Paul Lieber
Michael Douglas stars as a treasure-hunting eccentric in this Alexander Payne-produced comedy from director Michael Cahill. Recently released from a mental institution and reunited with his teenage daughter, Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood), Charlie (Douglas) decides there's century's old gold buried near their lower-middle-class neighborhood, and sets out on an obsessive quest to find it. Along the way, the estranged parent and child rekindle a long-lost bond with each other. Featuring a score by David Robbins, King of California screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Evan Rachel Wood, (more)
- 2002
Sydney (Jennifer Garner) returns to America with her ex-lover and fellow SD-6 agent Noah (Peter Berg), who offers her a way out of the spy game once and for all. But Sydney has to take care of unfinished business: Now convinced that her mother, KGB agent Irina Derevko, is still alive, she will not rest until she finds the woman. Meanwhile, Vaughn (Michael Vartan) puts a tail on an assassin known as "The Snowman" in hopes of tracking down the elusive Khasinau, who may or may not be "The Man" behind all the skullduggery occurring in previous episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
While still dealing with personal matters (mainly the trials and tribulations of her best friend, Francie [Merrin Dungey], and Francie's faithless fiancé), Sydney (Jennifer Garner) heads to a Bucharest mental hospital, where she poses as a patient to prevent an assassination. The murderer-to-be, Martin Shepard (John Hannah), has been programmed to kill and is unable to stop himself. Meanwhile, Will (Bradley Cooper) continues to look for the elusive "Kate Jones" in his quest to solve the murder of Danny; new and disturbing information surfaces regarding the fatal automobile "accident" that claimed the life of Sydney's mother; and nerdish SD-6 tech expert, Marshall (Kevin Weisman), figures out that there's a mole in the organization. (Does this mean curtains for Syd's CIA contact, Vaughn [Michael Vartan]?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Bloodstains reveal that a model was murdered by one of her closest relatives. The detectives nail a suspect, the model's illegitimate daughter -- who promptly reveals that the chief witness to the crime is her own lawyer. This opens a legal can of worms when the lawyer argues that any communication between himself and the suspect is privileged, and cannot be used in court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
- PG13
This biographical drama was based on the true story of Dorothy Day, a devout Catholic who devoted much of her life to working with the poor and homeless on New York City's Lower East Side. Born in an Episcopalian household in 1897, Day (played by Moira Kelly) was a free-thinking agnostic in her young adulthood; she contributed to radical leftist journals and was friends with the likes of Eugene O'Neill (James Lancaste) and Mike Gold (Paul Lieber). After undergoing a painful abortion and giving birth to another child out of wedlock after her lover, Foster Batterham (Lenny Von Dohlen), abandoned her rather than marry, Day embraced Catholicism, a faith she would cling to strongly for the rest of her life. Day's leftist politics and her sense of personal activism remained; she established a political journal, "The Catholic Worker," in association with self-described Christian anarchist Peter Maurin (Martin Sheen), and was a tireless and outspoken champion of the rights of the poor and disenfranchised. Day came under heavy criticism for her political and social activism; as she put it, "If you feed the poor, you're called a saint, but if you ask why they're poor, you're called a Communist." However, Day continued her mission undaunted until her death in 1980, when she was called America's Mother Teresa. Entertaining Angels was produced by Paulist Pictures, a Catholic organization who also produced Romero, another film about a noted Catholic activist. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moira Kelly, Martin Sheen, (more)
- 1995
Once again, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) joins forces with Chicago P.I. Charlie Garrett (Wayne Rogers), this time at a New York cultural museum. At first, Jessica and Charlie are on opposite sides as they bid against each other during an auction for a rare manuscript allegedly written by "Sherlock Holmes" creator Arthur Conan-Doyle. Before long, however, the two sleuths are following the clues surrounding the murder of a notorious art forger suspected of copying a stolen Degas painting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- R
In this special-effects-laden sci-fi thriller, a classical pianist commits suicide by diving off a building after the five men who gang raped her are released. Fortunately, her brother is a talented scientist who rebuilds her broken body and turns her into a cyborg killer programmed to get revenge in gory and inventive ways. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clare Wren, Bruce Davison, (more)
- 1990
- R
Actress Dyan Cannon, whose 1976 directorial debut Number One was nominated for a "best short subject" Academy Award, moves on to feature-length projects with The End of Innocence. In addition to directing, Ms. Cannon wrote the screenplay and played a leading role in this story of a young girl spiritually torn apart by forces beyond her control. Rebecca Schaeffer plays Stephanie Lewis, unwanted and ignored by her eternally squabbling parents. Mom and Dad do further damage to Stephanie's battered psyche by giving her mixed messages concerning sex and religion. The girl's self-esteem dwindles to microscopic proportions thanks to a series of no-good boyfriends. Suffering a nervous breakdown, she is placed in an asylum, where for the first time she treated as a human being rather than a nuisance by compassionate psychiatrist John Heard. Completed in the late 1980s, End of Innocence was released in 1990, one year after the death of star Rebecca Schaeffer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dyan Cannon, John Heard, (more)
- 1989
When private detective Mike Hammer (Stacy Keach) is blamed for a Las Vegas murder, he sets out to prove his innocence and meets a lovely woman along the way. ~ All Movie Guide
Shag is a beach flick set in 1963. The years have passed, but the old Where the Boys Are formula holds firm: Four attractive young lasses head for the surf and sand of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, looking for guys. Phoebe Cates is about to be married, so her three pals seek out a final affair d'amour on her behalf before she is lost to the world forever. The cast is fascinating for its family ties: Bridget Fonda is the daughter of Peter Fonda, Page Hannah the sister of Darryl Hannah, and Tyrone Power III is the son of you-know-who. Filmed in 1988, Shag was released that year in Europe, then offered to American audiences one year later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phoebe Cates, Scott Coffey, (more)
- 1987
When Ronald Moody (Paul Lieber), the man convicted of killing DeeDee McCall's husband Steve, is paroled, McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) reopens the case on which Steve had been working at the time of his death. She also defies orders and begins tailing Moody, hoping to find a connection between him and the case. With grim inevitability, Moody turns up dead, and McCall is the Number One suspect. It is up to Hunter (Fred Dwyer) to find out who placed the phone call which framed McCall--and who had earlier set up her husband for extermination in the same manner. Franc Luz appears as the late Sgt. Steve McCall in flashbacks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Grace Kelly, the high-society beauty who became an Oscar-winning actress and then a European princess, is the subject of this TV biopic. Cheryl Ladd has the looks and poise of the original Grace, though she isn't quite as charismatic. The early portion of the film retraces the stormy relationship between Grace and her gruff Philadelphia millionaire dad, Jack Kelly. The script suggests that Grace went through life looking for a strong father figure, finally finding one in Prince Rainier of Monaco (Ian McShane), whom she weds. Several "celebrity look-alikes" parade through the film, pretending to be the film personalities with whom Ms. Kelly worked during her brief Hollywood career. Grace Kelly tones down the darker aspects of its subject, and the film is infinitely more tasteful than most other TV biographies of the same period, even when dealing with Princess Grace's untimely death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Bill: On His Own is the laudable made-for-TV sequel to the Emmy-winning 1981 film Bill. Mickey Rooney once more shines as Bill Sackter, a mentally-retarded adult struggling to survive in the mainstream. The owner of a coffee kiosk at the University of Iowa, Bill becomes disoriented when his friend and mentor Dennis Quaid moves to Los Angeles. Taking over Bill's case is idealistic young social worker Helen Hunt. While studying towards his Bar Mitzvah (which he was denied at the age of 13 because of his "incompetence"), Bill suffers a severe personal blow that threatens to send him spiralling back into helplessness. Bill: On His Own was originally telecast November 9, 1983, some four months after the death at age 70 of the real-life Bill Sackter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Jill Robinson's Bed-Time-Story, inspired by actual events, was the source for the made-for-TV A Cry for Love. Divorcee Susan Blakely, with no alimony and two kids to support, begins turning to amphetamines. While at her lowest ebb, she meets Powers Boothe, an alcoholic and three-time loser in marriage--who, incredibly, turns out to be the ideal man for her! Joseph Bologna and Renee Taylor were the guiding hands behind the Cry For Love teleplay. The film debuted on October 20, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Attica is a probing, no-nonsense TV-movie re-creation of the tragic events which followed the Attica (New York) Correctional Facility rebellion of September 9, 1971. Inmates demanding better food and living conditions used jerry-built weapons to take 38 guards as hostage. Negotiations begin immediately, only to continually break down thanks to uncompromising stubbornness on both sides. Four days into the crisis, the rebellion ends in a bloodbath, with state troopers firing on the prisoners-- killing several of the guards in the process. Based on the eyewitness reporting of the New York Times' Tom Wicker (here played by George Grizzard), who was one of the civilian negotiators during the stalemate, Attica was first telecast on March 3, 1980. (Perhaps significantly, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, whom many hold responsible for the climactic carnage at the prison, is never seen in either factual or fictional form during the film). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
This made-for-TV drama tells the story of how a nice young widow becomes a stripper. She only does it because she desperately needs money to support her young son. When her son's grandfather finds out, he immediately starts a custody battle to take the son away from her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- PG
Looking Up is an independently produced domestic drama filmed in New York and drawing its cast from the soap-opera pool. Marilyn Chris plays the daughter of a Jewish seltzer-stand operator. She hopes to pump money into her dad's business by running her own "Burger Crown" franchise. Complications include the fact that Marilyn's husband (Dick Shawn) has fathered her sister's child, and that Marilyn is saddled with caring for her contentious grandchildren while her daughter tries to wean herself away from a pill-popping habit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marilyn Chris, Dick Shawn, (more)
Also known as Garu, the Mad Monk, this baroque horror effort was filmed in, of all places, Saint Peter's Church in the heart of New York City. Neil Flanagan plays the title character, a chaplain at a prison colony. Abusing his power to the utmost, Flanagan wields a supernatural hold over the unfortunate prisoners. When he's not busy dispatching his slaves to go grave robbing, the Mad Monk is commiserating with his AC-DC mistress and an assortment of ghoulies, ghosties and long-legged beasties. Producer-director-writer Andy Milligan based his screenplay on a short story by M.A. Isaacs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
