Dale Raoul Movies
They've kept television viewers laughing for nearly 20 years, and now the most popular animated family on the small screen makes the leap into theaters as Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, ad Maggie embark on their first-ever feature-length adventure. Directed by David Silverman and written by a whole host of Simpsons veterans including Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, The Simpsons Movie also features special guest appearances by Albert Brooks among others. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, (more)
In 1962, Calvin Webber (Christopher Walken) was a brilliant but somewhat paranoid scientist living with his Donna Reed-esque wife, Helen (Sissy Spacek), in Los Angeles. In the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a plane crashed into the Webber's yard. Mistaking the blast for "the big one," the Webbers moved into their elaborate bomb shelter to wait out the half-life of radioactive fallout. In the shelter, now a sort of time capsule, Calvin and Helen conceived and raised their son Adam (played as an adult by Brendan Fraser). For 35 years, Adam was raised on Jackie Gleason, Perry Como, and stories about life on the surface. Calvin taught his son about science, baseball, and communists while Mom taught Adam about dancing, good manners, and charming young ladies. Just in time, too, as Adam is sent to the surface to gather supplies and find a wife, preferably a nice, non-mutant girl from Pasadena with which to repopulate the world. Once this "fish out of water" story is set up, the fish, Adam, is set adrift in a sea of supermarkets and adult bookstores, but is soon caught by Eve Rustikov (Alicia Silverstone). Completely lost above ground, Adam enlists Eve's help to navigate his new world and find the supplies on his list. The literally sheltered Adam falls for this bitter, cynical, street-smart woman who grew up in a bleak Los Angeles with little use for love. Living with her gay roommate, Troy (Dave Foley), Eve has had her hopes chipped away by a long line of dead-end jobs and loser boyfriends. When the throwback Adam enters her life with his sunny disposition, seersucker jacket, and joy at seeing the sky, she can't help but fall in love. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, (more)
- 1994
Dan Breen (Peter Boyle), Sipowicz's AA sponsor, is beaten up by his own son (Enrico Colantoni). Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Simone (Jimmy Smits) follow the slimmest of clues when the charred body of a pregnant prostitute is found. And Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) and Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) aren't altogether convinced when a two-bit con man (Paul Ben-Victor) insists that he was the brains behind a pawnshop robbery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
In the final episode of NYPD Blue's first season, Kelly (David Caruso) offers to stand by Janice (Amy Brenneman) as she goes to trial. Later on, Robin (Debrah Farentino) and Kelly have a romantic rendezvous. Meanwhile, Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) unearths evidence pertaining to a nearly cold case at an auction, and also tries to make another go of his relationship with Sylvia (Sharon Lawrence). Dominating all these proceedings is the investigation of the killing of a priest. Sherry Stringfield makes her final series appearance as Laura Michaels Kelly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Loosely based on a short story by Stephen King, The Lawnmower Man was the first film to explore virtual reality technology and boasts a dazzling collection of computer-animated sequences. The story concerns the slightly-mad scientist Dr. Lawrence Angelo (Pierce Brosnan), who as part of a secret government agency called Cybertech has been experimenting with something termed "intelligence enhancement." By using drugs and virtual reality technology, Angelo has managed to boost the IQ of experimental chimps. But he also makes them more aggressive and, bit by bit, they go insane. When one of his animal subjects goes on a rampage, Angelo decides to go for a human guinea pig instead -- Jobe Smith (Jeff Fahey), a slightly retarded man who cuts his lawn. Not only do Jobe's intelligence and sex-drive improve thanks to Angelo's regimen, but he also develops extrasensory perception. As Jobe's mental and emotional state keeps increasing, so does his strength. As he gains more power, Jobe becomes angrier and more vindictive until he vows to get even with all the town's people that patronized him and treated him badly. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Fahey, Pierce Brosnan, (more)
- 1989
ALF has developed an all-consuming addiction--to cotton. When Willie (Max Wright) catches ALF eating lint, he realizes that the alien's obsession has gotten out of hand. There is nothing for ALF to do but attend the meeting of a behavior-modification support group--and since ALF can't appear in public, Willie is pressed into service as a "substitute addict". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Along with her friends Amos (Tom Bosley) and Seth (William Windom), Jessica (Angela Lansbury) decides to sample the cooking at Cabot Cove's newest tourist attraction, the Joshua Peabody Inn. Casting a pall over the evening is a batch of spoiled strawberry preserves, causing several patrons to become seriously ill. When one of these patrons subsequently dies, Jessica begins to suspect that the "accidental" poisoning was deliberately contrived. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
