Michael Riley Movies
Lead actor, onscreen from the late '80s. ~ All Movie Guide
And God Spoke is an occasionally gut-funny spoof of low-budget moviemaking. Producer Steve Rappaport and director Michael Riley have been given carte blanche to make a multimillion-dollar epic based on the Old Testament. One day into production, they blow their budget and are forced to cut corners with a scythe. Rappaport and Riley must now scout about for cheap locations in the LA area, and make do with whatever stars they can afford. The funniest sequences involve Soupy Sales, who has been cast as Moses, crepe beard and all. Lou Ferrigno, Eve Plumb, and film critic Michael Medved (co-author of The 50 Worst Movies of All Time) also have significant cameos in this likeable effort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Riley, Stephen Rappaport, (more)
- 1993
Matthew (Matthew Riley) has sad memories of his late childhood in Guyana, when his mother rejected him in a terrifically painful way. He has been living in Canada for quite some time, but now wants to revisit his birthplace. There, he meets a group of local people who help him discover what has really drawn him here. One of them is a talkative exiled Hungarian woman, whose story of a messy abortion gave rise to the film's title. Another is an attractive local teacher with whom he has an unhappy affair. It is unhappy, because he is holding himself back, and seemingly everyone knows he is walled up inside. He does experience some amusement in watching the antics a young orphan boy who reminds him of himself. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Riley, Martha Henry, (more)
In this gentle comedy, Alex (Michael Riley) seems to be blundering through his life like a misguided housefly. After an absence, he returns to Montreal to discover that his best friend Arto is leaving for a long stay in Cairo. He briefly consoles and then becomes the bedmate of Arto's former girlfriend, and then becomes friendly in an intimate way with a neighbor-woman, a single mom with two kids. None of his prospects, romantic or otherwise, inspire him much. It's just as well that the other inhabitants of his apartment building are so friendly and supportive, from the rather odd landlord to the elderly gay couple. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Riley, Martine Rochon, (more)
- 1993
Under the helm of an experienced merchant seaman, a bunch of inexperienced Canadian sailors are called to serve in their country's navy during WWII. Their assignment was to escort a merchant ship to and from Europe. Along the way, they demonstrated amazing courage and skill when they found themselves engaged in naval history's longest sea battle. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Riley, Simon Reynolds, (more)
- 1992
John Wayne Gacy was a respected member of his suburban Illinois community -- he was an active member of several service organizations, ran his own business, and entertained children as Pogo the Clown in his spare time. But Gacy had a terrible secret, and before he was finally brought in by the police, he had raped and killed over 30 young men and buried them beneath his house. To Catch a Killer is a made-for-TV movie that examines Gacy's life and crimes, and Joe Kozenczak (Michael Riley), the cop who finally brought John Wayne Gacy (Brian Dennehy) to justice. The supporting cast includes Margot Kidder and Meg Foster. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Dennehy, Michael Riley, (more)
- 1991
- R
Bruce Boxleitner plays a second-rate Rambo in the action film Diplomatic Immunity. Boxleitner is grizzled and tight-lipped Vietnam veteran and U.S. Marine instructor Cole Hickel. When his daughter Ellen (Sharon L. Case) begins to date Paraguayan nationalist Klaus Hermann (Tom Breznahan), Cole looks askance at the couple. His suspicions prove correct when Ellen is murdered by Klaus, who uses her body as a subject for his sado-masochistic paintings. The police arrest Klaus but, because of his aristocratic descent, the government refuses to bring him to trial. Cole takes the law into his own hands and, with arms-dealer pal Cowboy (Billy Drago), Cole heads back into Paraguay as a one-man army to exact vengeance upon Klaus and any other Paraguayan who stands in his way. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Boxleitner, Billy Drago, (more)
- 1991
- R
This lively and off-beat Canadian comedy tells the tale of a regular Joe whose life is turned topsy turvy when he teams up with a strange restaurateur who convinces the fellow to invest in his latest project: an Italian restaurant with operatic waiters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robbie Coltrane, Michael Riley, (more)
Benjy Taylor (D.B. Sweeney) is a rookie cop who goes undercover to nab a gang of car thieves in this routine crime drama. Taylor salivates over the lifestyle and money enjoyed by Ted Varrick (Charlie Sheen), the smooth operator who leads the Porsche pilferers, and he reports back to Lieutenant Vincent Bracey (Randy Quaid), who is convinced Ted is a cop killer but needs more proof. Taylor joins the gang and begins to justify car theft and the money it brings as gathering evidence. Soon his reasoning is clouded and the rookie cop gets in deeper when he actually begins to like Ted and the suspect's sultry sister Ann (Lara Harris). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Sheen, D.B. Sweeney, (more)
