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518,911 | 8,239,592 | 71,269 | 9 | George Segal and Elliott Gould are both superb in Robert Altman's engrossing portrait of two compulsive gamblers | Bored divorced sadsack Bill Denny ( splendidly played by George Segal ) and brash , free-spirited wild card Charlie Waters ( the equally outstanding Elliott Gould ) are a couple of compulsive gamblers cursed with bad luck . The two join forces to turn fortune in their favor and follow an incredible steady winning streak all the way to Reno , Nevada for a high stakes poker game with reigning champion " Amarillo Slim " Preston where they put it all on the line for the largest jackpot score of their lives . Director Robert Altman , working from a bright , vivid and episodic script by Joseph Walsh , wisely opts not to glibly explain why both Denny and Waters are addicted to gambling ; instead Altman merely observes with bracing and unblinking acuity these two guys doing what they do and allows the viewers to come up with their own explanation for what motivates these fellows to constantly risk it all and live life on the edge . All the aspects of compulsive gambling are excitingly present and accounted for : The agony and despair of losing , the stirring fly-by-the-seat of your pants sense of recklessness when you place a major bet , the nerve-wracking stress of owing people piles of money , and the fleeting , albeit electric glory of hitting it big , plus an underlying feeling of blankness and fatalism bubbling just beneath the frantic surface . Segal and Gould display a marvelously breezy'n'easy natural and unforced chemistry that's a true joy to behold . Gwen Welles and Ann Prentiss are likewise extremely charming and attractive as a pair of cheery hookers . Popping up in standout supporting roles are Edward Walsh as a bullish , hot-tempered sore loser of a poker player , Bert Remsen as a frumpy transvestite , Jeff Goldblum as Denny's nerdy boss , Jay Fletcher as a jumpy parking lot robber , and screenwriter Walsh as Denny's sleazy , vicious loan shark . Paul Lohmann's grainy , hazy , yet polished cinematography , the vibrant , profane overlapping dialogue , the authentically seedy locations ( funky poker parlors , noisy horse racetracks , raucous boxing rings , a glitzy Reno casino ) , and Phyllis Shotwell's spare , bluesy score add substantially to the fascinatingly scroungy , but lively , funny and always compelling proceedings . A real treat . |
518,874 | 8,239,592 | 44,789 | 9 | A terrifically tense , tough & thrilling 50's crime noir classic | Bitter ex-cop Tim Foster ( expertly played with consummate steely resolve by Preston Foster ) is still fuming about his forced early retirement , so he decides to get his revenge by devising a fiendishly clever perfect caper . Foster forces three despicable low-life hoodlums - - jittery compulsive gambler Pete Harris ( lanky Jack Elam ) , sleazy womanizing heel Tony Romano ( snaky Lee Van Cleef ) and surly gum-chewing brute Boyd Kane ( burly Neville Brand ) - - to pull off a bold $1 , 200 , 000 bank heist . Foster cruelly sets up rugged , resourceful and resilient innocent ex-con Joe Rolfe ( a strong and sympathetic performance by John Payne ) as a fall guy in a wicked ploy to buy time to successfully escape the country with the hot loot . After he gets sprung from jail due to lack of evidence , Joe puts himself in considerable jeopardy by obsessively tracking down Foster and his pernicious flunkies in order to clear his name . Phil Karlson's sharp , assured and stylish direction , working from a smart , complex and absorbing script by George Bruce and Harry Essex , further aided by George E . Diskant's stark , shadowy black and white photography and Paul Santell's brooding , moody , rousing score , skillfully crafts a diabolically arresting and hard-boiled little nugget of a gritty crime noir thriller : the brisk pace never lets up for a minute , the nerve-wracking suspense is well-maintained from start to finish , the tone is suitably grim and serious , and the tense , bleak , seedy and sinister atmosphere seethes with danger and corruption . The film's principal winning hand is the truly inspired and on the money casting of resolutely scrappy and unglamorous character actors Elam , Brand and Van Cleef as three of the foulest , meanest , ugliest and most menacing no-account criminal scum to ever scowl , growl and glower their way across the screen ; Brand and Van Cleef in particular make for a fabulously nasty and odious pair of scary customers . Colleen Gray adds substantial spunky charm and vigor as a feisty aspiring lady lawyer who befriends Joe . Slightly marred by a rather sappy conclusion , " Kansas City Confidential " overall still rates highly as the authentic gnarly noir article . |
517,963 | 8,239,592 | 82,939 | 9 | Johnny Cash gives a superb performance in this poignant and powerful made-for-TV feature | Late , great country singer Johnny Cash gives a sturdy and strikingly effective performance as Jesse Hallam , a poor and illiterate , but proud and willful Kentucky coal miner who's forced to sell his house and move to Cincinatti so his ailing daughter can get a spinal operation . Hallam has difficulty both finding a job and adjusting to the hectic pace of big city life due to his inability to read and write . Hallam soon realizes that he's going to have to become literate in order to succeed in the city . Capably directed with praiseworthy tact and sensitivity by Gary Nelson , with a thoughtful script by Suzanne Clauser , sharp , pretty cinematography by Gayne Rescher , and a lulling , folksy , harmonic country score by Cash and Alan Shapiro ( Cash also sings a few catchy , lively songs on the soundtrack ) , this fine film addresses the serious and troubling issue of illiteracy in a moving and compelling way . Cash's terrific portrayal of Hallam effortlessly carries the picture ; he brings a craggy grace and stubborn dignity to the role that's credible , commanding and even quite affecting ( the scene where Hallam haltingly reads to his daughter in the hospital is extremely touching ) . The strong supporting turns by Eli Wallach as a fiery , excitable warehouse owner who hires Hallam to work for him , Brenda Vaccaro as a compassionate high school vice principal who becomes Hallam's mentor , Ben Marley as Hallam's surly , estranged , equally unlettered teenage son , Chrystal Smith as Hallam's sickly daughter , and Guy Boyd as an unsympathetic cop are all on the money as well . An excellent , engrossing and ultimately uplifting movie . |
518,729 | 8,239,592 | 71,222 | 9 | A splendidly scary & spooky 70's seasonal slasher landmark | Made a good four years prior to John Carpenter's phenomenally hair-raising terror movie watershed " Halloween , " this superbly scary and suspenseful ahead-of-its-time seasonal slasher trailblazer laid the basic groundwork for the countless similarly plotted holiday-themed horror entries which followed in its influential wake throughout the late 70's and up until the mid 80's . The then fresh and novel , now stale and generic premise centers on a frightfully maniacal cackling lunatic who escapes from an asylum and holes up in the dusty attic of a nearby college sorority house on December 24th . At first the babbling , profanity-screaming nutjob taunts the sorority girls with disturbing obscene phone calls before proceeding to pick off the hapless lasses one at a time . Eventually a token lovely coed ( sympathetically played by the astonishingly gorgeous Olivia Hussey ) has to face the murderous kook on her own ( said only lady left heroine is called in slasher movie parlance " the final girl , " which later became a huge cliché in subsequent slice'n'dice features ) . Director Benjamin " Bob " Clark , who had previously helmed the superior zombie pictures " Deathdream " and " Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things " ( Clark's latter efforts include the first two uproariously raunchy " Porky's " films and , amazingly enough , the disarmingly sweet yuletide treat " A Christmas Story " ! ) masterfully creates and sustains a genuinely eerie and nerve-jangling atmosphere while establishing such standard body count movie components as hand-held subjective camera shots of the killer on the prowl , bravura murder set pieces ( suffocation with plastic bag , impalement on hook , and , in the single most stunning kill scene , a comely honey being stabbed to death with a crystal unicorn ornament that's brilliantly inter-cut with an angelic children's choir singing " Sleep in Heavenly Peace " with positively haunting and harrowing results ) , a creepy mystery wacko whose true identity is never revealed , a few red herring secondary characters ( notably Keir Dullea as Hussey's neurotic , violently temperamental pianist boyfriend ) , a riveting last reel showdown with a brave and resourceful heroine asserting her proto-feminist strength and independence by doing in the killer all by her lonesome , and a socko surprise ending . Cleverly written by Ray Moore , the neatly twisty script further adds several riotous dollops of bawdy humor to leaven the unnerving tension and an intelligent reason why the initial murder victims aren't immediately missed ( they left early for the holidays ) . Reginald Morris ' strikingly crisp and agile cinematography vividly captures the stark bleakness of the severely cold wintry landscape , thereby greatly enhancing the overall literally and figuratively chilling mood . The cast all turn in bang-up performances : Margot Kidder vamps it up hilariously as a hysterically brash and slutty tramp , Marion Waldman likewise amuses as the outrageously vulgar den mother , John Saxon is properly stalwart in the first of many concerned police chief parts ( a role he reprised to perfection in " A Nightmare on Elm Street " ) , " The Brood " ' s Art Hindle lurks around the edges as a hunky frat boy , David Cronenberg regular Art ( " Videodrome , " " The Fly " ) Hindle pops up as a helpful cop , Doug McGrath supplies side-splitting comic relief as a geeky desk sergeant , and a pre - " SCTV " Andrea Martin is engaging as a mousy sorority sister . Smart , absorbing and above all profoundly frightening , " Black Christmas " will most assuredly give you the willies any old time of the year . |
519,198 | 8,239,592 | 78,928 | 9 | A very sweet and charming slice-of-life seriocomic delight | Dennis Christopher of " Breaking Away " fame delivers a solid , engaging performance as T . T . , a gawky , disenchanted , fresh out of high school adolescent hick from Chicago who comes to the cool California beaches to find women , contentment and excitement by becoming actively involved in the allegedly thrilling surfing lifestyle . Unfortunately , T . T . only discovers that the anomie and dissatisfaction he's trying to avoid in life are an intrinsic , albeit often ignored and unspoken part of the actually nothing terribly stirring surfing lifestyle . An appealingly off-beat seriocomic youthful rites of passage outing from - - and radical departure for - - American International Pictures , " California Dreaming " makes for a neat , incisive , slyly revisionist beach movie feature which refuses to mindlessly glorify the sport's empty hedonistic mentality ; instead the film offers an illuminating expose of the drab , shallow , aimless workaday reality behind the great American myth of surfing while also tossing in some fine insights into love , growing up , responsibility , unfulfilled desires and unattainable , but still persistent dreams . Moreover , it's marvelously acted by a stand-out cast : the always delightful Seymour Cassel as Duke , the amiable , garrulous , aging volleyball playing beach bum bar owner who takes T . T . under his wing ; the comely , golden-haired , very under-appreciated Glynnis O'Connor as Duke's somewhat snobby , but generally sweet daughter Corky , who wants T . T . to shuck surfing and dedicate himself to a more mature , useful occupation in life ; Dorothy Tristan as Duke's still ardent and interested old flame Fay , the adorable Stacey ( " Get Crazy , " " Halloween III : Season of the Witch " ) Nelkin as vacuous , promiscuous beach bunny Marsha , and even a pre - " Charlie's Angels " Tanya Roberts as Stephanie , a stuck-up rich princess who can't get her unfaithful tube-blowing boyfriend to seriously commit to their relationship . Directed with trademark acuity , facility and sensitivity by the ever observant and eternally underrated John ( " Bang the Drum Slowly , " " Weeds " ) Hancock , with a sound , absorbing , fairly intricate and highly accurate script by Ned Wynn ( who also co-stars as shiftless surfer dude Earl ) , lovely , sunny cinematography by Bobby Byrne , and a fun , breezy soundtrack ( the folk-rock group America sing a few nice , catchy songs ) , this shamefully neglected and radiant gem qualifies as a charming , leisurely placed , often wryly amusing , sometimes dreamily ( and genuinely ) erotic , quite honest and cogent exploration of boredom and restlessness that benefits substantially from its funny , delicate , warm-hearted handling of its endearing assortment of everyday oddball characters . An utterly winsome and well-done little sleeper . |
519,104 | 8,239,592 | 75,137 | 9 | My all-time favorite outrageously wild'n'raunchy 70's cheerleader flick | When a greedy jerk land developer threatens to raze Aloha High School to make room for a shopping center and force the affluent California-based educational institution to merge with a nearby vocational school the five members of the Aloha High cheerleader squad resort to various drastic tactics ( e . g . , spiking the cafeteria spaghetti with booze and grass ) in order to thwart the guy . That's about it for the admittedly flimsy plot - - and frankly who honestly cares about some stinking useless no-good story ? What truly matters is if this darling delivers the expected blithely lowbrow drive-in exploitation trash goods . I'm happy to say that it does . Jerii Woods ( one of the black revolutionaries in Jack Hill's immortal " Switchblade Sisters " ) , a pregnant , pot-bellied Rainbeaux Smith ( Rainbeaux at one point does a truly startling pre-Demi Moore bun-in-the-oven nude scene ! ) , Susie Elene , July ' 76 " Penthouse " Pet Helen Lang , and especially the gorgeous , slender , apple-cheeked blonde cutie pie Patrice Rohmer all disrobe quite often so they can show off their sexy , sensuous , sizzling smoking hot stuff . A pre-stardom David Hasselhoff makes an enormous fool of himself as " Boner , " a totally sex-crazed cretin who earns his name from his perpetually raging insatiable libido . Hardcore Hasselhoff haters will find his constant embarrassingly imbecilic antics hugely amusing , but I must warn everyone : lanky and ungainly Dave actually shows a lot more of his then scrawny stringbean body here then he ever displayed in a single episode of " Baywatch " ( yuck ! ) . Neither Richard Lerner's merely competent direction nor Nathaniel Dorsky's rather static cinematography are particularly impressive , but overall this one makes the grade with flying freaky day-glo colors : the gratuitous nudity and soft-core sex is pleasingly abundant ( one sequence with an Asian girl burying her nose in a dippy blonde dude's butt is genuinely shocking ) , the gleefully witless humor shows not a slight iota of sophistication ( meaning it's frequently funny in a wonderfully raunchy and ridiculous sort of way ) , there's no less than four uproariously pathetic'n'protracted disco dance sequences ( Dorky Dave's jerky , spasmodic , highly arrhythmic sub-John Travolta boogie woogie moves are an absolute gut-busting riot to behold ) , John Sterling's catchy , poppy , slow-grinding oh-so-70's synthesizer and wah-wah guitar heavy score really hits the funky spot , and magician / actor Carl Ballantine of " McHale's Navy " fame has a nice bit as the doddery old principal . Patrick Wright , the lecherous macho man football coach in " The Cheerleaders , " has a nifty cameo as a stuffy cop and served as the assistant director . Okay , we're not talking work of cinematic art here . But I still totally dug this outrageously awful picture just the same . Besides , there's no way I'm going to be too hard on a flick that uses elaborately gaudy wipes and dissolves in order to cut from one scene to another and boasts one of the greatest glaring continuity errors in dimestore cinema history : two mysterious brunette girls who are never clearly established as secondary characters magically appear out of nowhere to cut the rug with the rest of the gang in those previously cited absurdly atrocious disco dance sequences ! |
518,873 | 8,239,592 | 82,748 | 9 | You'll go to " pieces " watching this hilariously horrible slasher schlock hoot | Juan Piper Simon , the same sweet , subtle , sophisticated gent who blessed us with " Slugs , " delivers an astoundingly crass and repulsive slasher opus which might very well be the grossest , goriest , most sexist and objectionable entry in the kill the collegians academia-set body count slice'n'dice sub-genre that was highly fashionable throughout the early to mid 80's . A depraved , heavy-breathing , chainsaw-wielding misogynistic psycho lunatic viciously murders and dismembers assorted pretty young harlot coeds at a Boston university , gathering up their body parts so he can make a grisly composite of the perfect woman ! It's up to a ramrod jerk detective ( gruffly played with mucho macho muscle by the incomparable Chris George ) and a gutsy undercover lady cop ( George's hot real-life wife Lynda Day ) to nab the twisted sicko . Probable suspects include stuffy dean Edmund Purdom , dweeby gay professor Jack Taylor , and hulking creep handyman Paul Smith . This marvelously rank scuzzfest really delivers the greasy'n'grungy goods : a hefty plenitude of sleazy sex , gratuitous nudity and hideously explicit splatter , a token Oriental martial arts expert , Jane Fonda-style workout aerobics , a vacuous dancing disco bunny on roller-skates getting turned into a bloody pulp after she crashes into a large pane of glass , a throbbing Goblinesque prog-rock score , the truly tasteless moment where a foxy topless young woman wets her pants as she's about to be carved-up by the killer , and a simply stupendous surprise ending in which the composite corpse inexplicably comes to life so it can castrate libidinous womanizing heel Ian Sera . And remember everyone : it's exactly what you think it is . In this case this means a prime putrid piece of pure unabashed and unadulterated trash . |
517,961 | 8,239,592 | 300,451 | 9 | A very charming , funny and refreshingly offbeat Bigfoot documentary hoot | Without a doubt one of the best refreshingly atypical Bigfoot documentaries to ever grace celluloid , this winningly whimsical , but still respectful and illuminating made-for-Canadian TV 70 minute feature breaks from the standard mold by not focusing solely on Sasquatch . Instead , director / co-screenwriter Peter von Puttkamer offers a wryly amusing and highly entertaining profile on four fellows who've dedicated their lives to the study , capture and documentation of the legendary apeman's existence . Affectionately dubbed " The Four Horsemen of Sasquatchery , " the motley quartet of elderly gents are : Studiously academic physical anthropologist Grover Krantz , suave Irish adventurer Peter Byrne , shy , soft-spoken outdoorsman Peter Green , and crotchety Swiss writer Rene Dahinden . Puttkamer's colorful portraits of these reigning Sasquatch experts offers a telling and enjoyable glimpse at the uniquely obsessive mindset of the dyed-in-the-wool Bigfoot fanatic . Krantz , who was initially a skeptic when he first became seriously involved with investigating Sasquatch and has been fiercely ridiculed for his firm belief in Bigfoot and deemed a pariah within the snobby scientific community which in turn has made him extremely hidebound , hardened and tenacious with the passage of time , qualifies as the most scholarly and professorial of Bigfoot buffs thanks to his strong theories concerning Mr . Over-sized Pawprint's prehistoric origins . The immaculately cultured , composed and extroverted bon vivant Byrne rates as the Errol Flynn of the bunch , while the quiet and reserved Green comes across as the average garden variety everyman who somehow got tangled up in some incredibly nutty business-type of affable guy of the group . And then there's the lovably cantankerous Dahinden , whose salty tongue , easily set off temper , and zero tolerance for snot-nosed amateurs and stuffy bookworm facts single him out as the king crabby curmudgeon of Sasquatch trackers ( Dahinden is further blessed with an impish sense of humor , as proved by a TV commercial he did for Kokanee beer featuring Bigfoot . Kokanee did several other ads with Bigfoot in ' em . And , yes Virginia , there's indeed a brew called Bigfoot Beer ! ) . Of course , these geriatric men are all former close friends turned bitter adversaries who constantly argue over such pressing issues as whether Bigfoot is a man or an ape , Bigfoot's debatable status as the possible missing link , and whether it's preferable to capture a Sasquatch dead or alive . Graced with the terrific country-and-western novelty theme song " Bigfoot Lives " and choice clips from trashy two-bit Sasquatch exploitation pictures ( which include Bill Rebane's delectably cheesy " The Capture of Bigfoot " ! ) , this wonderful picture rates as a pleasingly quirky and frivolous addition to the usually gravely sober Bigfoot documentary branch of the Sasquatch cinema tree . |
518,350 | 8,239,592 | 113,939 | 9 | An eerie , excellent & unnerving " danger on the road " thriller knockout | Antsy , dumpy , high-strung , secretive and deeply repressed traveling salesman Jack ( Lance Henrikson ) runs afoul of mean , scuzzy , foul-mouthed , overbearing and antagonistic ex-con junkie drifter Adrian ( Eric Roberts ) while trekking across the dusty , lonely , remote and forbidding California desert . Meanwhile , a savage killer called " the Hatchet Man " commits gruesome dismemberment murders and one million dollars has been recently stolen from a Las Vegas , Nevada casino . Is it Jack or Adrian who's behind one or possibly both of these heinous crimes ? Writer / director Victor Salva , who also gave us the creepy psycho item " Clownhouse " and both socko sicko " Jeepers Creepers " monsterfests , here deftly crafts a tense , edgy , nerve-jangling and fiercely confrontational peril-on-the-open-backroads psychological mystery thriller . Salva relates the eerily spellbinding narrative at a leisurely pace , wisely allowing the precisely etched characters and spooky , discomfiting atmosphere to carry the day with casual , effortless assurance . Salva's sharp , astute , neatly tricky and in-your-face abrasive script offers a starkly chilling and incisive meditation on the darker side of human nature , chiefly addressing man's shocking capacity for extreme evil , the misery of basic everyday existence , and how almost everyone has a dirty little skeleton in their closet that they wish to hide from the world . The always terrific Lance Henrikson portrays Jack with his customary top-drawer terse , tightly coiled spring intensity . The equally excellent Eric Roberts lands himself a sleazy , juicy , spiky part and deliciously sinks his teeth into it with lip-licking glee . Late , great villainous character actor Brion James has a welcome change-of-pace good guy role as a gregarious sheriff . Levie Isaacks ' slick , crisply evocative cinematography vividly captures a harrowing sense of isolation and vulnerability . Bennett Salvay's brooding , shuddery score further enhances the quietly unsettling suspense . Grim , despairing and uncompromisingly upsetting , " The Nature of the Beast " rates highly as one of the true unjustly neglected skin-crawling sleepers from the 90's . |
517,894 | 8,239,592 | 86,610 | 9 | A splendidly sick and surreal early 80's sci-fi / horror stunner | One of the more arrestingly off-beat " ALIEN " sci-fi / horror variants to materialize in the early to mid 80's , this compellingly uneasy combination of drearily conventional domestic drama and totally off-the-wall sci-fi / horror weirdness starts out fairly mundane , but eventually erupts into all-out credibility-be-damned jaw-dropping surrealism as its oddball plot unfolds . A man who was abducted by aliens returns home after a long absence and makes a faltering attempt at regaining his previous ordinary life with horrifically disastrous consequences for both himself and his family . Acting , direction and narrative coherence take a back seat to an alarming succession of increasingly daft , shocking and gloriously grotesque graphic set pieces : a luckless lady who's been brutally raped by a hideous extraterrestrial crab-like beast gives painful , life-taking birth to a fully grown man ( nasty ! ) in a truly gag-inducing scene , a half-human , half-alien guy causes a pay phone to melt after he touches it , comely French au pair girl and future James Bond movie starlet Maryam ( " The Living Daylights " ) d'Abo gets wrapped up in a cocoon that's located directly above the bathroom shower so she can be used as an incubator for alien eggs ( luckily the luscious Maryam gets to do two eye-popping and much-appreciated gratuitous nude scenes prior to meeting this ghastly fate ) , d'Abo's libidinous boyfriend winds up being mauled by a panther after being chased around the house by a dangerous animated toy tank ( yes , you read that correctly ) , and , in perhaps the film's single most stupendously strange sequence , a GI Joe doll gets blown up to normal man size so it can come to life and take out a snoopy old lady neighbor ( I'm honestly not making this crazy stuff up ) . Amid all this magnificently messed-up lunacy the movie's " you can't go back home " subtext somehow manages to acquire a certain cock-eyed poignancy that's in equal degrees oddly affecting and genuinely unnerving . Alas , this terrifically twisted and authentically outré treat was followed by a couple of dire , scarcely related by-the-numbers sequels which sadly lack the original's startlingly unpredictable free-form approach to telling a story . |
518,057 | 8,239,592 | 404,325 | 9 | A hysterically funny , quirky and original oddball sci-fi comedy riot | Homesick , alcoholic , shape-shifting , telekinetic nervous humanoid alien Phil just wants to go back to his own planet after crashlanding his spaceship on our strange and hostile world . While stranded on Earth Phil has many bizarre adventures which include befriending an astute , sympathetic talking beaver ( delightfully voiced by " SCTV " series vet Joe Flaherty ) , forming a Christian rock band ( Phil levitates while singing on stage ) , and eluding several nefarious government agents wearing plush fur coats who want to use Phil for evil means . As the above plot synopsis implies , what we got here is one marvelously funny , eccentric and wholly original one-of-a-kind sci-fi comic oddity . Writer / director / star Rob Stefaniuk displays a singularly engaging and idiosyncratic tongue-in-cheek sensibility that's a true wacky treat to behold . The humor is extremely flaky and off-center , but totally inspired and often sidesplitting . Moreover , Phil makes for a peculiarly endearing fish-out-of-water protagonist who has a certain sweet innocence and clumsiness to him that's impossible to dislike . The uniformly excellent performances from the terrific cast qualifies as another substantial plus , with especially winning turns by Boyd Banks as a macho redneck hunter , Nicole de Boer as an icy , but alluring freelance hit lady , Graham Greene as a gruff , unfriendly bartender , and Bruce Hunter as a boozy , burnt-out bumbling special agent . The nifty special effects , John Kastner's funky score , D . Gregor Hagey's bright , crisp cinematography , and the groovy jammin ' rock soundtrack further enhance the infectiously zany merriment of this fabulously flipped-out gem . |
519,403 | 8,239,592 | 75,261 | 9 | An excellent & imaginatively grotesque 70's killer animal winner | This exceptional killer worm flick marked the auspicious and impressive debut of great , shamefully unsung B-horror picture writer / director Jeff Lieberman , who followed up this slimy winner with the outstanding homicidal hippie acidhead landmark " Blue Sunshine " and the wickedly subversive , gender role reversal wackos-in-the-woods " Deliverance " variant " Just Before Dawn , " plus also blessed us with the nifty 80's direct-to-video item " Remote Control " and the recent funky hoot " Satan's Little Helper . " This skin-crawling delight rates highly as the best , creepiest and most deftly executed of the many revolt-of-nature fright films that were hugely popular and fashionable throughout the 70's . A whole lot of wriggling worms , juiced into a lethal , carnivorous , mankind-devouring frenzied mass by an electric cable downed in a fierce rain storm , nosh on the sleazy , boorish , hideously unfriendly local yokels which populate a drab little Georgia backwoods armpit hamlet . The premise sounds pretty awful , but Lieberman's hardy , adroit direction , wittily well-observed script , occasional dollops of wry black humor that sardonically poke fun at the plot's inherent absurdity ( skeptical good-for-nothing sheriff Peter MacLean first hears about the vicious invertebrates while ravenously eating a teeming plate of spaghetti , a truly inspired spoof of the famous " Psycho " shower sequence has worms instead of water seeping out of the shower head ) , and a welcome dearth of pompous , heavy-handed moralizing which tends to mar several similar nature-runs-amuck eco-scare tales ( e . g . , the horrendously portentous " Frogs " ) make a world of difference , thereby converting the unpromising plot into a most pleasant surprise indeed . Moreover , the worm attack set pieces are disgustingly convincing and thus quite jolting ( the horrific highlight occurs when vile redneck degenerate R . A . Dow has his face feasted on by the grody flesh-eating buggers ) , the refreshingly unmacho , but still resourceful Don ( " He Knows You're Alone " ) Scardino as the bright , bookish , hopelessly out-of-his-element college educated New York city boy hero and ravishing redhead Patricia ( " Cockfighter " ) Pearcy as Scardino's sweet , smart , fetching Southern belle girlfriend give nicely appealing performances , Joseph Mangine's crisp , evocative cinematography vividly captures a tangibly grungy and uninviting shabby small stickville town gone to seed atmosphere , Rick Baker's stand-out , often startling special make-up effects are typically first-rate ( a post chewed-up Dow , dubbed " Wormface , " makes for a notably ghastly sight to behold ) , there's a beautifully eerie opening credits sequence ( the odd , austere children's song played during the credits is positively haunting ) , and the all-around sound acting is up to snuff . All in all , this honey really makes the grade as a genuinely frightening and very satisfying terror treat . |
519,238 | 8,239,592 | 82,776 | 9 | Worthy of its cult status | Shy and mousy mute garment district worker Thana ( a remarkably assured and nuanced performance by the lovely Zoe Tamerlis ) gets raped twice in one day . After killing her second assailant with an iron , Thana takes possession of the man's . 45 caliber gun and starts hitting the mean streets of New York on a mission to blow away every last sleazy no-count guy who crosses her lethal path . Director Abel Ferrara ( who also has a chilling cameo as the first rapist ) and screenwriter Nicholas St . John take the familiar vigilante premise and completely turn it on its ear by cleverly undermining basic exploitation audience expectations : the rape scenes aren't that graphic , there's no nudity to speak of , and all the men featured in this film are hateful and disgusting jerks who regularly prey on women in one way or another ( Thana's victims include a street gang , a slimy fashion photographer , an abusive pimp , and even a rich Arab who cruises for babes to pick up in his limo ) . Moreover , this inspired cross between " Repulsion " and " Death Wish " reaches a stunning bloodbath climax at a Halloween costume party which Thana attends dressed as a nun . Tamerlis as Thana makes for a fascinatingly complex figure : While she nonchalantly offs numerous predatory dudes , she can't bring herself to kill her landlady's pesky dog . In an interesting touch , the initially plain and passive Thana becomes more increasingly alluring and aggressive throughout the course of the narrative . Edith Sherman as Thana's annoying and eccentric landlady Ms . Sherman gives one of the single most gloriously oddball performances ever committed to celluloid . Albert Sinkys contributes a deliciously smarmy turn as Thana's odious creep boss Albert and Jack Thibeau has a startling bit as a dejected fellow Thana picks up in a bar . James Lemmo's slick , gleaming cinematography gives the picture an attractive glossy look . Joe Delia's moody , jazzy score likewise does the funky trick ( the piercing saxophone is especially gnarly ) . Done with tremendous crackling verve and an arresting sense of dazzling style , this highly impressive piece of ultra-kinetic low-budget indie film-making certainly lives up to its sizable cult reputation . |
519,246 | 8,239,592 | 120,879 | 9 | An excellent and exciting late 90's rock drama about the funky 70's glam-rock scene | A dazzlingly brash and spunky work of fiction that has an engagingly loose basis in fact , this terrifically dynamic rock drama centers on the sparkling , glittery , outrageously camp and hedonistic anything-goes uninhibited lunacy of the 70's glam-rock phenomenon . It's chiefly about legendary mercurial David Bowie-like glam-rock god Brain Slade ( the strikingly charismatic Jonathan Rhys Meyers ) , who at the peak of his popularity notoriously faked his own audacious on-stage assassination death and subsequently vanished altogether from public view . Ten years later former glam-rock fan turned successful British investigative journalist Arthur Stuart ( excellently played by Christian Bale ) is assigned by his editors to write a story on Slade , so Stuart tracks down Slade's old pals and associates to find out the exact reasons for his sudden disappearance . Todd Haynes ' spirited direction and smart , witty , precisely etched script relate the compelling story in tricky flashback fashion , tracing Slade's humble beginnings and upward ascent to glam-rock superstardom with provocative insights into how glam-rock rode the crest of the swingin ' 70's sexual revolution , glam-rock's deliberate attempt at erasing gender lines that separate men and women , the wanton bisexuality , gleeful decadence , bold androgyny , and flamboyant excesses that were fundamental components of glam-rock , and how being famous blurs the distinction between private life and public life . Gorgeously shot in loud , splashy , yet still elegant bright colors by Maryse Alberti , with a moody score by Carter Burwell and a marvelously ornate and melodic glam-rock soundtrack , the film lavishly evokes glam-rock's gloriously gaudy and theatrical over-the-top style in deliciously thorough and baroque detail . Although Rhys Meyers ' spellbinding portrayal of Slade clearly dominates the picture , there are equally impressive turns by Toni Collette as Slade's bawdy , sassy American wife , Ewan McGregor as crazed , grungy Iggy Poppish garage hard rock maniac Curt Wild , and Eddie Izzard as an aggressively brazen record company executive . Intelligent and animated , " Velvet Goldmine " works wonderfully well as a highly exciting and incisive cinematic ode to an especially thrilling and colorful 70's rock movement . |
519,385 | 8,239,592 | 55,824 | 9 | A superior 60's suspense thriller | Cunning and vengeful sexual psychopath convict Max Cady ( the impeccable Robert Mitchum in peak frightening form ) gets released from prison and vows to get revenge on both respectable , upstanding lawyer Sam Bowden ( the always strong and dignified Gregory Peck ) and his family . J . Lee Thompson's taut , capable direction deftly wrings plenty of gripping and gut-wrenching tension from the absorbingly cruel and chilling story . The superb acting from a first-rate cast qualifies as a significant plus : Polly Bergen as Bowden's loving , concerned wife Peggy , the adorable Lori Martin as Bowden's sweet , tiny teenage daughter Nancy , Martin Balsam as a helpful police chief , Telly Savalas as a thorough , tenacious private investigator , Jack Kruschen as a shrewd , aggressive defense attorney , and dancer Barrie Chase as a sexy bar girl floozy Cady brutally beats up . Sam Leavitt's stark , polished black and white cinematography makes artful use of fades and dissolves . The great Bernard Herrmann delivers a beautifully brooding and moody full-bore orchestral score . Better yet , there's a welcome and laudable element of restraint present throughout which adds substantially to the overall nerve-wracking suspense ; Thompson implies more violence than he shows , thus making a refreshing concession to the viewer's imagination and ensuring that the frankly unpleasant central premise never becomes too vile or repellent . Mitchum's supremely low-key and quietly menacing portrayal of Cady clinches the whole deal : Whether he's calmly strangling a police officer in the murky swamp or breaking an egg over Bergen's chest at the picture's harrowing conclusion , Cady registers strongly as one genuinely scary and intimidating piece of nasty work . An excellent and extremely effective thriller classic . |
518,262 | 8,239,592 | 110,500 | 9 | An extremely potent and uncompromising celluloid descent into the adolescent abyss | Feverishly stylized Aussie tyro director Geoffrey Wright's second feature after the harrowing skinhead nerve-frier " Romper Stomper " offers another similarly bleak and depressing portrait of bitter , disaffected , barely hanging onto the dirt-poor last rung of the social ladder working class Melbourne youths who turn to illegal hot rod street car racing to inject some desperately needed excitement and fulfillment into their otherwise severely gloomy and dispiriting no-hoper lives . A peculiar and increasingly self-combustive triangle relationship develops between four messed-up kids - - antsy grocery store stockboy Joe , who lives in wretched squalor with his nutso dad ; freaky aspiring witch / Satanist Savina , who's saddled with a shrill , pathetic religious kook mother ; surly , cocksure , self-absorbed ace stock car driver Dazey and his fed-up , long-suffering girlfriend Roslyn - - which leads to much angst , death , suffering , emotional turmoil and a harshly damaging betrayal of love and loyalty for all concerned . The basic subject matter seems deceptively banal and pedestrian , but thankfully Wright's raw , fiercely manic and visceral shoot-the-fireworks flashy style , combined with first-rate edgy and intense performances , swift , lively , constantly on the move vertiginous cinematography , an unflinchingly grim and nihilistic tone , an extraordinarily wired , dangerous and go-for-broke exciting last reel chase between a stock car and a muscle car , and a furiously well-sustained , aggressively pumped-up and adrenalized forward-ho narrative momentum that's ironically contrasted with the lead characters ' dead-end flight towards premature self-destruction transcend the relative mundaneness of the material and elevate this exhilarating white-knuckler to the status of the genuinely awesome . Celluloid descents into the nightmarishly confusing and frightfully uncertain dark-as-pitch amorality of the adolescent abyss don't come any more unsettling or engrossing than this savagely unsentimental , but often painfully heart-wrenching winner . |
518,507 | 8,239,592 | 82,094 | 9 | A really nice and enjoyable early 80's creature feature | Back in the early 80's horror films largely consisted of generic slice'n'dice body count pics which became exceedingly tiresome and hackneyed as the decade wore on . This nifty little creature feature , a nicely done fright flick which satisfyingly blends a 50's-like monster movie plot with 80's style gore , nudity and profanity , stands out as a refreshing break from the by-the-numbers knifekill norm which was fashionable at the time . A nasty bunch of toothy , tentacled , people-noshing subterranean beasties are unleashed after an old abandoned Colorado mine gets reopened , brutally slaying anyone unfortunate enough to cross their deadly path . Okay , so the story ain't much and the pacing tends to be a bit sluggish , but James L . Conway's capable direction , the tight script , spooky cinematography , several good jump-out-at-you startling jolts , a rousing conclusion , and the especially gnarly-looking squish-bodied , frog-faced , sharp-fanged titular ugly buggers make this a solid scarefest all the same . Moreover , the underground scenes have a truly creepy , clammy , and claustrophobic feel to them , grizzled character thesps John Crawford and Med Flory portray a couple of seasoned old pro mining hands with pleasingly crusty aplomb , and craggy-faced fuddy dud Jon Lormer has a colorful secondary role as a nutty old coot whose grave warnings about the mines are naturally ignored . Better still , the younger characters are surprisingly well-developed and genuinely likable . The winsomely perky'n'pretty Rebecca Balding , who also starred in the superior slasher item " Silent Scream " and was briefly touted as an apparent heir to the crown of then reigning scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis , in particular is most appealing as the spunky heroine ( and she takes her clothes off as well , which is an additional plus ) . Given all these strengths , it's no wonder that this funky favorite has acquired a small , yet loyal cult following . |
518,929 | 8,239,592 | 79,668 | 9 | An intense , excellent and absorbing crime drama | March 9th , 1963 : Cheery Detective Karl Hettinger ( marvelously played by John Savage ) and his amiable laid-back partner Ian Campbell ( an engaging Ted Danson in his film debut ) run afoul of two dangerous criminals - - shrewd , vicious , domineering Gregory Powell ( a remarkably reptilian James Woods in his breakthrough role ) and meek , passive , insecure Jimmy Smith ( a terrific portrayal by Franklyn Seales ) - - while making their usual rounds one fateful night . The hoodlums kidnap the two police officers and take them out into a remote onion field . Ian gets killed while Karl manages to get away . Karl suffers guilt over surviving the terrible incident while both Gregory and Jimmy use the legal system to their cruel advantage to avoid the death penalty . Firmly directed with laudable tact and assurance by Harold Becker , with a gritty script by Joseph Wambaugh , meticulously detailed period atmosphere , slick , vivid cinematography by Charles Rosher , rough , profane dialogue , a chilling , moody score by Emuir Deodato , and a raw , edgy and grimly plausible sense of compellingly sordid realism , this potent and poignant knockout packs a very strong and lingering emotional gut punch . The whole sequence in the onion field is positively nerve-rattling ( the scene where Jimmy starts screaming hysterically after Greg shoots Ian right in the mouth is especially harrowing ) . Savage , Danson , Woods and Seales are all outstanding in the lead parts ; they receive top-notch support from Ronny Cox as hard-nosed Sargent Pierce Brooks , Diane Hull as Karl's loyal wife Helen , Priscilla Pointer as Ian's caring mother Chrissie , David Huffman as fed-up , disillusioned District Attorney Phil Halpin , Christopher Lloyd as a cunning jailhouse lawyer , and Richard Herd as a cynical veteran beat cop . An absolute powerhouse . |
519,087 | 8,239,592 | 82,085 | 9 | One of Brian Pe Palma's best , most gripping and underrated thrillers | Likable audio technician Jack Terri ( splendidly played by John Travolta ) does sound effects for cheesy low-grade slasher horror flicks . One fateful night while recording natural sounds on a bridge Jack records and witnesses a car crash which kills the state governor who was an aspiring presidential candidate . Jack also rescues and befriends the governor's rather dumb , but really sweet mistress Sally ( a beautifully endearing performance by the adorable Nancy Allen ) . When Jack begins to investigate the circumstances behind the crash , he finds out that someone shot out one of the tires on the car and thus caused the accident to happen . Pretty soon both Jack and Sally are put in considerable danger . Directed with tight , stylish , assured aplomb by Brian De Palma , who also wrote the ingenious script which cleverly blends elements of " Blow-Up " and " The Conversation " into an absorbing and inspired synthesis , with exquisitely fluid , slick , sparkling cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond ( the occasional use of split screen is especially tasty and impressive ) , plenty of nerve-wracking suspense , an intricate conspiracy thriller plot , a charming and touching love story between Jack and Sally , and a rousing , pulsating , elegant orchestral score by Pino Donaggio , this crackling ripper comes on like total gangbusters from start to finish . Travolta and Allen are outstanding in the leads ; they receive terrific support from John Lithgow as vicious , coldly pragmatic assassin Burke and Dennis Franz as sleazeball blackmailer Manny Karp . From its bravura dead-on opening hilarious send-up of tacky slice'n'dice schlock to its exciting climax and bitterly ironic conclusion , " Blow Out " overall rates as an absolute powerhouse that comes highly recommended . |
518,202 | 8,239,592 | 330,950 | 9 | A very fine and informative retrospective documentary | This fascinating and illuminating 52 minute retrospective documentary offers a wealth of tasty trivia about the making of Dario Argento's terrific horror cult classic " Suspiria . " The people interviewed in the doc are Argento , co-writer Daria Nicolodi , cinematographer Luciano Tovoli , Goblin band members Claudio Simonetti ( he sings all the creepy verses in the incredible score ) , Massimo Morante , Fabio Pignatelli , and Agostino Marangolo , and cast members Jessica Harper , Stefania Casini ( who readily acknowledges that she was thrilled to work with Argento ) , and the ever-quirky Udo Kier . Topics discussed herein are the origins of the story ( Nicolodi based the dance academy on an actual prestigious school that teaches the black arts ! ) , the elegant star presence of Joan Bennett , Goblin's fantastic freaky score , Argento's highly distinctive style , Tovoli's use of the soon-to-be obsolete Technicolor process to obtain the incredibly bold and vibrant color scheme that's featured in the film , Harper and Casini hitting it off on the set , that the movie is basically a dark fairy tale ( Argento cites the Walt Disney animated picture " Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs " as a major influence on " Suspiria " ) , and the ongoing legacy of the film . Moreover , Casini admits that her unforgettably brutal death scene was a nightmare to shoot and Kier confesses that someone read all his dialogue to him off screen for his sole scene in the movie . Essential viewing for fans of the film . |
518,049 | 8,239,592 | 75,378 | 9 | I really dig this groovy 70's drive-in hoot | I am proud to say I own an uncut copy of this choice chunk of 70's Crown International drive-in sexploitation comedy cheese on DVD . It's a really goofy and enjoyably inconsequential flick with a nicely breezy'n'easy 70's vibe to it . It does attempt to make a sincere point about true love and friendship being more important in life than a cool set of wheels and a quick piece of tail . Sure , it's essentially a blatant adolescent male fantasy pic - - the main teen goofus character Bobby Hamilton gets the girls , the respect of his friends , and a chance to show-up a local van-racing bully - - but it's way too dopey and good-natured to hate . Stuart Getz as our gawky protagonist makes for an endearingly dorky lead , Deborah White as the main object of Getz's affection is a definite cutie , Connie Lisa Marie is likewise quite luscious as a beauteous blonde babe , and sneering beefcake Neanderthal Stephan Oliver ( a 60's biker movie perennial ) is wonderfully hateful as the brutish Dugan Hicks . A pre-stardom Danny DeVito in particular is an absolute riot as Getz's cranky carwash owner boss Andy , a lovably cantankerous ne'er-do-well slob who wears very ugly loud Hawaiian shirts and suffers from a severe gambling habit . I especially love the scene where two thugs brutally beat Danny up - - one holds his arms behind his back while the other guy works over Danny's torso ! And Sammy Johns ' insidiously catchy fluke hit theme song will be bouncing around your skull for at least a week . In short , it's great groovy retro-70's fun ! |
518,607 | 8,239,592 | 149,151 | 9 | A very funny , delightful and affectionate treat | The funky , yet strictly second-tier British glam-rock band Strange Fruit breaks up at the end of the wild'n'wacky excess-ridden 70's . The individual band members go their separate ways and uncomfortably settle into lackluster middle age in the dull and uneventful 90's : morose keyboardist Stephen Rea winds up penniless and down on his luck , vain , neurotic , pretentious lead singer Bill Nighy tries ( and fails ) to pursue a floundering solo career , paranoid drummer Timothy Spall resides in obscurity on a remote farm so he can avoid paying a hefty back taxes debt , and surly bass player Jimmy Nail installs roofs for a living . Former loving groupie turned patient , understanding , long-suffering manager Juliet Aubrey gets the group back together for an ill-advised , largely ineffectual and hilariously disastrous twenty years later nostalgic reunion tour of Europe . Our lovably ragged bunch try gamely , but fumblingly to reignite a flame that once burned quite brightly back in the day . Scraggly zonked-out roadie Billy Connelly and cocky eager beaver young guitarist Hans Matheson tag along for the delightfully bumpy , trouble-plagued , but still ultimately rewarding and enjoyable ride . Director Brian Gibson shows tremendously infectious respect and adoration for both his amiably screwy characters in particular and loud , ringing , flamboyantly overblown preening 70's rock in general , this imbuing this affectionate little pip with an utterly engaging sense of big-hearted charm and tireless verve . The astute , sharply written script by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais likewise bristles with spot-on dry wit and finely observed moments of joyous on the road inanity , capturing a certain bittersweetly affecting and frequently uproarious vibe that gives the picture itself an irresistibly luminescent glow . Ashley Rowe's lovely , elegant cinematography ensures that the movie always looks quite visually sumptuous while the perfectly catchy and groovy music does the trick with right-on rockin ' flair and aplomb . Kudos also to the across-the-board terrific performances that vividly nail the burnt-out soul and tattered , but still fiercely beating heart of a past its prime has-been ragtag rock outfit desperate to regain its erstwhile evanescent glory in one final bid for big time success . All in all , this radiant and touching gem rates highly as one of the true seriocomic sleeper treats from the 90's . |
518,296 | 8,239,592 | 82,118 | 9 | A superior slice of early 80's slasher schlock | At Camp Blackfoot a bunch of kids play a cruel prank on mean caretaker Cropsy ( hulking behemoth Lou David ) . The prank badly backfires and Cropsy winds up being horribly burned over most of his body . Now both extremely mad and grotesquely disfigured , Cropsy leaves the hospital and goes bounding off to the nearest summercamp armed with a giant pair of lethal garden shears with the specific intent of killing a whole gaggle of luckless people who cross his bitter and deadly path . Director Tony Maylam creates a substantial amount of tension , keeps the pace moving along at a steady , speedy clip , and stages the gruesome kill scenes with considerable brio ( one bravura terrifying sequence shows Cropsy viciously butchering five kids on a raft in broad daylight ) . Moreover , the first-rate make-up f / x by the great Tom Savini really deliver the gory goods , Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman supplies an effectively shivery'n'spooky synthesizer score , and the characters are surprisingly likable and well-developed . A further source of enjoyment can be derived from early appearances by future " Seinfeld " TV series regular Jason Alexander , Oscar-winning actress Holly Hunter , Fisher ( " The Brother from Another Planet , " " Short Circuit " ) Stevens , and even Brian Backer ( Mark Ratner in " Fast Times at Ridgemont High " ) as a pathetically geeky peeping tom misfit . Better still , this film certainly doesn't skimp on the gratuitous nudity : beautiful busty blonde babe Carrick Glenn takes a shower and attractive slender brunette Carolyn Houlihan goes skinny-dipping . Sure , " The Burning " is a very crude and sleazy " Friday the 13th " rip-off , but it's nonetheless still nasty and trashy enough to qualify as a superior slice of early 80's slasher horror schlock . |
518,188 | 8,239,592 | 90,770 | 9 | A very chilling , disturbing and powerful knockout | Shortly after graduating from high school , an aimless , alienated pair of scruffy blue collar California suburbanite misfit teens - - the moody , volatile , sexually repressed Roy and his more laid-back , passive partner Bo - - suddenly come to the grim realization that their post-high school lives hold precious little promise . Extremely upset about this glaring and undeniable bit of terrible truth , Bo and Roy decide to drive to Los Angeles for one last weekend of completely uninhibited partying . Things promptly turn sour when Bo and Roy beat a hapless gas station attendant within an inch of his life . The not so dynamic duo are just getting warmed up . They continue their blithely ferocious rampage with a vicious series of harsh random killings . Gut-wrenchingly tense and wholly believable , this gritty gem hits hard with its harrowing exploration of how adolescent angst and rage can easily erupt into terrifyingly destructive all-out brutality . Penelope Spheeris ' direction is 100 % on the money tight and effective : the brisk pacing , a fairly intricate and involving narrative , the often almost unbearably stomach-turning suspense , an unflinchingly downbeat ending , and a vivid rendering of the flashy-trashy L . A . milieu all lend credibility to the bleak premise . Glen Morgan and James Wong's script presents a chillingly convincing mosaic of negligent and sometimes even absentee parents , earnest , but ineffectual cops , mean , disapproving peers , and angry , frustrated outcasts which seethes with a startling mix of despair and nihilism ( Morgan and Wong went on to write many episodes of " The X-Files , " plus make the excellent and underrated " Willard " remake and the " Final Destination " pictures ) . Maxwell Caulfield and Charlie Sheen give superb performances as the apathetic leads . The equally stellar supporting cast includes Frank Zappa's daughter Moon Unit as a vapid Valley Girl Bo develops a crush on , Patti D'Arbanville as a flaky , lusty medium who picks up the pernicious pair in a bar , and Hank Garrett and Christopher McDonald as the diligent mismatched homicide detectives who are trying to find and arrest the boys . Tough , stark and exceedingly rough , this bitter sleeper rates as a nerve-rattling knockout with its still topical subject matter nowadays seeming even more timely and relevant in the wake of the atrocious Columbine incident . The first-rate Anchor Bay DVD offers a sterling widescreen presentation along with the theatrical trailer , bios on Spheeris , Sheen and Caulfield , and an enjoyably loose , informative and opinionated commentary by Spheeris and Caulfield . |
518,448 | 8,239,592 | 218,475 | 9 | A touching and powerful indie drama gem | Shy , withdrawn , browbeaten young Chinese girl Lee ( splendidly played with sweet , delicate grace by Lianne X . Hu ) leaves her homeland and goes to L . A . ' s Chinatown so she can live with her overbearing aunt and work a nothing job at a restaurant where her employers treat her shabbily . Things perk up in her previously bleak , thankless and miserably insular life when she befriends amiable nice guy American Steve , who tries to help Lee get out of the dismal rut she currently feels hopelessly trapped in . Lee attempts to assert her independence while struggling to respect both her people and the honorable traditions they represent . Writer / director / producer Steve Dunning makes an excellent film debut with this extremely astute , poignant and thoughtful meditation on fate versus free will . The characters and their drably hermetic working class urban corner of the world ring completely true . The performances are uniformly fine and credible . The Chinatown environment is rendered in a richly exotic and atmospheric manner . The story packs more than enough pathos , passion and pure drama to make this movie touching , gripping and incisive throughout . Moreover , it's sharply photographed with a lovely , lulling , beautifully melodic score . Dunning also portrays Steve - - and does it very well . The DVD offers a nice widescreen transfer from a sound quality print and comes with a wondrous wealth of extras which include a funny , informative and entertaining commentary by Dunning , two theatrical trailers , cast auditions , behind-the-scenes footage , a still gallery , outtakes , extra deleted scenes , fight choreography footage , soundtrack samplings , and much , much more . |
518,670 | 8,239,592 | 71,110 | 9 | My all-time favorite " Airport " film | I saw this delightfully hokey disaster treat after enduring a hellishly awful day at work and it sure as hell perked up my previously sagging spirits . I felt pretty damn secure and contented by the time the ending credits rolled , because by then I came to the realization that as bad as my cruddy job is ( and trust me it can be nightmarishly horrid at times ) , I've never , ever been subjected to a nerve-wracking ordeal half as harrowing as the grueling fix poor Karen Black finds herself in in this movie . I mean , Karen has got a really rough road to hoe : the co-pilot and radarman of the plane she's a stewardess on get creamed when a small private plane smacks into the cockpit , the captain gets blinded , the plane's leaking gasoline , and Black herself has to fly the bulky , creaking , floundering thing through hazardous mountainous terrain with only Mr . Steely Stalwart Iron Jaw himself Chuck Heston and lovably gruff " Airport " series perennial George Kennedy talking her through the trying endeavor over a faulty CB radio . Alright , so the whole story sounds hopelessly ridiculous - - and it is hopelessly ridiculous , to be brutally honest . Yet , it's the dead seriousness of the script , acting and direction , all done with that right-on clunky sincerity that gives 70's disaster features their cheesy greatness , which makes this endearingly earnest foolishness such top-rate tacky trash . Better still , the usual boring subplots that often clutter these pictures are pleasingly curtailed here ; the characters are neatly established with utmost briskness and the basic plot kicks in by the 30 minute mark , thereby keeping tedium at bay . Naturally , this darling boasts one hell of an all-star line-up : Efrem Zimbalist , Jr . , Roy Thinnes and Erik Estrada as the doomed flight crew , Sid Caeser , Norman Fell , Conrad Janis and Jerry Stiller as obnoxiously dorky middle-aged swingers , Nancy Olsen as a cute blonde stewardess , Dana Andrews , Linda Blair ( fresh from her smashing success in " The Exorcist " ) as a sickly , yet perky little girl who needs a new kidney or its Stiff City buddy , Larry Storch as a jerky scoop-chasing TV reporter , 50's AIP creature feature regulars Ed Nelson and Beverly Garland , Guy Stockwell , terminally insufferable pop singer Helen Reddy as an unbearably sweet nun , Gloria Swanson as herself , Myrna Loy , a pre - " Cagney and Lacey " Sharon Gless in a quick bit , Susan Clark , Martha Scott , and even " Assault on Precinct 13 " survivor Austin Stoker as an Air Force sergeant . All are tremendous fun to watch , but Karen Black clearly cops the top acting honors : permanently crossed saucer eyes wide with fright , a look of grim determination firmly fixed on her lovely face , and jaws tightly clenched , the extraordinary Ms . Black gives the kind of remarkably committed performance which inadvertently exposes this howler as the idiotic junk that it truly is . Swanson likewise maintains her composure throughout , displaying a poise and classiness that's jarringly at odds with everyone else's sweaty , gritty , panic-stricken histrionics . Veteran bungler Jack Smight , the same all-thumbs dude responsible for the incredibly atrocious post-nuke sci-fi dud " Damnation Alley , " directed this sucker with his customary artless rent-a-hack craftsmanship . Smight's totally straight-faced dimestore workmanlike efficiency works like gangbusters for this entertainingly dopey nonsense , thus clinching this honey's sterling status as a super schlocky slice of airborne 70's thrills'n'spills absurdity . |
518,798 | 8,239,592 | 389,722 | 9 | An excellent , inspired and supremely unsettling vampire horror knockout | A vicious clan of deadly vampires lead by the ferocious Marlow ( a positively terrifying portrayal by Danny Huston ) lay siege to the remote small town of Barrows , Alaska during a month long period of total darkness . Gallant Sheriff Eben Oleson ( a fine and likable performance by Josh Hartnett ) , his feisty estranged wife Stella ( well played by Melissa George ) , and a motley handful of others do their best to survive this nightmarish ordeal . Director David Slade makes the most out of the ingenious script by Steve Niles , Stuart Beattie , and Brian Nelson : the gripping story unfolds at a constant brisk pace , the suspense gradually builds to a harrowing fever pitch ( the protracted sequence with the vampires killing all the townspeople is absolutely bloodcurdling ) , the bleak wintry landscape evokes a strong sense of isolation and vulnerability , the outbursts of savage violence are truly jolting , and the human characters react in a plausible way to their impossible situation . Moreover , the stellar acting by the sturdy cast qualifies as another significant asset : Harnett and George both excel in their roles , Huston makes for a perfectly malevolent head ghoul , plus there are sound supporting turns by Mark Boone Junior as the gruff , bearish Beau Brewer , Ben Foster as the deranged the Stranger , Mark Rendall as Eben's sweet younger brother Jake , Amber Sainsbury as the spunky Denise , Manu Bennett as the amiable Deputy Billy Kitka , Megan Franich as lethal vampiress Iris , Nathaniel Lees as the easygoing Carter Davis , Joel Tobeck as the hotheaded Doug Hertz , Elizabeth Hawthorne as gutsy diner owner Lucy Ikos , and Abbey-May Wakefield as a nasty little girl vampire . The vampires themselves are wonderfully vile and grotesque : they're hideously malformed subhuman beasts with long nails , pasty complexions , super human strength and speed , and their own odd guttural language . The striking cinematography by Jo Willems offers a wealth of amazing visuals while Brian Reitzell's hypnotically chilling score hits the shivery spot . But what really makes this fright feature such a winner is its grim , harsh , no-nonsense tone : the central protagonists are forced to make some hard choices in order to stay alive , the merciless vampires spare no one from their bloodthirsty wrath , and the film stays fiercely true to itself to the literal bitter end . A splendidly tough and gritty treat . |
518,871 | 8,239,592 | 79,826 | 9 | A poignant & powerful rock drama with a remarkable Bette Midler performance | Better Midler gives a smashing , touching , tear-the-house-down dynamic and exhilarating Oscar-nominated performance as the Rose , a fabulously wealthy and successful popular rock superstar sensation who's been burnt-out and worn down by too much long hard time on the road , too much booze and drugs ( Rose likes to swig Southern Comfort straight from the bottle while performing live on stage ) , too many cameras in her face and too much time spent recording songs in the studio at the expense of having a meaningful and fulfilling personal life , all of which leaves Rose feeling terribly lonely , unhappy and unloved . Rose wants to take a much-needed vacation , but her pushy , ruthless , overbearing greedhead manager Rudge Campbell ( flawlessly played to intensely contemptible perfection by Alan Bates ) urges her to do a special hometown concert . Rose finds temporary solace in her relationship with good-looking nice guy drifter Houston Dyer ( a characteristically top-drawer turn by the criminally undervalued Frederic Forrest , who deservedly snagged a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his superlative work here ) , but Dyer's inability to easily handle Rose's wild lifestyle of debauched excess only exacerbates the severity of Rose's depression , which goes off the deep end into total despair with tragic consequences . Loosely based on the real-life flash-in-the-pan live fast , live hard , live like today's almost over and tomorrow ain't never gonna happen and if you live like this too much you will most certainly die young sex'n'drugs'n'rock'n'roll exploits of Janis Joplin , " The Rose " poignantly exposes the horrible price of fame and fortune , showing to often devastating effect the way fame destroys one's ability to have a personal life , pushes people to a near breaking point , and grinds people down to nothing after they lose the strength needed to withstand the strain being a famous person grimly entails . Mark Rydell's perceptive direction and the trenchant script by Bill Kirby and Bo Goldman neither glorifies nor vilifies the rock'n'roll lifestyle , opting instead to merely show its potentially dangerous pratfalls with a properly glum , depressing tone and an arresting , unflinching frankness . Vilmos Zsigmund's glittering , burnished , faded cinematography gives the film an appropriately blinding brightly saturated color flashy look , shooting the lively , uninhibited concert sequences through a dense smoky haze of piercing reddish hues ( such fellow noted cameramen as Laszlo Kovacs , Owen Roizman and Haskell Wexler also lent a hand to the dazzling concert sequences ) . Toni Basil , who had a fluke top 10 hit tune with the waggish novelty song " Hey Mickey , " did the raunchy'n'raucous dance choreography . Midler belts out all her songs in a hoarse , bluesy , whiskey-ravaged alto with incredible incendiary gusto ; the highlights include the hauntingly beautiful and melancholy title ballad , a torchy , slow-burning rendition of " When a Man Loves a Woman , " and a hilariously campy shredding of Bob Seger's " Fire Down Below " done in a drag queen bar with a bunch of outrageous transvestite celebrity lady impersonators ( 70's mock disco diva Sylvestor plays the Diana Ross lookalike ) . Midler's show-dominating tour-de-force portrayal gets sterling support from an exceptional cast peppered with stand-out character actors : David Keith as a bashful soldier , Jack Starrett as a country music road manager , John Dennis Johnson as a rowdy hick jerk in a hillbilly bar , Jonathan Banks as an oily TV promoter , Don Calfa as a smarmy music biz leech , Victor Argo as a bath house locker room attendant , Will Hare as an amiable grocer , and , in a particularly chilling and startling cameo , the great Harry Dean Stanton as a cold-hearted ahole country singer / songwriter who flatly tells Rose right to her face that he thinks her singing stinks . A sad , insightful and eye-opening film , " The Rose " makes for a truly heart-breaking , but undeniably powerful portrait of an all-too-human and fragile person who gets led down the road to ruin by the very business that ironically made her . |
518,872 | 8,239,592 | 71,093 | 9 | A typically absorbing & erotic soft-core winner from the great Joe Sarno | The drab and uneventful tranquility of the sleepy affluent coastal community of Baypoint gets rudely ripped asunder when the notorious sexually voracious and insatiable bisexual harlot Abigail Leslie ( the smolderingly hot Sarah Nickolson ) unexpectedly returns to the dreary hamlet after a lengthy absence . Demure and uptight socialite Priscilla ( the luscious Rebecca Brooke ) is especially perturbed , although her smarmy and licentious husband Gordon ( legendary porn star Jamie Gillis ) is more than eager to have an adulterous fling with the wanton and willing Abigail . Pretty soon Abigail's infectiously sensuous presence causes everyone in town to toss aside their morals and inhibitions for the sheer sake of carnal pleasure , indulgence and debauchery . Among the folks who fall under Abigail's seductive and irresistible spell are feisty , friendly , but unfulfilled fisherwomen Alice Ann ( Chris Jordan ) , Alice Ann's shy , sweet , soft-spoken brother Chester ( Eric Edwards ) , Priscilla's snobby gal pals Tracey ( Anne Keel ) and Lila ( Julie Sorel ) , Priscilla's raunchy aunt Drucilla ( Jennifer Welles ) , and hunky resident stud Bo ( handsome , muscular Sonny Landham , who later went on to act in such 80's mainstream action features as " 48 Hours " and " Predator " ) . Acclaimed soft-core director / screenwriter Joe Sarno expertly crafts a highly absorbing and arousing soap opera-style small-town slice-of-life melodrama which not only delivers the expected sultry and alluring goods ( the sex scenes are fairly explicit and steamy , but never too graphic or sleazy ) , but also serves as a perfectly trenchant and provocative critique of very conservative and puritanical small town mores ( best represented by the frustrated Priscilla and the unhappy Alice Ann ) , hypocrisy ( Priscilla's friends Lila and Tracey blithely partake in Abigail's lascivious fun and games despite the fact that they are both married ) , and repressed passions and desires ( Priscilla pines for Chester , but is too timid to pursue her romantic interest in him ) . The uniformly excellent acting from the first-rate and attractive cast is a substantial plus : Brooke , Nicholson and Edwards in particular are outstanding , with sound support from Welles , Keel , Sorel , Jordan and Landham . Moreover , both Bill Godsey's pretty , polished cinematography and Jack Justis ' hauntingly sad , moody , tuneful acoustic guitar score further enhance the film's sterling quality , thereby lifting this movie well out of the rut of your standard mindless skin-flick . All in all , this picture rates as another involving , intelligent and impressive thinking man's soft-core outing from the always reliable Joe Sarno . |
518,636 | 8,239,592 | 63,663 | 9 | A strange , haunting and poignant drama about the shallowness of suburbanite existence | Burt Lancaster gives a strikingly fine , vibrant and touching performance as Ned Merrill , a washed-up , delusional middle-aged former ladies ' man failure who embarks on a bizarre journey of self-discovery by swimming through his affluent Conneticut neighbors ' pools while en route back to his house . Among the folks Ned meets during his peculiar pilgrimage are Kim Hunter as the perky , flirtatious wife of an old friend , Janet Landgard as a sweet , but sexy and enticing young woman , Diana Muldaur as a cheery divorcée , Dolph Sweet as a proud , boastful home owner , Joan Rivers as a raucous drunk , and , in an especially bravura turn , Janice Rule as Ned's bitter , snappish ex-mistress . Each individual encounter offers further sad insight into Ned's lonely and dismal misspent life . Deftly directed by Frank Perry , perceptively written by Eleanor Perry ( the script is based on a John Cheever short story ) , gorgeously shot in sparkling color by David L . Quaid , elegantly scored to beautifully lulling melancholic perfection by Marvin Hamlisch , and exceptionally well-acted by a first-rate cast , this wonderfully offbeat and moody allegory about the misery , snobbery , isolation , superficiality and shallow materialism of upper-class American suburbanite existence as well as the inevitability of getting older and the subsequent loss of youth packs a remarkably potent and poignant punch . |
519,064 | 8,239,592 | 94,942 | 9 | An oddly touching , thoughtful & underrated vampire horror gem | This strangely thoughtful and resonant nickel'n'dime late 80's fright film represents the rarest and oddest of low-budget bloodsucker sub-genres : the wistfully reflective existential vampire picture . Seriously , it's a beautifully affecting and poetic work of shamefully neglected art that's deserving of greater recognition and appraisal than it's thus far elicited . The extremely novel and compelling story centers on dejected , suicidal stripper Jodi ( the delicately pretty and winsome Starr Andreeff , a very capable and under-appreciated actress who was often wasted in such useless piffle as " The Terror Within " and " Ghoulies II " ) who one fateful night encounters and strikes up an uneasy rapport with a lonely , angst-ridden , but sympathetic vampire ( the handsome , sulky Cyril O'Reilly ) . The curious , misanthropic vampire wants the deeply troubled Jodi to engage in intimate conversation with him prior to putting the severely tormented woman out of her misery by killing her at dawn . Skillfully directed with remarkable grace and understatement by the always stylish and intriguing Katt Shea Ruben ( who also helmed the splendidly lurid " Stripped to Kill " and the harsh , gritty " Streets " before going upscale with the slicker , but less distinctive mainstream items " Poison Ivy " and " Carrie 2 : The Rage " ) , with a probing , audacious and insightful script by Katt and Tom Ruben ( the latter also cameos as a punk cab driver ) , a hauntingly regretful , melancholy and brooding nighttime gloom-doom mood , and sterling acting by the two exceptional leads ( Andreeff in particular gives an achingly vulnerable , strikingly vivid , and ultimately quite endearing performance ) , " Dance of the Damned " stands out as a real breath-of-fresh-air indie sleeper and a courageous , highly imaginative and unusually sensitive departure from standard , more visceral and traditional 80's cinematic takes on vampirism ( " Fright Night , " " The Lost Boys , " et al ) . The expected grisly shocks , fancy special effects and garden variety humans vs . monsters premise are nowhere to be found here ; instead this movie bravely offers a touching , absorbing and penetrating rumination on the numerous facets of the human condition , including the pain and anguish of being an ineffectual parent , the emotional scars wrought by child abuse , the awesome loneliness of leading a hermit-like existence , the duality of being a stripper ( they do have considerable power over the mostly male patrons they disrobe for , but unfortunately said dudes tend to see them strictly as vapid sex objects ) , and conventional society's awful inability to easily accept and tolerate those luckless individuals who deviate in one way or another from a rigid and repressive collective norm . Marred only by a somewhat annoyingly ambiguous conclusion , this otherwise flawless masterwork qualifies as essential viewing for adventurous horror movie buffs with a penchant for something off-beat , inspired and way out of the ordinary . |
518,035 | 8,239,592 | 82,334 | 9 | An excellent and supremely unnerving 80's feminist horror knockout | Barbara Hershey gives a fiery , outstanding and wholly sympathetic performance as Carla Moran , a willful and fiercely self-sufficient young single California mother of three kids who's brutally and relentlessly raped by an evil amorous apparition . Carla seeks the aid of earnest , but incredulous psychiatrist Phil Schneidermann ( nicely played by Ron Silver ) and several of his fellow disbelieving shrinks , who all try to convince Carla that the whole Stygian ordeal is self-inflicted . Carla balks at their supercilious , coldly pragmatic theories and enlists the help of a group of eager , open-minded parapsychologists in order to rid herself of the maleficent lascivious spirit's unwanted attention . Most film critics tend to gleefully trash " The Entity " as a particularly absurd piece of crudely sensationalistic fright flick foolishness , but I personally think it's a fine , engrossing , refreshingly off-beat and often genuinely frightening ( the frequent phantasmagoric sexual assaults are quite violent and upsetting , realistically capturing the true horror and demeaning nature of rape itself ) supernatural horror thriller . Sidney J . Furie's tight , proficient direction effectively creates and sustains a tense , menacing , claustrophobic mood ( Furie's constant use of taut close-ups which usually center on Hershey do a bang-up job of forcefully rendering Carla's profound sense of dread and alienation ) . Insanely prolific unsung B-movie composer Charles ( " Invasion of the Bee Girls , " " Cujo " ) Bernstein's wired , driving score ( I absolutely love the wickedly wailin ' guitar ! ) , Stephen H . ( " Something Wicked This Way Comes , " " Body Double " ) Burum's fluid , mobile cinematography , and Stan ( " Aliens , " " Pumpkinhead " ) Winston's typically stand-out make-up f / x contribute greatly to the picture's deeply unsettling potency . The themes of skeptics vs . true believers , science vs . psychology , and especially how difficult it is for a woman to be assertive and independent in a male-dominated society are keenly observed and neatly integrated into the compact , absorbing narrative ( " The Entity " at its extremely confrontational and provocative core is essentially a true feminist horror film about the many ways society tries to keep women in their place , with the ghost representing misogyny and male oppression at its most savage and unmerciful ) . Although not without its flaws ( at a rather bloated 125 minutes it's much too long and hence drags in spots ) , " The Entity " nonetheless overall makes the grade as a superior spectral spookshow . |
519,159 | 8,239,592 | 430,950 | 9 | An excellent retrospective documentary | This strong and engrossing retrospective documentary on the making of " Conan the Barbarian " covers the film from its genesis to its theatrical release , with a lot of especially interesting information about the rigorous shooting of the picture in Spain . Among the people interviewed are intelligent and articulate co-writer / director John Milius , charismatic star Arnold Schwarzenegger , lovely and athletic female lead Sandahl Bergman , the ever-affable James Earl Jones , champion surfer Gerry Lopez , Max von Sydow ( who agreed to do the role of King Osric because it gave him a chance to have fun and ham it up ! ) , genial production designer Ron Cobb , outspoken co-writer Oliver Stone , producer Dino de Laurentiis and his daughter Raffaella , stunt coordinator Terry Leonard , executive producer Edward R . Pressman , and ace composer Basil Poledouris ( whose amazing score is smartly retained for the doc ) . Among the anecdotes related are the casting of Arnold as Conan , the extensive training the leads had to do prior to making the film , the giant animatronic snake , Bergman almost having her index finger cut off during a sword fight scene , Milius striving to make the violence as brutal and realistic as possible ( the movie actually had to be resubmitted to the MPAA three times before it got an " R " rating ! ) , the tremendous box office success of the film , and how the picture was supposed to be the first in an ongoing series of movies . This fine and illuminating documentary is absolutely essential viewing for fans of the film . |
518,565 | 8,239,592 | 51,744 | 9 | William Castle's single most delightful fright feature | Suave , but eccentric millionaire Frederic Loren ( the great Vincent Price in peak smoothly ingratiating form ) invites five complete strangers to a creepy old house for a special birthday party he's holding for his faithless and treacherous wife Annabelle ( an exquisitely bitchy Carol Ohmart ) . If the motley quintet of folks survive the night , they will be paid $10 , 000 each for their troubles . Director William Castle , working from a clever and inspired script by Robb White , relates the absorbing story at a steady pace and does a sound job of creating a suitably eerie atmosphere . Moreover , Castle plays the material straight and keeps a serious tone throughout ; he also adds a welcome sense of wickedly sardonic humor and adds a downright infectious feeling of pure fun to the enjoyably uncanny proceedings ( you gotta love the freaky old lady on roller skates and the hokey , but cool walking skeleton ) . The sharp dialogue crackles with barbed wit ( favorite line : " Darling , the only ghoul in the house is you " ) and the double twist surprise ending is a doozy . This film further benefits from excellent acting from a tip-top cast : Although Price clearly dominates the picture with his commanding presence , he nonetheless receives fine support from Richard Long as gallant test pilot Lance Shroeder , Alan Marshal as skeptical psychiatrist Dr . David Trent , Carolyn Craig as the sweet , fetching Nora Manning , Julie Mitchum as washed-up newspaper columnist Ruth Bridgers , and , best of all , the always terrific Elisha Cook , Jr . as the house's timid'n'twitchy scaredy cat owner Watson Pritchard . Carl E . Guthrie's crisp black and white cinematography and Von Dextor's rousing ooga-booga shivery'n'shuddery score add immensely to the macabre merriment . A total treat . |
517,978 | 8,239,592 | 91,083 | 9 | A delightfully creepy , kinky and gruesome monsterfest | Brilliant , but deviant and depraved scientist Dr . Edward Pretorius ( a nicely batty Ted Sorel ) and his edgy assistant Crawford Tillinghast ( a superbly antsy Jeffrey Combs ) are experimenting with a machine called the Resonator , which opens the doorway to another dimension and allows creatures from that dimension to come into our world . Moreover , it also stimulates the pineal gland and causes a person's sex drive to go into orbit . Pretorius gets killed during an experiment and Tillinghast winds up in an asylum . Ambitious , but prim and repressed psychiatrist Dr . Katherine McMichaels ( an excellent performance by the lovely Barbara Crampton ) takes Tillinghast back to Pretorius ' house to cure his " insanity . " Jolly cop Buford " Bubba " Brownlee ( winningly played by Ken Foree ) tags along . Director Stuart Gordon , who co-wrote the inspired and original script with Dennis Paoli and Brian Yuzna , whips up one deliciously twisted doozy of a horror flick : Gordon maintains a steady pace throughout , stages the shock scenes with tremendous rip-roaring aplomb , does an aces job of creating an appropriately creepy and icky atmosphere , and adds a wickedly amusing sense of sickroom black humor to further spice up an already tasty cinematic stew . Better still , there's a strong and provocative subtext about the dangers of unleashing the human id ( watch out for the incredibly sexy scene where the heretofore buttoned-down McMichaels cuts loose and puts on a leather dominatrix outfit ! ) . The make-up f / x are impressively gory and grotesque ; Tillinghast's transformation into a hideous bald brain-eating mutant is especially striking and effective . Mac Ahlberg's polished cinematography , Richard Band's splendidly spooky'n'spirited ooga-booga score , and the uncompromisingly downbeat ending are all top-notch . A worthy follow-up to the terrific " Re-Animator . " |
518,705 | 8,239,592 | 63,808 | 9 | A really wild satire indeed | Shrewd , surly rock star Max Frost ( superbly played by the handsome , charismatic Christopher Jones ) convinces sleazy , opportunistic Senator Jimmy Fergus ( a terrific Hal Holbrook ) to lower the legal drinking age to 14 . After Max is elected president by a landslide victory , he makes the retirement age 30 and places anyone who's 35 and over in rehabilitation camps where they are regularly fed LSD to keep them docile . Director Barry Shear , working from a diabolically creative and wickedly witty script by Robert Thom , relates the outrageous , yet chilling and creepy satirical premise with tremendous rip-roaring brio and style ( Shear also helmed the harrowing " The Todd Killings " and the exciting crime caper yarn " Across 110th Street , " plus did the pilot for " Starsky and Hutch " ! ) . Richard Moore's bright , vibrant cinematography makes expert use of funky freeze frames and snazzy split screen . The rousing garage rock theme song , " The Shape of Things to Come , " peaked at # 22 on the pop charts ( and has been recently used as a jingle for Target department stores ) . The legendary Paul Frees tackles narrator chores with his trademark plummy aplomb . The remarkable cast qualifies as another significant asset : the ever-crazed Shelley Winters as Max's monstrous , overbearing mother , Diane Varsi as a former child star turned zonked-out hippie chick , Millie Perkins as Fergus ' sweet wife , AIP biker pic regular Larry Bishop as a trumpet player with a hook hand , Ed Begley as a crusty old senator , Kevin Coughlin as a cagey adolescent whiz kid lawyer , Richard Pryor as Max's groovy drummer , and Bert Freed as Max's weak , emasculated father . Dick Clark , Walter Winchell , Melvin Belli , Pamela Mason , Army Archerd and Jack Lathan pop up as themselves . The sequence with all of Congress wacked out on acid is positively gut-busting . The final hilarious line of dialogue makes for the perfect closing zinger for this gloriously insane movie . The MGM DVD offers an excellent widescreen transfer along with the theatrical trailer on an ideal doublebill with Roger Corman's equally nutty " Gas-s-s-s . " |
519,020 | 8,239,592 | 82,358 | 9 | A truly disturbing early 80's made-for-TV shocker | It's very rare that one sees a made-for-TV movie with any real edge to it , which makes this hard-hitting effort all the more startling . It's a truly shocking , upsetting and disturbing film which openly deals with an emotionally charged , morbidly compelling and undeniably unpleasant topic ( in this case pedophilia and child pornography ) in a surprisingly frank , unflinching , nonexploitative manner and hence delivers an unexpectedly sinewy punch . Richard Masur , astutely cast against type ( he often appears in countless movies as your dad's affably goofy best bear-drinking buddy ) , delivers a frightfully creepy and utterly believable performance as Howie Nichols , a seemingly nice and harmless fellow who coaches an all-girls softball team . Beneath his warm , cuddly , ostensibly placid veneer , Howie is a deeply sick and loathsome man , a smoothly ingratiating child molester who recruits vulnerable teenage boys and girls for an underground small town kiddie porn racket . Howie's latest potential conquest is confused , bitter 13-year-old Jennifer Phillips ( an achingly fragile and susceptible Dana Hill in a remarkably gutsy , on-target characterization ) , whose messed-up home life - - Jennifer's hard-working widow mother ( beautifully played by Melinda Dillon ) has acquired a new boyfriend ( the always excellent Ronny Cox ) Jennifer doesn't like - - makes her an easy target for Howie's smarmy , pseudo-sensitive and mock-understanding affection . The sordid subject matter skirts cheap , tawdry exploitation at its most base and reprehensible , but thankfully the film itself steers clear of crass titillation and remains firmly grounded in revealing , confrontational , genuinely provocative domestic drama due to Robert Lewis ' tasteful , restrained direction , Lew Hunter's thoughtful , trenchant , grimly engrossing script , and uniformly superlative acting . Masur in particular has never been better , bringing an oily , skin-crawling conviction and , most striking of all , even a fair degree of touching pathos to his fascinatingly grotesque part : Howie's the pathetic , socially maladaptive result of severe parental abuse and neglect who honestly thinks there's nothing wrong with his unsavory carnal interest in adolescents . For once television's strict censorship code against explicitness helps instead of hurts a film , saving this movie from becoming gross , unwatchable filth . Still , " Fallen Angel " is just graphic enough to make one feel uncomfortable and thus comes recommended with reservations . All in all , it's understandable that when this potently unsettling film first aired it was a huge ratings hit and subsequently won an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Drama : It's an extremely powerful and gut-wrenching examination of the warped psyche and unbalanced sexuality of a predatory , unrepentant pedophile . |
518,299 | 8,239,592 | 56,142 | 9 | The Big G and the Great Ape really mix it up in this immensely enjoyable beastbash | A submarine bumps into the iceberg Godzilla was sleeping in and wakes the ferocious behemoth up . Naturally , Godzilla is mighty cranky and makes an immediate beeline to Japan so he can level the countryside . Meanwhile , King Kong gets discovered on a remote tropical island by two goofy adventurers and likewise gets transported back to Japan as well . Our towering monster duo hook up in Tokyo for a wild , savage , no-holds-barred paw-to-claw thingo-a-thingo duel of the titans smackdown showdown where they proceed to really dance a brutal boogie . They throw boulders at each other . Godzilla burns King Kong with his lethal radioactive breath . They grapple and tumble like a pair of gigantic deranged wrestlers all hopped up on steroids . The undeniable highlight occurs when King Kong picks Godzilla up by his tail and whips him around the air like a huge ragdoll . Better still , King Kong also fights a big slimy octopus and both beasts trash trains . This immensely enjoyable creature feature item possesses all the delectably cheesy ingredients that I absolutely adore in these kinds of sublimely silly monster movies : hilariously horrible dubbing , lovably shoddy rinky-dink ( far from ) special effects , a booming , bombastic score , dopey dialogue ( " King Kong can't make a monkey out of us " ) , exquisitely expansive widescreen cinematography , engagingly dumb human characters , and our two colossal creatures are obviously played by a couple of guys in endearingly crummy and unconvincing rubber suits . The excitable and hyperactive five year old boy inside of me thoroughly digs this delightfully dunced-out doozy - - and always will no matter how old I get . |
518,103 | 8,239,592 | 101,504 | 9 | A very potent , unnerving and unjustly neglected indie drama gem | A very stark , sad and sobering drama about angry , surly , fatherless , alienated , stuttering and oppositional misogynistic 12-year-old Dan Love ( a frightfully credible and exceptional performance by Harley Cross ) , a malcontent adolescent who's ignored and unloved by his neurotic and equally unstable mother Candice ( excellently played by Karen Young ) . Dan gets sent to a mental institution so he can be cured of his violent , psychotic mood swings . Alas , he only becomes increasingly crazed and volatile due to the woefully impersonal , ineffective and uncompassionate psychiatric treatment he receives . Director Juan Jose Campanella pulls no punches and offers no easy answers in this deeply disturbing and ultimately quite tragic tale of teenage misery beget by severe parental neglect . Moreover , Campanella also illustrates in chillingly lucid terms just how miserably ill-equipped most professional institutions are in properly rehabilitating a borderline psychopath . Catherine May Levin's sharply observant , provocative and confrontational script likewise hits hard with its stinging social commentary , pointing out that Dan is the toxic product of a horribly lackluster upbringing and how his basic poignant need for love and affection gets continually overlooked by so-called " experts " who are supposed to help , but more often really make things much worse instead . A then unknown pre-stardom Adrien Brody impresses in an early substantial co-starring role . A genuinely unnerving and extremely powerful film . |
518,851 | 8,239,592 | 66,849 | 9 | An exceptionally eerie and unsettling early 70's British horror knockout | Horror movies dealing with either devil worship or Satanic possession were all the rage in the late 60's and early 70's . This extremely strong and upsetting period outing rates highly as one of the best pictures to emerge from this trend . 17th century England : A group of children led by the wickedly alluring Angel Blake ( superbly played with sexy aplomb by the ravishing Linda Hayden ) start a Satanic cult in a remote rustic town . A strict judge ( finely essayed to the steely hilt by Patrick Wymark ) becomes determined to stop this coven before things get too out of hand . Director Piers Haggard , who also co-wrote the dark and daring script with Robert Wynne-Simmons , offers a vivid and fascinating evocation of the repressive puritanical mores of the period , makes terrific use of the gloomy and grayish English countryside , chillingly blurs the distinction between good and evil ( the God-fearing villagers are every bit as brutal and frightening as the devil worshipers ) , and maintains a bleak , brooding atmosphere throughout . Moreover , Haggard does a remarkably excellent and effective job of creating a very palpable , harrowing , and pervasive feeling of genuine skin-crawling dread . It's this latter element which distinguishes this feature as a superior shocker . In addition , the bang-up cast really sink their teeth into their juicy roles : Hayden is positively bewitching as the supremely naughty Angel , Wymark makes for a fearsome upholder of the law , plus there's praiseworthy contributions from Barry Andrews as simple ploughboy Ralph Gower , Michele Dotrice as feverishly enthusiastic cult member Margaret , James Hayter as the hearty Squire Middleton , Anthony Ainley as the rigid Reverend Fallowfield , and Wendy Padbury as sweet , fragile innocent Cathy Vespers . This picture warrants extra kudos for delivering several potent and startling set pieces : Angel attempting to seduce Fallowfield in a church ( the clearly underage Hayden even does a pretty surprising , yet still erotic full frontal nude scene ! ) , Cathy being raped and sacrificed by the coven , Magaret having a painful operation done to her leg to remove a patch of furry skin , and the judge taking on the coven with a sword during the rousing conclusion . Both Dick Bush's lovely pastoral cinematography and Marc Wilkinson's shivery score further enhance the overall sterling quality of this highly recommended fright film . |
518,765 | 8,239,592 | 82,402 | 9 | Superbly gritty police drama with a first-rate Paul Newman performance | The inestimable Paul Newman gives one of his finest , most powerful and convincing performances to date in this shamefully neglected and under-appreciated police crime drama doozy as the weary and sardonic , but still honest , adamant and dedicated Officer Murphy , who works a tough and hellish beat in a down-trodden South Bronx neighborhood . Murphy's seamy and exacting routine includes trying to find the killer of two rookie cops , nabbing a purse snatcher , stopping suicidal transvestites from jumping off buildings , and delivering babies in rundown tenement projects . Daniel Petrie's taut , astute , unshowy direction , working from an episodic , but sharp , colorful and eventful script by Heywood Gould ( who also co-wrote " Rolling Thunder " ) , expertly creates a credibly bleak and sordid atmosphere while adeptly keeping the busy narrative on a steady and absorbing course from startling start to thrilling finish . The uniformly sterling acting from an exceptional cast qualifies as another considerable asset , with especially praiseworthy work by Ken Wahl of TV's " Wiseguy " fame as Newman's likable eager beaver partner , Ed Asner as the gruff , no-nonsense new police captain , Rachel Ticotin as Newman's younger heroin addict nurse girlfriend , Danny Aiello as a cynical racist patrolman , Miguel ( " Short Eyes " ) Pinero as a smooth drug dealer , Kathleen Beller as Wahl's sweet fiancé , Sully Buyar as the burnt-out , ineffectual old retiring captain , and , most impressive of all , an unforgettably scary and pathetic Pam Grier as a zonked-out murderous junkie whore . John Alcott's grainy , yet polished cinematography and Jonathan Tunick's earthy , funky score further enhance the overall rough , gritty and totally unglamorous urban realism . A very gripping and hard-hitting little gem that's wholly undeserving of its current sadly obscure status . |
518,627 | 8,239,592 | 121,164 | 9 | A real delight | Timid young Victor Van Dort ( the always fine and personable Johnny Depp ) is engaged to be married to the sweet and equally mousy Victoria Everglost ( Emily Watson in peak charming form ) . Complications ensue when Victor accidentally weds the nice , lovely and radiant , but very much deceased corpse bride Emily ( beautifully voiced with exquisite passion by Helena Bonham Carter ) . Directors Tim Burton and Mike Johnson , working from a bright and witty script by John August , Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler , concoct a deliciously quirky and inspired cinematic meditation on life , death , love , kindness , sacrifice , and mortality . Depp , Watson , and especially Carter all do sterling work as the appealing main characters ; they get excellent support from Albert Finney as the grouchy Finis Everglot , Joanna Lumley as his similarly sour spouse Maudeline , Tracy Ullman as overbearing shrew Nell Van Dort , Paul Whitehouse as her meek husband William , and Richard E . Grant as smarmy , wicked nobleman Barkis Bittern . It's an immense pleasure to hear legendary Hammer horror veterans Christopher Lee as the mean , fearsome Pastor Galswells and Michael Gough as the wise Elder Gutknecht . The film further benefits from several wonderfully macabre touches like the groovy skeleton jazz band and a lovably grotesque Peter Lorreish maggot ( a sublimely slimy Enn Reitel ) . The stop-motion animation is remarkably fluid and lifelike ; Emily in particular has a genuine touching grace and sadness to her . A nice bit of irony can be discerned from how the living take being alive for granted while the dead enjoy an extremely merry afterlife . Danny Elfman's lush , melodic score , the divinely rich and vivid 19th century Gothic atmosphere , the incredibly catchy and funny songs , and Pete Kozachik's often stunning cinematography are all terrific as well . Despite the ghoulish premise , this picture proves to be strangely moving and even life-affirming . A total one-of-a-kind offbeat and uplifting treat . |
518,300 | 8,239,592 | 82,431 | 9 | A wonderfully gross and graphic early 80's exploitation sci-fi / horror hoot | Yes , it's the gloriously gross'n'graphic Roger Corman-produced early 80's low-budget sci-fi / horror schlock exploitation classic with THAT scene . You know the one I'm talking about : beauteous buxom blonde babe Taaffe O'Connell gets brutally attacked , raped and killed by a hideous and slimy gigantic libidinous maggot . This terrifically tasteless and unforgettable moment rates highly as the jaw-dropping splatter highlight of the entire picture and has rightfully earned this honey a substantial cult following which it enjoys to this very day . The incredible oddball cast counts as another source of tremendous enjoyment : everyone's favorite Martian Ray Walston , a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund , 90's direct-to-video erotic thriller perennial Edward Albert , the ever-intense and flaky Zalman King ( Zippie the Abbie Hoffmanesque hippie hero of " Blue Sunshine " ) , bald , hulking trash feature icon Sid Haig ( who meets a memorably grisly fate here ) , Gus Van Sant film regular Grace ( " Drugstore Cowboy , " " My Own Private Idaho " ) Zabriskie , and , best of all , even Erin Moran ( Joanie on " Happy Days " ! ) , whose repellently nasty death - - she gets disemboweled and explodes ! - - is a true treat to behold . Moreover , the special effects are surprisingly good considering the low budget , the atmosphere is potently intense and creepy , the pace hurtles along at a snappy clip , and the blood , gore and gunk is generously poured on by the nauseating bucket . Oh yeah - - and we also got a provocative subtext here about you must confront your deepest , darkest fears head-on in order to overcome them and acquire real power in life for all you devout seekers of profoundly meaningful themes in low-grade sleazy movies . Tasty trivia tidbit : future heavy duty Hollywood mainstream film director James Cameron worked on the production design and handled second unit director chores , plus a then unknown and struggling pre-stardom Bill Paxton was one of the set decorators ( I especially loved the spaceship walls which are obviously McDonald's take-out plates turned inside out and spray-painted some funky gold color ! ) . A simply stupendous piece of totally gnarly cinematic junk . |
519,118 | 8,239,592 | 86,036 | 9 | A potent and gripping horror film allegory on the fine line between man and beast | Smug , anal , successful and ambitious detail-oriented Wall Street yuppie businessman Bart Hughes ( exceptionally well played by Peter Weller in his first lead role ) has his cozy and comfortable life thrown out of whack when a large and crafty rat invades his fancy brownstone apartment . When conventional methods of extermination prove fruitless , the increasingly primal , obsessive and paranoid Bart resorts to more drastic vicious and barbarous measures in order to rid himself of this loathsome pest . Director George P . Cosmatos , who also helmed the Sly Stallone action vehicles " Rambo : First Blood Part II " and " Cobra , " wrings plenty of tension out of the creepy premise , expertly maintains a snappy pace throughout and stages the ample jolting shocks with a considerable amount of flair and skill . Moreover , the smart and trenchant script by Brian Taggert offers a potent , gripping and provocative allegory on " civilized " man's latent capacity for extreme violence and brutality needing the proper stimulus to be activated ( the incredible conclusion with Weller chasing the rodent around his posh abode while brandishing a spiked baseball bat is both disturbing and exciting in comparable measure ) . Weller's outstanding intense performance easily carries the picture , with fine supporting turns by Jennifer Dale as Weller's concerned secretary , Lawrence Dane as Weller's tough , but fair and equally worried boss , Louis Del Grande as the macho building superintendent , gorgeous " Playboy " Playmate Shannon Tweed as Weller's hot babe wife , and Maury Chaykin as a jerky co-worker . Rene Verzier's beautifully polished cinematography and Ken Wannberg's supremely spooky'n'shivery score are both on the money effective and impressive . The rat is one genuinely scary and nasty piece of repulsive work . A total powerhouse . |
518,573 | 8,239,592 | 105,810 | 9 | A poignant and powerful portrait of the gritty plight of homeless urban street kids | Dermott Mulroney gives a very commanding and outstanding performance as King , a tough , street smart , ask-for-no-favors recent parolee who lives on the mean streets in and around Hollywood Boulevard ; he relates his arduous everyday experiences to prison psychologist Lara San Giacomo and basically acts as a wise , protective father figure to a ragtag bunch of hapless , homeless , penniless runaway youths trying to eke out a meager existence in the City of Angels . An incisive , absorbing , down and dirty look at the unceasingly grim , tense , often distressfully uncertain day-to-day lifestyle of destitute , on their own abandoned derelict kids and the bleak drug and violence-infested hellhole they exist in , " Where the Day Takes You " manages for the most part to be appropriately harsh and hard-hitting , rarely pleasant or overly cloying . In fact , this occasionally potent and always enthralling film has a raw , squalid , rough-edged semi-verite feel to it , thanks to Mark Rocco's firm , keen , tough-minded direction and King Baggot's crisp , fluid , starkly lit cinematography ( a cruelly eagle-eyed Steadicam is put to sporadic and quite effective use ) . While Mulroney clearly dominates the picture with his sterling , supremely charismatic portrayal of King , the other cast members who play equally on the skids adolescents are just as fine : Lara Flynn Boyle as a guileless new runaway who bolted away from home because her brother was sexually abusing her , Sean Astin as a pathetic , doomed heroin addict ( the scene where Astin vomits all over himself is very powerful and his ultimate fate is unforgettably chilling and disturbing ) , Balthazar Getty as a sullen male hustler , Will Smith as a brash crippled smartaleck , James LeGros as King's loyal best friend , Peter Dobson as a brutal punk hood , and , yes , even tacky , tubby tabloid TV show host Rikki Lake as a peevish , abrasive fat chick are all superb . Other strong thespic contributions are turned in by Adam Baldwin and Rachel Ticotin as cops , a disgustingly on-target Kyle MacLachen as an odious , deceitfully " sympathetic " drug dealer , Leo Rossi as Astin's ineffectual father , Stephen Tobolowsky as a wimpy , shyly courteous gay client who uses Getty for titillation , Alyssa Milano as an underaged prostitute , Robert Knepper as a conceited rock singer , and an unbilled Christian Slater as an interviewer at a drug rehabilitation clinic . Downbeat and depressing for sure , but still a real poignant powerhouse movie just the same . |
518,470 | 8,239,592 | 90,915 | 9 | A splendidly sparky & provocative futuristic Aussie sci-fi winner | 1990 : Following a second catastrophic Wall Street stock market crash and a horrendous bloodbath called " The Great White Massacre , " as well as a sudden drastic food shortage , inflation skyrocketing and unemployment hitting an all-time high , society has gone completely down the stinky toilet . The cops are ineffectual , savage hordes of uninhibited youths in souped-up hot rods ( " car boys " ) run amuck on the devastated streets , and the ratings hungry media ghoulishly document the general blood-spilling chaos for every last morbid thrill they can milk from all the anarchy ( gee , this bleak future sure seems a lot like the early 21st century , now doesn't it ? ) . Jimmy " Crabs " Rossinni ( winningly played by scrawny runt Roger Manning , who makes for a refreshingly unmacho brains over brawn hero ) , a cocky , blustery , but basically decent and resourceful bloke , and his newfound airhead gal pal Carmen ( brunette cutie Natalie McCurry ) go to the local outdoor passion pit Star Drive-In in Jimmy's gorgeous ' 56 Chevy to catch a flick . While Jimmy and Carmen are preoccupied doing just what you think , the cops steal two of Jimmy's wheels , therefor stranding him and Carmen at the drive-in . Jimmy finds out that the authoritarian police are rounding up wild-assed punk kids and dumping them into sprawling concentration camp-like drive-ins which pacify its inhabitants with a mentally stultifying diet of greasy diner food , cheap beer , raucous rock music , and cheesy low-grade exploitation movies ( any similarity between this plot synopsis and my real lifestyle is purely coincidental ) . Jimmy , not one for being submissive to any uptight restrictive establishment , plots to escape from the drive-in's repressive confines so he can live his life the way he wants to again . Smoothly directed by Aussie B-pic specialist Brian Trenchard-Smith ( who also did the grim futuristic " The Most Dangerous Game " variant " Turkey Shoot , " a clip of which can be glimpsed playing on a drive-in screen ) , this bang-up little beaut bubbles , burns and blazes brilliantly with a brash , cheeky , waggishly irreverent tone , handsome , dexterous , sun-bleached , neon-hazed cinematography by Paul Murphy , a fantastically catchy and thrashin ' New Wave rock'n'roll soundtrack , fresh , dynamic acting from an exuberant no-name cast , a top-drawer lowdown bluesy score by Frank Strangio , a very cool funky-punky look and feel , and several extremely visceral , muscular , gut-rippingly thrilling knock-you-flat-on-your-bum dazzling action sequences ( an appropriately brutal hand-to-hand fight scene , a few incendiary shoot-outs , and a couple of explosively frenzied sparks a flyin ' and autos going ' BOOM ! car chases which are topped off with a rousing do-or-die final victory jump ) . All that above cited stuff certainly smokes , but what really makes " Dead End Drive-In " such an absolute dilly is the surprisingly meaty and provocative thematic substance found in Peter Smalley's wittily right-on script , which ingenuously uses the familiar central premise of a lone stubborn individualist tenaciously refusing to kowtow to an oppressive square system to thoughtfully explore the stimulating topics of independence vs . conformity , assertiveness vs . passivity , racism ( when the cops discharge a gaggle of Asian immigrants into the drive-in the white majority immediately takes offense and feels threatened ) , fascism , and how the strongly felt need to act and think for yourself creates an indomitable iron will that won't buckle regardless of all the fearsome obstacles one has to surmount in order to achieve true freedom in life . The excellent Anchor Bay DVD offers a fine widescreen presentation along with a very enjoyable and informative Brian Trenchard-Smith commentary , the theatrical trailer , and a rather paltry still and poster gallery . |
518,941 | 8,239,592 | 343,563 | 9 | An impressive and effective little indie drama gem | I recently caught this nice little 27 minute indie college student thesis movie drama at a short film festival held in my hometown of Metuchen , New Jersey . It tells in a very stark and absorbing manner the simple story of an aging cutman ( exceptionally well played by Jack McCormack ) who gets fired from his job of tending to boxers who get severely roughed up in the ring . The cutman tries to reassert himself back into his estranged successful doctor son's life and attempts to get his old job back . Writer / director Yon Motskin uses a very strikingly polished and assured visual style in relating this poignant anecdote , offering a touching , arresting and admirably unsentimental portrait of a proud , stubborn and weary old man who's life and profession are coming to a close . Motskin's greatly assisted by the lovely and stunning cinematography by Andrij Parekh , the haunting music score , a tightly plotted narrative , gritty New York City locations , and uniformly fine naturalistic acting from a solid cast ( McCormack in particular is terrific , displaying a whole lifetime of pain , regret and anguish in a marvelously subtle and understated performance ) . An impressive debut effort . |
519,196 | 8,239,592 | 82,242 | 9 | A supremely eerie and excellent early 80's horror winner | For some inexplicable reason this splendid , compelling , atmospheric little zombie mystery thriller took a while to be rediscovered ( it received a spotty theatrical distribution when first released and got mixed reviews from critics ) , but thankfully with its being reissued on DVD it's been widely acknowledged and rightly heralded as an off-beat minor masterpiece of early 80's cinematic small town perversity ala " Blue Velvet " and " The Stepfather . " No question about it ; the plot's a real whopper : friendly , dependable sheriff James Farentino investigates a troubling rash of brutal murders which upsets the drab tranquility of the heretofore sleepy seaside hamlet Potter's Bluff . The premise may sound a little thin , but there are several socko surprises deftly delivered throughout the picture as it ambles along at a deceptively leisurely clip towards a great , jarring , truly unpredictable conclusion . Director Gary ( " Raw Meat , " " Vice Squad " ) Sherman keeps the ambiance wonderfully tense and creepy , expertly milking the rundown and uniquely unsettling coastal community setting for maximum skin-crawling eeriness ( in this respect " Dead & Buried " takes its honorable place alongside Curtis Harrington's fine " Night Tide , " the stand-out sexy Euro chiller " Daughters of Darkness , " Matt Cimber's deeply upsetting " The Witch Who Came From the Sea , " and John Carpenter's supremely spooky " The Fog " ) . The murders are shockingly graphic and sadistic , but never gratuitously so ( Stan Winston did the excellent grisly make-up f / x , which are highlighted by an especially nasty hypodermic needle in the eye gag ) . Joe Renzetti supplies a beautifully lilting , dolorous score . Steve Poster's misty , shadowy , all faded dingy colors cinematography greatly enhances the potently blood-chilling gloom-doom mood . The clever and original script by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shussett ( who previously collaborated on " ALIEN " ) stacks the deck with a few crackerjack plot twists and an agreeable amount of quietly hilarious black-as-midnight gallows humor ( e . g . , one crazed local yokel repeatedly exclaims " Welcome to Potter's Bluff ! " before killing someone ) . And the tip-top cast really hits the spot : " Flash Gordon " ' s Melody Anderson , underrated B-movie ingénue Lisa Blount , Barry Corbin , the ever-sleazy Michael Pataki , a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund , Tim Burton's onetime main squeeze Lisa Marie in a bit part as a doomed hitchhiker , and Jack Albertson , who in his final film role gives a lovely , touching , gracefully understated performance as a sweet , doddering old mortician . A real dandy sleeper . |
519,165 | 8,239,592 | 56,277 | 9 | An absolutely cracking and exciting period costume melodrama treat | 1776 : The stern Captain Collier ( excellently played by Patrick Allen ) and his sailors arrive at an English coastal community to investigate reports of " marsh phantoms " who terrorize the countryside at night . Collier suspects that the local reverend Dr . Blyss ( a splendidly lively and witty performance by the great Peter Cushing ) knows more than he's telling about both the " marsh phantoms " and the liquor smuggling that's been going on in the area . Ably directed by Peter Graham Scott , with a robust , rousing score by Don Banks , a snappy pace , handsome , vibrant color cinematography by Arthur Grant , a flavorsome evocation of the 18th century , a colorful script by Anthony Hinds and John Temple Smith , a few nice creepy touches ( those skeletal " marsh phantoms " are genuinely spooky ) , and a strong central theme about redemption , this radical change-of-pace picture from renowned horror outfit Hammer Films makes for tremendously fun and stirring grand entertainment . The top-notch acting from a first-rate supporting cast qualifies as another substantial plus : Yvonne Romain as ravishing bar maid Imogene Clegg , Oliver Reed as the dashing Harry Cobtree , Michael Ripper as wily , acid-tongued coffin maker Jeremiah Mipps , Martin Benson as craven , hot-headed saloon keeper Mr . Rash , Milton Reid as a hulking , brutish mulatto , and Derek Francis as the hearty Squire Anthony Cobtree . Offbeat and original , this fine feature overall rates as a real corker . |
518,886 | 8,239,592 | 396,059 | 9 | A fun and informative interview short | This fun and informative 8 minute interview short is featured as a funky extra on the excellent Blue Underground Region 1 DVD for the notoriously nasty ' 78 grindhouse sleaze slasher classic " The Toolbox Murders . " The still quite lovely and vibrant Marianne Walter ( a . k . a . erstwhile hardcore porn actress Kelly Nichols ) happily discusses her small , yet memorable role as the hot naked chick whom Cameron Mitchell brutally butchers with a nail gun : Ms . Walter openly admits that she thought the masturbation scene was " pretty " instead of " dirty , " recalls that Mitchell was a real trip to work with , reveals she was overjoyed that she wound up being prominently displayed on the original theatrical poster , and relates an especially choice anecdote about taking her brothers to see the film at a local hometown theater she once worked at as an usherette . Walter also briefly talks about her porn career and her current job as a make-up artist . A cool and enjoyable little item that's well worth seeing for both Kelly Nichols fans and " The Toolbox Murders " aficionados alike . |
518,914 | 8,239,592 | 813,415 | 9 | A fine , touching and absorbing dramatic short | Mature and disciplined rock guitarist Jay Styles ( superbly played by Jayce Bartok ) is on the verge of achieving the major stardom he's been working towards for a long time . Prior to performing his big breakthrough stage gig Styles does an interview with " Rolling Stone " reporter Henry Flesh ( the excellent Norman Reedus ) and talks about his childhood buddy Keith Waters ( a haunting portrayal by Greg Haberny ) , a gifted , but surly , troubled and self-destructive singer whose inability to surmount his demons prevents him from realizing his considerable potential . Writer / director Jack Roberts crams a stunningly substantial amount of intriguing information into this tight , moving and absorbing fifteen minute dramatic short film about friendship , failure and success . The finely naturalistic performances , Peter Konczal's striking , gorgeously golden-hued cinematography , the pungently gritty'n'smoky atmosphere , and the first-rate rockin ' soundtrack further enhance the overall sterling quality of this impressive and accomplished debut feature . |
518,553 | 8,239,592 | 72,594 | 9 | A wonderfully wacky and idiosyncratic one-of-a-kind seriocomic hoot | Brash , eager young turk Peter Fonda , the wayward scion of a wealthy family , comes back to his sleepy Key West , Florida home town and decides to become a river boat fishing guide , which ignites a bitter feud between Fonda and two fiercely independent , self-made working class fellow guides - - cantankerous , ferocious near crazy Warren Oates and his laid-back , but fretful buddy Harry Dean Stanton - - over some choice section of fish-infected water . An authentically wiggy , amiable , frothy , if somewhat erratic character-based study of the classic rivalry between the bratty , lazy new generation and the crusty , hidebound old guard who automatically feel threatened by any hotshot young competition with an incisive grounding in the rigid parameters separating the hoity-toity , overconfident upper class from scruffy , fidgety blue collar folks , " 92 in the Shade " makes for a disarmingly quirky seriocomic delight . Acclaimed novelist Tom McGuane's presentation of the nutty , enrapturing , intriguingly off-beat narrative tends to be pretty clumsy and unsteady , but there's a catchy , idiosyncratic , nicely relaxed rhythm to the eccentric proceedings which neatly ingratiates itself upon the viewer . Moreover , the sharply observed characters are an amusing , enjoyable , entertaining bunch of cranky , obstinate kooks , the dialogue is often riotous ( " Take your hat off , will ya ? Let your brains cool off - - you're thinking too hard ! " ) , Michael C . Butler's bright , eye-catching cinematography gives the movie an attractive sparkling look , Michael J . Lewis supplies a pleasingly bluesy'n'woozy score , and there are plenty of hilariously wacky moments featured throughout . The terrific cast includes Margot Kidder as Fonda's flaky , flighty school teacher girlfriend , Burgess Meredith as Fonda's crotchety , foul-mouthed rich grandfather , Elizabeth Ashley as Stanton's pregnant , terminally out to lunch wife ( she has this annoying tendency to dress up as a cheerleader and do baton twirls in front of total strangers ) , William Hickey as Fonda's sickly , gloomy failure of a dad , Sylvia Miles as Meredith's loopy , sardonic secretary , Louise Lathom as Fonda's bored mother , and , in an uncharacteristically goofy role , a surprisingly uproarious Joe Spinell as Ollie Slatt , an insufferably smug and seriously obtuse businessman who professes to be a devout sportsman , but knows positively nothing about fishing . Fonda , Stanton and especially Oates in particular give funny , engaging , top-drawer performances . Although a bit rough around the edges , " 92 in the Shade " generally succeeds with its keen depiction of everyday oddballs who are constantly at loggerheads with each other and overall rates as a leisurely paced , wryly humorous one-of-a-kind charmer . |
519,410 | 8,239,592 | 59,311 | 9 | An arrestingly off-beat & atmospheric mid 60's horror oddity | Do you speak Esperanto ? Well , I sure don't . But fortunately this intriguingly quirky and moody horror oddity - - the only motion picture ever made using the still active experimental universal language of Esperanto - - comes complete with subtitles . On a remote and mysterious magical island populated by dangerous demons and seductive spirits the beautiful and ambitious young sea siren Kia ( the lovely and enchanting Allyson Ames ) gets bored with sending wayward souls to hell , so she decides to go after bigger and more demanding game by leading the good and virtuous Marc ( the one and only William Shatner in a surprisingly sturdy and subdued performance ) astray with lust . When Marc instead corrupts Kia with the purity of his love , the enraged Kia summons a lethal demonic being ( effectively embodied by the handsome and muscular Milos Milos ) to rape Marc's equally upstanding younger sister Arndis ( the cute and appealing Ann Atmar ) and thus provoke Marc to kill the incubus out of revenge , thereby tainting his soul through violence . Deftly written and directed by " The Outer Limits " TV series creator Leslie Stevens , strikingly photographed in exquisitely sharp and stark black and white by the great Conrad Hall , rich in eerie otherworldly atmosphere and further graced by gorgeous misty forest locations , this compelling , intelligent and provocative fright film parable about faith , corruption , redemption and temptation makes for extremely fascinating and stimulating viewing . Fresh , original and highly recommended . |
517,903 | 8,239,592 | 110,668 | 9 | Excellent , trashy & pleasingly unpretentious direct-to-video action thriller fun | Erstwhile 80's Brat Pack thesp Andrew McCarthy is unexpectedly strong and engaging as a sweet , luckless Las Vegas cab driver who inadvertently takes possession of a million dollars worth of mob money and promptly hotfoots it out of town . Scott Glenn delivers a nastily dead-on turn as the cocksure , steely , unflappable underground hit-man troubleshooter assigned by a Sin City Mafia don ( Wayne Newton , the King of the Strip himself , in a surprisingly convincing cameo ) to retrieve the stolen loot ( don't miss the truly super scene where Glenn slices up a would-be mugger's eyes and gleefully snarls to the whining , freshly blinded man , " Get a dog ! " ) . Greatly enlivened by B-movie action maestro Mark ( " Truck Stop Women , " " Commando " ) Lester's briskly smooth , straightforward direction , further enhanced by a splendidly scuzzy appearance by the ever-slimy John Glover as Glenn's equally detestable and overconfident Los Angeles partner in crime , a genuinely beguiling performance by the cute , perky Janet Gunn as the kind , cuddly nurse who comes to the battered , beleaguered McCarthy's aid , a few fun , clever plot twists , a welcome and refreshing sense of neatly realized inner logic and rationality ( yes , this flick is actually very smart and doesn't actively insult the viewer's intelligence ) , an appropriately hard and gritty no-nonsense tone , a nonstop snappy pace , some good old fashioned ( pretty graphic ) sex and violence , and authentically tacky Las Vegas and Los Angeles locations , this rip-snorting little corker really makes the grade as a tense , tasty , and , most importantly , quite trashy chase action thriller . |
518,050 | 8,239,592 | 89,882 | 9 | I saw this made-for-TV shocker in my high school health class and it really freaked me out . | I first saw this truly startling mid-80's made-for-TV favorite in health class when I was in 17 in high school . It truly unnerved the hell out of me . The teacher would occasionally stop the film and make all the students discuss what they just saw with utmost seriousness . It's an experience I'll always treasure as a truly special and unique adolescent memory . Richard Crenna deservedly won an Emmy for his exceptionally brave performance . Nicholas Worth and M . C . Gainey are positively terrifying as the two brutish homosexual hooligans who sodomize Crenna . The single most scary moment occurs when Worth holds a knife to Crenna's throat and venomously snarls to Gainey , " You ever go pig-hunting Sonny - - they squeal when ya stab ' em ! " Yikes ! This was pretty heavy and hard-sitting stuff for me to take at the time . It still upsets me today and rates highly as my second all-time favorite 80's TV movie right after the equally awesome " Fallen Angel . " |
519,195 | 8,239,592 | 89,869 | 9 | A splendidly singular & often stimulating sci-fi end-of-the-world sleeper | Fiercely self-reliant ordinary chap scientist Zac Hobson ( a marvelously vivid and vibrant performance by Bruno Lawrence ) wakes one one fateful morning to discover that a top secret experiment he's been working on called Operation Flashlight has created a lethal tear in the universe that in turn has caused every living creature except Zac to completely disappear . The opening third of this smart , witty , wholly absorbing and wonderfully idiosyncratic science fiction end-of-the-world thriller ingeniously mines a fresh and inspired line in surprising off-center humor . At first the resourceful Zac makes the best of a bad situation by residing in a swanky palatial abode , eating exquisite expensive cuisine and joyfully pillaging an abandoned shopping mall of its choicest material products . Eventually the hopelessness of Zac's wretchedly lonely plight makes him go gloriously off the wall bonkers . Zac talks to himself while playing a solitary game of pool , resorts to wearing a woman's half-slip as his sole article of clothing , declares himself ruler of the planet , blows up a gas station , and , in the film's single most sublimely audacious scene , storms into a derelict church toting a shotgun and threatens to blast a statue of Christ to pieces unless God manifests himself in the flesh for a face-to-face confrontation ( " Come out or I'll shoot the kid ! " ) . Alas , this divinely fruitcake nuttiness dissipates when Zac discovers plucky redhead Joanne ( radiantly played by the lovely Allison Rutledge ) and intimidating mystical Maori native Abi ( the commanding Peter Smith ) . Zac and Abi engage in a predictable mano-a-mano competition to be the sole recipient of Joanne's affections and have an immediate distrust of each other due to racial differences . Fortunately , the plot gets back on suspenseful track when a second possibly more disastrous catastrophe looms on the gloomy horizon , thus forcing our beleaguered trio to take action to prevent this holocaust from wiping out the human race altogether . Geoff Murphy's bang-up direction skillfully creates a potently troubled sense of compelling mystery , places marked emphasis on the engaging characters , makes wisely judicious use of special effects , shifts the tone from playfully funny to grimly serious with remarkable adroitness , and concludes the feature with an unforgettably haunting final image . The bright , wryly preceptive script by Lawrence , Sam Pillsbury and Bill Baer thoughtfully explores man's poignant need for the company of other people in order to retain both sanity and humanity , the human race's deep-seated will to survive no matter what , and the dire consequences beget by mankind's arrogant tampering in delicate areas where he quite frankly does not belong . A splendidly singular and oftentimes stimulating sleeper . |
518,775 | 8,239,592 | 59,190 | 9 | An arrestingly off-beat & original Southern Gothic mystery thriller oddity | This singularly off-beat and original period mystery thriller drama curio set in the late 1800's plays like an arrestingly bizarre and inspired cross between " Tom Sawyer " and " Night of the Hunter . " Lonely , miserable orphan buy George ( a then 12-years-old Edward Albert in his excellent film debut ) runs away from his stern , sadistic , abusive foster parents . George meets and befriends a cranky , grubby , but amicable elderly hermit ( a sensationally spirited turn by Henry Hull of " The Werewolf of London " fame ) who tells him a scary story about a strange 8 foot tall ax-wielding mythical bogeyman figure known as " the fool killer . " Anthony Perkins has one of his best , most effectively creepy and compelling post - " Psycho " idiosyncratic wacko parts as Milo , a weird , quiet , disturbed , shell-shocked and enigmatic Civil War vet itinerant loner who suffers from amnesia and may or may not be the deranged murderous madman of local legend . Sumptuously photographed in crisp black and white by Alex Phillips , Jr . , with a fine harmonic folk music score , beautifully fluid editing ( the graceful wipes , fades and dissolves are especially sweet ) , and strong , flavorsome direction by Servando Gonzalez , this spell-bindingly moody and atmospheric oddity wins the viewer over with its intriguingly spooky story , leisurely pacing , engaging array of colorfully quirky characters , and vivid , pungent , powerfully brooding Southern Gothic ambiance . An unjustly overlooked and underrated one-of-a-kind sleeper . |
519,290 | 8,239,592 | 120,390 | 9 | A more appropriate title for this terrifically tacky trash would have been " Airport ' 97 " | The central premise for this so - outrageously - awful - that - it's - highly - entertaining airborne suspense thriller must have been devised in the third or fourth circle of " high concept " movie hell . To wit : a belated overblown " Airport " sequel about a wild-eyed sanguinary sickpup psycho terrorizing folks on board a Christmas Eve red-eye airplane flight some 35 , 000 feet up in the air . The fact that the murderously deranged and dangerous , yet still diabolically charming and cunning fruitcake in question is played by consummate celluloid creepo specialist Ray Liotta in full-tilt let it all hang out something freaky hambone histrionic mode firmly ensures that the viewer is in for one hell of a terrifically wacky'n'tacky schlock hoot ; Ray overacts with such hysterically maniacal and unrestrained cackling relish that it's an honest miracle his nose doesn't start profusely bleeding some fifteen-odd minutes into the picture . Robert Butler's shameless anything-for-a-cheap-jolt direction likewise eschews tact and subtlety with expectedly atrocious results , thereby maintaining a consistently crummy level of pure jaw-dropping trashiness from start to finish . In jarring contrast to Liotta's astonishingly out-of-control and over-the-top eye-rolling twitchy thesping is the comparably startling woodenness of Lauren Holly's stupendously stiff and stoical performance as a beleaguered stewardess ; Holly's grim-faced reserve in the context of this ridiculously wretched enterprise provides a particularly rich source of unintentional hilarity . The crassly exploited yuletide angle adds a substantial deliciously cheesy touch to the already delightfully dire proceedings , especially when the bloodied bodies of several slain passengers are propped up in their seats so they can watch an in-flight screening of " It's a Wonderful Life " ! Toss in a supporting cast which includes such down and out , desperately slumming for an easy paycheck faded luminaries as Catherine Hicks , Ben Cross , Hector Elizondo , Brendon Gleeson ( sporting a hilariously horrendous won't-fool-you-for-a-second overdone Southern accent ) , Rachel Ticotin and Jeffrey DeMunn , jazz it up with Shirley Walker's barnstorming score , have the punchy pace scoot along at a whiplash-inducing breakneck clip , crank the tension to the electrifyingly gaga ninth degree , and the net result of all this ill-advised go-for-broke berserk effort is a gloriously ghastly bad film treat that's eminently worthy of crap camp classic status . |
518,688 | 8,239,592 | 103,077 | 9 | A very funny , witty & on-target low-budget horror spoof | A genuine rarity , this one : a truly good , funny , even smart and respectful send-up of low-rent tacky'n'terrible cheesy backwoods-set teens-in-peril fright films that effectively pokes fun at assorted clichéd'n'contrived horror movie conventions without ever becoming the least bit cutesy or condescending towards its Grade B schlock picture subject matter . Writer / director Rolfe Kanefsky's droll , low-key , properly straight-faced and restrained style never devolves into the overly broad or excessive , instead nicely maintaining a dryly deadpan and ingratiatingly affectionate tone throughout . The slyly generic plot concerns three libidinous college student couples and token fear flick fanatic Mike ( winningly played by Craig Peck , who's really goofy , but thankfully none too annoying ) vacationing in a remote wilderness area . Said secluded forest proves to be the stalking grounds for a slimy , toothy , grody little lethal alien frog monster that sees the guys as yummy meals and the gals as ideal mates to reproduce its species with . Mike's comprehensive knowledge on and keen understanding of bromidic horror film banalities , which is initially a source of irritation to the other disbelieving chowder-head collegians , winds up saving the day , much to geeky Mike's own surprise and the viewer's slack-jawed astonishment . A very amusing , enjoyable and mercifully uninsulting spoof ( unlike the atrocious " Scream " stinkers , this film never seems either archly ironic or smugly patronizing in its pointed satiric potshots at corny stock characters and tried'n'true standard situations ) , blessed with witty dialog ( Mike has the feature's single most sidesplitting line , tersely commenting after seeing one victim's face melt : " Now , that's disgusting " ) , personable acting from a cast of deliberately overage thesps who trying unsuccessfully to palm themselves off as twentysomethish young adults ( one dude even has thinning hair ! ) , nifty on-target parodies of such groan-inducingly familiar trash horror film ingredients as gratuitous nudity ( " It's skinny-dipping time ! " ) , the ever-absurd false cat scare , an especially uproarious swipe at the making hot , passionate love in front of a roaring fire sequence ( the guy's zipper gets stuck ! ) , glaring blatant continuity errors , and a hilarious technical gaffe involving a conspicuously visible boom microphone dipping into the frame , crisp , sprightly cinematography by Ed Hershberger , an endearingly cruddy extraterrestrial beast , a rollicking bang-up score by Christopher Thomas , and some gut-busting joke-ridden ending credits , " There's Nothing Out There " overall sizes up as a brisk , frequently riotous , and highly pleasing low-budget ( it only cost $350 , 000 in total ) tongue-in-cheek horror film genre lampoon . The first-rate deluxe Special Edition DVD by Image Entertainment offers a fairly grainy , but generally solid and up to par widescreen presentation loaded with a wonderful wealth of awesomely abundant extras which include the theatrical trailer , a still and poster gallery , funky animated menus complete with songs and music from the picture , screen tests , bloopers and rehearsals ( the bloopers in particular are an absolute hoot ) , pre-production footage and storyboards , animation test footage and work print outtakes , and , most savory of all , a very funny , entertaining and informative commentary provided by Kanefsky along with various cast and crew members . |
517,985 | 8,239,592 | 235,198 | 9 | Positively terrifying | Successful , but lonely middle-aged businessman widower Shigeharu Aoyama ( a superb performance by Ryo Ishibashi ) lives with his loving son Shigehiko ( affable Tetsu Sawaki ) following the death of his wife . His loyal film producer friend Yasuhisa Yoshikawa ( nicely played by Jun Kunimura ) advices Shigeharu to remarry . The two guys hold an open audition for a nonexistent movie in order to find the ideal female candidate . Shigeharu becomes smitten with the lovely , polite and charming Asami Yamazaki ( the mesmerizing Eihi Shiina ) . Shigeharu plans to wed Asami , but she proves to be a lot more than he bargained for : she's a deeply troubled and lethal psychopath with a grim past history of horrible abuse . Director Takashi Miike does an expert job of firmly grounding the macabre and unnerving story in a thoroughly plausible pedestrian everyday reality . It's this meticulous evocation of a totally believable mundane world which in turn makes the startling conclusion so shocking and upsetting ; the characters and their lives ring true , so everything they do seems credible as well . Moreover , Miike handles the ghastly violence with admirable restraint and subtlety ; he suggests more than he shows - - and this proves to be highly effective . The gradual pacing takes a little getting used to , but culminates in a chilling and disturbing conclusion that packs one hell of a potent and lingering gut punch . Hideo Yamamoto's sharp cinematography and Koji Endo's classy orchestral score further enhance the overall sterling quality of this scary and unsettling knock-out . |
518,596 | 8,239,592 | 63,056 | 9 | A taut and gripping psychological drama | An American soldier ( Lee Marvin in typically strong and robust form ) and a Japanese officer ( superbly played by Toshiro Mifune ) find themselves stranded together on a remote Pacific island . Can they set aside their differences and learn to get along in order to survive in an unsparingly harsh environment ? Director John Boorman , working from a tight , intelligent and intriguing script by Alexander Jacobs and Eric Bercovici , wrings plenty of sweaty suspense from the absorbing premise and cogently captures a potent sense of isolation and desolation . Moreover , Boorman never lets the central allegory about how war divides men and forces them to become bitter enemies get bogged down in any heavy-handed pretension or gooey sentimentality . The top-notch performances by Marvin and Mifune help matters a lot ; their tense , edgy chemistry keeps the picture humming throughout . In addition , Marvin's volatile gruffness and Mifune's stoic resolve make for an excellent and hugely enjoyable contrast ; the way their initially adversarial relationship slowly , but surely develops into a grudging tolerance and eventual affinity for one another is both touching and convincing . Conrad L . Hall's sharp , breathtaking widescreen cinematography offers a wealth of striking visuals . Lalo Schifrin's nicely varied score constitutes as another significant asset ; it's alternately shivery and dissonant , lush and lovely , yet always rousing and melodic . Only the dissatisfyingly abrupt and jarring studio-imposed ending disappoints . ( The original conclusion is much more dramatically sound and hence more pleasing as well . ) Offbeat , inspired and well worth watching . |
518,472 | 8,239,592 | 80,129 | 9 | Marjoe Gortner's finest hour on film | 1968 , New Mexico . Marjoe Gortner gives an incredibly intense , commanding and charismatic performance as Teddy , a bitter , crazed , disgruntled Vietnam veteran hippie drug dealer psycho who along with his loyal , but scared girlfriend Cheryl ( nicely played by the adorable Candy Clark ) terrorizes a motley assortment of people in a remote roadside diner at gunpoint . Teddy forces the folks to own up to ugly truths about Vietnam , America , and , most of all , themselves . Director Milton Katselas , working from a biting and incisive script by Mark Medoff , cranks up the seething tension to an almost unbearably nerve-wracking fever pitch and milks the protracted diner confrontation sequence for all its worth . The bang-up acting from a tip-top cast qualifies as a substantial sterling asset : Hal Linden as pathetic weakling Richard Ethridge , Lee Grant as Richard's fiery , fed-up wife Clarisse , Peter Firth as surly greaser short order cook Stephen Ryder , Stephanie Faracy as sweet , dumpy waitress Angel Childress , Pat Hingle as amiable , crippled diner owner Lyle Striker , Audra Lindley as Stephen's sad burn-out mother Ceil , Bill McKinney as macho local hot shot Tommy Clark , and Anne Ramsay as Angel's shrewish mom Rhea . However , this picture still rates as Marjoe's show all the way : Whether he's suffering a painful and humiliating rectal search from a border official or trying to get Stephen to act on his swaggering false bravado , Gortner's electrifying portrayal of a cruel and dangerous sociopath remains strong and riveting from start to finish . Jules Brenner's sharp , agile cinematography , Jack Nitzsche's rattling , throbbing score , and an excellent soundtrack of mournful country ballads and groovy 60's rock songs are all likewise smack dab on the money . Although a bit too stagy and overlong , this movie still packs one extremely powerful and lingering gut punch all the same . |
518,551 | 8,239,592 | 85,656 | 9 | Excellent racetrack drama with a terrific performance by Bonnie Bedelia | Bonnie Bedelia delivers a fiery , roughly textured , outstanding performance in a rare substantial lead role as Shirley " Cha-Cha " Muldowney , the gutsy , sassy ( " The only thing I do fast is drive " ) , willful , supremely determined and self-sufficient real-life pioneering feminist professional race car driver who had to overcome lots of doubt , discrimination and sexual prejudice during her arduous climb to bona fide race car champion status , winning the much-coveted NHRA Top Fuel World Championship an unprecedented three times in a row . Directed with customary acuity and facility by Jonathan Kaplan , this sterling sports biopic stands out not so much for what it does but for what it doesn't do . For starters , the film never glorifies its very appealing , but still quite human and fallible heroine , offering instead an evenly balanced , fully rounded , warts-and-all portrait of Muldowney , whose remarkable success on the racetrack is countered by her often shaky and unfulfilling personal life . Shirley's victories come at the cost of her marriage to decent , but insecure automobile mechanic Jack ( skillfully etched by Leo Rossi , who manages to create genuine sympathy for a potentially unlikeable character ) and thrust her into a tumultuous romantic relationship with arrogant , sexist , philandering rival driver Connie Kalitta ( an excellent Beau Bridges ) . Still , Ken Friedman's astute , daring and forthright script gives Shirley her just due for bravely breaking down restrictive sexual barriers , refusing to buckle under often intimidating odds , and triumphantly besting men in a largely male-dominated sport . Secondly , the film doesn't go overboard with either the racetrack action or evocation of previous decades ( Shirley began her professional drag racing career back in the mid 60's and kept on racing into the early 80's ) , rightly emphasizing a most rewarding and uplifting tale of how sheer iron will and tenacity play a huge role in how successful one is in life . While Bedelia surely dominates the film with her exceptional characterization , the rest of the cast definitely hold their own : Anthony Edwards as Shirley's proud , caring son , Hoyt Axton as Shirley's supportive country-and-western singer father , Bill McKinney as a cocky drag racing superstar , Dick Miller as an understanding family friend , Paul Bartel as a pompous French TV show chef , Michael Cavanaugh as a jerky NHRA boss , and Jonathan Haze as a smooth racetrack announcer are all uniformly fine . Tak Fujimoto's crisp , elegant , proficient cinematography and Laurence Rosenthal's jaunty score add authentic flavor to the movie's meticulous recreation of past eras and equally minutely detailed depiction of the vibrant , smoky , harshly competitive racetrack milieu . The racing scenes are vivid , thrilling and atmospheric ; the wipe-out sequences are shockingly abrupt and harrowing . However , it's the tremendous accomplishments of the extraordinary Shirley Muldowney ( she served as creative consultant on this movie ) and Bonnie Bedelia's superlative portrayal which make this film a true winner all the way . |
519,066 | 8,239,592 | 68,190 | 9 | A truly delightful and magical musical fantasy treat | This delightfully off-beat , imaginative and hugely entertaining musical fantasy adaptation of Lewis Carroll's often told classic tale displays a sense of pure joy and unbridled creativity that's both quite infectious and tremendously enjoyable in comparable measure . First off , there are many marvelously manic moments of divinely demented and inspired off-the-wall lunacy . The sequence with Robert Helpmann as the hysterically bonkers Mad Hatter , a perfectly cast Peter Sellers as the equally insane March Hare and Dudley Moore as the sleepy Doormouse in particular hits a note of total comic pandemonium that's a riot to watch . The sequence with Spike Milligan as the Gryphon and Michael Hordern as the marvelously melancholy Mock Turtle likewise takes off with a wacky vigor that's just a hoot to see . And the deliciously delirious courtroom climax builds to a sidesplitting crescendo of beautifully bent , batty and berserk bedlam as well . The remarkable cast of first-rate British thespians couldn't be better : Fred and Frank Cox are flat-out hilarious as Tweedledum and Tweedledee , the ever droll'n'dotty Sir Ralph Richardson makes for a splendid Caterpillar , Peter Bull in drag is a fabulously grotesque Duchess , Flora Robson an extremely fearsome Queen of Hearts , Dennis Price a suitably ineffectual King of Hearts , and Michael Crawford is simply outstanding as the White Rabbit . Geoffrey Unsworth's sumptuous cinematography , shot in dewy soft focus , effectively depicts a dreamy atmosphere that's genuinely otherworldly and entrancing . John Barry's spirited score and the surrealistic sets and costumes further enhance the flaky merriment . Best of all is the extraordinary Fiona Fullerton as Alice ; she's so cute , sweet and utterly endearing , with a nice singing voice and a winningly sincere presence , plus she's an undeniably adorable and engaging brunette beauty , that she effortlessly keeps the viewer enchanted and enthralled with Alice's colorful and eventful experiences in Wonderland . |
518,980 | 8,239,592 | 85,872 | 9 | A fabulously brooding , stylish and atypical biker mood piece | 1959 : A gang of bikers en route to Daytona , Florida who include the surly , disaffected Vance ( a smoothly self-assured performance by Willem Dafoe in his film debut ) and restless hothead Davis ( nicely played by rockabilly icon Robert Gordon ) are forced to make an unwanted pit stop in a sleepy Southern hamlet when one biker has engine trouble with his chopper . Complications ensue when Vance becomes involved with tempting teen tramp Telena ( a splendidly brassy'n'sassy turn by the cute Marin Kanter ) , which doesn't go over well with the extremely uptight and intolerant square townspeople . Written and directed by Kathryn ( " Near Dark , " " Blue Steel " ) Bigelow and Monty Montgomery ( who later produced " Twin Peaks " and " Wild at Heart " ) , " The Loveless " sure ain't your average trashy B-biker exploitation action romp . Instead it's something much better and more ambitious : a beautifully brooding , stylish and intriguing existential mood piece that's rich in a pungently evocative atmosphere that exquisitely seethes with barely suppressed menace , violence , despair , ennui , malaise , sexuality and homo-eroticism . Doyle Smith's gorgeously glossy , gleaming cinematography , the uniformly excellent acting , the vivid and meticulous recreation of the 50's , Robert Gordon's fantastic rockabilly score , the cool hepcat slang ( " We got the scratch " ) , the deliberately slow pace , and the strikingly grim and tragic conclusion further strengthen the potent and intoxicating spell this film casts on the viewer , sucking you in with a masterful ease that's truly something to behold . This is the kind of supremely subtle and low-key picture which initially doesn't seem like much as you watch it , but has an uncanny way of sticking with you long after you see it . |
518,948 | 8,239,592 | 76,281 | 9 | An excellent and exciting crime action thriller corker | The almighty Sonny Chiba rules the day as Duke Togo ( a . k . a . Golgo 13 ) , a tough , ruthless and formidable consummate professional international assassin who's been hired to rub out a powerful Hong Kong drug lord . Of course , said assignment proves to be easier said than done , as Togo must contend with the drug lord's seemingly limitless legion of flunkies and one Detective Smith ( firmly played by Callan Leung ) , a relentless cop with a personal score to settle with Togo who's bound and determined to arrest him . Director Yukio Noda doesn't miss a trick with this bang-up exciting and absorbing action crime thriller flick : the nonstop lightning fast pace never lets up for a minute , the copious stirring action scenes are staged with considerable rip-snorting brio and finesse ( said action includes lots of wild , rousing shoot-outs and the expected brutal , blood-spilling , bone-breaking martial arts mayhem ) , there's a nice smattering of gratuitous sex and nudity , the exotic globe-trotting locations are colorful and eye-catching , the plot boasts plenty of nifty twists and turns , the tone is appropriately gritty and serious , and both Harumi Ibe's lively , groovy , funky-bumpin ' soulful score and Shigeru Akatsuka's agile , dynamic , sumptuously expansive cinematography are on the money slick and effective . A terrifically hard-boiled and ferocious little item that's essential viewing for Sonny Chiba fans . |
518,073 | 8,239,592 | 116,442 | 9 | A truly terrific & delightful slice of rock history drama gem | The chronically under-appreciated Illeana Douglas gives a characteristically glowing , winsome , totally spot-on performance as aspiring singer / songwriter Denise Waverly , who during a very turbulent and wildly eventful fifteen year time span goes from being a frustrated , creatively stifled behind-the-scenes magic maker to eventually acquiring the clout and courage to branch out on her own to sing her own material in a strong , assertive , independent female voice . Learning under the expert tutelage of cranky , eccentric , misanthropic Brill Building impresario Joel Millner ( a fabulously freaky John Turturro ) and enduring a steady succession of unsuccessful romantic relationships with footloose , insecure , insensitive bohemian songwriter Howard Castatt ( a perfectly jerky Eric Stoltz ) , conventional married disc jockey John Murray ( a typically fine Bruce Davison ) , and brilliantly innovative , but paranoid and temperamental surf-rock composer Jay Phillips ( a splendidly spaced-out Matt Dillon ) , the extremely intelligent and resilient Denise uses her bittersweet life experiences as prime fodder for her ever evolving and emotionally charged songs . Flavorfully documenting rock music's growth from effervescent girl group pop to trippy psychedelic experimentation to intensely personal singer / songwriter confessional tunes , Allison Anders ' simply sensational feature , loosely based on the real-life exploits of Carole King ( besides the obviously King-influenced Denise , most of the other characters are clearly composites of various actual rock people as well ) and executive produced by Martin Scorsesse , crackles with all the joyous vibrancy and infectious exuberance of the marvelously dynamic and exciting music scene its set in . Anders ' deft , assured direction and sharply perceptive script , both keenly tuned in to the mercurial zeitgeist of the 60's and the then burgeoning women's right movement , works as both invigorating rock music history and inspirational pro-feminist tract alike . The splendidly catchy and melodious Larry Klein-produced soundtrack , Jean Yves Escoffier's smooth , agile , gliding cinematography , a story which manages to be genuinely touching without ever lapsing into mawkishly contrived sentiment , an absorbing , minutely detailed backstage glimpse at the pop music songwriting and recording process , and the uniformly superlative acting - - Patsy Kensit as Denise's longtime songwriting partner and loyal gal pal Cheryl Steed , Bridget Fonda as awkward closeted lesbian pop singer Kelly Porter , and David Clennon as a flaky hippie shrink are especially terrific - - round out this positively radiant and utterly delightful gem . |
518,655 | 8,239,592 | 85,846 | 9 | An excellent & unjustly neglected Hitchcockian thriller gem | Forever under-acclaimed slender , green-eyed , button cute blonde actress Annn Dusenberry , who got terrorized by Bruce the mechanical shark in " Jaws 2 , " gives a typically animated , engaging and on the money performance as Robyn Wallace , a sweet , struggling , down on her luck actress who's having a tremendously hard time snagging that frustratingly elusive big breakthrough part . Robyn's heretofore rotten luck changes for the better when independent film producer Gail Strickland hires her to play an insane , institutionalized wealthy heiress in a movie . The flick abruptly folds after one day's worth of shooting . Robyn finds out from the wealthy heiress ' faithful , despondent husband ( marvelously portrayed by the always super Bruce Davison ) that the woman she played in the film is still alive ( Robyn was told she was dead ) and that she has inadvertently become seriously involved in an intricate and diabolical plot to acquire the heiress ' considerable inheritance . Cleverly written and sharply directed by the constantly up to snuff Jim and Ken Wheat ( the same brotherly film-making duo who later gave us the bang-up horror anthology winner " After Midnight , " plus co-wrote the scripts for both the superior slasher item " Silent Scream " and the terrific sci-fi / horror dilly " Pitch-Black " ) , further enhanced by Robert Erbinger's crisply proficient cinematography , Marc Donahue's effectively spooky'n'shuddery synthesizer score , and a bracingly bravura hanging an in elevator shaft murder set piece , this deliciously convoluted and thoroughly absorbing nerve-rattling corker really makes the grade as a smartly crafted and adroitly executed Hitchcockian suspense thriller . Dusenberry simply shines in an all-too-rare substantial lead , receiving excellent support from Clu Gulager as a sinister , manipulative psychiatrist , Terence Knox as Robyn's earnest , supportive screenwriter boyfriend , Bert Remsen as Robyn's nice , gregarious agent , and the ubiquitous Dick Miller as a sleazeball B-pic producer who fires Robyn on the set of his latest crassly exploitative schlocky zombie fright feature when she refuses to show some skin ( " Money honey , " Miller growls to Robyn after she asks him why she should disrobe on screen , " Ts sell tickets ! " ) . Compelling , exciting and briskly paced , this enormously entertaining and underrated overlooked little sleeper is well worth seeing and hugely worthy of rediscovery . |
519,224 | 8,239,592 | 279,996 | 9 | Mother Goose grows up and gets raunchy in this hilariously bawdy animated " adults only " hoot | Moother Goose's famous good , clean , wholesome " fun for the whole family " bedtime stories are given a sexually explicit and humorously perverted workover in this hilariously bawdy combo live action and animation adults only feature . Dotty , doddery , foul-mouthed dirty old lady Mother Goose ( played by none other than Hal Smith ; Otis the town drunk on " The Andy Griffith Show " ! ) gleefully reveals the sleazy , seedy and just plain sordid carnal underpinnings that have been previously ignored in her stories , spinning these sidesplitting saucy'n'sexy yarns to a court full of anxious listeners . Jack Beanstalk gets exposed ( pun intended ) as a peeping tom degenerate with an enormous penis and a crazed penchant for bestiality and doing the unthinkable with trees ( yuck ! ) , the giant's neglected , sexually frustrated wife uses Jack in a most unmentionable way , Cinderella really was a sweet young virgin who's eager to go all the way with the handsome , dashing prince , the troll under the bridge turns out to be a whiny homosexual , dainty , nubile , innocent honey Little Red Riding Hood gets repeatedly raped by lusty woodsmen while en route to a wedding , and we even learn about an eighth dwarf named Pimpy the Forest Flasher . This wonderfully rancid , raunchy and ridiculously tasteless tongue-in-cheek 70's schlock sexploitation artifact would make for an ideal triple bill with Charles Band's " Fairytales " and Bill Osco's X-rated porno version of " Alice in Wonderland . " |
517,897 | 8,239,592 | 134,623 | 9 | Extremely rough and shocking stuff | Sexy , slender brunette model Mara ( the extremely hot Marlene Willoughby ) answers an ad in " Screw " magazine for a high paying job at a New York whorehouse which specializes in turning all kinds of deviant sadomasochistic bondage and discipline sex tricks . The house's dumpy middle-aged madame ( curly-haired fortysomething lady Ultra Max ) shows our curious protagonist the ropes ( and chains ) of the B & D business in this splendidly seamy , frequently shocking and occasionally arousing slice of mondo kinko sickie roughie 70's porno sleaze . The sexual vignettes graphically enacted herein range from mildly perverse to genuinely unnerving . Shown in a swiftly paced juxtaposition of squalid sexual tableaux , set to an incessantly droning , discordant score and punctuated with often hideously profane dialogue , we not only get the standard cunnilingus , ejaculation , masturbation , sodomy and fellatio , but also an unsparingly nasty and disgusting barrage of utterly degrading rough stuff : voluptuous Cuban-American firecracker Vanessa Del Rio crams a banana in her vagina and then eats it , one poor dweeb spends most of the movie locked in a closet , an understandably frightened blonde babe gets bound to a chair and has her legs savagely beaten with a leather belt , and the madame urinates on a wimpy guy's face because he showed up twenty minutes late for an appointment ( the madame even mercilessly pokes fun at the guy's pitifully small and unimpressive penis ) . During the film's single most gut-churning sequence Iggy Pop lookalike Marc Stevens and some other guy cruelly demean , taunt , tie up and manipulate a horrified , pathetically submissive young lass ( the eminently adorable C . J . Laing ) who for a good thirty positively grueling minutes is made the helpless subject of these vile control freaks ' mean and selfish carnal whims . Several other male customers are played by legendary 70's hardcore movie studboys Jamie Gillis , John Leslie and Fred Lincoln of " The Last House on the Left " infamy . While not exactly a real turn-on , this pervasively seedy and seriously warped adult movie aberration definitely scores points for sheer audacity alone and more than delivers the lowdown ghastly B & D goods . |
518,817 | 8,239,592 | 238,606 | 9 | An amazingly thorough and informative retrospective documentary about the remarkable cult favorite " The Stuntman " | This lengthy and inexhaustible retrospective documentary about " The Stunt Man " sure ain't your run-of-the-mill affair . Written , directed and narrated with dazzling cinematic aplomb and delightful sardonic humor by original feature director / producer Richard Rush , this baby furiously bulldozes through the back-stabbing behind-the-scenes politics and pandemonium of film-making with a sharp eye and fierce wit that's truly something to behold . Alternately bitter and whimsical , smug and funny , self-satisfied and self-effacing , Rush covers all the essential bases from the genesis of the project to casting to marketing and distribution . Rush discusses how the film deals with such weighty themes as paranoia and illusion versus reality while noting how said themes apply just as much to real life as they do to the picture . Besides Rush , we also have intelligent and enjoyable interviews with the ever-charming Peter O'Toole , the radiant Barbara Hershey , amiable Steve Railsback , and the supremely easygoing and engaging Charles Bail . Among the topics addressed herein are how the whole movie is told from Railsback's point of view , a key deleted scene showing Railsback catching Hershey in bed with another man , the trouble of securing financing for the film , how the picture was an eclectic mixture of different genres and hence difficult to easily sell to a wide mainstream audience , finding the right locations , the groundbreaking use of rack focus , casting the principal roles , the tricky art of advance preview screenings , how at the end of the 70's the shift concerning cinema changed from greed to ego , and Dominic Frontiere's exceptional score . At nearly two hours this documentary proves to be occasionally rather excessive and indulgent , but overall sizes up as every bit as offbeat , original and wildly innovative as the gloriously oddball one-of-a-kind cinematic masterpiece that it's about . Essential viewing for fans of " The Stunt Man . " |
518,260 | 8,239,592 | 80,040 | 9 | A marvelously odd & eerie 70's drive-in horror favorite | One of the oddest , most strikingly eerie and creepy horror films to come out of the 70's , " Tourist Trap " even by the loose , free-wheeling , convention-defying " anything goes " standards of its time rates as a real weirdie . Yet , it's the picture's very strangeness - - a masterfully mounted uncanny atmosphere of pervasively off-kilter supernatural dread which from the get-go registers as powerfully spooky and becomes more increasingly opaque and frightening as the film progresses , offering up ample shocks amid a few scattered moments of surreally lovely dream-like elegance and ending on a bitterly ironic , crushingly nihilistic note with a haunting final image that's hard to shake - - which makes it such a unique and singularly unnerving experience . Five teenagers traveling through the desolate California desert by car get hopelessly lost . They stumble across " Slausen's Lost Oasis , " a seedy , rundown roadside dive that's one part gas station , three parts crummy wax museum , and all parts ratty and foreboding . The joint's lonely , seemingly friendless and harmless owner Slausen ( juicily overplayed with infectiously hammy brio by Chuck Conners ) turns out to be a deranged psychic killer with lethal telekinetic powers . Slausen brings his freaky assortment of uncomfortably human-like mannequins to life and picks off the kids one by one so he can add them to his ever-growing collection of victims . Director David ( " Puppermaster , " " The Arrival " ) Schmoeller adeptly wrings every last ounce of tension he can squeeze from the pleasingly ambiguous and open-ended script he co-wrote with J . Larry Carroll . ( Said script's stubborn refusal to provide some rational excuse for all the bizarre stuff which transpires throughout the movie , often wrongly criticized as one of the film's principal weaknesses , is actually the movie's key strength , giving the picture the scary , anything - and - everything - can - happen , common-logic-be-damned quality of a true nightmare come horrifically to life which never would have been achieved if there was some kind of credible explanation offered for what's happening . ) Pino Donaggio's beautifully chilling , understated score , Nicholas von Sternberg's shadowy cinematography , and Robert A . Burns ' grubby , cramped production design add immensely to the film's profoundly unsettling mood . Excellent performances are another significant plus , with the pretty , perky Jocelyn Jones ( Ellie-Jo Turner in " The Great Texas Dynamite Chase " ) particularly fine and personable as the most resilient and sympathetic of the endangered teens . Even Tanya Roberts fares well as a luckless lass who has a knife levitated into her head . Offbeat and unusual , " Tourist Trap " is well worth visiting . |
518,879 | 8,239,592 | 72,403 | 9 | An excellent , exciting and provocative period action / adventure winner | 1896 : A motley trio of whalers - - gruff , hostile , alcoholic third-mate Billy ( a wonderfully crotchety Warren Oates ) , gentle , humane cabin boy Daggett ( a lovely , moving performance by Timothy Bottoms ) , and fidgety harpooner Portagee ( the always fine Lou Gossett ) - - get stranded in the Artic after their boat crashes against some ice . The threesome are rescued by and subsequently adopted into a tribe of friendly , helpful , religious Eskimos . Everything goes well for a while . However , the whalers ' assimilation into the tribe and its customs proves to be quite rocky : they assist the Eskimos in hunting seals , sleep with numerous Eskimo women , engage in wrestling matches and knife throwing contests , are marked as bearers of bad tidings by a powerful Eskimo medicine man after a series of misfortunes befall the tribe , and make a fruitless attempt at getting back to civilization by stealing an Eskimo boat ( they also swipe some fish as well ) . Eventually the whalers ' opposing cultural backgrounds and differing ethical beliefs cause them to have a fierce , bitter dispute with the tribe , which in turn begets violent , tragic consequences for the unsuspecting trio . " The White Dawn " works superbly on two levels : 1 ) a rousing , rugged , totally plausible and absorbing braving the elements action / adventure feature which gives the viewer a tasteful , thoughtful , utterly fascinating look at a unique , intriguing culture that's for the most part grossly ignored and under-explored in cinema and 2 ) a trenchant , ultimately ironic examination of the fear , ignorance and ridiculous superstitions which are key components of racism and , more revealingly , significant reasons for why distinct cultures can and do clash . Assuredly directed with a clear , sharp eye for minute details by Phillip Kaufman , astutely written by James Houston and Tom Rickman , gorgeously photographed in stunning panoramic scope by Michael Chapman and scored with appropriate elegance and majestic orchestral sweep by Henry Mancini , this cracking good yarn sizes up as a colorful , enthralling and very provocative little knockout . |
518,961 | 8,239,592 | 93,560 | 9 | A wonderfully witty and dynamic tongue-in-cheek delight | The evil Dracula ( a suavely sinister Duncan Regehr ) and his band of equally pernicious monsters - - Frankenstein's monster ( a very engaging Tom Noonan ) , the Wolfman , the Gillman and the Mummy - - need to gain possession of an ancient powerful amulet so they can rule the world . It's up to a gaggle of misfit horror movie buff teenage boys - - likable leader Sean Crenshaw ( Andre Gower ) , bumbling fat kid Horace ( the hilarious Brent Chalem ) , nervous Patrick ( Robby Kriger ) , spunky little squirt Eugene ( Michael Faustino ) , and token cool dude Randy ( Ryan Lambert ) - - to stop the foul fiends before it's too late . Ably directed by Fred Dekker ( who also gave us the terrific " Night of the Creeps " ) , with a really clever and inspired script by Dekker and Shane Black , a constant unflagging pace , excellent make-up f / x by the ever-reliable Stan Winston , beautifully sparkling and polished cinematography by Bruce Houghton , a rousing , majestic orchestral score by Bradford May , funky 80's slang ( favorite words include " wuss , " " jerkoid , " and the immortal " nards " ) , some mild gore ( the Wolfman gets blown in half in an especially grisly scene ) , and nifty 80's period touches ( there's a " Miami Vice " dialogue reference and keep your eyes peeled for the " Robotech " t-shirt ) , this sweetly affectionate tongue-in-cheek homage to vintage golden oldie creature features has plenty of charm and energy to spare . What truly makes this film such a treat is the positively infectious sense of pure go-for-it good-natured fun that permeates every last loving frame . The kid leads all give highly appealing performances ; they receive bang-up support from Stephen Macht as Sean's harried cop father Del , Mary Ellen Trainer as Sean's long-suffering mother Emily , Ashley Bank as Sean's adorable little sister Phoebe , Stan Shaw as Del's sarcastic partner Detective Sapir , Leonardo Cimino as the friendly Scary German Guy , and Jason Harvey as mean bully E . J . A total blast ! |
518,938 | 8,239,592 | 45,877 | 9 | A superb , gripping and suspenseful 50's film noir thriller gem | Gilbert Bowen ( finely played by Frank Lovejoy ) and Roy Collins ( the equally excellent Edmund O'Brien ) are a couple of pleasant , personable working class family men who are out on a fishing trip driving across Mexico in a Plymouth Fury . The two good lifelong friends make the fatal mistake of picking up Emmett Myers ( a chillingly flinty and implacable performance by rangy , gaunt-faced character actor William Talman ; the DA who inevitably lost every case to Raymond Burr on " Perry Mason " ) , a mean , sadistic , cold-hearted on the lam psychopathic criminal who takes the pair hostage and makes them transport him across the border with the specific intent of killing both men after they prove to be no longer useful . Gilbert and Ray's friendship gets put to the ultimate test by Myers : they either will pull together to defeat him or both wind up dead . A truly tense and gripping low-budget vintage 50's stripped down to the scrappy bare essentials film noir thriller which delivers 71 minutes worth of sweat-inducing white-knuckle tension , this " danger on the road " classic greatly benefits from Ida Lupino's trim , focused , unflashy direction ( Lupino also co-wrote the compact script ) , the nervy interplay between the three outstanding leads , the lean , but richly textured characters , Leith Stevens ' marvelously booming'n'bombastic all urgent horns and fraught strings score , a starkly plotted narrative which stays on a steady , unwavering course throughout , Nicholas Musuraca's gorgeously crisp black and white cinematography , no needless pretense or sentiment to speak of , and a hard , grim , steely tone that's firmly rooted in a quietly unsettling evocation of a fragile , all too easily ripped asunder everyday tranquility and banality . The film's marrow-freezing plausibility no doubt derives from the fact that the story was inspired by a horrific real life incident : In the early 50's a hoodlum fugitive named William Cook posed as a hitch-hiker and killed several people who gave him a lift before the police caught him . |
519,244 | 8,239,592 | 116,361 | 9 | Hey there Little Red Riding Hood , you sure are looking good as Reese Witherspoon | A wickedly nasty and subversive contemporary road movie thriller spin on the classic fairytale " Little Red Riding Hood , " with a phenomenally brassy'n'sassy performance by Reese Witherspoon as a tough , scrappy , not-so-innocent California teenage runaway hitch-hiker who runs afoul of a pernicious roadside serial killer ( excellently played by Kiefer Sutherland ) who's on a self-appointed moralistic mission to rid the world of " garbage people . " Witherspoon narrowly avoids being killed by Sutherland , seriously hurting him in the process and winding up in jail on a trumped-up assault charge . However , Witherspoon manages to escape so she and Sutherland can have a ferocious climactic showdown at her grandmother's house , which in this brilliantly twisted picture turns out to be a grimy mobile home located in a seedy whitetrash trailer park . Writer / director Matthew Bright relates this blithely amoral and energetic exploitation trash pip with a gut-bustingly savage and unmerciful sense of no-holds-barred caustic black-as-midnight humor , thus giving this deliciously demented doozy a frantically hoppin ' electric charge and breezy irreverence that's impossible to either resist or dislike . Popping up in super supporting parts are Brooke Shields as Sutherland's snobby , unsuspecting wife , Amanda Plummer as Witherspoon's pathetic junkie hooker mom , Michael T . Weiss as Witherspoon's skeevy abusive stepdad , Brittany Murphy as a cheery lesbian , and Sydney Lassick as a jolly trailer park manager . Great barn-storming opening theme by Danny Elfman , too . And Witherspoon is a terrifically tart , brash and foul-mouthed revelation in what remains her best-ever starring role to date . |
518,822 | 8,239,592 | 80,025 | 9 | A delightfully clever and inspired time travel science fiction thriller pip | 1893 . Victorian era London , England . Brilliant , but idealistic writer and scientist H . G . Wells ( a wonderfully warm and engaging performance by Malcolm McDowell ) invents a time machine . Notorious psychopath Jack the Ripper ( superbly played with subdued menace by David Warner ) uses the time machine to travel to San Francisco , California in 1979 . Wells follows after him . While searching for the Ripper Wells meets and falls in love with sunny and liberated bank worker Amy Robbins ( a fabulously sweet and endearing portrayal by Mary Steenburgen ) . Writer / director Nicholas Meyer deftly blends elements of comedy , romance , thriller , and science fiction into a fresh , witty and entertaining mix that moves along at a brisk pace , delivers a substantial amount of suspense and excitement , and radiates an utterly beguiling whimsical charm throughout . Moreover , Meyer offers plenty of pointed social commentary on the harsh violence and pervasive decadence of the modern age and milks the fish out of water premise for all its worth as Wells figures out how to order fast food at McDonald's and learns how to drive a car and operate an electric toothbrush . This movie further benefits from uniformly excellent acting from a top-drawer cast : McDowell and Steenburgen display a truly enchanting screen chemistry ( not surprisingly , they were married for a short spell after appearing together in this film ) , Warner makes for a positively chilling Jack the Ripper , Charles Cioffi acquits himself well in a sizable supporting role as the disbelieving Police Lieutenant Mitchell , and Patti D'Arbanville contributes a wonderfully lively bit as perky Jack the Ripper victim Shirley . Miklos Rozsa supplies a perfectly lush , robust and stirring score . Paul Lohmann's crisp cinematography likewise hits the bull's eye . A total treat . |
518,574 | 8,239,592 | 116,365 | 9 | A hugely enjoyable and inventive supernatural horror comedy treat | Superslick phony baloney psychic parapsychologist Frank Bannister ( Michael J . Fox in excellent unapologetically parasitic sleazeball form ) has one hell of a novel and effective scam going on . You see , Frank's in league with a motley trio of unrestful spirits - - hot-tempered 70's funky black guy Cyrus ( a hilariously hip Chi McBride ) , sniveling bespectacled nerd Stuart ( an amusingly dweeby Jum Fyfe ) , and cranky , weary , pistol-packin ' cowboy old-timer the Judge ( a marvelously cantankerous John Astin ) - - who " haunt " various houses where rich folks reside ; Frank arrives on the case and collects himself a bountiful fee for exorcising the unruly ghosts . But lately things are beginning to go awry for Frank : the locals in the sleepy town of Fairwater are starting to catch on to Frank's crafty con , a loony FBI agent ( a fabulously frantic Jeffrey Combs ) wants to nail Frank , lethal mass murderer Johnny Bartlet ( a creepily on-target Jake Busey ) and his fragile , sheltered , possibly innocent accomplice Patricia Bradley ( beautifully played with touching vulnerability by Dee Wallace Stone ) further complicate Frank's already strife-ridden life , and , most ominous of all , a powerfully nasty and malevolent long dormant murderous supernatural entity reawakens from its lengthy slumber to start killing anew . Only Frank knows about this evil thing's actual existence , so he has to go into action to thwart it before it racks up a hefty body count . Director Peter Jackson ( who previously gave us the gleefully over-the-top splatterific treats " Bad Taste " and " Dead Alive " before tackling the " Lord of the Rings " trilogy and the " King Kong " remake ) and co-screenwriter Fran Walsh have concocted one wickedly twisted , complex and inventive fright film scenario , deftly blending pitch-black humor , starkly horrific scares , elaborate , but judiciously applied special effects , a breathlessly speedy'n'steady pace , madly careening and expansive cinematography , a typically lively , jaunty score by Danny Elfman , and an absorbingly tricky and winding surprise-laden narrative into a deliciously dark and unnerving cinematic brew . It's genuinely refreshing to see a horror feature from the mid-90's that isn't specifically targeted for a no-brainer teenage audience , that has the strength of its own grim convictions , that delivers laughs and jolts aplenty without one canceling the other out , that even doesn't punk out at the very end with some weak , pat , everything - gets - neatly - tied - up - with - a - bow wimpy conclusion . In short , this baby qualifies as a true praiseworthy rarity : a pretty recent full-blooded no-nonsense big budget major studio mainstream shockathon that's every bit as smart , spooky and unsettling as any really up to snuff horror movie ought to be . |
519,241 | 8,239,592 | 86,013 | 9 | My all-time favorite delectably cheesy Don Dohler flick | Maryland-based no-budget hack junk genre filmmaker par excellence Don Dohler hits an uproariously atrocious all-time low with this marvelously messed-up magnum opus of sheer awfulness , a relentlessly wretched $1 . 98 amateur-night-at-the-movies sci-fi / horror evil alien splatterfest that's downright mesmerizing and often almost unbearably funny in its pure , undistilled , unflinchingly shoddy woefulness . A hefty homicidal lizard who resembles a pudgy version of the titular hokey reptilian fiend in " Track of the Moonbeast " crash-lands his spaceship in the drab podunk burg of Perry Hill , Maryland after said spaceship gets struck by a meteor . The nasty , scaly , clawed lizard creature proceeds to rack up a substantial corpse tally ( 24 people in total ! ) by either zapping folks with its cruddy plastic toy raygun or graphically tearing ' em up with its sharp , taloned hands . It's up to geeky , curly-haired stringbean Sheriff Cinder ( the bland , ungainly Tom Griffith ) , pretty Deputy Lisa ( the extremely cute and sprite blonde looker Karin Kaisdan , who at one particularly ridiculous point in the middle of all the action finds time to bare her hot bod for a laughably gratuitous love scene with the sheriff ) , and selfless , stout-hearted good Samaritan Jamie ( the gratingly insipid Jamie Zemarel ) to kill the bloodthirsty intergalactic being before it decimates the entire populace of the town . Chockablock with all the essential oddly entertaining so - utterly - wrong - it's - paradoxically - right stuff - - rancid emoting from a non-star cast ( besides the three horrible leads , we also got the ubiquitous Grade Z film regular George Stover in one of his standard wimpy bespectacled dweeb roles and the beefy Don Leifert as an odious woman-beating local roughhouse baddie ) , ineptly staged shoot-outs , chintzy scratched onto the negative laser effects , a judicious smattering of cheesy soft-core sex and nudity , ham-fisted direction , a threadbare script which does little more than loosely string together a steady series of gruesome murder set pieces , eye-straining under-lit nighttime cinematography , and more luridly gory ultra-violence than you can shake a double-barreled shotgun at - - " Nightbeast " certainly earns its place in the hilariously horrendous down'n'dirty celluloid dreck epic Hall of Shame . It's an enjoyably idiotic , low-rent and resolutely tacky all-thumbs affair that's a great deal of first-rate fumbling el schlocko high camp fun . |
519,070 | 8,239,592 | 76,123 | 9 | A gloriously quirky & colorful slice of Americana delight | One of Jonathan Demme's earliest and best movies , this quirky , seriocomic , thoroughly amiable and disarming slice-of-Americana gem bombed at the box office , but was widely hailed by critics and has gone on to garner a much-deserved loyal fan following . Centering on a small rural community populated by assorted flaky eccentrics who gab over the CB radio under outrageous aliases and similar wildly exaggerated personalities to boot ( nowadays these folks can be found on countless internet chat-rooms and web boards , so the premise really hasn't dated at all ; it's just taken on a different manifestation in the new millennium ) , this honey stars the outstanding Paul LeMat as Spider , a fervent , obsessive , self-appointed vigilante who wants to get rid of all the nutcases chattering away on emergency channels . Among the targets of Spider's wrath are Ed Begley , Jr . as a zealous priest who sermonizes over the air ; the delightfully daffy Alix Elias as sweet hooker on wheels Hot Coffee , who advertises herself over the airwaves and turns tricks in the back of her camper ( ! ) ; a lewd adolescent male operating under the self-explanatory moniker the Hustler who tells dirty tales of his alleged spicy sexual misadventures over the radio , and a strident Aryan Nazi scumbag . Spider becomes so absorbed with his single-minded mission that loving , but frustrated girlfriend Candy Clark starts cheating on him with his hard-nosed competitive high school basketball coach brother Bruce McGill and even steams up the airwaves speaking raunchy talk over the CB radio to some dweeb who calls himself the Warlock ! The always great Charles Napier contributes a terrific performance as amicable , big-hearted bigamist trucker Chrome Angel ; Ann Wedgeworth and Marcia Rodd are likewise excellent as Chuck's flighty , blowzy wife and practical , more down-to-earth better half , respectively . Roberts Blossom ( the nutty middle-aged Ed Geinesque lunatic in the supremely chilling psycho knockout " Deranged " ) turns in a hilariously crotchety characterization as Spider's ornery , batty old coot father who only comes to life while talking over the CB radio . Chiefly addressing the lack of direct , intimate communication between people in contemporary society and the basic need to transcend the drab mundaneness of ordinary life through the assuming of another , altogether more colorful , outlandish and exciting made-up alternate identity ( substantial themes which are still quite timely and pertinent even today ) , Paul Brickman's bright , astute , truly whimsical and episodically structured script offers a wealth of precisely observed little moments and a generous helping of warmth and compassion which accumulate into a totally unique and engaging whole . Demme's peppy , sparkling , sympathetic direction displays an equally heartfelt and heartwarming affection for everyday oddball middle-class Americana , pacing and shaping the deliciously dense and winding narrative with utmost ease and consummate expertise . Jordan Cronenweth's flashy'n'splashy , richly saturated cinematography and Bill Conti's folksy , gently lulling and harmonic score further add to the frothy , gleefully off-center merriment . A fabulously idiosyncratic treat . |
518,723 | 8,239,592 | 76,109 | 9 | Another delightfully down'n'dirty Claudia Jennings 70's drive-in gem | Late , great 70's drive-in movie queen Claudia Jennings is at her brassy , sassy and smoking sexy best as Candy Morgan , a kittenishly irreverent prison escapee who teams up with saucy former bank teller Ellie-Jo Turner ( winningly played by the very pretty and appealing Jocelyn Jones of " Tourist Trap " fame ) and goes on an eventful crime spree , robbing banks and breaking hunky guys ' hearts with equally joyful abandon . Directed with considerable verve by Michael Pressman , buoyed by a zippy , banjo-happy score by Craig ( " Nightmares , " " Warning Sign " ) Safan , further sparked by a cheerfully lowbrow sensibility and featuring a sidesplitting cameo by the ever-haughty Stefan ( " Blue Sunshine , " " Blood Beach " ) Gierasch as a stuffy hotel clerk who tries to refuse Claudia and Jocelyn a room , this extremely brash , funny and spirited hoot rates as a whole lot of top-rate infectiously trashy fun . The copious gratuitous nudity by the tall , slender , breathtakingly beautiful blonde Claudia and the more diminutive , but still comely and enticing Jocelyn constitutes as another substantial plus . Overall , this baby is an absolute must-see for Claudia Jennings fans in particular and aficionados of blithely amoral cheapo 70's redneck crime epics in general , which hopefully doesn't rule out too many folks . |
519,450 | 8,239,592 | 63,285 | 9 | A brutal and chilling British horror gem | England in the 1640s . Civil war has torn the country apart and lawlessness reigns supreme throughout the land . Cruel , cunning , evil opportunist Matthew Hopkins ( a brilliantly restrained and convincing Vincent Price in his greatest horror film performance ) and his sadistic assistant John Stearne ( a perfectly vile Robert Russell ) collect handsome fees for severely persecuting folks who have been accused of witchcraft . Hopkins and Stearne put innocent priest John Lowes ( a fine Rupert Davies ) to death and have their wicked way with Lowes ' sweet niece Sarah ( the extremely charming and fetching Hilary Dwyer ) . Sarah's soldier fiancé Richard Marshall ( excellently played by Ian Ogilvy ) vows revenge on both Hopkins and Stearne . Director Michael Reeves , who co-wrote the bitter and caustic script with Tom Baker , delivers a potent and disturbing shocker about corruption , superstition , and the abuse of power . Reeves does an especially adept job of creating and sustaining a bleak , harsh , grimly serious and humorless tone which gives the horrific on-screen violence an additional hard and unnerving edge . Moreover , Reeves makes expert use of the beautifully verdant British countryside , which stands in stark contrast to the raw savagery depicted throughout the picture . Paul Ferris ' exquisitely lush'n'robust orchestral score and John Coquillon's gorgeously bright'n'crisp cinematography are both exceptional . Popping up in memorable cameos are Patrick Wymark as the hearty Cromwell , Wilfrid Brambell as the grotesquely effeminate Master Loach , and sexy British 60's pin-up girl Margaret Nolan as a bawdy wench . A strong and disturbing knockout that's wholly deserving of its sterling cult status . |
519,099 | 8,239,592 | 72,236 | 9 | Jack Hill's slyly subversive 70's cheerleader comedy treat | Special credit must go to the ever-surprising and enterprising Jack Hill for making the single most wickedly subversive film in the popular 70's cheerleader sub-genre . Sure , it certainly delivers the prerequisite ample doses of silly slapstick humor and tasty sex and gratuitous nudity , but along with that sleazy stuff we also have a remarkably astute critique of gender roles and sexual stereotypes as well as a deliciously sly and playful sense of anarchic humor . Sassy Mesa University underground newspaper reporter Kate ( winningly played by lovely brunette sprite Jo Johnston ) decides to pose as a cheerleader in order to get the straight dope for an article on " female exploitation in contemporary society . " Kate soon discovers that there's much more to being a cheerleader than just sexy short skirts and fluffy pom-poms . They're actually troubled individuals with serious issues : Sweet Rainbeaux Smith is a frustrated virgin who's eager to learn more about sex , Colleeen Camp is a snotty , stuck-up rich bitch who always gets what she wants , and Rosanne Katon ( " Playboy " ' s September ' 78 Playmate of the Month ) is having an affair with a married college professor . The seemingly cocky and sexist star football player turns out to be a nice , sensitive guy and the allegedly radical hippie college newspaper editor ultimately gets exposed as a hypocritical misogynistic phony . Moreover , both the shady campus dean and the duplicitous football coach are involved in a numbers racket . Wow , talk about campus unrest ! Besides the unusually sound plot and provocative political subtext ( both very rare and welcome qualities in the often schlocky and strictly superficial cheerleader sub-genre ) , " The Swinging Cheerleaders " further boasts a wonderfully lush'n'plush look , uniformly solid acting , nifty policeman bits by crusty character actor John Quade and veteran Hollywood stuntman Bob Minor ( who also popped up in " Coffy , " " Foxy Brown " and " Switchblade Sistors " for Jack Hill ) , and a hilariously wild'n'wacky slapstick finale . Clips from this gem are featured in the acclaimed Errol Morris documentary " The Thin Blue Line . " |
519,371 | 8,239,592 | 93,628 | 9 | A choice cheesy chunk of late 80's soft-core horror trash | This delightfully dumb and drecky no-budget piece of shamelessly pandering direct-to-video smut is nothing more than a feeble excuse to showcase the almighty 80's scream queen holy trinity of the exquisitely bountiful Michelle Bauer , the sumptuously slinky Brinke Stevens and the ever-luscious Linnea Quigley strutting their sexy , sensuous , sizzling stuff clad only in their birthday suits . And boy does it ever deliver the goods in this particular regard . Sure , you got to slog their 30-odd minutes of excruciating witless and labored sophomoric comedic antics prior to the gals dutifully doffing their duds in the name of lowbrow exploitation , but when they finally shed their clothes the film comes through with a gloriously lengthy and explicit three women having fun in the bath tub sequence that goes on for five marvelously drawn-out minutes . Oh yeah , I almost forgot to mention the so-called " plot . " Well , there really ain't one - - and frankly who cares about some lousy it-would-only-get-in-the-way story . The sole reason that this flick even exists at all is to display the three splendidly alluring starlets naked . Granted , the opening scenes with Brinke , Michelle and Linnea playing gawky and ungainly asexual nerdettes are quite amusing ; seeing Linnea with ungodly buck teeth singing off-key and a fat'n'frumpy Michelle pig out on junk food is admittedly funny , but the film really doesn't hit its stride until the geeky gals become possessed by evil spirits and turn into sexually insatiable and predatory hot babe succubi . Linnea in particular really cuts loose at this point , belting out a raucous punk song with deliciously unbridled abandon . Technically , this blatantly cheap picture is the absolute pits , with flat direction , slack pacing , blah editing , a very crude sense of dumb college fratboy humor , and infuriatingly static cinematography ( one insipid master shot of Brinke , Linnea and Michelle plays out for an agonizingly uninterrupted ten minutes ) , but it's still the rare cheerfully cheesy soft-core movie that completely fulfills the trashy promise of its sleazy premise and thus rates highly as a supreme slice of late 80's schlock for that reason alone . |
518,241 | 8,239,592 | 483,607 | 9 | A wonderfully wild and wired futuristic sci-fi / action blast | 2035 . A lethal virus has decimated most of Glasgow , Scotland . The city has been closed off to protect London , England from the plague . When a new deadly strain of the virus threatens to infect Great Britain , the government officials send an elite team of top officers led by the extremely hard-nosed and resourceful Major Eden Sinclair ( a splendidly steely portrayal by Rhona Mitra ) into Glasgow to find a cure within 48 hours . The team runs afoul of both dangerous cannibal renegades and a bizarre retro Middle Ages medieval society . Writer / director Neil Marshall relates the lively and engrossing story at a constant brisk pace , maintains a properly bleak and violent tone throughout , stages the action set pieces with considerable rip-snorting gusto ( the savage swordfights , bloody gunplay , and go-for-broke frenzied vehicular carnage all seriously smoke in no uncertain terms ) , doesn't skimp on the grisly gore ( make sure to watch the unrated version ) , and further spices things up with a deliciously dry'n'droll sense of very British pitch-black humor . Of course , Marshall pays affectionate homage to such choice post-apocalyptic classics as " Escape from New York " ( Sinclair has a funky mechanical eye ) , " Damnation Alley , " and the " Mad Max " pictures . Better still , the narrative becomes more gleefully absurd and over the top as it unfolds , with the gloriously wacky zenith reached with a decidedly sick and unwholesome arena diner party held by a rowdy urban gang of deranged flesh-eating punk lunatics led by the unhinged Sol ( marvelously essayed with lip-smacking hammy aplomb by Craig Conway ) . The excellent cast qualifies as another substantial asset : Mitra excels as one exceptionally tough and formidable heroine , Conway lets it all hang out as Sol , Lee-Anne Liebenberg impresses as Sol's fierce warrior woman main squeeze Viper , plus there are sturdy supporting turns by Bob Hoskins as Sinclair's wise , no-nonsense superior Bill Nelson , Adrian Lester as rugged Sergeant Norton , David O'Hara as ruthless , slippery diplomat Michael Canaris , Malcom McDowell as crazed scientist Dr . Marcus Kane , MyAnna Buring as Kane's feisty wayward daughter Cally , and Alexander Siddig as pompous prime minister John Hatcher . Kudos are also in order for Sam McCurdy's slick , stunning cinematography , the first-rate special effects , Tyler Bates ' ominous , pulsating score , and the lavish production design . A real exciting , energetic , and above all hugely entertaining pip . |
518,848 | 8,239,592 | 178,050 | 9 | An unjustly overlooked slice of the 70's rock sleeper | In the late 90's and early 00's there was a rash of terrifically lively and affectionate rock films centering on a specific aspect of 70's rock'n'roll : Among these pictures are the wonderfully raucous teen romp " Detroit Rock City , " the marvelous glam rock epic " Velvet Goldmine , " Cameron Crowe's sweetly autobiographical " Almost Famous , " and this undeservedly overlooked low-key winner about six young hopefuls in lowdown funky , free'n'easy , anything-goes carefree hedonistic 70's Los Angeles who are desperately trying to make it in the music business on the glitzy Sunset Strip , the much-fabled boulevard of starry-eyed dreams and glittery glamour . In a highly busy and eventful single day the lives of cocky , strutting , long-haired singer Jared Leto , scrawny , scruffy , wide-eyed guitarist Nick Stahl , obnoxious coke-snorting hipster Adam Goldberg , moody songwriter Rory Cochrane , eager struggling costume designer Anna Friel , and mellow photographer Simon Baker are radically changed forever as they meet with either hard-earned success or dismal crashing failure during the course of a crucially important 24 hour period . Adam Collis ' assured , observant , naturalistic no-frills direction relates the hoppin ' narrative at a deliberately gradual pace , offering a totally convincing , lovingly detailed , and admirably unromanticized recreation of an especially raw and exciting era . Better still , the seedier aspects of the backstage rock world - - drugs , groupies , venereal diseases and so on - - are depicted with a certain fierce honesty and engaging matter-of-factness . The precisely written script by Randall Jahnson and Russell DeGrazier keeps the plot on track from start to finish , never letting the colorful series of episodic vignettes degenerate into a rambling and unfocused mess . The top-rate soundtrack of choice vintage tunes galvanizes the proceedings with tremendous crackling verve while the gaudy fashions and embarrassing hairstyles perfectly peg the gloriously tacky and outrageous excesses of the notoriously loose and libertine Me Decade . Kudos also to Ron Fortunato's handsome , sparkling cinematography and Stewart Copeland's right-on groovy score . And the fresh cast of immensely attractive and appealing young thespians all give excellent performances : Friel in particular invests her role with an irresistibly perky aplomb and Leto ( Ellen Burstyn's useless ineffectual junkie son in the gut-wrenching " Requiem for A Dream " ) projects an arrogant swagger that's completely smack dead on target . Veteran character actor John Randolph has a lovely part as a crusty , but kindly elderly landlord . An unjustly neglected sleeper that's eminently worthy of rediscovery and subsequent possible cult status . |
