Jim Wilberger Movies
Casper Van Dien, Bruce Boxleitner and Oscar winner Ernest Borgnine star in this action-packed western about a town of old west settlers beset by a ruthless group of trigger-happy gunmen. They knew they were taking a risk by settling in uncharted territory, but the land was bountiful and the future looked bright. The one thing that these settlers didn't count on was the railroad. When the bullets start flying and the locals start dying, there's no sheriff to maintain the peace within a hundred miles. With no one to defend the peaceful pioneers but a retired gunslinger and an ageing rancher, this unlikely duo loads their pistols and prepares to become the only law this town has ever known. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Casper Van Dien, Bruce Boxleitner, (more)
- 2007
Armand Mastroianni, the gifted director of the legendary 1980 horror sleeper He Knows You're Alone, returns to helm the three-hour, all-star medical miniseries Pandemic. The program explores the lethal consequences that can unfurl when a deadly plague, with an unknown cure and an even more mysterious source, worms its way through the denizens of a terror-stricken metropolis. 90210's Tiffani-Amber Thiessen stars as Dr. Kayla Martin, an epidemiologist at the Center for Disease Control. When the news arrives of a plague victim on board a flight from Australia to LAX Airport in Los Angeles -- who promptly dies amid body-racking convulsions and a record-high fever -- Dr. Martin makes the pivotal decision to quarantine all passengers at LAX, sending the city, and the mayor (Eric Roberts), into an uproar. Meanwhile, the plague concurrently begins to appear in other areas of the city -- suggesting a beast that no one can even begin to contain. In time, the disease becomes known as "The Riptide Virus." As a thoughtless ACLU attorney schemes to wage war against Dr. Martin for an unlawful quarantine, Martin, her associate Carl Ratner (French Stewart), and FBI Agent Troy Whitlock (Vincent Spano) race to find a solution before time runs out. Faye Dunaway also co-stars. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, French Stewart, (more)
James Remar and Melvin Van Peebles headline this relentlessly tense tale of a special ops sniper who reluctantly accepts one final mission before disappearing into retirement. Dillon (Remar) is a special ops sharpshooter extraordinaire - the kind of triggerman who could take out a Tic Tac at twenty yards without so much as using his scope. But now that Dillon has experienced his fair share of the war game, he's about to hang up his rifle for good. Just as he's preparing to disappear into obscurity, however, Dillon learns that some very bad people are attempting to obtain some very volatile nuclear materials. Suddenly, an ambitious terrorist plot goes unexpectedly awry, and the man who was supposed to stop it is now at the center of a deadly conspiracy. Will Dillon be able to unravel the explosive mystery that could bring about his death, or is he playing right into the hands of the powers that be. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Remar, Mario Van Peebles, (more)
- 2006
Reunited as adults, childhood friends Mark Lucas (Bridget Brannagh and Theresa Connolly (Crystal Allen) fall in love and decide to get married. The wedding plans are okay so far as Mark and Theresa's golfing-buddy dads are concerned. Alas, the couple's mothers constitute a different story: Betsy Lucas (Shelley Long) and Bridget Connolly (Patty Duke) have carried on a bitter feud for the past 25 years, and they aren't about to go into "all is forgiven" mode just because their kids are in love. The situation reaches a disastrous peak when Betsy and Bridget take it upon themselves to arrange the couple's Catalina Island wedding--and as terrifying as these two ladies are when they're on opposite sides of the fence, they're even more so when they join forces! Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door was first telecast February 4, 2006, as a cinematic Valentine card from cable's Hallmark Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
On the day of her granddaughter's departure to California -- in the company of her rock musician boyfriend -- Elizabeth Leroy Bishop (Cheryl Ladd) tries to tell her the story of how she came to spend her life in the town of Three Rivers, and the rewards she has received from that life. We flash back to 1950, just after Elizabeth's mother died of cancer -- of college age, Elizabeth (Amy Grabow) comes home to live with her physician father (Christopher Allport), and meets the young associate pastor Ben Phillips (Brad Rowe), who is newly arrived in town. Elizabeth is heavily involved with the life of the church, and the two quickly become friends and more. Ben eventually asks Elizabeth to marry him; but first he must fulfill his obligation as a minister, to serve as an army chaplain in Korea. A series of tragedies test Elizabeth's faith over the ensuing 50 years, and just as she reaches a point of beginning to understand what she sees as God's plan for her, two unexpected events await. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amy Grabow, Christopher Allport, (more)
- 2005
Jane Doe:The Wrong Face is one of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as Simi Valley housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her neighbors occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. Kathy is summoned by her NSA superior Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) to tackle the mysterious kidnapping of Caroline Raphaelson (Roxanna Zal), wife of crusading prosecutor Phil Raphaelson (John Rubinstein). No one ever saw anyone entering or leaving the room in the health spa from which Caroline, who'd been undergoing cosmetic surgery, was snatched. Still, the fact remains that a ransom demand has been made, said demand being that Caroline's husband arrange for the release of Ray Jackson (Michael Bailey Smith), a shady construction executive being held on a money-laundering rap. Complicating Kathy's investigation is Jackson's staunch insistence that he is innocent and that he completely disapproves of the kidnapping, and the subsequent disappearance of the 16-year-old girl who'd impersonated Caroline while the abduction was allegedly taking place. Jane Doe: The Wrong Face) was originally telecast on June 19, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't is one of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as suburban housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. When the Declaration of Independence is stolen while on display at a Los Angeles bank, NSA higher-up Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) calls in Kathy--code name "Jane Doe"--in hopes of figuring out who did it. It's a standard "locked room" mystery which Kathy manages to figure out in no time flat, but the murder of the chief suspect and the kidnapping of the suspect's wife makes things a bit more complicated. As she endeavors to crack the case, Kathy must also deal with her neurotic husband Jack (William R. Moses) as he adjusts to working in the same office with a former girlfriend, and she must contend with the jealousy of her NRA cohort, case officer Helen Morrison (Tamlyn Tomita). Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't made its first TV appearance on February 24, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Jane Doe: Vanishing Act is the first of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as Simi Valley housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. Having previously worked as a spy, Kathy is pulled out of an 18-year retirement by NSA operative Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) in hopes that she will be able to locate a missing file containing all of America's defense secrets, which was stolen from a plane in flight--along with the computer whiz who created the file. Adhering to her policy of "eliminating the impossible", Kathy--cover name "Jane Doe"--tries to figure out a logical method by which the file was heisted, a task made difficult by the vague recollections (and shady pasts) of the witnesses to the crime. As she gets deeper into the case, Kathy herself is placed in harm's way, to say nothing of her unwitting family. Jane Doe: Vanishing Act originally aired January 21, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
This heartwarming made-for-cable "road" picture begins in Chicago, where widowed grandmother Annie Eason (Betty White, convincingly portraying a 69-year-old while herself in her eighties!) wants to grant the final request of her husband Elliott: To release his ashes from the top of "Annie's Point"--3000 miles away. Embittered over having to manage his late father's business, Annie's son Richard (Richard Thomas) flatly refuses to take her to Annie's Point, so she goes instead with her free-spirited granddaughter Ella (Amy Davidson). Their odyssey turns into a frantic and sometimes funny chase after Annie goes on a gambling spree in Las Vegas, prompting Richard to hotly pursue his mother with the intention of having her institutionalized. Annie's Point made its Hallmark channel bow on January 22, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Jane Doe:'Til Death Do Us Part is one of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as suburban housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. This time around, Armand Nostrum (Tom Castranova), a notorious illegal arms dealer serving a life term in prison, apparently dies of heart failure just before he was to blow the whistle on the others in his operation. Kathy--code name "Jane Doe"--is brought into the case when Nostrum's body disappears from the prison hospital, despite the tightest of security measures. As she tries to figure out what has happened and why, the possibility arises that the "dead" man was anything but! This is the episode in which Kathy is finally permitted to tell her husband Jack (William R. Moses) of her covert activities--and in the bargain, our heroine honors us with a lengthy and very broad imitation of a "typical" Mafia princess! Jane Doe: 'Til Death Do Us Part first aired March 11, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A belief in "angels on earth," not to mention a belief in oneself, may enhance the enjoyment of this made-for-cable drama. Jaclyn Smith stars as Kay Woodbury, a tough, no-nonsense judge whose intractability in legal matters is intensified by a number of personal crises, including a bitter feud with her jurist father and her anguish over the recent remarriage of her ex-husband. Thus, Kay is no mood to play nice when teenager Sally Powell (Lyndsy Fonseca) is brought before her. Harboring an intense hatred for the father who apparently abandoned her, Sally is a seemingly incorrigible delinquent who has already "flunked out" in four foster homes. Figuring that she could no worse than anyone else, Kay takes Sally home on a trial basis. The girl proceeds to behave as atrociously as possible, but surprisingly Kay does not decide to write her off as a bad job, but instead concludes that what the girl needs is someone to trust and something to believe in. In this spirit, Kay locates Sally's birth father (C. Thomas Howell), and, upon being convinced that he was not motivated by selfishness when he dropped out of his daughter's life, secretly contrives for Sally and her dad to reconnect -- and in so doing Kay finds her own way toward forgiveness, not only of those whom she feels have wronged her, but also of herself. Ordinary Miracles made its Hallmark Channel debut on May 7, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jaclyn Smith, Lyndsy Fonseca, (more)
An epic-Western in the grand tradition, the made-for-cable The Trail to Hope Rose stars Lou Diamond Phillips as Keenan Deerfield, a half-Indian outlaw just released from prison. Determined to start life anew, Keenan takes a grueling rock-mining job in a town controlled by the odious Driggers family, headed by flint-eyed patriarch Samuel Drigger (Warren Stevens), with the coldblooded Gerald Rutledge (Richard Tyson) as the family's chief henchman. Keenan's fellow workers are treated like slaves and forced to live in squalor, but none dare complain lest they meet with one of the many convient "accidents" that have befallen anyone who dares stand up to the Driggers. With stoic fortitude, Keenan waits for the right moment to strike a blow for justice, benefiting from the moral support of the town's honest but ineffectual Marshal Toll (Lee Majors) and good-natured farmer Eugene Lawson (Ernest Borgnine). The plot thickens when Keenan falls in love with Gerald's "woman," the pregnant Christine Beckford (Marina Black), and when one of Keenan's past associates, A.J. Foster (David Shackelford), rides into town intent upon stealing the Drigger mine's payroll. The rather endearing old-fashioned quality of the film is enhanced by the location-shooting at the Paramount Ranch, a reconstructed western town in Agoura, CA. The Trail to Hope Rose first aired July 4, 2004, on the Hallmark channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernest Borgnine, Lou Diamond Phillips, (more)
Way back when she was 13 years old, lonely Holly Grant (Kelli Williams), envying the busy social lives of her best friends, made a wish to receive a boyfriend for Christmas. Instead, Holly was given a glass globe, ostensibly by "Santa Claus" himself, with the attached message that her wish would be granted within the next two decades. Flash forward 20 years: Now a dedicated pro bono attorney, the still-unattached Holly has experienced great success in making everyone happy -- except herself. Enter two men in our heroine's life: Ted Powell (Bruce Thomas), her onetime high school heartthrob, and some guy calling himself Doug, who strangely resembles a person whom Holly ardently dislikes -- and who may well be the answer to the wish posted to Santa twenty years before! A Boyfriend for Christmas originally aired over the Hallmark channel on November 27, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelli Williams, Patrick Muldoon, (more)
