey Stivic has been born, things return to normal on All in the Family; that is, the various family members start arguing and bickering again. This time around, the problems arise from Mike's habit of making decisions without consulting Gloria. Things reach the crisis stage when Mike allows a couple to stage their New Year's nuptials in the Stivic living room. A pre-stardom Billy Crystal appears as bridegroom Al, while Elaine Princi is cast as Trudy, the bride. Written by Lou Derman, Bill Davenport, Milt Josefsberg, and Ben Starr, "New Year's Wedding" originally aired on January 5, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Struggling to make financial ends meet as new parents, Mike and Gloria are taken aback when Gloria thinks she might be pregnant again. Clearly, it is time for the Stivics to adopt more effective methods of birth control. But Mike is none too keen about honoring Gloria's insistence that he have his oft-promised but long-postponed vasectomy. Written by Phil Doran and Douglas Aragno, "Gloria's False Alarm" first aired on December 18, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide