Mikael Salomon Movies

On April 19, 1989, an explosion during training exercises in Gun Turret number two of the U.S.S. Iowa, a storied battleship, created more than one firestorm; Besides the one that killed more than 40 sailors, a scandal swept the nation that put the U.S. Navy on the defensive. The Navy, in what some suspected was an attempt to cover up unauthorized artillery experiments by enlisted men, accused one of the dead men of being a suicidal homosexual and setting off the explosion in a fit of jealous rage. Idealistic Lieutenant Dan Meyer (Robert Sean Leonard), a witness to the tragedy, whose father was an honored military man, must square off with the ship's longtime, but remote captain, Fred Moosally (James Caan), when testifying during the heated and nationally televised investigation by the Pentagon. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide

Escaping the clutches of an illicit arms dealer, Sydney (Jennifer Garner) takes on her next counterespionage assignment. Her mission transports her to Madrid, where she is to purchase a 500-year-old drawing by the remarkably prophetic Renaissance artist Milo Rambaldi -- a sketch containing a portion of a code vital to the operation of a deadly nuclear device. In the course of events, Sydney continues to press her secret-agent father, Jack (Victor Garber), for details surrounding the death of her mother, Laura. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Referring to the fear of spiders, Arachnophobia features a particularly deadly species of spider that manages to make its way from the Venezuelan rain forest to a small California town, thanks to the many oversights of entomologist Julian Sands. Yuppie doctor Jeff Daniels, fed up with the dangers inherent in big-city living, has resettled in this town on the assumption that nothing untoward could ever happen here to himself and his family. Before long, however, Daniels is trying to make sense of a series of sudden deaths-and to figure out why each of the corpses has been drained of blood. The audience, of course, knows that the culprits are those pesky South American spiders, which grow larger with each kill. To make matters worse, Jeff Daniels suffers from a profound case of arachnophobia. John Goodman supports the cast as a slovenly exterminator, and Frank Marshall, longtime producer of Steven Spielberg's films, makes his directorial debut in Arachnophobia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The third installment of HBO's acclaimed fact-based WWII miniseries, Band of Brothers, is entitled "Carentan," and details Easy Company's involvement with wresting control of the eponymous French town from the Germans. The town is critical strategically, because it is where the forces from Utah Beach and Omaha Beach will link up before moving further inland. The gritty, gore-splattered episode was directed by Mikael Salomon (Hard Rain) and written by E. Max Frye (Something Wild). It begins as a few soldiers from Easy, still lost after the chaotic night jump into Normandy, come across Private Albert Blithe (Marc Warren), standing alone in a field, staring into space. As the soldiers start discussing the skirmishes they've been in, and displaying the grim souvenirs they've obtained, Blithe is nervously evasive. He later hears some soldiers discussing rumors about Lieutenant Speirs (Matthew Settle), who has joined Easy Company. Some have heard that he cold-bloodedly murdered some German POWs (an incident shown in the previous episode). There is also a rumor that Speirs shot one of his own men for drinking. When the troops reach Carentan, they find the Germans waiting. There is a bloody fight for the town, and Blithe panics and collapses. The Germans, outnumbered, begin to retreat. Blithe is examined by a medic, who finds nothing wrong with him, despite his claim that he can't see. Lieutenant Winters (Damian Lewis) has a few compassionate words with him, and Blithe recovers. Winters knows the Germans will try to retake the town, so Easy Company waits in the trenches, to attack the similarly entrenched Germans at first light. That night, one soldier mistakenly bayonets another from the company, and the panicky Blithe, perhaps unwisely, tells Speirs of his inability to fight. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Based on legendary Danish writer Tove Ditlevsen's autobiographical novel of growing up during the Depression, this Danish screen milestone was directed with a sure hand by the veteran Astrid Henning-Jensen. Fourteen-year-old Ester (Sofie Gråbøll), a daydreamer whose ambition is to become a writer, finds all the material she needs crammed in with her family in a one-bedroom cold-water flat in the slums of Copenhagen's downtrodden but proud working-class neighborhood of Vesterbro. The co-director of the classic Child of Man (1946), Henning-Jensen brings the same kind of social realism to Bardommens Gade but occasionally tips the scale a bit too much in favor of nostalgia. Still, the well-acted film stands as one of the decade's more impressive undertakings. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The incredible upsurge in American UHF television stations in the 1980s created a huge demand for children's programming. One enterprising syndicator purchased the rights for a group of British and European films, originally targeted for the Saturday-matinee crowd. One such film was Black Island, released theatrically in England in 1979. Martin Murphy and Michael Salomon head the cast as a couple of British kids named Michael and Joe. Stranded on a remote island, the boys rather enjoy the adventure -- until they discover that two escaped convicts have also landed on the tiny isle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is a quasi-documentary about the life of a professional stripper. The stripper (Ilse Damsgaard), her home, life and husband are real. The party she holds in her home in Copenhagen is apparently staged. Sexual situations evolve out of the party scene, as the various couples (Japanese, American, Danish) pretend to be at ease. Of particular interest is the drama of Ilse's husband. A student who feels guilty being supported by her stripping, he leaves her but thinks better of it and returns. Having come back, he then tries to seduce Ilse's unhappy girlfriend. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this epic Ron Howard film, Joseph Donelly (Tom Cruise) is an impoverished 19th-century Irish tenant farmer who has recently lost both his father and his home to the agents of his unscrupulous landlord. On a mission to avenge his family's injustice at the hands of the ruthless land baron Joseph meets the landlord's daughter and the two run off to America together where the girl expects to claim a piece of land for herself in the Oklahoma Land Rush. After she is robbed on the boat that carries them to America, they arrive with nary a penny and struggle just to keep their heads above water in the slums of Boston. After a series of serious set-backs they do eventually work their way out West, where Joseph must fight to realize his dream and claim a piece of the American Dream for himself -- and where they finally acknowledge their love for each other. Shot in wide-screen Panavision, the movie was filmed on-location in Ireland and Montana. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

A recently divorced mother of two attempts to regain her footing in life after falling for a hunky young surf instructor while vacationing alone in Hawaii. Her marriage dissolved on the eve of her fortieth birthday, Jackie (Heather Locklear) heads to Hawaii to celebrate the landmark solo. There, she reluctantly becomes swept up in a sun-soaked romance with resident surf instructor Kyle Hamilton (Robert Buckley). Sensing that their relationship is more than just a one night stand, Jackie soon begins booking flights to Hawaii every chance she gets, despite the disapproval of her friends and her ex-husband. But Jackie is losing balance, and with a little help from her younger lover she soon discovers that forty is just the beginning. Based on the semi-autobiographical best seller by author Jane Porter. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Never mind the title: Goodbye, New York mostly takes place in Israel. Julie Hagerty plays Nancy Callighan, a spoiled Irish-Jewish lass who decides to see the world after her husband has betrayed her. En route to Paris by plane, Nancy takes a few too many sedatives, and when she awakens, she's in Tel Aviv, minus money and luggage. Latching onto a cabdriver (Amos Kollek), Nancy settles in a Kibbutz, where she is subjected to traditional limitations on her freedom of choice and movement. Before long, however, she has adjusted to her new lifestyle. With the arrival of her husband, however, Nancy is faced with a momentous decision: should she give up all that she now holds near and dear, or should she return to New York. A darkly funny plot twist makes our heroine's mind up in record time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide