David Dwyer Movies

Bound to the ABC Saturday Suspense Movie 72-minute limitation, Linda could have benefitted from ten or twenty extra minutes' running time. The film, based on a novel by John D. McDonald, stars Stella Stevens as the woman scorned whom Hell hath no fury like. Stevens murders the wife (Mary Robin-Redd) of her lover (John Saxon), then plugs the lover. Stevens' husband Ed Nelson suspects that his wife is responsible for the killings. Stevens responds by framing hubby for the woman's death. John McIntyre plays the aptly named Marshall Journeyman, who methodically ferrets out the facts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Thomas Berger, The Feud is a lampoonish look at 1950s manners and mores. There is no love lost between the neighboring communities of Milville and Hornbeck. This is largely due to the animosity between two large and demonstrative families: the Bullards and the Bealers. In the tradition of the Hatfields and McCoys (and also Laurel and Hardy), minor irritations slowly escalate into all-out warfare. The humor is very dark at times, sometimes bordering on the "sick": this is Norman Rockwel as filtered by Hieronymus Bosch. Because the actors play their roles in a broad, slapsticky manner, The Feud is liable to turn off as many viewers as it attracts, but that's the peril of being a "cult film." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in the Appalachians during the Depression, this drama follows the events that take place when Wayland Jackson (Kurt Russell) falls in love with Collie Wright (Kelly McGillis) and becomes involved in the family feud that is sparked by the existence of Collie's illegitimate son. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

The serialized story structure and barbed social commentary from comic book creator and co-writer Frank Miller earned critical respect in this satirical science fiction sequel directed by Irvin Kershner. Peter Weller returns as RoboCop, a futuristic cyborg fashioned from cutting-edge technology and the biological remains of slain Detroit police officer, Alex Murphy. Still patrolling the city streets, RoboCop is scheduled by his creator, Omni Consumer Products, to be replaced by a new "superior" model, RoboCop 2, that according to designer Juliette Faxx (Belinda Bauer), will contain the human remains not of a cop but a criminal. In the meantime, an instantly addictive drug called Nuke is sweeping through Detroit thanks to a kingpin named Cain (Tom Noonan). Taking Cain to task, RoboCop is captured and dismantled. When he's put back together, the cyborg is reprogrammed with a series of socially conscious commands (in a sly mocking of the then relatively new concept of "political correctness") that render him impotent as a law enforcer. Taking charge by rewiring himself with an electrical overload, RoboCop arrests Cain, who is injured in the process. Faxx secretly takes Cain's brain and inserts it into RoboCop 2, turning the robot immediately into a law-breaking murder machine and leading to a violent showdown between two generations of robotic crime-fighters. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

A woman learns the value of friendship as she hears the story of two women and how their friendship shaped their lives in this warm comedy-drama. Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates) is an emotionally repressed housewife with a habit of drowning her sorrows in candy bars. Her husband Ed (Gailard Sartain) barely acknowledges her existence, and while he visits his aunt at a nursing home every week, Evelyn is not permitted to come into the room because the old women doesn't like her. One week, while waiting out Ed's visit, Evelyn meets Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy), a frail but feisty old woman who lives at the same nursing home and loves to tell stories. Over the span of several weeks, she spins a whopper about one of her relatives, Idgie (Mary Stuart Masterson). Back in the 1920s, Idgie was a sweet but fiercely independent woman with her own way of doing things who ran the town diner in Whistle Stop, Alabama. Idgie was very close to her brother Buddy (Chris O'Donnell), and when he died, she wouldn't talk to anyone except Buddy's girl, Ruth Jamison (Mary-Louise Parker). Idgie gave Ruth a job at the cafe after she left her abusive husband, Frank Bennett (Nick Searcy). Between her habit of standing up for herself, standing up to Frank, and serving food to Black people out the back of the diner, Idgie raised the ire of the less tolerant citizens of Whistle Stop, and when Frank mysteriously disappeared, many locals suspected that Idgie, Ruth, and their friends may have been responsible. Evelyn finds herself looking forward to her weekly visits with Ninny, and is inspired by her story to take a new pride in herself and assert her independence from Ed. Fried Green Tomatoes was based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by actress-turned-author Fannie Flagg, who makes a cameo appearance as the leader of a self-help group. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, Disney's family film Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken follows the adventures of a 1920s teenager named Sonora Webster (Gabrielle Anwar), who runs away from her foster home to join a carnival. At the carnival, she gets a job as a stunt rider who leaps with her horse into a tank of water 40 feet below. Along the way, she has plenty of adventures, eventually falling in love with the son of one of the show's cowboys. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Peter Dexter adapted his National Book Award-winning novel for this probing made-for-cable film featuring Dennis Hopper in the title role as an unrepentant racist in 1949 Georgia. Trout is a greedy and paranoid shopkeeper who murders the sister and mother of a black man who refuses to repay Trout's IOU. When Trout is arrested for the crimes, he can't comprehend why he would be aprehended for his actions. Lawyer Harry Seagraves (Ed Harris) arrives to represent Trout in court, but Seagroves dislikes defending a man whom he feels deserves to be punished. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Geoff Murphy directed this time-travel chase movie. Emilio Estevez stars as Alex Furlong, a racecar driver from 1991, who is just about to experience a deadly crash in his Formula Atlantic. But at the last moment Alex finds himself transported to the streets of New York in 2009. He is saved from certain death and zapped into the future by 21st-century bounty hunter Vacendak (Mick Jagger), who wants to take over Alex's body. Alex escapes Vacendak's clutches and decides to look up an old girlfriend. When he locates Julie (Rene Russo), he enlists her support to help him from being captured by Vacendak. Much to Alex's surprise, he discovers that Julie now works as a top executive for a giant corporation presided over by McCandless (Anthony Hopkins). Julie, separated from Alex for almost twenty years, must decide whether to renew their relationship. But there is not much time for thought by either party, since Vacendak is still coming after Alex. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This movie is based on the true story of Nancy Ziegenmeyer, a rape victim who announced to the world that rape is not the fault of the victim, thereby taking back her right to a normal life and inspiring other victims to stand up to what was being done to them ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

In this complex, gripping made-for-TV courtroom drama, the new DA of a small town is given the job of prosecuting the alleged murderer of a stripper. Unfortunately, his own father is in charge of the defense. To make matters worse, both attorneys are in love with the wife of the accused. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham, Mitch McDeer (Tom Cruise) is a young man from a poor Southern family who has struggled through Harvard Law School to graduate fifth in his class. Mitch is entertaining offers from major firms in New York and Chicago, but when Memphis-based Bendini, Lambert, & Locke offer him a 20 percent higher salary than the best offer he's received, in addition to an enticing variety of perks and fringe benefits, he decides to sign on and remain in the South. Mitch's wife, Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn), warns him that the deal sounds almost too good to be true, but it's not until after several weeks of working with Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman) that Mitch discovers that the vast majority of BL&L's business is tied to organized crime, with crime boss Joey Morolto (Paul Sorvino) using the firm to launder Mafia money. FBI agents Wayne Tarrance (Ed Harris) and F. Denton Voyles (Steven Hill) try to blackmail Mitch into helping them make a case against the firm, while BL&L's "security director" William Devasher (Wilford Brimley) is blackmailing him to do as he's told after Mitch foolishly allows himself to be seduced by a prostitute hired by the firm. The Firm was adapted for the screen by acclaimed playwright David Rabe and features performances by Hal Holbrook, Holly Hunter, and Gary Busey. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Steve Martin produced, wrote, and starred in this modernized adaptation of the George Eliot novel Silas Marner. Martin is miserly small-town hermit Michael McCann, who hoards his wealth in the form of a rare coin collection. When his coins are stolen, McCann is ruined, but then he discovers an abandoned baby girl on his doorstep. Although he doesn't know it, the girl, whom McCann names Mathilda, is the illegitimate daughter of a prominent local politician, John Newland (Gabriel Byrne). Raising Mathilda has a profound effect on McCann, who emerges from his self-imposed exile and becomes an excellent, creative father. Mathilda grows up to be an intelligent, attractive girl, friendly with Newland and his wife (Laura Linney). When the Newlands learn that they cannot have children, John confesses his secret and embarks on a custody battle with McCann to regain guardianship of his daughter. The location of McCann's long-lost coins has a powerful impact on the proceedings, however. A rather dour and downbeat film, A Simple Twist of Fate lacked the charm and whimsy of Martin's earlier literary adaptation, Roxanne, and did not enjoy that film's box office success. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide