Donovan Scott Movies

Kim Coles returns as "Dr. Mary" Thomas, the sassy radio-advice-show rival of Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer). When Mary and Frasier are assigned to co-host Seattle's Christmas Parade, Frasier is none too happy about it -- especially since Mary had started out as his temporary employee and ended up as his chief competition. Even worse, the public clearly "loves" Dr. Mary more than Dr. Crane, a fact that leads to an uncharacteristic stream of over-the-air venom from Frasier just at a time when his audience was primed for a bit of Yuletide warmth and cheer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The final installment in the Back to the Future trilogy picks up where the second film left off, but it casts off the dizzying time travel of the first two films for mostly routine comedy set in the Old West. Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) receives a 70-year-old letter from his inventor friend, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), who tells Marty that he has retreated a century in time to live out a relatively quiet life in the Old West. Doc Brown reveals that he hid his DeLorean car/time machine in an abandoned mine outside town, and when Marty does some research and discovers that the Doc died shortly after writing the letter, he decides to find the car, travel back in time, and warn the Doc about his demise. Meanwhile, the Doc, who has fallen in love with a local woman (Mary Steenburgen), realizes he can't hide in the past from the problems he has caused to the time flow in the previous two adventures. He reluctantly decides to return to the present with Marty, but first, they have to find a way to get the DeLorean up to time-travel velocity with a broken fuel line and no gasoline. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Mike Jittlov, a master of special effects who's strutted his stuff in several short films, is both the director and star of The Wizard of Speed and Time. Jittlov plays himself, an eager-beaver director who offers a reel of special effects to a TV producer. The director makes a huge bet to the producer that he, Jittlov, can expand his reel into a fantastic feature film. Unfortunately, he's out of money, so Jittlov is obliged, Rocky style, to employ friends and family for his epic. In the picture-within-a-picture, Jittlov plays a second role, as the Wizard of Speed and Time (from the movie of the same name). The producer sends out some hired goons to prevent Jittlov from finishing his job, but our hero--both of him--emerges triumphant. Adding to the Pirandellian quality of The Wizard of Speed and Time is the fact that the avaricious fictional producer is played by the film's real producer, Richard Kaye. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For his third outing as disturbed innkeeper Norman Bates, Anthony Perkins directed as well as starred in the thriller Psycho III. This time out, Norman is still manning the desk at the Bates Motel, where he now has an assistant, Duane (Jeff Fahey), and a new long-term tenant, Maureen Coyle (Diana Scarwid). Maureen has been seeing Duane and has some issues to resolve in her life; she gave up her vows as a nun not long ago, and she isn't sure just how she feels about either spiritual or earthly matters. Norman takes an interest in Maureen, which may not be good for her long-term health -- after all, the last woman with the initials "M.C." who stayed in that room (and used the shower) met with a rather nasty fate. Perkins played Norman Bates one more time, in the made-for-cable Psycho IV: The Beginning; a short-lived TV series followed, Bates Motel, in which Perkins did not participate. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Public safety takes a turn for the worse in this hit comedy, which spawned a long-running franchise. As a crime wave sweeps through a major city, the mayor decides that part of the problem may stem from overly restrictive qualifications for police officers, so she opens the door of the city's Police Academy to anyone who wants to join. Soon, the new class is overrun with misfits and losers, including Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), who is given the choice of joining the force or going to jail; Karen Thompson (Kim Cattrall), a pretty cadet whom Mahoney has his eye on; Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), a mountain of a man who likes to tend flowers; and Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow), who has an uncanny ability to imitate the sound of practically anything. Constantly befuddled Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) and his lackey, Lt. Harris (G.W. Bailey), are none too thrilled with their new charges, but as they try to wash their hands of the cadets, Mahoney and his classmates become all the more determined to make good. The surprising success of Police Academy spawned six sequels and two TV series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A delightful episode from Shelley Duvall's popular family-oriented cable television series, this version of the classic children's yarn takes an unusual twist in that poor little Goldilocks is an ill-mannered, destructive brat who turns the lives and household of three kindly bears upside down. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this spoof, Don Diego Vega (George Hamilton) follows in his father's footsteps as he dons the identity of Zorro in an attempt to defend the weak and innocent from the ravages of the evil. However, when Vega falls victim to a debilitating injury, it is up to his gay twin brother, Bunny Wigglesworth (George Hamilton), to take up the mask and sword. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

It's December of 1941, and the people of California are in varying states of unease, ranging from a sincere desire to defend the country to virtual blind panic in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thus begin several story threads that comprise the "plot" of this strange period comedy, a sort of satirical disaster movie, from Steven Spielberg. The stories and story threads involve lusty young men, officers (Tim Matheson) and civilians (Bobby Di Cicco) alike, eager to bed the young ladies of their dreams; Wild Bill Kelso, a nutty fighter pilot (John Belushi) following what he thinks is a squadron of Japanese fighters along the California coast; a well-meaning but clumsy tank crew (including John Candy) led by straight-arrow, by-the-book Sgt. Tree (Dan Aykroyd), who doesn't recognize the thug (Treat Williams) in his command; and homeowner Ward Douglas (Ned Beatty), who is eager to do his part for the nation's defense and, despite the misgivings of his wife (Lorraine Gary), doesn't mind his front yard overlooking the ocean being chosen to house a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. There is also a pair of grotesquely inept airplane spotters (Murray Hamilton, Eddie Deezen) who are doing their job from atop a ferris wheel at a beachfront amusement park; a paranoid army colonel (Warren Oates) positive that the Japanese are infiltrating from the hills; a big dance being held on behalf of servicemen, being attended by a lusty young woman of size (Wendie Jo Sperber) eager to land a man in uniform; and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell (Robert Stack), in charge of the defense of the West Coast, who can't seem to get anyone to listen to him when he says to keep calm. And, oh yes, there's also a real Japanese submarine that has gotten all the way to the California coast under the command of its captain (Toshiro Mifune) and a German officer observer (Christopher Lee), only to find itself without a working compass or usable maps. Its captain won't leave until the sub has attacked a militarily significant, honorable target, and the only one that anyone aboard ship knows of in California is Hollywood. By New Year's Eve, all of these characters are going to cross paths, directly or once-removed, in a comedy of errors and destruction strongly reminiscent of the finale to National Lampoon's Animal House (as well as several disaster movies from the same studio), but on a much larger and more impressive scale. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide