Tim Ransom Movies
- 2002
A tourist's video recorder captures the image of three men loading a stolen plasma TV into an SUV. The light-fingered trio find themselves murder suspects when a dead woman turns up in the apartment that they apparently robbed. As the trial progresses, ADA Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Rohm) cannot shake the feeling that the circumstantial evidence is not sufficient to send three dumbfounded people to their deaths. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A woman gets a crash course in the realities of love and commitment when she gets some startling news about the child she's carrying in this made-for-TV adaptation of the novel by Luanne Rice. Dianne Parker (Kimberly Williams) is a lovely young woman who is engaged to marry Mark McCune (Eric Close), a successful and self-confident young businessman. Dianne isn't aware that Mark's brother, pediatrician David McCune (Campbell Scott), has also fallen in love with her, but David can't bring himself to break up his brother's relationship. After Dianne and Mark wed, she becomes pregnant, but routine tests reveal that the child will suffer severe genetic defects. Mark decides having an disabled child is not something he can bear and he leaves Dianne. Dianne decides to keep the baby and raise it on her own. She gets valuable help from her mother, Hannah (Blair Brown), but David also pitches in to help raise Dianne's child, and soon Dianne gets a greater appreciation of what love is truly all about as she struggles with David to care for her baby. Produced for the award-winning anthology series "The Hallmark Hall of Fame," Follow the Stars Home first aired on May 6, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1997
In the previous season's "Doctor Bashir, I Presume," the truth about Bashir's past was made public. Now that the cat is out of the bag, he is asked to work with four other savants, who, like himself, have been genetically engineered. It is Bashir's mission to help the foursome enter normal society, but as is often the case on Deep Space Nine, things don't proceed precisely as planned. Written by Rene Echevarria from a story by Pam Pietroforte, and directed by onetime Happy Days co-star Anson Williams, "Statistical Probabilites" was originally telecast November 24, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
This episode is a showcase for semi-regular Louis Herthum, here essaying his usual role as Cabot Cove's deputy sheriff Andy Bloom. Having just purchased a house, Andy realizes that there are several things wrong with the structure, and he vents his anger upon the former owner. Not long afterward, the ex-owner is killed--and the murder weapon is found in Andy's car. It is up to Jessica (Angela Lansbury to get to the bottom of the case, which becomes even dicier when a second person is murdered. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Kevin Conway guest stars as police lieutenant John Flynn who, while on a stakeout with Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt), kills a suspected drug dealer. The subsequent Internal Affairs investigation results in friction at the NYPD when Curtis refuses to testify that the dead man was going for his gun. This leads to an evidence-tampering charge against Briscoe and a battle between the D.A.'s office and a politically ambitious judge (Josef Sommer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A soldier discovers how elusive the truth can be in this first major film about America's role in the Gulf War. Lt. Col. Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) was the commander of a unit during Operation Desert Storm who mistakenly ordered the destruction of what he believed to be an enemy tank, only to discover that it actually held U.S. soldiers, including a close friend. Since then, Serling has been an emotional wreck, drinking heavily and allowing his marriage to teeter on the brink of collapse. As a means of redeeming himself, Serling is given a new assignment by his superior, Gen. Hershberg (Michael Moriarty). Capt. Karen Walden (Meg Ryan) was a helicopter pilot who died in battle during the Iraqi conflict, and the White House has proposed that Walden be posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Serling is asked to investigate Walden's actions on the field of battle, but he quickly discovers that no two stories about her are quite the same; Ilario (Matt Damon) says Walden acted heroically and sacrificed herself to save the others in her company, while Monfriez (Lou Diamond Phillps) claims she was a coward who was attempting to surrender to enemy troops. Meanwhile, reporter Tony Gartner (Scott Glenn) is hounding Serling, trying to get the inside story on Walden and on Serling's own difficulties. Matt Damon lost 40 pounds to prepare for his role in Courage Under Fire, which resulted in a potentially life-threatening illness for the young actor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, (more)
- 1995
A college student is murdered at a biker bar. At first, detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) believe that the solution to the case hinges upon interrogating the hard-case bar patrons. Ultimately, however, the answer lies somewhere within the mysterious world of the Internet, a world in which the younger Curtis is far more "at home" than his veteran partner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A handful of scientists struggle to prevent the destruction of a small town -- and possibly the entire country -- in this suspense drama. In the mid-1960s, a deadly virus is discovered in Zaire that wipes out an entire village in 24 hours. Government researchers are brought in to investigate, but the military opts to destroy the village rather than risk further infection. Thirty years later, Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman), an expert on contagious diseases, is called in when the virus re-emerges in Africa. A monkey carrying the bug is smuggled into the U.S., and a suburban California town soon begins to succumb to the illness. Sam scrambles to find an antidote with the help of his ex-wife Robby (Rene Russo), a Center for Disease Control researcher, and their colleague Casey (Kevin Spacey), while Gen. McClintock (Donald Sutherland) has his own reasons for wanting to use bombs to contain the epidemic, and Army surgeon Gen. Ford (Morgan Freeman) is caught in the middle. Outbreak was produced in the hopes of beating the film version of Richard Preston's bestseller The Hot Zone (about a real-life epidemic) into theaters; script problems shelved The Hot Zone, and Outbreak had the infectious disease market to itself. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, (more)
- 1993
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is back in London, there to attend the opening night of a play based on one of her novel's. The play's producer (Robin Sachs) has a reputation for ruthlessness and duplicity, so it really surprises no one when he is murdered. Nor can anyone be surprised when Jessica (Angela Lansbury) takes it upon herself to prove that the play's leading lady (Jean Marsh) is not the murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
When a busload of school children is hijacked and held for ransom, a small town is paralyzed by fear. Meanwhile, the resourceful bus driver plots a daring rescue. This stranger-than-truth story is based on an actual incident. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Malden, Tim Ransom, (more)
- 1991
Tyne Daly ages and ages (courtesy of a sympathetic makeup staff) as the matriarch of an upper-class Connecticut family. This TV movie traces the progress of that family--mother, father, three kids--from 1962 through 1984. We watch the children go through all the joys and heartache of maturity, and we see Ms. Daly's husband (Terry O'Quinn) stray from the fold in the company of another woman. The one unifying factor throughout the years is the family's well-appointed suburban house. The title The Last to Go refers to Tyne Daly, who is the final person out of the house when it is finally put up for sale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Marisa Silver helmed this tightly directed hospital drama reminiscent of David Swift's 1962 The Interns. Jimmy Smits plays Dr. David Redding, who guides seven student doctors through their third year of residency at Los Angeles Central's medical school. The cast includes Laura San Giacomo as Lauren Rose, a hard-working waitress putting her uncaring husband Kenny (Jack Gwaltney) through medical school; Kenny eventually breaks down the resistance of cool fellow student Gena Wyler (Diane Lane). Kenny is also competing with doctor's son Michael Chatham (Adrian Pasdar), who wants to become the best surgeon at L.A. Central; Michael, however, has to reconsider his goals when he realizes that he also needs Gena's love. Bobby Hayes (Tim Ransom) and Suzanne Maloney (Jane Adams) are also struggling with medical school, but they are a support team who study, work, and even sleep together. Through all the competitions and love affairs it eventually takes the wisdom of a dying cancer patient (Norma Aleandro) to make the medical students realize the important things in life. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrian Pasdar, Diane Lane, (more)
- 1989
The brilliant young British actress Jane Horrocks made her film debut in The Dressmaker. She plays Rita, the 17-year-old niece of two Liverpool sisters, who are united only by a common hatred. Older sister Nellie (Joan Plowright) is an emotionally repressed dressmaker, while Margo (Billie Whitelaw) is her brash, libertine younger sibling. Caught in the middle, Rita spends most of her time snivelling over her fate. Though it is clear that no love is lost in this household, the aunts betray a nasty jealous streak when the niece falls in love with American Wesley (Tim Ransom). This quietly turbulent domestic drama was based on The Secret Glass, a novel by Beryl Bainbridge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Plowright, Billie Whitelaw, (more)
