Grand L. Bush

Gregory Harrison is the Angel of Death in this made-for-TV suspenser. In love with artist Jane Seymour, escaped convict Harrison vows to protect Seymour and her six-year-old son Brian Bonsall from any and all antagonists. Trouble is, Harrison is apt to love Seymour and her boy to death. If you don't care for the melodramatic angle, you'll love the scene wherein Harrison gains Seymour's confidence by agreeing to pose nude for her! Angel of Death premiered on October 2, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Successful LA marketing analyst Michael Boll (James Spader) seemingly has it all-except a sense of self-confidence. Enigmatic drifter Alex (Rob Lowe) enters Michael's life and immediately begins to exert a negative influence. As Michael's self-esteem zooms (aided by generous dollops of sex and drugs) he allows himself to be dragooned into a life of crime by the demonic Alex. The "doppelganger" aspects of Bad Influence, and the film's many unexpected twists and turns, echo films of Alfred Hitchcock, especially Strangers on a Train. The film's boldest stroke is to cast the likeable Lowe as the bad guy (albeit a charming one) and the often villainous Spader as the malleable milquetoast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Garr Hagar's Gerald McRaney son is killed by white supremacists. Expecting justice from the usual legal channels, Hagar is outraged when the jury acquits his son's murderers. Though the audience is primed to expect violence, this doesn't happen: Hagar opts for an insidious, psychological cat-and-mouse game to exact vengeance on the criminals. And he's always in the shadows -- always watching. Sustaining its subtlety and restraint throughout, Blind Vengeance is infinitely preferable to the usual USA Cable Network mayhem-fests. The film was first telecast on August 22, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In director Dennis Hopper's comedy reminiscent of The Last Detail, Rock Reilly (Tom Berenger), a gruff naval veteran who plays by the rules, arrives at a Marine base, in tow with his wheeler-dealer companion Eddie Devane (William McNamara), and finds himself assigned to escort the voluptuous Toni Johnson (Erika Eleniak) to military prison, Toni being sentenced from seven to ten years for assault and going AWOL. As in The Last Detail, the three service-persons get to know each other (in the case of Toni and Rock, they get to know each other intimately) as they make their way across the Southeastern seaboard to deliver Toni to prison. As they travel on, Toni repeatedly tries to escape from the two men as the trio encounters an array of guest-star cameos (Gary Busey, Seymour Cassel, Crispin Glover, Dean Stockwell, Frederic Forrest, and Marilu Henner -- among others). Even Hopper himself makes an appearance -- as a dirty old man with an inflatable date. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The plot of this action film begins in 1996, with Los Angeles in a violence-crazed conflagration. One of the LAPD's most notorious cops, John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone), known as "the demolition man," is in hot pursuit of blonde-haired psychopath Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), who is so nasty he even kills sometimes just because he feels cranky. John captures Simon, but not before Simon kills innocent hostages. John is blamed for the deaths of the hostages, and both he and Simon are cryogenically frozen to remove their brand of ultra-violence from a society that is simply just too violent. The film shifts to the future world of 2032, where Los Angeles has become a megalopolis called San Angeles. There is no poverty, Arnold Schwarzenegger was (at one time) president of the United States, and Taco Bell is the sole survivor of the Franchise Wars. Into this peaceful and bland society, Simon is summarily defrosted by reigning benevolent dictator Dr. Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne) to have Simon murder Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary), the leader of a group of underground rebels. But Cocteau bites off more than he can chew when the melted-down Simon proceeds to go on a murder-and-looting spree. Reluctantly, Cocteau defrosts John to hunt down his old adversary. As John adjusts to self-driving cars and having sex wearing helmets, he pairs up with Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock), a bored cop with a nostalgic fascination for 20th-century culture. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

James Brolin costars with his son Josh in the made-for-cable Finish Line. The film's ad copy says it all: "His father made him run. The steroids made him win." In a justifiably melodramatic fashion, the film, based on a true story, examines the win-at-any-cost mentality of high school athletes and their parents. As is proven in the wrenching finale, that cost is a precious one. Finish Line premiered January 11, 1989, on the TNT cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set on the last day of 1999, Generation takes place during a family reunion. Richard Beymer plays an inventor who has created high-tech prosthetic devices in order to help his younger brother Drake Hogestyn. Once a star athlete in the brutal (and sometimes fatal) game of combat hockey, Hogestyn wants to maintain his status as a public hero, and to that end has no qualms about turning bionic. On a less fantastic note, the boys' social activist sister Cristina Raines rejects the reconciliation efforts extended by her macho-man father Bert Remsen. The pilot for a never-produced TV series, Generation was originally telecast May 24, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, J.J. (Jimmie Walker) has gone to work as a numbers runner in order to financially bail out his family. Although J.J. doesn't know at first that the gamblers to whom he is indebted are also trafficking in drugs and prostitution, he considers it wise to lie to his family, claiming that he's landed a job as an ad man. But J.J.'s mom, Florida (Esther Rolle), is fully aware of what her son has gotten himself into -- and when he refuses to quit his unsavory activities, Florida kicks him out of the apartment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This satirical look at the ambivalent relationship between Hollywood power brokers and African-American performers marked the writing, producing, and directing debut of Robert Townsend. The filmmaker also stars as Bobby Taylor, a struggling actor looking for his big break despite his family's and co-workers' reservations about his chosen career path. While working a day job flipping burgers, Bobby heads out to insulting cattle calls where white casting agents pass judgement on whether he seems "black enough." Meanwhile, he imagines himself playing Sam Spade, Rambo, and other movie heroes rather than the stereotypical roles actually available to him. When Bobby actually does win one such pimp-daddy part, however, he is forced to choose between accepting work that opens doors, but ultimately demeans him and returning to obscurity with his principles intact. Hollywood Shuffle's enormous supporting cast includes a wealth of black actors, from then-unknowns such as Damon Wayans to veterans such as 227 star Helen Martin. Self-financed and filmed on scraps of hand-me-down celluloid, the film helped establish actor Townsend as a director of note and also kick-started the career of co-screenwriter and co-star Keenen Ivory Wayans, who would cast Townsend in his own directorial debut the following year. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Just released from prison, Carlos Delgado (Luis Guzman) attends his grandson's christening, where he is reunited with his mobster father Ernesto (Joe Santos). Though Carlos wants to go straight, Ernesto pressures him into remainng with the Organization for one more "hit"--and to make matters worse, Carlos' own son Tomas (Raymond Cruz) likewise insists that his dad resume his life of crime. As a mobster's son himelf, Hunter (Fred Dryer) takes a special interest in this extreme example of family loyalty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After rape victim Rhonda Burke (Sonia Curtis) suffers a fatal attack, one of the many suspects comes forth with a confession--which is promptly thrown out of court. Outraged by this breach of justice, Rhonda's sister Sheila (Lauren Tewes) swears vengeance on all those suspected of assaulting Rhonda. Subsequently, two suspects are killed, and Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) are ordered to go after Sheila--even though Hunter cannot reconcile himself to the notion that Sheila is a murderer. Attorney Melvin Belli and TV journalist Ines Pedroza appear as themselves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide