Elaine Bromka Movies
- 2002
A major crisis arises for Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) and Harkins (Leslie Bibb) as they care for an injured teenager who is harboring a secret from her father. Kovac (Goran Visnjic) has an eye-opening encounter with an elderly female patient. Chen (Ming-Na) reacts strangely when an abandoned baby turns up in the ER. And Abby (Maura Tierney) is shocked to discover that her bipolar mother, Maggie (Sally Field), wants to stop treatment for Abby's similarly bipolar brother, Eric (Tom Everett Scott). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
A newspaper columnist is murdered, thereby reopening a 20-year-old homicide case. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) track down the central character in the original case, who was a juvenile at the time. This leads to a tricky dilemma for the D.A.'s office -- a dilemma eagerly pounced upon by the defense attorney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
A 12-year-old Harlem youth is killed in a hit-and-run. The driver, an elderly Jewish man named Joshua Berger (Michael Constantine), is not indicted. This is all it takes for outspoken (and blatantly bigoted) black activist Reverend Ott (Tony Todd) to foment racial tensions that explode in violence. The scenes involving Assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) and black defense lawyer Shambala Green (Lorraine Toussaint) are among the most powerful ever seen on Law & Order; small wonder that "Sanctuary" was cited by TV Guide as one of television's best individual series episodes. As a bonus, actor J. K. Simmons, who later became a series semiregular in the role of police psychologist Dr. Emil Skoda, is here seen in an entirely different characterization. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Viewers familiar with the trial of the Mendendez Brothers may recognize a few similarities in this Law & Order episode. A wealthy couple is murdered in their home, and it looks as if the killers were the victims' own sons, Nick and Greg Jarman (Matt Hofherr, Stephen Mailer). The Defense's claims that the boys were defending themselves against their father's abuse do not hold much water with the D.A.'s office, nor does the pressure brought to bear by the other members of the suspects' powerful and influential family. And then comes a startling and wholly unexpected development in the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this cheerful, lightweight comedy, excruciatingly clumsy, disorganized, and messy Uncle Buck Russell (John Candy) becomes the screens most unlikely babysitter since Clifton Webb in Sitting Pretty. While their parents are away, eight-year old Miles (Macaulay Culkin), six-year old Maizy (Gaby Hoffman) and their teen-aged sister, Tia (Jean Kelly) are left in the care of Buck. Surprisingly, the very inept Uncle Buck entertains the younger children who come to love him and earns the respect of Tia when he rescues her from her worthless boyfriend. However, in doing so, Buck nearly loses his long-time girlfriend Chanice (Amy Madigan). John Candy is delightful in the leading role giving a touching and notable comic performance. Directed by John Hughes in his typical broad style, this youth-oriented comedy is perhaps the best role of John Candy's regrettably brief career. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Candy, Amy Madigan, (more)
- 1987
In this children's feature, American sign language is demonstrated using stories and music. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Bove
Young divorced mother Kate Nelligan refuses to go into a panic when her six-year-old son disappears. She manages to maintain an even emotional keel even when detective Judd Hirsch unearths several clues which point to sexual molestation. After several false leads, the truth is revealed. We won't divulge the ending, but we will note that we found it pretty hard to swallow-especially when compared to the actual case upon which Beth Gutcheson's novel and screenplay were based. Despite its cop-out denouement, Without a Trace deserves to take its place among such superior missing-children dramas as the made-for-TV Adam and Just Another Missing Kid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Nelligan, Judd Hirsch, (more)
- 1980
The made-for-television Playing for Time debuted on September 30, 1980. Vanessa Redgrave stars as Fania Fenelon, a Jewish cabaret singer working in Paris at the time of the Nazi invasion. Shipped to the Auschwitz death camp in 1944, Fenelon is certain that she is as doomed as all the other prisoners. But SS camp matron Shirley Knight has other plans: she orders Fenelon and several other female inmates with musical ability to form themselves into a prisoner's orchestra. They are to perform for the benefit of those who are herded into the gas chambers--a "humane" means of easing the condemned into the next world. As much as she despises her work, Fenelon and her fellow musicians continue to play, lest they too be exterminated. The film raises several questions about courage, guilt and survival at any price, but the most controversial aspect was the casting of anti-Zionist Vanessa Redgrave as Fania Fenelon. Like many others, the real-life Fenelon (who died in 1988) was vehemently opposed to Redgrave's appearance in the film. Playing for Time won Emmy Awards for Redgrave, scriptwriter Arthur Miller, supporting actress Jane Alexander, and as Outstanding Dramatic Special. Redgrave's husband Tony Richardson was the original director, but he bowed out and was replaced by Joseph Sargent., who himself was replaced by Daniel Mann (the only one credited) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Alexander, (more)
