Christopher Neame Movies

Two strange men (Judson Scott, Christopher Neame) abduct Cmdr. Sinclair and place him in a state of computerized reality. Using a mind-probe device, the strangers try to reconstruct Sinclair's activities during Battle of the Line, when he experienced an inexplicable 24-hour blackout -- and may have betrayed the Earth. Outside of its somber main plotline, this episode features a terrific pop-culture joke involving the 23nd century periodical Universe Today (which boasts such headlines as "Is There Somthing Living In Hyberspace?") First seen on March 16, 1994, "And the Sky Full of Stars" was written by J. Michael Straczynski. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Taking control of Scorpio, Avon guides the ship away from Xenon and heads to a different planet. Alas, this world is under the thumb of the newly regenerated Federation, which has developed an even stronger mind-control drug than before. Crew members Tarrant (Steven Pacey) and Dayna (Josette Simon) are given the task to locate the antidote for this drug, and in so doing run across an old enemy (though they don't realize it at first). "Traitor" originally aired on October 12, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A live-action rendering of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, this time we follow the exploits of the two Cold War "no-goodniks", Boris and Natasha. Sent from their beloved Pottsylvania by their "Fearless Leader", their job is to try to capture a missing time-reversing microchip. Espionage films being what they are, however, "Fearless Leader" has something nasty up his sleeve. Big-name stars and guest appearances keep this one going. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

"They didn't kill me; I was dead already," is the statement uttered by Dexter Cornell (Dennis Quaid), an English professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has been poisoned by a slow-acting toxin and who has twenty-four hours to track down his killers before he ceases to exist. Remade from the 1949 Rudolph Mate thriller by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, the co-directors jazz up the old luridness with slap-up doggishness that boosts the intensity-level higher than it deserves to go. Cornell is a burned-out novelist trying to hold on to tenure at the university while seeing his marriage collapse around him. As if that weren't enough, he is receiving amorous come-ons from smart, young student Sydney Fuller (Meg Ryan) and being badgered by another student, Nick Lang (Robert Knepper), to read his brilliant first novel. Not long after Dex demurs to Nick to read his novel, Nick is killed in a fall. Only then does Dex find out that Nick has been having an affair with his wife. Things keep going from bad to worse when, after an all-night drinking binge, Dex discovers that he has been slipped a poison that will kill him within 24 hours. Teaming up with the adoring Sydney, Dex tries to track down the person who poisoned him while dodging the cops, since he happens to be a prime murder suspect. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Bruce Boxleitner plays a second-rate Rambo in the action film Diplomatic Immunity. Boxleitner is grizzled and tight-lipped Vietnam veteran and U.S. Marine instructor Cole Hickel. When his daughter Ellen (Sharon L. Case) begins to date Paraguayan nationalist Klaus Hermann (Tom Breznahan), Cole looks askance at the couple. His suspicions prove correct when Ellen is murdered by Klaus, who uses her body as a subject for his sado-masochistic paintings. The police arrest Klaus but, because of his aristocratic descent, the government refuses to bring him to trial. Cole takes the law into his own hands and, with arms-dealer pal Cowboy (Billy Drago), Cole heads back into Paraguay as a one-man army to exact vengeance upon Klaus and any other Paraguayan who stands in his way. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Hammer Studios attempted to inject new blood into their Dracula series by setting their next installment in ultra-mod '70s London, where the Count is revived after 100 years by a gang of devil-worshipping swingers led by the not-so-cleverly-named Johnny Alucard (Christopher Neame), and later joined by Jessica (Stephanie Beacham), granddaughter of the legendary vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing, returning to the role after more than a decade). After the group manages to resurrect the Count, he sets about the task of destroying the house of Van Helsing once and forever, leading to a battle in a de-sanctified cathedral. Despite some well-staged scenes, a thrilling prologue (involving a tense battle between Lee and Cushing aboard a runaway coach) and the presence of the stunning Caroline Munro, this is definitely one of the weaker entries in the series, and the script gives Lee very little to do with the hissing, red-eyed villain. Lee may have been bored with reprising the role altogether, as he would only return for one more sequel, The Satanic Rites of Dracula. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by H.E. Bates, this period drama stars Embeth Davidtz as Bella Ford, a woman living in rural England during the Victorian era. Bella fell victim to Arch Wilson (Greg Wise), a unprincipled man who claimed to be from the nearby village. He seduced her only to vanish without a trace when she became pregnant. When she is outcast after her child is stillborn, a kindly villager named Ben Wainwright (Tom Bell) allows her to stay with his family in exchange for helping with the chores. However, the presence of a young and beautiful woman in the house creates a certain amount of tension between Ben, his wife (Gemma Jones), and sons Jedd (James Purefoy), a soldier; Matty (Kent Anderson), a shoemaker; and Con (Ben Chaplin), a homebody and social misfit. Con takes a shine to Bella and eventually proposes marriage; Bella accepts, but matters become complicated when she discovers that the dastardly Arch has returned to the village. Ismail Merchant served as executive producer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Ghostbusters
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson star as a quartet of Manhattan-based "paranormal investigators". When their government grants run out, the former three go into business as The Ghostbusters, later hiring Hudson on. Armed with electronic paraphernalia, the team is spectacularly successful, ridding The Big Apple of dozens of ghoulies, ghosties and long-legged beasties. Tight-lipped bureaucrat William Atherton regards the Ghostbusters as a bunch of charlatans, but is forced to eat his words when New York is besieged by an army of unfriendly spirits, conjured up by a long-dead Babylonian demon and "channelled" through beautiful cellist Sigourney Weaver and nerdish Rick Moranis. The climax is a glorious sendup of every Godzilla movie ever made-and we daresay it cost more than a year's worth of Japanese monster flicks combined. Who'd ever dream that the chubby, cheery Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man would turn out to be the most malevolent threat ever faced by New York City? When the script for Ghostbusters was forged by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, John Belushi was slated to play the Bill Murray role; Belushi's death in 1982 not only necessitated the hiring of Murray, but also an extensive rewrite. The most expensive comedy made up to 1984, Ghostbusters made money hand over fist, spawning not only a 1989 sequel but also two animated TV series (one of them partially based on an earlier live-action TV weekly, titled The Ghost Busters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ghostbusters 2
Ivan Reitman's sequel to the phenomenally successful Ghostbusters is looser and more self-assured than the original. The film opens with a title reading "Five Years Later" and finds the ghostbusters living in hard times. A restraining order has forbidden the boys to partake in paranormal warfare, and as a result they have had to seek other lines of work. Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston (Ernie Hudson) spend their time performing at children's' birthday parties, and Egon (Harold Ramis) is busy conducting experiments investigating the effect of human emotions on the environment, leaving ghostbusting behind. Venkman (Bill Murray) and Dana (Sigourney Weaver) have split up. Venkman now hosts a local cable show called "The World of the Psychic." Dana, now divorced and the mother of a little baby named Oscar, works as an art restorer in a museum -- and this is where the plot kicks in. While Dana is restoring a portrait of a 16th-century tyrant by the name of Vigo the Carpathian, the portrait becomes hexed. The evil Vigo wants to return to life by taking over the body of Dana's little child. Vigo has enlisted Dana's boss, Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol), to compel Dana to cooperate. Soon dirty sludge and slime flow through the streets of Manhattan, and the ghostbusters have to reunite to save the city from a funky paranormal evil. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Though the direction of Hellbound is sometimes erroneously credited to editor Michael J. Duthie, the actual director was Aaron Norris, brother of the film's star, Chuck Norris. The story begins with the ritualistic murder of a Chicago rabbi. Detectives Shatter (Norris) and Jackson (Calvin Levels) are assigned to the case, and are compelled to follow the trail of evidence all the way to Israel (where the film was lensed in its entirety...even the Chicago sequences). Once in the Holy Land, Shatter and Jackson discover that the murderer is a centuries-old supernatural entity, a malevolent creature determined to "cleanse" the world. The premise is workable and Norris is in fine form, but the dialogue in Hellbound is too Ed Wood Jr.-esque. (Wait until you hear that conversation about a missing heart!) Filmed in 1992, Hellbound went directly to video in 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Al Novak (Robin Thomas), ex-husband of officer Chris Novak (Robin Thomas), goes undercover to flush out a counterfeiter known as The Dutchman. When the counterfeiter's courier is killed, Hunter (Fred Dryer) discovers that the American Secret Service has a vested interest in the case. Chris' interest is, however, a little more personal--especially when Al's cover is blown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The sole reason for watching the made-for-TV Lady in a Corner is star Loretta Young, looking as youthful and stunning as ever in the role of a powerful magazine publisher. The plot introduces a British "sleaze lord" based on you-know-who, who inaugurates a hostile takeover of Young's publishing empire. Lindsay Frost, one of Young's most trusted editors, is actually an "inside man" for the British mogul and is undermining Ms. Young at every opportunity. Despite the entreaties of marriage from faithful chief editor Brian Keith, Young digs in her designer heels and fights off the takeover. Lady in a Corner is nothing to write home about, but as the last TV appearance to date of Loretta Young it's worth an hour or so of your time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Timothy Dalton is better in Licence to Kill than in his first James Bond endeavor (The Living Daylights), but he still seems uncomfortable on the right side of the law. This time around, Bond is working on his own rather than on behalf of the British Secret Service. His American friend Felix Leiter (David Hedison), an agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration, has been seriously injured by drug dealer Robert Davi, and 007 is out for blood. There is precious little time for the usual Bondian quippery and directorial campiness, resulting in a marked increase in bloodletting (including the "implosion" of secondary villain Anthony Zerbe). A climactic highway chase involving an oil tanker and a helicopter is stretched slightly beyond its value, but is still one of the best action setpieces in any Bond film. Licence to Kill was a refreshingly serious change of pace for the series, albeit one that tended to lessen Bond's box-office value. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is one of three Hammer films loosely based on Sheridan LeFanu's book Camilla, which gives the standard vampire story a lesbian twist. The other two films are The Vampire Lovers and Twins of Evil. In this film, Count Karnstein, through a magical ritual, relies on the feedings of the newly re-fleshed and voluptuous vampire Mircalla (Yutte Stensgaard) for his own sustenance. This keeps her very busy indeed. She finds a ready supply of victims at a girls' finishing school. Her troubles begin when two male teachers from the school decide to investigate. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide