Michael Rhoades Movies

The mysterious and unexpected death of an iconic Hollywood star may be just the tip of an iceberg of scandal in this showbiz drama based on a true story. George Reeves (played by Ben Affleck) was a journeyman actor who had played a small role in Gone With the Wind and appeared onscreen with the likes of James Cagney, Rita Hayworth, and Marlene Dietrich, but his career was not exactly booming when he was cast as comic-book hero Superman in a 1951 B-movie, Superman and the Mole Men. A year later, the producers of the movie launched a syndicated Superman television series with Reeves returning as "The Man of Steel." The show became a major hit, and Reeves was a star at last. However, on June 16, 1959, to the shock of many, Reeves was found dead of a gunshot wound. Police soon declared Reeves' death a suicide and closed the case, but his mother (Lois Smith) refused to believe her son took his own life, and hired Louis Simo (Adrien Brody), a private detective, to find out the truth about her son's passing. Simo found that many Hollywood insiders did not care to cooperate as he researched the Reeves case, but his digging uncovered plenty of evidence suggesting the actor did not take his own life, and he also revealed one of Reeves' deepest secrets -- while he was engaged to marry a pretty young starlet, Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney), Reeves was also carrying on an affair with the beautiful Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), the wife of Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins), a powerful and ill-tempered executive at MGM. While the producers of Hollywoodland based their story on factual accounts of the investigation into the death of George Reeves, they were denied permission to use the Superman logo and the familiar introduction to the Adventures of Superman television show by the respective copyright holders. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Evidently inspired by the 1958 theatrical feature It! The Terror From Beyond Space (which, of course, was also the basis for the 1979 thriller Alien), this made-for-cable melodrama begins as the crew of the space shuttle Oklahoma returns to earth after a routine mission. Unbeknownst to them, they have also brought back an alien "guest" in the form of seeds which blossom into insectoid life-forms, infiltrating human bodies to complete their evolution. At first, the victims of these aliens think they've merely broken out in blisters, but they soon learn differently -- to their unutterable horror. Racing against the clock, the Oklahoma's chief medical officer "Geronimo" Horne (Nicholas Lea) works in concert with his colleague Thaddeus Owens (Anthony Sherwood) and entimologist Savannah Bailey (Jamie Luner) to stem the alien invasion before the rapidly proliferating creatures reach the "threshold" amount -- at which point they will be impossible to control. Threshold debuted April 19, 2003, on the Sci-Fi Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a true story, the made-for-TV God's New Plan essentially begins at the end, as Ellen Young (Katey Sagal) prepares to die from cancer. While Ellen is more or less resigned to her fate, she worries about what will happen afterward to her husband Brian (Tom Irwin) and her children. Luckily, Ellen has become close to Claire Hutton (Annabeth Gish), the nurse hired to care for Ellen's premature infant. Even from the grave, Ellen seems to be pulling the strings of the situation, as Claire slowly, cautiously falls in love with the grieving Tom, and vice versa. Ultimately it falls to the children to stage-manage the happy ending. Blessed with a marvelously feeling of time and place, not to mention the superlative performances by the principal players, God's New Plan debuted February 16, 1999, and has since become a fixture of cable TV under the title No Higher Love. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of the most controversial (and widely-reported) stories of the early 1990s is vividly dramatized in this made-for-cable movie. In 1992, Allen Schindler, a navy sailor serving on the USS Belleau Wood, is savagely beaten to death while on leave in Japan. Allen's grieving mother Dorothy Hajdys-Holman (Bonnie Bedelia) becomes even more distraught when the representatives of the United States Navy refuse to provide her with full details on her son's murder. Then comes the ultimate shock: A newspaper reporter informs Dorothy that her son was gay, and that this might have been the reason he was killed. But if the Navy has anything to say about it, the entire matter will be swept under the rug, with Dorothy remaining as much in the dark as the rest of the world: A deal has already been cut with one of Allen's killers, who after a secret court-martial is given what amounts to a legal slap on the wrist. Radicalized by the incident and its aftermath, Dorothy joins forces with a crusading journalist to force the Navy to reveal the whole truth--and she isn't about to let the court-martial of Allen's other assailant to be conducted behind closed doors! The upshot of this high-profile case was the creation of the Service Members' Legal Defense Network, assuring that no branch of the armed services would ever again be able to conspire to cover up a major crime. Its title selected by the real-life Dorothy Hajdys-Holman, who served as the film's technical advisor (not surprisingly, the Navy refused to cooperate at all), Any Mother's Son made its Lifetime cable network debut on August 11, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This arty Canadian drama centers on a young Vietnamese woman who marries a petty thief she does not love so she can emigrate to Canada. The rest of her family moves there too, but none of them find a particularly happy life, though Lucky, Lulu's husband, would do anything to insure his wife's happiness, even if it is self-destructive. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Family Pictures is a two-part TV adaptation of the Sue Miller novel of the same name. Anjelica Huston and Sam Neill are Lainey and David Eberlin, a 1950s married couple with six children, one of whom, Randall (Jamie Harrold), is autistic. The parents' initial decision not to institutionalize the boy results in a terrific strain on the rest of the family, until finally only Lainey is willing to shoulder the responsibility of raising Randall. The second half of Family Pictures, related from the vantage point of the 1980s by the Eberlins' oldest daughter (Kyra Sedgwick), details the effect that Randall's inevitable institutionalization had on the family. This anecdotal four-hour drama first aired on March 21 and 22, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Bonds of Love in this made-for-TV drama are those forged between divorcee Kelly McGillis and mentally disabled Treat Williams. What begins as a friendship between two lost souls blossoms into a deep and genuine romance. Their wedding plans are challenged by his mother (Grace Zabriskie) and father (Hal Holbrook)-who are not depicted as villains but merely well-meaning and overprotective (only Williams' brother, played by Steve Railsback, comes off in negative terms). Based on a true story, Bonds of Love is set in Kansas (though it was lensed in Ontario). The film premiered January 24, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In F/X 2: The Deadly Art of Illusion, Bryan Brown returns as movie special-effects designer Rollie Tyler. Having barely escaped with his life after being duped and exploited by the villains in the first F/X, he isn't too eager to channel his talents into police work again. He'd much rather design harmless playthings for the kiddies. Still, detective Mike Brandon (Tom Mason) manages to convince Rollie to help the cops trap a dangerous voyeur. When Brandon is killed, Rollie suspects there's more to the story than meets the eye. With the aid of his old buddy Leo McCarthy (Brian Dennehy, likewise a veteran of the first F/X), Rollie uncovers a vast conspiracy involving both the police and organized crime. Of course, this compels Rollie to come up with a series of dazzling live-action special effects to confound the bad guys. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This sequel to the rock & roll mystery Eddie and the Cruisers explains many of the questions concerning the mysterious death of 1960s rocker Eddie Wilson, who with his Cruisers was celebrating the success of their first album when he got in a terrible car wreck, from which his body was never recovered. Also missing were the masters from the group's upcoming second album. This story begins 25-years later as Eddie Wilson is found living in Montreal under an assumed name. At this time, the masters from the second album are finally released and suddenly the whole continent is caught up in a resurgence of "Eddiemania." This inspires Wilson, who continues to use an alias, to form a new band and hit the road. Once again, his music is provided by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi