Brooke Theiss Movies
Patience Philips (Halle Berry) seems destined to spend her life apologizing for taking up space. Despite her artistic ability -- she has a more than respectable career as a graphic designer for Hedare Beauty, a Goliath cosmetics company -- Patience is excruciatingly shy, quick to take blame, and, not surprisingly, more than a little depressed at the end of the day. This comes to somewhat of a screeching halt when Patience not only inadvertently lands herself in the middle of a corporate conspiracy of gargantuan proportions, but on the city police force's most wanted list. Newly quipped with a mysterious feline prowess, Patience is a different person come nighttime -- more accurately, a catwoman. Elusive, untamed, powerful, stealthy, and not necessarily prone to erring on the side of good, Patience has gone from doormat to vigilante. Police officer Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt), who has fallen for shy Patience, is determined to apprehend Catwoman and figure out her role in a recent crime spree, though his fascination with her doesn't cease with the end of his shift and it threatens to lead to the downfall of himself, his investigation, and the woman who was once the timid Patience Philips. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Halle Berry, Benjamin Bratt, (more)
When a military psychiatrist falls for a general's daughter, a dark conspiracy threatens to swallow up everyone involved in this action thriller from American Ninja director Sam Firstenberg. She may be the woman of his dreams, but unfortunately for military psychiatrist Bill Turner (Michael Dudikoff), Marine sergeant Randi Stewart (Brooke Theiss) is also the daughter of General Gordon Stewart (Dan Hedaya). As Dr. Turner's relationship with his new patient begins to reach well beyond the typical doctor/patient bond, he soon discovers that she is involved in a far-stretching political conspiracy but cannot tell if she is the victim or the perpetrator. Despite his reluctance to delve deeper and find the truth about Sergeant Stewart, Turner has already gone too far, and it's only a matter of time before he too is drawn in to a conspiracy and forced to struggle for survival. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff
- 1995
Eric (Will Friedle), Cory (Ben Savage), Shawn (Rider Strong) and Topanga (Danielle Fishel) plan to spend New Year's Eve at a party. That all of them would end up stranded in a stalled subway car is the furthest thought from their minds--so guess what happens? Making matters worse (if such a thing is possible), Eric is steamed at Cory for inadvertently ruining his hot date with supermodel Rebecca-Alexa (Angela Visser). Watch for future Buffy the Vampire Slayer costar Charisma Carpenter as a caterer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
We'd rather not rehash the sordied Menendez murder case in this space; besides, it isn't necessary, inasmuch as no fewer than two TV movies were produced on the subject in 1994. The first was Fox's Honor Thy Father and Mother; the second, telecast less than a month later, was Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills. Two hours longer than the first film, Menendez spends half of its running time recounting the events leading up to the Menendez brothers' murder of the parents, while the second half devotes itself to their overpublicized trial. Lyle and Eric Menendez are played, respectively, by Damian Chapa and Travis Fine. Edward James Olmos and Beverly D'Angelo costar as the ill-fated parents, while Margaret Whitton is cast as attorney Leslie Abramson. Once past the most lurid aspects of the case-notably the Menendez boys' insistence that their crime was motivated by extreme parental abuse-this 4-hour wallow gets pretty tiresome. Menendez was originally telecast in two parts, on May 22 and 23, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward James Olmos, Beverly D'Angelo, (more)
- 1989
The made-for-TV Class Cruise is Animal House for the MENSA crowd. As a reward for their scholastic brilliance, a group of high school kids is rewarded with a 14-week ocean cruise. Not surprisingly, the snootier kids spend most of the trip fending off the idiocies of the "slobs." There's also plenty of tickle-and-tease sexual situations, few of which get past first base. So many TV regulars (including the ineluctable McLean Stevenson) appear in the cast that the original ads for this film didn't bill the actors, but instead listed the series in which they appeared. The best scenes belong to Ray Walston as grizzled, generously eyebrowed "Cappy Connors." Class Cruise first sailed into view on October 22, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
In the conclusion of a two-part episode, Jason (Alan Thicke), Carol (Tracey Gold), Mike (Kirk Cameron) and Boner (Andrew Koenig) are arrested at the sit-protest against the firing of Coach Lubbock (Bill Kirchenbauer)--and an embarassed Maggie (Joanna Kerns) is forced to cover the event for Channel 19. As for Lubbock, he is extremely upset over the pain that the protest is causing his three daughters. By episode's end, however, the situation is resolved in an unexpected but supremely logical fashion. This episode was originally telecast as the lead-in for the premiere episode of the Growing Pains spinoff Just the Ten of Us, starring Bill Kirchenbauer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Jeff Grant (River Phoenix) is a San Diego teen who discovers his father Richard (Richard Jenkins) and mother Elizabeth Grant) are KGB agents. When he applies to the Air Force Academy, a routine FBI check leads to the shocking news. Soon the suburb of Fountain Grove becomes the focus of international agents and espionage. FBI agent Roy Parmenter (Sidney Poitier) helps Jeff absorb the shock and he battles KGB agent Konstantin Karpov (Richard Bradford) in a race to capture the Soviet agents. The excellent performances from Poitier and Phoenix are the highlight of this feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, River Phoenix, (more)
- 1988
In the first episode of a two-part story, Mike and Boner attempt to casually "drop in" at the home of Coach Lubbock (Bill Kirchenbauer), the better to meet Coach's three daughters Cindy (Jamie Luner), Connie (Jo Ann Willette and Marie (Heather Langerkamp). This is how the boys find out that Lubbock will be terminated from his job when his contract runs out. Determined not to let this happen, the Seaver children organize a public protest--with unexpected results. This episode and its follow-up were intended to segue into the Growing Pains spinoff series Just the Ten of Us, a vehicle for costar Bill Kirchenbauer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
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This fourth trip down Freddy Lane was the most successful at the box-office, but although it has some impressive visuals, it is mostly an empty film. Credit must go to the effects team for some fine work, but otherwise, this entry from the director of Cutthroat Island (Renny Harlin) is extremely weak. Roland Kincaid falls asleep and awakens in the Springwood junkyard, where his dog -- named "Jason" in a sad foreshadowing of the film's giggly tone -- pees fire on Freddy's grave. The pyro-urinary baptism causes Krueger (Robert Englund) to reassemble from bones outward in an admittedly impressive sequence. Predictably, Freddy guts Kincaid, then appears in Joey's waterbed as a naked pinup girl (Hope-Marie Carlton) before slicing him to ribbons. And so it goes. The film has a few interesting ideas kicking around, but no real identification points. This is a video game, not a movie, and the characters seem to exist only in order to move the film from one effects sequence to another. There is a lot to be said for special effects, and the ones here are extraordinary and vivid. However, the wonderfully grim mood and subtle performances of Chuck Russell's outstanding third entry in the series are gone, abandoned by Harlin in favor of a splashy, comic book approach which would, unfortunately, dominate the series' later installments. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, (more)
- 1987
Puberty has made a major assault on Ben (Jeremy Miller), and in response he turns to Mike (Kirk Cameron) for advice on the opposite sex. Catching on that Ben has a crush on a girl, Mike clues his brother in on some "sure fire" moves. This advice backfires when the object of Ben's affections turns out to be his baby sitter Trudy (Melanie Gaffin)--and when Mike himself tries to utilize his patented "moves" on Trudy's sister Stacy (Brooke Theiss). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
