Vivian Reis Movies
Mel Harris traces her aunt's mysterious roots in this made-for-television movie. Based on the book of the same name by Laurel Pace, Harris stars as Jordan Kirkland, a genealogist who begins tracing her wealthy Aunt Kitty's (Vivian Reis) roots. Her research -- which centers around a Fabergé egg seen in a photo from her orphan aunt's childhood -- takes her to several European cities and brings some colorful characters into the fray as she pieces together the woman's history. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Harris, Rob Stewart, (more)
Three brothers who are inept criminals butcher one last attempt to pull off a big heist in this caper comedy. Bill Firpo (Nicolas Cage) is sick of thievery and has retired from crime to run an upscale restaurant in New York. But when his two brothers, Alvin (Dana Carvey) and Dave (Jon Lovitz), get out of prison, Bill is sucked back into their world of crime. The three end up on the run and hide out in the small town of Paradise, PA. The friendly townspeople include a bank president (Clifford Moffat) whose trust in people has left his bank an easy target. The brothers can't resist lifting $275,000 from the vault. Unfortunately, Alvin drives their getaway car in circles and they end up back in town and get in an accident. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Jon Lovitz, (more)
- 1994
In this chilling drama, a beautiful widow's gratitude turns to naked fear when she learns that a good Samaritan has been stalking her after saving the life of her son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maryam D'Abo, Jay Underwood, (more)
Bille August directed this film version of the Isabel Allende novel, featuring a cast that includes Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. The story is a sweeping and brooding melodrama, spanning generations and filled with violence, revenge, and telekinesis. The tale begins in South America in 1926, when a young man, Esteban (Jeremy Irons), falls in love with the daughter of a rich man, Rosa Del Valle (Teri Polo). He vows to become rich enough to make her his wife and spends months of toil in the gold fields to earn enough money to do just that. Before the two marry, however, Rosa is killed by poison meant for her father. After the tragedy, Esteban moves to Trés Marias, an abandoned ranch, and spends 20 years of his life turning the ranch into a thriving estate, exploiting the labor of the poor who live off the land. When he returns to the city, he comes across Rosa's younger sister Clara (Meryl Streep), now a woman with telekinetic abilities. Clara took a vow of silence years before, but upon the arrival of Esteban, she speaks for the first time in years -- "You have come to propose marriage to me," she says. Esteban and Clara marry, and Esteban takes her back to the ranch, where they have a daughter, Blanca (Winona Ryder). Their daughter falls in love with the son of one of Esteban's foremen, a hot-headed revolutionary named Pedro (Antonio Banderas). Now, the country is in the throes of revolution. Esteban banishes his sister Ferula (Glenn Close) from the ranch, beats his wife, and rapes a peasant woman. The product of Esteban's rape (Joaquin Martinez) grows into an angry young man who convinces Esteban to send him away to military school. When there is a military coup, the illegitimate son returns to Trés Marias with revenge and torture on his mind. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, (more)
- 1992
In this made-for-TV drama, a teenage girl named Sarah (Kathleen Robertson) is flying home to see her parents when she falls ill. While Sarah is convinced that she has simply come down with a bad cold, when she keels over and dies while crossing a street, an autopsy reveals that Sarah had in fact contracted the pneumonic plague. Dr. Nora Hart (Kate Jackson), the hospital's authority on epidemics and highly contagious diseases, now must track down as many people as possible who came in contact with the girl before the plague begins to spread -- including Calvin Phillips (Howard Hessman), a congressman Sarah met on her flight. Based on the novel The Black Death by Gweneth Cravens and John C. Marr, Quiet Killer also stars Jerry Orbach, Luis Guzman, and Al Waxman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
This lively and off-beat Canadian comedy tells the tale of a regular Joe whose life is turned topsy turvy when he teams up with a strange restaurateur who convinces the fellow to invest in his latest project: an Italian restaurant with operatic waiters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robbie Coltrane, Michael Riley, (more)
- 1990
This Canadian TV movie stars Marion Bennett as a young girl possessed of mysterious powers. No Carrie she, Bennett hopes to harness her unique gifts for good. Her main mission is to reunite her long-estranged mother and father. The film makes excellent atmospheric use of its mist-enshrouded Prince Edward Island locations. Lantern Hill was originally telecast in two parts on PBS' weekend Wonderworks series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Canadian filmmaker Kevin Sullivan once more graces the small screen with a warm, deeply personal effort, this one titled Looking for Miracles. Set in 1935, the film details a sometimes painful family reunion. Two brothers, separated by the exigencies of the Depression, meet once more to compare life experiences and revitalize their relationship. Comic actor Joe Flaherty, a Second City TV veteran, scores in an unexpectedly touching supporting role. Looking for Miracles was first seen in the US over the Disney pay cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Lucy Maud Montgomery's novel Anne of Green Gables, previously filmed in 1934, was afforded a TV-movie treatment in 1985. Megan Follows stars as 13-year-old Anne Shirley, an orphan girl sent to live with a foster family on Canada's Prince Edward Island. Though she has great difficulty controlling her temper, impulsiveness and vivid imagination, Anne eventually wins over her new guardians, domineering Marilla Cuthbert (Colleen Dewhurst) and Marilla's shy brother Matthew (Richard Farnsworth). Anne's secondary adventures concern her "bosom friend" Diana (Schuyler Grant) and her supposed enemy Gilbert Blythe (Jonathan Crombie). Anne of Green Gables was offered on American television as a 3-part presentation on PBS' Wonderworks; it aired from February 17 through March 3, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, (more)
- 1983
In this futuristic adventure, a man gets too enmeshed in virtual reality and ends up with his personality melded to the on-screen persona of Humphrey Bogart. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- R
This derivative Canadian thriller plays like a distaff version of Samuel Fuller's cult classic Shock Corridor fused rather crudely to a standard mad-slasher plot. The story takes place primarily at the country villa of a sleazy horror film director (scenery-chomping John Vernon), where auditions for the title role of his new film Audra are taking place. The casting session is called after the film's intended star had herself committed to an asylum in order to properly research her Frances Farmer-type role, then found herself unable to get out. It comes as little surprise, then, that the six actresses vying for the plum role in her absence are not long for this world, as a witch-masked marauder is wandering the premises with some well-honed implements. This film's surprisingly stylish look is probably due to the initial direction of acclaimed cinematographer Richard Ciupka, but the film was actually completed by a pseudonymous replacement. (The credited director, "Jonathan Stryker," is actually the name of Vernon's character.) ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Vernon, Samantha Eggar, (more)
- 1980
- R
The popular topic of men whose mid-life crises grow with a thickening waistline is handled with snatches of wit and insight in this standard comedy-drama from John Trent. Bobby Lee (Bruce Dern) is beginning to feel hemmed in -- his wife (Ann-Margret) has lost some of her appeal and his friends and family keep viewing him like the forty-year-old he will soon be. After his father dies, he is unable to take it anymore, and he hooks up with a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader (Deborah Wakeham) on a trip to that city. He may have traded in his business suite for denim, jeans, and cowboy boots, but he soon finds that a real transformation is not so easy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Dern, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1972
- PG
In this drama, a rising hockey star loses track of his career after he falls in love with a rambunctious rock star. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1969
- R
A married couple struggles to adjust when the husband's brain is transplanted into the skull of a black man. David Rowe (Raymond St. Jacques) is the white district attorney who must now live life as a black man. His wife Margaret (Susan Oliver) tries to deal with the transformation of her husband's appearance as David feels the stings of racial prejudice for the first time. Sheriff Webb (Leslie Nielsen) is the local lawman who resents the district attorney, but after the sheriff kills his own black mistress, he must rely on David for his legal defense. Margaret has trouble being intimate with the man she knows is still her husband. David investigates the murder of the young black woman as his superiors, friends and family treat him differently. Although the premise is implausible, excellent acting helps make things more believable. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond St. Jacques, Susan Oliver, (more)
