TV Guide: Jonathan Brandis

Video: Year That Trembled, The

Video Detective — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:56:48 -0400

American independent filmmaker Jay Craven directs the Vietnam-era coming-of-age drama The Year That Trembled, based on the novel by Scott Lax. Using stock footage along with a traditional narrative, the film takes place in Ohio following the 1970 student murders at Kent State. Right after high school, best friends Casey (Jonathan Brandis), Jim (Charlie Finn), and Phil (Sean Nelson) move into a cottage with activist-on-the-run Judy Woods (Meredith Monroe). The cottage is next door to their former teacher Helen (Marin Hinkle), who gets fired for her antiwar activities. Her husband, Charlie Kerrigan (Jonathan M. Woodward), is a lawyer torn between his moral opposition to the war and his own ambitions. Also starring Fred Willard, Martin Mull, and Henry Gibson. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide.

Video: Sidekicks

Video Detective — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:53:46 -0400

A teenager daydreams of getting some payback from the bullies who menace him in this hybrid of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and The Karate Kid (1984). Barry Gabrewski (Jonathan Brandis) is an asthmatic schoolboy who can't participate in sports, much to the delight of a bullying classmate (John Buchanan) and his sadistic gym teacher (Richard Moll). Miserably unhappy, Barry escapes into a world of fantasy, where he imagines himself the tough, karate-proficient sidekick of action movie hero Chuck Norris. Trying to turn his dreams into reality, Barry visits dojo master Kelly Stone (Joe Piscopo), but Stone only mocks his aspirations. A supportive teacher introduces Barry to her uncle, Mr. Lee (Mako), a cook and martial arts teacher who takes Barry under his wing and teaches him the secrets of karate prowess. When Barry becomes good enough to enter a tournament, he needs a fourth athlete to complete his team, and who should be in the stands making a publicity appearance but the real-life Norris, who steps

Video: Neverending Story 2

Video Detective — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:52:05 -0400

Following the surprisingly successful children's fantasy The Neverending Story (1984), this lesser sequel presents the further adventures of the young boy Bastian in the magical land of Fantasia. Bastian (Jonathan Brandis) returns to this kingdom of the imagination, reached through a magical antique book, to escape from his unpleasant life as a social outcast with a distant father. Unfortunately, things aren't so great in Fantasia either, which is under attack by the sorceress Xayide (Clarissa Burt), and Fantasia's young leader soon recruits Bastian to help win the battle for their world. Several memorable creatures return from the first film, including the Rock Biter and the Luck Dragon, and a number of other strange beasts make appearances along the way. However, the plot often relies on stale fairy-tale elements that make the sequel feel substantially less original than the fresh and unexpectedly charming original. However, enough children were entertained by the special effects and the simple story of goo

Video: Ladybugs

Video Detective — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:46:25 -0400

Rodney Dangerfield plays it cute in this comedy directed by veteran director Sidney J. Furie. Dangerfield plays Chester Lee, a man so anxious for a promotion that he agrees to coach a girl's soccer team his company is sponsoring. If the team has a winning season, Chester will get his promotion. The only problem is that Chester knows nothing about soccer and the team is incompetent. If Chester doesn't get his raise he won't be able to marry his sweetheart Bess (Illene Graff), so he persuades his son Matthew (Jonathan Brandis), who is an expert soccer player, to don a wig and join the team as one of the girls. With Matthew on the team, they make their way to the championship, but Bess discovers the ruse and forces Chester to chose between her and the job. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide.