Mark L. Taylor Movies
Kenny Ortega's High School Musical 2 reunites the cast from the hit made-for-Disney Channel original to tell another story in the lives of the musically inclined students attending East Side High. The sequel takes place primarily at the Lava Springs Country Club, an exclusive summer resort that hires Wildcat basketball hero Troy Bolton (Zac Efron), his genius girlfriend Gabriella Montez (anessa Hudgens), and their two best friends. The parents of scheming Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) own the resort, and she wields her remarkable power in an attempt to win Troy away from Gabriella. Eventually Troy must decide between a bright future with a scholarship, or true love. High School Musical 2 premiered on the cable outlook on August 17, 2007. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, (more)
- 2005
When Mama Solis succumbs to her injuries, everyone from Wisteria Lane attends the funeral. Andrew Van De Kamp (Shawn Pyfrom) continues to act up, and his parents consider sending him to a juvenile disciplinary camp. Lynette (Felicity Huffman) makes friends with Alisa Stevens (Marlee Martin), whose children attend the same school as Lynette's boys, but friendship can be a fragile thing when lips are loose. And the bond formed between Susan (Teri Hatcher) and Edie (Nicollette Sheridan) in the previous episode is sorely tested when the two ladies again find themselves vying for the attentions of the same man -- in this case, contractor Bill Cunningham (Rick Ravanello). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Lesley Ann Warren makes her first appearance as Sophie Bremmer, who descends upon her daughter, Susan (Teri Hatcher), after calling it quits with her current boyfriend, Morty (Bob Newhart). Elsewhere, Bree (Marcia Cross) enrages Lynette (Felicity Huffman) when she disciplines Lynette's incorrigible son Porter. Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom) has another shocking surprise for his parents. And Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) fiddles with his prenuptial contract while wife Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) burns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Fourteen-year-old Eddie Ogden (Taylor Ball) is the best player on his baseball team. He also happens to be a natural-born chef, and it is this peculiar talent that opens him up for ridicule, not only from his fellow players, but also from the team's coach, who happens to be Eddie's father (Mark L. Taylor). After enduring such jibes as "Will he trade his baseball mitt for an oven mitt," poor Eddie is in for even more verbal abuse when he enters a prestigious cooking contest -- on the same day as the championship ballgame. Our hero's story is paralleled with that of a young girl who is being forced by her mother to try out for the cheerleading squad, even though the girl would rather play baseball. Real-life master chef Bobby Flay appears as himself in the New Zealand-filmed Eddie's Million-Dollar Cookoff, which made its Disney Channel debut on July 18, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Taylor Ball, Mark L. Taylor, (more)
- 1999
In this outdoor adventure, two close friends whose lives are moving in different directions decide to take one last vacation together and head out for the slopes for a few thrilling weeks of snowboarding. The Last Ride stars Mark Taylor, Todd Malta, and Anne Lockhart. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Todd Malta, Mark L. Taylor, (more)
Many a lovesick young man has threatened to camp out by a girl's front door, but one guy actually tries it in this alternately sweet and tasteless romantic comedy. Peter (Josh Schaefer) is a good-natured but socially inept young man who is madly in love with Erica (Keri Russell), the sweet and devastatingly sexy girl next door. Peter desperately wants Erica as his girlfriend, even though she already has a boyfriend, the large and humorless Nick (Johnny Green). Eager to prove himself, Peter takes up the advice of Nonno (Buck Kartalian), his batty grandfather, and literally camps out on her front lawn, willing to wait out the entire summer until she gives him a chance to prove that he can be the man of her dreams. Meanwhile, Peter is frequently kept company by his buddy Matt (R.D. Robb), who has learned how to deal with his sexual tensions through the use of fresh fruit, while Peter's dad (Mark Taylor) is convinced that his son has gone nuts and won't allow him back in the house, even for a change of clothes. While it won the Audience Award at the 1997 Slamdance Film Festival, Eight Days a Week didn't receive much commercial exposure until its release on video, after Keri Russell had made a splash on the acclaimed TV series Felicity. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Schaefer, Keri Russell, (more)
- 1996
First telecast August 29, 1996, "Rage's Burning Wheel" served to introduce "apocalyptist" villain Ezekial Rage to The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (voiced by both David Ackroyd and Michael Bell, who took over the role). Hijacking a space capsule, Rage intends to use the vehicle to destroy the earth's ozone layer. Fortunately for mankind, Dr. Quest and Hadji are on board the capsule, and they are able to communicate their plight to Jonny and Jessie back on earth. There's still more danger ahead in the form of Rage's fanatical disciples, who have overrun Questworld's Mission Control. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- J.D. Roth, George Segal, (more)
An honest cop stands in the face of the corruption of his peers in this thriller. Jack Flinder is a police detective who loves his work. Jack and his partner Art are chasing an arsonist. Their investigation reveals a shocking conspiracy. Art is subsequently murdered in front of his girlfriend Lisa who then joins forces with Jack to expose the conspiracy which will in turn expose people in highest echelons of the police force. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Zane, Louis Gossett, Jr., (more)
Some teen girls take to the road in this made-for-cable remake of the 1956 original. Set in 1957, three guy-crazy friends take to the road in a stolen car, trying to track down one of their ex-lovers before he goes off into the Navy. The film is part of Showtime's "Rebel Highways" series of remakes. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Rudd, Julie Bowen, (more)
- 1994
Real-life father and son Lloyd and Beau Bridges star in the tense modern melodrama Secret Sins of the Father. Nebraska farmer Louis Thielman (Lloyd) is charged with murder of his wife. Making the charge is Louis's son Tom (Beau), the town sheriff. Though the evidence points to Louis, there are those who believe that Tom is pursuing a vendetta rather than justice. For starters, Louis has been carrying on an affair with Lisa Carson, Tom's ex-lover. Despite the film's docudrama approach, this one isn't based on a true story. Beau Bridges doubled as director for this made-for-TV drama, which debuted January 9, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Bridges, Beau Bridges, (more)
- 1993
- G
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Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, Disney's 1993 remake of the 1963 hit The Incredible Journey, follows three household pets as they travel across mountains and plains on their way to find their owners. A misunderstanding leads the animals to mistakenly believe that they have been abandoned by their loved ones, when in reality they have been left in the care of a friend while the family has moved from the country to the city for the father to take a temporary assignment . All three pets--a golden retriever (Don Ameche), a cat (Sally Field), and a bulldog puppy (Michael J. Fox)--can talk, and they bicker and crack jokes as they set off on a truly incredible journey chock full of misadventures as they wend their way back to their owners. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hays, Kim Greist, (more)
- 1991
After English professor Charles Lattimore (Pierce Brosnan) assigns his class to plot the perfect murder, he finds himself the prime suspect in a police investigation after a student and another faculty member wind up dead. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierce Brosnan, Dey Young, (more)
Referring to the fear of spiders, Arachnophobia features a particularly deadly species of spider that manages to make its way from the Venezuelan rain forest to a small California town, thanks to the many oversights of entomologist Julian Sands. Yuppie doctor Jeff Daniels, fed up with the dangers inherent in big-city living, has resettled in this town on the assumption that nothing untoward could ever happen here to himself and his family. Before long, however, Daniels is trying to make sense of a series of sudden deaths-and to figure out why each of the corpses has been drained of blood. The audience, of course, knows that the culprits are those pesky South American spiders, which grow larger with each kill. To make matters worse, Jeff Daniels suffers from a profound case of arachnophobia. John Goodman supports the cast as a slovenly exterminator, and Frank Marshall, longtime producer of Steven Spielberg's films, makes his directorial debut in Arachnophobia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Daniels, Harley Jane Kozak, (more)
- 1990
No sooner has Al (Ed O'Neill) cancelled the family's car insurance than newly-licensed driver Bud (David Faustino) has an accident in the Bundymobile. Bud's story is that the driver of the Mercedes hit him, and the family intends to back him up by appearing in court with a variety of highly suspicious-looking injuries (sister Kelly arrives with a white cane and seeing eye dog). Ultimately, however, the truth comes out, thanks to unwilling witness Marcy. Psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers) appears as the judge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Two almost-identical bank robberies have resulted in two deaths--and Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) have nary a clue. Gradually, Hunter deduces that there had been an "inside" man at each bank. As it turns out, a beautiful but deadly female criminal (Leslie Bevis), using multiple aliases, has been seducing bank managers into becoming her unwitting accomplices--a fact that comes crashing down upon one of the unfortunate managers, who intends to take the law into his own hands! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Michael Landon produced, directed and wrote the 1990 TV movie Where Pigeons Go to Die. Landon also narrated the story as the adult counterpart of young protagonist Robert Hy Gorman. When Landon returns to his grandfather's house with the intention of selling it, he flashes back 40 years and recalls his warm relationship with his "Da", played by Art Carney. The central bonding activity between grandfather and grandson is the raising and training of homing pigeons--an activity that teaches the boy any number of life lessons about triumph, disappointment and respecting the interests of others. Star Art Carney himself assessed Where Pigeons Go to Die thusly: "Maybe it's corn. But there's nothing wrong with good corn." The film was adapted from a novel by R. Wright Campbell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
This final episode of Moonlighting finds Bert (Curtis Armstrong) and Agnes (Allyce Beasley) getting married, just as David (Bruce Willis) is breaking up with Annie (Virginia Madsen), the cousin of his partner and former lover Maddie (Cybill Shepherd). At the same time, the Blue Moon Detective Agency closes its doors, whereupon ABC network executive Walter Whitebread (Mark L. Taylor) solemnly begins dismantling the set. An eleventh-hour effort to save the Agency--and the series--is foiled by the demographic evidence supplied by big-time Hollywood producer Cy (played by Dennis Dugan, billed under his Moonlighting character name of Walter Bishop). Even worse--the Anselmo Case (you remember the Anselmo Case) may never be solved! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Responding from a call from the Sheliak Corporate, the Enterprise crew is confronted by hostile Sheliaks at the Tau Cygna Five earth colony. Citing an old treaty, the Sheliaks demand that the human colonists evacuate the planet within four days or face total annihilation. It is up to Data to persuade the intractable colonists to leave...all 15,000 of them. Originally telecast October 7, 1989, "The Ensigns of Command" was written by Melinda M. Snodgrass. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Erstwhile inventor Rick Moranis has been experimenting with an electro-magnetic shrinking machine. He leaves the device unattended in his attic; shortly afterward, it is accidentally activated. Alas, the demon machine is aimed at Moranis' children, as well as the son of neighbor Matt Frewer. The kids, shrunk to 1/4-inch height, are tossed into the trash bin by the unwitting Moranis. For the rest of the film, our teeny-tiny protagonists attempt to gain their parents' attention--and to survive the wilds of the backyard, where all sorts of dangers, from bumblebees to lawnmowers, threaten their well-being. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids features Marcia Strassman as Moranis' wife, and juvenile players Robert Oliveri, Kristine Sutherland, Thomas Brown, Jared Rushton and Amy O'Neill. The visual effects are the handiwork of such masters as Joe Johnston, Phil Tippett, and David Allen. When originally released to theatres, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was double-billed with the "Roger Rabbit" cartoon Tummy Trouble; this is how it is presented on videotape as well. The film (the live-action one, that is) prompted a 1992 sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, (more)
The bittersweet comedy Memories of Me stars Billy Crystal as Dr. Abbie Polin, a New York heart surgeon, long estranged from his father, Abe (Alan King). When the doctor suffers a mild heart attack, he tries to patch things up with his dad, hoping in this way to bring some equilibrium to his own life. This proves well-nigh impossible; Abe, the self-described "king of the Hollywood extras," is not only a play-actor in Tinseltown but in life itself, refusing to take on any real responsibilities, least of all the responsibility of parenthood. So far as Abe is concerned, his only "family" consists of his fellow extras. Though Abbie is extremely judgmental of his father, he himself is no prize in the commitment department, especially when dealing with his longtime lady friend (JoBeth Williams). Star/co-writer Crystal, co-star/co-producer King, and director Henry Winkler lay on the sentiment in thick, juicy slices toward the end. The final sequence in Memories of Me, a Felliniesque funeral, is very clever but somewhat out of synch with what has gone before. One of the film's highlights is a brief celebrity cameo by one of Alan King's "close personal friends." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Crystal, Alan King, (more)
Director Joe Dante infuses this science fiction comedy with the visual razzle-dazzle and manic, goofball performances typical of his cartoon-inspired sensibilities. Navy test pilot Lt. Tuck Pendleton (Dennis Quaid) has volunteered for a highly dangerous medical experiment. A submersible craft, with Tuck at the controls, is to be shrunk down to molecular size and inserted into the body of a living rabbit. If successful, the test could result in radical breakthroughs in surgical techniques, but some high-tech thieves attempt to steal Tuck and his ship while both are in miniature form. Enter Jack Putter (Martin Short), a mild-mannered, hypochondriac retail store clerk, a nerd who suddenly finds himself injected with Tuck and his tiny ship. Now poor Jack's got to rise above his mundane existence to help an American hero get back to safety, while also trying to reunite Tuck with his beautiful estranged girlfriend Lydia (Meg Ryan). Innerspace (1987) won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, (more)
Richard "Cheech" Marin, of Cheech & Chong fame, directed and starred in Born in East L.A.. Inspired by Marin's music-video parody of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA", the film casts Cheech as an East Los Angeles repairman. While paying a visit to a sweatshop toy factory, Cheech is caught in the middle when the feds raid the place and cart off all the illegal alien workers. Since he's forgotten to bring his own i.d., Cheech is also shipped off to Mexico-where, having next to no knowledge of the Spanish tongue, he's virtually helpless. Desperate, he takes a job with crooked Tijuana saloon owner Daniel Stern-the first of many "make-do" jobs that he assumes to earn enough money to return home. Along the way, he falls in love with El Salvadorian girl Kamala Lopez, whose English is as fractured as Cheech's Spanish. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, (more)
- 1986
- R
This comedy is set in Hollywood in 1961, where a group of young men join the National Guard in an attempt to escape Vietnam. The men basically do nothing while on supposed weekend duty until they get a visit from the Army, which threatens to ship them out on active duty unless they shape up. Their solution is to hire a troupe of actors to portray convincing soldiers, put on a stage show to impress the Army officers, and make sure that enough winsome nurses are around to satisfy the proverbial lecherous tendencies of a certain colonel. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Lemmon, Vic Tayback, (more)
- 1986
While Harry (Harry Anderson) takes a night off, his replacement is the much-older Judge Robert Hirsch (Jeff Corey). This turns out to be a calamitous substitution: though Harry may be eccentric, Judge Hirsch proves to be downright certifiable. Before the night is over, the half-baked Hirsch has jailed public defender Christine (Markie Post) and prosecutor Dan (John Larroquette)--and replaced them with court matron Florence (Florence Halop) and resident derelict Phil (William Utay)! Future Evening Shade regular Michael Jeter shows up in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
