cult film freak

Written by James M. Tate / 5/18/2018 / No comments / al rubin , dennis burkley , harrison ford , henry winkler , john cassavetes , road movie , sally field , seventies , val avery , vietnam

HENRY WINKLER & SALLY FIELD IN 'HEROES' W/ HARRISON FORD

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J7NVmTzLH_Y/Wv8XzzAp_sI/AAAAAAAA114/Ehvtw4WFEFIF89MnvcKRvti4DYCuKI79wCLcBGAs/s1600/32908111_478739912555190_8662981802337501184_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="960" height="253" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J7NVmTzLH_Y/Wv8XzzAp_sI/AAAAAAAA114/Ehvtw4WFEFIF89MnvcKRvti4DYCuKI79wCLcBGAs/s400/32908111_478739912555190_8662981802337501184_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sally Field, Henry Winkler and Harrison Ford YEAR: 1977</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Wanna see Henry Winkler beat up a barroom full of bikers without the use of his magical leather jacket? In HEROES he plays a goofy, manic, troubled Vietnam Vet who, after escaping from a 
mental institution in New York, travels across country, energized by bizarre plans to build a worm 
farm in Eureka, California, with the (hopeful) help of his fellow vets... <br>
<br>
Along the way, via bus, while pestering put-upon driver Val Avery, Winkler's Jack Dunne meets
 lonely, single, soon-to-be-wed Sally Field as Carol (the same year she'd be a reluctant fiance in SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT), and the first of his "Nam "
cronies played by soon-to-be-famous Harrison 
Ford, the same year he'd help The Rebel Alliance rescue a princess, here basically rehashing his AMERICAN GRAFFITI "Bob Falfa" character: 
but with issues, and zero backbone. Despite time being spent (with the trio) on his family's rural, white trash farm, and getting to see Ford shoot a machine gun, down Budweisers and drive a hot rod — it all merely serves as a catapult for the second half, when the inevitable romantic element between Henry and Sally sets in. Alas, Ford's Ken "Ace of Diamonds" Boyd could've been played by anyone. And the fact he's bullied and is afraid to compete on the race track, perhaps another actor would have fit better: for legacy's sake... Who knew that that incredible science-fiction fantasy he'd appear in would take off, and wimpy roles like this would suit him no longer... but it's Henry's vehicle anyway...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C-qrC4Axut8/Wv8X-WJkR1I/AAAAAAAA118/mOLDzPLYwTIWMqwTJR4uwOj5HVau20NSACLcBGAs/s1600/32933762_478739822555199_6483409736409546752_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="960" height="285" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C-qrC4Axut8/Wv8X-WJkR1I/AAAAAAAA118/mOLDzPLYwTIWMqwTJR4uwOj5HVau20NSACLcBGAs/s400/32933762_478739822555199_6483409736409546752_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Al Rubin with Henry Winkler and a groovy marquee HEROEScore: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As he weaves in and out of craziness whenever the 
story runs out of stream, which is most of the way through, his mental 
illness serves as a platform to not only ham it up with what feels like improv to bust up the surrounding cast and crew, but to charm Field, 
whose rudimentary annoyance eventually turns to love: Not sure, though, if the 
audience feels the same way...<br>
<br>
His sometimes grating bouts with innocently
 optimistic lunacy is often much too "cute" to be taken seriously, and Winkler
 as a veteran of any war is extremely difficult to 
believe. But most of any actor's genuine strength are in the intensity of their eyes, and when called for, he wields a pretty nasty glare. So for road movie fluff you could do much worse. And word has it that HEROES was much better when the Kansas anthem "Carry On My Wayward Son" closed the curtain. Well it is true that in any picture, one song <i>can</i> make a difference.  <br>

al rubin, dennis burkley, harrison ford, henry winkler, john cassavetes, road movie, sally field, seventies, val avery, vietnam

HENRY WINKLER & SALLY FIELD IN 'HEROES' W/ HARRISON FORD

Sally Field, Henry Winkler and Harrison Ford YEAR: 1977 Wanna see Henry Winkler beat up a barroom full of bikers without the use of his ...

TOM BERENGER & DEBRA WINGER IN 'BETRAYED' WITH TED LEVINE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yosBgPxvmbs/Wv0ik09-AaI/AAAAAAAA1zM/7hGRY9IhFuUue7cTkoVMN3i7cgg3Z1_2wCLcBGAs/s1600/32730219_478057899290058_8591881358941356032_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="924" height="265" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yosBgPxvmbs/Wv0ik09-AaI/AAAAAAAA1zM/7hGRY9IhFuUue7cTkoVMN3i7cgg3Z1_2wCLcBGAs/s400/32730219_478057899290058_8591881358941356032_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tom Beranger and his dog Ronnie in Betrayed YEAR: 1988</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A highly 
entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable film about an FBI agent, played by 
the always reliable on screen (yet usually monstrous off-screen) Debra Winger, who goes undercover to white bread 
Farmland USA (as a combine driver) to learn about a man, Tom Berenger, who might not only be 
racist, but responsible for murdering a controversial Jewish disc jockey
 (Howard Stern sans humor)...<br>
<br>
She begins to fall for Tom while slowly 
realizing he's not just a handsome farmer/family man, and yet, she remains optimistically skeptical about 
his involvement in the case until... something 
happens, less than an hour in and much too quickly, that just about ruins the film: He takes her on
 a group "hunting trip" — for a human, not animal, target: This scene's obvious purpose is so the audience can hate 
Tom's character — after all, he and his pals are likable, and in some 
aspects, being part of the neglected working class, relatable (a natural, low-key performance by John Mahoney adds to that)...<br>

debra winger, drama, eighties, john mahoney, ted levine, tom berenger

TOM BERENGER & DEBRA WINGER IN 'BETRAYED' WITH TED LEVINE

Tom Beranger and his dog Ronnie in Betrayed YEAR: 1988 A highly entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable film about an FBI agent, played by ...

MEL BROOKS & ANNE BANCROFT REMAKE 'TO BE OR NOT TO BE'

anne bancroft, comedy, mel brooks, nazi, remake, tim matheson, world war II

MEL BROOKS & ANNE BANCROFT REMAKE 'TO BE OR NOT TO BE'

Mel Brooks makes a Bust of Hitler SCORE: **1/2 Year: 1982 Starts out decently enough, and surprisingly different for Mel Brooks to dire...

GARY BUSEY TAKES FULL EIGHTIES CHARGE IN 'BULLETPROOF'

action, eighties, gary busey, william smith

GARY BUSEY TAKES FULL EIGHTIES CHARGE IN 'BULLETPROOF'

Year of Release: 1988 Bulletproof Gary Busey Rating: *** Guns blasting, buildings exploding, cars crashing, and that's just the fir...

ERIK ESTRADA GOES (FOR) BROKE IN THE FINAL 'CHIPS' SEASON

<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cHpXz8cG3eo/WvZxn6WK3FI/AAAAAAAA1rM/CkX_i6gjDpEbpp7oFRI_OjrJ8tRPuwZ7QCLcBGAs/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="978" height="260" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cHpXz8cG3eo/WvZxn6WK3FI/AAAAAAAA1rM/CkX_i6gjDpEbpp7oFRI_OjrJ8tRPuwZ7QCLcBGAs/s400/2.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tom Reilly gets the first Season 6 episode named for him 10/10/1982</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
No one wants to remember Tom Reilly on CHIPS. He was the blond-haired guy, looking straight out of central casting, who replaced the show's metronomic foundation, Larry Wilcox as Officer Jon Baker and yet, in the life of Reilly, CHIPS remains a pinnacle... at least when scrolling down his IMDb Book of Life. But it wasn't <i>all</i> his fault...<br>
<br>
The role of Office Bobby 'Hot Dog' Nelson was probably more shameful to fans of the series than the man himself, who, for a year, financially benefited from Larry's exit (Jon left to work the family ranch, and the show first Jumped The Shark in Season 5's Battle of the Bands), which left a sad empty space on the L.A. freeway next to Erik Estrada's Frank 'Ponch' Poncherello, who really didn't seem to notice there was a gap to fill at all...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dYNpIYFuCNg/WvZx1ye46_I/AAAAAAAA1rU/aUfoCUBlTNADUx2hUBDBDvqcB8kL_rcAwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-05-11%2Bat%2B9.44.33%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="680" height="355" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dYNpIYFuCNg/WvZx1ye46_I/AAAAAAAA1rU/aUfoCUBlTNADUx2hUBDBDvqcB8kL_rcAwCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-05-11%2Bat%2B9.44.33%2BPM.png" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Erik Estrada needed to take it off to covering his partner's departure</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
His macho Ponch got worse along with Season Six, and is really more to blame than his new wimpy partner...<br>
<br>
Flipping the script, Hot Dog (who'd soon be joined by another blond rookie, Bruce Penhall) was supposed to be what Ponch was in the first season: A devil-may-care rookie that experienced California Highway Patrolman Jon Baker had to take care of/keep an eye on...<br>
<br>
No matter how hard Estrada, once a talented and legitimate character-actor in vehicles such as THE NEW CENTURIONS opposite George C. Scott, Stacy Keach and Scott Wilson, tried to win over fans, male and females alike (and not in that order) from his mellow and patiently understanding, sandy-blond (and let's face it, completely lipless) mentor, they remained an equal pair. In fact, Wilcox might be more beloved, in retrospect... Especially since he didn't try so hard to be famous-beyond-the-program concerned...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VrDMe-Zph_Y/WvZx-O3LEQI/AAAAAAAA1rc/chViuOSMQJY2gsKZe16jd1H11l6M6kgmQCLcBGAs/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="375" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VrDMe-Zph_Y/WvZx-O3LEQI/AAAAAAAA1rc/chViuOSMQJY2gsKZe16jd1H11l6M6kgmQCLcBGAs/s400/4.jpg" width="308"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Richard Simmons on top of Erik Estrada</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Although, to be fair, Estrada is merely paint on the pop culture canvas: the writers are to blame for him becoming The Fonz of CHIPS: As BATTLESTAR GALACTICA actor Richard 'Apollo' Hatch said (paraphrased from a Cult Film Freak interview) of Dirk 'Starbuck' Benedict, the bad guys always get the best lines. Especially since the good guy is just Plain/Average Good while the Bad Boys are not really Bad since their Inner-Good relies on a sympathetic underdog quality that provides more dimension than otherwise. But when the final season of CHIPS came around, Estrada had no dimension at all... And we noticed, and cringed...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uB7XxDtf2BM/WvZyMxHjvcI/AAAAAAAA1ro/lS4zYTbZiWAUfIJUFF9hvlovh4JffUg7gCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-05-11%2Bat%2B9.48.26%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="245" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uB7XxDtf2BM/WvZyMxHjvcI/AAAAAAAA1ro/lS4zYTbZiWAUfIJUFF9hvlovh4JffUg7gCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-05-11%2Bat%2B9.48.26%2BPM.png" width="157"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Camp Value: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This final season's intro episode (a reverse Pilot) is titled MEET THE NEW GUY, and other than a few rebellious wheelies on his part, we hardly do at all. Not like there was anyone to meet other than a bland fleshful of mediocrity to give Ponch the sort of King-Takes-Pawn presence he'd always (seemed to) have wanted: Making more use of his Spanish Sex Symbol persona. Prime example...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
After working-out in an aerobics class that <i>just happens</i> to be run by fatty-fitness guru Richard Simmons (surrounded by a melodramatic plot involving a desperate young mom played by Dominique Dunne), he winds up, while muscularly shirtless in short-shorts, taking off on his daylight motorcycle after the usual feathered-haired villains (the next episode he "reluctantly" winds up a billboard male supermodel)...<br>
<br>
The episode should've been titled <i>The Beginning of the End</i> since we're witnessing an actor's career that didn't have a chance: Had CHIPS ended after Season Five, there could've been more mystery beyond the campy pinup "Mexploitation" that took over, possibly providing Estrada a career beyond straight-to-video action flicks or guest roles on random dramas, Mexican soap operas, or playing himself on sitcoms. But Amazon Prime members should start watching this awesomely embarrassing Sixth Season first, and then, after realizing how genuinely bad the show got, return to the rudimentary stages to discover: This famously bad series wasn't (isn't) bad at all.<br>

andra evans, cop, dominique dunne, eighties, erik estrada, larry wilcox, TV

ERIK ESTRADA GOES (FOR) BROKE IN THE FINAL 'CHIPS' SEASON

Tom Reilly gets the first Season 6 episode named for him 10/10/1982 No one wants to remember Tom Reilly on CHIPS. He was the blond-hai...

CULT STARLET JUDY BROWN PLAYS 'A WOMAN FOR ALL MEN'

andy robinson, exploitation, judy brown, keenan wynn, neo noir, peter hooten

CULT STARLET JUDY BROWN PLAYS 'A WOMAN FOR ALL MEN'

Year of Release is the Nineteen-Seventies by proof of the telephone The fact a sexpot from Roger Corman women-in-prison flicks (directed...

SCRUTINIZING THE FUTURE-SPORT CULT-WORLD OF 'ROLLERBALL'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MQGa0Fd3z64/WulinCi0dLI/AAAAAAAA1jU/w90_SlaOjQcA0p06FTa5a2KxonVCW5CkgCLcBGAs/s1600/v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="960" height="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MQGa0Fd3z64/WulinCi0dLI/AAAAAAAA1jU/w90_SlaOjQcA0p06FTa5a2KxonVCW5CkgCLcBGAs/s400/v.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Co-Star John Beck goes for absolute broke in Rollerball YEAR: 1975</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Science-Fiction usually has only rich and poor, no middle. ROLLERBALL is somewhat different. Everyone seems to be equal, and there's no war or hunger since a Corporation rules the planet. A cross between Capitalism and Communism that's far more the latter despite this future-world being called Corporate...<br>
<br>
Where James Caan's character, Jonathan E., being such an incredible, standout athlete, is forced to retire the titular game — a cross between roller derby with the circular-arced rink; basketball with a silver cubed ball providing the score when placed or tossed in a metallic portal; hockey with the spontaneously awesome, fan-adoring fist-fights (also attributed to roller derby); and motorcycle races being that the bikes, like picador's horses in a bullfight, roam the edges of the interior: in this case pulling and/or blocking their players, and can be lethal to whoever's on the other side.  <br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1ypl2b2BIH8/WulfSq9mjmI/AAAAAAAA1hc/HmITe1nVNZUT-5TXBjpEP-rOBm6-52-RACLcBGAs/s1600/31712203_470484676714047_6890588368535552000_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="662" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1ypl2b2BIH8/WulfSq9mjmI/AAAAAAAA1hc/HmITe1nVNZUT-5TXBjpEP-rOBm6-52-RACLcBGAs/s400/31712203_470484676714047_6890588368535552000_n.jpg" width="275"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A strangely Nic Cagey James Caan</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It would take an entire post alone to describe how the game works, which is still not exactly clear — and really doesn't need to be since ROLLERBALL is filmed with such fervent, dynamic intensity, including creative camera angles popular in the day — the action and violence involved in the game is entertaining enough...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sUy7VwUxq1M/Wulffs5hFJI/AAAAAAAA1hg/SxjAHQGz4SsUoxXPsyzCI1rFmYQJ6JX8QCLcBGAs/s1600/31739776_470484783380703_8950579929238470656_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1584" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sUy7VwUxq1M/Wulffs5hFJI/AAAAAAAA1hg/SxjAHQGz4SsUoxXPsyzCI1rFmYQJ6JX8QCLcBGAs/s400/31739776_470484783380703_8950579929238470656_o.jpg" width="161"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Beck as Moonpie</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Which is the purpose for both the film's and the fictional audience. But mainly, ROLLERBALL involves Jonathan's cult status overriding the game itself...<br>
<br>
Like most rogue heroes in bleak, existential, futuristic thrillers, he's determined to investigate exactly what's going on and, as for the reasons of the game and Corporate Society keeping everything in check, it's up to the previous year's PAPER CHASE Oscar-winner John Houseman's ultra-serious, hauntingly monotone, extraordinarily businesslike voice to sell the (what later is a more revealed) concept...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QphqIBmXTik/Wulfp-sSZBI/AAAAAAAA1ho/cPjgsaBKjYEEyd1ptNbPXnDGpk3EQlfVACLcBGAs/s1600/31754569_470484923380689_7829240126612963328_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="922" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QphqIBmXTik/Wulfp-sSZBI/AAAAAAAA1ho/cPjgsaBKjYEEyd1ptNbPXnDGpk3EQlfVACLcBGAs/s320/31754569_470484923380689_7829240126612963328_n.jpg" width="307"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>"We <i>don't </i>please allegiance, to John Houseman..."</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Character-wise, on the other side of the spectrum, just as strong, albeit physically, is James Caan. While he's surprisingly quiet and brooding "in person," his usual charismatic prowess shines during the sport, running circles throughout a trio of merciless games. And he's not alone. Where Caan's allowed to gel into the material, it's up to another jock to really stand out, and literally stand tall: That being his giant teammate, Moonpie, a wide-shouldered, square-jawed, boisterous, confident, scene-stealing sidekick played by John Beck (the messianic Erno in Woody Allen's future in SLEEPER)...<br>
<br>
Of the three matches: One goes by normal rules, an introduction; another with no rules, taking place in Tokyo: the important action-sequence a cross between a Wild West Shootout and World War II flick; and the finale: But it's not all blood and sweat in this famously bloody, sweaty venture. The world beyond the sport is where most of the time is spent. Within a fancy, sophisticated, intellectual party, Jonathan and Moonpie stand out like ragged thorns in a seemingly flawless, Eden-like Utopia, both adored and looked-down-upon equally...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2hRruthN22c/Wulf-xvmcnI/AAAAAAAA1h0/wH19JD9RsmU1sd-T5DiAUmj1gaZF5BqxgCLcBGAs/s1600/77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="615" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2hRruthN22c/Wulf-xvmcnI/AAAAAAAA1h0/wH19JD9RsmU1sd-T5DiAUmj1gaZF5BqxgCLcBGAs/s320/77.jpg" width="205"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Pamala Hensley bucks up</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Especially memorable is a two-tier scene at the dawn of the party, with Jonathan holding firm against Houseman's Bartholomew, making sure the star player quits on the spot, that night...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLPPlyKN7h4/WulgP28cTBI/AAAAAAAA1iA/NNmZ3_reb006hW8zj7ZcPWXhz5SfXETFQCLcBGAs/s1600/31793362_470484770047371_8917475519616778240_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="626" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLPPlyKN7h4/WulgP28cTBI/AAAAAAAA1iA/NNmZ3_reb006hW8zj7ZcPWXhz5SfXETFQCLcBGAs/s320/31793362_470484770047371_8917475519616778240_n.jpg" width="208"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A thankless Barbara Trentham</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At the same time, in the "backyard" forest, a group of classy sophisticates jovially wield a supped-up pistol that fires bullet-sized torpedoes into a row of doomed (and probably near-extinct) trees...<br>
<br>
Especially future TV's BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY sex-pot Pamela Hensley who, along with Jonathan's dismayed pseudo girlfriend, Barbara Trentham, means more plot-wise than a glorified cameo by third-billed Maud Adams as Jonathan's ex wife, stolen by the Corporation: his personal "Rosebud" of sorts...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XXyu5I099z4/WulgdsaaUVI/AAAAAAAA1iI/arWCR6pGlYQMoIzcZojGFlfYQvsSDosJQCLcBGAs/s1600/31791687_470484690047379_8736440620865814528_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="960" height="304" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XXyu5I099z4/WulgdsaaUVI/AAAAAAAA1iI/arWCR6pGlYQMoIzcZojGFlfYQvsSDosJQCLcBGAs/s320/31791687_470484690047379_8736440620865814528_n.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Screw the rules ROLLERSCORE: ****</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Overall it's a mechanically surreal motion picture you should be in an energetic yet melancholy mood to intentionally suffer through. Director Norman Jewison, said to be influenced by Stanley Kubrick's A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, combines the hypocrisy of the rich with the boundless energy of the common man. With hypnotic, long white corridors there's also some 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY in there, and sometimes even a crisper, reverse sort of dystopic 1970's future of SOYLENT GREEN...<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, the central locations have their own formidable aesthetic: the grey, dismally hard-edged skating rink; monstrously benign buildings with everything from offices to a library to a computer center; and <i>the great outdoors</i> held captive by human atrocity. But the main thing both ROLLERBALL and CLOCKWORK have in common is the lead character: while constantly surrounded by either friend, foe or something in-between, they're hopelessly alone. Only here, Caan doesn't break the law — he simply questions it. That is, when he's not playing ball.<br>

action, drama, james caan, john houseman, maud adams, norman jewison, pamela hensley, science-fiction, seventies

SCRUTINIZING THE FUTURE-SPORT CULT-WORLD OF 'ROLLERBALL'

Co-Star John Beck goes for absolute broke in Rollerball YEAR: 1975 Science-Fiction usually has only rich and poor, no middle. ROLLERBALL...

CONNECTING 'STAR WARS' WHILE REVIEWING 'THE DAM BUSTERS'

bio, england, michael anderson, michael redgrave, robert shaw, star wars, war, world war II

CONNECTING 'STAR WARS' WHILE REVIEWING 'THE DAM BUSTERS'

From the edge of a DAM BUSTERS poster YEAR: 1955 Director Michael Anderson's LOGAN'S RUN is a sci-fi classic with special effect...

RALPH MACCHIO & WILLIAM ZABKA (KICK) BACK ON 'COBRA KAI'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xm6kQypbdfY/WurW6314xFI/AAAAAAAA1j4/Tfg7xkkwVbg0Me02oF1mNTfyizd3qIU3ACLcBGAs/s1600/Dont%252BTreak%252Bon%252BCobra%252BKai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="597" height="236" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xm6kQypbdfY/WurW6314xFI/AAAAAAAA1j4/Tfg7xkkwVbg0Me02oF1mNTfyizd3qIU3ACLcBGAs/s400/Dont%252BTreak%252Bon%252BCobra%252BKai.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The bad guy's logos are always the coolest YEAR: 2018</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Taking a Sympathy for the Devil approach, COBRA KAI takes the two most memorable young (male) characters from THE KARATE KID and pits them against each other, again, thirty-four-years later...<br>
<br>
Ralph Macchio's once humble underdog hero Daniel is now a filthy rich (and initially banal) car salesman who uses former trainer Mr. Miyagi's philosophy, including an item he gives to each customer, in a very shallow manner: But the real star is an actor that, albeit never a household name (except for extreme movie geeks), played a character that, despite there having been two <i>Ralph Macchio with Pat Morita</i> KARATE KID sequels with their own set of villains, is the one (led by Martin Kove's nefarious Sensei) that really mattered... Or, <i>matters</i>...  <br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bllphd6gs_k/WurXC0AszMI/AAAAAAAA1j8/ejQ6VgJrU1EWryP7LeavCMUWj6-I7ImNgCLcBGAs/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="373" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bllphd6gs_k/WurXC0AszMI/AAAAAAAA1j8/ejQ6VgJrU1EWryP7LeavCMUWj6-I7ImNgCLcBGAs/s320/8.jpg" width="212"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Again, William Zabka as Johnny</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
KAI takes Zabka's one-dimensional bully character and retrofits him with the new kind of quick-glib persona, humorously derailing what would otherwise be considered mean-spirited or racist (with a sort of Aaron Paul vibe, somehow). He does an incredible job playing a fifty-something has-been nobody to not only feel for but root for: And that's not<i> rooting so he'll win</i>, like we did for Macchio in KID. Because the further Zabka's once popular and perfectly blond-haired, blue-eyed Johnny dives into a spiral, the better his character is — it's what the show's really all about. Not some predictable redemption of a former bully but the progression of a once unapologetic, narrow-minded jerk being able to remain one in a likable, natural, and even relatable fashion. <br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--niVIMXP_t4/WurXKn7Sf0I/AAAAAAAA1kA/_ILtm2u_Szw-3yZFDjX8e57Dvu8elrPfwCLcBGAs/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="356" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--niVIMXP_t4/WurXKn7Sf0I/AAAAAAAA1kA/_ILtm2u_Szw-3yZFDjX8e57Dvu8elrPfwCLcBGAs/s320/9.jpg" width="202"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ralph Macchio as Daniel, again</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Overall, with these kind of binge shows, it's impossible to write too much since there are twists and turns around each and every corner, and spoilers aren't good, but to rate this solely on a serial-cliffhanger foundation (going back to pulp magazines before cinema even existed), it's more addicting after (and even during) the first two (free on YouTube) episodes than most shows on Netflix and Amazon that constantly force viewers to become proverbial junkies much too quickly, and obviously. And despite the "we really miss our youth" media surrounding the series, KAI isn't just a house built on nostalgia...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Ev07hZhkV8/WurX6GTO_0I/AAAAAAAA1kM/OrSqXjORGPQo8dQOrpShL3X0kr0r6-N-QCLcBGAs/s1600/98.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="193" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Ev07hZhkV8/WurX6GTO_0I/AAAAAAAA1kM/OrSqXjORGPQo8dQOrpShL3X0kr0r6-N-QCLcBGAs/s320/98.jpg" width="176"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The quintessential bully</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In fact, they play one flashback too many of the John G. Avildsen classic, taking away from these old (and new i.e. young and ironically similar in a "turn the script around" fashion) characters involved in something... dare it be said... even better than its origin. Well, at least more realistic...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dexUNC4uBTU/WurYARpBvzI/AAAAAAAA1kQ/-kzNZL8ONpwnubVMm4uC7etf7H8AjMQ2wCLcBGAs/s1600/99.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="214" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dexUNC4uBTU/WurYARpBvzI/AAAAAAAA1kQ/-kzNZL8ONpwnubVMm4uC7etf7H8AjMQ2wCLcBGAs/s320/99.jpg" width="195"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>CobraKaiGrade: A+ </u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Which doesn't mean THE KARATE KID isn't timeless and exciting perfection (in its own lighthearted way). Scenes between Macchio and Pat Morita turned an otherwise fun and thrilling sport yarn into something very deep and moving: like a mesmerizing stage-play at times. But in COBRA KAI, both sides are shown with equal merit and, let's face it, throughout the years, William Zabka... who basically played the same bullying a--hole in JUST ONE OF THE GUYS and BACK TO SCHOOL... has been regarded with the same amount of devoted nostalgia as the KID himself...<br>
<br>
Maybe more since, as the years roll on, we flawed humans start lionizing those characters who — evil or just selfish, greedy or mislead — didn't care what anyone said, or thought about their actions or what reactions would come of them. And that's COBRA KAI: A vehicle far more legit than all the current 80's-loving STRANGER THINGS out there since... these were the guys who were there, and lived it. Plus, the acting... especially Macchio and Zabka's odd couple anti-chemistry... will surprise people who think the "totally awesome" old-school movies were all magically conjured-up by some wizard of pop culture past — as if the performances were all just "meant to be." With this show, our memories are back, and no longer abandoned dreams. Everyone's truly alive now, and completely awake.   
<br>

cable, ralph macchio, sport, william zabka

RALPH MACCHIO & WILLIAM ZABKA (KICK) BACK ON 'COBRA KAI'

The bad guy's logos are always the coolest YEAR: 2018 Taking a Sympathy for the Devil approach, COBRA KAI takes the two most memorab...

PETE FROM 'CLOCKWORK ORANGE' SHOWS UP ON 'THE SWEENEY'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UboN_HiEc-g/WuhWgpPIBOI/AAAAAAAA1go/1PJX8WZmSs07aWkpFkQI2-WhE4O2vFwZgCLcBGAs/s1600/0%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="902" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UboN_HiEc-g/WuhWgpPIBOI/AAAAAAAA1go/1PJX8WZmSs07aWkpFkQI2-WhE4O2vFwZgCLcBGAs/s1600/0%2B2.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A CLOCKWORK ORANGE Michael "Pete" Tarn questioned by John Thaw in THE SWEENEY</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"That was me, that is Alex, and my three Droogs: That is <i>Pete</i>, Georgie, and Dim..." And while Pete is spoken second by Malcolm McDowell's Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick's terrorizing sci-fi black comedy-drama exploitation masterpiece A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, he's the most underrated, especially since Dim is extremely sympathetically pathetic, and the real number-two, Georgie, waits in the wings to take the gang over: So it's the practically mute Pete, played by obscure Brit actor MICHAEL TARN, who's smart enough to NOT get slashed or bashed during Alex's reverse-mutiny along the water-edged walkway in Futuristic England... <br>
<br>
So here he is, a few years later and in the same glorious decade, The Seventies, in an episode of the gritty English cop show, THE SWEENEY, during the Final Season Four's First Episode titled MESSENGER OF THE GODS: about a young stud (Malcolm McFee) about to get married to the hot young daughter of a tough (and rather aged and hammy) Diana Dors: Turns out her future son-in-law, unknown to her,  sleeps with older women, including a landlord who, while being questioned by our cool-flawed heroes played by John Thaw and Dennis Waterman, asks another tenant and probable young lover, named Charlie Pearce, a question: That being Michael Tarn, who Thaw's tough Regan returns to and beats around a bit later, SWEENEY style: Ironic he gets more bruised up here than in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, one of the most (ultra) violent movies ever made...<br>

cop, john thaw, michael tarn, photobreak, seventies, TV

PETE FROM 'CLOCKWORK ORANGE' SHOWS UP ON 'THE SWEENEY'

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE Michael "Pete" Tarn questioned by John Thaw in THE SWEENEY "That was me, that is Alex, and my three Dr...

CLASSIC CULT VIDEO GAME 'RAMPAGE' AS A MOTION PICTURE

2018, action, dwayne johnson, new

CLASSIC CULT VIDEO GAME 'RAMPAGE' AS A MOTION PICTURE

Kong-like Ape, Wolf & Lizzie Liz from 1986 arcade YEAR: 2018 Upright. Those were the days. When monsters, no matter what they really...

JAMES CAAN & ALAN ARKIN ARE 'FREEBIE AND THE BEAN'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cZppq4OcdIE/WuANGma3HtI/AAAAAAAA1bM/jX6iyIb5R8c-TZNtWAzGKdcHnpVkdeiCQCLcBGAs/s1600/31271285_466723193756862_7216973778151014400_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="879" height="248" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cZppq4OcdIE/WuANGma3HtI/AAAAAAAA1bM/jX6iyIb5R8c-TZNtWAzGKdcHnpVkdeiCQCLcBGAs/s400/31271285_466723193756862_7216973778151014400_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The best scenes take place in a public restroom YEAR: 2974</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
FREEBIE AND THE BEAN was very popular upon release, which is understandable. Unlike other movies (before and after) directed by Richard Rush, these characters are likable from the start...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1HFcElaCVic/Wt_pHtf-ryI/AAAAAAAA1ag/vftjynZEX7k3H6F2SQjySXVflYQODkMmwCLcBGAs/s1600/s-l300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="211" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1HFcElaCVic/Wt_pHtf-ryI/AAAAAAAA1ag/vftjynZEX7k3H6F2SQjySXVflYQODkMmwCLcBGAs/s1600/s-l300.jpg" title=""></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>FBScore: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Two cops make for an odd couple in the wild, reckless Freebie played by James Caan and a more patient and smooth, vulnerable (he thinks his sexy Spanish wife, Valerie Harper, is cheating) yet still spontaneous and flawed Bean, two letters short of a derogatory Mexican nickname — this sure isn't politically correct... At one point, Caan is described by BEAN's famously glib actor Alan Arkin as an "Archie Bunker," the 70's term for racist (albeit a funny racist)...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_NNyic8Ru8E/Wt_ov9pM6zI/AAAAAAAA1aU/09Arazv3M2cErWjgH-fRuS2_z1n1jr27wCLcBGAs/s1600/31124428_466723173756864_6097835403962744832_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="312" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_NNyic8Ru8E/Wt_ov9pM6zI/AAAAAAAA1aU/09Arazv3M2cErWjgH-fRuS2_z1n1jr27wCLcBGAs/s400/31124428_466723173756864_6097835403962744832_n.jpg" width="245"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Caan, Freebie</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Despite these spitfire insults and fast-paced comebacks, it's obvious Freebie and Bean are very close. Maybe too much since the audience never really learns about the guys before both explode with perpetual arguments, tirades, monologues: Like an old married couple's screaming heard from the apartment next door, most of the picture has that edgy element up-close, but never too personal. Yet despite all the frantic running around, the quirky undercover recreants don't beat around the bush when it comes to their mission...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eDgQtmZmTf0/WuALr0vtYsI/AAAAAAAA1bA/n1fMw0giEV8eEEKbiveuWaMcqT2J4zGwQCLcBGAs/s1600/31185192_466723167090198_1513267774682562560_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="281" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eDgQtmZmTf0/WuALr0vtYsI/AAAAAAAA1bA/n1fMw0giEV8eEEKbiveuWaMcqT2J4zGwQCLcBGAs/s400/31185192_466723167090198_1513267774682562560_n.jpg" width="220"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>and Alan Arkin, The Bean</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
While THE FRENCH CONNECTION — then the gold standard for partnered-up cop films — provided a rudimentary glimpse into how the detectives work, separate from the mainline plot,  FREEBIE begins like watching a TV show's first episode after having missed the pilot, or as if you'd walked into the theater fifteen-minutes late — our timid staked-out anti-heroes watching an alley cat invade a trashcan full of (what we soon learn are) possible clues. And yet the plot, to bust a fancy, upper-class crime boss, takes backseat to the shenanigans derived from behind the wheel...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P-IzUqSX63k/WuAS2XTkVvI/AAAAAAAA1bs/QWM-VJNn38Q1T5D1ZbZAD2slH37dFc7IACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-04-24%2Bat%2B10.26.33%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="264" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P-IzUqSX63k/WuAS2XTkVvI/AAAAAAAA1bs/QWM-VJNn38Q1T5D1ZbZAD2slH37dFc7IACLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-04-24%2Bat%2B10.26.33%2BPM.jpg" width="261"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>and with Paul Koslo as Whitey</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
From chases and wrecks (in both cars <i>and</i> a motorcycle), fist fights, palpable threats (Paul Koslo forcefully shown the edge of a high-rise construction site) and various other hijinks that turn New York City on its ass — with all the testosterone pumping gusto, super-skinny, weak-<i>looking</i> transvestite Christopher Morley provide the duo with their biggest challenge...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ny1uD4uc7YA/WuCLuwTc3CI/AAAAAAAA1dQ/OfzkJhrSiXkWC4IvPMAdvghhq7Qe2WtEwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-04-25%2Bat%2B7.03.42%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="360" height="170" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ny1uD4uc7YA/WuCLuwTc3CI/AAAAAAAA1dQ/OfzkJhrSiXkWC4IvPMAdvghhq7Qe2WtEwCLcBGAs/s200/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-04-25%2Bat%2B7.03.42%2BAM.jpg" width="200"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Christopher Morley kicks ass</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some of the comedic frenzy is hit or miss but there's enough purpose and reason to make each demolished location more than just a result from the ongoing gratuitous bedlam...<br>
<br>
But there's a lot that too, and not without a price: According to trivia, a disgruntled Caan and Arkin didn't promote the picture, both having desired more dialogue than disaster from their action-paced director. Pretty lame since there's enough rambling for ten buddy-cop flicks here. Meanwhile, Richard Rush followed this up with his true masterpiece, THE STUNT MAN — ironic since FREEBIE AND THE BEAN uses a whole lot of them. But the intrepid, underappreciated though not underpaid phantom heroes (especially Charles Bail, who's in both films) would have to wait six-years to get their due.
<br>

action, alan arkin, buddy, christopher morley, comedy, cop, james caan, paul koslo, richard rush, seventies

JAMES CAAN & ALAN ARKIN ARE 'FREEBIE AND THE BEAN'

The best scenes take place in a public restroom YEAR: 2974 FREEBIE AND THE BEAN was very popular upon release, which is understandable. ...

REVIEW OF THE BLACK MAMBA EXPLOITATION OF 'VENOM'

<span style="font-size: large;">Nicol Williamson as the overly confident police captain outside hinders the intensity lurking within the premises where Oliver Reed, as an edgy, violent chauffeur and Sterling Hayden, as the family patriarch (having shared African snake tales with his grandson), are initially intriguing but ultimately wasted... </span>
<br>

cornelia sharpe, creature, drama, eighties, exploitation, horror, hostage, klaus kinski, nicol williamson, oliver reed, sarah miles, snake, sterling hayden, susan george, suspense, thriller

REVIEW OF THE BLACK MAMBA EXPLOITATION OF 'VENOM'

Year of Release: 1981 A sickly British rich kid and his grandfather are taken hostage in the family mansion by two servants and a mercen...

ROBERT BLAKE & ELLIOTT GOULD 'BUSTING' CORNELIA SHARPE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hzdGouum2wo/WtzzgZ-mt2I/AAAAAAAA1V0/0Kp2Kof-24owjiOTNJmoKuU_o8IQCPlSACLcBGAs/s1600/31143993_466112410484607_2600527699009077248_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hzdGouum2wo/WtzzgZ-mt2I/AAAAAAAA1V0/0Kp2Kof-24owjiOTNJmoKuU_o8IQCPlSACLcBGAs/s400/31143993_466112410484607_2600527699009077248_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Cornelia Sharpe gets the title treatment YEAR: 1974</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Starring Elliott Gould and Robert
 Blake as unruly yet eventually determined vice  cops BUSTING street hookers, making a scene in a sex shop and, as the proverbial curtain opens, dogging a
high price call  girl: Enter the insanely gorgeous Cornelia Sharpe (who played Al Pacino's girl in SERPICO the previous year)...<br>
<br>
Liken to a mazy Film Noir, the proverbial shoes stick on her, and eventually stumble upon a monopolizing, untouchable mega-pimp 
played by underrated  Allen Garfield backed by henchman Sid Haig who, it 
turns out, doesn't  have much to do since his boss owns the courts <i>and</i> 
the cops (Sid stated in our podcast interview that the script was being rewritten the entire time). There should/could have been more off-course scenes establishing our dusty heroes against lesser villains in the dark city. Instead, the second act rushes a rogue-cop sub-genre (times two) as Gould and  Blake go on their own to nab Garfield, which is highlighted by an adventurous climb to the top by 
hanging around (after being punished) at the bottom... like waiting inside a filthy public restroom to nab random perverts... Showing the kind of torturous meantime (vice) cops go through that most movies leave out, or edit down to a springboard for an upcoming action sequence...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yqbOBOG4t3Q/Wty5yRJuNOI/AAAAAAAA1TM/pCFCBlhEYpAo7FXNOU4Swd_KILAmte6xACLcBGAs/s1600/31117910_466090103820171_2491936864043270144_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="960" height="265" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yqbOBOG4t3Q/Wty5yRJuNOI/AAAAAAAA1TM/pCFCBlhEYpAo7FXNOU4Swd_KILAmte6xACLcBGAs/s320/31117910_466090103820171_2491936864043270144_n.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Blake, Gould, Slattery in BUSTINGScore: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But casual viewers, don't despair — there's more than a touch of mainstream thrown in as a long FRENCH 
CONNECTION-style chase (here on foot) takes place in-and-out of a large outdoor  bazaar, which helps make future CAPRICORN ONE director Peter Hyams' grungy exploitation an addictive pleasure, but not a guilty one — while far from sublime, like, say, BULLITT, or even MAGNUM FORCE, it's still a decent entry...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VD7NJeU0cIo/Wty6Mb5ehXI/AAAAAAAA1TY/VB66nTWOhiE8rx1GLeT7QnuD9W-tHuy3wCLcBGAs/s1600/31073412_466090227153492_6233589132526878720_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="571" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VD7NJeU0cIo/Wty6Mb5ehXI/AAAAAAAA1TY/VB66nTWOhiE8rx1GLeT7QnuD9W-tHuy3wCLcBGAs/s400/31073412_466090227153492_6233589132526878720_n.jpg" width="237"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Gould reads Marvel's Ant-Man</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Robert Blake, amazing in IN COLD BLOOD several years earlier, plays the epitome of a second-banana... sans the usual sidekick comic relief since he and Gould share similarly caustic, world-weary attitudes, with just-enough chemistry to seem more than two actors thrown together, and, for a device/activity, Blake holds an omnipresent unlit cigarette — warming up for an upcoming cop TV-series featuring a cockatoo? Only it's Gould who (at one point) dons the schlocky costume/fake accent gag. Overall, his performance is natural and 
easy with some fifth gear intensity when needed: imagine THE LONG GOODBYE role after a couple adrenaline shots...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rAIyJTYR4UE/Wt2BVxBN9RI/AAAAAAAA1Wc/I49BEzD0XXMkPQTpzz3wgGubMNqYlKSkwCLcBGAs/s1600/51ZX4KRV3TL._SY445_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="236" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rAIyJTYR4UE/Wt2BVxBN9RI/AAAAAAAA1Wc/I49BEzD0XXMkPQTpzz3wgGubMNqYlKSkwCLcBGAs/s320/51ZX4KRV3TL._SY445_.jpg" width="220"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>BustingHeads own the (this) VHS tape</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
And, as usual, maybe wanting to appeal to younger (stoned) audiences who weren't big law enforcement buffs, Gould harbors (beyond "hip threads" and a bushy mustache for undercover purposes) some residual 1960's-era hippie spite, at one point actually referring to two uniformed cops as "Pigs!" And of course the partners work for an irritable, lecturing police chief (although desk sergeant Richard X. Slattery has more screen time as a befuddled patsy)...<br>
<br>
Also, for fans of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (Peter Hyams would direct the sequel, 2010), there's a rare glimpse at that film's cerebral centerpiece, Dr. Heywood Floyd: No not Roy Scheider but character-actor William Sylvester plays a defense lawyer in a grungy courtroom displaying all of that decade's cinematic street trash: from junkies to whores to pimps and, in the previous scene, a hopped-up, sexually-charged homosexual in a gay bar, seeming intentionally overplayed by Cult Film Freak's "Rolling Stones Soul Brother," Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas, making a lusty, physical pass at Blake as if political-correctness would never take over Hollywood — and such "blatant stereotyping" would not be allowed. Who knows, maybe that kinda thing kept this buried treasure buried for so long.<br>

action, allen garfield, cop, elliott gould, exploitation, richard x. slattery, robert blake, seventies, sid haig, william sylvester

ROBERT BLAKE & ELLIOTT GOULD 'BUSTING' CORNELIA SHARPE

Cornelia Sharpe gets the title treatment YEAR: 1974 Starring Elliott Gould and Robert Blake as unruly yet eventually determined vice c...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY CINEMA PRESENTS 'BORN TO KILL'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gAxOabpADOY/WtrJseCgsUI/AAAAAAAA1Qw/_AUkzci-pAYGaqUizCu6FSE7pI2LTYfCgCLcBGAs/s1600/8cebd891a52ed3a6c24a2ef34fe41c74.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="943" height="302" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gAxOabpADOY/WtrJseCgsUI/AAAAAAAA1Qw/_AUkzci-pAYGaqUizCu6FSE7pI2LTYfCgCLcBGAs/s400/8cebd891a52ed3a6c24a2ef34fe41c74.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Release: 1947</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For better or worse, BORN TO KILL is the epitome of Film Noir. All to love and hate 
about the genre is here: the shadows, the melodrama, the erupting musical 
score, the love-struck, the love-wary, the gross (snoop Walter Slezak, who gets clues way too easy for suspense to build), the beautiful (Claire Trevor), the hammy (Esther Howard, an old bag deserving to die even more than James Woods <i>also didn't</i> in CASINO), the classy (bland Philip Terry) and, of course, the viciously vile...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5WAOqxqwf9E/WtrKAilt5rI/AAAAAAAA1Q4/VMQHFLFczFgkSMXShI5PYTX8SlGFwyi1gCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-04-20%2Bat%2B10.19.44%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1058" data-original-width="486" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5WAOqxqwf9E/WtrKAilt5rI/AAAAAAAA1Q4/VMQHFLFczFgkSMXShI5PYTX8SlGFwyi1gCLcBGAs/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-04-20%2Bat%2B10.19.44%2BPM.png" width="145"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>BornToScore: ***</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Enter Lawrence Tierney as a 
killer aptly named Sam Wild — and the only thing truly worthwhile: During 
the (way too few) scenes as our proverbial shark glides within a lavish goldfish bowl... with actors and actresses brimming with boundless 
stage-like energy... one thing becomes abundantly clear: this man, personifying the 
film's title, isn't messing around. Only there's not enough vent for the 
ventilator... <br>
<br>
Tierney, with his usual understated, 
timeless acting style, seems like an intruder on the wrong set; as if 
he's waiting for everyone (except Elisha Cook Jr., a fellow ex-con that could have been used much better) to calm down a bit. Perhaps if it were 
made twenty years later, anti-hero-villain Tierney would've had more to
 do (and more to murder)...<br>
<br>
Then again, the handsomely detailed 
time-capsuled aspects of this 1940's previously-neglected gem (overshadowed by Tierney's fun-to-watch thriller, DILLINGER), gorgeously directed by Robert 
Wise, makes BORN TO KILL, in its own unique way, a plush and cerebral, intoxicating 
journey: Only it needed more of the snake and less of the garden.
<br>

claire trevor, elisha cook jr., film noir or melodrama, forties, lawrence tierney

LAWRENCE TIERNEY CINEMA PRESENTS 'BORN TO KILL'

Year of Release: 1947 For better or worse, BORN TO KILL is the epitome of Film Noir. All to love and hate about the genre is here: the ...

CLIMBING TO THE EPIC TELEVISION MINISERIES OF 'MASADA'

anthony quayle, biopic, clive francis, eighties, ken hutchison, miniseries, peter o'toole, peter strauss, tv movie, warren clarke

CLIMBING TO THE EPIC TELEVISION MINISERIES OF 'MASADA'

Clive Francis orders his men 'round YEAR: 1981 It doesn't get much better than suffering along with Peter O'Toole as a vulne...

STACY KEACH & SCOTT WILSON IN 'THE NINTH CONFIGURATION'

eighties, jason miller, military, richard lynch, robert loggia, scott wilson, stacy keach, thriller, william peter blatty

STACY KEACH & SCOTT WILSON IN 'THE NINTH CONFIGURATION'

Good guy, Bad guys, and Linda Blatty YEAR OF RELEASE: 1980 Writer/Director William Peter Blatty, whose novel THE EXORCIST was made into ...

WONDERMENT OF 'ROLLER BOOGIE' STARRING LINDA BLAIR

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v9jelqGn_X8/Ws7PBEe6SAI/AAAAAAAA1Gc/7Jv4frJiwXsY-MpOc8mnELGg6SrQPd83gCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-04-11%2Bat%2B8.09.00%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="822" height="176" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v9jelqGn_X8/Ws7PBEe6SAI/AAAAAAAA1Gc/7Jv4frJiwXsY-MpOc8mnELGg6SrQPd83gCLcBGAs/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-04-11%2Bat%2B8.09.00%2BPM.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Our very own screen-capture YEAR of Release: 1979</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
B-movie/drive-in director Mark L. Lester takes a simple script and throws in enough distractions to make it, at the very least, entertaining enough to forget the novice acting of real-life skater Jim Bray, who always seems on the verge of laughter, blowing his lines, or both... yet his genuine skating talent gets him through: after all, that's why he's in this at all...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vLLYbFq1jcg/Ws7PI0Fkt5I/AAAAAAAA1Gg/KHy7RJEffpkLudsvwAI1PTxVnlMHUc9bgCLcBGAs/s1600/30710032_461248130971035_3358511292708028416_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vLLYbFq1jcg/Ws7PI0Fkt5I/AAAAAAAA1Gg/KHy7RJEffpkLudsvwAI1PTxVnlMHUc9bgCLcBGAs/s320/30710032_461248130971035_3358511292708028416_n.jpg" width="270"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Autographed Blu Ray BoogieScore: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Enter EXORCIST starlet Linda Blair who... often seeming a form of pop culture exploitation by merely being cast... turns in a decent if idyllic performance as a pouting rich girl who'd rather hang around the sun-soaked beach than her parent's stuffy mansion, which includes a big preppy jerk with a crush...<br>
<br>
But she falls for the poor dreamer underdog Bray, who teaches her how to skate and dance (hence the title), and eventually the duo, along with their skater friends, discover that mobsters are trying to extort the owner of their disco-haven rink...<br>
<br>
Thus the low budget, formulaic, chase-around action ensues... director Lester in his action element... all the glorious camp rolling smoothly till a predicable ending. And if you expected more from a movie titled ROLLER BOOGIE, that's your problem. Because it's all about the good times of the glossy late seventies era, the skating, and seeing Linda Blair dressed for summer beach weather.<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>

action, comedy, linda blair, seventies, sport

WONDERMENT OF 'ROLLER BOOGIE' STARRING LINDA BLAIR

Our very own screen-capture YEAR of Release: 1979 B-movie/drive-in director Mark L. Lester takes a simple script and throws in enough di...

cult film freak

JMT

Written by James M. Tate / 5/18/2018 / No comments / al rubin , dennis burkley , harrison ford , henry winkler , john cassavetes , road movie , sally field , seventies , val avery , vietnam

Written by James M. Tate / 5/16/2018 / No comments / debra winger , drama , eighties , john mahoney , ted levine , tom berenger

Written by James M. Tate / 5/15/2018 / No comments / anne bancroft , comedy , mel brooks , nazi , remake , tim matheson , world war II

Written by James M. Tate / 5/14/2018 / No comments / action , eighties , gary busey , william smith

Written by James M. Tate / 5/11/2018 / No comments / andra evans , cop , dominique dunne , eighties , erik estrada , larry wilcox , TV

Written by James M. Tate / 5/06/2018 / No comments / action , drama , james caan , john houseman , maud adams , norman jewison , pamela hensley , science-fiction , seventies

Written by James M. Tate / 5/05/2018 / No comments / bio , england , michael anderson , michael redgrave , robert shaw , star wars , war , world war II

Written by James M. Tate / 5/03/2018 / No comments / cable , ralph macchio , sport , william zabka

Written by James M. Tate / 5/01/2018 / No comments / cop , john thaw , michael tarn , photobreak , seventies , TV

Written by James M. Tate / 4/26/2018 / No comments / 2018 , action , dwayne johnson , new

Written by James M. Tate / 4/24/2018 / No comments / action , alan arkin , buddy , christopher morley , comedy , cop , james caan , paul koslo , richard rush , seventies

Written by James M. Tate / 4/23/2018 / No comments / cornelia sharpe , creature , drama , eighties , exploitation , horror , hostage , klaus kinski , nicol williamson , oliver reed , sarah miles , snake , sterling hayden , susan george , suspense , thriller

Written by James M. Tate / 4/22/2018 / No comments / action , allen garfield , cop , elliott gould , exploitation , richard x. slattery , robert blake , seventies , sid haig , william sylvester

Written by James M. Tate / 4/20/2018 / No comments / claire trevor , elisha cook jr. , film noir or melodrama , forties , lawrence tierney

Written by James M. Tate / 4/18/2018 / No comments / anthony quayle , biopic , clive francis , eighties , ken hutchison , miniseries , peter o'toole , peter strauss , tv movie , warren clarke

Written by James M. Tate / 4/15/2018 / No comments / eighties , jason miller , military , richard lynch , robert loggia , scott wilson , stacy keach , thriller , william peter blatty

Written by James M. Tate / 4/11/2018 / No comments / action , comedy , linda blair , seventies , sport

Connected Posts

All Time Popular

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

IN THEATERS OR STREAMING

FOR TELEVISION REVIEWS

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

WRITTEN BY JAMES M. TATE

WEBSITE INFORMATION

ETERNAL ART OF FILM NOIR

Blog Archive

STAR WARS TO SPACECAMP

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

RARITIES & EXPLOITATION

Popular This Month

SOAR THRU THE SEVENTIES

OUR OWN CORNERSTONE

Blogs of Interest