Reviews (2)

An Classic Underrated Kid Film about Friendship.
After the Death of his Father, a 11 Year Old Boy (Ricky Busker) runs away from Home and He Becomes friends with a Street Black Kid (Darius McCrary from the Hit T.V. Show-Family Matters), who teachs him the Way of the Mean Streets of the City.

Directed by Robert Mandel (F/X, School Ties, The Subsitute) made a Wonderful winning film. Exective Produced by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters). This is Written (Surprise) by Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct). This is a Clever Entertaining Film for the Whole Family. This film has become a Minor Cult Classic. Panavision. Grade:A-.

An excellent film!
It was an excellent film about a sheltered, inexperience white boy coming of age with the help of a street savvy young hoodlum. Recommended for all who want an enjoyable, funny, and relaxing film. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

a great feel good movie with excellent acting
This movie really shows how Michael Keaton can really do comedy.
He plays a wealthy hockey player whose life is turned upside
down when he meets a Latino kid who muggs him and his mother.
We see a romance revolve and Michael Keaton's character sees
just what a lonely life he has. His scence with the little boy
are touching and funny. Michael Keaton can do comedy and serious
roles and he was perfect in this movie. Everyone was great.

I was quite pleased!
I am happy to say that "Touch and Go" was a great movie. My old buddy Michael Keaton finally did it again. He made a film that I enjoyed as much or even more than "The Dream Team". I actually cared about each individual character and their outcome.

It is a story about a self absorbed hockey player who finds out what that there is a world outside of himself. After being mugged by a wisecracking 12 year old kid, he ends up taking the brat under his wing unintentionally. He begins a romance with the boys mother (Maria Conchita Alonso-lookin SMOKIN' as ever-of course this was 1986) and ends up putting his hockey career on the backburner.

After renting a slew of BAD movies including "My Own Private Idaho", "A Kiss Before Dying" and "One Good Cop"(it just didn't do it for me) It was a treat to have something with substance finally. I highly recomend this film to anyone looking for a good time on a Saturday night.

5 out of 5 with complete confidence.

great interaction
the movie was intertaining and thought provoking.great inter-
action with it's 3 main characters.

touch and go
i saw the movie once and i love it. i enjoyed how the heart of micheal was change due to his meeting the little boy and his mom who i felt really needed him. oh i really enjoyed when he got with her and the boy was going to have a father figure in his life now and how she would no longer have to struggle any more cause she got micheal. she is a lovely girl and they play well together in this movie. i love it--------yes!!!!!!!!.

Touch and Go
This is one of my all time favorite movies. Michael Keaton and Maria Conchita Alonso are wonderful. It is an entertaining and heartwarming story about a young boy headed in the wrong direction in life and a playboy hockey player who become friends and "straighten" each other out. I highly recommend this movie. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This pair of fourth-season episodes represent The X-Files at its most intriguing, with plots that are intricately connected to the series' complex mythology, as well as the first X-Files theatrical movie. In other words, only loyal fans of the series will fully comprehend these episodes as pieces of a much larger puzzle.

Continuing the story arc of the earlier episode "Herrenvolk," "Tunguska" (a title reference to the Siberian site of a historic meteor crash in 1908) introduces the dreaded "black oil" that is released in wormlike drops from a mysterious rock that falls into the possession of agents Scully and Mulder. While Scully studies the rock, the oil, and its deadly effect on humans, Mulder travels to Tunguska with the duplicitous Agent Krycek in tow, seeking the origin of the strange and lethal rock, and possible clues about the conspiracy that cost the lives of Mulder's father and Scully's sister. Captured and imprisoned in a gulag labor camp, Mulder is injected with a drug that renders him unconscious. He wakes, trapped under restraining chicken wire, just in time to see the black oil being dropped onto him from a tap overhead--a horrifying situation that provides the episode's cliffhanger ending.

The story continues in "Terma," in which a Russian assassin is coaxed out of retirement to eliminate anyone who might reveal the secrets of the deadly "black cancer" oil that seeps from the mysterious meteor sample introduced in "Tunguska." While Scully protects Mulder by refusing to divulge his whereabouts to a Senate subcommittee (thus endangering her career), Mulder races to retrieve the rock as evidence that will exonerate both him and Scully in the hearing. His efforts are in vain, however, and as the Russian assassin destroys the rock and returns to Russia, Cigarette-Smoking Man destroys Scully's papers on the toxic effects of the black oil. Scully and Mulder's threatening investigation is closed down, and the ongoing conspiracy is maintained.

In these two episodes (both cowritten by series creator Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz), the story arc of the X-Files conspiracy is at its most ominous and deadly, and the atmosphere of both episodes is richly conveyed through modern film noir style. Although they're confounding when viewed out of the context of the series as a whole, they're impressive minimovies that will instantly draw the viewer into their spooky sphere of influence. With these two episodes (first broadcast in November and December 1996), The X-Files set the foundation for the feature film that would follow some 18 months later. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (6)

XF Bests...
The Tunguska/Terma two-part episode is definately one of the (in my opinion) best episodes of the X-files. It has a lot of the best qualities of the series, with a plot that even if you know the way it turns out keeps you hooked.

Scully always seems stuck trying to protect Mulder from their own government, and here she definately has her work cut out for her. Trials and tense situations make up her part of the episode. Mulder finds his way onto serious leads about the cancerman's plans and ends up in Russia; Siberia of all places! Not to mention Mulder's uncanny knack for getting into trouble. Skinner shows up also, and proves that having a desk job doesn't mean he can't punch. ^.~ Most importantly, is the continued uncovering of the conspiracy surrounding so many things around the world, and so many people. Not to mention, Alex Krycek is a major part of these two episodes. Even for those of you who are not fond of the character, you have to admit it gets interesting when he's around. (and c'mon, who honestly hates the ratboy?)

It's definately a good episode in that the plot and characters are very good, and the acting (as always) is wonderful. Beyond that, it's very good for any fan trying to piece together a bit more of that every elusive XF mythology!

Tunguska/Termsa was excellent...
...A great myth two-parter of Season 4. Mulder travels to Tunguska, Russia with Alex Krycek, only to find that Krycek is once again the double-crosser and relates well to his fan nick-name "Ratboy."

Tests are performed on Mulder, concerning the "black oil" (the alien virus), and Scully is in DC at a hearing trying to cover for him. These episodes contain what is commonly called "Mulder torture" (we see a lot in the fanfiction world...). Nic Lea was great, as always, in portraying Krycek. All the actors were great in their roles, and this Mythology fit in great with the whole arc, answering a lot of questions.

Tunguska/Terma
Tunguska and Terma are must-sees for any Alex Krycek/Nick Lea fan! Krycek is one of the characters that keeps The X-Files interesting and this is some of his best work to date. With maximum Krycek exposure and an intriguing plot-line which attempts to further explain the intricate mythology of the show, these two episodes are excellent for any X-Files fan.

A great video from a great series.
The two shows terma\tunguska are great. if you like the x-files then you have to see this video if you missed the two shows, and even if you saw them see them again.

My favorite of the X-Files - suspenseful, conspiracy theory
Krycek and Muldur go after the "black oil" alien which took over Krycek in Apocrypha. Mulder and Skinner have a field day beating up a handcuffed Krycek. A lot is learned about Krycek's past. This is a must for Nicholas Lea fans. Scully is barely in Tunguska, but featured in the last half of Terma. Muldur is featured predominantly in both. ... Read more

Description

Trouble abounds when a pint-sized innocent from the suburbs befriends a savvy street kid and their adventures involve them with a hired killer. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An Classic Underrated Kid Film about Friendship.
After the Death of his Father, a 11 Year Old Boy (Ricky Busker) runs away from Home and He Becomes friends with a Street Black Kid (Darius McCrary from the Hit T.V. Show-Family Matters), who teachs him the Way of the Mean Streets of the City.

Directed by Robert Mandel (F/X, School Ties, The Subsitute) made a Wonderful winning film. Exective Produced by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters). This is Written (Surprise) by Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct). This is a Clever Entertaining Film for the Whole Family. This film has become a Minor Cult Classic. Panavision. Grade:A-.

An excellent film!
It was an excellent film about a sheltered, inexperience white boy coming of age with the help of a street savvy young hoodlum. Recommended for all who want an enjoyable, funny, and relaxing film. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A French salvage ship uncovers a deadly secret on the ocean floor in Piper Maru. When the ship's crew turns up with severe radiation poisoning, Mulder and Scully race to find the cause of their ailment and prevent more people from being exposed. Scully finds herself confronting her own past to make sense of the truth, and Mulder journeys halfway around the world on the trail of what he believes is a crashed alien spacecraft. The story continues in Apocrypha. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The mythology takes a new tangent.
The third season of the show turned out some of the more enjoyable mythology romps, as Scully had yet to contract the sombering element of cancer from her abductions and Mulder's exploits were finally starting to reveal more than closed doors. This pair is a good sampling of that. It takes up the pursuit of an elusive biological phenomenon that, while it will make later appearences, is not really crucial to the show's mythology--and pursues it through two diverging paths. Mulder and Scully split up early on, with only thier phones to inform each other of their current progress and geography. They are in good form, having been together through a few things by now, and are beginning to develop a shorthand for the totally wild things they've done and seen that day. Grounding all this is the subplot of the still unsolved case of Melissa Scully's murder, in which Anderson gets to show off a little more of her acting chops than usual. Skinner also plays a special part.

The Black Oil Appears.
This movie is a wonderful introduction to The X - Files. It deals with the two FBI agents discovering an alien that would soon become crucial in the mythology arc. Dubbed "Black Oil", it resembles just that, but os in truth a substance that uses humans as hosts. An infected person is under the oil's complete control. You can only tell who's infected only by a film of oil that swims over their eyes. Especially horrific when the ooze travels up the victim's nose, ears, etc. Worst of all, they have heightened strength, and can generate Hiroshima - like radiation. Gillian Anderson plays her usual best as the skeptical, no nonsense Dana Scully, while David Duchovney plays that nutcase conspiracy theorist Fox Mulder. I recommend this film to anybody even remotely curious about the X-Files.

essential viewing
This video is a must for all the x-files fans out there. It is an important piece in the whole mythology arc puzzle, dealing with Melissa Scully's murder, the traitorous Alex Krycek, and of course, the alien conspiracy. It is also a classic episode, not to be missed. I recommend it to any X-Fan. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The fourth season of The X-Files was one of the show's finest, with consistently excellent writing that fearlessly dealt with disturbing plots and characters on the darkest fringes of psychosis. Superbly written by coproducer Vince Gilligan (who is interviewed on this video) "Unruhe" and "Paper Hearts" are excellent examples of the show's fourth-season confidence, forcing agents Mulder and Scully to confront evil in the form of two very ordinary looking but extraordinarily dangerous men.

"Unruhe" (German for "unrest") guest stars the perfectly cast character actor Pruitt Taylor Vince as a serial killer who possesses the paranormal ability to psychically project images onto unexposed film, resulting in photographs that capture eerie images of the killer's terrified victims. Mulder and Scully investigate this phenomenon and discover the killer's history of violence, leading to a cat-and-mouse pursuit that escalates to a climax as suspenseful as any episode in the series.

"Paper Hearts" features a more insidious villain, played by Tom Noonan with chilling understatement, who is serving a life sentence for confessing (in Mulder's first murder case) to the kidnapping and murder of 13 young girls. Vivid nightmares lead Mulder to suspect that the killer's list of victims is incomplete--a suspicion confirmed by a newly discovered corpse bearing the killer's heinous signature: a heart-shaped piece of fabric cut from the dead girl's clothing. When it's discovered that one of the remaining victims might be Mulder's missing sister, "Paper Hearts" turns into a battle of wills and wits between Mulder and the now-escaped killer. Their climactic showdown in an abandoned school bus is directed by Rob Bowman for maximum intensity.

Taken together as stand-alone episodes, "Unruhe" and "Paper Hearts" are brilliant examples of The X-Files at its best--plausible, horrifying, rich in humanity and emotional impact (no matter how unsettling), and unflinchingly provocative. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Absolutely amazing viewing
These are two of the best X-files episodes to date. They aremarvellously written, well acted, very interesting and have great twists and turns that keep you in suspense. They are a refreshing break from the mythology episodes; though they are equally good, they are lighter and easier to watch. The storylines rocked, and basically, they are really really cool eps!

Striaght to the Heart.
Two of the best episodes the X-files has come out with to date. Simply remarkable work by writer Vince Gilligan,(writer of Home Fries). The first episode on this tape is called Unruhe. Gilligan takes you into the mind of a killer as Mulder (David Duchovney) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigate a link between murders and psychic photography. This bone wrenching episode will have you fighten as the story goes from horror striaght onto terror. The second epiosde on this tape is called Paper Hearts. This part mythology story line will have you in tears. Mulder believes that John Lee Roche (Tom Noonan) was reponsible for the disappearance of his sister. As Mulder tries to unlock the truth of what happened to his sister, questioning his beliefs of what really happen to her 20 years ago. Definitely a must see. I really enjoyed this tape and I promise so will you. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

"The Substitute" Review
Tom Berenger is the head of a top-secret team of mercernaries, who decides to infiltrate a Miami high school after his girlfriend is beaten up, Nancy Kerrigan style, by one of the students. As it turns out, the school is being run by drug dealers and gang goons who answer to the principal, a former cop who runs a high-grade drug lab out of the basement in the gym. Any movie with Ernie Hudson as an evil high school principal, a wacked-out William Forsythe, and Latin singer Marc Anthony as the juvenile leader of a gang creatively titled the "Kings Of Destruction" can't be all bad, can it? Think of it as "Dangerous Minds" written for Steven Seagal.

A Guilty Pleasure
Those of us who teach for a living enjoy a guilty pleasure in "The Substitute." While we'd never dream of ever harming any of our students--well, at least I'd never dream of it--the catharsis from a fiction about a good guy mercenary cleaning house of all the bad influences in an urban high school--violent punks, drug lowlifes and sociopath gangbangers and the evil adults who indulge their self-destruction--is just too wonderful to pass up. Tom Berenger eschews the angry racist persona he brought to life so ably in "Platoon" for a different man of action, in this case, Shales, a professional soldier with a heart and a brain. Besieged and assaulted by teenybopper thugs who work for the local drug kingpin, his teacher girlfriend turns to the only man who might be able to stop them, forcing Shales to go undercover as a substitute teacher to root out the source of the problems. While the script is fantasy and has very little to do with teaching, and the production values are on the "B" side, the able cast--including Ernie Hudson, William Forsythe, Richard Brooks, and many other familiar faces--plays it with just the right amount of humor and zeal. Director Robert Mandel infuses the production with a pace and wit that has helped other low-budget productions make it to cult status (think "Alligator"), and "The Substitute" deserves an audience. If you teach, put this one on your shelf for those days when you feel like you could use a mercenary to put some order back into the classroom for you!

Awesome
Nothing beats a teacher putting a bunch of wannabe tough guys in there place and making it look easy. Starts out with a former mercanary/marines girlfriend being assaulted by a gang from a local high school she teaches at. Completely fed up, Shale decides to take the matter into his own hands and fakes some credentials and becomes a sub at her high school. Highly recommended. You'll find yourself rooting for Shale the whole way.

let me tell you
the only reason i saw this movie cause it was filmed at my high school miami senior high.i wasnt going there at the time but my sister was. so i saw it and didnt like it much but it was cool to see the school on film and know ive been there millions of times. p.s the school is not all f**ked up like they showed it they spray painted it and messed it up for filming.

THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE TOM BERENGER HAS EVER BEEN IN
A TOUGH MERCENARY [TOM BERENGER] BECOMES A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER FOR A CRIME INFESTED SCHOOL. VERY INTERESTING. THIS IS PROBABLY AS GOOD AS A TOM BERENGER MOVIE IS GONNA GET. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, MARC ANTHONY [WHO'S BEST REMEMBERED FOR 1998'S ''I NEED TO KNOW''] ACTUALLY HAS A ROLE IN THIS MOVIE AS A GANG LEADER. THIS IS DEFINITELY WORTH WATCHING. FOLLOWED BY THREE DIRECT-TO-VIDEO SEQUELS. ... Read more

Description

Drama about a woman struggling to leave the confines of her home town despite a budding romance with a local auto mechanic. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Awesome Movie that Tackles Serious Heartaches
This movie was one of the most moving stories I had seen during the 1980s. The seriousness it addressed concerning spousal abuse, suicide, cancer, and true romance was unforgettable. It was the sleeper movie of the 80s. The performances in this movie by David Keith, Kathleen Quinlan, and Diane Weist are exceptional.

Kathleen Quinlan is a tour de force in this film!
A young woman who dreams of leaving her small town to follow her dreams of becoming a photographer. Particailly held back by her love for local mechanic and a terminally ill relative;she fights to make her dreams a reality. Diane Weist gives a superb performance as the physically abused housewife. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"F/X" is Hollywood-speak for "special effects," those often-bloody tricks that fool us into believing a gun has been fired or a head has been blown off. Bryan Brown plays a freelance effects wizard who arrives for each job fully equipped in a customized truck, making it easy for him to roll from one gig into the next. Accepting a hefty chunk of change for one such job, Brown stages the death of a gangster for the Witness Protection Program. At least, that is what he is led to believe. Illusion, it turns out, is everything. Not knowing whom to trust or what to think, Brown soon finds himself playing a vicious game of cat and mouse with the bad guys. What gives this an added thrill is that Brown is not sure exactly who is the villain in his own personal mystery movie. It could be the gangster (Jerry Orbach), the government agents, or the police officer (Brian Dennehy) with whom he joins forces. Evenly paced and surprisingly cunning, this is will leave you guessing until the last squib has been fired. Brown and Dennehy were reunited less successfully in the 1991 sequel, F/X2. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Refreshing Suspense Movie
F/X is an abbreviation for movie "special effects." Bryan Brown plays a special effects creator who unwittingly becomes part of a conspiracy. He is supposed to be a pawn who is to be eliminated. Instead of despairing and panicking, he uses his wits and his effects to elude his pursuers, who are not even identified until the end. F/X was produced in 1986, long before the sophisticated computer generated effects ubiquitous today. Yet the movie is not outdated. Rather, it is a classic that will leave you smiling. The clever, maze-like plot, and the great team of Bryan Brown and Bryan Dennehy add up to a refreshing, surprising classic of the 80's.

Sadly, the sequel - FX2 - is a big letdown.

Good Low Budget Fun!
Me and my brother were flipping through the TV channels, and nothing was on, I mean nothing. Anyway we got to the Movie Channel (STAR Movies) and saw what looked like the opening credits, and then big blue words came across the screen reading "F/X." So we watched it, saw if it was any good. Let me say we were pretty surprised! It was pretty obvious that it was shot on a low budget. That made me like it all the more! Becuase you usually get a famous rich director and writers to put together a good action/suspense movie. But those movies, sience the director has alot of money he just figures he'll blow the hell out of everything. It gets pretty annoying. But that is what I love about this movie. Sense they didn't have a lot of money they kept the movie good was the writing and directing. Dispite the name (F/X) it is not what the movie reliys on. It relies on a smart plot and even smarter plot twists. You never know who the villian is. Plus the well mantled suspense is a plus. I cant say the biggest part of the plot, but I can sya what it starts with. This aussie dude who makes special FX for movies (hense the name) is assigned to stage an assination on a gang member (but not really kill him, just make it look like he got killed with his special effect tricks. But after that it just takes so many turns, it makes it into a fantastic whodunit. I reccomend this for anyone who enjoys a well written and directed whodunit that will keep you thinking and guesing till the last bullet is shot.

F/X is a great movie with clever ideas in plot and action!
F/X starring Brian Brown and Brian Dennehy is a great Action/ Suspense thriller! This is about a special effects man who is hired by the Witness Protection program to stage an assination of a crime lord. Rollie Tyler(Brian Brown) was baited to take the blame for the assination and now he must prove his inoccents and must confront the man who framed him. Mason is the guy who hired Rollie Tyler (Brian Brown) to take the fall. Leo McCarthy(Brian Dennehy) is the tough Cop who must find Rollie and figure out who resposible for these deaths. A very ingenious movie! Clever plot with suprises and tricks! Highly Recommended!

A lot of fun
F/X was one of my favorite thriller of the '80s, a genuinely fun action film that takes itself just seriously enough to make its story credible but at the same time remains blissfully free of the delusions of grandeur that have led to so many overproduced, ultimately empty headed and painfully dull "thrillers" over the past couple of years. In short, F/X is the type of unpretentious, engaging film that could never be made by a Michael Bay or most of the other directors produced out of the Jerry Bruckhiemer School For Technocrats Who Like To Blow Things Up Real Good.

The always underrated australian actor, Bryan Brown, plays Rollie -- an independent special effects artist who specializes in creating gore effects for cheap horror and action films. Indeed, when we first meet him, he is working on a film that bares a hilarious resemblance to Brian DePalma's Scarface which, whatever its qualities, is most definitely represenative of the type of film that F/X strives not to become. Brown is recruited by an uptight but reassuringly paternal federal agent (Mason Adams) to help fake the death of a mobster (Jerry Orbach) about to go into the federal witness protection program. Once Brown agrees to help, he finds himself being targeted and pursued by mysterious killers who might be the government, might be the mob, or might be something else.

The film's main selling point is that, in order to protect his own life and clear his name once the police become convinced that he's a murderer, Brown is forced to rely on his expertise in hollywood special effects. While that certainly is true, it also makes the film sound a lot more gimmicky than it actually is. As opposed to its sequel, F/X never allows itself to become reliant solely on that gimmick. Instead, the film concentrates on presenting its fast-paced plot which, over the course of many twists and turns, avoids the common action film fate of collapsing on the wieght of its own complications. That said, the F/X sequences are pretty cool and the film's conclusion provides perhaps the wittiest advertisement for superglue that I've ever seen.

The film's main strength comes from the cast who all seem to be having a good time on screen and bring a surprising sense of conviction to roles that could easily have been played as B-movie stereotypes. Bryan Brown is one of those charismatic, obviously talented leading men who rarely gives a bad performance yet for whatever reason (though making movies like Cocktail probably didn't help) has never become a bona fide star. Playing the lead in this film, he proves that he did have the talent and the charisma to be a leading man and indeed, his low-key but likeable lead performance is reponsible for a great deal of F/X's strength. As the gruff police detective who becomes Brown's ally, Brian Dennehey is -- well, he's Brian Dennehey and, as always, that's more than good enough. That said, he also brings a welcome sense of humor to the proceedings and he proves once again that nobody in the '80s delivered profanity as wittily and skillfully as Brian Dennehey. The rest of the cast is full of character actors who all turn in nicely quirky performances with the standouts being Diane Venora who is sweet as Brown's girlfreind (whose ultimate fate -- if predictable -- is also well handled and rather sad), Cliff De Young who gives perhaps his best variation on his standard Yuppie henchman role in this film, Joe Grifasi as Dennehey's put upon partner, Mason Adams who perfectly captures the essence of everyone's kindly but kinda strange uncle, and the great Jerry Orbach who, playing a mobster with an all-important pace maker, overacts as if the world depending on it but is still a lot of fun to watch because, afterall, he's Jerry Orbach. They all come together to create (without any trendy angst or computerized special effects to show us what animated human beings look like when they get blown up) one of the most purely enjoyable movies of the '80s.

Starts well, meanders into blandness.
Bryan Brown is a special effects man who is caught up in a government conspiracy after a major mishap. This "high-tech" thriller begins fairly well before falling apart with badly choreographed action scenes, predictable twists, and a very underwhelming finale. ... ... Read more

Amazon.com

Destined to become the most collectible video among fans of The X-Files, this two-episode cassette is from the show's excellent fourth season--the first episode presenting a pivotal chapter of the series' conspiratorial "mythology" and the second offering a stand-alone plot so twisted and bizarre that it was banned from Fox TV after its original broadcast.

Scripted by series creator Chris Carter (who is interviewed on this video), "Herrenvolk" is packed with crucial events that link it to previous and subsequent episodes concerning the conspiracy of alien colonization that runs throughout the series. (Because of this, the following synopsis will only make sense to the show's loyal fans.) While Mulder attempts to protect the mysterious Jeremiah Smith (Roy Thinnes) from an alien bounty hunter, he witnesses a secret farm community where clones--including a replica of Mulder's missing sister--carry out some unknown task. Meanwhile, Scully learns the astonishing truth about Smith, and Agent X is gunned down as a traitor, staying alive just long enough to leave Mulder a vital clue to the ongoing investigation. Dealing another trump card in the unfolding conspiracy, Cigarette Smoking Man orders the miraculous healing of Mulder's dying mother, on the logic that "the fiercest enemy is the man who has nothing left to lose."

While "Herrenvolk" is a first-rate chapter with intricate connections to The X-Files mythology, "Home" is a stand-alone episode that surely qualifies as one of the most outrageously bizarre hours of drama in the history of prime-time television. It begins when Mulder and Scully investigate a horrible case of infanticide in the seemingly peaceful town of Home, Pennsylvania. The tiny, malformed corpse leads the agents to investigate the mysterious Peacock family, a trio of hideously deformed brothers who maintain a legacy of inbreeding with their equally disfigured mother, a quadruple amputee who is kept hidden on a rolling platform in the Peacock home. Brilliantly scripted by Glen Morgan and James Wong, "Home" posed a horrifically clever challenge to network censors, and managed to get away with murder in terms of what is implied and actually revealed. The Peacocks are both repugnant and oddly compelling (the writers may have been inspired by the documentary Brother's Keeper), and their loving mother (arguably the most freakish human ever depicted on mainstream TV) will go to any length to continue her family's mutated bloodline. What's most amazing is that "Home" covers this terrible territory with outrageous humor and the appropriate touch of tragedy--not only can Scully ponder the horrors of the Peacock legacy, she can crack wise by quoting the movie Babe while maneuvering through the Peacock's pigpen! And if you think the surviving Peacock brother is just keeping mommy comfortable in the trunk of his Cadillac, well... you haven't been paying attention. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (15)

below average episodes
Don't bother buying this tape. As far as the mythology of the series goes, Herrenvolk goes down as a mediocre entry in the story. It's not particularly bad, but it's a huge letdown after such thrilling episodes such as Paper Clip, Piper Maru / Apocrypha, and Nisei / 731. Herrenvolk introduced the bees, which we later saw plenty of in the movie, but which wasn't really that great an idea to begin with. We also see Marita Corravubias, who is a pretty lame character compared to X and Deep Throat. There are some good points to this episode, though-- X has a fantastic death scene, we get to see the great Alien Bounty Hunter in action (always a plus), and the relationship between Cancer Man and Mrs. Mulder is interesting.

I happen to be one of those people who thinks Home is just a plain bad episode. It's terrible and unpalatable. What's so entertaining about watching a bunch of inbred brothers (who have sex with their equally inbred quadruple amputee mother) beat people to death while listening to Johnny Mathis' "Wonderful, Wonderful"? Is that supposed to be funny, or scary? It's disgusting, that's what it is. There is, however, one mildly amusing scene in which Mulder and Scully eye each other as potential parents. Other than that bit of Mulder/Scully interaction, there are few redeeming moments from this Morgan/Wong script.

Herrenvolk an interesting plot thickener, Home however...
Considering there are already plenty of in-depth descriptions and summaries of the episodes already, I'll stick to my oppinions.

Herrenvolk was a good episode. Intriguing. Any episode involving mulders sister and the smoking-man ahs got to be good. Plus it helps out the over all plot of the show. 5 stars.

Home however... is utterly horrible. I was disgusted for a good hour if not more after watching this episode. Disturbing is a mild way to put it. If you have a weak stomach, I highly UN-reccomend Home as a good episode of X-Files to watch. And it's deffinettly not a good way to introduce a new-comer to the series. I would tell you how many stars, but I was too busy gagging after watching this episode to remember.

Herrenvolk is boring, Home is too much for me.
I just wanted to put in the bid that even as a fan of the show I found Home utterly indigestable. I can't say anything critically bad about it--it is a classic horror script, outstandingly directed and written, and if I were more up for being horrified I would have to lavish it with stars. But I think the show has except for this episode always managed to maintain a crucial grain of innocence even in the darkest corners. It didn't laugh at violence or indulge in violence gratuitously, resting firmly on its concepts to pack the real punch. You have to give up the intellectual aspect for this one, because it's all about shock value. It was a transition I wasn't willing to make.

Don't know about Herrenvolk but Home is outsanding
I saw this movie way back when. I don't remember Herrenvolk but Home is amazing. It is the scariest X - Files i've ever seen. This tape is worth buying just because of Home. This is one of the best along with Duane Berry, Ice and Squeeze.

Herrenvolk great myth, Home...well...
Herrenvolk is one of my favorite myth episodes, I love the character Jeremiah Smith. And the appearence of a Samantha-clone...It's a great piece of the mythology.

Home is a totally different story. I vote it the creepiest and most disturbing of the stand-alones. It stands out among fellow stand-alones such as "Hungry", "Monday", and "First-Person Shooter".

Home takes place in Home, Pennsylvania, home to Sherrif Andy Taylor and his deputy Barney (Pastor). It is also inhabited by the Peacock family, the disturbing part of this episode (which was for good reasons almost banned ;). The disfigured family goes to great lengths to...extend their family, the mother being the only female of the Peacocks.

There are a few humorous moments also, as Mulder and Scully explore their families' medical histories and Scully can relate events to "Babe", while hiding from the dangerous Peacock brothers.

Home is another classic X-File, although disturbing, and Herrenvolk is a great myth, and I had to give it 5 stars. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Brendan Fraser plays a student attending a wealthy boarding school on a football scholarship in the 1950s. When the other kids find out he's Jewish--a fact he's been hiding--his fortunes and relationships instantly change. The film is pretty much what one would expect with that scenario: a story of bigotry, conflict, the hero trying to hang on. In the end, good intentions are the driving force of the movie, but it is not much more than the sum of its obvious parts. Directed by Dick Wolf, creator of television's Law and Order. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (41)

Powerful
"Just when you think you know something, you have to look at it from a different perspective"- John Keating, 'Dead Poet's Society'. School Ties is not your typical story of Anti-Semitism. It gives you both sides; the Jew and those who can't get beyond it.
David Greene is accepted by his peers at Prep School, but he is never truly at ease because he can't let his guard down. This movie is excellent at showing how fast people can turn on you, and how true it is that people put up facades. This movie really tests true friendship. It tests loyalty as well. Once his secret is out, most of his friends turn on him... he is almost expelled from school because of the injustice of having no one believe him. Finally, one person is able to see how wrong it is... but the movie is just a series of powerful moments about betrayal, love, honesty, and differences. Everyone should watch the movie once to see how ugly hate can be.

good cast and story
Brendan Fraser stars as David Green, a 1950s working-class boy from Pittsburgh who has the chance to attend one of the best prep schools in the country on a scholarship, thus giving him a shot at attending Harvard. When he arrives, he is surrounded by a bunch of great guys whom he deems his friends ... as long as he hides the fact that he is Jewish.

David Green becomes the nemesis of Charlie Dillon (Matt Damon) early in the movie by being a better dancer and capturing the interest of Charlie's blonde thoroughbred date, Sally, played by Amy Locane in one of her only big roles. Charlie, who has attended the school for years, feels put out by this popular newcomer and when he finds a chance to bring him down, he goes for it full-force.

When racial slurs and hate crimes abound, the boys are divided between their personal friendships and loyalties and doing the right thing. This is made more interesting by the fact that they are only teenaged boys, who have all lived a privileged life amongst those exactly like themselves, so their struggle to empathize and feel from someone else's perspective is more difficult, and their varied responses are interesting, especially when David's personal and social future at the school hangs in the balance.

good message..good movie
Brendan Fraser(Mummy 1 and 2,Glory Daze) in one of his more better roles, plays David Greene, a Jewish kid who gets into a wealthy college as a star quarterback..there he meets his new friends, Dillon-MattDamon(Dogma, Glory Daze, Good Will Hunting), Randall Batinkoff(The Peacemaker and Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Anthony Rapp(A Beautiful Mind), Ed Lauter(Pythopn, Not Another Teen Movie), Ben Affleck(Glory Daze, Dogma, Good Will Hunting), Jayce Bartok(Suburbia, Spider-man, Swing Kids) and Chris O'Donnell(Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, 29 Palms) and David hides his ethnicity and then Damon finds it out and then chaos ensues...Fraser delivers a promising performance and so does Damon as the evil preppy rich kid who wants it his way..some good moments and not so much good moments..all in all its a movie not to be missed

Everything and Nothing
"School Ties" provides an excellent tale of the truth about the nostalgic past--about the polite and not-so polite hostility towards those perceived as inferior, dressed up in elegant as well as not-so-elegant surroundings. It is a story dealing mostly with people who appear to have every advantage in life and every opportunity for generosity towards others, but who are empty and bigoted. They choose to hate and to influence others in their circle to rail against the object of their hatred.
Through it all Brendan Fraser carries himself with grace and dignity. He plays David Greene, a poor Scranton, Pennsylvania kid who is given a rare opportunity to better himself at a Massachusetts prep school in 1955. The film begins with a view of his tough neighborhood, and an alleyway brawl between himself and a few local anti-Semites. Soon afterwards, with last-minute advice from his father he arrives at St.Matthew's, a calm and stately academic environment where he becomes fast friends with the popular students, which include a congenial Chris O'Donnell as Chris Reece, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in an early joint appearance as Charlie Dillon and Chesty Smith, Andrew Lowrey as the vulnerable McGivern, Cole Hauser as the charismatic Jack Conners, Randall Batinkoff as the courageously honest Rip Van Kelt, and the cold and distant Anthony Rapp as Richard "McGoo" Collins.
The boys enjoy music, football games, and playing pranks on the French teacher together(An early scene of Fraser making noises like an ape during one such prank seems to have paved the way for him to play George of the Jungle a few years later) . But Greene is soon exposed to his classmates' feelings about Jews, as well as those of Headmaster Dr. Bartram, played by Peter Donat, who barely covers his feelings with polite and restrained turns of phrase.
David proves to be a worthy classmate and student, standing up for his friends when they are wronged, even by authority figures, winning friends with his unprentiousness and wit, helping his team win football games, and winning the heart of Charlie Dillon's friend, Sally Wheeler.
An ethereal and angelic Amy Locane, who has the classic looks of a '50s model, has this part. During her initial appearance at a school dance, her striking beauty stands out from that of the other girls, and she is definitely at her most radiant and most demure in her scalloped off-the-shoulder velvet dress, dancing at a country club to a Rodgers and Hart (not Rodgers and Hammerstein, of course) tune . But in a way, her role is one of the most tragic because she leaves one with the sense that she might have been willing to accept David or anyone who has earned the right to be liked, regardless of origins, but has to surrender a potential love interest because of the predjudices of her family and friends. If we had to imagine a future for her, we might find her in a loveless marriage with someone whose religious background met her family's approval rather than a happy marriage with someone whose religious denonimation they were vehemently against.
We see the academic pressure put on these students and how their strong desire to live up to their families' expectations results in their stooping to subterfuge. David suffers various setbacks after he is exposed as a Jew, which happens partially because the envious Charlie Dillon lashes out in frustration. He challenges his schoolmates to face up to their real feelings about him, inspiring some of them to overcome their predjudices, and standing up to one authority figure who covertly and not so covertly encouraged the students to adopt such an attitude.
Greene's biggest moment of triumph in the film comes as he walks across the campus after a profound moment of truth, rather symbolically adjusting the collar of his coat against a cold world, having battled a few of its injustices, and looking a little taller than the many young men from whom he otherwise appears no different, with his future vast before him.

Disgusted!
Anti-Semitism, an evil that has killed millions, is an extremely serious subject. That this silly film claims to deal with it, is disgusting. All this is, is a cute little story of good-looking young American boys in their perfect American world. And more than that, it was just an excuse to have some soft erotica in the completely non-sequitir and perplexing nude shower fight. (Are men who are militantly proud of their heterosexuality really going to hold each other naked in the shower?) ... Read more

Reviews (5)

a great feel good movie with excellent acting
This movie really shows how Michael Keaton can really do comedy.
He plays a wealthy hockey player whose life is turned upside
down when he meets a Latino kid who muggs him and his mother.
We see a romance revolve and Michael Keaton's character sees
just what a lonely life he has. His scence with the little boy
are touching and funny. Michael Keaton can do comedy and serious
roles and he was perfect in this movie. Everyone was great.

I was quite pleased!
I am happy to say that "Touch and Go" was a great movie. My old buddy Michael Keaton finally did it again. He made a film that I enjoyed as much or even more than "The Dream Team". I actually cared about each individual character and their outcome.

It is a story about a self absorbed hockey player who finds out what that there is a world outside of himself. After being mugged by a wisecracking 12 year old kid, he ends up taking the brat under his wing unintentionally. He begins a romance with the boys mother (Maria Conchita Alonso-lookin SMOKIN' as ever-of course this was 1986) and ends up putting his hockey career on the backburner.

After renting a slew of BAD movies including "My Own Private Idaho", "A Kiss Before Dying" and "One Good Cop"(it just didn't do it for me) It was a treat to have something with substance finally. I highly recomend this film to anyone looking for a good time on a Saturday night.

5 out of 5 with complete confidence.

great interaction
the movie was intertaining and thought provoking.great inter-
action with it's 3 main characters.

touch and go
i saw the movie once and i love it. i enjoyed how the heart of micheal was change due to his meeting the little boy and his mom who i felt really needed him. oh i really enjoyed when he got with her and the boy was going to have a father figure in his life now and how she would no longer have to struggle any more cause she got micheal. she is a lovely girl and they play well together in this movie. i love it--------yes!!!!!!!!.

Touch and Go
This is one of my all time favorite movies. Michael Keaton and Maria Conchita Alonso are wonderful. It is an entertaining and heartwarming story about a young boy headed in the wrong direction in life and a playboy hockey player who become friends and "straighten" each other out. I highly recommend this movie. ... Read more

Description

Restaurant owner Sam Paxton has witnessed a mob hit. Now he's being pressured by the DA to aid the prosecution - and pressured by the mob to lay off. With his wife and child at risk, Sam is trapped - the perfect witness whose time has come to take the stand. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent insight into the human soul.
The movie was a little long in parts, but kept the viewer's interest as one waited to see the choice of, and resulting manifestation of innner character of, the "perfect witness." ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Refreshing Suspense Movie
F/X is an abbreviation for movie "special effects." Bryan Brown plays a special effects creator who unwittingly becomes part of a conspiracy. He is supposed to be a pawn who is to be eliminated. Instead of despairing and panicking, he uses his wits and his effects to elude his pursuers, who are not even identified until the end. F/X was produced in 1986, long before the sophisticated computer generated effects ubiquitous today. Yet the movie is not outdated. Rather, it is a classic that will leave you smiling. The clever, maze-like plot, and the great team of Bryan Brown and Bryan Dennehy add up to a refreshing, surprising classic of the 80's.

Sadly, the sequel - FX2 - is a big letdown.

Good Low Budget Fun!
Me and my brother were flipping through the TV channels, and nothing was on, I mean nothing. Anyway we got to the Movie Channel (STAR Movies) and saw what looked like the opening credits, and then big blue words came across the screen reading "F/X." So we watched it, saw if it was any good. Let me say we were pretty surprised! It was pretty obvious that it was shot on a low budget. That made me like it all the more! Becuase you usually get a famous rich director and writers to put together a good action/suspense movie. But those movies, sience the director has alot of money he just figures he'll blow the hell out of everything. It gets pretty annoying. But that is what I love about this movie. Sense they didn't have a lot of money they kept the movie good was the writing and directing. Dispite the name (F/X) it is not what the movie reliys on. It relies on a smart plot and even smarter plot twists. You never know who the villian is. Plus the well mantled suspense is a plus. I cant say the biggest part of the plot, but I can sya what it starts with. This aussie dude who makes special FX for movies (hense the name) is assigned to stage an assination on a gang member (but not really kill him, just make it look like he got killed with his special effect tricks. But after that it just takes so many turns, it makes it into a fantastic whodunit. I reccomend this for anyone who enjoys a well written and directed whodunit that will keep you thinking and guesing till the last bullet is shot.

F/X is a great movie with clever ideas in plot and action!
F/X starring Brian Brown and Brian Dennehy is a great Action/ Suspense thriller! This is about a special effects man who is hired by the Witness Protection program to stage an assination of a crime lord. Rollie Tyler(Brian Brown) was baited to take the blame for the assination and now he must prove his inoccents and must confront the man who framed him. Mason is the guy who hired Rollie Tyler (Brian Brown) to take the fall. Leo McCarthy(Brian Dennehy) is the tough Cop who must find Rollie and figure out who resposible for these deaths. A very ingenious movie! Clever plot with suprises and tricks! Highly Recommended!

A lot of fun
F/X was one of my favorite thriller of the '80s, a genuinely fun action film that takes itself just seriously enough to make its story credible but at the same time remains blissfully free of the delusions of grandeur that have led to so many overproduced, ultimately empty headed and painfully dull "thrillers" over the past couple of years. In short, F/X is the type of unpretentious, engaging film that could never be made by a Michael Bay or most of the other directors produced out of the Jerry Bruckhiemer School For Technocrats Who Like To Blow Things Up Real Good.

The always underrated australian actor, Bryan Brown, plays Rollie -- an independent special effects artist who specializes in creating gore effects for cheap horror and action films. Indeed, when we first meet him, he is working on a film that bares a hilarious resemblance to Brian DePalma's Scarface which, whatever its qualities, is most definitely represenative of the type of film that F/X strives not to become. Brown is recruited by an uptight but reassuringly paternal federal agent (Mason Adams) to help fake the death of a mobster (Jerry Orbach) about to go into the federal witness protection program. Once Brown agrees to help, he finds himself being targeted and pursued by mysterious killers who might be the government, might be the mob, or might be something else.

The film's main selling point is that, in order to protect his own life and clear his name once the police become convinced that he's a murderer, Brown is forced to rely on his expertise in hollywood special effects. While that certainly is true, it also makes the film sound a lot more gimmicky than it actually is. As opposed to its sequel, F/X never allows itself to become reliant solely on that gimmick. Instead, the film concentrates on presenting its fast-paced plot which, over the course of many twists and turns, avoids the common action film fate of collapsing on the wieght of its own complications. That said, the F/X sequences are pretty cool and the film's conclusion provides perhaps the wittiest advertisement for superglue that I've ever seen.

The film's main strength comes from the cast who all seem to be having a good time on screen and bring a surprising sense of conviction to roles that could easily have been played as B-movie stereotypes. Bryan Brown is one of those charismatic, obviously talented leading men who rarely gives a bad performance yet for whatever reason (though making movies like Cocktail probably didn't help) has never become a bona fide star. Playing the lead in this film, he proves that he did have the talent and the charisma to be a leading man and indeed, his low-key but likeable lead performance is reponsible for a great deal of F/X's strength. As the gruff police detective who becomes Brown's ally, Brian Dennehey is -- well, he's Brian Dennehey and, as always, that's more than good enough. That said, he also brings a welcome sense of humor to the proceedings and he proves once again that nobody in the '80s delivered profanity as wittily and skillfully as Brian Dennehey. The rest of the cast is full of character actors who all turn in nicely quirky performances with the standouts being Diane Venora who is sweet as Brown's girlfreind (whose ultimate fate -- if predictable -- is also well handled and rather sad), Cliff De Young who gives perhaps his best variation on his standard Yuppie henchman role in this film, Joe Grifasi as Dennehey's put upon partner, Mason Adams who perfectly captures the essence of everyone's kindly but kinda strange uncle, and the great Jerry Orbach who, playing a mobster with an all-important pace maker, overacts as if the world depending on it but is still a lot of fun to watch because, afterall, he's Jerry Orbach. They all come together to create (without any trendy angst or computerized special effects to show us what animated human beings look like when they get blown up) one of the most purely enjoyable movies of the '80s.

Starts well, meanders into blandness.
Bryan Brown is a special effects man who is caught up in a government conspiracy after a major mishap. This "high-tech" thriller begins fairly well before falling apart with badly choreographed action scenes, predictable twists, and a very underwhelming finale. ... ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Refreshing Suspense Movie
F/X is an abbreviation for movie "special effects." Bryan Brown plays a special effects creator who unwittingly becomes part of a conspiracy. He is supposed to be a pawn who is to be eliminated. Instead of despairing and panicking, he uses his wits and his effects to elude his pursuers, who are not even identified until the end. F/X was produced in 1986, long before the sophisticated computer generated effects ubiquitous today. Yet the movie is not outdated. Rather, it is a classic that will leave you smiling. The clever, maze-like plot, and the great team of Bryan Brown and Bryan Dennehy add up to a refreshing, surprising classic of the 80's.

Sadly, the sequel - FX2 - is a big letdown.

Good Low Budget Fun!
Me and my brother were flipping through the TV channels, and nothing was on, I mean nothing. Anyway we got to the Movie Channel (STAR Movies) and saw what looked like the opening credits, and then big blue words came across the screen reading "F/X." So we watched it, saw if it was any good. Let me say we were pretty surprised! It was pretty obvious that it was shot on a low budget. That made me like it all the more! Becuase you usually get a famous rich director and writers to put together a good action/suspense movie. But those movies, sience the director has alot of money he just figures he'll blow the hell out of everything. It gets pretty annoying. But that is what I love about this movie. Sense they didn't have a lot of money they kept the movie good was the writing and directing. Dispite the name (F/X) it is not what the movie reliys on. It relies on a smart plot and even smarter plot twists. You never know who the villian is. Plus the well mantled suspense is a plus. I cant say the biggest part of the plot, but I can sya what it starts with. This aussie dude who makes special FX for movies (hense the name) is assigned to stage an assination on a gang member (but not really kill him, just make it look like he got killed with his special effect tricks. But after that it just takes so many turns, it makes it into a fantastic whodunit. I reccomend this for anyone who enjoys a well written and directed whodunit that will keep you thinking and guesing till the last bullet is shot.

F/X is a great movie with clever ideas in plot and action!
F/X starring Brian Brown and Brian Dennehy is a great Action/ Suspense thriller! This is about a special effects man who is hired by the Witness Protection program to stage an assination of a crime lord. Rollie Tyler(Brian Brown) was baited to take the blame for the assination and now he must prove his inoccents and must confront the man who framed him. Mason is the guy who hired Rollie Tyler (Brian Brown) to take the fall. Leo McCarthy(Brian Dennehy) is the tough Cop who must find Rollie and figure out who resposible for these deaths. A very ingenious movie! Clever plot with suprises and tricks! Highly Recommended!

A lot of fun
F/X was one of my favorite thriller of the '80s, a genuinely fun action film that takes itself just seriously enough to make its story credible but at the same time remains blissfully free of the delusions of grandeur that have led to so many overproduced, ultimately empty headed and painfully dull "thrillers" over the past couple of years. In short, F/X is the type of unpretentious, engaging film that could never be made by a Michael Bay or most of the other directors produced out of the Jerry Bruckhiemer School For Technocrats Who Like To Blow Things Up Real Good.

The always underrated australian actor, Bryan Brown, plays Rollie -- an independent special effects artist who specializes in creating gore effects for cheap horror and action films. Indeed, when we first meet him, he is working on a film that bares a hilarious resemblance to Brian DePalma's Scarface which, whatever its qualities, is most definitely represenative of the type of film that F/X strives not to become. Brown is recruited by an uptight but reassuringly paternal federal agent (Mason Adams) to help fake the death of a mobster (Jerry Orbach) about to go into the federal witness protection program. Once Brown agrees to help, he finds himself being targeted and pursued by mysterious killers who might be the government, might be the mob, or might be something else.

The film's main selling point is that, in order to protect his own life and clear his name once the police become convinced that he's a murderer, Brown is forced to rely on his expertise in hollywood special effects. While that certainly is true, it also makes the film sound a lot more gimmicky than it actually is. As opposed to its sequel, F/X never allows itself to become reliant solely on that gimmick. Instead, the film concentrates on presenting its fast-paced plot which, over the course of many twists and turns, avoids the common action film fate of collapsing on the wieght of its own complications. That said, the F/X sequences are pretty cool and the film's conclusion provides perhaps the wittiest advertisement for superglue that I've ever seen.

The film's main strength comes from the cast who all seem to be having a good time on screen and bring a surprising sense of conviction to roles that could easily have been played as B-movie stereotypes. Bryan Brown is one of those charismatic, obviously talented leading men who rarely gives a bad performance yet for whatever reason (though making movies like Cocktail probably didn't help) has never become a bona fide star. Playing the lead in this film, he proves that he did have the talent and the charisma to be a leading man and indeed, his low-key but likeable lead performance is reponsible for a great deal of F/X's strength. As the gruff police detective who becomes Brown's ally, Brian Dennehey is -- well, he's Brian Dennehey and, as always, that's more than good enough. That said, he also brings a welcome sense of humor to the proceedings and he proves once again that nobody in the '80s delivered profanity as wittily and skillfully as Brian Dennehey. The rest of the cast is full of character actors who all turn in nicely quirky performances with the standouts being Diane Venora who is sweet as Brown's girlfreind (whose ultimate fate -- if predictable -- is also well handled and rather sad), Cliff De Young who gives perhaps his best variation on his standard Yuppie henchman role in this film, Joe Grifasi as Dennehey's put upon partner, Mason Adams who perfectly captures the essence of everyone's kindly but kinda strange uncle, and the great Jerry Orbach who, playing a mobster with an all-important pace maker, overacts as if the world depending on it but is still a lot of fun to watch because, afterall, he's Jerry Orbach. They all come together to create (without any trendy angst or computerized special effects to show us what animated human beings look like when they get blown up) one of the most purely enjoyable movies of the '80s.

Starts well, meanders into blandness.
Bryan Brown is a special effects man who is caught up in a government conspiracy after a major mishap. This "high-tech" thriller begins fairly well before falling apart with badly choreographed action scenes, predictable twists, and a very underwhelming finale. ... ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Indeed winds of terror
"Winds of Terror" is a wonderful despliction of the what-if question. It may not be a pretty movie, but the producers answer it in great detail. These events are similar to past disease outbreaks. The make-up team make the symptoms real looking. The actors and the crew are great. Though most of this film has been done before, it's still highly entertaining. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

If you love to buy made for tv movies, buy this one
A Season on the Brink was ESPN's first orginal movie. Even though ESPN has never made a movie before this one, and though they don't air movie either. They made this movie. And like 9-11 Commertive Edition the MPAA gave this movie a rating. And this got a R rating for language. And the 9-11 movie got a PG rating. This movie was based on a book called "A Season on the Brink a year with Bobby Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers". I watched this movie on ESPN 2 tonight. A Season on the Brink takes place during the 1985-1986 basketball season. And that season Bobby Knight's basketball team opened its season against Norte Dame in December of 1985. Bobby Knight (Brian Dennehy) has come off a losing season and wants his team to win. They beat Norte Dame but then trouble happens one of the basketball has pictures taken for a caldendar. And when Bobby Knight sees the caldendar, it angers him a rule by the NCAA has been broken and the player (I think he was Steve Alford) got suspened for one game and that came is against Kanas in whcih Indiana loses the game. Bobby was Indiana for a long time before he was fired in 2000. ANd now he coaches basketball for Texas Tech. If you love to buy made for tv movies, this is one to get. But please remember this movie was rated R.

THE COACH FROM HELL - BOBBY KNIGHT!
I watched this movie on ESPN some time ago, and despite the strong language, I really enjoyed this film. It was a bit depressing at times seeing Bobby Knight struggling as the coach of an underdog Indiana basketball team (the Hoosiers). He had a very bad temper, but all he wanted was to be a successful coach and make his basketball team play better. And for some reason that just didn't happen. This film is somewhat exhausting at times but enjoyable nonetheless. Sure, it contains a lot of profanity, but I still liked it. I can't wait to buy it on home video. If you wish to know the true story of Bobby Knight, then get this video. The adult language is surely not for the entire family, but basketball fans of this sort of thing will probably like it. It just depends on your taste for movies. I'm not a basketball fan at all, but I still found this movie to be quite interesting. Bobby Knight, love him or hate him, will go down in history as one of the most greatest hard-boiled basketball coaches of all time. "If you wanna be liked, then don't be a coach" - Bobby Knight. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Also known as WW3, this pre-9/11 drama about a terroristdeclaration of bio-war around the world is nightmarishly effective andespecially timely with names like Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda tossed about byFBI characters. After bio-terror assaults on a cruise ship and at a baseballgame result in thousands of deaths, one federal agent (Vanessa L. Williams)narrows the field of suspects while another (Timothy Hutton) is sent to engagehis retired G-Man uncle (Lane Smith) and the latter's Russian counterpart(Michael Constantine)--both Nixon-era specialists in deploying mass diseases--instopping the bacteria's spread. Meanwhile, the U.S. president has declaredmartial law, and Western intelligence discovers the chain of terroristculpability includes Iraq, Syria, North Korea, and disaffected Russianscientists. Robert Mandel (The X-Files) directs with a terrifyingdeliberateness and powerful use ofmoviemaking basics: great makeup, sets,costumes, cinematography, and casting. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Indeed winds of terror
"Winds of Terror" is a wonderful despliction of the what-if question. It may not be a pretty movie, but the producers answer it in great detail. These events are similar to past disease outbreaks. The make-up team make the symptoms real looking. The actors and the crew are great. Though most of this film has been done before, it's still highly entertaining. ... Read more