Vries, Jon De

Gore Vidal's Lincoln

Invasion U.S.A.

Chuck Norris himself cowrote Invasion U.S.A., a movie that's partly a right-wing paranoid fantasy and partly a prescient vision of contemporary terrorism. A Soviet superagent named Rostov leads an invasion of guerrilla squads who, after landing in Florida, spread throughout the U.S. and start shooting bazookas into suburban homes, inciting race riots by impersonating the police and attacking ethnic events, and planting bombs in churches and on school buses. Soon martial law descends as the country sinks into chaos. Only American superagent Matt Hunter (Norris) can take Rostov on, and eventually the two men face off, Rostov in full-body black leather, Hunter in black gloves and painfully tight blue jeans. For anyone who yearns for the simplicity of the cold war and enjoys a vengeance-laden action flick with lots of guns and exploding cars (but little martial arts), Invasion U.S.A. will provide some cinematic comfort food. --Bret Fetzer

Fat Man and Little Boy

Despite the combined star power in front of and behind the camera, Fat Man and Little Boy is a largely tepid retelling of the history of the Manhattan Project, the atomic testing project that led to the U.S. bombing of Japan during World War II (said bombs were dubbed "Fat Man" and "Little Boy"). The Nevada-based project is headed by General Leslie R. Groves (a testy Paul Newman) and scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Dwight Schultz of the TV series The A-Team), who later regretted his cooperation in the project. The problem with the film lies not with the acting, which includes solid performances by Bonnie Bedelia, Laura Dern, John Cusack, and future U.S. Senator Fred Dalton Thompson, but with the script by director Roland Joffé and Bruce Robinson (Withnail and I and Joffé's The Killing Fields). A subject as morally complex as the creation of a supreme weapon requires a strong and thoughtful script, but Fat Man and Little Boy never gets further than establishing that indeed, atomic power is something to reckon with. Joseph Sargent's 1989 made-for-TV film Day One, with Brian Dennehy as Groves and David Straithairn as Oppenheimer, covers the same story with twice the depth and avoids the pitfall of a romantic subplot (Oppenheimer's dalliance with a communist played by Natasha Richardson), which this film stumbles into. Cusack's doomed scientist is actually a combination of two real-life physicists, Harry Daghlian and Louis Slotkin, who died from radiation poisoning, albeit long after V-J Day. --Paul Gaita

The Baxter

This charming romantic comedy, starring Michael Showalter (Signs, TV's "Stella"), Michelle Willaims (TV's "Dawson's Creek"), Elizabeth Banks (Spider-Man, Heights) and Michael Ian Black (TV's "Ed" and "I Love the '80s"), is the story of Elliot Sherman, a conservative, risk-averse guy who is the quintessential "Baxter" - the guy who never actually gets the girl. More anxious than ever before his wedding to Caroline, the girl of his dreams, the arrival of her hunky ex-boyfriend does nothing to ease his fears. But, this time Elliot meets someone who can help. His eccentric temp is wild at heart and full of romantic advice. Maybe this time, Elliot will allude being "The Baxter," and even end up with the girl of his dreams.

Sarah, Plain & Tall Collection

The third and final episode of the Sarah, Plain and Tall series is a 1999 production reuniting stars Glenn Close and Christopher Walken with original director Glenn Jordan. Taking the story eight years beyond the original tale, Winter's End is set in a harsh Kansas winter of 1918, with the specter of death everywhere: soldiers are dying overseas during World War I, influenza is at epidemic proportions in the U.S., and an old man has returned to the Witting farm with an uncertain reception. He's John Witting (Jack Palance), father of Jacob (Walken), and the two men have not seen each other since John abandoned his son years ago. Reconciliation comes hard, punctuated by cliffhanger disasters (Jacob breaks his leg and burns with a fever, Sarah almost dies in a heavy snowstorm), but this most brutal of trial periods for the Wittings still invites a viewer to yearn for a more innocent--perhaps mythical--time in America. A worthy and rewarding finish to a trilogy fit for families yet sophisticated enough for all ages, Winter's End may be one of the last network television classics in an era of audience relocation to multichannel cable. --Tom Keogh

Lianna

A young wife and mother leaves her husband for another woman and embarks on a journey of self-discovery.System Requirements:Starring: Linda Griffiths Jon De Vries Chris Elliott Jane Halleran Jo Henderson Directed By: John Sayles Running Time: 113 Min. Color Copyright 2003 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 027616886477 Manufacturer No: 1004606

The First Deadly Sin

Lawrence Sanders' nerve-fraying bestseller stars Frank Sinatra as a New York detective coping with his wife's mysterious and incurable illness -- and hunting an ice hammer-wielding killer. Year: 1980

Invasion USA

Chuck Norris himself cowrote Invasion U.S.A., a movie that's partly a right-wing paranoid fantasy and partly a prescient vision of contemporary terrorism. A Soviet superagent named Rostov leads an invasion of guerrilla squads who, after landing in Florida, spread throughout the U.S. and start shooting bazookas into suburban homes, inciting race riots by impersonating the police and attacking ethnic events, and planting bombs in churches and on school buses. Soon martial law descends as the country sinks into chaos. Only American superagent Matt Hunter (Norris) can take Rostov on, and eventually the two men face off, Rostov in full-body black leather, Hunter in black gloves and painfully tight blue jeans. For anyone who yearns for the simplicity of the cold war and enjoys a vengeance-laden action flick with lots of guns and exploding cars (but little martial arts), Invasion U.S.A. will provide some cinematic comfort food. --Bret Fetzer

When America faces invasion for the first time in history it's up to one-man army Matt Hunter (action superstar Chuck Norris) to wage war upon the enemies of freedom. On suburban streets in shopping malls and even in churches the firepower explodes in megaton fury and death-defying stunts escalate into a heart-stopping climax when Hunter America's doomsday weapon launches his final plan. A ragtag army of terrorist mercenaries led by Soviet agent Rostov (Richard Lynch) catches America unprepared and makes it a war zone from sea to shining sea. Only one man can stem the rising tide of violence: retired agent and martial arts expert Matt Hunter. Leading the United States Army into guerilla warfare on its own turf Hunter won't stop until every last bazooka-wielding enemy is down. From first explosion to last Invasion U.S.A. is a stirringly patriotic and riveting entertainment you just can't miss!Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SPORTS/GAMES Rating: R UPC: 027616076434 Manufacturer No: M107645

The Five Forty-Eight (Broadway Theatre Archive)

Tony-Award winning playwright Terrence McNally ("Love! Valour! Compassion!") adapted this short story by John Cheever for the Broadway stage. With haunting eloquence, director James Ivory (A Room With a View) presents the story of a philandering executive who is stalked by an unstable former secretary whom he seduced and then fired. Starring Mary Beth Hurt (Interiors) and Laurence Luckinbill.

Doing Life