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Reviews
That Thing You Do! (1996)
A great film in all departments
1. Tom Hanks so expertly captured the time period--not one false note
or image. (I know--I grew up during that time.) This film should
have gotten some sort of award (or at least nominated) for best set
design. 2. Perfectly cast, down to the small, one line roles. Bryan Cranston
was perfect as Virgil "Gus" Grissom. One of those great "hey there"
films. (Hey, there's Alex Rocco, Peter Scolari, Charlize Theron,
Warren Berlinger, Robert Torti, Rita Wilson, etc. 3. Love those costumes!
4. This film perfectly captured the last innocence of America
(especially it's youth) in 1964 before the harsh realities of the late
1960's set in (war casualties, assassinations, coarse pornography
among other things).
And now, we have the director's cut released for us to enjoy even more scenes from this wonderful film.
Medical Center (1969)
A show way ahead of it's time
Not only did this show have a top notch supporting cast, a handsome, charming leading man, and outstanding "guest star" performances, but it took on issues and subjects and issues that were taboo on television until that time (some are still quite controversial even now). Male impotence. A lesbian doctor. Witchcraft. Drug overdoses. Gangs. Sex changes. Mental illnesses. Doctors practicing with no training. Racial issues. Feminisim. Child abuse.I still remember many of the episodes and even some of the dialogue. The issues covered in this groundbreaking series are still relevant to audiences today. This is a series that deserves more attention and needs a DVD box set made!
World Trade Center (2006)
A great "Hey There" Film
In addition to this being a very moving, non-exploitive film dealing with a still fresh in the mind tragedy, it is a great "hey there" film experience with a tremendous number of great actors in small supporting roles. Examples: Hey there's William Mapother, Tom Cruise's first cousin. Hey there's Jay Hernandez, the latest Hispanic teenage idol. Hey there's William Jimeno playing a cop. (He is the officer played by Michael Pena in the film.) Hey there's Jude Ciccolella, character actor extraordinary. (He proves the old adage that there are no small roles, only small actors.) Hey there's Nicholas Turturro (John's brother, Aida's first cousin) (He left NYPD Blue way too soon.) Hey there's Danny Nucci (A fine child actor grown up to be a fine adult actor. SPOILER ALERT His character was killed in this film as was his character (Fabrizio) in "The Titanic" (1998) I remember watching this young man almost twenty years ago on an episode of "Magnum P.I.) Hey there's Tom Wright (The nasty Eugene Hubbard on "All My Children" among many other great roles.) Hey there's Terry Quinn (A great character actor who's ex-wife Patti D'Arbanville also appeared in this film! Fascinating!) Hey there's Maggie Gyllenhall (Brokeback Mountain's Jake Gyllenhall's sister, current indie movie queen.) Hey there's Nicky Katt (The sexy teacher we all wish we had on Boston Public. Where have you been, Nicky?) Hey there's Dorothy Lyman (The unforgettable Opal Gardener on "All My Children" (She won a best supporting actress daytime Emmy)) Hey there's Julie Adams (Starlet from the classic "Creature From The Black Lagoon" (1954) guest actress extraordinary on television dramas of the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's, ex-wife of Ray Danton.) Hey there's Jay Acovone (memorable daytime actor and nighttime guest star actor.) Hey there's Stephen Dorff (matured from a fine teen aged actor to a fine adult actor--remember some of his film titles S.F.W.(you know what these letters mean) Cecil B. Demented--unforgettable titles if not unforgettable films. Hey there's Patti D'Arbanville (One of Andy Warhol's "muses", Don Johnson's ex, daytime, nighttime, and film actress, former model, she's done it all.)
Well, these are just a few. Wow! A most fascinating cast!
The Firechasers (1971)
Great production values and costumes
Years ago I saw this movie on television here in the United States. Although a fairly standard "private eye investigation - "who done it," the costumes and cinematography were gorgeous. Chad Everett. Anjanette Comer, and Joanne Dainton (where's she been?) never looked better. Chad is at his best playing a calm, self assured, leading man (Joe Gannon on Medical Center, among others). Also, the British have a seemingly inexhaustible supply of great character actors (Roy Kinnear, etc.) who do such great memorable work with small roles. I would like to see this movie released to DVD. Does anyone out there know anything about this possibility?
The Wide World of Mystery (1973)
This was a good series with some entries better than others.
I remember this series fondly from when I was a young adult back in the 1970's. Originally, if I remember correctly, it was called the ABC Wide World Mystery. These were 90 minutes videotaped (PAL format converted to NTSC) commercials included that ran from 11:30 P.M. to 1:00 A.M. EST that were originally called the "Thriller" series in Great Britain. They were taped in England and starred one or two American actors with the rest of the cast being British. Some of my favorites were "Someone at the Top of the Stairs" starring Donna Mills; "Nurse Will Make It Better" a.k.a. "Devil's Web" starring Diana Dors (in a striking character performance; "The Eyes Have It" starring Sinead Cusack (daughter of Cyril Cusack, wife of Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune, Lolita, etc.): "Murder on the Midnight Express" starring Judy Geeson; "Sign It Death" starring Francesca Annis; "Screamer" starring Pamela Franklin; and one starring Carol Lynley (the title escapes me at the moment). All of these have been released to DVD recently, although they may not play on certain DVD players as they were 1) In PAL format 2)Made for another DVD "zone" (not the United States "zone.")
Then, if memory serves, the United States jumped on board and made some entries in the series, on videotape (NTSC this time) 90 minutes, including commercials. These generally lacked the style and intricate video "editing" of their British counterparts, but were interesting in their own way. Over the years I have attempted to reconstruct a list of these episodes and their stars from memory as they have not been listed anywhere in their entirety. I remember most, if not all, of them, at least in part. Some of my favorites were: "The Invasion of Carol Enders" starring Meredith Baxter-Birney (now divorced and back to just Baxter) and Christopher Connelly (now deceased); "The Cloning of Clifford Swimmer" starring Lance Kerwin, Sheree North, and Peter Haskell (now retired and a lawyer, I hear); One starring Carol Williard and Hurd Hatfield (Title?); One starring Tige Andrews (The Mod Squad, etc)(Title?); "Distant Early Warning" starring Mary Frann (now deceased; of the "Newhart" show, remember her?); One starring Susan Strasberg (now deceased) and Michael Parks (Adam "The Bible", "Then Came Bronson" TV series (where's he been?); One starring Clifton Davis (Title?) mentioned by a previous writer; "The Last Bride of Salem" starring Lois Nettleton and Bradford Dillman (I think); One starring Paul Michael Glaser and Kim Hunter (now deceased, "Planet of the Apes" etc.); One starring Peter Coffield (now deceased) and Tisha Sterling (daughter of Ann Sothern and Robert Sterling); One starring Stephen Collins (Seventh Heaven, etc) and Heather McRae (I think); One starring Tim Mathison and Heather McRae.
And finally, "The Break" (is this the correct title?) was shown separately from both of these other two groups. It starred Robert Shaw and his then wife Mary Ure (both deceased), but I guess you could some- what include it in with these as it was 1) Shot on videotape (PAL, I think) 2)90 minutes in length including commercials 3) shown in the ABC Wide World of Mystery slot at least once (11:30 P.M. to 1:00 A.M. EST)
This was a good series that I would like to see more detail on the IMDb.