Domini Blythe Movies

The made-for-TV Deadly Appearances was originally telecast over Canada's CTV on April 23, 2000, as part of the off-and-on cop series Criminal Instincts. Based on the first of Gail Bowen's Joanne Kilbourn mystery novels, the film stars Wendy Crewson as Kilbourn, a former police detective who dabbles in crimesolving whenever one of her friends or family members is involved. On this occasion, Joanne tries to determine if her longtime chum, philandering political candidate Andy Boychuk (Robert Hays) was the murderer of a young woman. Although the original novel included a subplot about a homosexual love triangle, the film dispensed with this complication. Deadly Appearances made its first TV appearance in the United States on June 5, 2001, courtesy of the Lifetime cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Armistead Maupin calls the three-story wooden house at 28 Barbary Lane in San Francisco "my homestead, my Tara." He began his portrait of Barbary Lane life during the '70s in a daily newspaper serial, expanding the material into a series of six novels. PBS aired the original TV miniseries in 1994, but threats and pressures prompted PBS to drop their plans for a follow-up, leaving an unresolved cliffhanger for four years. Several members of the original PBS cast were reunited for this six-part Showtime sequel (adapted from Maupin's second novel in the series), set in San Francisco of 1977. It picks up the threads of the story six weeks after the point where the PBS miniseries ended. When Mary Ann Singleton (Laura Linney), hoping for romance, and her cynical gay friend Michael (Paul Hopkins) take a Mexican cruise, Mary Ann meets amnesia victim Burke Andrew (Colin Ferguson) and Michael runs into his former lover, Dr. Jon Fielding (William Campbell). Michael's roommate Mona Ramsey (Nina Siemaszko), in a purple haze of pot and angel dust, answers phones at a Reno brothel owned by Mother Mucca (Jackie Burroughs). Mona learns about her lineage and also about Anna Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis), the former Mr. Madrigal. Rich widow Frannie (Diana LeBlanc) finds a cure for her depression at the rural resort Pinus, where society ladies celebrate their 60th birthdays with youthful houseboys. Beauchamp Day (Thomas Gibson) is married to Frannie's pregnant daughter DeDe (Barbara Garrick), but Beauchamp isn't the father. Locations include San Francisco, Montreal (substituting for some areas of San Francisco), and Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Premiered June 7, 1998 on Showtime. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Set in the years before World War I, this film is about Robert, a young man growing up in a wealthy family in Toronto who is burdened by a distant, cool mother and a father dedicated to duty, both highly conservative people. When Robert loses his beloved invalid sister in a car accident he is further tormented by the family's decision to kill her pet rabbits - and quarrels with them so intensely that he enlists in the army and goes off to war. Once "over there," he discovers brothels and romance, and in a climactic scene, decides to free a barn full of horses from certain death - in spite of contrary orders from his superiors. The juxtaposition of Robert's internal conflict and the external horrors of combat may have been intended to illustrate the nature of "war," although that is difficult to surmise since the evidence in the film is not that strong. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Though not as widely known as Hammer's popular Dracula and Frankenstein series, this is one of the studio's more stylish and intelligent projects. The tale is set in 17th century Serbia in the tiny burg of Stettel, whose residents live in fear of an encroaching plague. The frightened villagers welcome the arrival of a colorful traveling troupe dubbed "Circus of Nights," unaware that the visiting entertainers pose a far more deadly threat: the entire company is composed of shape-shifting vampires capable of transforming themselves into animals to stalk their prey. The group's leader, the most powerful monster of the bunch, has returned to the village to exact revenge on those who murdered his cousin one hundred years earlier. Less a standard Hammer monster melodrama than a surreal journey through dark fantasy (reminiscent of Jean Rollin's erotic vampire series), with an unexpected (but not entirely inappropriate) surplus of nudity and bloodletting. The film's creepy highlights include the chilling extended prologue and scenes of vampire trapeze performers transforming into bats in mid-leap. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide