Joel Brooks Movies

Eleven years after slaying fifteen people including his own mother, serial killer Jack Riley sets out to finish what he started in this low-budget slasher opus. Jack Riley was just seventeen years old when he embarked on the brutal killing spree that earned him the dubious nickname Basement Jack. Eleven years later Jack's still dangerous as ever, and he's about to be released from the state asylum. But no one has forgotten the name Basement Jack, especially not Karen Cook. By slaying the man who slaughtered her family, Karen hopes to end the cycle of suffering that has plagued her for eleven years. But the body count is rising fast, and if Karen truly hopes to prevent another massacre, she'll have to start thinking like a true serial killer. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Door to Door is the inspirational true story of a man who refused to let severe physical debilitation get in the way of his life's goal. William H. Macy (who also co-wrote the script) stars as Bill Porter, a Portland, OR, native born with cerebral palsy. Despite his spastic walk and oddly shaped countenance, Bill intends to succeed in life on ability rather than the pity of the unafflicted. Thus, in 1955, he manages to land a job as a door-to-door salesman for the Watkins Company. At first, Bill meets with nothing but slammed doors, hostile dogs, and unashamed hostility from "normal" people; but after making his first sale to a reclusive alcoholic named Gladys (Kathy Baker), there is literally no stopping him. For next 40 years, Bill walks some eight to ten miles per day plying his trade, winning one "salesman of the year" award after another. Also in the cast is Helen Mirren as Bill's supportive but aphasic mother, and Kyra Sedgwick as Bill's young assistant, Shelley, whose Herculean efforts to get the hero to "modernize" his tried-and-true methods invariably come a cropper. Door to Door debuted July 14, 2002, over the TNT cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Harland Williams stars in this comedy as a confidence man who is trying to outrun the bill collectors. Posing as a woman, he gets a job as the headmistress at an exclusive private girl's school, but now he has a whole new set of problems -- namely, fooling everyone into thinking he's a woman for the next several months, and dealing with Harriet Magnum (Katey Sagal), the no-nonsense assistant headmistress known around the school as "Dirty Harriet." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In the spirit of such earlier efforts as Operation Eichmann and House on Garibaldi Street, this meticulously crafted cable movie recounts the 1960 mission by the Israeli secret service to kidnap Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann from his hiding place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although Israel will ultimately subject Eichmann to a scrupulously fair trial, it is first necessary to break the law and violate Argentina's strict "no extradition" policy regarding renegade Nazis. Once the abduction has been accomplished, the task remains to smuggle Eichmann out of the country without detection -- and at this point, the film boils down to a battle of wits and wills between evil genius Eichmann (played by Robert Duvall, who also co-produced) and the mission's leader, Israeli Mossad agent Peter Malkin (Arliss Howard). Based on Malkin's memoir Eichmann in My Hands, The Man Who Captured Eichmann was first seen over the TNT cable service on November 10, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Adrian Lyne buffs the premise of Honeymoon in Vegas to a fine gloss in this yuppie melodrama that poses the conundrum of whether the loving husband of an equally loving wife will accept $1 million to allow his wife to spend one night with a billionaire who looks like Robert Redford. All the cynics please take a number and form a line at the right. Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson play Diana and David Murphy, high-school sweethearts who marry and who are doing very well -- Diana is a successful real-estate agent, and David is an idealistic architect who has built a dream house by the ocean -- until the recession hits. Suddenly, David loses his job, and they can't make the mortgage payments. Dead broke, they borrow $5000 from David's father and head to Las Vegas to try to win money to pay the mortgage on their house. At first, they get $25,000 ahead -- but inevitably the house always wins, and they end up losing it all. While Diana is in the fancy casino boutique trying to lift some candy, she is spotted by billionaire John Gage (Robert Redford), who is immediately attracted to her. John invites Diana and David to an opulent party, and it is there that John offers David $1 million for a night with his wife. David is wracked by this moral dilemma, but Diana finally makes the decision on her own, with ensuing consequences for their ideal marriage and their bank account. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Made for cable TV, Are You Lonesome Tonight? serves as a wide-eyed, heart-in-throat vehicle for Jane Seymour. She plays a wealthy young society matron whose husband disappears. An added complication involves her hubby's preoccupation with a phone-sex "operator." Detective Mat Henderson (Parker Stevenson) is brought in to investigate, using the taped transcripts of the husband's heavy-breathing phone conversations as his only leads. The suspense level fluctuates between intense and ho-hum during the first two thirds of Are You Lonesome Tonight?, but things pick up considerably in the final scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A brilliant black UCLA student who has managed to rise above his street-gang origins is murdered in a drive-by shooting--not in his old 'hood, but in fashionable Westwood. At first, it appears that the killing was gang-related, perhaps an act of vengeance. But as Hunter (Fred Dryer) delves into the case, he uncovers a sinister investment scheme involving the dead student's white roommate. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"It's the craziest wedding of the year!" promised the ads for the TV movie Going to the Chapel. Well, maybe not the craziest, but certainly the silliest. The thinnish plot concerns the roadblocks standing in the way of the impending wedding of Scott Valentine and Michelle Greene. As a means to sustain audience interest, the producers populated the supporting cast with a veritable village full of top TV names: Cloris Leachman, John Ratzenberger, Max Wright, Dick Van Patten, Eileen Brennan and Barbara Billingsley. First shown October 9, 1988, Going to the Chapel died in the ratings opposite the blockbuster biopic Liberace: Behind the Music. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy, two rival ad executives find themselves marooned on a South Pacific during a balloon accident. Comic mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

With this episode, Ellen Foley joins the cast as no-nonsense public defender Billie Young. Immediately upon arrival, Billie runs afoul of zany night-court judge Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson), refusing to reveal the whereabouts of a cat "kidnapped" by her client during a most unusual custody battle with a large and powerful corporation. Needless to say, Billie ends up behind bars--and Harry is instantly smitten by her wrathful beauty! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Both Alice (Valerie Harper) and Mel's mom Carrie (Martha Raye) audition for a singing job at a fancy supper club. And both ladies are flatly rejected--on the grounds that they're too old for the gig. Series regular Vic Tayback (Mel) does not appear in this episode, which is highlighted by a down-and-dirty rendition of "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

To pick up extra money, cab driver Tony (Tony Danza) hires himself out as a chauffeur for a wealthy woman named Christina (Rebecca Holden). Perhaps it goes without saying that Tony becomes enamored of his attractive new boss, and it is equally unnecessary to add that this romance is not going to be smooth sailing by any means, especially since Tony is too shy to let Christina know how he feels about her. ~ Rovi