Eric Lerner Movies

The life and times of Augustus Caesar are brought to the screen in this made-for-television historical epic. After assisting Julius Caesar in a string of military campaigns, Augustus is adopted by the Roman leader, and when Brutus and Cassius kill Julius, Augustus joins forces with Marc Antony to rid them and their associates of the Roman leadership. As Augustus becomes Rome's new and uncontested leader, he falls for the beautiful Livia and is forced to turn against Marc Antony on the field of battle. While Rome enjoys a period of wealth and progress, Livia becomes politically ambitious and Augustus finds he has become the center of an assassination plot. Augustus stars Peter O'Toole and Charlotte Rampling, who respectively portray the mature Augustus and Livia. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The can't-miss teaming of Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn is squandered on a clumsy, illogical romantic melodrama. Running across her old boyfriend Gibson at a Wisconsin gas station, Hawn is astounded that he seems not to recognize her. How could she have known that Gibson was put into the Witness Relocation Program after testifying against a homicidal mob boss (say, don't they usually alter your appearance when they put you in that program?) Curious over Gibson's furtive behavior, Hawn unknowingly sets herself up as a target for the bad guys. The whole affairs culminates in an after-hours showdown at a zoo (a plot device vastly improved upon in the 1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Eraser). While Bird on a Wire admittedly has its moments of enjoyment, most of the film is on a par with Gibson's embarrassing, homophobic scene with a pair of epicine hairdressers. And whoever heard of the Chinatown section of Racine, Wisconsin? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this exploitation drama, an octet of teens survive a plane crash and end up stranded on a lonely island inhabited only by a ruthless gang of drug smugglers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi