Sam Whipple Movies
- 1998
A woman's body is found stuffed in a wooden box that is oozing a strange liquid. Andy (Jimmy Smits) and Bobby (Jimmy Smits) locate the victim's brother, who seems less concerned about the woman's murder than he is with his favorite soft drink. Elsewhere, Diane (Kim Delaney) wonders if the death of a child was the result of parental neglect, while Greg (Gordon Clapp) and Jill (Andrea Thompson) investigate the shooting of another child whose intensely religious parents are all too willing to forgive the killer. And while off duty, Jill lets Diane know that she knows something she isn't supposed to know. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) hires a maid named Cindy (Angela Featherstone), with whom he soon begins having an affair -- trouble is, little cleaning is taking place any longer, and she still demands payment for services rendered. Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) "inherits" the phone number of a recently deceased woman, leading to unexpected consequences vis-à-vis the dead woman's grandson. George (Jason Alexander) tries to adopt a nickname, but "T-Bone" has been spoken for. And Kramer (Michael Richards) ends up "working the streets," in more ways than one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This TV science fiction action drama is based on the familiar fantasy notion: what if it were possible to go back and do it all over again, minus mistakes? Ex-CIA agent Frank Parker (Jonathan LaPaglia) is yanked from a mental institution and assigned to a top-secret project engineered from a Roswell-based alien technology. The government has developed a device that can send a single human being into the past -- but only as far back as seven days. Parker has been selected to do this each week because of his contempt for authority, his ability to withstand pain, and his photographic memory. When the action cools down, Parker flirts with gorgeous Russian scientist Olga Vukavitch (Justina Vail). Filmed in L.A., the series premiered with a two-hour pilot on October 7, 1998 on United Paramount Network. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan LaPaglia, Don Franklin, (more)
The sophomore film from former music video and commercial director Michael Bay, this fast-paced action yarn featured rapid-fire editing, a cutting-edge rock soundtrack and liberal use of shots awash in a haze of burnished hues, all trademarks of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. Nicolas Cage stars as Stanley Goodspeed, an FBI chemical weapons expert handed a unique assignment. Francis X. Hummel (Ed Harris), an insane Marine Corps general, has taken 81 tourists hostage on the abandoned island prison of Alcatraz. He and his men are threatening to bomb San Francisco with deadly gas unless $100 million is paid in war reparations to the families of servicemen killed in covert operations. Goodspeed is teamed with former British spy John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery), the only man ever to escape "The Rock," as well as a Navy SEAL team. When their military escorts are ambushed, it's up to odd couple Goodspeed and Mason to break into Alcatraz and stop Hummel. The Rock was the last film produced by Simpson, who died of a drug overdose before the film's release. Solo, his partner Bruckheimer continued making the sort of glossy, frenetic films for which the duo was famed. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, (more)
Boxing is more than just a sport -- it's also a business and a con game in this satirical comedy. Rev. Fred Sultan (Samuel L. Jackson) is a shrewd boxing promoter and manager whose meal ticket is heavyweight champion James "The Grim Reaper" Roper (Damon Wayans), a fighter whose skill and confidence significantly outstrips his intelligence. While the top-ranked contender for Roper's title is Marvin Shabazz (Michael Jace), Sultan isn't too keen on the idea of Shabazz fighting Roper -- it seems that both fighters are black, and Sultan's figures show that mixed race matches stir up a lot more media attention and pay-per-view customers. Eager to find a white challenger for Roper, Sultan digs up Terry Conklin (Peter Berg), who won a Golden Gloves fight against Roper many years ago but is now out of the game and fronting a rock band called Massive Head Wound. Thanks to a few bribes and a couple of fixed fights, Sultan is able to arrange for Conklin to be next in line to battle "The Grim Reaper." However, Conklin is taking his renewed career as a boxer quite seriously, while Roper, convinced that Conklin doesn't stand a chance, has let himself go and gained a lot of weight. Suddenly Sultan realizes that Roper might just lose the piece-of-cake fight he's so carefully arranged, while journalist Mitchell Kane (Jeff Goldblum) smells a rat in Conklin's sudden rise to ranking status. Jon Lovitz, Cheech Marin, and Corbin Bernsen highlight the supporting cast, while members of the well-regarded alternative rock band Local H appear as Massive Head Wound. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Goldblum, (more)
Airheads is a variation on Dog Day Afternoon, as well as a comic look at the trials and tribulations of both the music business and Generation X. A hapless rock trio consisting of Chazz (Brendan Fraser), Rex (Steve Buscemi), and Pip (Adam Sandler) hits a brick wall with their attempts to get their demo tape played by record label executives. Chazz, on the edge since being thrown out by his girlfriend (Amy Locane), decides it's time to take more serious action, and he leads his bandmates on a mission to invade the local "alternative" rock station, KPPX, and hold it hostage to get the band's tape played on the air. The station staffers don't realize that they're being held with a water gun, and when they finally agree to play the tape, it gets eaten up by a faulty machine. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, (more)
Actor Ron Silver made his directorial debut with this made-for-TV, futuristic retelling of Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat, in which the survivors of a sabotaged spaceship must face mounting evidence that the terrorist responsible for their plight is among them. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Larry's lack of knowledge pertaining to office gossip leaves him feeling left out in the lurch in this episode of HBO's The Larry Sanders Show. The head writer of The Larry Sanders Show is involved in a steamy office affair, and it seems that everyone aside from our gracious host is aware of it. This episode of The Larry Sanders Show features guest appearances by Kimberley Kates and Peter Falk. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
A playful female guest puts Larry (Garry Shandling) in hot water with his wife, Jeannie (Megan Gallagher), in the sixth episode of HBO's popular behind-the-scenes late-night talk show satire The Larry Sanders Show. Comely actress Mimi Rogers may have only intended her innocent on-air flirtation with Larry as innocuous fun, but Jeannie begins to suspect that there is more to Mimi and Larry's relationship than a few harmless winks. In addition to Rogers, comic actor Michael Richards also appears as a guest star in this episode. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Low television ratings can take a heavy toll on talk show hosts, and Larry (Garry Shandling) begins to feel the heat as viewers tune out in this episode of HBO's The Larry Sanders Show. Worried that this may be the result of waning quality, Larry hires a focus group to tune up the show. Special guest stars include Dick Simmons and Pamela Sue Martin. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
The premiere episode of Garry Shandling's searing television satire The Larry Sanders Show finds talk show host Larry Sanders (Garry Shandling) struggling against an intrusive suggestion of on-air advertising. Faced with the prospect of promoting "The Garden Weasel" on his popular late-night talk show, Sanders balks at the prospect and finds himself in a battle of wills with a tenacious network executive. This episode of The Larry Sanders Show features guest stars Deborah May and Robert Hays. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Facing increasing stress, Larry (Garry Shandling) finally loses it altogether when Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) falls asleep during the live show. The final episode of the first season, this installment of HBO's popular late-night talk show parody The Larry Sanders Show features special guest stars Ray Combs, Earl Holliman, Bob Saget, and T-Bone Burnett. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Val Kilmer delivers what was considered one of 1991's best performances as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's hallucinatory bio-pic of the seminal 1960s rock group The Doors. Stone cuts a jagged swath through Morrison's life, starting with a childhood memory where Morrison sees an elderly Indian dying by the roadside. It picks up with Morrison's arrival in California and his assimilation into the Venice Beach culture, followed by his film school days at UCLA; his introduction to his girlfriend Pamela Courson (Meg Ryan); his first encounters with Ray Manzarek (Kyle MacLachlan); and the origin of The Doors -- made up of Manzarek, Robby Kreiger (Frank Whaley), and John Densmore (Kevin Dillon). As the fame of The Doors grows, Morrison's obsession with death increases. The band grows weary of Morrison's missed recording sessions and no-shows at concerts. Morrison, meanwhile, sinks deeper into a drug-induced haze, having mystical sexual encounters with Patricia Kennealy (Kathleen Quinlan), an older rock journalist involved with sadomasochism and witchcraft. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, (more)
- 1991
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The fourth of Kenny Rogers' Gambler TV movies, 1991's The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw is regarded by many Western diehards as the best. This time, gambler Brady Hawkes is en route to a high-stakes poker game in San Francisco. His travelling companions are a trouble-prone frontier Romeo (Rick Rossovich) and a feisty ex-saloon gal (Reba McEntire). Never mind that: The real attraction of Luck of the Draw is its enormous guest-star lineup of famous TV cowboy heroes of yore: Gene "Bat Masterson" Barry, Hugh "Wyatt Earp" O'Brien, Brian "The Westerner" Keith, Chuck "The Rifleman" Connors, Jack "Maverick" Kelly, Clint "Cheyenne" Walker, David "Kung Fu" Carradine, and "Virginian" co-stars James Drury and Doug McClure. The first portion of this two-part movie concentrates on setting up the plot; Part two is the card game itself, preceded by a boxing match refereed by Bat Masterson (Gene Barry). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenny Rogers, Reba McEntire, (more)
- 1990
Archie Andrews and his Riverdale buddies Jughead, Betty, and Veronica, from the enduring adolescent comic book, are all grown up and trying to deal with the '90s in this live-action comedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Rich, Lauren Holly, (more)
When prodigal son Billy Turner (Judd Nelson) returns to his Florida home town, he's caught in a brawl and thrown in jail. He tells the guards to call his father, the mayor, who will have him released; however, he soon discovers his father has been killed. After Turner finally gets out of jail, he starts to hunt down his father's murderer, with the eventual help of Annie Rayford (Ally Sheedy) and her brother Joey (David Caruso). Their nemesis is the nasty crime boss Perry Kerch (Scott Wilson) and his henchmen, though the slow-witted police chief (Paul Winfield) is not much help, either. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, (more)
- 1985
The latest client of the Blue Moon Detective Agency is Kathleen Kilpatrick (Alexandra Johnson), an Irish lass who claims to be a leprechaun. Kathleen hires David (Bruce Willis) and Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) to protect her pot of gold--and herself--from a sinister criminal. Although the detectives have their doubts about Kathleen's authenticity as a leprechaun, there is no doubt that a very dangerous individual is out to get her. This week's chase climax occurs in and around an airport luggage carousel, leaving our two protagonists positively giddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
In this serio-comic made-for television adventure, an L.A. family gets more than it bargained for when it abandons the smog and hubbub for the peace of rural Oregon. Unfortunately, instead of finding a violence-free environment, they discover that they are surrounded by ultra-right-wing survivalists. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
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Robert Louis Stevenson's novel is satirized in this comedy about a scientist (Mark Blankfield) who is hopelessly addicted to his latest invention, a strange white powder. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Blankfield, Bess Armstrong, (more)
- 1981
- R
In this comedy, a group of high school kids embark on a series of crazy hijinks and wild pranks on the night before their graduation. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
