Dean Wein Movies
- 2000
The premiere episode of ER's seventh season gets under way by solving the mystery surrounding Carter (Noah Wyle), Benton (Eriq La Salle), and that plane flight to Atlanta. Returning to Chicago after undergoing rehab, Carter finds that things are as hectic as usual at the ER; a group of teenagers are brought in after a riot at a football game, and the custodians have gone on strike. Elsewhere, Chen (Ming-Na) finds out she is pregnant, Abby (Maura Tierney) is prevented from attending medical school when her ex-husband fails to pay her tuition, and Greene (Anthony Edwards) develops a rather embarrassing case of poison ivy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
- Add The Waterdance to Queue
Paralyzed in a 1984 accident, writer/director Neal Jimenez (of River's Edge fame) channelled his own experiences and emotions into his 1991 film Waterdance. Eric Stoltz stars as a young writer left incapacitated by a hiking accident. He is placed in a paraplegic ward, peopled by patients of all races and emotional states. Together with his new-found friends, Stoltz rebels against the hospital system and his own debilitation. Helen Hunt and Wesley Snipes are among the costars in this effective update (though not a remake) of 1950's The Men. Waterdance was given a brief theatrical release in 1992 before being telecast on PBS' American Playhouse in early 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Stoltz, Helen Hunt, (more)
Jack Moony (Bob Hoskins) is a vice detective, but he is also an intense and crazed, racist lout. Jack has had a brief fling with a hooker named Crystal (Chloe Webb), but Crystal left him for Napoleon Stone (Denzel Washington), a suave, handsome, cosmopolitan lawyer, who becomes the object of Jack's rage, not simply because he has stolen his girl but also because he is black. Jack, who lives on cheeseburgers, beer, and whiskey, has a heart attack. This occurs the same night that Stone is killed in an un-accidental car crash. Thanks to a quick organ transplant, Jake ends up with Stone's heart. But to Jack's horror, he discovers the ghost of the lawyer has returned to earth to follow Jack around -- offering Jack nutritional advise, giving him tips on solving his murder, and suggestions on how to get back together with Crystal. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hoskins, Denzel Washington, (more)
- 1990
Season Eight of Night Court goes into session with the first episode of a two-part story, as Judge Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson) learns that, thanks to an unforeseen technicality, he must get a high-school diploma if he wants to keep his job. At the same time, public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post), returning to work after maternity leave, must do battle with a phantom, specifically the memory of her temporary replacement. And prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) is receiving mysterious phone calls from a young woman named Donna (Susan Diol)--who turns out to be his long-lost sister. New to the series this season are Jolene Lutz) as scatterbrained court stenographer Lisette and S. Marc Jordan as blind, sarcastic newsstand owner Jack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
In this lively comedy, a womanizing actor dies and is granted a second chance at life on the condition that he remain faithful to only one woman. That's easier said than done, and once he's back on Earth he must choose between a virtuous lass and a shady lady. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Greenwood, Vanessa Angel, (more)
Playing in a manner that can be conservatively described as larger than life, Kurt Russell plays a macho truck driver who agrees to go to the San Francisco airport and pick up his friend's (Dennis Dun) fiancee (Suzee Pai, freshly arrived from China. Suddenly, a gang of Chinatown toughs kidnap the girl right before Russell's eyes. After a wild chase sequence, Russell discovers that the girl has been abducted by a genuine, bonafide sorceror (James Hong), the ghost of a 3000 year old warlord. And that's just for starters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, (more)
- 1986
- R
- Add Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling to QueueAdd Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling to top of Queue
Popular African-American comedian Jo Jo Dancer is severely burned while free-basing cocaine. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists that the movie is not autobiographical. While hovering between life and death, Dancer flashes back to his childhood, when he grew up in a brothel. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists that the movie is not autobiographical. Dancer decides to become a comic, but has a great many difficulties rising to stardom until he begins making scatological comments about race relations. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists that the movie is not autobiographical. As he rises to fame, Jo Jo has problems controlling his drug addiction and womanizing. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists.....Well, you've caught on by now. If one were able to excise the excruciatingly boring "introspection" scene, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling would stand as an excellent testimonial to Richard Pryor's cutting-edge comic brilliance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Debbie Allen, (more)
After a big-time country singer (Dolly Parton) brags that she can turn anybody in to a country-singin' star, she's out to prove she can live up to her talk when she recruits a cab-driver (Sylvester Stallone) as a country singer. He's scheduled to sing at a big-time NYC country night club and Dolly puts her ample powers to work in preparing her protege. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Dolly Parton, (more)
- 1983
Blood Feud was a two-part TV drama, originally presented as an "Operation Prime Time" special. Robert Blake is disturbingly convincing as labor leader Jimmy Hoffa, engaged in a decade-long war of words with attorney (and later attorney general) Robert F. Kennedy. Cotter Smith makes his TV debut as Kennedy, a role he'd repeat on future occasions. Thoroughly compelling when sticking to the facts, the drama falls apart whenever indulging in flight of fanciful speculation (Sample: two of Hoffa's lieutenants watch the live telecast of Lee Harvey Oswald's murder, then celebrate the fact that Oswald will never be able to reveal their complicity in the JFK assassination!) Blood Feud was syndicated to local TV stations beginning April 24, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Cotter Smith, (more)
- 1983
In search of lost treasure, international adventurer Sam Hunter (William Lucking) crash-lands his plane on the Robin Masters estate. Magnum (Tom Selleck) quickly deduces that the crash was no accident, and that someone wants Hunter dead. He also has the eerie feeling that he's met Hunter before. . .perhaps during his tour of duty in Cambodia. In the course of events, Sam has an akward reunion with his ex-wife Jenny (Joanna Kerns), and a deadly encounter with the drug-dealers responsible for his forced landing. This episode was intended as the pilot for a series starring William Lucking--which, though it did not make a network sale in its original form, was later recast and retooled as the popular adventure weekly Airwolf. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
In a shocking bit of counter-casting, Melissa Sue Anderson stars in this TV-movie shocker as Vivian Sotherland, a beautiful -- and wholly evil -- teenaged witch. Accustomed to eliminating anyone who gets in her way, Vivian has lovingly made certain that her sweetheart David Sterling (Patrick Cassidy) will not flunk out of high school through the simple expedient of killing all his teachers. Alas, the clueless David throws Vivian over in favor of a new girl in school, Robin Prentiss (Mary Beth McDonough). Fully prepared to add Robin to her ever-growing list of victims, Vivian is rather put out to discover that her romantic rival possesses a few supernatural powers of her own. Midnight Offerings was first broadcast February 27, 1981, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Sue Anderson, Mary McDonough, (more)
- 1981
Magnum (Tom Selleck) is given the enviable assignment of escorting a gorgeous "fan" of Robin Masters around the writer's lavish estate. But he doesn't feel so lucky when, after an attempt is made on Master's life, the "fan" reveals herself to be Joy "Digger" O'Doyle (Erin Gray), a no-nonsense security expert. Forced to take all further orders from Digger, Magnum must figure out a way to prevent Masters from being murdered before the "street date" of his latest novel. Orson Welles is heard (but not seen!) as the elusive Robin Masters, while Tom Selleck's then-wife Jacqueline Ray also shows up in a supporting role. This episode was originally filmed as the pilot for an unsold series starring Erin Gray. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
According to the NBC publicity packet, the made-for-TV Revenge of the Stepford Wives was "based on characters created by Ira Levin" -- specifically, those characters created by Levin for his fantasy-suspense novel The Stepford Wives, which was transformed into a theatrical film in 1975. On this occasion, plucky TV journalist Kay Foster (Sharon Gless) is stranded in the "idyllic" New England community of Stepford, populated exclusively by chauvinistic males and their eerily submissive and subservient wives. With the help of Megan Brady (Julie Kavner), a new arrival to the community who hasn't yet been "conditioned," Kay tries to learn the terrible secret behind the robotic Stepford wives -- and to foment a rebellion against the wicked menfolk. Revenge of the Stepford Wives first aired on October 12, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
No sooner has Jim (James Garner) arrived in Newark than he is robbed of his watch, wallet, luggage, and return plane ticket. The culprits are a couple of minor-league crooks who hope to break into the Big Time through the auspices of Jim's friend, reformed mobster Beppy Conigliaro (Simon Oakland). Female impersonator Jim Bailey appears as himself in this sequel to the 5th season episode "he Jersey Bounce", with Greg Antonacci and Gene Davis making return appearances as Eugene Conigliaro and Mickey Long. Both this episode and its predecessor were written by David Chase, who later parlayed his fascination with New Jersey mobsters into the groundbreaking cable-TV series The Sopranos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
- R
A Vietnam veteran returns to America but finds difficulty in adjusting to normal life and controlling his violent impulses. This action drama follows the vet as he finds his way to New York, where his killer instinct finds a suitable outlet in a job as a hitman for the mob. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
