Ed Wiley Movies
- 1996
- PG
This modern TV-movie update of the Oscar Wilde tale is noteworthy for a grandiose performance by Patrick Stewart as the melancholy spectre of Sir Simon Canterville, doomed to wander the corridors of his vast estate for the past four centuries in guilt and despair over his wife's suicide. Stewart first makes himself known to an intelligent, angst-ridden teenager (Neve Campbell), who spends much of the film's runtime trying to convince her father of Simon's existence. Failing this, she changes tactics, searching instead for a way of putting his weary soul to rest. Despite its apparent production flaws -- particularly the staid, movie-of-the-week feel -- this is still worth a look thanks to enjoyable performances from Stewart and Campbell, both of whom seem to relish their roles. This film was features on the Wonderworks, family TV series. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Stewart, Neve Campbell, (more)
- 1994
Three Cardassian underground freedom fighters are given shelter on DS9. One of the three is Professor Natima Lang (Mary Crosby), the former love of Quark's life. All hopes of rekindling their romance seem foredoomed by Natima's devotion to her cause and by the presence of Cardassian Garak (Andrew Robinson), who intends to kill all three insurrectionists. Written by Flip Kolber and Cindy Marcus, "Profit and Loss" was originally telecast on March 19, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Recognizing his problem, Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) attends an open AA meeting. Donna (Gail O'Grady) has high hopes when she learns that Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) has again left his wife. Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) sparks racial tensions when, after shooting a black motorist, he is unable to prove that the man drew on him first. And seeking spiritual solace, Janice (Amy Brenneman) confesses to a priest (Dean Norris) that it was she who killed mobster Marino. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Embracing the supposed nihilism and cynicism of the "slacker" generation, S.F.W. (1995) caused nary a blip on the media-saturated cultural radar screen that it criticized. Stephen Dorff stars as Cliff Spab, an aimless, hard-drinking youth. Spab becomes a national hero when he is one of several people held hostage by gun-toting terrorists in a convenience store. He doesn't care much about his own life or anything else, and his attitude of "So f---ing what?" translates into debates with his terrorist captors and gloomy pronouncements that charm viewers. After a month-long siege, a crisis erupts when the store runs out of beer and junk food, so Cliff finds himself a free man whose celebrity image is emblazoned on t-shirts and whose presence is requested at a rock concert where he is required to do nothing other than appear. In the meantime, Spab's girlfriend Wendy (Reese Witherspoon) becomes a ubiquitous talk show guest. Ostensibly a satire of the celebrity-obsessed culture of the 1990s, the film was withheld from distribution for a year because of thematic similarities to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Dorff, Reese Witherspoon, (more)
- 1993
- R
William Forsythe plays a serial killer who mails assorted body parts (from his unlucky female victims) to the police. As if this isn't enough, he then goes after Detective Dietz's (Leo Rossi) lady friend. This killer really is, relentless. ~ All Movie Guide
In this fast-paced military thriller, Tom Berenger is Thomas Beckett, a tough, grizzled, U.S. Marine Corps veteran sharpshooter who goes through target-spotter partners faster than bullets on his ultra-dangerous missions. The National Security Council secretly assigns Beckett to assassinate a Panamanian rebel bankrolled by a drug cartel in his bid for the presidency. The NSC also gives Beckett a sidekick: raw recruit Richard Miller (Billy Zane), a former Olympic marksman who's never killed anybody. Miller technically outranks the more experienced Beckett, a source of friction between the men as they make their way through the jungle to find their prey. Once they locate their target, Beckett and Miller not only have to pull off a complex shooting but also must avoid a covert shooter who's been trained by Beckett and is now gunning for them. A Panama native, director ($Luis Llosa later repeated the trick of crafting a visually exciting genre film out of thin material with Anaconda (1997). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Berenger, Billy Zane, (more)
- 1992
This 1970s true story features a fanatically religious woman and her son-in-law who hold her children prisoner while waiting for her late husband's resurrection in Utah. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1991
Geordi is captured by the mind-controlling Romulans, who subject him to an intense and thorough brainwashing session. With no will of his own, Geordi is programmed as a cold-blooded assassin. His assignment is to assassinate Klingon ambassor Kell (Larry Dobkin), thereby renewing hostilities between the Klingons and the Federation. Scripted by Rene Echevarria from a story by Echevarria and Ken Schafer, "The Mind's Eye" was first seen on June 1, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Badlands Justice is another in a series of Desperado feature films made exclusively for television. Alex McArthur returns as cowboy Duell McCall, who wanders the wide frontier in search of the one man who will clear him of a murder charge (What price Fugitive?) Once more, McCall finds himself in a corruption-ridden mining town. Since no one knows his true identity, he is able to establish a modicum of law and order, despite the concerted efforts of greedy land baron John Rhys-Davies. It is only a matter of time, however, before McCall will be forced to move on to other adventures. Well photographed and consummately acted, Badlands Justice premiered December 17, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
The four-part British miniseries Pursuit, based upon Robert L. Fish's novel of the same name, was first telecast in the United States as the two-part "movie special" Twist of Fate. Bruce Greenwood essayed the leading role of Helmut Von Schraeder, an ex-S.S. officer on the run after conspiring to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. Undergoing plastic surgery, Von Schraeder assumed the new identity of Jewish concentration camp survivor Daniel Grossman. And as if that wasn't unbelievable enough, "Grossman" went on to a colorful career as an Israeli freedom fighter. The huge multinational cast included British film and TV stalwart Ben Cross and American leading lady Sarah Jessica Parker. Though made for British television, Pursuit did not air in that country until 1990, a full year after its American debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Cross, Veronica Hamel, (more)
- 1988
Before striking gold with The Godfather, Mario Puzo published a pageant-like novel titled The Fortunate Pilgrim. Puzo's book was adapted into a two-part TV movie in 1988, with Sophia Loren as star. Ms. Loren plays a young Italian wife and mother, who emigrates to the US in 1915 in search of a better life for herself and her family. Widowed on the day she becomes a naturalized citizen, Sophia is faced with the task of raising her three children alone; she marries again, this time to Edward James Olmos, whose obvious affection for Sophia's children is tempered by his erratic behavior. Filmed in Yugoslavia, Part One of The Fortunate Pilgrim was first shown on April 3, 1988 (see also Part Two). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
We're told that Apprentice to Murder is a true story. If so, we'll steer clear of the film's Pennsylvania Dutch locale in the future. A series of murders occur in a sleepy community, and suspicion immediately falls on the local "character": a self-styled faithhealer and mystic. Donald Sutherland plays this worthy, while Chad Lowe is cast as his nonplussed assistant. Though set in Pennsylvania, Apprentice to Murder was actually shot in Norway. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Chad Lowe, (more)
This spy outing hones in on secret agent Magnus Pym (Peter Egan). Having impersonated so many different people during his career as a British spy, Pym eventually lost track of who he really was -- a confusion compounded by the fact that he knew nothing of his actual past. Ultimately feeling that he could trust no one -- not even his so-called friends -- Pym turned his back on the British and began trading secrets with the Enemy. Filmed on location in England, Europe, and the U.S., the seven-episode A Perfect Spy originally aired in the U.K. in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Egan, Ray McAnally, (more)
- 1988
A notorious pimp is the latest victim of a vigilante killer who targets known criminals and leaves a silver bullet at the scene of each murder. Though Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) suspect that the vigilante is actually an ill-tempered undercover vice officer (Edward Wiley), the pimp's bosses have pinpointed the victim's newest lady friend (Leslie Bevis) as the guilty party. In either case, someone is not long for this world! This final episode of Hunter's fourth season was adapted from a novel by former police detective Dallas L. Barnes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
A middle-aged dentist who is frustrated and bored with his commonplace life looks for greater adventure. This appeared on the PBS "American Playhouse." ~ All Movie Guide
It started as a 1960 Roger Corman horror comedy, filmed in two days; it then inspired a lavish 1982 Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Finally in 1986, Little Shop of Horrors (1960) graduated into a multimillion-dollar, all-star film musical. Rick Moranis plays nebbishy Seymour Krelborn, who works in a rundown flower shop on Skid Row. While his boss (Vincent Gardenia) bemoans the lack of business, Seymour seeks a way of bringing the shop -- and himself -- fame and fortune. He purchases a strange plant from an even stranger oriental street vendor (Vincent Wong), naming the plant after his girlfriend Audrey (Ellen Greene, one of the few carry-overs from the Broadway version). Gradually, Seymour learns to his horror that "Audrey II" (given the voice of R&B performer Levi Stubbs) craves blood and flesh. With each of Audrey II's "FEEED MEEE"s, Seymour must scare up human food to satisfy the plant's appetite. One such victim is dentist Steve Martin, a leather-jacketed Elvis type (the dentist's ultra-masochistic patient played by Jack Nicholson in the 1960 original is here impersonated by Bill Murray). The lighthearted tone of the film darkens as Audrey II grows in monstrosity, but the unhappy ending of the Broadway version is avoided herein. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, (more)
Gene Wilder directed and wrote (along with Terence Marsh) this mild farce which is a pale reminder of Wilder's glory days in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. Wilder plays ham radio actor Larry Abbot, who takes his fiancee Vickie Pearle (Gilda Radner) out to meet his relations on a gloomy country estate before they are married. The creepy clan is lorded over by the bizarre Aunt Kate (Dom DeLuise), who keeps babbling about a local rampaging werewolf. As Larry and Vickie try to spend a quiet weekend in the mansion, they are assaulted with all manners of spooky goings-on -- the kind of routines that were already growing whiskers when Abbott and Costello first dusted them off over fifty years ago. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, (more)
With the ultimate throw-down, "There can be only one," Highlander captured the imaginations of fantasy fans seeking a well-executed swordplay epic, becoming a cult classic in the process. Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) is one of a waning few survivors of a clan of immortals. The breed have been dueling each other for centuries in the quest to be the last one remaining, and hence achieve a supreme enlightenment that would be dangerous in the wrong hands. The immortals can only die by decapitation, so they hunt each other through time and across continents to meet for each decisive duel, which will bring one of them a step closer to ultimate power. In present-day America, the troubled hero MacLeod lives a brooding and lonely existence, having lost his true love centuries ago. The evil Kurgan (Clancy Brown), an immortal who plans to use his power toward unspeakable ends, has fought MacLeod before but is still trying to finish him off. After emerging victorious from a parking garage skirmish with the third-to-last immortal, MacLeod knows that only Kurgan is left, and the two are on a collision path toward the inevitable. In the film's numerous flashbacks to the past, Sean Connery plays Ramirez, the immortal who first tutors MacLeod after the hero survives a mortal battle wound, prompting his fearful village to banish him. Roxanne Hart plays MacLeod's modern-day love interest, who tries to help him while struggling to believe his incredible story. The director's cut runs four minutes shorter. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lambert, Roxanne Hart, (more)
- 1985
In this sequel to the original miniseries, Lili (Phoebe Cates), having discovered the true identity of her mother, now begins looking for her father. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brooke Adams, Deborah Raffin, (more)
- 1985
In this slow-paced thriller set just before D-Day in Paris, Gus Lang (Ed Harris) is an American agent who has to make sure a captured U.S. officer is not forced to divulge the secret of the Normandy invasion. Since audiences know the invasion worked, the success of Gus Lang's espionage forays into Nazi officialdom, and the French resistance appears to be a foregone conclusion. At least Paris provides an excellent backdrop for his undercover work, both with the attractive Claire Jouvet (Cyrielle Claire) and the less-attractive Nazi military. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Harris, Horst Buchholz, (more)
In this partially successful Brit sci-fi comedy, four invading aliens cannot really think their way out of a paper bag, much less conquer Earth with their superior knowledge (apparently also non-existent). Of the aliens, Desmond (Jimmy Nail) is particularly thick-headed and leaves Bernard (Mel Smith) dangling out in space, Sandra (Joanne Pearce) attracts the romantic interest of British Commander Matteson (Dinsdale Landen), and Julian (Paul Brown) is along for the ride. After this trio causes a traffic snarl when they land on a British expressway, they are first interrogated and then given jobs in showbiz so they can support themselves. This leads to a great rock singing career, which in turn, leads to a U.S. tour -- though this does not equate rock singers and aliens. Meanwhile, Bernard has been saved from his abandonment in space by an unlikely space-wanderer who drops him off in the U.S., where he is put in an insane asylum. Sure enough, when his three companions start their U.S. tour, Bernard escapes and tries to rejoin them. The saga continues on until some sort of very unlikely rescue seems in store. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones, (more)
- 1984
- Add The First Olympics: Athens 1896 to QueueAdd The First Olympics: Athens 1896 to top of Queue
Five Emmy nominations went to the two-part TV drama The First Olympics: Athens 1896. The story begins in 1894, when Baron Pierre de Courbetin (Louis Jourdan) announces his intention to stage the first Olympic games of the Modern Era within two years in Athens. The baron heads to the US to recruit an athletic team. Despite disinterest, opposition and spotty funding, de Courbetin assembles his team with the help of Princeton professor William Sloane. The thirteen chosen Americans have a pretty bumpy time of it, but most survive to the final Olympic contest: the grueling Marathon. The supporting cast is top-heavy with veterans from both America and England, including Angela Lansbury, Honor Blackman, Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna. Among the leading players is future NYPD Blue star David Caruso as Irish-American athlete James Connolly. Originally running five hours, The First Olympics was first telecast May 20 and 21, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The exquisitely beautiful Catherine Deneuve plays Miriam, a centuries-old vampire capable of bestowing the gift of immortality on her lovers -- namely her current partner John (David Bowie). To sustain their sanguinary requirements, the pair cruises New York nightclubs in search of victims (as illustrated in a stunning opening sequence to the accompaniment of "Bela Lugosi's Dead" performed by seminal Goth band Bauhaus). When John awakens one morning to discover telltale signs of aging, it is revealed that his own sustained youth is not permanent, and his physical decrepitude begins to increase at an incredible rate. In a panic, John visits the clinic of scientist Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon), who has recently published a book on reversing the aging process, but she initially dismisses him as a crank, leaving him to sit in the lobby for several hours... during which his body ages several decades. After learning of his condition, Sarah traces John to his uptown flat. John is nowhere to be found, having been consigned by Miriam to a box in the attic with her legions of undead loves, leaving Miriam to deal with Sarah -- which she does quite effectively, seducing her into a steamy lesbian tryst. Their passion is consummated by a mingling of Miriam's blood with Sarah's, which later manifests itself as a psychic link between the two women and leaves Sarah with a rapidly-increasing appetite for blood. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, (more)
E. L. Doctorow's novel Ragtime was a sprawling fictional account of American manners and mores in the years between 1900 and 1913. Among the mosaic of colorful factual and fictional characters in the novel were escape artist Harry Houdini and radical Emma Goldman. Both characters are all but eliminated in the film version, which only concentrates on three of Doctorow's many plot threads: The story of an immigrant artist (Mandy Patinkin) who becomes a movie director; the saga of "Gibson Girl" Evelyn Nesbit Shaw (Elizabeth McGovern), for whose sake playboy Harry K. Thaw (Robert Joy); kills architect Stanford White (Norman Mailer) and a lone black man's (Howard Rollins Jr.) quest for justice when his car is destroyed by a racist fire chief (Kenneth McMillan). This last subplot consumes most of the film's running time, to the overall detriment of the pacing. There are also several scenes involving an unnamed upper-middle-class family (headed by James Olson and Mary Steenburgen) who are evidently meant to be the audience's eyes and ears, but are frankly not terribly interesting. Back in 1981, Ragtime was given plenty of press coverage as the "comeback" picture for James Cagney, after twenty years in retirement. The problem is that Cagney's character (a police commissioner) isn't in the book, and his inclusion not only throws the story off balance, but necessitates the removal of several potentially interesting characters and events. Another detriment is the gratuitous (and illogical) nudity in the Evelyn Nesbit scenes, which earned the film its "R" rating. An ornate misfire, Ragtime is of interest today only for its remarkable cast of veterans and stars-to-be, including Pat O'Brien and Eloise O'Brien, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Allen, Moses Gunn, Jeff Daniels and Fran Drescher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Brad Dourif, (more)
Based on a true story, Chariots of Fire is the internationally acclaimed Oscar-winning drama of two very different men who compete as runners in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a serious Christian Scotsman, believes that he has to succeed as a testament to his undying religious faith. Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), is a Jewish Englishman who wants desperately to be accepted and prove to the world that Jews are not inferior. The film crosscuts between each man's life as he trains for the competition, fueled by these very different desires. As compelling as the racing scenes are, it's really the depth of the two main characters that touches the viewer, as they forcefully drive home the theme that victory attained through devotion, commitment, integrity, and sacrifice is the most admirable feat that one can achieve. (Ian Holm was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor in his role as Abrahams' coach), and this powerful film ended up with four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, (more)
