Xander Berkeley Movies

When her adoptive mother Joan Crawford died in 1977, erstwhile actress/author Christina Crawford and her brother Christopher were left out of Joan Crawford's will, "for reasons which are well known to them." Industryites have suggested that it may have been this posthumous act of rejection rather than an alleged lifetime of parental abuse that inspired Christina Crawford to pen her scathing autobiography Mommie Dearest. The 1981 film version of this tome was evidently meant to be taken seriously, but the operatic direction by Frank Perry and the over-the-top portrayal of Joan Crawford by Faye Dunaway (whose makeup is remarkable) has always seemed to inspire loud laughter whenever and where-ever the film is shown. According to the film (and the book that preceded it), Joan Crawford was a licentious, child-beating behemoth, who stalked and postured through life as though it was one of her own pictures-more Strait-jacket than Mildred Pierce. This is the film with the notorious "wire coat hanger" scene, just in case you need a reminder. Surprisingly, one emerges from Mommie Dearest with more sympathy for the monstrous but intensely vulnerable Crawford than for her whining daughter (played as an adult by Diana Scarwid, and as a child by Mara Hobel). Our favorite scene: Joan Crawford dazedly replacing her ailing daughter in the cast of a daytime TV soap opera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Students at a college with obviously low graduation requirements spend their time and energy playing a game that involves mock assassinations with rubber-tipped darts fired from plastic guns. If you are shot, you are assassinated and out of the game and whoever remains alone at the end wins. When Gersh (Bruce Abbott), the odds-on favorite is about to do one of his opponents in, the hapless victim drops his dart gun, it misfires, and bonks a dart at Gersh - who is pushed over the edge, pulls out a real gun and kills his unfortunate opponent. Gersh drags the body to his room and stuffs it in his closet. Having killed once, the blood-thirsty student goes on a rampage, killing as many of these players as he can and stuffing them all in his closet. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Given one last chance to capture the A-Team, Col. Lynch (William Lucking, in his final series appearance) makes a beeline to the Wild West show run by Captain Winnetka (Morgan Woodward). It seems that Winnetka's daughter Carrie (D..D. Howard) has lodged a complaint of being victimized by a gang of crooks passing themselves off as the A-Team. Naturally, the real Team can't stand imitations, and decide to thwart the crooks on their own, adopting disguises straight out of the Village People playbook: Hannibal (George Peppard) as a flashy sharpshooter, Face (Dirk Benedict) as a clown, and Murdock (Dwight Schultz)as an Indian. The climax involves another jerry-built weapon, this one shooting wads of taffy! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Temptations make a surprise appearance in the teaser for this episode, which focuses appropriately enough on the world of music (for a while, anyway). David (Bruce Willis) has purchased a pair of symphony tickets from a shady character whom he met on the street. Unfortunately, those tickets were stolen--and now both David and Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) are up to their necks in international intrigue, thanks to a most inquisitive FBI agent (Linda Thorson). The story also involves the assassination of a Russian prizefighter--which explains the presence of Don King! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jack Corbett (Ken Wahl) is a journalist who takes to the bottle after a series of setbacks. When his daughter Jessie (Nicole Eggert) is kidnapped during a liquor store robbery, he calls on LAPD Detective Milnor (Doug McClure) for help. When Milnor's efforts prove ineffective, Jack calls on his friend and former Vietnam veteran Phil (George DiCenzo) to seek vengeance in this routine action thriller. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This bizarre comedy spoof on spaghetti westerns was made in a hurry on location in Almeria, Spain. Simms (Joe Strummer), Willy (Dick Rude), and Norwood (Sy Richardson) are inept hitmen who decide to rob a bank. They encounter the MacMahon's (The Pogues), a quintet of caffeine-addicted gunslingers who ride motorcycles across the range wreaking havoc. Elvis Costello has a reoccurring role as a waiter who is always ready with a new tray of coffee. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this taut thriller, a young man is tormented by a terrible recurring nightmare of a knife-wielding hunter, wearing the mask of a snarling wolf, who places the razor-sharp blade at his neck. Just as the wolfman is about to cut his throat, the man awakens in a cold sweat. A decade before, his parents were murdered by a similar slasher on Christmas Eve. As time passes the dreams become more intense and soon he becomes totally paranoid, seeing the fearsome apparition when he is awake. His girl friend and his best pal do all they can to keep him sane, but it is to no avail, until the truth is finally discovered. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this high-energy satire of the music biz, Ivan Alexov (John Cusack) and Josh Tager (Tim Robbins) lose their jobs as security guards, and they decide to start their own video production company. Their first gigs are less than inspiring, including a rappin' commercial for a chicken-and-waffle place, a living will, and a right-wing Presidential-hopeful's (Clu Gulager) gala dinner. Eventually, they get to direct a heavy-metal music video which becomes a huge surprise success. But now the politician needs to get back a private videotape from the boys, and the Secret Service is put on their trail. This chaotic romp has cameos from more music celebs than you can shake a tape reel at, as well as a hopping little soundtrack by Fishbone. This is also the film that introduced a conservative folksinger/politician character who later got his own movie, Bob Roberts. ~ John Voorhees, All Movie Guide

Real-life siblings Beau and Jeff Bridges star as the eponymous Fabulous Baker Boys. Musical prodigies both, the Bakers have long been teamed as a twin-piano act, with the less talented Frank (Beau Bridges) coasting on the skills of his brilliant younger brother Jack (Jeff Bridges). Their career dwindling to nickel-and-dime dates in second-rate clubs, the Bakers decide that they need a female vocalist to boost their popularity. They select auditioner Susie Diamond (Michelle Pfeiffer), who in addition to being a gifted songstress is drop-dead gorgeous. The newly renovated Baker Boys act scores a success, which is inevitably threatened by Susie's growing popularity and by Jack's insistence upon pursuing an affair with the girl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gregg Champion, the son of dance stars Marge and Gower Champion, made his feature film directorial debut with this sitcom-influenced cop comedy. Dabney Coleman stars as Burt Simpson, a police detective one week short of retirement, who is told he has a rare blood disease called Wechsler's Curtain and that he will be dead within two weeks. Before receiving the dire news, Burt was the kind of guy who made it a point to be cautious when in pursuit of criminals. He also was unable to tell his wife (Teri Garr) that he loved her. But now that he has only two weeks to live, Burt undergoes a complete personality reversal -- much to the shock of his partner Ernie Dills (Matt Frewer). Burt throws his well-known caution to the wind and volunteers for double-duty in the city's most dangerous neighborhood to take on the notorious psychotic Carl Stark (Xander Berkeley). The reason for this sudden turnaround? Burt figures that if he is killed in the line of duty, his son can go to Harvard on the $320,000 worth of department insurance, rather than die after retirement and collect a paltry $22,000 on his regular insurance policy. Paradoxically, Burt finds that comedy is easy but dying is hard. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this glossy L.A. crime drama by Mike Figgis, Andy Garcia stars as Sgt. Raymond Avila, a cop who just joined the Internal Affairs division of the L.A.P.D. An investigation into police corruption has led Avila and his partner, Sgt. Amy Wallace (Laurie Metcalf), to Officer Dennis Peck (Richard Gere). Avila suspects something about Peck from the beginning; his influence and dominance over others seems to extend further than the reach of his badge. When officers who wish to testify against Peck start dying, the depth of his corruption becomes increasingly clear; at his disposal, he has an army of cops and criminals alike. He even agrees to assassinate a sleazy businessman's own parents, and humiliates the businessman while they make the deal. In his drive to dominate others, Peck attempts to seduce almost every woman around him and is obsessed with children and fatherhood. Peck is most dangerous when the investigation threatens his territory and his extended family; he stalks Avila and turns him against his wife (Nancy Travis). ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide

In return for Warner Bros. greenlighting his pet project White Hunter, Black Heart (1990), Clint Eastwood directed and starred in this more commercial film, an action caper about a mismatched pair of auto theft cops. Eastwood is grizzled veteran detective Nick Pulovski, who's determined to bring down the chop-shop operation being run by a pair of German crooks, Strom (Raul Julia) and Liesl (Sonia Braga). Although he's been officially removed from the case and partnered with a green, recently promoted detective, David Ackerman (Charlie Sheen), the hard-drinking Nick's not about to let the car thieves get away with murder. David, in the meanwhile, is dealing with his own issues, including the death of his brother (for which he was responsible), his unhappy girlfriend Sarah (Lara Flynn Boyle) and his estrangement from his wealthy father Eugene (Tom Skerritt). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide