Charles Stratton Movies

This adaptation of Dostoevsky's novella does an exceptional job of retaining the multi-textured richness of the original story about the intimate thoughts of an anonymous lonely building inspector known only as the Underground Man. Everything about the misanthropic civil servant is dull and unpleasant. His job is boring and his only joy comes in using bureaucracy to spitefully torment contractors and architects who despise him. Realizing that he has no friends, the Underground Man does try to ingratiate himself with acquaintances and only ends up even more lonely and bitter. It does not help that he believes himself intellectually superior to those he encounters. He gets involved with a prostitute, Liza, whom he sees at a local brothel. His relationship with her is as complex as he is. On one hand he inflicts his seething rage and the pain of his isolation upon her; on the other, he cares about her and wants to help her escape her sordid situation. He decides to take her to his home, but once she is there, he finds that he is unable to overcome his misanthropy and ends up making her even more miserable. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

As indicated by the title, this made-for-TV movie charts the rise and fall of Olympic figure skater Tai Babilonia. Partnered since childhood with Randy Gardner, Tai skated her way to the 1979 World Championship. Her hopes for Olympics success in 1980 are scuttled when her partner Gardner suffers a groin injury and is unable to compete. Tai responds to this disappointment by descending into drug abuse, culminating in an attempted suicide. The plucky skater recovers from all this, and the film ends on a hopeful note. On This Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story stars Rachel Crawford as Tai and Charlie Stratton as Randy, but that's the real Babilonia and Gardner recreating their classic routines in the long shots. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Offering an updated take on William Golding's Lord of the Flies, complete with anti-fascist metaphors, this drama is set at a summer camp where the kids rise up against their counselors and start running things themselves. It is based on a novel by William Butler, The Butterfly Revolution. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide