John Ryan Movies

A man of faith finds his responsibilities changing with the world around him as he struggles to keep up in this low-key drama. Father John McNamee (David Morse) is a Catholic priest who presides over the St. Malachy parish in north Philadelphia. Over the years, the neighborhood surrounding St. Malachy has undergone a gradual but dramatic transformation, as "white flight" has turned the community from a racially mixed working-class neighborhood into an economically depressed African-American ghetto. With these changes, Father McNamee has seen his responsibility change from overseeing his flock's spiritual needs to helping to feed and clothe the needy and homeless who live around him. Overworked and understaffed, Father McNamee is beginning to fray under the pressure of his responsibilities; he lacks the energy and the resources to do as much as he thinks should be done for the community, he has no time for himself, and he believes that his parishioners see him as a sad and lonely man with little to look forward to. In time, Father McNamee has to look deep inside himself to find the strength and faith to continue his mission. Diary of a City Priest was directed by Eugene Martin, who previously examined life in inner-city Philadelphia (his hometown) in his feature Edge City. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Espionage, personal integrity, and political commitment are the main themes running through this French thriller that chronicles a young man's journey from idealism to disillusionment and maturity. The story is set in the 1980's in Tel Aviv and follows the exploits and moral conflicts of Attal, a Jew who left his family in France on his eighteenth birthday to pursue a career as an agent in Israels' Institute for Intelligence, the Mossad. At first, his missions do not bother his conscience; he performs them for the good of Israel. But, as time passes, Attal must face more moral dilemmas as the work becomes more subversive and dishonest. He must ultimately decide whether to follow the his personal ideals, or be part of a system which promote immoral acts in the name of idealism. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This ambitious Disney movie uses a remarkable screenplay from Steven L. Bloom and Robert Rodat to tell a rollicking tale of America's transition from a close-to-the-land culture of mythic heroes to a corporate world of real estate tycoons. The strong theme about the decline of folk culture is expressed through a series of high octane adventures experienced by 12-year-old Daniel Hackett (Nick Stahl) at the dawn of the 20th century. Daniel's father, Jonas Hackett (Stephen Lang), runs a farm in a place called Paradise Valley, but his land is coveted by a greedy developer, J.P. Stiles (Scott Glenn). Daniel looks longingly at postcards of New York City while growing increasingly skeptical of his father's tales of legendary folk heroes. Then, through a series of incredible adventures, Daniel meets up with the legends that his father has spoken about -- cowboy Pecos Bill (Patrick Swayze), lumberjack Paul Bunyan (Oliver Platt), and finally, ex-slave and strongman John Henry (Roger Aaron Brown). Each of these heroes hooks up with Daniel and becomes involved in an increasingly bitter and boisterous fight against Stiles, whose plans to buy up land threaten the very strength of the folk heroes and the well-being of the common people. Pecos Bill has a horse named Widowmaker and can lasso a tornado. The giant Bunyan is accompanied by his famous blue ox, Babe. At one point, another legend, the cowgirl Calamity Jane (Catherine O'Hara), joins in the adventures. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

In this retelling of Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale, Young Goodman Brown (Tom Shell) is out in the woods one day when he encounters the Devil (John P. Ryan) himself, along with some members of his retinue, who offers him a lot of attractive powers over the dullards of his Puritan town. Except for having lots of stilted language in the dialog, reviewers found it difficult to believe that this film's story had anything to do with the one it is allegedly based on. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This stylish animated adventure is based on the '90s animated television series, which in turn is based on the original comics and Tim Burton's live action "Batman" films. Unlike the campy 1960s version of Batman, this version is half-mad from the superhero's obsession with justice. It is only his unusual sense of ethics that keeps him from becoming a full-blown psychotic. The story describes the origins of Batman as it follows the Dark Knight's attempts to capture the elusive, deadly Phantasm who kills a crime lord and makes it look as if Batman did it, causing a media smear campaign against the Caped Crusader. At the same time, millionaire Bruce Wayne holds a party at his mansion. There he meets Councilman Arthur Reeves, the man behind the accusations. Reeves derides playboy Wayne for allowing his college sweetheart Andrea Beaumont to leave him. Suddenly Wayne flashes back to his pre-Batman days. He remembers how he met her while visiting his parents' graves to renew his vow that he would spend his life fighting crime to avenge their wrongful deaths. He has already devised an early version of his alter-ego Batman, but that is nearly forgotten when he falls in love with Andrea. The story then jumps from past to present and back as the mysterious Phantasm strikes again. Batman continues his investigation and discovers a disturbing link between Andrea, who suddenly shows up after many years absence, and the villain. Meanwhile, the Phantasm, feeling that Batman is too close to learning his/her identity hires the Joker to kill him. But the Joker has his own agenda and much action ensues before the mystery of the Phantasm identity is solved, Batman clears his name, and justice is served. This film was originally made to go straight to video, Warner's studio liked it enough to release it theatrically. Some of the violence may be inappropriate for very young children. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this psychological drama, a mentally ill TV addict who wants to be as happy as the stars he sees on TV attempts to kill himself after his favorite show is canceled. He is saved by the enigmatic Sam Bones who offers to make him a TV star. But he will only do so if the despondent man is willing to pay the price. The disturbed viewer agrees, but things do not come out like he had planned. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this actioner, a Middle-Eastern leader is threatening to detonate a nuclear bomb that he has planted in Miami and now a crack team of American and Russian soldiers must somehow stop him. This entry in the series is the first made without its original star, Chuck Norris. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This made-for-TV western stars Rick Schroder as a hotheaded cowboy who guns down the man responsible for the death of his parents. On the run from his victim's powerful father, Schroder is sheltered by old codger Wilford Brimley. Brimley seems to be operating out of friendship, but his reason for keeping Schroder alive is deliberately obscured until close to the end. Blood River was written by John Carpenter, a name usually associated with science fiction and horror. Though set in the Wild West, the film was lensed in Alberta and British Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this blend of fantasy and romantic comedy, a man isn't sure if he's stuck between past and present or if his imagination is simply working overtime. Edward (Jon Voight) is a prince in Medieval Europe, where his greatest rival is his brother Roni (Armand Assante). Roni wants to declare war on neighboring kingdoms, while Edward believes in keeping the peace, and both are in love with a beautiful gypsy named Dahlin (Eileen Davidson); only the frequent intervention of their father, the King (Wilford Brimley), keeps the two from killing each other. Or at least that's how it seems until Edward wakes up. It seems that his name is really James, he's the host of a talk show in Los Angeles, and he keeps having a recurring dream in which he and his co-workers are characters in a tale of knights in shining armor. Eric, his boss, looks just like the King, and Roni is a dead ringer for Sean, a high-powered businessman who is organizing a hostile takeover of James' company. However, things really start to get interesting for James when he meets Valerie, who is directing a television commercial at James' studio. She bears a striking resemblance to Dahlin the gypsy girl, and James can't help but tell her that she's the girl of his dreams. But are they really dreams, or memories of a past life? Eternity was Jon Voight's first film in three years; he also co-wrote the screenplay with director Steven Paul and Dorothy Koster Paul. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Mark L. Lester's follow-up film to his Class of 1984 is a rancidly violent peek at a near-future high school world of terror -- The Jetsons meet The Terminator. In Lester's world, total anarchy rules (at least in Seattle). Classrooms are sinkholes of violence, and around the kill-zone high schools "Free Fire Zones" are set up that look like re-creations of Dachau. Rival youth gangs roam these areas with enough artillery for a second Vietnam War. The gangs' insane violence is exacerbated by a drug called Edge. When the Department of Educational Defense needs to supply new teachers, they look to a secret government agency headed by Dr. Bob Forrest (Stacy Keach) who sends new teaching recruits (Pam Grier, John P. Ryan, Joshua Miller) to the beleaguered high school. These novice teachers are not your ordinary teaching-college graduates, however. They are "tactical education units" -- cyborgs reprogrammed to teach readin' and writin' and 'rithmetic. If the students don't learn their daily assignments, they learn an even bigger lesson -- learn or die. The strict disciplinarian robots compel the student gangs to unite and fight the new educational menace. Under the leadership of Cody Culp (Bradley Gregg), who has just gotten out of reform school and has seen that there is more to life than killin' and cuttin' and Edge, the punks take up arms against the cyborgs who are invading their high-school turf. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Tony Church (Burt Reynolds) is a Chicago detective who loses his job when he is blamed for the deaths of his fellow officers gunned down in a botched drug bust. He becomes a bodyguard to hooker Della Roberts (Liza Minnelli), the lone witness who can identify the killer (James Remar). Bernie Casey is Church's ill-fated partner Lamar, and Dionne Warwick appears briefly as the head of a call-girl ring in this unremarkable feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

The first feature film from director Phil Joanou (State of Grace), Three O' Clock High chronicles a high school nerd's much hyped after-school bout with the infamous class bully. When the impish Jerry Mitchell (Casey Siemaszko) is assigned to interview the new transfer student with a supposedly violent past, Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson), he makes the fatal mistake of touching his subject. Revell, who hates being touched, responds by challenging the unwilling Mitchell to a fight at three o'clock in the parking lot. Spanning the course of the school day, the film follows the disaster-bound Mitchell as he soils his good-boy image through various misguided attempts at averting the fight. Also making noteworthy appearances in the film are Jeffrey Tambor and Philip Baker Hall. ~ Rachel Deahl, Rovi

Rita Rizzoli (Whoopi Goldberg) is a crusading narcotics cop assigned to track down the source of some killer crack cocaine in this pretentious and preachy anti-drug crime drama. Rita poses as a prostitute and is soon hot after two small-time hoods (Brad Dourif and Mike Jolly) who murder their way up the drug-dealing ladder in hopes of becoming kingpins. Cheech Marin and Catherine Blore provide interesting cameos in this feature that co-stars Ruben Blades and Sam Elliott. Contains stereotypical characters and gratuitous violence. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi