George Erschbamer Movies
- 2009
This taut, family-friendly adventure from Canada follows the plight of the Childs family - author Robert (Jason Priestley), his second wife Teresa (Andrea Roth), and Robert's 16-year-old daughter from his first marriage, Christy (Genevieve Buechner) - who get pushed to the brink of disaster when their boat crashes during a storm and leaves them stranded on an uninhabited, rocky island in the middle of a wild, raging river. Although the family knows discord all too well given the widening rift between Christy and stepmom Teresa, they must set aside misgivings and help one another survive the treacheries of an unforgiving wilderness, especially given Robert's grave wounds from the accident. The loss of supplies with the sunken boat makes the situation even direr, and the family's needs grow more pressing when they must subdue a voracious bear. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Priestley, Andrea Roth, (more)
- 2008
- G
In this romantic comedy, disillusioned Liza McCann travels to Christmas Town to visit her father, whom she hasn't seen in years. The city's profuse decorations and intense Yuletide spirit conspire to sweep her up in a series of inexplicable events, and now Liza is forced to rethink everything she thought was true. Christmas Town stars Nicole de Boer, Patrick Muldoon, Garry Chalk, and Gig Morton. ~ All Movie Guide
A stressed-out mother makes a Christmas wish for a different life, only to realize that the sweet life doesn't come without its fair share of cavities in this uplifting holiday fantasy starring Lea Thompson. Between maintaining her career as a high-powered lawyer, tending to her three kids, and maintaining her relationship with her loving husband, Sophie Kelly (Thompson) never has a spare minute to herself. When Sophie takes her kids to the mall and Santa asks her what she wants for Christmas, she impulsively wishes for a new life. Subsequently transformed into a successful, single attorney who heads up her own firm, Sophie discovers that not even the advances of a handsome young bachelor can make her forget the time she shared with her beloved family. And come Christmas Day, Sophie will never be able to go back to her old life. With time running out and the snow starting to fall, Sophie learns that no life is as perfect as it seems from afar, and the only way she'll ever be truly happy is by going back to the people who love her most. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lea Thompson
- 2005
Suspecting that her husband Russell (David Millbern) is cheating on her, Jessica Landers (Erika Eleniak) concludes that his indiscretions are her fault: She just isn't exciting enough to please Russell. Hoping to inject some spice in her life--and to find a shoulder to cry on--Jessica makes contact with Marcus Declan (Michael Bergin), a former classmate on whom she'd once had a major crush. What Jessica doesn't know is that Marcus has a history of stalking and terrorizing innocent women. As it turns out, whether or not Jessica will survive her reunion with Marcus rests in the hand of an intense young woman named Lisa (played by Juliet Landau, daughter of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain). First telecast on February 10, 2005, the US-Canadian coproduction Fatal Reunion was seen on the Lifetime cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erika Eleniak, Michael Bergin, (more)
- 2005
No sooner has entrepreneur Devon Major (Sebastian Spence) emerged from a messy divorce than he is accused of murdering his ex-wife. Astonishingly, Devon requests that his wife's divorce attorney Susan Grace (Vanessa Angel) represent him at his trial. Despite Susan's avowed hatred of Devon, she agrees to take the case, conferring with District Attorney Kirsten Sorenson (Linda Purl) to get additional information on her client, who is simultaneously being investigated on a money-laundering charge by US treasury agent Mark Fairfield (David Palffy). It turns out that some extraordinary clever person has cooked up an elaborate hoax in order to literally get away with murder and robbery--but who is it, and how do Kirsten and Mark figure into the Hitchcock-like denoument? Made for cable, Criminal Intent was first telecast July 8, 2005, on the Lifetime network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
This US-Canadian cable thriller stars Jamie Luner as Sara Hansen, who in an effort to escape from an abusive marriage fakes her own death, assumes a new identity, and starts life anew in a faraway town. But the effort proves futile when her brutish husband Ryan (Chris Kramer) catches up with her, terrorizing her with the standard "If I can't have you, no one can". But Sara is determined to stop being a victim--even if it means killing her husband before he can kill her. In America, Stranger in My Bed was first telecast on cable's Lifetime channel, premiering August 29, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
When popular hockey player Matt Clerk dies before his time, he is promptly reincarnated as an Olympic-level figure skater. Only one problem: In his new incarnation, "he" has become a "she" -- Sarah Bryan by name. Retaining his macho-masculine sensibilities despite his curvaceous female frame, the hero (heroine?) has a lot of maturing to do before he's able to go for the gold. Aaron Smolinski plays the protagonist before the metamorphosis, while Nicholle Tom is seen as the "reborn" Sarah. Also in the cast are real-life skating stars Tara Lipinski and Nancy Kerrigan (and please note how no cracks are being made about broken limbs). Made for cable, Ice Angel was first telecast by the Family Channel on March 5, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicholle Tom, Tara Lipinski, (more)
Based on the Classic novel by Jack London, Call of the Wild stakes its claim to being that rare breed of adventure series that parents and kids can enjoy together. Adapted by White Fang screenwriter David Fallon and starring Nick Mancuso, this exciting saga introduces Miles Challenger (Shane Meier) a 15-year old boy living in an Alaskan mining town at the turn of the century, whose whole life changes forever when he encounters a heroic and powerful dog named Buck.
- Starring:
- Shane Meier
- 1999
- R
Despite the efforts of her sleazy attorney, Mr. Butz (David Alan Grier), teen drug dealer/car thief Crystal (Natasha Lyonne) is sentenced to a 25-year prison term, the first segment of which will be served in a youth correctional facility where she will be treated for her rampant bulimia. There, in-between binge/purge marathons with her fellow eating-disordered inmates and relentless harassment of the hapless authorities, she fends off the lesbian advances of her psychotic cellmate, Cyclona (Maria Celedonio), a serial killer who's just received a life sentence. The two escape together and embark on a cross-country road trip in search of Sister Gomez (Vincent Gallo), the beneficent nun who protected Cyclona from the sexual predations of her family during her troubled childhood south of the border. Where writer/director Matthew Bright's original Freeway was a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, Freeway 2 riffs on Hansel and Gretel; it borrows only the trailer-park trappings of the earlier film, making the titular allusion to automobiles somewhat tenuous. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natasha Lyonne, Maria Celedonio, (more)
- 1999
- PG
While on vacation at an old ghost town, two teenagers find themselves traveling back in time to the Old West. They meet and aid an alien baby who has crash-landed. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1998
In this globe-trotting adventure, Marco Polo (Don Diamont) plays the famous 13th Century explorer who sets out from Italy to find his missing father, and along the way finds danger, excitement, and amazing discoveries at every turn. The supporting cast includes Oliver Reed, Jack Palance, and Herbert Lom. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Diamont, Oliver Reed, (more)
Incompatible fugitive recovery agents, the flighty Jersey Bellini (Michael Dudikoff) and his more serious-minded female partner, B.B. (Lisa Howard), have, for the last time, ticked off mobster Wald (Tony Curtis) by apprehending his rather inept henchmen just as they are about to commit a robbery or kill one of Wald's enemies. That's when Wald turns their fate over to the ruthless Crazy Carlos (Steve Bacic), with the intention of having Bellini and B.B. killed. But the hapless bounty hunters keep having good luck just when they need it most. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Lisa Howard, (more)
In this thriller laced with comedy, Jersey Bellini (Michael Dudikoff) is a bounty hunter who has just been given a new assignment -- capture Izzy (Freddy Andreiuci), a car thief who has jumped bail and is on the run. Bellini tracks down Izzy, only to discover that a fellow bounty hunter from the same agency (and Bellini's former girlfriend), B.B. (Lisa Howard), has found him first. Bellini and B.B. are bringing Izzy in, using the car Izzy just stole, but when the two get into an argument, Izzy uses the opportunity to escape. Before long, they notice a strange noise coming from the trunk, which turns out to be a woman's voice. The car Izzy stole belonged to Deimos (Benjamin Ratner), a mobster who kidnapped the girl when she witnessed a murder he committed. B.B. lets the girl stay at her apartment while they decide what to do, but Deimos' men find Izzy and discover the girl is gone; now they need to find her -- and take care of anyone she's spoken with. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
In yet another version of The Most Dangerous Game, a champion boxer (Lorenzo Lamas), his girlfriend and a former baseball star are stalked by sadistic killers in an industrial complex. This time, however, the "hunt" is being followed and broadcast via computer to a select worldwide clientele, which makes multi-million-dollar bets as to the outcome. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorenzo Lamas, Kathleen Kinmont, (more)
- 1992
- R
This is the third in the series of adventures of a Harley-riding private eye named Soldier (Lorenzo Lamas). In this one, a biker gang calling itself Hell's Fury is kidnapping women and turning them into nympho zombies. Soldier is hired to find one of the women and break up the gang. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
The Snake Eaters are an elite division of the Marines especially trained for search and destroy missions. This actioner chronicles the exploits of one of them who has become a cop. Known as a tough loner, he returns to find the band of backwoods bad-guys who killed his parents and abducted his sister. Two sequels follow this film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
This entry in the series of Canadian direct-to-video actioners, follows the further adventures of renegade cop/Vietnam war hero Jack Kelly (Lorenzo Lamas). This time he is placed in an asylum after breaking down and slaughtering four drug lords who were cutting their cocaine with rat poison. More violence ensues after he escapes and continues his crime-fighting spree. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorenzo Lamas
- 1989
- PG13
SCTV alumnus Dave Thomas manned the megaphone for the direct-to-video Experts. John Travolta was between career highs when he agreed to appear in this anachronistic cold-war comedy. Travolta and Arye Gross play Travis and Wendell, a couple of vagabonds hired by Soviet spy Cameron Smith (Charles Martin Smith) to act as experts on the American lifestyle. It seems that Smith is in charge of one of those "typical American towns" constructed in the middle of the Soviet Union for espionage-training purposes (remember all those Red-baiting documentaries of the 1950s?) Under the influence of drugs, Travis and Wendell are relocated to the phony burg of Indian Springs, Nebraska (actually well within the Russian borders). They immediately begin indoctrinating their "American" neighbors in all the guilty pleasures of Yankee hedonism. Hardly a comedy classic, The Experts did produce one salutary by-product: it was on the set of this film that John Travolta met his future bride Kelly Preston, here cast as a peaches-and-cream Russian spy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Arye Gross, (more)
A pair of American pilots are forced to cooperate with their Soviet counterparts on a mission to destroy a Middle Eastern nuclear weapons site in this predictable, low-budget action sequel. The first Iron Eagle's rebellious fly boy Cooper (Mark Humphreys) has returned, as has his gruff mentor Chappy (Louis Gossett Jr. as yet another military man). They must work with two Russian pilots, one of whom is a beautiful woman that handsome young Cooper naturally sets out to woo. An extended build-up, including the requisite government conspiracy, leads to the climactic final battle. Average-at-best production values fail to elevate the film above a derivative screenplay, although the film did find enough success to produce further installments in the series. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Gossett, Jr., Mark Humphrey, (more)
