Ron Canada Movies
A young boy attempts to sabotage his single mother's relationship with her new fiancé in this family-oriented comedy. Ben Archer (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) has become protective of his attractive mother Sandra (Farrah Fawcett) since they were abandoned by his father, and he resents the intrusion of anyone else into their lives. Despite his disapproval, however, Sandra has built up a relationship with district attorney Jack Sturges (an extremely low-key Chevy Chase), who eventually pops the question. Ben decides that marriage is out of the question, and he sets out to drive the lawyer away through a variety of schemes. These plans culminate in an effort to trick Struges into participating in the "Indian Guides," a scouting program involving all sorts of strenuous father-son activities. As one might expect, things do not quite go as Ben planned, as Jack proves himself a more suitable father figure than either expected. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Farrah Fawcett, (more)
- 1994
When her precious Porsche is stolen, Murphy (Candice Bergen) joins a neighborhood-watch group. It doesn't take long, however, for Murphy to realize that the other members are less "watchdog" than "vigilante"--and in fact are one step away from a lynch mob. Tom Poston appears in another of his patented mean-old-man characterizations...and will you be surprised by the performance of onetime "June Cleaver" Barbara Billingsley! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this high-tension thriller, Christopher Reeves plays Dempsey Cain, a paralyzed detective (ironically, it was filmed a year before the tragic accident that would make him a quadriplegic) whose arrogance and penchant for perfectionism has alienated his family to the point that his wife Gail (Kim Cattrall) turns to his brother Nick (Edward Kerr) for love. Nick is also a cop, but unlike Dempsey, he tends to be irresponsible and sloppy. It was he who was responsible for Dempsey's paralysis. Dempsey knows that Nick and Gail are trysting. This coupled with his disability makes life unbearable. Wanting to end his life, but knowing that his million-dollar life insurance policy will not cover his suicide, he approaches Nick and Gail with the perfect solution -- to murder him and make it look like a burglary. Dempsey plans his demise to the nth degree. Unfortunately, despite his careful scheming, Dempsey makes one fatal flaw -- he did not include his suspicious, resentful and jealous colleague Allan Rhinehart (Joe Mantegna) into the equation and things go horribly awry. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
A criminal trying to reform is forced to endure the most humiliating punishment of all -- hanging out with his son -- in this family comedy. Ray Gleason (Ted Danson) is a thief whose ambitions far outstrip both his skill and his intelligence; Ray is just bright enough to have realized this, and he's decided to go straight and open a bake shop (he learned how to decorate cakes during his last stay in prison). However, Ray needs to raise some working capital, so in association with his buddies Bobby (Saul Rubinek) and Carl (Gailard Sartain) he is planning his last heist, in which they hope to walk away with a highly valuable collection of rare coins. Ray also happens to have an 11-year-old son, Timmy (Macaulay Culkin), whose mother died several years ago; Timmy has been living with his aunt, but when she gets married and goes away on her honeymoon, Timmy ends up staying with Ray. Timmy is a lot smarter than his dad and quickly figures out what Ray and his cronies have been up to; he's long felt a great deal of resentment toward his father for not being around when he needed him, so Timmy steals the loot from the robbery and uses it to blackmail Ray into spending some quality time with him. Timmy also thinks that it's high time Ray settled down, so when he notices that Theresa (Glenne Headly), an undercover cop, has been following Ray's trail, Timmy tries to play matchmaker and bring them together. Getting Even with Dad would prove to be the next-to-last screen appearance for former pre-teen superstar Macaulay Culkin; he was 14 when this film was released, and within five years he was a married man attending the Rhode Island School of Design. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Macaulay Culkin, Ted Danson, (more)
- 1994
Forget the Hollywood-heavy sci-fi flash of Armageddon and Deep Impact as you experience the terror of a destructive asteroid impact firsthand in this startlingly realistic faux news broadcast from filmmaker Robert Iscove. The unthinkable has happened, and it's not long before television news cameras across the globe bring images of death and destruction to the evening news. With advanced news technology that allows for the kind of extensive coverage never before possible, viewers will be riveted as veteran journalist Sander Vanocur, author Arthur C. Clarke, and Malcolm in the Middle star Jane Kaczmarek step before the camera for a startling piece of speculative science fiction that may be a bit too realistic for more sensitive viewers. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
In the second half of the two-part "A Voice in the Wilderness," Epsilon 3 is taken over by hostile aliens. Should the planet's reactors fall into the wrong hands, it may mean the end of Babylon 5. Making a bad situation worse, the heavy Earthforce cruiser Hyperion shows up, prepared to defend the planet to the last drop of everyone's blood. Written by J. Michael Straczynski, this episode includes an inside joke that will probably be spotted only by Internet aficionados. Part Two of "A Voice in the Wilderness" was originally broadcast on August 3, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael O'Hare, Claudia Christian, (more)
This TV movie recounts the true-life story of a corporate takeover in the greed-driven 1980s. James Garner is F. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR-Nabisco. Having just been burned by an expensive failure of a smokeless cigarette product, Johnson doesn't wish to incur the wrath of the stockholders. He begins drawing up plans to buy RJR-Nabisco outright so he'll have no one to answer to but himself. Unfortunately for Johnson, his company is also being coveted by sharkish "buyout king" Henry Kravis (Jonathan Pryce), who turns out to have $25 billion at his beck and call. Barbarians at the Gate was adapted by Larry Gelbart from the book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. Advertised as a "docucomedy", the film premiered March 20, 1993, over the HBO cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Jonathan Pryce, (more)
- 1992
When his daughter Renee Witherspoon is stricken with leukemia, father Bruce Davison hopes to find a bone-marrow transplant within his own family. The most likely candidate is Renee's half-brother Joe Mazzello. But Joe's natural mother (and Renee's stepmother) Joanna Kerns, fearful that her son might endanger his own life, refuses permission for the operation. This being a TV movie rather than a weekly series, there are no easy answers to the dilemma, either morally or legally. Desperate Choices: To Save My Child was first telecast October 5, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Kerns, Bruce Davison, (more)
- 1992
- PG
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John Hughes and Chris Columbus repeat their best-selling formula from the first Home Alone film with this sequel. Once again Kevin McCallister's (Macaulay Culkin) family leave him behind, only now he gets on a flight to New York instead of going with his family to Miami. Kevin manages to hail a cab and is delivered to the doorsteps of the Plaza Hotel, where, using his father's credit card, he rents out a suite and has the time of his life -- although a smarmy hotel clerk (Tim Curry) and bellboy (Rob Schneider) eye him with suspicion. But ingenious Kevin keeps them at bay, using the same tomfoolery he applied to his uncle in the first picture. He takes time out from his consumer debauch to chat with a friendly old toy-store magnate (Eddie Bracken) and pontificate to a homeless Pigeon Lady (Brenda Fricker) on the meaning of Christmas. But then he runs into his old enemies Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern).When he finds out that they plan on robbing the old man's toy store on Christmas Eve, he mans the battle stations once again, complete with electric prods, flames of fire, and sundry blunt instruments. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, (more)
- 1992
To improve her grades so that she can keep her engineering scholarship, Lena (Jada Pinkett) writes a florid "biographical" essay, heavily fictionalizing the accomplishments of her father Grover James (Ron Canada). Certain that no one will ever learn the real story, Lena is terror-stricken when dear old Dad shows up to watch her win a journalism award. Meanwhile, Whitley (Jasmine Guy) takes a crash course in politics in hopes of helping Byron (Joe Morton) win the senatorial election. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Investigating the aftereffects of a runaway cosmic fragment, the Enterprise comes across a race of genetically engineered people. Captain Picard immediately sets about to save this "perfect" society from the potential disaster caused by the fragment. But by doing so, Picard may well destroy the very people he'd hoped to rescue. First telecast February 15, 1992, "The Masterpiece Society" was written by James Kahn, Adam Belanoff, and Michael Piller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, a bumbling but brilliant scientist (Rick Moranis) accidentally makes his two-year-old son into a giant who becomes larger every time he comes in contact with electricity. Though he and his wife try to control their son, the child inevitably escapes and wreaks havoc, eventually terrorizing the streets of Las Vegas. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, (more)
- 1990
- R
Four cops make the painful discovery that not everyone on the force is upholding the law in this crime drama. Frank Daly (Brian Dennehy), Wayne Gross (Joe Pantoliano), Ricky Rodriguez (Jeff Fahey), and Howard Jones (Bill Patxon) are four undercover cops with the Los Angeles Police Department who work as a team to solve the cases that their colleagues consider too tough to handle. Under Daly's supervision, the four are trying to get the goods on a drug dealing operation working out of a meat packing plant. However, a raid on the plant uncovers little practical evidence, and Daly, a moody and hard-drinking loose cannon, is sharply criticized by his superiors for planning the bust without the input from the department heads or the FBI. Convinced that there's more to the case than they've been able to find so far, the four men begin looking into the matter on their own time. The deeper they dig, the more shocking the evidence becomes, as they learn that the police, the FBI, and even the Federal Government are involved in the smuggling operation, and the parties involved are perfectly willing to use violence and murder to keep troublemakers out of their way. After Jones is murdered while collecting evidence on a businessman in on the operation, the other three quit the police force, determined to see justice done even if they have to overstep the boundaries of the law to do it. Last of the Finest was also released under the titles Blue Heat and Street Legal. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Dennehy, Joe Pantoliano, (more)
- 1990
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Rebecca (Kirstie Alley) says she is willing to marry Robin (Roger Rees), even though he has indulged in illegal insider trading. Worried that Rebecca will be implicated in her boyfriend's crimes, Sam (Ted Danson) blows the whistle on Robin and is rewarded by his corporate bosses with the ownership of Cheers. Convinced that Sam's motives were mercenary, Rebecca refuses to have anything to do with him -- at least until the cliffhanger which brings the eighth season of Cheers to a close. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this drama, a troubled 17-year old is involuntarily committed to a sleazy behavioral treatment center. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
When suburban police officer Alex Kearney (Anthony Edwards) angers a wealthy, influential citizen by stopping him for a traffic violation, he finds himself transferred to the city's worst precinct. Struggling to adapt to his new inner-city surroundings, Kearney must deal with his gruff new partner, Dennis Curren (Forest Whitaker), as the two attempt to break up a crime ring. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Edwards, Forest Whitaker, (more)
In this sequel to the 1981 hit comedy Arthur, the story picks up where it left off with the bibulous millionaire hero (Dudley Moore) marrying poverty-stricken Linda Marolla (Liza Minnelli) instead of going through with a prearranged wealthy marriage. The vengeful father (Stephen Elliott) of the justifiably jilted bride begins pulling a few crooked strings, and before long, Arthur is broke. Worse still, Linda is pregnant. Will Arthur crawl back into a bottle, or will he save the day? John Gielgud makes a cameo appearance as the ghost of the family-retainer character he played in the first Arthur, while Dudley Moore's real-life wife Brogan Lane shows up in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, (more)
- 1988
In this detective drama, a private investigator from Phoenix is determined to prove that a young woman's death was caused by a psychologist and a mail-order minister. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Teenager Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue) would rather party with her boyfriend, but when her beau breaks their date she reluctantly accepts a babysitting job. It isn't all TV and icebox-raiding when Chris' best friend Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller) calls her to announce that she's stranded at the bus station. With her youthful charges in tow (one of whom, 15-year-old Brad (Keith Coogan), has a hopeless crush on the babysitter), Chris heads into downtown Chicago to go to Brenda's rescue. Thus begins a roller coaster ride of comic mishaps, unexpected perils and hairbreadth escapes. IN one bit, blues singer Albert Collins refuses to allow Chris and company to leave the nightclub they've wandered into until they agree to sing along with a song borrowed from, of all things the 1939 B-picture Nancy Drew, Reporter! . Screenwriter and Steven Spielberg protégé Chris Columbus made his directorial debut with Adventures in Babysitting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elisabeth Shue, Maia Brewton, (more)
- 1987
- R
A punch-drunk pugilist is set up as meat for a young boxer in this routine mat melodrama. The highlight of the film is the performance of Steve Buscemi as the oily, mob-connected fight promoter Nicky. Eddie (Brad Davis) is the addle-brained boxer Nicky hangs out to dry for quick money. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brad Davis, Frances Fisher, (more)
- 1986
Based on a true story, the made-for-television Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story is the tale of a Washington, DC-based Vietnam veteran (Martin Sheen) who fights for America's homeless by staging hunger strikes and battling with various government agencies, eventually winning the attention of several city officials. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- R
Sam Cooper (Steve Gutenberg) is an attaché in the U.S. State Department when, on the day before his wedding, a dying scientist hands him a formula that induces invisibility, and Sam finds himself fleeing with the maid of honor to escape both Russian and U.S. agents. Hotly pursued by everyone, Sam has to use the formula on himself, inviting a series of minor disasters. Critics have been unanimous in agreeing that this secret formula worked on the plot, the continuity, the pacing, and the acting -- making just about everything invisible and doing it in 3-D. The very decision to make a movie about an invisible man in 3-D should have warned of trouble ahead. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Guttenberg, Jeffrey Tambor, (more)
- 1953
Son of the Renegade was the first of a short series of westerns produced and written by John Carpenter (not the horror-film specialist), who also starred. The villain, a chap named Three Fingers (Jack Ingram) frames Red River Johnny (John Carpenter) for a series of bank holdups. While trying to clear himself, Our Hero crosses the path of characters with the names Valley, Dusty, Wild Bill, Cherokee, Baby Face Bill and the Long Haired Kid, the Australian Kid, the Texas Kid. Evidently Carpenter isn't taking any chances: he wants the world to know he's making a western. John Carpenter made one more of these low-budgeters before he began billing himself as John Forbes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Carpenter, Lori Irving, (more)
