Peter R. Simpson Movies

Donal Logue (Grounded for Life) stars as a hard-drinking, has-been TV director who gets a second shot at success when he's assigned to run a fishing show in Scotland. Though he has to work with a miniscule budget, a challenging partner (who just happens to be his ex-wife), and a total lack of booze, his time in the highlands may be just the thing he needs to be happy. ~ All Movie Guide

An ordinary man remakes himself into a warrior after the death of his family in this thriller. Jack Elgin (Jeremy Irons) is a magazine editor living in London with his wife and three children. Elgin joins his spouse and his children as they set off for a trip to India, and when the plane lands due to mechanical failures, the flight is hijacked by terrorists from the "August 15th Movement," who insist on 50 million dollars in ransom from the United States government. The U.S. administration delivers on the request, but as the terrorists begin to evacuate hostages from the plane, circumstances go awry and Elgin's wife and child die in the subsequent fire. The hijackers are soon arrested but released from custody, and when Elgin protests this turn of events to a representative of the U.S. State Department (Jason Priestley), he is told there's little than can be done -- unless he's willing to take the law into his own hands. With the help of his friend Kate (Charlotte Rampling), who is well-schooled in the finer points of international intelligence, Elgin becomes a one-man anti-terrorist squadron, tracking down extremist factions and turning their own weapons against them. Elgin's work is so impressive it attracts the attention of Jules Bernard (Forest Whitaker), an FBI agent who has his own agenda regarding shutting down terrorists. The Fourth Angel was co-produced by American independent studio Artisan Entertainment, but its U.S. theatrical release was canceled in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this family-oriented outdoor adventure story, Bryan Brown plays Tyrone, a hunter who captures a handful of grizzly bear cubs. However, Tyrone didn't count on the tenacity of the cubs' mother, who retaliates by kidnapping Tyrone's son. When Tyrone sets out to find his son, fearing the worst, the bear proves a kind and capable companion, guiding the boy through the wilderness and showing him the ways of survival in the wild. Shot amidst the rugged surroundings of Vancouver, British Columbia, Grizzly Falls also features Richard Harris, Oliver Tobias, and Tom Jackson; co-screenwriter Stuart Margolin is better known as an actor, best remembered for his recurring role as "Angel" on the TV series The Rockford Files. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

For the past two decades, small-time gangster Al (Vincent Spano) has been deeply troubled by the murder of his father and secretly desires to go straight. Al and his volatile partner Nicky (Ricky Aiello) work for crooked real estate developer Frank Parente (Danny Aiello). One day, Al's Aunt Rose (Morgana King) lets a room to Gabriella (Maria Grazia Cucinotta), a young filmmaker who has come to document Brooklyn life in her newest film. As enigmatic as she is beautiful, Al can't help but fall for her. Trouble brews when Parente gets suspicious of her and orders Nicky to dig around in Gabriella's room. He finds that Gabriella is not telling the whole truth and that her documentary is really a video dossier on Parente, something he promptly shows to Al. In confronting Gabriella, he learns that he and she have a lot more in common than he previously suspected and that their bond stems back to the murderous Parente. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The fourth entry in the Iron Eagle series follows the return of General Charles "Chappy" Sinclair (Louis Gosset Jr., who deserves better) as he trains a Dirty Dozen-style team of juvenile delinquents to improve their quality of life by flying planes and combatting evil. This time the Air Force itself is the enemy, as the intrepid teens uncover a conspiracy involving biological weaponry. When Chappy contacts his old friend, General Kettle (Al Waxman), he learns the General is in on the action. Along the way, the group manages to combat some ill-prepared drug dealers as well. This installment is better than the second or third, but that's not the highest of praise; Iron Eagle IV is a dumb-dumb fantasy for fourteen-year-old boys who don't yet have their learner's permits, much less their pilot's licenses. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

This suspenseful thriller follows the exploits of a young wife as she tries to escape from an abusive mate and ends up on the gritty city streets. Jenefer manages to get away from her husband but must give her baby up for adoption before she can do so. Alone on the scary streets she encounters Ola, a street-wise hooker who takes her under her wing. Ola also tries to protect Jenefer from the murderous Hassan, her pimp and king of the neighborhood. Ola sees Hassan brutally kill another whore, but refuses to testify against him. She resists McClaren, a harsh police officer, and his attempts to interrogate her. She is then deported. The suddenly bereft Jenefer gives into Hassan and becomes a prostitute. This helps her become stronger and streetwise so that she is finally able to confront and dispatch her husband in the blood-filled conclusion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this sexually charged thriller, Rich (Corey Haim) is an 18-year-old working at an exclusive ski resort while his older brother Wes (Corey Feldman) serves out a sentence in the state prison. Rich becomes strongly attracted to Megan (Nicole Eggert), a beautiful young woman whose father owns the resort -- and whose mother died under mysterious circumstances. Rich and Megan fall into a passionate affair, but when Megan begins to suggest that their lives would be better if her father were out of the way, Rich has to ask himself just how far he's willing to go for love. Blown Away was released in two versions -- an R-rated version and an un-rated cut that features more nudity and more suggestive love scenes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cold Comfort is an award-winning Canadian-made psychodrama about a psychotic father who kidnaps a man to keep his teen-aged daughter company. Stephen (Paul Gross), a handsome traveling salesman, is Floyd's (Maury Chaykin) birthday gift to his daughter Dolores (Margaret Langrick). Dolores and Stephen become increasingly attached and Stephen agrees to help Dolores escape from her father, to whom she is emotionally bound. When Dolores and Stephen try to escape, Floyd catches them and chains Stephen to a wall. Only Dolores can rescue him. Cold Comfort is grim, slow, and certainly not for everyone, but for those who appreciate intricate psychodrama, Cold Comfort is well worth viewing. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Though not a true sequel to Paul Lynch's derivative slasher-dud Prom Night, this Carrie-flavored horror film begins in 1957 with the fiery death of bitchy prom queen Mary Lou Maloney (Lisa Schrage) courtesy of a backfired stinkbomb stunt pulled by her jealous ex-boyfriend. Thirty years later, her killer has become the school principal (Michael Ironside), and sweet, innocent Vicki (Wendy Lyon) is a contender for the prom-queen title. Mary Lou's vengeful spirit spies the perfect opportunity to reclaim her crown once and for all. The rest of the film involves Vicki adopting Mary Lou's less-than-reputable habits and messily destroying anyone who stands between her and the coveted title. High points include a telekinetic "Tutti Frutti" locker-room squashing and a swirling demonic blackboard, all courtesy of FX wizard Jim Doyle, who worked previously on A Nightmare on Elm Street, to which this film bears some stylistic similarities. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Andy Cooper (Kevin Hicks) enrolls in a fine arts college in this uneven attempted comedy. He soon becomes romantically involved with a beautiful teacher and an attractive female member of the student body. Brief nudity does little to enhance this uninteresting film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this violent actioner, the gentle Morris family moves into a peaceful mountain community to find a quieter, safer way of life. Unfortunately, they soon discover that the town in totally controlled by a clan of fiendish thugs, the Cullens, who welcome the new family by savaging the mother, tormenting the father and beating up the girl friend of their teenage son, Matt, who survives the ordeal and soon gets his violent revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide