Will Nipper Movies
- 1995
- PG13
- Add How to Make an American Quilt to QueueAdd How to Make an American Quilt to top of Queue
A young woman at a crossroads in her life finds herself receiving plenty of advice from her older and wiser counterparts in this drama. Finn Dodd (Winona Ryder) is a graduate student trying to finish up her doctoral thesis on women's folk art while deciding if she should marry her fiancé Sam (Dermot Mulroney); she's not sure if she's ready to settle down, and suspects that Sam is unfaithful to her. Needing time to sort things out, Finn chooses to spend the summer with her grandmother Hy (Ellen Burstyn) and great aunt Gladys Jo (Anne Bancroft). Hy and Gladys Jo are avid quilters, and with a group of their friends, they work on a special quilt for Finn's wedding; as the women work together, they share stories of their lives, and Finn finds herself learning as much from hearing them talk as she does from her schoolwork. Finn also receives a visit from her free-spirited mom Sally (Kate Capshaw) and finds herself infatuated with a good looking young man who lives nearby. Maya Angelou plays one of the quilters, as do Kate Nelligan, Jean Simmons, and Alfre Woodard. How to Make an American Quilt was the directorial debut of Jocelyn Moorhouse, and was based on a novel by Whitney Otto that itself began as a doctoral thesis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Winona Ryder, Anne Bancroft, (more)
Set in a charming forest wonderland, this ecologically-conscious animated adventure tells the tale of a badger who inhales toxic fumes and nearly dies. Fortunately, her pals, a mouse, a hedgehog, and a mole are willing to risk their lives to find a cure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Crawford, Ben Vereen, (more)
John Hughes re-works his already over-used formulas from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and Uncle Buck in this bald-faced rip-off directed by Peter Faiman. Ed O'Neill stars as working stiff Dutch Dooley. Dutch is in love with Natalie (JoBeth Williams), who is recovering from a failed marriage to the priggish Reed (Christopher McDonald). Her 13-year-old son Doyle (Ethan Randall) blames Natalie for the break-up of the marriage. Doyle is an effete and snobbish rich kid betraying inflections of William F. Buckley. When he refuses to join his mother for Thanksgiving, Dutch heads off to Doyle's Atlanta boarding school to kidnap him and force him to go on a ride to Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with his mother. Doyle hates Dutch for his loutish working-class ways, but when the vengeful teenager destroys Dutch's car, the two must join forces to get to Chicago by any means necessary. Along the way the two learn to love and respect each other. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed O'Neill, Ethan Randall, (more)
- 1990
Miracle Landing is a quickly but carefully made TV movie dramatizing an actual near-disaster in the air. The tale begins with Aloha Airline's Flight 737 making a routine trip between Hilo and Honolulu. As the plane reaches an altitude of 24,000 feet, the top portion of the fuselage suddenly strips off, depressurizing the cabin and exposing the passengers to flying debris and deadly winds. The film then concentrates on the cool professionalism of the flight attendants and 3-person crew, as they calm down the 89 passengers and bring the severely damaged plane for a safe landing. Miracle Landing is cut-and-dried for the most part, but isolated moments are impossible to forget--notably a shot of an anguished passenger with a shard of metal grotesquely fused to his face! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
