Rick van Nutter Movies

For all its state-of-the-art special effects, Always is essentially a remake of the 1943 Spencer Tracy-Irene Dunne fantasy vehicle A Guy Named Joe--minus the wartime context. Richard Dreyfuss stars as a reckless fire-fighting pilot who is killed in what was to have been his final mission. Ascending to Heaven, Dreyfuss is introduced to businesslike angel Audrey Hepburn (playing the equivalent of the Lionel Barrymore role in A Guy Named Joe). Hepburn instructs the spectral Dreyfuss to pass on his aviation knowhow to his young successor, Brad Johnson. Our ghostly hero also smoothes the course of romance for his earthly girl friend Holly Hunter, who after several months' worth of grieving has fallen in love with Johnson. John Goodman injects a dose of comedy relief as Dreyfuss' faithful buddy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A star-studded cast portrays political movers and shakers in this drama about politics and the media. Richard Gere is Pete St. John, a gilt-edged "image" advisor to the likes of powerful and often crooked politicians -- including a South American candidate for the top office in his country and, reluctantly, a conservative industrialist named Jerome Cade (J.T. Walsh). Cade is after a Senate seat vacated by Sam Hastings (E.G. Marshall), a liberal politician who fits in with the views that Pete once upheld. When things start to go wrong, it looks like Cade's gruff advisor Arnold Billings (Denzel Washington) might hold one of the keys to Pete's discovery of the truth about Cade -- and may be the reason why Hastings is leaving his job. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this undistinguished, derivative slasher movie, a homicidal maniac is accidentally released from a hospital because of a computer error and heads to the site (a sorority) of his past murders to continue his penchant for mayhem. The good but obviously witless Dr. Joan Gilmore takes off after him while the villainous hospital administrators cover up the mistake and send some staff thugs out to get both the doctor and the escaped lunatic. Gilmore poses as a sorority woman and soon finds herself menaced on all sides as the gruesome, graphic murders begin to mount. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Based on actual events from 1948 and made into a TV movie in 1983, this story concerns a corrupt Georgia businessman (Andy Griffith) who murders an employee and thinks he has gotten away with it. The local lawman (Johnny Cash) has other plans, but needs to gather enough evidence to prove his case. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Inspired by a true story, this action-adventure thriller concerns the race to obtain the blueprints of a MIG-25 "Foxbat" Soviet fighter plane which has landed in Japan, complete with a pilot who is asking for asylum. Undercover U.S. spy Michael Saxon (Henry Silva) is trying to get the microfilms for the state-of-the art film back to his country, but he is competing against agents and representatives from many countries for the privilege: at one point there is a super-secret auction of the plans. Naturally, the KGB is not taking this situation sitting down, and agents are dispatched to destroy the plans and anyone who has them. The action moves from Tokyo to Hong Kong, as Saxon attempts to contact a man who can arrange for the proper delivery of the plans. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A couple of beefy barbarian brothers battle each other over a luscious babe while going up against a malevolent ruler. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

Peter Ustinov went the auteur route as writer, director, producer, and star of this Cold War farce, based on his play and very similar to the equally well-regarded The Mouse That Roared (1959). Ustinov is "the general," leader of the tiny European nation Concordia, which is so small that it does not appear on any maps, and each government employee holds two positions (the general's chauffeur is also ambassador to the U.S.). Despite its diminutive size, Concordia is a full-fledged member of the United Nations. A vote on an important measure is split evenly, with Concordia getting the deciding vote, so the general abstains and goes home, giving fits to the U.S. and U.S.S.R., Cold War rivals which are on opposing sides of the issue. A campaign of persuasion is launched to sway Concordia to one side or another, but the canny general wants to keep his country neutral, so he schemes to introduce the Russian ambassador's son Igor Romanoff (John Gavin) to Juliet Moulsworth (Sandra Dee), the daughter of the U.S. representative. Shakespearean-style romance between the two attractive young people inevitably ensues, much to the chagrin of their home countries and the general's delight. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi