Harry Waters, Jr. Movies
The second outing in the Boys Life series collects another set of gay-themed shorts. Must Be the Music follows a group of Los Angeles teens, three gay and one straight, through a night of romantic misadventures at a hip dance club. In Nunzio's Second Cousin, police Sgt. Tony Randozzy (Vincent D'Onofrio) turns the tables on a group of homophobes (one of them played by Seth Green) and forces one of them, Jimmy (Miles Perlich), to have dinner with him and his mother (Eileen Brennan). Alkali, Iowa uses the backdrop of a Midwestern agricultural community to tell the story of Jack (J.D. Cerna), a gay teen who discovers tantalizing glimpses of his dead father's life buried on the family farm; Mary Beth Hurt plays the boy's distant, defeated mother. The Academy award-winning Trevor relates the tale of a chunky, effete youngster (Brett Barsky) whose love of Diana Ross is matched only by his obsession with Pinky (Jonah Rooney), a handsome classmate. For Boys Life 2's video and DVD release, The DadShuttle replaced Trevor, which had received a video release of its own. An almost plotless tale that takes place during a single car ride to the airport, The DadShuttle focuses on the emotional distance and between a city-dwelling gay man and his suburban father. Alkali, Iowa director Mark Christopher would go on to direct the Hollywood feature 54, while Nickolas Perry, director of Must Be the Music, would go on to helm the Gus Van Sant-produced Speedway Junky. Before directing Trevor, Peggy Rajski was known primarily as a producer; her credits include the Jodie Foster directorial efforts Little Man Tate and Home for the Holidays. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
In this comedy, a writer's triumphant return to his hometown turns out to have a very long string attached. As a child, small and timid David Leary grew up in Hastings, MN, where he lived in mortal fear of the school bully, Roscoe Bigger, aka "Fang." Fang loved nothing more than making David's every waking moment a physical and emotional torment. Fortunately for David, his parents moved the family to California not long after David turned the tables on Fang; Fang stole a moon rock from a school display and David finked on him, putting Fang on the fast track to reform school. Years later, David (played as an adult by Rick Moranis) is a successful author, and he has been invited to teach English at the school he attended as a child. David is intrigued to discover that Victoria (Julianne Phillips), the girl he used to have a crush on, is also on the faculty (as the sex-ed instructor, no less) and interested in seeing him. But David's happiness is short-lived when he meets the school's shop teacher -- none other than Roscoe (Tom Arnold). Fang's stay in a juvenile home shattered his spirit, and he's been a spineless loser ever since; these days, David is the only person still afraid of him. Having someone to intimidate again does Roscoe a world of good; it restores his confidence, lifts his spirits, and even saves his marriage. But it doesn't do much for David, who can't exactly complain to the principal that Fang's picking on him again. Don Knotts appears in a supporting role as Principal Kokelar. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rick Moranis, Tom Arnold, (more)
Designed for older kids and preteens, this continuing adventure of the magical Wonderland characters offers some good-natured silliness, some good songs and learning too! ~ All Movie Guide
Canadian Mountie Louis Burke (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is assigned to a bizarre case where prison inmates are being murdered. Sent to the jail to investigate while undercover as a prisoner, Burke is hot on the trail until one of his former busts, the Sandman (Patrick Kilpatrick), is transferred to the same prison. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Robert Guillaume, (more)
Things have barely settled from the excitement and resolve of the original Back to the Future, when in pops that crazy inventor Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) with news that in order to prevent a series of events that could ruin the McFly name for posterity, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox ) and his girlfriend are whisked into the future to the year 2015, where Marty must tangle with a teen rogue named Griff, who's obviously the descendant of Biff, the first Future film's bully. Marty foils Griff and his group when he jumps on an air-foil skateboard that flies him through town at rakish speeds with the loser bullies beaten again. Marty gets a money-making brainstorm before hopping in the time-traveling DeLorean, and he purchases a sports almanac. He figures that back in 1985 he'll be able to place sure-fire bets using the published sports scores of the games that are yet to happen. Unfortunately for Marty, Dr. Brown disapproves of his betting scheme -- he feels too much messing with time is very dangerous -- and he tosses the almanac. A hidden Biff overhears the discussion about the almanac, sees it get tossed out, and grabs it. Thus begins a time-traveling swirl to make the head spin. Biff swipes the DeLorean, heads back to 1955, and with the help of the unerring almanac, bets his way to power. The now-altered "Biff world" has turned into a nightmarish scene with Biff the mogul, residing in a Vegas-styled pleasure palace and running everything. It's all our hero Marty can do to pull the pieces together this time, as he must jump between three generations of intertwined time travel. The end of Back to the Future, Part 2 introduces its sequel as the zany professor has already time-dashed away to the Wild West of the late 1800s and invites Marty into a new adventure. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
- Starring:
- Garrett M. Brown, Yakov Smirnoff, (more)
Contemporary high schooler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) doesn't have the most pleasant of lives. Browbeaten by his principal at school, Marty must also endure the acrimonious relationship between his nerdy father (Crispin Glover) and his lovely mother (Lea Thompson), who in turn suffer the bullying of middle-aged jerk Biff (Thomas F. Wilson), Marty's dad's supervisor. The one balm in Marty's life is his friendship with eccentric scientist Doc (Christopher Lloyd), who at present is working on a time machine. Accidentally zapped back into the 1950s, Marty inadvertently interferes with the budding romance of his now-teenaged parents. Our hero must now reunite his parents-to-be, lest he cease to exist in the 1980s. It won't be easy, especially with the loutish Biff, now also a teenager, complicating matters. Beyond its dazzling special effects, the best element of Back to the Future is the performance of Michael J. Fox, who finds himself in the quagmire of surviving the white-bread 1950s with a hip 1980s mindset. Back to the Future cemented the box-office bankability of both Fox and the film's director, Robert Zemeckis, who went on to helm two equally exhilarating sequels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
The conspicuous absence of series regular Betty Garrett, aka Edna Babish DeFazio, is explained in this episode when Frank (Phil Foster) discovers that his wife Edna has left him for a rich Texan. Meanwhile, Laverne (Penny Marshall) gets a chance to sing with The Spinners (playing themselves), but is unfortuantely scheduled to babysit for her boyfriend Chuck's (Charles Fleischer) pet chimpanzee. Unaware that Frank and Edna have broken up, Laverne asks Frank to look after "Little Chucky" while she makes musical history--a sequence of events leading to a guilt-ridden finale. The Spinners perform "Daddy's Home". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the first episode of the four-part adventure "Warriors' Gate," the Doctor (Tom Baker), Romana (Lalla Ward), and Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) continue their efforts to escape E-Space and return to Gallifrey. En route, the TARDIS is trapped in the void near the stone gateway between E-Space and N-Space. Also imprisoned in this void is a ship full of time-sensitive Tharil slaves, captained by the ruthless Rorvik (Clifford Rose). Written by Steve Gallagher, "Warrior's Gate, Episode 1" first aired on January 3, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Baker, Lalla Ward, (more)
In the second episode of the four-part story "Warrior's Gate," both the TARDIS and a slave ship captained by Rorvik (Clifford Rose) are trapped in the void between E-Space and N-Space. The Doctor (Tom Baker) soon realizes that the void is rapidly shrinking, imperiling the lives of all concerned. As for Rorvik, he seems interested only in "having his way" with the Doctor's companion Romana (Lalla Ward). Written by Steve Gallagher, "Warrior's Gate, Episode 2" first aired on January 10, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Baker, Lalla Ward, (more)
In the third episode of the four-part story "Warrior's Gate," the void separating E-Space from N-Space is rapidly shrinking. Aware of this disturbing phenomenon, the Doctor (Tom Baker) tries to convince pirate captain Rorvik (Clifford Rose) that the crews of the TARDIS and Rorvik's slave ship must work together if they want to survive. Rorvik is concerned only with his own safety, and he doesn't care how many innocent souls must die in order to secure his escape from the void. Written by Steve Gallagher, "Warrior's Gate, Episode 3" first aired on January 17, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Baker, Lalla Ward, (more)
In the conclusion of the four-part story "Warrior's Gate," the efforts by Rorvik (Clifford Rose) to save himself from the rapidly shrinking void between E-Space and N-Space result in the release of the Tharil slaves imprisoned on Rorvik's vessel. Joing the Tharils, Romana (Lalla Ward) prepares to embark upon a lengthy journey in E-Space, while the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Adric (Matthew Waterhouse are catapulted in an entirely different direction. Written by Steve Gallagher, "Warrior's Gate, Episode 4" first aired on January 24, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Baker, Lalla Ward, (more)
















