Reuben Leder Movies

Jim Longhi's memoir of his time in the merchant marines with Woody Guthrie is adapted for feature film land by the sibling filmmaking team of director Mimi Leder (Deep Impact) and writer/brother Reuben. The production plans on leaning heavily on Guthrie's music catalogue throughout the picture. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

In an era when at-sea disasters have grown increasingly rare thanks to "foolproof" naval technology, the September 28, 1994 wreck of the ferry boat M/S Estonia raised more than a few eyebrows. En route from Talinn to Stockholm, via the Baltic Sea, the craft capsized and 852 civilians never reached their destination. In recounting this tale cinematically, writer-director Reuben Leder (brother of Mimi "Deep Impact" Leder) adapted German reporter Jutta Rabe's conspiracy thriller about the event. The picture - like its source - suggests that classified weapons were being smuggled on board the vessel, and that Russia - after learning of this secret - deliberately torpedoed the craft. The picture recalls Costa-Gavras's Z, Alan Pakula's The Parallax View, and other conspiracy thrillers by unfurling most of its story after the fatalistic event; in the vein of those earlier films, it has a suspicious character (here Jurgen Prochnow, as accident survivor and Swedish attorney Erik Westermark) teaming up with investigative reporter Julia Reuter (Greta Scacchi) to determine the truth behind the inferred political cover-ups. Screen vet Donald Sutherland co-stars. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Two women (Frances Fisher, Natasha Gregson) hit the road to seek revenge for the killers of their boyfriends. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

A young mens' hazing turns to murder in this crime drama set in a small town run by a powerful businessman. The victim was beaten to death with a monogrammed baseball bat, and later the head-killer tried to make it seem as if the young man was run down by the car of Frank Govers, a traveling salesman. Sheriff Ralph Baker begins investigating and finds his hands figuratively tied at every turn by the town fathers, particularly the powerful Will Curran. Baker does believe that Govers was framed, but the salesman, who has his own dubious past to protect takes off and ends up hiding out in the cabin of a teen-age wife whose husband has left her. Meanwhile Sheriff Baker arrests Will Curran's son Don, the guilty party in the murder. Back at the cabin, two fugitives from prison burst into the cabin and take the hapless salesman hostage. Things look pretty bleak at this point until Curran breaks his son out of jail and heads for the hills to cut a deal with the escaped convicts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

French detective Claude Fornier (Paul Verdier), whose exploits have inspired several of Robin Masters' novels, is murdered just after presenting Magnum (Tom Selleck) with the "PI of the Year" award. Though anxious to solve Fornier's murder, Magnum finds that he'll have to wait in line as every other detective attending the awards ceremony (many of whom closely resemble popular TV gumshoes!) insists upon taking a crack at the case. Elisha Cook Jr., usually cast as shady businessman Ice Pick, reprises his characterization of weasely "gunsel" Wilmer from The Maltese Falcon in a dream sequence; and appearing as chief of security at the ceremony is prolific TV producer Stephen J. Cannell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rick (Larry Manetti) sets sail on a chartered fishing excursion with several suspicious-looking customers. Hours later, Rick's boat drifts back to the dock with no one on board. The authorities are certain that Rick and his passengers have been lost at sea, but Magnum suspects otherwise. Assisting our hero in his subsequent investigation is Det. Gordon Katsumoto (Clyde Kusatsu), a John Wayne devotee who insists upon speaking and behaving just like "The Duke" (the fact that the detective's Wayne imitation is pretty awful only adds to the enjoyment of this episode!). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Already laid up with a sprained ankle, Magnum (Tom Selleck) braces himself for more pain when call girl Leslie Emory (Candy Clark), who'd given him plenty of trouble during a previous assignment, sashays back into his life. Insisting that she's given up her former profession and gone straight, Leslie asks Magnum to locate her missing sister Patty (Cindy Fisher), who is still a "working girl." Before long, Magnum finds out that his injured ankle is the least of his problems! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Magnum (Tom Selleck) is asked by soldier-of-fortune Tyler McKinney (Robert Forster) to help him rescue a mutual friend from his Vietnamese captors in the jungles of Cambodia. Though Magnum has no reason to trust the disreputable McKinney, he ends up accompanying him on his mission, with T.C. (Roger E. Mosley), Rick (Larry Manetti) and even Higgins (John Hillerman going along for the ride. Only upon arrival does Magnum discover McKinney's true motives--and it might mean instant death for at least one of the series' regulars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ron Pennington (played by Magnum, P.I.'s stunt coordinator Robert L. Minor), an old basketball-player friend of T.C. (Roger E. Mosley), is murdered during a robbery. It turns out that Ron's estranged son Ronny (Larry B. Scott) was acquainted with the killers--and that the supposedly random robbery was tied in with a large-scale drug operation. Magnum (Tom Selleck) must act quickly to solve the murder and save Ronny from himself, if for no other reason than to bring peace of mind to the boy's anguished mother Sheila (Sheila Frazer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

To publicize his latest novel, Robin Masters stages a million-dollar treasure hunt, with the clues adroitly hidden with the pages of his book. Unfortunately, one of the contestants doesn't see the need to play fair, and before the day is over Magnum (Tom Selleck) and the other treasure-hunters (among them several of the series' regulars) are being held at gunpoint on the edge of a steep cliff. In fact, the episode begins with this perilous situation, then works itself backward in the form of tantalizing flashbacks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

St. Louis-based private eye Luther H. Gillis (Eugene Roche) pays a return visit to Hawaii to pick up an award from the National Academy of Private Investigators. Unfortunately, Luther's loyal secretary Blanche (Sheree North) is kidnapped along with Higgins (John Hillerman), forcing a flustered Magnum (Tom Selleck) to once again join forces with the redoubtable Mr. Gillis. Meanwhile, a typically dour Higgins and an incongruously cheerful Blanche try to formulate an escape plan while roped together in an abandoned building. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Magnum (Tom Selleck) is reunited with his very first client, champion surfer Karen Teal (Cindy Pickett) who way back in 1979 had hired him to protect her from whomever was sending her threatening letters. Now Karen is being harrassed again, and so is her daughter Leah (Rosetta Tarantino). When the girl is kidnapped just before a major surfing meet, Magnum's first impulse is to hold Karen's vindicative ex-husband responsible. . .but there may be a lot more to the story than that. In keeping with the "déjà vu" ambience of the story, the action continuously switches back and forth between the "now" of 1984 and the "then" of five years earlier. This is the only Magnum, P.I episode directed by series regular Roger E. Mosley (T.C.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this sequel to the second-season episode "Jororo Kill", Danny Lin (Wesley Ogata), the young crown prince of the Jororo Island, has come to Hawaii to play in the Little League International Goodwill Tournament. Going undercover to protect Danny from an assassination plot, Magnum (Tom Selleck) finds his efforts thwarted by the youngster's fondness for sneaking away from his bodyguards to have a little fun on his own. John Saxon is seen as security chief Ed Russler, a role played in "Jororo Kill" by Burr DeBenning. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide