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Gene Scherer Movies

1993  
 
Stuck at a fogbound airport in New York, Murphy (Candice Bergen) is unable to attend her son Avery's first birthday party. This traumatic state of affairs sets Murphy to rethinking her purpose in life, as illustrated in a series of "flash-forwards." Meanwhile, back in DC, Avery's party yields an unexpected highlight as Barry Manilow sings "I Am Your Child" (Manilow was something of a running gag on the series, but he stops running here). This final episode of Murphy Brown's fifth season also features an appearance by future NewsRadio regular Vicki Lewis. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1988  
R  
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Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a taciturn law-enforcement officer from Russia. James Belushi co-stars as a wise-lipped Chicago cop. Though they go together like caviar and White Castles, they are forced to team up to collar the Soviet Union's most notorious drug lord. Thus does director Walter Hill recycle his 48 Hours formula for another unlikely star team. Unfortunately, Red Heat isn't half as enjoyable as the earlier film, owing to a lack of rapport between the two leading men and an overall lack of inspiration infecting the whole project. The one notable aspect of Red Heat is that it was the first commercial American film to stage scenes in Moscow's Red Square. Watch for Laurence Fishburne (still billed as "Larry") in a secondary role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Arnold SchwarzeneggerJames Belushi, (more)
 
1987  
R  
Typhoon the Baboon and his dashing human partner try to prevent Neo-Nazis from waking the frozen body of Adolph Hitler in this spy movie parody. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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Starring:
Ian HunterC.K. Bibby, (more)
 
1987  
PG  
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This children's movie is set in sunny Key West during a Fourth of July celebration. Three buddies sneak off to their secret fort and to their surprise discover a Russian sailor hiding there. He is Mischa, who with two shipmates was assigned to sneak into the town military base to steal certain computer parts. Unfortunately, a rafting accident left him stranded and alone. The boys eventually decide to help poor Mischa make it back to his home. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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Starring:
Whip HubleyLeaf Phoenix, (more)
 
1986  
 
Using the defective of a Russian ballet dancer as a subterfuge, Soviet intelligence agent Shasta Kovich (William Smith) hires the A-Team to locate and neutralize renegade Russian officer Pedavich (Gene Scherer). Aided by a group of American "Com-symps", Pedavich is planning to set off World War III a stolen satellite doomsday device. So vital is this mission that Hannibal (George Peppard) begs the assistance of his nemesis Gen. Fullbright (Jack Ging)--who agrees to help, but only if the A-Team will surrender to him once the job is done! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1985  
R  
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Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) is a brilliant medical student who has perfected a green-glowing serum for regenerating life into dead things -- or even parts of dead things. But a corrupt superior, Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale), assumes control of West's experiments and winds up, by ghastly necessity, using the stuff on his own severed head and body. West and in-over-his-head co-worker Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) struggle to control the now out-of-control effects of the serum, but the bone-saws and zombies complicate their plans. ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi

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Starring:
Jeffrey CombsBruce Abbott, (more)
 
1984  
PG13  
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Set at an indeterminate point in the future, this drama with an overt anti-communist message begins as an ostensible war movie: Russian and Cuban forces have invaded the U.S. and are viciously eliminating the inhabitants of a small town, when a group of teens escapes and plans a counterattack. Jed (Patrick Swayze), Robert (C. Thomas Howell), and six of their friends watch in amazement as soldiers parachute into their town and start shooting. The teens grab a pickup truck, stock up on supplies at the local store, and head for the hills. Meanwhile, the men in the town -- after a minimal resistance -- are rounded up and held at a drive-in theater converted into a concentration camp. The sadistic Soviet military then make them watch acclaimed Russian director Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 classic Alexander Nevsky, as their punishing rehabilitation begins. Meanwhile, after minimal resistance from the adults, a Cuban, Bella (Ron O'Neal), is put in charge and is not certain how he can really defeat the teen army. The Soviets and Cubans have so far defeated the American Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, but these teens are really something else. After a successful ambush, the teen guerrillas gear up for future forays, when they are suddenly betrayed by one of their number and by doubts about the morality of what they are doing. Red Dawn is noteworthy for being the first movie released with the PG-13 rating, created by the MPAA after public outcry over violent content in the PG-rated Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

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Starring:
Patrick SwayzeC. Thomas Howell, (more)
 
1982  
PG  
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Producer/director/star Clint Eastwood takes his sweet time getting Firefox started. Eastwood plays Mitchell Gant, a past-his-prime U.S. pilot, smuggled into the Soviet Union to steal a new Russian supersonic fighting plane. Fortunately the KGB men are as burnt out as Gant, enabling him to abscond with the plane with the greatest of ease. The rest of the film is a protracted chase, pitting Gant against scores of impersonal MIG pilots. Based on a novel by Craig Thomas. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Clint EastwoodFreddie Jones, (more)
 
1981  
R  
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Bill Murray decides to be all that he can be -- and it ain't pretty -- in this hit comedy. John Winger (Murray) is a quick-witted but unambitious loser who comes home after getting fired to discover that his car has been repossessed and his girlfriend is leaving him. With no idea of what to do next, John and his best friend Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis) impulsively join the Army, more as a practical joke than a career goal. John and Russell find themselves in basic training under the hard-nosed and impatient Sgt. Hulka (Warren Oates), who is stuck with an outfit of goofballs, including overweight Ox (John Candy), naive Cruiser (John Deihl), perpetually stoned Elmo (Judge Reinhold), and the appropriately-nicknamed Psycho (Conrad Dunn). The platoon succeeds in impressing the generals spite of themselves, and John and Russell even find time to romance two pretty female MPs, Stella (P.J. Soles) and Louise (Sean Young). However, when John and Russell commandeer a high-tech military vehicle for a European weekend getaway with the girls, they happen into Soviet territory and stumble into an international incident. Remarkably, Stripes was made with the full cooperation of the U.S. Army, despite its less-than-rosy view of the all-volunteer armed forces. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Starring:
Bill MurrayHarold Ramis, (more)
 
1978  
 
Rita Moreno makes her first series appearance as freewheeling prostitute Rita Capkovic, who is one of Dennis Becker's most reliable (but least welcome!) street informants. When Rita is attacked by a couple of shady French-speaking characters, she hires Jim (James Garner) to find out who is trying to kill her and why. The trail of clues leads to a Canadian hockey team, which in turn is linked with Rita's best friend Maggie...who turns up dead before the final fadeout. This episode earned an Emmy award for guest star Rita Moreno. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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