Mace Neufeld Movies

Officially premiering April 27, 1981, the weekly TV drama American Dream was preceded by a 90-minute pilot film, telecast April 26. The six-member Novak family, headed by Marshall Field employee Danny Novak (Stephen Macht), moves from the comfort of suburban Arlington Heights to inner-city Chicago (gosh only knows why). Danny's wife Donna (Karen Carlson) approves of the move, while sons Casey and Todd (Tim Waldrip and Michael Hershewe) want no part of it. The Novak's new neighbors include feisty, combatitive Paula Navarro (Helen Rubio), and old philosophical realtor Berlowitz (Hans Conreid). The American Dream series itself lasted two months; for details of the compromises and the broken dreams that led to its demise, see media critic Todd Gitlin's 1984 book Inside Prime Time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed by David Mackenzie, Asylum follows a 1950s family living in a home on the grounds of an asylum after Max (Hugh Bonneville), the patriarch, is assigned to serve as deputy director of a remote psychiatric hospital. Neither his wife, Stella (Natasha Richardson), nor his young son, Charlie (Augustus Jeremiah Lewis), are particularly happy about the arrangements, though Stella finds herself slowly becoming attracted to Edgar Stark (Marton Csokas), a charismatic inmate. Despite the obvious repercussions of an extramarital affair and the sage advice of Dr. Cleave (Ian McKellen), a colleague of her husband, Stella's slow-burning attraction becomes an all out obsession; before long, Stella is barely aware that she is risking her family, her sanity, and even her very life for Edgar. Asylum is based on a novel by Patrick McGrath. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Kevin Hooks (Passenger 57) directed this action drama about an ex-convict tricked into trucking illegal weapons across state lines. Truckdriver Jack Crews (Patrick Swayze) fell asleep at the wheel, resulting in an accident that brought him a conviction of vehicular manslaughter and a two-year prison sentence. Minus a license to drive the big rigs, Jack works for a trucking firm as a mechanic to support his wife (Brenda Strong) and daughter (Erin Broderick). His paycheck doesn't cover his overdue mortgage payments, so Jack reluctantly accepts an offer from his new boss Cutler (Graham Beckel) to make $10,000 "off the books" with a no-questions-asked delivery of toilets from Georgia to New Jersey. Jack has doubts after he goes to Georgia to get his rig; Cutler's associate Red (Meat Loaf) gives Jack a driving partner (Randy Travis) and an armed duo (Gabriel Casseus and Brian Vincent). After the four depart, Red orders others to hijack the cargo. A lengthy chase begins -- with various vehicles from motorcycles to 18-wheelers trying to get Jack off the road. After Jack learns his truck is not flush with toilets but instead is filled with a cargo of AK-47s, he phones Cutler to resign, prompting Cutler to take Jack's wife and child as hostages. Jack then moves from neutral to high gear -- with smash-ups and shootouts just around the next curve. The soundtrack includes Rhett Akins' new interpretation of "Drivin' My Life Away" by Eddie Rabbit (who died at the age of 53 during the week this film was released). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Lawyer John Williams (Courtney B. Vance) looks back in flashback to 1957 when he began as a lawyer while living in the Bronx with his older brother, Charles (Charles S. Dutton). Married to Carol (Lonette McKee), Charles is the NYPD's first African-American sergeant, and he plans a police exam for his oldest son, Charlie (Garland Whitt), who would rather study art. After a call that Charlie is under arrest for the murder of a white boy, John suspects he was beaten and forced to confess by the cops, but Charlie claims he did indeed kill an Irish-American youth. John takes on the case, feeling that Charlie is hiding something -- while the courts, police, and the public are all ready to see Charlie electrocuted. Director Ernest Dickerson (Juice) filmed in Toronto. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Satan's son comes of age in this horror sequel. Shortly after the events of The Omen, a pair of anthropologists uncovers an ancient crypt that depicts the face of the Antichrist -- that of Damien Thorn (Jonathan Scott-Taylor), recently orphaned scion of a wealthy industrialist. Before they can warn the world of the child's evil lineage, both men are buried under tons of rubble. Seven years later, 13-year-old Damien attends military school alongside his cousin, Mark (Lucas Donat), and spends lots of time with his adoptive parents, Uncle Richard (William Holden) and Aunt Ann (Lee Grant). After the boy's Great Aunt Marion (Sylvia Sidney) tries to convince the Thorns that Damien is a malevolent influence on Mark, she dies suddenly, and, unbeknownst to the family, horrifically. Ravens, it seems, are the harbingers of Damien's power, and in addition to Aunt Marion, they visit a long procession of characters who get too close to Damien's true identity. The most horrible death is suffered by Joan Hart (Elizabeth Shepherd), an investigative reporter who's digging into the boy's life; she gets flattened by a truck after having her eyes devoured by those menacing birds. Meanwhile, executive Paul Buher (Robert Foxworth) climbs the corporate ladder at Thorn Industries and takes young Damien under his devil-worshiping wings. Sgt. Neff (Lance Henriksen), one of the boy's instructors, also helps initiate Damien. As the pile of bodies gets bigger -- and closer -- Uncle Richard begins to suspect the truth, and, like his brother before him, plot the death of Damien. The existence of another sequel, 1981's The Final Conflict, gives a good indication of the outcome. Although Damien: Omen II is his only Hollywood feature credit, Scott-Taylor appeared frequently in the theater and on television; he once even portrayed Damien's arch-nemesis, Jesus, on-stage. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

This made for cable movie premiered over the Lifetime network on August 21, 1996, barely one year after the court case which inspired it. Though they have adopted a son, infertile couple John and Debbie Challender (Randle Mell, Marilu Henner) still feel unfulfilled. Desperate to have a child of her own, Debbie submits to experimental fertility treatments conducted by the brilliant and arrogant Dr. Ash (Castullo Guerra), the self-proclaimed miracle man of Irving University. The treatment, involving "hyperstimulated" ovaries, nearly kills Debbie, but it all seems worth it when she gives birth to a healthy son. But this is not the end of the story by a long shot: As Debbie discovers to her outrage that her own eggs have been implanted in other women without her permission, Marilyn Killane (Linda Lavin), office manager for Dr. Ash, unearths evidence that the doctor's staff has been regularly mishandling embryos--and that several of his nurses aren't even certified. Ultimately, Dr. Ash ends up in court, facing charges that, in so many words, he has been illegally "Playing God" with unwary women for the sole purpose of elevating his own reputation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Ron Maxwell and producer Ted Turner return to the glory and tragedy of the Civil War in this historical drama, a prequel to Gettysburg, which examines the early days of the conflict through the experiences of three men. Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) left behind a quiet life and a career as a college professor to become one of the Union's greatest military minds. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang) was, like Chamberlain, a man of great religious faith who served in the defense of the Confederacy. And Gen. Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall), who led the Confederate army, was a man who was forced to choose between his loyalty to the United States and his love of the Southern states where he was born and raised. As Chamberlain, Jackson, and Lee are followed through the declaration of war and the battles at Manassas, Antietam, Frederickburg, and Chancellorsville, the film also introduces us to the many supporting players in the epic tale of the war between the States, among them the women these men left behind, among them Fanny Chamberlain (Mira Sorvino) and Anna Jackson (Kali Rocha). Based on a novel by Jeff Shaara, Gods and Generals also features a new song written and performed by Bob Dylan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Actor Morgan Freeman portrays anti-apartheid activist and former South African president Nelson Mandela in this Clint Eastwood-helmed political drama adapted from author John Carlin's book The Human Factor: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed the World. Set just after the fall of apartheid and during Mandela's first term in office, The Human Factor explores how the political prisoner-turned-president used the 1995 Rugby World Cup -- which was hosted by South Africa -- as a means of bringing blacks and whites together after decades of violence and mistrust. Matt Damon co-stars in the Warner Bros. production as rugby player Francois Pienaar. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Kim Delaney stars as Lt. Kate Timmons, a U.S. Navy officer whose traitorous ex-husband, Eli Dixon (David Keith), is imprisoned for selling secrets to the Russians. Escaping from Leavenworth, Dixon mounts an elaborate campaign of terror to get even with the United States in general and Kate (whose testimony helped put him away) in particular. Working hand in glove with the FBI, Kate desperately tries to prevent Dixon from using his extensive computer knowledge to wage full-scale war upon the country he has sold out. Highlight by an elaborate bank heist and innumerable capture-and-rescue sequences, Love and Treason was first telecast by CBS on March 7, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No Way Out is told in flashback as Naval officer Tom Farrell (Kevin Costner) is grilled by his superiors regarding a recent "unpleasantness." While at a Washington party, Tom meets Susan Atwel (Sean Young), and they're soon sharing a steamy love scene in the back of a limo (marvelously parodied in 1993's Hot Shots! Part Deux). Several months pass before Tom meets Susan again; he discovers she's the mistress of the US Secretary of Defense David Brice (Gene Hackman). When Susan is murdered by Brice, his loyal aide (Will Patton) dutifully destroys the evidence and invents the fallacious theory that a KGB mole was responsible. Tom is assigned to locate that mole -- a perilous situation, since Tom knows that no such mole exists, but must go along with the charade since he was the last person who was seen with Susan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Patriot Games, Harrison Ford plays former CIA agent Jack Ryan, taking over from Alec Baldwin, who had played author Tom Clancy's brainy protagonist in Hunt for Red October. This time around, Ryan foils an attempted assassination, thereby incurring the wrath of a maniacal Irish radical (Sean Bean). After seemingly neutralizing the villains, and deciding to celebrate the occasion with his wife (Anne Archer) and daughter (Thora Birch), everything appears to be back to normal; then all hell breaks loose. Author Tom Clancy himself bemoaned the liberties taken with his novel in the final sequences; the picture scored with audiences, however, and soon inspired a followup, A Clear and Present Danger (1994), also starring Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the early '90s, Brian Bosworth made the seamless transition from football bad boy to onscreen bad ass. In Stone Cold, the Boz plays cop Joe Huff, a brute force specialist. The FBI contracts him to take down a biker gang known as the Brotherhood, who have been implicated in drug trafficking and several murders. Joe assumes the personality of John Stone and goes undercover. His mission seems not to bust the gang but rather to kill with excessive force. Before he can take the law into his own hands, however, he has to get in with the gang's leader, the impressively tough Chains. The Boz doesn't disappoint, and he gets his chance in the final confrontation where he takes on several score of the Brotherhood in the street battle to end all street battles. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide

The second sequel to the 1976 horror hit The Omen finds Damien Thorn assuming the full mantle of the Antichrist and preparing for a final, all-out battle with "the Nazarene." Now in his thirties, Damien (Sam Neill) has elevated the family business, Thorn Industries, into the world's biggest multinational corporation. A little bit of black magic paves the way for Damien to become ambassador to England and the head of an international youth council. He soon uses this platform to amass an army of followers to do his bidding. But when Damien notices the confluence of three stars in the sky on March 24, he gets worried about the second coming of Christ. So he orders his minions to kill all the babies born on that day, warning them: "Fail, and you will be condemned to a numbing eternity in the flaccid bosom of Christ." Damien even orders his faithful private secretary, Harvey Dean (Don Gordon), to commit infanticide on his own kid, just because the guy's wife gave birth on the wrong day; a nasty incident involving laundry-room implements soon follows. Meanwhile, Damien romances Kate Reynolds (Lisa Harrow), a beautiful television anchorwoman who feels like a moth drawn to Damien's charismatic flame -- even after he brutally sodomizes her to show her how the world looks through his eyes. Things come to a head when Brother DeCarlo (Rossano Brazzi), one of a secret cabal of monks who have assembled the seven Daggers of Meggido in hopes of assassinating Damien, reveals to Kate that the Antichrist has taken her son (Barnaby Holm) under his wing. Although The Final Conflict was the final theatrical installment of the Omen series, the made-for-TV Omen IV: The Awakening appeared a decade later. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide