Written and directed by Steve DeJarnatt, this taut, apocalyptic thriller shows some improvement over DeJarnatt’s previous Cherry 2000 (released here only on videotape), apart from some faulty continuity in the final reel. Most of the film concerns what happens when the young hero (Anthony Edwards) accidentally intercepts a phone call that announces an impending nuclear holocaust only 50 minutes away, and is desperate to find the woman (Mare Winningham) he has just fallen in love with. The action all unfolds in and around the stretch of Wilshire Boulevard that constitutes LA’s Miracle Mile, nearly all of it in the middle of the night; the strongest B-film virtues here (apart from a running time of only 87 minutes) involve a very nice feel for the particulars of time, milieu, and place; the biggest drawback is that the film doesn’t wind up going anywhere specific. Among the many interesting stars (including Lou Hancock, Danny de la Paz, Robert Doqui, Kelly Minter, and Denise Crosby) is a particularly nice cameo by John Agar as the heroine’s grandfather. (JR)