Vlasta Vrana Movies

In writer/director Anne Wheeler's Bye Bye Blues, a blue-collar family finds all sorts of unorthodox means to confront the tribulations of World War II. In Angel Square, Wheeler deals with a more contemporary subject: random street crime. Ned Beatty stars as a standard-issue husband and father in a "safe" neighborhood. Beatty's sense of security is violated when he is brutally beaten by a youth gang. The familial spirit of Bye Bye Blues is carried over into the climax of Angel Square, with Beatty's neighbors uniting to track down his assailants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Canadian production from 1991, Deadly Surveillance concerns two police officers investigating a series of killings linked to drugs. The main suspect is the attractive lover of one of the cops, and the obvious tensions flare. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Picking up where Scanners left off, this sequel has good and evil scanners combatting when a crooked politician schemes to gain control of a major city. Scanners are people who, because their mothers had taken a certain drug during pregnancy, have acquired telepathic powers. Here, a "bad-guy" scanner escapes from a mental center and is hired by the politician to use his powers to gain control of others' minds, and then, their actions. A "good-guy" scanner teams with his sister to thwart these plans. ~ All Movie Guide

This WW II-set drama follows the creation of the first atomic bomb. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This bizarre adaptation of the superb horror novel by Dean Koontz details the mental collapse of writer Hillary Thomas (Victoria Tennant), who is relentlessly stalked by sadistic psycho Bruno Clavell (Jean Leclerc), whom she had once interviewed for her latest book. After he breaks into her apartment to attack her, she is forced to kill him in self-defense... but her torment doesn't stop there. After her apparently still-living tormentor returns to assault her again, she turns to cop Tony Clemenza (Chris Sarandon) for help, and the two form a romantic bond while working together to solve the mystery. The confusing climax tries to tie up the novel's far-flung elements of black magic, incest, drugs, and hordes of hungry cockroaches, but one is left wondering what exactly is going on. Violent, gory, and perverse, this adaptation is dulled by flat performances and a script that fails to keep track of Koontz's complex storytelling techniques. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

The ads for Red Earth, White Earth ballyhooed the soap-opera aspects of the made-for-TV film, particularly the fact that the young protagonist's (Tim Daly) best friend was shacking up with the boy's mother. Played down in the ads was the central crisis of the film: A battle between a white farm family and the Native Americans who have recently acquired the political pull to claim the family's land. The farmers are flummoxed not only by the ethnic issue but also by their long-standing personal and financial woes. Given the high-charged political atmosphere of Red Earth, White Earth, it's ironic that its originally scheduled 1988 telecast was moved to early 1989--bumped off the air by one of the Bush-Dukakis debates. The film was based on a novel by Will Weaver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Kiss, an erotic horror film dealing with ancient curses and the occult, is the story of a teenage girl whose world is destroyed by the arrival of her mysterious aunt and the death of her mother. Amy (Meredith Salenger) leads a normal, suburban existence until the mysterious death of her mother and the simultaneous arrival of her exotic, beautiful jet-set model aunt Felice (Joanna Pacula) who she has never met. Amy's world is completely changed as she watches her father become increasingly sexually attracted to Felice. When Amy rejects Felice's strangely intense interest, Amy and her friends begin to suffer from a series of accidents which leads Amy to believe that black magic is involved. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

The morning invoked by the title of this made-for-TV drama is April 19, 1775. On that day, the "shot heard 'round the world" was fired, signalling the start of the American Revolution. Departing from known history, novelist Howard Fast (who wrote the book on which this film is based) proposes that the skirmish between the Colonial militia and the British troops on Concord Green, Massachusetts, was precipitated by fervent American patriot Solomon Chandler (Rip Torn). Later, Chandler commandeered guerilla raids against the British, activities which involved the film's main protagonist, 15-year-old Adam Cooper (Chad Lowe). Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Urich and Susan Blakely co-star in this Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, originally telecast April 24, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Morning Man is young Bruno Doyon, who despite his youth has been convicted of 22 separate robbery charges. After escaping from jail, the wounded Doyon is aided by a beautiful lady doctor (Kerrie Keane). Promising to reform, Doyon prevents his old cronies from committing a robbery. He then charms his way into a job as a "morning man" (hence the title) on a Quebec radio station, turning himself in to the authorities exactly one year after his escape. This CBC TV movie is based on a true story; who knows how many other deejays out there are convicted felons? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from a book by Robert Lacey, this biographical film chronicles both the private and public life of automobile manufacturer Henry Ford (Cliff Robertson). ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide