Michael A. Nickles Movies
Michael A. Nickles romantic comedy This Is Not a Film stars Michael Leydon Campbell as a man who decides to make a movie about his relationship with his ex in order to win her back. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Leydon Campbell, Nadia Dajani, (more)
- 1996
Actress Heather Locklear publicly stated that she hoped her bravura performance in the made-for-TV drama Shattered Mind would be a "career turner." Having endured an unhappy childhood from which she still carries unsavory secrets, young wife and mother Suzy (Locklear) goes completely around the bend after the death of her father. With her husband and two daughters looking on in helpless horror, the schizophrenic Suzy suddenly develops several alternate personalities--including a prostitute named Ginger, a frightened little girl named Bonnie, a haughty well-educated woman named Victoria, and even an abusive male teenager named D.J.! Though not exactly of Sybil caliber, Shattered Mind did manage to gain critical plaudits for star Locklear when it was first aired by NBC on May 27, 1996. Since that time, the film has been rerun on cable under the title The Terror Inside. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- R
After a drug deal goes horribly awry, Bebe and Alex (Molly Ringwald and Donal Logue) flee to Baja where they wait for money and passports to arrive. Bebe's father (Corbin Bernsen) sends Bebe's not-yet-divorced ex-husband Michael (Michael Nickles) after her, hoping he can talk some sense into Bebe. While Bebe and Alex get increasingly irritated and Michael searches the streets of Baja, a ill-tempered and cut-throat hitman (Lance Henriksen) shows up and befriends Michael. Eventually, all the characters collide in the desert in an explosive confrontation. Typical Elmore Leonard-type plot situation among criminals, but the lush photography of Baja and the competent performances keep this film taut and fresh looking. Henriksen in particular breathes life into a very cliched character making the audience wish the whole film was about him. ~ Sean D. MacLaggan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Molly Ringwald, Lance Henriksen, (more)
Two strangers are brought together by a powerful quirk of nature in this drama. Eugene (Michael Nickles) is a man in his thirties looking for a new meaning in his life. He thinks he may have found something when he discovers a mysterious wind tunnel in the desert that will carry the human voice for an unusual distance -- and he finds himself talking to Jackie (Heather Graham), a beautiful twentysomething who lives over 500 miles away. As Eugene and Jackie get to know each other without seeing one another, they find themselves caught up in the mysterious magic of the wind currents, said to have beneficial spiritual energies by Native Americans living in the desert. Desert Winds was written, directed, and produced by leading man Michael Nickles; pop singer Adam Ant also appears in a small role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heather Graham, Jessica Hamilton, (more)
- 1994
- R
A relatively low budget follow-up to the successful original Hidden continues the story with the daughter of the cop who had faced the alien menace 15 years earlier, teaming up with a benign visitor from space to oppose his more hostile compatriots. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide
Everyone's favorite headbangers from Aurora, Illinois, are back in this sequel to the 1992 hit comedy Wayne's World. The success of their TV show allows Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) to finally move out of their parents' homes, but now they have to figure out what to do with their lives. Wayne's girlfriend, up-and-coming rock star Cassandra (Tia Carrere), is enjoying a career boost thanks to her new manager Bobby Cohn (Christopher Walker), but Garth thinks that Bobby is more interested in her body than her place on the charts. Meanwhile, Wayne is visited in a dream by the late Jim Morrison (Michael A. Nickles), who convinces him to promote a massive rock festival, "Waynestock," featuring Aerosmith as headliners. Garth, on the other hand, is finally relieved of his pesky virginity by femme fatale Honey Hornee (Kim Basinger), though it turns out that Honey has a hidden agenda. Drew Barrymore, Harry Shearer, and Charlton Heston play cameo roles in Wayne's World 2, and Jay Leno, Rip Taylor, and Todd Rundgren appear as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, (more)
High-concept director Robert Zemeckis applies his usual polish -- helped by an equally adept cast -- for this surprisingly gruesome and extremely funny black comedy. The film begins with narcissistic actress Madeline (Meryl Streep) stealing the latest in a series of potential fiancées, wimpy plastic surgeon Ernest (Bruce Willis), from her ex-best friend Helen (Goldie Hawn). Depressed and infuriated, Helen suffers a breakdown that lands her in a mental hospital -- in addition to a junk-food bender that seems to triple her weight. When Madeline crosses paths with Helen again many years later, she is horrified to discover her once-chunky rival looking younger, slimmer and more glamorous than ever before. Fearing that Helen will try to steal Ernest back -- and dreading the thought of not having a plastic surgeon at her beck and call -- Madeline solicits the supernatural services of an exotic New Age mystic (Isabella Rossellini), who sells her a potent youth elixir with the stipulation that she follow the dosage instructions to the letter... yeah, right. It appears that Helen owes her sexy comeback to the same magic formula, and the inevitable violent clash between the two well-dressed banshees leads to the realization that both women have become nearly impervious zombies, clawing at each other's throats long after the blood has run cold in their veins. Best remembered for Dick Smith's Oscar-winning makeup effects, which allow the rapidly-rotting undead femmes to toss off witty one-liners with ragged holes blasted through their bodies or spin their heads Exorcist-style. Not all the sight gags work, and Zemeckis' lighthearted treatment of such grotesque material tends to dull the satirical edge, but there are some truly inspired moments of dementia -- particularly a hilarious cameo from Sydney Pollack as a doctor who comes unglued while examining Streep (who has yet to realize she's dead). ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, (more)
- 1991
When the two-part Dynasty: The Reunion first aired, it rated a cover on TV Guide. The photo depicted Dynasty regulars Linda Evans (Krystal) and Joan Collins (Alexis) grinning at one another, while their true feelings were conveyed in comic-strip thought balloons reading "Hussy" and "Hag." This pretty much sums up the overall ambience of Dynasty: The Reunion. In part one, first telecast October 20, 1991, oil mogul Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) is released from prison. Hoping for a reunion with estranged wife Krystal -- and, incidentally, to recoup his financial empire -- Blake must now deal with a shady international consortium, headed by old nemesis Alexis. Part two, first telecast October 22, 1991, gets off to a good start with a desperate escape from the henchmen of an international consortium. The big money act, however, is the long-awaited catfight between Alexis and her longtime foe, goody two-shoes Krystal Carrington (Linda Evans). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