519,192 | 8,239,592 | 68,457 | 9 | A superbly creepy & potent 70's Vietnam era variant on " The Monkey's Paw " | A superlative and genuinely frightening 70's Vietnam era contemporary low-budget horror reworking of the classic short story parable " The Monkey's Paw . " Sweet small town dude Andy ( splendidly played by Richard Backus , who should have had a much bigger acting career ) and a buddy get fatally blasted while fighting in Vietnam . Andy's batty , chatty , grasping and overwrought mother Christine ( an excellent Lynn Carlin ) and his more relaxed , level-headed pop Charles ( an outstanding performance by John Marley ) receive a letter which informs them that Andy bought it in the heat of battle , dying valiantly while defending his country . Charles gravely accepts the boy's demise ; Christine refuses to admit that dear Andy is dead . Andy comes home that very night , but he isn't quite himself : he's dour , reticent , pallid and withdrawn . In fact , Andy has become a most inhuman zombie who needs to drink other people's blood in order to stay alive ( Andy utilizes a syringe in order to obtain the sauce , an obvious and very effective allusion to heroin addiction ) ; he's been brought back from the dead by his mother's unyielding , irrational will . A potent , disquieting and atmospheric scare flick allegory which trenchantly explores how war turns men into monsters ( usually in a strictly figurative sense ; in this case it takes on an unsettling literal manifestation ) , the disintegration of the alleged bedrock institution that is the average middle-class suburban family , how foolishly and unquestionably patriotic parents willingly sacrifice their own sons for an ugly , senseless war , the tremendous amount of denial which exists in all families ( Christine stubbornly persists on believing that nothing is wrong with darling little Andy ) , and the Vietnam war's severely traumatizing impact on Middle America . Bob Clark's strong , low-key , able direction deftly creates an eerie , brooding ambiance , elicits uniformly first-rate acting from the entire cast , and stages the startling socko cemetery set conclusion with admirable panache . Alan Ormsby's intelligent , incisive script adds a few dollops of welcome black-as-pitch gallows humor ( the scene where Andy nonchalantly throttles the family dog in front of some noisy kids is a real corker ! ) and several wickedly witty lines ( " I can't believe a soldier would do a thing like that , " remarks a skeptical waitress after she hears about a murder ) to the basically grimly straight proceedings . Jack McGowan's shadowy cinematography ( the horrifying opening scene with Andy getting bagged is powerfully filmed , with striking use of slow motion ) , Carl Zittrer's jittery , discordant , flesh-crawling score , and Tom Savini's fine , fairly grisly make-up f / x perfectly compliment this spooky , deeply disturbing and savagely confrontational bringing home the terror horror feature knockout . |
518,995 | 8,239,592 | 275,182 | 9 | A poignant and excellent indie drama gem | Sad , lonely , bitter and disillusioned crack addict Alix ( a remarkably brave , naked and electrifying performance by Ana Reeder ) resides on the mean streets of Manhattan's Lower Eastside and ekes out a bleak and thankless existence selling stolen goods so she can support her dope habit . One day Alix overdoes on bad junk , passes out and gets dumped in an apartment hallway . Friendly and compassionate successful photographer Digna ( a winningly sweet portrayal by Michael Hyatt ) gives Alix shelter and tries to get Alix to surmount her drug problem so she can get her life back on track . Writer / director Rosemary Rodriguez relates the grim and absorbing story in a riveting and convincing no-frills documentary style : Luke Geissbuhler's rough , grainy , hand-held cinematography , the occasionally jarring editing , the grungy , homely and unglamorous extras , Jim Coleman's spare , bluesy score , the heartbreaking tragic conclusion , and the gritty urban locations add immensely to this picture's overall sense of harsh realism . The central friendship between the two main characters is painfully honest , moving and insightful . Reeder and Hyatt truly shine in their tough and demanding roles ; they receive fine support from Nestor Rodriguez as Digna's apathetic , but basically decent boyfriend Anthony and Christopher Kadish as strung-out struggling musician Mark . Raw , credible and uncompromisingly hard around the edges , this strong and deeply touching indie sleeper rates as a total powerhouse . |
518,846 | 8,239,592 | 149,964 | 9 | An absolute powerhouse | Shortly following an unfortunate incident in Pennsylvania , naive young Tom ( the boyishly charming Jason London of " Dazed and Confused " ) moves to Los Angeles and gets a job working as a paramedic so he can put his past behind him . He's partnered with weary , burnt-out , sardonic veteran medic Jimmy ( a mesmerizing performance by Todd Field ) , a blithely blasé cynic who alleviates the stress of his unsparingly high pressure job by having sex with prostitutes , swilling booze , and smoking dope . Jimmy inducts the callow Tom into his manic , edgy , drug-fueled lifestyle and pretty soon both guys are spinning on a downward spiral to serious premature oblivion as the increasingly desperate pair resort to theft and dealing to support their ever-worsening habits . A strikingly amoral and keenly observed seriocomic feature about guilt , denial , redemption and drug addiction that scores strongly with its breathlessly quick pace , fractured editing , beautiful , sometimes hallucinatory visuals , dark , despairing tone , wickedly black sense of humor , and a dizzyingly constant , frenzied , hopped-up bustling vitality which deftly captures both the exciting highs and distressing lows of being wired on narcotics , director / co-screenwriter Scott Ziehl takes the viewer on an exhilaratingly frantic cinematic trip that's thrilling and harrowing in comparable measure . What's most impressive about this extraordinary film is its admirable refusal to offer any easy way out for its strung-out protagonists and refreshing lack of heavy-handed moralizing . Moreover , the performances are uniformly superb : London and Field are outstanding in the lead roles , with excellent secondary turns by Roxanna Zal as Tom's sweet , concerned nurse girlfriend , Susan Traylor as an annoyingly loquacious speed freak , James Hong as Tom and Jimmy's irascible , overbearing jerk boss , William Smith as a loud , antagonistic biker patient , and especially the late , great Patrick Cranshaw as Jimmy's rascally , regretful dope fiend grandfather . Nervy , intense , and ultimately quite powerful , this remarkable knock-out rates highly as one of the great indie sleepers of the 90's . |
518,001 | 8,239,592 | 475,937 | 9 | A strong and unsettling supernatural shocker | American film producer Marie Jones ( superbly played by Anastasia Hille ) was adopted as a little girl . Now in her early 40s , Marie goes back to her home country of Russia to find out more about herself . She learns that her mother was murdered a while back and that she was inherited the rundown family farm house . Marie returns to the house and encounters the mysterious Nicolai ( an excellent performance by Karel Roden ) , who claims to be her twin brother . Moreover , Marie starts to see ghostly visions of both herself and Nicolai as she uncovers dark secrets from her shadowy past . Director / co-writer Nacho Cerda adeptly crafts and maintains a compellingly spooky atmosphere which becomes more progressively creepy and unnerving as the grimly absorbing story gradually unfolds . The slow and careful build-up creates a tension that reaches a jarring fever pitch during the devastatingly bleak conclusion . The remote woodland location conveys a real sense of isolation and vulnerability . Hille and Roden are both outstanding in the leads . In addition , it's genuinely refreshing to see a current horror picture about mature , troubled adults instead of the usual carefree juvenile kids . Alfons Conde's eerie , moody score , the unremittingly gloomy tone , Xavi Gimenez's lush , polished cinematography , and the breathtakingly beautiful rural countryside scenery further add to the overall flesh-crawling power of this exceptional and highly recommended knockout . |
519,291 | 8,239,592 | 85,894 | 9 | A total gut buster | Brilliant prominent brain surgeon Dr . Michael Hfuhruhurr ( Steve Martin in peak zany form ) is stuck in a bad marriage with the beautiful , but evil and frosty gold digger Dolores Benedict ( Kathleen Turner at her most insanely hot and divinely wicked ) . Things perk up for Michael when he meets and falls in love with sharp and charming female brain Anne Uumellmehaye ( marvelously voiced with sweet aplomb by an uncredited Sissy Spacek ) . But now Michael has to find the perfect body for Anne before it's too late . Director Carl Reiner , who co-wrote the blithely nutty script with Martin and George Gage , keeps the pace hurtling along at a nonstop snappy rate and infuses the whole show with an infectiously screwball anything-for-a-laugh kooky sensibility that pokes witty and often hilarious affectionate fun at cheesy Grade B sci-fi fare . The consistently sidesplitting humor ranges from broad ( Michael as a human pinball ) to raunchy to flat-out brilliant ( Merv Griffin's inspired surprise cameo as the notorious Elevator Killer ) . Amidst all the sublime silliness we've got an utterly absurd , yet warm and touching love story between a man and a brain in a jar . The first-rate cast all give terrifically lively and enthusiastic performances : Martin certainly earns his early reputation as a wild and crazy guy with his frenzied portrayal of Michael , Turner plays the femme fatale to the deliciously nasty hilt , plus there are fine supporting contributions from David Warner as droll mad scientist Dr . Alfred Necessiter , Paul Benedicts as Necessiter's snooty butler , and Richard Prestoff as Michael's jolly superior Dr . Pasteur . Popping up in nifty bits are James Cromwell as a realtor , Earl Boen as a fellow brain surgeon Felix Conrad , Jeffrey Combs as assistant Dr . Jones , and George Furth as elderly millionaire Timon . The gorgeous Randi Brooks has a memorably sexy small part as Fran , an airhead hooker who has a fantastic body , but an extremely irritating squeaky voice . Michael Chapman's crisp cinematography gives the picture an attractive polished look . Joel Goldsmith's spirited , flavorsome score likewise does the trick . An absolute hoot . |
518,395 | 8,239,592 | 184,993 | 9 | A hilarious horror black comedy short | An evil and possessive little girl ( delightfully played with wicked aplomb by the adorable Elyse Plantico ) uses voodoo on a hapless guy ( the excellent Cory Rouse ) in order to ruin the man's date with her beautiful single mother ( ravishing brunette J . B . ) . Writer / director Gregg Bishop made this six minute horror comedy short in six days for under a $1 , 000 dollars as his student project for USC ; he expertly mines a fine line in playfully twisted dark humor and brings an energy and ingenuity to the simple , yet funny and effective premise that's a complete treat to watch . The cast tackle their roles with equally commendable gusto , with special kudos in order for Rouse's extraordinary physical prowess at pulling off an uproarious series of crazy pratfalls with remarkable skill and agility . Jonathan Ke Quan's stark and lively black and white cinematography offers some great atmospheric lighting and keeps the hand-held camera constantly moving . Mark Justin's alternately bouncy and shivery score also hits the spot . An absolute hoot . |
518,347 | 8,239,592 | 67,732 | 9 | A grim , gritty and hellishly absorbing portrait of everyday madness and despair | Dour , moody , petulant , very masculine and unsociable loner abattoir worker Marcos ( a fine , low-key , creepily nonchalant performance by Vincente Parra ) and his peevish , unhappy girlfriend ( the lovely Emma Cohen ) take a ride in a taxi one fateful night . The irritable cab driver tosses them out when they start making out in the back of his taxi . Marcos and the cabbie have an altercation which results in the cabbie being killed . Marcos ' girlfriend wants to tell the cops . Marcos , who's distrustful of authority due to his lowly working class social status , throttles his girlfriend in a fit of pique . Pretty soon Marcos becomes extremely paranoid and begins to kill every last person who suspects him of being a homicidal maniac ( Marcos even whacks his own brother with a wrench ) . Marcos strikes up an uneasy friendship with an earnest , but suspicious gay neighbor . Things get even more tense . Meanwhile , Marcos chops up the corpses residing in his spartan , squalid rathole abode and disposes of the body parts by incinerating them in the slaughterhouse furnace . A grave , gruesome , exceedingly unnerving and disconcerting depiction of how severe self-loathing and one's miserably meager station in life can feasibly drive you murderously around the bend ( Marcos registers strongly as a hauntingly sullen and scarily twisted proletarian anti-hero ) , this dark , stark , deeply disturbing and harrowingly plausible psychological horror portrait of everyday gratuitous violence , repressed sexuality ( there's an edgy air of homo-eroticism apparent in the relationship between Marcos and his meddlesome neighbor ) , and seething , volatile little guy angst makes for a very queasy and unsettling viewing experience . The late , great Eloy de la Iglesia's taut , austere , fiercely humorless and deliberate direction , ably assisted by Raul Artigot's grainy , gloriously unadorned no-frills cinematography , Fernando G . Morcillo's spare , spooky , nerve-jangling score , occasional outbursts of hideously graphic and genuinely shocking violence , gradual pacing , an unsparingly solemn tone , and properly subdued naturalistic acting from the uniformly solid cast , creates a frightfully squirmy and sweaty suffocating gloom-doom atmosphere which ultimately delivers one hell of a potent and lingering kick-you-in-the-gut wallop . Anchor Bay's typically up-to-par DVD offers a nice widescreen presentation with the trailer as the sole extra . |
519,301 | 8,239,592 | 78,205 | 10 | Better straighten up and fly right , son ! | Anyone who attended either junior high or high school in the late 70's up until the mid 80's has probably seen this legendary hard-hitting 50 minute shock doc about seventeen brash , cocky , insolent , " nothing - is - ever - gonna - happen - to - me " carefree juvenile delinquents from New York and New Jersey who are at the seriously precarious risk of becoming lifelong career criminals . These potential threats to the decent , tax-paying , law-abiding public at large are sent to a brutal maximum security prison in Rahway , New Jersey that harbors the worst substratum of vicious raping , thieving , murdering subhuman hoodlum scum to ever crawl across the face of the earth . The deliciously grotesque rogues ' gallery of no-account jailbirds include some dude with only one eye , a ferociously confrontational black guy , and a scraggly white cat who delivers this especially smoking spiel about how every day he wakes up in the morning wondering if he's gotta kill somebody . The hardened felons knock the recalcitrant arrogance out of these snotty punk-a kids by telling them all about the grim , seamy and hellishly barbaric reality of life behind bars in unsparingly harsh and profane terms ( " Look at me motherbeeper when I'm talking ! " ) . Watching these boastful little btards have their surly overinflated ego balloons popped by being subjected to foul homosexual taunts and coarse , unrelenting verbal harassment makes for very satisfying viewing . Shot in spare , gritty , no-frills hand-held verite style on grungy film stock , with no music and ragged editing , this powerhouse picture possesses a fierce , jolting , hair-raisingly in-your-face immediacy . This blistering documentary not only was televised uncut on PBS and soberly narrated by Peter " Columbo " Falk , but also won both Emmy and Academy Awards for Best Documentary ! An unarguable classic . |
518,621 | 8,239,592 | 330,452 | 10 | Very powerful | The Crowe family are shocked and unsettled when 12-year-old daughter Stephanie ( a brief , but memorable appearance by Anna Mary Wilson ) gets brutally murdered in their home late at night . The police suspect Stephanie's surly , naive 14-year-old brother Michael ( superbly played by Mark Rendall ) of the killing and pressure him into making a confession . Michael's distraught mother Cheryl ( an outstanding portrayal by Ally Sheedy ) and sympathetic father Stephen ( a fine Michael Riley ) don't believe the charges and take legal action to get Michael released from jail . Director Don McBrearty , working from a gripping and thoughtful script by Alan Hines , relates this startling true story of injustice , the untrustworthiness of the police , and how the law can work against us instead of for us with commendable skill , taste and restraint . The first-rate acting from a uniformly sterling cast rates as another significant asset : Rendall is a revelation as the scared and confused Michael , Sheedy and Riley are equally terrific as his parents , plus there are sturdy supporting performances by Hannah Lochner as Michael's sweet younger sister Shannon , John Bourgeois as the severe , intimidating Detective Claytor , and Rosemary Dunsmore as shrewd defense attorney Dorothy Sorenson . Rhett Morita's slick cinematography and the moody , mournful score by Alex Pauk and Alexina Louie are both up to par as well . An exceptionally potent and poignant picture which packs a remarkably strong and lingering emotional punch . |
519,282 | 8,239,592 | 73,756 | 10 | Sonny Chiba is the ultimate ferocious martial arts animal ! | A seriously rough , brutal and unsparingly violent mid-70's chopsocky grindhouse classic starring the almighty Sonny Chiba , a ferocious feral grunting beast of a man who portrays a blithely amoral mercenary-for-hire who winds up taking on the local Yakuza when they refuse to pony up the money that's due to him . Chiba embarks on a shockingly harsh murderous spree , literally busting heads ( in one breath-taking shot we see an x-ray of a skull being broken by Chiba's death blow ! ) , gouging out eyes , knocking out teeth , ripping out throats and in one particularly nasty scene tearing a would-be rapist's penis off ( ouch ! ) with his bare hands . This is pure raw , graphic , unflinchingly savage and hideous in-your-face karate carnage all the way , complete with gorgeous widescreen photography , funky " wacka wacka " 70's rock guitar music , wall-to-wall no-holds-barred fight scenes , globe-trotting locations , lousy dubbing , hot Asian chicks , an annoying comic relief wimp sidekick , and a reasonably complex plot . It's also exciting as all hell , especially when Chiba takes on and subsequently takes out five or six dudes at a time . Compared to the extremely primal and lethal untamed martial arts animal that is Sonny Chiba , Bruce Lee seems like a very sweet , harmless and mild-mannered creampuff . |
518,327 | 8,239,592 | 87,995 | 10 | Reasons why this movie rocks | 1 . ) This film perfectly nails the despair , bleakness and fierce dog-eat-dog amorality of the Reagan-era 80's . The rivalry between the two different groups of car repossessors , the gang of stick-up punk hoodlums who are always robbing various stores , and the overall mood of merry nihilism suggest a world that's gone totally topsy-turvy . 2 . ) The first-rate cast all give terrific performances . Harry Dean Stanton delivers a marvelously crusty portrayal as Bud , a weary and cynical veteran repo man who shows disaffected punk Otto ( superbly played by Emilio Estevez in his best-ever role ) the ropes . Olivia Barash as brassy love interest Leila , Tracey Walter as spacey philosophical mechanic Miller , Sy Richardson as the funky Lite , Vonetta McGee as sassy secretary Marlene , and Fox Harris as brain-fried lobotomized scientist J . Frank Parnell are all likewise outstanding . 3 . ) The amazing punk rock soundtrack : From Iggy Pop's awesome ending credits theme song to the nifty club appearance by the Circle Jerks , the soundtrack smokes in no uncertain terms . 4 . ) There are cool cameos by Luis Contreras as a supermarket security guard , Jimmy Buffett as a blond federal agent , Angelique Pettyjohn as a repo wife , and writer / director Alex Cox as a car wash attendant . 5 . ) The incredible quotable dialogue ( favorite line : " Beep this ; let's go do some crimes " ) . 6 . ) The hilarious running gag about the generic food labels . 7 . ) The positively gut-busting convenience store shoot-out . 8 . ) Cox concocts a wickedly fresh , funny and on the money delightful multi-genre pastiche which deftly combines elements of black comedy , science fiction , conspiracy thriller and even film noir into a singularly wired and original cinematic brew . 9 . ) Robby Muller's sharp , sparkling cinematography gives this picture a gorgeously polished look . 10 . ) There's an infectious raw energy and hilariously quirky sense of blithely anarchic dark humor to be relished in every last gloriously gonzo frame of this fabulously flipped-out one-of-a-kind idiosyncratic gem . |
518,653 | 8,239,592 | 56,331 | 10 | A first-rate early 60's end-of-the-world sci-fi classic | A harsh , gritty , rough-edged and hard-hitting low-budget early 60's post-nuke end-of-the-world survivalist classic from the always reliable exploitation movie outfit American International Pictures . It's one of the first and finest of its type . Close-knit Los Angeles suburbanite family the Baldwins - - rugged , quick-thinking take-charge dad Ray Milland , worried mother Mary Mitchell , equally resilient chip off the ol ' block son Frankie Avalon , and whiny , attractive jail-bait daughter Jean Hagen - - drive their car and trailer out of Angel City just before it gets creamed in an atomic bomb mushroom cloud blast . Society takes an immediate nosedive into every-man-for-himself anarchic barbarism . Milland takes his family up to the relatively safe mountains in order to better their chances of staying alive , fending off hostile gas station attendants , antsy small town locals , ruthless , increasingly desperate fellow survivors and a gang of vicious teenage hoodlums led by perennial juvenile delinquent baddie nonpareil Richard Bakalyan . Milland's terse , clearly focused direction , working from a gutsy , provocative , extremely intelligent , grimly serious and at times surprisingly witty script by Jay Simms and John Morton , further enhanced by strong , credible acting ( even the usually wanting Avalon holds his own , with an especially fine performance by the fetching Joan Freeman as a feisty young lass the Baldwins rescue from the thugs ) , barbed , tough-talking dialogue , Les Baxter's blaring , brassy , wildly swingin ' beatnik jazz score , a stark , no-frills , most convincing cut-to-the-bare-bones style , Gil Warrenton's crisp black and white cinematography , several shocking outbursts of raw violence , an aptly gloomy tone , and a highly unnerving , tension-packed sense of rapidly escalating fear , distress , unease and paranoia as civilization promptly falls apart at the seems ( the bustling , hopped-up speeding car sequences and deadly solemn infrequent radio broadcasts are positively harrowing ) , creates a frightfully plausible , hellishly absorbing and downright chilling portrait of the nerve-jangling shambles the world could possibly be reduced to following a devastating nuclear holocaust . A real powerhouse movie . |
519,288 | 8,239,592 | 78,326 | 10 | Superbly gritty 70's crime drama with a first-rate Dustin Hoffman performance | Dustin Hoffman gives one of his finest , scrappiest and least sappy performances as Max Dembo , a cagey , scuzzy , ferociously self-reliant sociopathic ex-con who gets sprung from the joint and makes a game , albeit futile attempt at going legit , only to wind up resorting to his old criminal ways after his browbeating , grossly unfair and overzealous parole officer ( a superbly slimy M . Emmet Walsh ) fouls up his chances at becoming a decent , law-abiding citizen with some trumped-up bullst drug charge . Under Ulu Grosbard's tight , no-frills , naturalistic direction , this marvelously gritty and hard-hitting semi-verite crime drama makes for a terrifically tough-minded adaptation of real-life reformed hoodlum Edward Bunker's exceptional semi-autobiographical novel " No Beast So Fierce " ( Bunker co-wrote the rough , resolutely unromantic no-nonsense script and has a funny bit part as one of Max's connected underworld pals ) as well as a savagely trenchant indictment of our society's cruelly ineffectual prison reformation system and a provocative meditation on the struggle for redemption . The supporting cast makes the grade with flying colors : the gorgeous Theresa Russell as a guileless , but headstrong welfare worker who gets more than she bargained for when she hooks up with Max ; Gary Busey as a deplorably craven , heroin-addicted wheelman with a backbone of jello , a then unknown Kathy Bates as Busey's loving wife , and , best of all , the ever-awesome Harry Dean Stanton as an uncomfortably mellowed-out erstwhile jailbird who gladly chucks away his hideously banal suburbanite existence in order to embark on an exciting robbing spree with Max . Further strengthened by David Shire's sprightly blues score , Owen Roizman's agile , but scruffy cinematography , a suitably harsh and unglamorous depiction of brutish low-life crooks and the grimy , seedy , and dangerous down'n'dirty milieu they inhibit , a lively , adrenaline-pumping jewelry store heist sequence , and a rigorously grim , downbeat , unsentimental tone that stays bleakly true to itself to the literal bitter end , this extremely powerful knock-out undeservedly tanked at the box office , but has rightfully amassed a sizable cult following which correctly proclaims it as one of the single most remarkable and shamefully underrated sleepers from the 70's . |
517,976 | 8,239,592 | 95,560 | 10 | A hilariously horrible blatant " ET " rip-off | A family of hideously homely aliens find themselves stuck on Earth . The family gets separated . One little boy alien named Mac ( an acronym for Mysterious Alien Creature ) befriends plucky crippled kid Eric ( winningly played by real-life disabled kid Jade Calegory ) . Eric helps Mac get reunited with his family . Co-written and directed with staggering ineptitude by Stewart Raffill , with a syrupy , swelling ersatz John Williams orchestral mush score by Alan Silvestri , plenty of shameless product plugs for the fast food chain McDonald's ( Ronald McDonald even makes a highly unwelcome cameo appearance ! ) , a soundtrack full of dreadful power pop ballads , cruddy ( far from ) special effects , and loads of unintentional belly laughs , this awesomely atrocious abomination rates as a total four-star so - stinky - it's - strangely - sublime schlocky hoot . The cast turn in astoundingly awful performances : Jonathan Ward as Eric's jerky , obnoxious tool of an older brother Michael , Christine Ebersole as Eric's harried mother Janet , Katrina Caspary as hot teenage brunette Courtney , Lauren Stanley as spunky little girl Debbie , and George " Buck " Flower as a bumbling supermarket security guard . The aliens are truly freaky-looking buggers : With their shriveled-up prune faces , big , wide , googly saucer eyes , spindly limbs , bony builds , pot bellies , and wobbly walks , they are more creepy and ugly than cute and cuddly . Gut-busting highlights include Mac being fried by an electric fence , Eric rolling down a cliff and crashing into a lake , Debbie getting strapped to the back of an out of control vacuum cleaner , Eric racing through a street and a shopping center with Mac on his lap , and the jaw-dropping protracted dance party sequence at a McDonald's restaurant with Mac in a teddy bear outfit cutting loose with these pathetic herky-jerky rug-tearin ' moves . A gloriously ghastly camp marvel of charmingly horrendous 80's kitsch . |
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