Ian Sander Movies
- 2005
Not dissimilar to the earlier "other-worldly" series Medium, Ghost Whisperer starred Jennifer Love Hewitt as Melinda Gordon, the recently married co-owner of a small antiques shop. By accident, Melinda discovered that she was possessed of a rare gift: the ability to communicate with dead people and pass on their words to the living. Evidently, her purpose in life was to take care of the issues and problems left unresolved when her "clients" had shuffled off their mortal coils. While Melinda's friend and business partner Andrea Moreno (Aisha Tyler) was fascinated by this phenomenon, Melinda's new husband, Jim Clancy (David Conrad), was less enthused; after all, he was a paramedic, and did not relish losing his patients just so they could converse with his wife! The weekly, hour-long series was executive-produced by real-life medium James Van Praagh, who based the premise on the exploits of professional "ghost-buster" Mary Ann Winkowski -- who in turn served as the series' technical consultant. After undergoing a lengthy gestation period involving a great deal of refilming and recasting, Ghost Whisperer made its CBS bow on September 23, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The true-life story of a coach who tries to teach his players that there's more to life than basketball is brought to the screen in this sports drama. Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) was once a star player on the Richmond High School basketball team in Richmond, CA, and years later, after establishing himself in publishing and marketing, he returns to the school and to the team as the new basketball coach. Carter quickly sees that his work is cut out for him -- the team is having an awful season, and their fights off the court are more decisive than their play on the court. While Carter wants to make the Richmond cagers into a winning team, he also wants a lot more -- to teach the boys to respect themselves and one another, and that they must excel in the classroom as well as in the gymnasium. Under Carter's guidance, the team turns their losing season around, with the state title a genuine possibility. However, when Carter learns that a number of his players have let their grade point averages slip below 2.3, as mandated in a contract he entered into with the students, he decides to lock the team out of the gym and send them into study hall until their marks improve. Carter's plan quickly becomes a subject of controversy among parents and team boosters, and their objections are soon picked up by the local news media, many of whom are not sympathetic to Carter's belief that his players must have goals beyond college ball or the NBA. Coach Carter also features Rob Brown and Rick Gonzalez as members of the team, and R&B diva Ashanti in her film debut as the girlfriend of one of Carter's players. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Ri'chard, (more)
This made-for-cable Frankenstein was originally intended as the pilot for a weekly series based on Frankenstein: The Prodigal Son, a novel by Dean Koontz and Kevin J. Anderson. The story is set in modern-day New Orleans, the home of demented scientist Dr. Victor Helios (Thomas Kretschmann). Helios is in fact the original Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who has kept himself alive these past 200 years by a series of diabolical genetic experiments. During the same two centuries, Frankenstein has managed to keep alive the original Frankenstein's monster, and has also created dozens of other synthetic humans capable of reinvigorating themselves whenever they are "killed." Of course, the doctor's experiments require that a number of innocent people unwillingly give up their own lives -- and when the bodies start piling up in the Big Easy, detective Carson O'Connor (Parker Posey) and Michael Sloane (Adam Goldberg) start putting the clues together. Ironically, in this story it is Frankenstein who is the villain (in standard serial-killer fashion he tantalizes the cops by planting cryptic clues), while the doctor's main monster is the nominal hero, and a good-looking one at that. Dissatisfied with the finished product, Koontz and Anderson took their names off Frankenstein, as did the project's original executive producer, Martin Scorsese. The unsold pilot film made its USA network bow on October 10, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Parker Posey, Vincent Perez, (more)
Shown on the Fox network, this made-for-TV biopic stars David Ramsey as legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, whose story is told largely in flashbacks. Beginning with Ali's childhood, when he was known as Cassius Clay, Ali: An American Hero traces the boxer's career, love life, and eventual devotion to Islam. Joe Morton appears as Malcolm X, and the cast also features the talents of Vondie Curtis Hall and Clarence Williams III, the latter as Ali's father Marcellus Clay. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Ramsey, Clarence Williams III, (more)
- 2000
This Yuletide-season TV movie reverses the standard "three girls on the make" formula of many an old 20th Century Fox movie, of which How to Marry a Millionaire is a choice example. This time out, a trio of enterprising young men decide to go on the prowl for rich wives, after first consulting a nonplussed department-store Santa with their intentions. The plan, as hatched by the impoverished heroes, Tom (John Stamos), Jason (Shermar Moore), and Mark (Joshua Malina), is as follows: They will pose as hot-shot Hollywood movie producers, the better to entice attractive and wealthy young women to invest in their newest "production" -- and hopefully, to entrap said women into matrimony. As so often happens in stories of this nature, however, love ultimately triumphs over money. A bit too top-heavy with racy double entendres and potentially unsavory situations, the film is redeemed somewhat by the presence of Dabney Coleman and Rhea Perlman, cast as an older couple named -- believe it or not -- John and Jackie Kennedy. How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale made its first Fox Network appearance on December 20, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Stamos, Joshua Malina, (more)
The fourth and final season of Profiler begins with the three-episode conclusion of the cliffhanger established in Season Three, when the elusive serial killer Jack of All Trades (Dennis Christopher) manages to kidnap psychic forensic special Sam Waters (Ally Walker) and seriously wound Sam's boss Bailey Malone (Robert Davi). Spiriting Sam away to his hideout, Jack (whose real name and raison d'etre is finally revealed) embarks on a series of fiendishly clever mind games, designed to transform Sam into one of his disciples. Jack also indulges in some long-distance brainwashing with Sam's daughter Cloe (Evan Rachel Wood), intending to turn the girl violently against her mother. Meanwhile, the convalescing Bailey appoints another FBI "profiler", Rachel Burke (Jamie Luner), to take charge of the Violent Criminal Task Force and hopefully rescue Sam before it's too late. At this point, longtime series regulars Ally Walker, Dennis Christopher, Evan Rachel Wood and Erica Gimpel (cast as Sam's best friend Angel) leave the series, and Jamie Luner is promoted to star billing. It doesn't take long for Rachel Burke to foment ill will amongst the VCTF team members with her brusque know-it-all attitude, though it cannot be denied that she is every bit as talented in tracking down multiple murderers as her predecessor. Rachel also makes powerful enemies within the FBI, most notably rogue agent Mark (Gregory Itzin), who as the season wears on develops into Rachel's own "Jack of All Trades"-style tormentor. Rachel's more sensitive side is revealed in the episode "Clean Sweep", a crossover with the NBC series The Pretender in which the leading character of that series, Jarod Russell (Michael T. Weiss), falls in love with the mercurial Ms. Burke. The series ends on an uncertain note, as Rachel is plunged into despair over her inability to prevent the death of a loved one, her colleagues Grace (Roma Maffia) and George (Peter Frechette) respectively struggle with a crumbling marriage and an increasing dependency upon prescription pain killers, and Congress prepares to yank all funding from the VCTF. An additional episode, "Tsuris", originally scheduled to air at an earlier date, brings Profiler to an end with everyone's fate still dangling precipitously. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Luner, Robert Davi, (more)
- 1998
In this supernatural thriller TV series, set in NYC, Detective Ezekiel Stone (Peter Horton) murdered his wife's rapist, was killed on duty, and was then sent to Hell by the Devil (John Glover). After 113 evil escapees flee the netherworld and return to Earth, Zeke gets a second chance. If he can track them down, he might make it to Heaven. Filmed in L.A., this series premiered October 6, 1998 on Fox. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Horton, John Glover, (more)
As Season Three of the paranormal crime drama Profiler gets under way, a trap set by psychic forensic specialist Sam Waters (Ally Walker) to capture elusive serial killer Jack of All Trades has failed dismally, leaving Jack's demented disciple "Jill" (Traci Lords) dead and Sam empty-handed. As Sam's colleagues in the Violent Criminal Task Force try to figure out a new strategy to bring in Jack, they come to the disturbing conclusion that the killer has been stalking Sam since both were children, and that he may have something even worse than murder in mind when he finally gets his hands on her. This story arc ends abruptly when the team captures Donald Lucas, who confesses to being Jack. Lulled into a sense of security, Sam purchases a new home for herself and her daughter Cloe (now played by Evan Rachel Wood, replacing Caitlin Wachs), re-enters the dating scene, and even attempts to mend fences with her estranged family. Alas, just when we thik that Jack is out of the picture, along comes the episode "Otis, California", in which we see Jack's face for the first time--and it isn't behind bars. The full truth comes out during the trial of Donald Lucas, who is merely another disciple of the demonic Jack--who has shown up in a different guise to testify in the trial, and to finally gain access to Sam without fear of being stopped! Outside of this explosive season finale, the most interesting of the third-season Profiler episode is "Grand Master", a crossover story with another NBC series The Pretender, featuring Michael T. Weiss in his familiar TV role of Jarod Russell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ally Walker, Robert Davi, (more)
Season Two of the quasi-paranormal crime drama Profiler begins with the resolution of the Season One cliffhanger, as psychic forensic specialist Sam Waters (Ally Walker) takes charge of the Violent Criminal Task Force while supervisor Bailey Malone (Robert Davi) hovers between life and death in a hospital bed. Having quit the VCTF at the end of the previous season, John Grant (Julian McMahon) comes back to provide Sam with moral support; at the same time, another team member, Brubaker (played during Season One by Michael Whaley) has departed without explanation. Also, Bailey's rebellious daughter Frances (Heather McComb), who is essentially responsible for her father's plight, is now a fugitive from justice. Later on, Frances will return, intending to hurt her father by driving a wedge between himself and Grant. New to the cast is Sheik Mahoumad-Bay as Detective Marcus Peyton, a skeptic who doubts Sam's ability to "see" through the eyes of serial killers and their victims, making his first appearance in the episode "Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick." Marcus will remain on the series only until the end of the season. That title is one of many references to Sam's bete noire, the psychotically brilliant and frustratingly elusive multiple murder Jack of All Trades, who killed Sam's husband and apparently will not rest until he adds Sam and everyone else whom she holds dear to his list of victims. The "Jack" throughline permeates virtually every episode this season, especially those spotlighting the killer's protégé, paroled felon Sharon Lescher (Traci Lords), whom he has brainwashed, renamed "Jill of All Trades", and voyeuristically made over in the image of Sam Waters! "Jill" not only goes on her own murder spree copying Jack's modus operandi, but she also succeeds in wiping out Sam's first-season sweetheart, ATF explosives expert "Coop" Cooper (A Martinez). In an effort to help Sam get over this tragedy, her best friend Angel (Erica Gimpel) arranges a reunion of several of Sam's old friends--but even this is marred by a murder, which also launches a disturbing new story arc. Eventually, Sam is able to arrest Jill, wounding Jack in the process. While Jack remains out of sight, Sam has other problems relating to her daughter Cloe (Caitlin Wachs), custody of whom may be taken away from Sam and placed in the hands of her resentful in-laws. In the season's two part finale "Root of All Evil", Sam struggles to come to grips with her personal travails as she sets up trap for Jack using "Jill" as bait--but the results are far from successful! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ally Walker, Robert Davi, (more)
Season One of the intense crime drama Profiler begins as Bailey Malone (Robert Davi), head of the Atlanta-based Violent Criminal Task Force (VCTF), persuades his former colleague, forensic psychologist Samantha "Sam" Waters (Ally Walker) to come out of retirement and help his organization track down some of America's most heinous (and cleverest) serial killers. Sam possesses the strange ability to "see" through the eyes of both victim and killer at the crime scene, and had once been quite active as an FBI consultant. All this changed when a particularly elusive multiple murderer who called himself Jack of All Trades trumped Ally by murdering her father. Since that time, she has lived in seclusion with her daughter Cloe (played this season by Caitlin Wachs) and her best friend Angel (Erica Gimpel). Even so, Sam agrees to join Bailey's team, which consists of Detectives John Grant (Julian McMahon) and Nathan Brubaker (Michael Whaley), forensic pathologist Grace Alvarez (Romer Maffia), and computer hacker George Fraley (Peter Frechette). As it turns out, Sam's first case with the VCTF agains brings her in contact with Jack of All Trades, who continues to cut a homicidal swath through the country, leaving behind evidence that his ultimate "goal" is Ally herself. In fact, he begins targeting her colleagues, forcing Bailey to set up a trap for Jack using Sam and Grant as bait--a trap that backfires in a near-tragic fashion. Outside of the ubiquitous Jack, Sam tracks down such miscreants as an arsonist called Tony the Wick, a homicidal disciple of I Ching, a pro-eco serial bomber, a latter-day Charlie Manson type, a deranged artist who "arranges" the corpses of victims in the manner of famous paintings, and a vigilante who kills criminals who've evaded capture and then sends tapes of his handiwork to local TV stations. At one point, Sam is kidnapped by an anti-nuclear zealot who intends to kill a lot of people so they'll stop killing a lot of other people! Episodes highlights include "Unsolved Sovreignty", in which Sam is teamed for the first time with her future lover, ATF explosives expert Nick "Coop" Cooper (A Martinez); and "Blue Highways", wherein Bailey's dangerously rebellious 17-year-old daughter Frances (Heather McComb) makes the first of several fractious appearances. The season ends with the two-part cliffhanger "Venom", in which the life of a key member of the VCTF team hangs in the balance, while another team member quits in disgust. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ally Walker, Robert Davi, (more)
- 1996
Produced especially for the Lifetime Cable Network, this emotionally charged and painfully realistic drama looks at the prevalence of heroin addiction in the middle class as it tells the story of one single mother's struggle to overcome her addiction and reassemble her shattered life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Markie Post, Dennis Boutsikaris, (more)
- 1993
Inspired by a 60 Minutes story, the made-for-cable Stolen Babies is the fact-based story of supposed "angel of mercy" Georgia Tann. Throughout the 1940s, Ms. Tann oversaw the adoption of children from her Tennessee orphanage. Since she was considered a pillar of the community, few questioned Tann's methods. Only when dedicated social worker Anne Beals began chipping away at Tann's respectable veneer did a terrible truth come to light. The principal selling angle of Stolen Babies was the way-against-type casting of Mary Tyler Moore as purse-lipped, bespectacled, quietly sinister Georgia Tann (not surprisingly, Moore won an Emmy for this chilling performance). Lea Thompson was more traditionally cast as the whistle-blowing Anne Beals. Stolen Babies first aired March 25, 1993, over the Lifetime Cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Tyler Moore, Lea Thompson, (more)
- 1989
Made for television, When He's Not a Stranger stars Annabeth Gish as a college freshman who is sexually assaulted by football jock John Terlesky. Ashamed by the incident-especially since she regarded Terlesky as a friend-Annabeth at first tells no one. But after a session with the school's counselor, the girls feel emboldened enough to file a complaint against her attacker, which leads to an avalanche of hostility from her peers. With nowhere else to turn, Annabeth takes her complaint to court. This stark dramatization of the "acquaintance rape" dilemma was first broadcast October 17, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
"They didn't kill me; I was dead already," is the statement uttered by Dexter Cornell (Dennis Quaid), an English professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has been poisoned by a slow-acting toxin and who has twenty-four hours to track down his killers before he ceases to exist. Remade from the 1949 Rudolph Mate thriller by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, the co-directors jazz up the old luridness with slap-up doggishness that boosts the intensity-level higher than it deserves to go. Cornell is a burned-out novelist trying to hold on to tenure at the university while seeing his marriage collapse around him. As if that weren't enough, he is receiving amorous come-ons from smart, young student Sydney Fuller (Meg Ryan) and being badgered by another student, Nick Lang (Robert Knepper), to read his brilliant first novel. Not long after Dex demurs to Nick to read his novel, Nick is killed in a fall. Only then does Dex find out that Nick has been having an affair with his wife. Things keep going from bad to worse when, after an all-night drinking binge, Dex discovers that he has been slipped a poison that will kill him within 24 hours. Teaming up with the adoring Sydney, Dex tries to track down the person who poisoned him while dodging the cops, since he happens to be a prime murder suspect. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, (more)
Everybody's All American covers 25 years in the life of college football hero Gavin Grey (Dennis Quaid). When he marries campus sweetheart Babs Rogers (Jessica Lange) and is picked up by the pros, a happily-ever-after denouement is predicted by friends and family. It is clear from the outset, however, that Grey is going to have to do a lot of growing up over the next few decades. Babs does her best to keep in step with her husband's career and mood swings, and in so doing becomes the "parent" in the family. John Goodman also stars as Grey's best buddy, and Timothy Hutton is on hand for a romantic-triangle subplot. Everybody's All American is based on the novel by longtime Sports Illustrated scrivener Frank Deford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Lange, Dennis Quaid, (more)
- 1988
To Heal a Nation is the true story of Jan Scruggs (Eric Roberts), a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. In 1979, Scruggs, employed by the US Department of Labor, becomes obsessed with the dream of erecting a monument to those who died in Vietnam. In pursuit of this dream, Scruggs and his fellow fundraisers run up against bureaucratic indifference and public hostility-not to mention the reservations of certain veterans who disapprove of the monument's "radical" design. On November 13, 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is erected in Washington DC-an intensely emotional moment, vividly recreated by combining dramatizations with actual news footage. Originally presented as GE Theater TV production, To Heal a Nation debuted May 29, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
The two-hour final episode of Ironside's seventh season serves as the pilot film for the spinoff cop series Amy Prentiss. Jessica Walter plays the title character, a hardworking San Francisco police woman who aspires to the position of Chief of Police. Though up against a lot of resistance from the all-male establishment, Amy has a staunch supporter in the form of former chief Robert Ironside (Raymond Burr. Originally telecast as a single extended episode, "Amy Prentiss: AKA The Chief has been divided into a brace of one-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In the conclusion of Ironside's two-part Season Seven finale (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), new San Francisco police chief Amy Prentiss (Jessica Walter) runs up against a wall of hostility and resistance from the town's all-male establishment. Fortunately, Amy can count former chief Ironside (Raymond Burr) and his team among her supporters. But even Ironside may not be able to help Chief Prentiss as she is assigned a "make-or-break" murder case. This episode served as the pilot for the spinoff series Amy Prentiss, with supporting player Art Metrano retained in the series proper as Amy's aide Tom Pena. Johnny Seven, here seen in his standard Ironside role as Lt. Carl Reese, would join the Amy Prentiss cast as Detective Contreras, while the role of Joan, here played by Joan Pringle, would be taken over by Gwen Mitchell (Pringle would be compensated with a recurring Ironside role as the new wife of Chief Ironside's former bodyguard Mark Sanger [Don Mitchell]). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This effort from exploitation auteur Jack Hill was a profitable early entry in one of the most beloved subgenres of sexploitation cinema, the cheerleader movie. The soap opera-styled premise focuses on the lives of a squad of cheerleaders at Mesa University. Mary Ann (Colleen Camp) is worried with trying to get her roving football player boyfriend, Buck, to settle down and marry her; Lisa (Rosanne Katon) is caught up an in an affair with the married Professor Torpe (Jason Sommers); and Andrea (Rainbeaux Smith) frets over whether or not to give her virginity up. There is also a new cheerleader named Kate (Jo Johnston), who is actually a journalism student using the experience to write a feminist-slanted paper for her thesis. Kate soon learns that the cheerleaders and football players deserve more respect than she gives them and also uncovers a secret gambling ring involving the coach, Professor Torpe, and Mary Ann's father. The narrative that results from these surprisingly involved plot threads delivers all the raciness the title promises, and, thanks to the gambling subplot, even a bit of action. The Swinging Cheerleaders is less inspired and kinetic than Hill's other exploitation fare, but it delivers the sexploitation goods and manages to work in a little subversive social commentary to boot. As a result, it became a drive-in hit and earned a cult following amongst fans of drive-in movies. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jo Johnston, Cheryl Smith, (more)
- 1972
Young singer John Davidson is cast, appropriately enough, as young singer Tory Hughes. When his contract is taken over by a Mob loan shark, Tory discovers to his chagrin that his whole life is being taken over as well. Indeed, Tory is expected to lure other unwitting victims into the shark's jaws--unless the FBI can put an end to the whole sordid mess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- NC17
After nearly a decade as one of America's most successful independent filmmakers, legendary sexploitation auteur Russ Meyer first reached out for the brass ring of major studio success with this frantic cult favorite, once described by Meyer and screenwriter Roger Ebert as "the first exploitation-horror-camp-musical." Kelly McNamara (Dolly Read), Casey Anderson (Cynthia Myers), and Petronella Danforth (Marcia McBroom) are the three members of an all-girl rock band called "the Kelly Affair" who pull up stakes for Hollywood in search of stardom; they're accompanied by their manager, Harris Allsworth (David Gurian), who also happens to be Kelly's boyfriend. Kelly has an aunt in Hollywood, fashion mogul Susan Lake (Phyllis Davis), who takes Kelly under her wing and informs her she's entitled to a share of a recent family inheritance, much to the chagrin of Susan's lawyer, the shifty Porter Hall (Duncan McLeod). Susan arranges for Kelly and her bandmates to attend a wild party thrown by Ronnie "Z-Man" Barzell (John La Zar), a flamboyant and very successful record producer; Z-Man renames the band "the Carrie Nations," signs them to a record deal, and they're one of the biggest acts in America practically overnight. However, Harris is pushed out of the picture as the band's manager by Z-Man, and as Kelly's boyfriend by actor and gigolo Lance Rocke (Michael Blodgett), sending Harris into a deep depression even after he becomes the new boy-toy of adult film star Ashley St. Ives (Edy Williams). Meanwhile, Petronella finds love with law student Emerson Thorne (Harrison Page) until her head is turned by heavyweight boxing champion Randy Black (Jim Iglehart), and Casey explores her sexual boundaries with Roxanne (Erica Gavin), a beautiful lesbian designer. This nonstop train of decadence, drugs, and betrayal finally comes off the rails during a drug-fueled orgy at Z-Man's mansion, which erupts into violence when the rock mogul's darkest secret is revealed. Featuring one-hit wonders the Strawberry Alarm Clock, supporting performances by Meyer regulars Charles Napier and Haji, and a bit part from future blaxploitation icon Pam Grier, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls proved to be Meyer's biggest box-office success, though after his next film (The Seven Minutes) bombed at the box office, he returned to independent production in 1973. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, (more)
