Armand Mastroianni Movies
A vengeful sheriff sets out to capture the escaped convict who murdered his wife and son in this gunpowder stained western starring Luke Perry and C. Thomas Howell. When his family was killed, Sheriff Matt Austin swore that he would take violent revenge on the man responsible for that woeful misdeed. But when Sheriff Austin discovers that the very same villain has been hired by a wealthy land baron to steal some valuable land from a terrified widow and her young son, he realizes that he must act quickly before any more lives are lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Perry, C. Thomas Howell, (more)
Dean Cain and Anthony Michael Hall go toe-to-toe at 30,000 feet in this action-packed mini-series that finds a radical terrorist poised to take down domestic flight or die trying. FBI hostage rescue specialist Jack Bender (Cain) is traveling across the country on a domestic flight when the members of the People's Separatist Movement attempts to take control of the aircraft. The leader of the terrorist group is Greg Gilliad (Hall), an unpredictable fanatic with visions of nuclear grandeur. When Jack's ex-wife, an FAA employee, announces that the only way to defeat Greg and his group may be to shoot the plan right out of the sky, the seasoned hostage rescue specialist attempts to draw on his extensive combat training in order to ensure that the flight touches down without incident. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Cain, Anthony Michael Hall, (more)
James Remar and Melvin Van Peebles headline this relentlessly tense tale of a special ops sniper who reluctantly accepts one final mission before disappearing into retirement. Dillon (Remar) is a special ops sharpshooter extraordinaire - the kind of triggerman who could take out a Tic Tac at twenty yards without so much as using his scope. But now that Dillon has experienced his fair share of the war game, he's about to hang up his rifle for good. Just as he's preparing to disappear into obscurity, however, Dillon learns that some very bad people are attempting to obtain some very volatile nuclear materials. Suddenly, an ambitious terrorist plot goes unexpectedly awry, and the man who was supposed to stop it is now at the center of a deadly conspiracy. Will Dillon be able to unravel the explosive mystery that could bring about his death, or is he playing right into the hands of the powers that be. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Remar, Mario Van Peebles, (more)
- 2007
Armand Mastroianni, the gifted director of the legendary 1980 horror sleeper He Knows You're Alone, returns to helm the three-hour, all-star medical miniseries Pandemic. The program explores the lethal consequences that can unfurl when a deadly plague, with an unknown cure and an even more mysterious source, worms its way through the denizens of a terror-stricken metropolis. 90210's Tiffani-Amber Thiessen stars as Dr. Kayla Martin, an epidemiologist at the Center for Disease Control. When the news arrives of a plague victim on board a flight from Australia to LAX Airport in Los Angeles -- who promptly dies amid body-racking convulsions and a record-high fever -- Dr. Martin makes the pivotal decision to quarantine all passengers at LAX, sending the city, and the mayor (Eric Roberts), into an uproar. Meanwhile, the plague concurrently begins to appear in other areas of the city -- suggesting a beast that no one can even begin to contain. In time, the disease becomes known as "The Riptide Virus." As a thoughtless ACLU attorney schemes to wage war against Dr. Martin for an unlawful quarantine, Martin, her associate Carl Ratner (French Stewart), and FBI Agent Troy Whitlock (Vincent Spano) race to find a solution before time runs out. Faye Dunaway also co-stars. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, French Stewart, (more)
- 2006
Reunited as adults, childhood friends Mark Lucas (Bridget Brannagh and Theresa Connolly (Crystal Allen) fall in love and decide to get married. The wedding plans are okay so far as Mark and Theresa's golfing-buddy dads are concerned. Alas, the couple's mothers constitute a different story: Betsy Lucas (Shelley Long) and Bridget Connolly (Patty Duke) have carried on a bitter feud for the past 25 years, and they aren't about to go into "all is forgiven" mode just because their kids are in love. The situation reaches a disastrous peak when Betsy and Bridget take it upon themselves to arrange the couple's Catalina Island wedding--and as terrifying as these two ladies are when they're on opposite sides of the fence, they're even more so when they join forces! Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door was first telecast February 4, 2006, as a cinematic Valentine card from cable's Hallmark Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
On the day of her granddaughter's departure to California -- in the company of her rock musician boyfriend -- Elizabeth Leroy Bishop (Cheryl Ladd) tries to tell her the story of how she came to spend her life in the town of Three Rivers, and the rewards she has received from that life. We flash back to 1950, just after Elizabeth's mother died of cancer -- of college age, Elizabeth (Amy Grabow) comes home to live with her physician father (Christopher Allport), and meets the young associate pastor Ben Phillips (Brad Rowe), who is newly arrived in town. Elizabeth is heavily involved with the life of the church, and the two quickly become friends and more. Ben eventually asks Elizabeth to marry him; but first he must fulfill his obligation as a minister, to serve as an army chaplain in Korea. A series of tragedies test Elizabeth's faith over the ensuing 50 years, and just as she reaches a point of beginning to understand what she sees as God's plan for her, two unexpected events await. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amy Grabow, Christopher Allport, (more)
The prophecy of a worldwide spiritual awakening gradually begins to come into focus in director Armand Mastroianni and screenwriters James Redfield, Barnet Bain, and Dan Gordon's sweeping adaptation of James Redfield's best-selling novel. John Woodson (Matthew Settle) was a high-school history teacher before the loss of his job left him disillusioned and facing an uncertain future. When John is contacted by ex-girlfriend and journalist Charlene (Robyn Cohen), who is currently in town on a brief layover after covering a story in Peru, the pair arrange to meet for dinner and Charlene explains that she has just returned from a remote Eden known as Viciente, where scholars are currently studying a mysterious set of eight ancient scrolls. It was there, continues Charlene, that she came into contact with a priest named Father Jose, who explained to her that the scrolls contain a prophesy written before the birth of Christ and foretell a coming time of enlightenment that will redefine life in the 21st century. Though at first skeptical, John is compelled to book a flight to Peru when Charlene states that she appears to have been drawn to him by a higher power, and a travel brochure on Peru appears in his mailbox the following day. A subsequent encounter with a professor who is also on John's flight and has been studying the scrolls reveals that the scrolls were written in 5 or 6 B.C. and buried in a wooden box that was assembled in the 1600s. Though there was, according to legend, a ninth scroll, it has yet to be recovered. A late-night stroll on the streets of Lima soon leads John into the company of Father Jose, who later disappears after a frightening encounter in which a high-ranking operative holds the priest at gunpoint while insisting that he reveal the location of the lost scroll. Later led to Viciente by the guide who was with Father Jose when the cleric discovered the scrolls, John is haunted by dreams of a remote paradise and a young child, setting into motion a spectacular series of events that will ultimately culminate in a transformation of light that promises to reveal the future of humanity. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Settle, Thomas Kretschmann, (more)
- 2005
Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't is one of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as suburban housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. When the Declaration of Independence is stolen while on display at a Los Angeles bank, NSA higher-up Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) calls in Kathy--code name "Jane Doe"--in hopes of figuring out who did it. It's a standard "locked room" mystery which Kathy manages to figure out in no time flat, but the murder of the chief suspect and the kidnapping of the suspect's wife makes things a bit more complicated. As she endeavors to crack the case, Kathy must also deal with her neurotic husband Jack (William R. Moses) as he adjusts to working in the same office with a former girlfriend, and she must contend with the jealousy of her NRA cohort, case officer Helen Morrison (Tamlyn Tomita). Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't made its first TV appearance on February 24, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Jane Doe:'Til Death Do Us Part is one of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as suburban housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. This time around, Armand Nostrum (Tom Castranova), a notorious illegal arms dealer serving a life term in prison, apparently dies of heart failure just before he was to blow the whistle on the others in his operation. Kathy--code name "Jane Doe"--is brought into the case when Nostrum's body disappears from the prison hospital, despite the tightest of security measures. As she tries to figure out what has happened and why, the possibility arises that the "dead" man was anything but! This is the episode in which Kathy is finally permitted to tell her husband Jack (William R. Moses) of her covert activities--and in the bargain, our heroine honors us with a lengthy and very broad imitation of a "typical" Mafia princess! Jane Doe: 'Til Death Do Us Part first aired March 11, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Recently widowed Tevis Lockwood (Mykelti Williamson) has moved from Los Angeles to Seattle in order to start a new life for himself and his daughters Ashley (Arreale Davis) and Jasmine (Aysia Polk). The girls are none too happy about being uprooted, but Tevis turns a deaf ear to their complaints, choosing to bury himself in his new job at a shipping company. But if Tevis had hoped that by burying the past he could assure himself a happy future, he is wrong: Before long, both of his daughters have been diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia, and one of them dies. Tevis' outrage and loss of faith over this tragedy all but pushes the surviving daughter into a life-threatening act of despair--and it is up to Tess (Della Reese) to set things right in both Seattle and Heaven. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Allen and Janice Lowry (John Heard, Patricia Kalember) discover that their only child Erica (Jennifer Brox) has leukemia, and needs an immediate bone-marrow transplant. Unfortunately, neither parent completely matches Erica's DNA; if only she had a sibling who was willing to be a donor. Just when the situation is at its bleakest, who should arrive at the Lowry's doorstep but 16-year-old Robbie (Trever O'Brien), who claims to be Alan's illegitimate son. This turns out to be true--and sadly, it is also true that Robbie's embittered mother Debbie (Sherry Hursey) flatly refuses to allow her son to be tested as a donor. It is up to Monica (Roma Downey) and the angels to not only melt Debbie's hard heart, but also save the Lowrys' now-fractured marriage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
First Shot is the third in a series of cable TV movies focusing on fearless female Secret Service agent Alex McGregor (Mariel Hemingway), following First Daughter and First Target. Newly promoted to head of Secret Service in Washington, Alex is determined to safeguard the President (Gregory Harrison) from a militia rebel group that has already killed 40 soldiers in a domestic terrorist attack. But until her husband, Grant (Doug Savant), is kidnapped, Alex is unaware that she, too, is on the terrorists' "hit list" -- and that she is already in the cross-hairs of a fanatical sharpshooter (Dean Wray). First Shot debuted August 11, 2002, on the TBS Superstation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mariel Hemingway
- 2002
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Monica (Roma Downey) continues struggling with her emotions as Tess (Della Reese) sinks deeper and deeper into Alzheimers' Disease. Tess' plight makes Monica's current assignment, to help reformed wastrel Kevin Greeley (Charlie Schlatter, repeating his role from the third-season episode "Inherit the Wind", adopt his foster son despite resistance from a woman named Hannah (Jenice Bergere), who claims to be the boy's real mother. The fact that Hannah works in the same nursing home where Tess is currently residing is a subtle hint that somehow, some way, the episode's two main crises will intertwine. Ossie Davis and Keb Mo' make return visits as the Archangel Gabriel and the Angel of Music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
16-year-old Natalie Tate (Ashley Johnson) is thoroughly ashamed of her mom Annie (Jo Dee Messina), a cocktail waitress who lives in a trailer camp. Aspiring to a better life, Annie weaves a web of lies for the benefit of her high school friends, claiming that Annie is a wealthy Harvard graduate. When the true is revealed in a humiliating fashion, Annie begs her new neighbor Monica (Roma Downey) for help in resolving the situation. But angel though she may be, Monica demurs, convinced that Annie is capable of handling things herself. Guest star Jo Dee Messina sings the title song for this episode, in which series regular Della Reese (Tess) does not appear. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
In the made-for-TV First Target, Daryl Hannah stars as feisty and combative U.S. Secret Service agent Alex McGregor, a role created by Mariel Hemingway in the earlier TV movie First Daughter. This time around, Alex finds herself attempting to prevent the assassination of the President of the United States in a "wide open" Washington State national park. Offering assistance every step of the way is Alex's fiancé, Grant Carlson (Doug Savant), who might otherwise be neglected altogether by the understandably preoccupied heroine. Boasting gorgeous scenery (it was filmed in British Columbia) and a particularly cunning villain, First Target was originally telecast over TBS on October 15, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daryl Hannah
- 2000
Photographer, Beatles wife, tambourine player, purveyor of vegetarian entrees: Linda McCartney led an undeniably remarkable life. The Linda McCartney Story, based on the book Linda McCartney: The Biography, attempts to present this life in all its glory. Scion of the George Eastman photography dynasty, McCartney is first shown as Linda Eastman, aspiring rock photographer. Flirting her way around the transatlantic rock scene with the likes of Jim Morrison and Mick Jagger, she eventually meets Paul McCartney during the heyday of mid-'60s Beatlemania. Thirty years of marriage, the Beatles' break-up, tambourine playing with Wings, and McCartney's ultimately unsuccessful battle with breast cancer follow, illustrating, over the course of 120 minutes, a life lived with both strength and aplomb. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Bakewell, David Bloom, (more)
- 2000
Even as security is beefed up in Australia in anticipation of the 2000 Olympics, someone manages to slip a deadly nerve gas device -- and a detonator -- on a 747 jet bound from Sydney to L.A. The authorities are uncertain as to whether the person responsible for this outrage is a terrorist or merely a lunatic; whatever the case, they scour the world in search of the perpetrator. Meanwhile, the 747 may well be unable to find a suitable landing place before the detonator goes off, forcing pilot John Prescott (Jack Wagner) and copilot Kim McGee (Christine Elise) to make some extremely tricky life-and-death decisions. As for the 300 passengers -- well, each one has his or her own story to tell, and the viewer hears practically all of them before the almost unbearably suspenseful denouement. The made-for-cable Nowhere to Land debuted March 12, 2000, on the TBS superstation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Wagner, Christine Elise, (more)
A technological nightmare becomes a terrifying reality in this sci-fi-thriller. When a group of computer experts and executives from a high-tech firm based in Seattle die suddenly and unexpectedly during a conference call, Samantha Craig (Janine Turner), a government agent who specializes in disease tracking, is brought in to investigate. Craig finds herself having to work alongside Dr. Nick Baldwin (Antonio Sabato Jr.), a local physician trying to live down a professional disgrace, and together they make a shocking discovery: a deranged genius has developed a computer virus that has evolved from destroying databases into an organic virus that can claim human lives. But who would create such a contagion, and how can it be stopped? Fatal Error also stars Robert Wagner and Malcolm Stewart. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1999
- NR
A federal agent is demoted to a less challenging assignment, only to have it become the most dangerous mission of her life in this action-thriller. Alex McGregor (Mariel Hemingway) is a Secret Service agent who once guarded the President of the United States, Jonathan Hayes (Gregory Harrison). But after a series of misunderstandings following an attempt on the President's life, McGregor has been reassigned to oversee security for Hayes' teenaged daughter, Jess (Monica Keena). Jess has been chafing under the pressures of having a team of agents following her everywhere, so when she makes plans to go on a white-water rafting trip, the President requests a minimal compliment of Secret Service agents. This proves to be a mistake when Jess and her companions are kidnapped by a gang of right-wing terrorists. McGregor is forced to join forces with scruffy wilderness guide Grant Carlson (Doug Savant) in order to find Jess and return her to safety. Though set in the United States, First Daughter was shot in Australia, and had its premier on American television. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mariel Hemingway, Doug Savant, (more)
- 1999
"1000 Tons of Steel! 200 Lives at Stake! 100 Miles per Hour! One Man to Stop it!" That's the situation as set up by the ad campaign for the thrill-packed TV movie Final Run. The action takes place on board the Grand Royale, a luxury train controlled by a supercomputer created by a shady electronics firm called American Rail. Inevitably, human error causes the computer to suffer a glitch -- and as a result, the Grand Royle speeds precariously out of control. It is up to hero Glen "Lucky" Singer (Robert Urich) to stop the train and rescue the human cargo of TV-movie stereotypes. Curiously, the original TV Guide listings for this film failed to provide a synopsis, perhaps assuming that the title spoke for itself. Final Run premiered October 10, 1999, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When a desperate convict determines to break out of prison at any cost, his cunning escape plan finds him taking one of his best friends as a hostage and authorities mistakenly assuming that his pal is a willing participant as director Armand Mastroianni recounts one of the most daring prison escapes ever attempted. Randy Savino (Antonio Sabato Jr.) can't take life behind bars another day, but in order to escape from his fortress-like prison he'll have to take to the sky. The only way out is to hijack the helicopter of his life-long friend Colt Erikson (Adrian Pasdar) and take his old pal hostage. As authorities close in and the friendship between the pair is put to the ultimate test, Randy is about to find out there's a high price to pay for being a free man when you've wronged society in the eyes of the law. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Based on a story by Robin Cook, this made-for-TV sci-fi-drama concerns a group a predatory aliens who plan an unusual invasion of the Earth. The aliens scatter the land with a shower of minerals which trigger a virus that has always existed in human beings, but has remained dormant until now. The virus causes people to mutate into a new species who remain subservient to their alien hosts, and are willing to turn control of the Earth over to their new masters. Soon most of the world has become infected, and the tiny handful of survivors most come up with a cure before it's too late. Invasion stars Luke Perry as Beau, one of the first to become infected; Rebecca Gayheart as his girlfriend Cassy; and Kim Cattrall as Dr. Miller, one of the medical researchers investigating the virus. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Perry, Rebecca Gayheart, (more)
In this drama, a German woman treasures a ring, the one tie she has left to her life before WWII. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nastassja Kinski, Linda Lavin, (more)
- 1995
In this thriller, a soon-to-be-married woman is distraught when someone kidnaps her baby. Things get even worse when the police accuse her of orchestrating the abduction. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tracey Gold, Kyle Chandler, (more)
- 1995
Devoted to the point of obsession to her brother, Jessica Wells (Jodie Bissett) is completely unhinged by the brother's death. When Jessica becomes schizophrenic, her family must deal with the grim necessity of institutionalizing the girl. Salvation comes from an unexpected source: a new, experimental drug, with which her doctors hope to restore Jessica to normalcy--and to repair her tattered romance with her loyal boyfriend Patrick (Jason Gedrick). Trouble begins when Jessica goes off her medication and transforms into what TV Guide writer Susan Stewart described as a "sexual carnivore." A young Chad Lowe plays a small but pivotal role in the fact-based, made-for-TV Dare to Love, which had its world premiere over ABC on December 17, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
