Mark Lee Movies
Gail O'Grady stars as Theresa Foley, a highly respected and much-decorated FBI hostage negotiator. Theresa's career goes down the tubes when she refuses to testify in court against her husband Frank (Michael Bowen), an FBI agent gone bad. Escaping from prison, Frank stages a daylight bank robbery, thereby creating the sort of hostage situation that only a crack negotiator like Theresa could possibly handle. But though the FBI is willing to press Theresa back into action, she knows only too well that Frank will be able to anticipate her every move -- and that he has a terrible vengeance in mind for his ex-spouse, one that will "take down" a number of innocent bystanders in the process. Made for cable The Hostage Negotiator was first presented by the USA network on May 22, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Even as security is beefed up in Australia in anticipation of the 2000 Olympics, someone manages to slip a deadly nerve gas device -- and a detonator -- on a 747 jet bound from Sydney to L.A. The authorities are uncertain as to whether the person responsible for this outrage is a terrorist or merely a lunatic; whatever the case, they scour the world in search of the perpetrator. Meanwhile, the 747 may well be unable to find a suitable landing place before the detonator goes off, forcing pilot John Prescott (Jack Wagner) and copilot Kim McGee (Christine Elise) to make some extremely tricky life-and-death decisions. As for the 300 passengers -- well, each one has his or her own story to tell, and the viewer hears practically all of them before the almost unbearably suspenseful denouement. The made-for-cable Nowhere to Land debuted March 12, 2000, on the TBS superstation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Wagner, Christine Elise, (more)
- 1995
- R
In this Australian thriller set in Queensland, a writer returns from LA to Michelton, his tiny hometown, to attend the funeral of his best friend, and finds himself involved in a manhunt for a deranged serial killer. It all begins at the funeral when Matt Curran sees the sister of Andy, his late friend. Cathy, who is also an ex-lover of Matt's, and who doesn't believe the official report that Andy committed suicide. She believes that he was murdered because Andy knew that the courts convicted the wrong man for the killings of several young men. Matt is intrigued and decides to look for the truth. He is opposed by Chris, the town cop who is jealous because his wife Sandra had once loved the writer. Matt is not deterred and continues looking. Soon he finds himself following a baffling trail of clues, consisting of obscure biblical references, and body parts from the slain women. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, Dee Smart, (more)
- 1995
Friends gather for a dinner party and engage in fascinating conversations that take a much darker turn when the true nature of their interrelations come to light in this Australian comedy-drama. It is Sylvia and her frustrated lover Morris who give the party. She, the editor of an advice column in a feminist magazine, and he are going through a rocky time as she hasn't allowed him to have sex with her since her abortion. The others are Tracy, a fashion model, John, a manipulative closet homosexual, free-spirited fashion designer Viv, Tom, her bisexual lover, and Dan, an aloof loner. As far as secret involvements go, Tracy is having an affair with Morris. John has had an affair with Tom. Tracy claims Dan once beat her, but Dan denies it. The evening progresses and the guests drink much wine and smoke plenty of dope. This loosens their tongues and allows their dirty little secrets to slip out one by one. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
This desert war adventure is set during WWII and is a remake of Zoltan Korda's 1943 version. The tale chronicles the courage of an American sergeant and his few men who attempt to escape approaching German forces in their tank. As they cruise southward, they pick up a stranded British medical officer and band of ragged fighters that include an Australian, a Frenchman and a Sudanese officer. Eventually, water becomes a major issue and they end up at a lonely oasis where they decide to make one final brave stand against the Nazi invaders. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Karate Kid, Part 4 is better known by its release title, The Next Karate Kid. The sole holdover from the first three KK flicks is Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, once more cast as janitor/martial arts maven Miyagi Yakuga. This time, his pupil is orphaned 17-year-old Hilary Swank, the granddaughter of Miyagi's war buddy. Relentlessly bullied by her male classmates and feeling responsible for her parents' fatal accident, Swank is taught self-worth through the tough-but-gentle guidance of Miyagi. While The Next Karate Kid may come off as too "PC" for the tastes of some fans, it is heaps better than the appalling Karate Kid, Part 3. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Hilary Swank, (more)
- 1993
Blood, sweat, and betrayal in the South East Asian jungles is what drives this action thriller about sleazy Canadian diplomat Carl Pimmler (Michael Ironside), who sends Peter Kernan (Matt Salinger) and his wife Johanna (Sam Jenkins) into deepest, darkest Cambodia to deliver "medicine." When the two realize the true nature of the items they are toting, they struggle to flee for their lives. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
"Everlasting Secret Family" is the name of a sub-rosa homosexual brotherhood in this riveting Australian film. Two of the ESF members are a middle-aged politician (Arthur Dignam) and a boarding-school student (Mark Lee). The younger man begins chafing at the "plaything" status imposed upon him by the older members of ESF. His resentment culminates in a battle of wills between himself and the senator's politically expedient "straight" wife (Heather Mitchell). Dispensing with subtlety, Everlasting Secret Family suggests that, like the so-called mainstream political scene, the gay lifestyle can become a dangerously manipulative power trip in the wrong hands. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Dignam, Mark Lee, (more)
- 1986
Laurel and Emma are sisters, two young women who are, for a change, extremely happy exactly where they are, which is in a college town in the Blue Mountains of Australia. Their happiness is rudely ended when their mother, Anna, decides to relocate them to the spare and (to the girls) grossly uninteresting bush country of Australia. Their new school is extremely backwards and boring, and what is worse, their mother seems to have grown quite erratic, given to emotional fits and bouts of drinking. They lack the experience and imagination, perhaps, to understand the toll World War II is taking on her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Remick, Miranda Otto, (more)
- 1983
This is an unremittingly grim melodrama about a group of hard-luck, victimized aborigines with no opportunity in life who live in a slum boarding-house on the outskirts of Sydney. Coping via pills, drugs, alcohol, and other destructive means, this collection of misfits should not be taken as representative of aborigines in general. Jack Collins (Tommy Lewis) runs the boarding house and dominates his tenants like a minor dictator. He is having an affair with Laura Wentworth (Katrina Foster) who is also sleeping with Andy White (Ralph Cotterill), an innocent country bumpkin compared to the boarders here. Laura herself is trying to overcome the emotional trauma of incest and a subsequent abortion at the age of 16, while her brother Jim (Mark Lee) is seriously suicidal. When white racists are not causing problems for the aborigines, then the police fill the breach -- there is no clear way out of their abysmal existence. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Lewis, Mark Lee, (more)
The first of two consecutive films to see director Peter Weir team with Mel Gibson (the other being The Year of Living Dangerously), Gallipoli follows two idealistic young friends, Frank (Gibson) and Archy (Mark Lee), who join the Australian army during World War I and fight the doomed Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey. The first half of the film documents the lives of the young men in Australia, detailing their personalities and beliefs. The second half of the movie chronicles the ill-fated and ill-planned battle, where the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps is hopelessly outmatched by the enemy forces. Gallipoli was the recipient of eight prizes at the 1981 Australian Film Institute Awards. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Mark Lee, (more)
- 1981
Melanie (Angela Punch McGregor) is a television talk-show hostess who is missing the excitement of a new romance in her life -- and has been in that state for a few months now. When she and her good buddy Tom (Graeme Blundell) get together for a dinner at her place to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their friendship, they have enough wine to accidentally end up together in her bed, and nature takes over from there. When they wake up in the morning, Melanie wants to forget everything and go back to their easy-going friendship, while Tom disagrees -- he rather likes the new situation. It does not take long for Melanie to discover that her solitary slip-up has gotten her pregnant. She wants the baby but is definitely averse to marriage, while Tom wants to make the baby legitimate. In the end, the two compromise by moving in together -- though the truce does not last for long. As their relationship bounces back and forth, Melanie -- in her sixth month -- agrees to get married. But then the couple have a dust-up on the night before the wedding and they split -- will that be for good? Will their final choice be marriage or friendship or a steady animosity -- or all three? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angela Punch McGregor, Graeme Blundell, (more)
