Raymond J. Barry Movies
Fans of the hit Fox television series The X-Files will recognize character actor Raymond J. Barry as U.S. Senator Matheson, a government official who seems to support agent Fox Muldur on his search for the supernatural and alien life forms on Earth. A versatile artist, Barry has worked steadily on stage (both on and off-Broadway), television, and the screen since the 1960s. In addition to acting, he has also written and directed experimental pieces with such New York-based groups as the Living Theater, the New York Shakespeare company, and the Open Theater. On television he has worked in soap operas, series, and movies. Between 1987 and 1988, he was a regular on The Oldest Rookie. Barry began appearing in feature films in the mid-'70s and has been working steadily ever since playing major supporting roles in a number of major films including that of Ron Kovic's father in Born on the Fourth of July (1989), the father of a murder victim in Dead Man Walking, and a crazed, gun-wielding criminal in Headless Body in Topless Bar (1995). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1993
An affair turns murderous when a student becomes obsessed in this made-for-television drama. Susan Lucci stars as Vivian Conrad, the philandering and spoiled wife of a businessman (Barry Bostwick). After having a fling with a college student named Mark Templeton (Patrick Van Horn), Vivian becomes the focus of his dangerous obsession. When her husband Justin finds out and forces the two to end all contact, Mark's love-hate rage comes to its full fruition. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Lucci, Patrick Van Horn, (more)
Cool Runnings fictionalizes the true story of a bobsledding team from Jamaica making it to the Olympics. The tale begins when Derice Bannock (Leon), realizing that due to an accident his chances of qualifying for Jamaica's 1988 Olympic track team are dashed, scrounges around looking for another sport for the competition. Since ex-United States gold medal bobsledding winner Irv Blitzer (John Candy) now lives in Jamaica, Derice chooses bobsledding, convincing Irv to coach the team. Derice then forms his team. He gets his friend Sanka Cofie (Doug E. Doug) to join up and recruits Junior Bevil (Rawle D. Lewis), a young man who lacks self-confidence, and Yul Brenner (Malik Yoba), a disagreeable and bitter malcontent. After setbacks and near disasters, the group jells as team members and they head off to the Olympics to compete for an Olympic spot. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leon, Doug E. Doug, (more)
- 1992
With his All-American good looks, Cliff (Michael Dolan) has had easy access to the sorts of groups that appealed to him as he traveled around the U.S., mostly Klan and neo-Nazi organizations. He is bitter about his childhood, during which his parents bickered constantly. Now, at 22, he has come back to Pocohantas, Virginia to try and make some peace with his past, if he can, and is disturbed to find that his parents are just finalizing their divorce. His mother (Tess Harper) is taking it particularly badly, having sunk into an alcoholic stupor, and his father (Raymond J. Barry) is getting it on with a new girlfriend (Karen Allen). While steeling himself for a confrontation with his parents, the scary-attractive lad spends some time catching up on things with his old girlfriend (Gillian Anderson). Then, just when one might have expected some long-awaited violence to take place, this slow-paced and almost universally unpopular film unveils a surprise ending. Based on a stage play by Chris Ceraso, the film's highlight seems to be Gillian Anderson's brief appearance. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Allen, Raymond J. Barry, (more)
- 1992
- R
A pair of climbers attempts to scale the world's second-largest and most dangerous mountain in this visually impressive but dramatically weak adventure. Skirt-chasing lawyer Taylor Brooks (Michael Biehn) and sedate family man Harold Jamison (Matt Craven) share a love of risky mountain climbing and embark on numerous collaborative expeditions. During one of these climbs, they encounter a team of fellow mountaineers preparing to tackle the legendary Pakistani mountain K2. Brooks immediately becomes obsessed with this task, and he convinces the reluctant Jamison to join the team. The bulk of the film centers on the dangerous climb and even more challenging descent, beset with challenges both natural and human. Though adapted from a stage play by Patrick Myers, the schematic personal dramas take a back seat to cinematographer Gabriel Beristain's overwhelming landscapes, filmed both on location at the real K2 and on a smaller Canadian peak. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Biehn, Matt Craven, (more)
In this better-than-average kick-boxer foray, Brandon Lee (son of famed martial-arts film star, Bruce Lee) stars as a young art student who happens to witness a drug murder and is placed in protective custody by federal agents. It's not too long before he realizes that the only real protection he can count on is his own martial-arts training. This film is rated R for violence, sex and profanity. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe, (more)
Actor Dan Aykroyd made his directorial debut with this bizarre comic fantasy. Financier Chris Thorne (Chevy Chase) hopes to impress beautiful Diane Lightson (Demi Moore), so he invites her along for a trip to Atlantic City, with a pair of wealthy Brazilians, Fausto (Taylor Negron) and Renalda (Bertila Damas) tagging along for the ride. After running a stop sign in a small town just off the New Jersey turnpike, Chris and his friends are pulled over and arrested by a motorcycle cop named Denis (John Candy). The travellers are brought before J.P. (Aykroyd), the ancient and vindictive Justice of the Peace in the very strange village of Valkevania, where minor traffic offenses are usually punished by torture or death. While Fausto and Renalda are able to escape, Chris and Diane find themselves trapped in a bizarre underground maze in which fellow tourists like themselves must fight for their lives. Keep an eye peeled for the screen debut of Tupac Shakur, who appears as a member of the rap group Digital Underground. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, (more)
The second of three films by co-writer/director Oliver Stone to explore the effects of the Vietnam War (Platoon and Heaven and Earth are the others), Born On The Fourth Of July tells the true story of Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise), a patriotic, All-American small town athlete who shocks his family by enlisting with the Marines to fight in the Vietnam War. Once he is overseas, however, Kovic's gung-ho enthusiasm turns to horror and confusion when he accidentally kills one of his own men in a firefight. His downfall is furthered by a bullet wound that leaves him paralyzed from the chest down. He returns home, spends an appalling, nightmarish stint in a veterans' hospital, and follows an increasingly disillusioned and fragmented path that ultimately leaves him drunk and dissolute in Mexico. However, Kovic somehow turns himself around and pulls his life together, becoming an outspoken anti-war activist in the process. The film is long but emotionally powerful; many consider it Stone's best work and Cruise's best performance. Both were nominated for Oscars, as was the film itself, but only Stone, who co-wrote the film with Kovic from the latter's book, won for Best Director. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Cruise, Raymond J. Barry, (more)
- 1987
- R
A farming family turns to a life of crime when Daddy (Raymond Barry) convinces his three rather slow sons to join him on a banking spree across the Midwest, all the while searching for a Mama to call his own. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daryl Haney, Laura Burkett, (more)
- 1987
- PG
A U.S. senator who is planning an upcoming election instructs his aid to escort his troublesome daughter to a reform school so he will not be embarrassed during the campaign. The aid (Martin Sheen), with the company of his friend (Alan Ruck), set off on a road trip with the headstrong daughter (Kerri Green) and find their hands full in this light comedy. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Sheen, Kerri Green, (more)
Based on James Ellroy's novel Blood on the Moon, Cop is a grim, brutally violent, darkly humorous modern-day film noir. Lloyd Hopkins (James Woods), is an obsessive, amoral LAPD police detective investigating a murder he believes to have been the work of a serial killer. Hopkins is cynical and obsessed with the way society fills women's heads with fairy-tale promises of romance. "Innocence kills," he sneers. "I see it every day." His investigation leads him to the bookstore of a writer of feminist poetry (Lesley Ann Warren) who has for some time been receiving gifts of poems and flowers from an unknown admirer. Hopkins, looking through her diaries, realizes that the dates of the gifts correspond to the dates of the murders, and he begins a hunt for the killer which leads to a violent and exciting conclusion. Cop is completely absorbing because of Woods' chillingly effective performance. Few actors can make an amoral, clever, sardonic, and vicious character as appealing as Hopkins. As Hopkins, Woods combines complex contradictions with ease, showing the various sides of his character's personality. Cop, while singularly unpleasant is always insightful and fascinating. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Woods, Lesley Ann Warren, (more)
- 1986
- R
This teen thriller by Richard Tuggle involves an innocent young man being mistaken for a drug dealer and thief by both the good and the bad guys. Daryl Cage (Anthony Michael Hall) sets off to visit his brother and sister-in-law in L.A. but picks up the wrong bag at the airport baggage claim -- one loaded with 10 kilos of heroin. Before Daryl has a chance to find out what's inside, murder and mayhem are unleashed and even the police take potshots at him. So he teams up with Dizz (Jenny Wright), a fellow passenger on his flight, and disguises himself as a street-wise but slick operator. Cage then dodges death at the hands of the sadistic Roy Gaddis (Jeff Kober) and tries to convince the police of his innocence. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Michael Hall, Jenny Wright, (more)
Using four famous but unnamed individuals to symbolize a notorious era in American politics, as well as to explore the nature of despair, director Nicolas Roeg has created an intriguing drama. Based on a play by Terry Johnson, the story begins with the blond Theresa Russell as a sex-goddess actress working on a scene over a subway grate, with her skirts billowing out in the updraft. A famous Professor from Princeton with white hair opens his door to the actress, who takes out a few props and goes through her rendition of the theory of relativity. Between her theatrical mode of speech and his world of mathematics, there is a certain entente. Enter the ballplayer who is her husband (Gary Busey), in love but without a clue as to the actress' inner sadness. Throw in the senator from Wisconsin (Tony Curtis) before whose sub-committee on Unamerican Activities the Professor has to appear, and the undercurrent of a societal witch-hunt that ruined many careers in Hollywood, in academics, in sports, and in politics is churned into the story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Busey, Tony Curtis, (more)
- 1983
Filmed in quasi-documentary fashion, the made-for-TV The Face of Rage is set in a rehabilitation facility. Here a group of rapists are required to confront their victims face-to-face. The film concentrates on the bitter verbal sparring session between assaulter Richard (Graham Bechel) and assaultee Rebecca (Dianne Weist). Director Donald Wrye co-wrote the screenplay for Face of Rage with Hal Sitowicz, drawing much of the dialogue from real-life transcripts. The film was first aired as an "ABC Theatre" presentation on March 20, 1983, preceded with an all too appropriate "parental guidance" proviso. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A New York wife learns about the satisfactions of single life in this landmark 1970s "woman's film." Unlike her dysfunctional friends, vibrant Erica (Jill Clayburgh) seems to have it all: a nice Upper East Side home, a well-adjusted teenage daughter (Lisa Lucas), a job at a Soho art gallery, and a loving husband, Martin (Michael Murphy). Erica falls apart, however, when Martin leaves her for a younger woman. Finally, at her female therapist's urging, Erica ventures out into the world of singlehood, finding solace in female bonding and even casual sex. As she adjusts to her new life, Erica realizes that she likes her freedom and independence. But when she falls in love with sensitive bearded artist Saul (Alan Bates), Erica must decide whether to turn down a lucrative job to spend the summer with her man in Vermont or forge ahead with her new existence. One of a group of new "women's pictures" made in the wake of post-1960s feminism, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) and The Turning Point (1977), An Unmarried Woman updated the genre's concern with relationships and love by turning the heroine's unwedded status into a positive growth experience. The great female stars of the past like Joan Crawford and Bette Davis may be gone, as Erica and her friends mourn, but so is the all-consuming suffering of classical weepies, as writer/director Paul Mazursky ends the film on a note of reserved affirmation. While some critics (including feminists) complained that Saul was too much of a romantic fantasy, An Unmarried Woman was praised for Clayburgh's performance, and earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. A hit with 1978 audiences, An Unmarried Woman provoked viewer debate over Erica's final choice and its meaning for women. Either way, An Unmarried Woman astutely pointed to how far the new 1970s woman had come -- and how far she still needed to go. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, (more)
- 1978
Famed for their supporting performances in Sylvester Stallone's Rocky, Burt Young and Talia Shire struck while the iron was hot to star in the made-for-TV Daddy, I Don't Like It Like This. Young also wrote the screenplay for this middling domestic drama. He and Shire play an endlessly bickering middle-class couple; the husband, an ex-boxer, is frustrated by his inability to fulfill his dreams, while the wife is hampered by emotional and intellectual immaturity. Both Young and Shire take out their hostilities on their son (Doug McKeon), who reacts to the ongoing strife by retreating into his own imagination. Daddy, I Don't Like It Like This was the first directorial assignment for Adell Aldrich, daughter of "cult" director Robert Aldrich. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- R
Director Joan Micklin Silver's follow-up to her acclaimed debut, Hester Street, is a more ambitious film that manages to be both an entertaining comedy and a pointed look at the corrupting power of money on an idealistic enterprise. Writer Fred Barron's characters are all associated with a weekly alternative newspaper in Boston, modeled after the Phoenix. (Silver did once work on the Village Voice, but this enterprise is several rungs below that esteemed paper.) Harry (John Heard) is an ambitious reporter romantically involved with Abbie (Lindsay Crouse), the paper's star photographer. Michael (Stephen Collins) is a writer trying to work on a novel and stay faithful to his loving wife, Laura (Gwen Welles), while Max (Jeff Goldblum), the paper's rock critic, shamelessly uses his job to try to pick up women. Lynn (Jill Eikenberry), a typist who is the paper's mother-hen figure, is also its most principled employee. When a publishing mogul (Lane Smith) buys the paper and promises changes that will compromise its aggressive political stance in favor of more "lifestyle" articles, Lynn resigns, and it's clear to the group that their carefree days are behind them. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Heard, Lindsay Crouse, (more)
Marsha Mason is known as "The Goodbye Girl" because of all the live-in boyfriends who have said ta-ta to her in the past few years. A former Broadway chorus dancer, the divorced Mason lives in the Manhattan apartment of her latest lost love with her daughter Quinn Cummings. Enter arrogant actor Richard Dreyfuss, who has subleased the apartment from Mason's former boyfriend and moves in bag and baggage in the middle of the night. Dreyfuss and Mason spend the next few weeks getting in each other's way and fighting like cats and dogs. The wind is taken out of Dreyfuss' sails when he opens in a production of Richard III, which has been sabotaged by the director (Paul Benjamin), who insists that Dreyfuss portrays Richard as a hip-swinging homosexual. The play closes after one performance, and the once-overconfident Dreyfuss goes on a self-pitying drunken binge. Touched by his vulnerability, Mason begins falling in love with Dreyfuss despite her lousy track record with men. Richard Dreyfuss became the youngest ever "Best Actor" Oscar winner as a result of his performance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, (more)
