TV Movies
Time Bomb
Golden Globe winner, David Arquette and Oscar winner Angela Bassett star in this suspenseful thriller about a Department of Homeland Security agent who races against time to save his family and thousands of innocent spectators from a football stadium rigged with explosives.
Agent Michael Bookman (Arguette) wants to spend more quality time with his wife and son. He arranges to meet them at a football game, but has to change plans when he is sent to diffuse a bomb rigged to explode in a local sports bar. Debris is soon falling from a bomb too sophisticated to defuse. Then Undersecretary for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (Bassett) calls to report another bomb-threat – Al Qaeda operatives have rigged a football stadium with deadly explosives, the same stadium where Michael’s wife and son are waiting for him…uh-oh….
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Talking to Heaven
Ted Danson stars as real-life psychic James Van Praagh, a man who spent much of his life ignoring or denying his clairvoyant gifts until it became impossible to suppress them any longer. After experiencing several “visitations” from the dead of his youth, Van Praagh is tagged as a freak and shunned by friends and family members alike. It is only during a particularly difficult period of his adult life that Van Praagh is finally willing to acknowledge his special talents, and then only because he has had visions of a forlorn young boy with bound hands. Galvanized into action by such grim images, not to mention the plaintive voices of several additional ghostly youngsters, James agrees to assist the authorities spearheaded by Detective Karen Condrin (played by real-life, wife Mary Steenburgen) in locating the buried victims of a serial killer who may still be at large. Queen Latifah and Oscar Winner Jack Palance also star.
Available at: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Blockbuster | Netflix
Warden of Red Rock
It’s 1910 and John Flinders (James Caan) is the warden of Red Rock Prison in Arizona. The ‘Old’ West is changing and Flinders has tried to keep pace by being a fair man and running a humane prison. When he agrees to do a favor for a condemned man, Flinders finds for the first time that he wants a life outside the prison. Unfortunately, his outlaw past comes back to haunt him when Michael Sullivan (David Carradine) is thrown into Red Rock. Sullivan is as heartless as Flinders is humane and the two inevitably face off when Sullivan engineers a prison break and Flinders gathers a posse to hunt down the escapees.
This is a modern western; it takes place in a west that is rapidly moving into a new age. Like Unforgiven this film focuses on the inner turmoil of men who live at the edges of society even as society is moving closer. Sullivan – cold, heartless and a little desperate – is the perfect foil for the kind and fair Flinders. Both men choose to fight – Flinders for the love of a woman, and Sullivan for freedom. “Caan and Carradine give excellent performances as these two tired and weathered men. Giving Flinders his reason to fight (though he does not initially realize it) is Maria (Rachel Ticotin), the widow of a former prisoner. Ticotin also delivers an excellent performance as a hard-working mother and gracious woman.” (Cheryl DeWolfe, Apollo Guide Review)
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The Warden
Ally Sheedy, Sam Robards, Lindsay Crouse and Ron Rifkin star in a story by Lynda La Plante (Prime Suspect, The Commander, Above Suspicion). The Warden is a gripping tale centered around a dynamic and ambitious woman, Helen Hewitt (Sheedy) who is brought in as the young warden of an all male, maximum security prison just when things are getting hot for the prison bigwigs. The headline is that she will “clean up the mess inside”, but the real agenda between the bigwigs is that she will be manipulated to keep this corrupt and profit making world in place. Things get increasingly complicated as Sheedy battles her own private demons and the tense, hostile environment she faces at the prison. “This movie is great to watch, kept me engrossed till the very end. Sheedy gives a wonderfully realistic performance.” Manaka, IMDB)
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Resurrection (1999)
Resurrection is based on the 1980 film of the same name, which starred Ellyn Burstyn, about a woman, Clare Walker, who developed healing powers after an automobile accident. This incarnation of Clare is played by Dana Delaney whose husband is killed and whose legs are left paralyzed after an automobile accident. Moments after the accident, Clare experiences a vision — a near-death experience. She begins a painful recovery and is taken care of by her long-estranged mother, Charlotte (Oscar-winner Brenda Fricker), and flamboyant friend Mimi (Emmy-Tony-Grammy –winner, Rita Moreno). Clare soon realizes that the accident has given her the ability to heal others, a fact that draws the attention of Dr. Jake Sandler (Nick Chinlund), who helps her understand her powers.
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The Patron Saint of Liars (1998)
“The Patron Saint of Liars,” stars Dana Delanay, a young woman in 1981 who leaves her husband while 2-months pregnant. Retreating to a strict, Catholic house, she meets a sympathetic nun and a carpenter while trying to hide from her past for the next fifteen years. Based on the novel by Ann Patchett (Bel Canto, Run), the film is really about a woman questioning her own faith and a past, which includes miraculous geysers, misery, death, faith and finally hope. The cast also includes, Clancy Brown, Sada Thompson, John Putch, Marissa Ribisi, Ellen Burstyn, and a then-unknown Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Available at: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Blockbuster | Netflix
The Terror Inside/aka Shattered Mind (1996)
Heather Locklear stars in this psychological thriller as a woman who is racked by multiple personalities, confronting a horrifying past of dark secrets buried a long time ago. When her father dies she descends into a bizarre emotional world where she nearly destroys the relationship with her husband and two young daughters.
In perhaps one of Locklear’s few truly dramatic performances she “more than proves herself as a soul caught in an Alice In Wonderland hell.” This is a film that particularly impressed Steven Spielberg upon its release and, while certainly having it’s flaws, not to mention involving itself in the questionable medical analysis of “Multiple Personality Disorder,” it nonetheless deserves a more serious viewing in it’s depiction of subjective filmmaking.
Available at: Blockbuster
Family of Spies (1990)
Family of Spies, (Emmy nominated for best actress, Leslie Ann Warren and best mini-series) is the true story of American turncoat John Walker, Jr.. Powers Boothe stars as Walker, a Navy petty officer who spends half his career, more than 18 years, selling top secrets to the Soviets. At first the soul of discretion, the hard-drinking, philandering Walker eventually becomes careless enough in his activities to arouse the suspicions of his in-the-dark wife Barbara (Lesley Ann Warren). With the skill and aplomb of the true sociopath, Walker also manages to convince his own son (Andrew Lowry) to join the “family business,” giving new definition to the term, family dysfunction. The spy ring is ultimately smashed through the joint efforts of the FBI and Walker’s embittered ex-wife. Based on the books Family of Spies by Pete Earley and I Pledge Allegiance by Howard Blum.
Available at: Amazon | Blockbuster | Netflix
Leap of Faith (1988)
“An Excellent Movie for all who have been diagnosed with cancer,”
(John Duguid, Australia)
“LEAP of FAITH with SAM NEILL and ANNE ARCHER This movie is so good because it deals with the emotional problems that come with the diagnosis of Cancer. My wife and I have had a successful nineteen year battle with Malignant Melanoma including twenty trips to an America Clinic The movie deals with all the nuances from day one that occur when this problem arises and it shows the correct attitude for those who are suffering from Cancer, that is so important to understand for successful recovery. In my opinion this movie should not be lightly dismissed. All of the actors play their parts believably as it is not a high action movie, it is about real people and a true story. All should see it sufferers, family and careers. It’s a must!”
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Promised a Miracle (1988)
“A heartbreaking but engrossing Made-for-TV movie,”
Charles Moran (105075.1400@compuserve.com)
“You have to be careful with any movie that is labeled a “Docudrama”. Just because it claims to be true doesn’t necessarily mean what we’re seeing on screen actually happened. I was totally aware of this when I first watched “Promised a Miracle” on CBS back in 1988. But this did a first: It was powerful enough and moving enough to change my opinion. What do I mean by that? Let’s go back to 1973. That is the year when the Wesley Parker case filled the news during that August of 1973. Wesley Parker, 12, son of Mr. & Mrs. Larry Parker – and diabetic – was supposedly faith healed. Three days after his insulin was thrown away, Wesley died. But were the parents grief stricken? Nope. They announced to a stunned nation that Wesley would rise from the dead four days later. Unsuccessful “Resurrection” services were held. One week later Mr. & Mrs. Parker were arrested for manslaughter. For all these years I thought the parents had to be stupid and terrible people. Which is why “Promised a Miracle” is one of the most amazing Made-For-TV movies I’ve ever seen. With an intelligent script and absolutely first-rate performances by Judge Reinhold and Rossanna Arquette, the movie managed to turn my opinion and allowed me to feel actual sympathy for the parents. They were NOT horrible stupid people. What they were was misguided. They loved Wesley with all their heart and truly believed that a higher source would indeed cure their son and bring him back. One of the most heartbreaking scenes occurs a little past the hour mark when Larry and Lucky Parker finally have to admit the most horrible thing that parents could ever admit: They let Wesley die. He would not be coming back, and they would have to live with it for the rest of their lives. The scene at the baseball diamond is Judge Reinhold’s best moment. And by the way, that’s Giovanni Rubisi as Wesley Parker, and his talent shows even at that young an age. I hope this gem of a TV Movie will not be forgotten. It is great storytelling and gives “Docudrama” a good name.”
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The Abduction of Kari Swenson (1987)
Olympic biathlete Kari Swenson, played by Tracy Pollan (Family Ties, Baby it’s You), is captured early as she trains rigorously in the mountains of Montana. Her abductors are an odd father-and-son couple, old Don Nichols (M. Emmet Walsh), as menacing as a grizzly, and somewhat dim-witted Danny (Michael Bowen), clearly under the command of his big daddy. The two men, rhapsodizing about being free in the midst of unspoiled nature, grab Ms. Swenson on a deserted mountain trail, tie her up with a rope and chain, insisting that ”we’re gonna keep you for a couple of days, that’s all.” Don has been living in the mountains for 12 years, ever since his wife left him. He is brutish and clearly capable of violence. Danny has spent time with him periodically and now seems ready to stay permanently. ”The only thing we need is female companionship,” Don explains. They intend to start a tribe, and Ms. Swenson is scheduled to be the first member, but Sheriff Onstad (Joe Don Baker) is trying to track them down.
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