WHITE WATER SUMMER

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z6pJl8l92vk/TZUPSCjiZ1I/AAAAAAAABc8/6NHMSeHnUXE/s1600/1987-white-water-summer-poster1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590391315048326994" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z6pJl8l92vk/TZUPSCjiZ1I/AAAAAAAABc8/6NHMSeHnUXE/s200/1987-white-water-summer-poster1.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title: </span>WHITE WATER SUMMER<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 1987<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Kevin Bacon, Sean Astin, Matt Adler, Charles Siebert<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> *1/2<br /><br />Sean Astin is a quiet nerd whose parents allow Kevin Bacon, as a drifter recruiting kids for a "life changing" outdoor trip, to take him... and four other pre-teens... to the mountains. Sounds like a setup to a horror film, and it should have been. Bacon becomes a partial menace and pushes the kids into being real men: surviving rapids, clumsy bridges, thunderstorms and climbing mountains without his aid: yet he's never threatening enough to merit any suspense. But the real problem is the distracting, sporadic narration by a slightly older, longer-haired Sean Astin who, hanging out by a hammock: stares into the camera and tells us what we already know (obviously a post-production decision). So what could have been fun nonsense is just a time-wasting mess.

adventure, eighties, kevin bacon, sean astin, teen

WHITE WATER SUMMER

title: WHITE WATER SUMMER year: 1987 cast: Kevin Bacon, Sean Astin, Matt Adler, Charles Siebert rating: *1/2 Sean Astin is a quiet nerd w...

THE PAPER CHASE

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBCI8-JWMpY/TZOlzWr2I6I/AAAAAAAABc0/nGZ7HH5ISdI/s1600/4905919593_1d24a0cbc2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589993864178312098" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBCI8-JWMpY/TZOlzWr2I6I/AAAAAAAABc0/nGZ7HH5ISdI/s200/4905919593_1d24a0cbc2.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 129px; height: 200px;" /></a><strong>title:</strong> THE PAPER CHASE<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 1974</div><strong>cast:</strong> Timothy Bottoms, John Houseman, Lindsay Wagner<span>,</span><span> James Naughton</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><strong>rating:</strong> **1/2<br /><div></div><br /><div>Any scenes involving Timothy Bottoms and fellow law students in a big lecture hall dealing with strict professor John Houseman (who won an Oscar), is terrific. And scenes with Bottoms and pals in the claustrophobic dorm, working to keep sane in a study group despite the progressing angst derived from their classroom experience, are okay. But when Lindsay Wagner is introduced way too quick (and easy) as a love interest, things go by the wayside: the banal dialog overriding what's really important, and what this film should have dealt with entirely: a battle of wits between the young students and the aged professor. Everything else leads the witness to a daytime soap, and not a very good one.<br /></div>

drama, james naughton, john houseman, seventies, timothy bottoms

THE PAPER CHASE

title: THE PAPER CHASE year: 1974 cast: Timothy Bottoms, John Houseman, Lindsay Wagner , James Naughton rating: **1/2 Any scenes invo...

THE BIG PICTURE

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s_7UeOksMrU/TYzn504BpzI/AAAAAAAABY8/h-ZEc4BBNAU/s1600/0.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588096218292135730" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s_7UeOksMrU/TYzn504BpzI/AAAAAAAABY8/h-ZEc4BBNAU/s200/0.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 158px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">title:</span> THE BIG PICTURE<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">year:</span> 1989<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">cast: </span>Kevin Bacon, Emily Longstreth, Martin Short<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">rating:</span> ***<br /><br />Christopher Guest's first directorial effort isn't a mockumentary, but the ambitions are similar: going "backstage" in Hollywood with an award-winning student filmmaker, played with astute naivete by Kevin Bacon, given an opportunity to write and direct a real movie. The late J.T. Walsh is a vapid studio head constantly altering Bacon's dream-film storyline, and since his idiotic alterations often seem more logical than our hero's pretentious concept, it's never clear if Guest's satirizing the young artist or the big bad executive - or who we should agree with. Bacon's arc from promising hopeful to a selfish young protegee is great, but once he falls by the wayside, losing his job and girlfriend, lackluster melodrama ensues. But Guest's creativity shines throughout, mixing surreal perspective with an insider's view of Hollywood THE PLAYER would get credit for later on. And Martin Short's flamboyant agent character provides a memorable scene, as does a music video by fictional band "Pez People," written and performed by Guest and fellow Spinal Tapper Michael McKean.<br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FF5qtoNC2l0" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/usTosO6TJ7U" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe>

christopher guest, comedy, eighties, emily longstreth, hollywood satire, kevin bacon

THE BIG PICTURE

title: THE BIG PICTURE year: 1989 cast: Kevin Bacon, Emily Longstreth, Martin Short rating: *** Christopher Guest's first directoria...

FLETCH LIVES

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2eqXpD2iIUA/TYv9p61B8iI/AAAAAAAABY0/jjdxoVhbSDY/s1600/Fletch2_scene06.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587838659291378210" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2eqXpD2iIUA/TYv9p61B8iI/AAAAAAAABY0/jjdxoVhbSDY/s200/Fletch2_scene06.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 185px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> FLETCH LIVES<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">year: </span>1989<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Chevy Chase<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> *<br /><br />Fletch is back, and he's angry, irritable, and not funny. Too bad because the first FLETCH is Chevy Chase's best, and funniest, film. Unlike the previous plot-line, which had interesting villains connected to a nifty L.A. Film Noir plot, Fletch quits his job and heads South (his dead aunt left him a dilapidated yet sought-after mansion) where he takes on hillbillies, racists, and religious zealots. His disguises range from a white-haired cleaning lady to a televangelist: all impossible to imagine anyone falling for. And before leaving L.A., when Fletch crosses paths with his ex-wife's lawyer (George Wyner) and newspaper editor (Richard Libertini), his humorously glib indifference is bitter and downright aggressive (continuing for the rest of the film). By far one of the crappiest sequels of all time.

chevy chase, cleavon little, comedy, eighties, hal holbrook, michael ritchie, sequel

FLETCH LIVES

title: FLETCH LIVES year: 1989 cast: Chevy Chase rating: * Fletch is back, and he's angry, irritable, and not funny. Too bad because ...

MAN OF THE HOUSE

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXrYk_gXklA/TYuAjSgG9gI/AAAAAAAABYU/ob_9OalsSqs/s1600/man%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bhouse.jpg"><strong><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587701106433521154" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXrYk_gXklA/TYuAjSgG9gI/AAAAAAAABYU/ob_9OalsSqs/s200/man%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bhouse.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 162px; CURSOR: hand" /></strong></a><strong>title:</strong> MAN OF THE HOUSE<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 1995</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Chevy Chase, Farrah Fawcett, Jonathan Taylor Thomas</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> *1/2</div><br /><div></div><div>If there's ever a debate on the most annoying kid in a live-action Disney film, it would be Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a whining, politically-correct punk making his new step-dad... Or rather, his mother's newly moved-in boyfriend's life a complete hell. Chevy Chase, stiff and unfunny, is a lawyer trying his best to deal with this insufferable jerk by learning the right ways to recycle, not sleeping with girlfriend Farrah Fawcett, and last but not least, joining The Indian Guides: becoming a complete ass and <em>still </em>not winning-over his hopeful future son. There's a side-story about mobster's trying to kill Chase, which eventually connects on a weekend camping trip where predictable bonding occurs. If you don't mind cringing for ninety-minutes straight, this is for you. </div>

chevy chase, comedy, disney, farrah fawcett, nineties

MAN OF THE HOUSE

title: MAN OF THE HOUSE year: 1995 cast: Chevy Chase, Farrah Fawcett, Jonathan Taylor Thomas rating: *1/2 If there's ever a debate ...

DIRTY WORK

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5h-1_S9ruuQ/TYp0MzO8LgI/AAAAAAAABYE/L2Vk7TOt2gg/s1600/norm.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587406050966646274" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5h-1_S9ruuQ/TYp0MzO8LgI/AAAAAAAABYE/L2Vk7TOt2gg/s200/norm.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 145px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">title:</span> DIRTY WORK<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">year: </span>1998<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">cast:</span> Norm MacDonald, Artie Lange, Jack Warden, Chris Farley<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">rating: </span>**<br /><br />Okay, so this is one of the worst comedies ever made. And Norm MacDonald, while being a hilarious standup, can't act a lick. But he surrounds himself with hilarious and talented actors including Chris Farley in his last role: as a frustrated barfly without a nose; Don Rickles as an insult-spouting theater owner; and Jack Warden as the father of Artie Lange, Norm's fat, and very unfunny sidekick, both lifelong pals who go into the revenge business: taking on pompous corporate villain Chris MacDonald. Lame jokes abound, but somehow, in a very strange way, you'll be drawn in: thinking it couldn't possibly get any worse... which it does, but maybe that's the point all along.

chevy chase, chris farley, chris macdonald, comedy, don rickles, jack warden, nineties

DIRTY WORK

title: DIRTY WORK year: 1998 cast: Norm MacDonald, Artie Lange, Jack Warden, Chris Farley rating: ** Okay, so this is one of the worst co...

TRANSYLVANIA 6-5000

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hj0SUieQrCw/TYknsi-y2VI/AAAAAAAABX8/9jXJfOd04z8/s1600/transyvianai.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587040458987723090" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hj0SUieQrCw/TYknsi-y2VI/AAAAAAAABX8/9jXJfOd04z8/s200/transyvianai.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 189px;" /></a><strong>title:</strong> TRANSYLVANIA 6-5000<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 1985</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Jeff Goldblum, Ed Begley Jr., Geena Davis, Jeffery Jones</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> *1/2</div><br /><div>Jeff Goldblum and Ed Begley Jr. are funny guys sharing similiar traits: both are tall, gawky, glib, and likable. Problem is, as a team-up, the duo needs a third party. In this case, the gap entails a bevy of character-actors trying to out-funny each other<span style="font-style: italic;"> and </span><em></em>our reluctant heroes: two reporters investigating a monster-sighting in Transylvania... Goldblum doesn't believe it, Begley wants it to be true. And all the goofy locals, including Michael Richards, Carol Kane, Jeffery Jones, and sexy vampire Geena Davis, come and go like characters in a high school play, deleting any camaraderie the two leads might have had otherwise. Critic Leonard Maltin gave a short review of this: "It stunk." An understatement.<br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ABKy-Pqu-HQ" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /></div>

comedy, ed begley jr., eighties, geena davis, horror satire, jeff goldblum, michael richards

TRANSYLVANIA 6-5000

title: TRANSYLVANIA 6-5000 year: 1985 cast: Jeff Goldblum, Ed Begley Jr., Geena Davis, Jeffery Jones rating: *1/2 Jeff Goldblum and Ed ...

BIG TROUBLE

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ukpIkwPPvXg/TYkm3rui76I/AAAAAAAABXs/VLi7NcNupxE/s1600/BIG%252BTROUBLE.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587039550802423714" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ukpIkwPPvXg/TYkm3rui76I/AAAAAAAABXs/VLi7NcNupxE/s200/BIG%252BTROUBLE.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 113px; height: 200px;" /></a><strong>title:</strong> BIG TROUBLE<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 1986</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Beverly D'Angelo, Charles Durning</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> **</div><br /><div></div><div>This is John Cassavete's last film, but not really. As a replacement for another director, he was helping friends Peter Falk and Alan Arkin in this remake of DOUBLE INDEMNITY, seeming more like a limp sequel to THE IN-LAWS. Arkin, an insurance adjuster, wanting his sons to attend Yale, reluctantly teams with Beverly D'Angelo to kill her supposedly dying husband and... well if you saw the Fred McMurray Noir classic: the plan involves a train, a corpse, and a big payoff. There's no real sign of Cassavete's style, other than a ton of closeups and obvious actor improvisation, which is the problem. A film like this might have worked as a mainstream buddy caper, but ended up a failed indie. </div>

alan arkin, beverly d'angelo, charles durning, eighties, john cassavetes, peter falk, team-up

BIG TROUBLE

title: BIG TROUBLE year: 1986 cast: Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Beverly D'Angelo, Charles Durning rating: ** This is John Cassavete'...

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x1B-O0wObHg/TYbiv04ukrI/AAAAAAAABWE/6Z8HquJ_xhA/s1600/physevid.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586401699077984946" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x1B-O0wObHg/TYbiv04ukrI/AAAAAAAABWE/6Z8HquJ_xhA/s200/physevid.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 197px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title: </span>PHYSICAL EVIDENCE<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 1989<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast:</span> Burt Reynolds, Theresa Russell, Ned <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Beatty</span>, Ted McKinley<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> **1/2<br /><br />Burt Reynolds is a good cop that seems so guilty, he simply can't be... can he? It's up to climber D.A. Theresa Russell to find who killed an unpopular snitch all the cops despise, especially Reynolds, who'd not only threatened this man, but taped it. Like Hitchcock's FRENZY, the protagonist seems guiltier and guiltier because of his own mistakes and miscalculations. So while Michael <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Crichton</span>'s a master novelist, his directorial career is pretty good: but this one's merely average. And Russell, who's great in STRAIGHT TIME and BLACK WIDOW, gives one of the worst, and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">unintentionally</span> hilarious, performances of all time. But Burt holds it together, as does fellow DELIVERANCE alumni Ned <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Beatty</span> as the prosecuting <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">attorney</span> with a much too easy gig.

action, burt reynolds, cop, crime, eighties, michael crichton, ned beatty, theresa russell

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

title: PHYSICAL EVIDENCE year: 1989 cast: Burt Reynolds, Theresa Russell, Ned Beatty , Ted McKinley rating: **1/2 Burt Reynolds is a goo...

SPIES LIKE US

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qTVE907Oeag/TYZWiBAYDwI/AAAAAAAABV8/Aqz0W_vHpBw/s1600/Spies-Like-Us-movie-image-1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586247530185232130" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qTVE907Oeag/TYZWiBAYDwI/AAAAAAAABV8/Aqz0W_vHpBw/s200/Spies-Like-Us-movie-image-1.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 163px; CURSOR: pointer" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">title:</span> SPIES LIKE US<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">year: </span>1986<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">cast: </span>Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Donna Dixon, James Daughton<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">rating:</span> **1/2<br /><br />This mid-eighties John Landis comedy has Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd as two Washington slackers sent as pawns into Pakistan and Russia. There are a few good moments and a semi-involving adventure, just not many real laughs. Scenes where the boys train as paratroopers in America, and first sent on their mission, exceeds the finale involving a hidden nuclear missile. Landis busily juggles homages of the "Road To" movies (Bob Hope provides a cameo), "Lawrence of Arabia" and (the now dated) cold war espionage, forgetting that a comedy should be more funny than significant. But the real problem are our two leads: while both are likable, it's never clear which is the straight man and which is the goofball. And prepare for the worst closing credit song ever: written and performed by, sadly, a former Beatle.<br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/27ATt3FXAUY" frameborder="0" width="480"></iframe>

bernie casey, chevy chase, cold war, comedy, dan aykroyd, eighties, john landis

SPIES LIKE US

title: SPIES LIKE US year: 1986 cast: Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Donna Dixon, James Daughton rating: **1/2 This mid-eighties John Landis c...

MEN AT WORK

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MXxkr9t_9AU/TYT8sRUEidI/AAAAAAAABV0/SwCzVuvQJc8/s1600/Men-at-work-2-charlie-sheen-and-emilio-estevez-8202837-758-406.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585867275338287570" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MXxkr9t_9AU/TYT8sRUEidI/AAAAAAAABV0/SwCzVuvQJc8/s200/Men-at-work-2-charlie-sheen-and-emilio-estevez-8202837-758-406.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 165px; height: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> MEN AT WORK<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 1990<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Emilio <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Estevez</span>, Charlie Sheen, Keith David, John <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Getz</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> **<br /><br />Emilio <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Estevez</span> wrote and directed this comedy about two trash men, himself and brother Charlie Sheen. Both are confident, drunken losers, womanizers or unlucky in love, and have no purpose whatsoever. Until they find the corpse of a slain politician and, with the aid of grumpy boss Keith David (Charlie's PLATOON alumni), they end up trying to rid of the body while being chased by the mob. If only the film didn't quickly abandon the characters, adhering to several plots taken from sources as varied as REAR WINDOW and WEEKEND AT <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">BERNIES</span>, then it might be more... comedic. But there's simply too much running around, and not enough banal <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">camaraderie</span> that any slacker flick deserves.

charlie sheen, comedy, emilio estevez, john getz, keith david, nineties

MEN AT WORK

title: MEN AT WORK year: 1990 cast: Emilio Estevez , Charlie Sheen, Keith David, John Getz rating: ** Emilio Estevez wrote and directe...

BLACK WIDOW

<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vuY1dmSLMkQ/TYJ5282ru2I/AAAAAAAABVk/GGr5FQpzPAs/s1600/blackwidow111.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585160472848218978" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vuY1dmSLMkQ/TYJ5282ru2I/AAAAAAAABVk/GGr5FQpzPAs/s200/blackwidow111.jpg" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 136px; float: right; height: 200px;" /></a><strong>title:</strong> BLACK WIDOW<br /><div><div><strong>year:</strong> 1987</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Debra Winger, Theresa, Russell, Dennis Hopper, Terry O'Quinn<br /></div><div><strong>rating:</strong> ***1/2</div><br /><div>Bob Raefelson's stylish 80's Film Noir has Debra Winger as a federal agent with a dull job, till she realizes how many millionaires are dying of sudden "accidental heart attacks": all over forty and married to young brides. Turns out there's only one bride in the form of gorgeous Theresa Russell, intricately wielding each distinct murder (hubbies include Dennis Hopper and Nicol Williamson) with Winger on her trail: then colliding in the third act as both leads meet in Hawaii, where spider's found a new, and very sympathetic, fly. An underrated yarn, using key elements of Noir and Hitchcock, never loses sight of how fun it is to root for the villain. </div></div>

debra winger, dennis hopper, eighties, james hong, neo noir, suspense, terry o'quinn, theresa russell

BLACK WIDOW

title: BLACK WIDOW year: 1987 cast: Debra Winger, Theresa, Russell, Dennis Hopper, Terry O'Quinn rating: ***1/2 Bob Raefelson's...

THE YAKUZA

<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cci4td9YrkY/TYJqeTcavxI/AAAAAAAABVU/IHGR7jXPgmY/s1600/YAKUZA1.jpg"><strong><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585143556740923154" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cci4td9YrkY/TYJqeTcavxI/AAAAAAAABVU/IHGR7jXPgmY/s200/YAKUZA1.jpg" style="float: right; height: 152px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></strong></a><strong>title:</strong> THE YAKUZA<br /> <div> <strong>year:</strong> 1974</div> <div> <strong>cast:</strong> Robert Mitchum, Brian Keith, Ken Takakura, Richard Jordan</div> <div> <strong>rating:</strong> *1/2</div> <br /> <div> </div> <div> It's amazing that the creator of CHINATOWN (Robert Towne), teamed-up with the genius behind TAXI DRIVER (Paul Schrader), could devise a script with zero entertainment value: centering on WWII vet Robert Mitchum returning to Japan to rescue a friend's kidnapped daughter. The dialogue seems endless and pointless, especially between Mitchum and his old Japanese flame. And when action does occur, it feels rushed and awkward, directed by Sydney Pollack with the intensity of a daytime soap. And yet, beyond the miscasting of the usually comedic Herb Edelman, and the waste of Mitchum and Brian Keith's talents, Japanese actor Ken Takakura, as the only character with any purpose (or power), has potential: but is stuck in the wrong film to use it. </div>

action, brian keith, japanese-based, paul schrader, richard jordan, robert mitchum, seventies

THE YAKUZA

title: THE YAKUZA year: 1974 cast: Robert Mitchum, Brian Keith, Ken Takakura, Richard Jordan rating: *1/2 It's amazing th...

THE BLUE LAGOON

<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="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BrTRXVwjaLg/VMTuZ2gjvII/AAAAAAAAmWY/flq9R3rZ8cQ/s1600/Picture%2B2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BrTRXVwjaLg/VMTuZ2gjvII/AAAAAAAAmWY/flq9R3rZ8cQ/s1600/Picture%2B2.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1980 **</td></tr> </tbody></table> Semi-decent till the two children, shipwreckled on an island with old fat cook Leo McKern, grow up as Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins... Both deliver lines like porn stars with a similar plot line: yet there's an overlong build-up to the enviable consummation, and not enough adventure to the other side of the island, which McKern, who died when they were children, warned about.<br /> <br /> Then, when our Swiss Family Adam and Eve have a baby, things really wane. But despite the flaws and cornball dialogue, you'll be drawn in, somehow: if not for curiosity's sake. 

brooke shields, christopher atkins, deserted island, eighties, leo mckern, romance

THE BLUE LAGOON

1980 ** Semi-decent till the two children, shipwreckled on an island with old fat cook Leo McKern, grow up as Brooke Shields and Christo...

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE

<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="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VnRsuRkD8W0/UQ3fKj312KI/AAAAAAAAV3g/8wuA9jQUSoE/s1600/hottubtimemachine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VnRsuRkD8W0/UQ3fKj312KI/AAAAAAAAV3g/8wuA9jQUSoE/s640/hottubtimemachine.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 2010<b> cast:</b> John Cusack, Rob Cordroy, Chevy Chase<b> rating:</b> **</td></tr> </tbody></table> Time travel flicks are usually intriguing, and a trip to the 1980s seems a good premise, but unlike BACK TO THE FUTURE, in which Michael J. Fox is thrust into the '50s, the four characters here (including John Cusack) returning to the "Reagan era" is more catharsis than nostalgia.<br /> <br /> Using a hot tub in a broken down ski resort hotel, the dudes... three in their forties, one in his twenties... are sent back to the same resort when things were swinging. They have to party hard (like before) without screwing up the time continuum.<br /> <br /> Memorable 80s stuff like new wave and hair-band music, leg warmers, and one-dimensional bullies do little to jolt endearing memories of that era, or effectively parody it: which would have made a better film. These self-described losers could have gone back to any decade and still be miserable.<br /> <br /> Yet despite the many flaws, there's some semi-funny moments. And a cameo by KARATE KID villain William Zabka is a plus.

chevy chase, john cusack, rob corrdry, tens, time travel, william zabka

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE

year: 2010 cast: John Cusack, Rob Cordroy, Chevy Chase rating: ** Time travel flicks are usually intriguing, and a trip to the 1980...

THE OTHER GUYS

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UT-Jr_I_4BE/TXWTXmPEx1I/AAAAAAAABT8/hyko5uhgpWM/s1600/the-other-guys-motion-poster-25-3-10-kc.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581529346805647186" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UT-Jr_I_4BE/TXWTXmPEx1I/AAAAAAAABT8/hyko5uhgpWM/s200/the-other-guys-motion-poster-25-3-10-kc.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 106px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">title: </span>THE OTHER GUYS<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">year: </span>2010<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">cast:</span> Mark Wahlberg, Will Farrell, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Samuel L. Jackson<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">rating:</span> **1/2<br /><br />There have been so many buddy cop movies throughout the years, any new attempt is usually tongue-in-cheek satire: a plot riding backseat to what makes the genre work: the contrary personalities of the duo and how they bicker back and forth, eventually making up to take on, and then defeat, the villain. This is no different, giving ample time for Mark Walhberg, as a frustrated, hard-boiled jerk who wants to make a difference, and mellow, passive desk-jockey Will Farrell, to clash and clash some more. Farrell does his usual clueless, sweet-natured airhead while Walhberg tries his best to counterbalance with sporadic intensity, making up for the fact his role, if more comedic, could have fit John C. Reilly. Not bad, and not too great, but entertaining enough to wile away the time.

mark walhberg, michael keaton, modern, samuel l. jackson, tens, will ferrell

THE OTHER GUYS

title: THE OTHER GUYS year: 2010 cast: Mark Wahlberg, Will Farrell, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Samuel L. Jackson rating: **1/2 There hav...

GUNN

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yxjXnwoowrI/TXKmzOn_BrI/AAAAAAAABTs/05sjX30ty-U/s1600/Girl2.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580706287294809778" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yxjXnwoowrI/TXKmzOn_BrI/AAAAAAAABTs/05sjX30ty-U/s200/Girl2.JPG" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> GUNN<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 1967<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast:</span> Craig Stevens, Laura Devon, Sherry Jackson, Ed Asner<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> ***<br /><br />Maligned for not being faithful, or equalling in quality, the black and white TV series created by Blake Edwards and William Peter Blatty about secret agent Peter Gunn, but this is an entertaining film that takes the spy genre to a laidback, late sixties aura (with bright vivid colors) and is never boring. Craig Stevens reprises the title role but for his age, being practically attacked by gorgeous babes like Sherry Jackson and Laura Devon seems a bit forced: but he's got that glib James Bond cool the lady's love. There are a few nice twists and always the next thing (discussed in previous scenes) for Gunn to survive, and the audience to anticipate.

blake edwards, craig stevens, sherry jackson, sixties, spy, TV adaptation

GUNN

title: GUNN year: 1967 cast: Craig Stevens, Laura Devon, Sherry Jackson, Ed Asner rating: *** Maligned for not being faithful, or equal...

LUNCH WAGON

<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--GKdD6bLeVQ/TW_39nxEoxI/AAAAAAAABTk/QfLwevKeq_A/s1600/lunchwagon.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579951101354222354" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--GKdD6bLeVQ/TW_39nxEoxI/AAAAAAAABTk/QfLwevKeq_A/s200/lunchwagon.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 166px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><b>title:</b> LUNCH WAGON<br /> <div> <b>year:</b> 1981</div> <div> <b>cast:</b> Pamela Jean Bryant, Rosanne Katon, Dale Bozzio</div> <div> <b>rating:</b> **</div> <br /> <div> </div> <div> Oh, if only the director knew... having a movie where three sexy bikini-clad girls "inherit" a lunch truck and serve horny construction workers and then hang around a nightclub with Dale Bozzio from "The Missing Persons"... would be good enough... but he had to include a side-story involving zany villains robbing a warehouse, proving a plot can only hinder a film titled LUNCH WAGON. As for the important aspects: the girls are hot, the acting's not altogether terrible, and don't let the 80's date fool ya: this is a 70's style breezy/cheesy exploitation (reminiscent of THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS and THE VAN) that almost stinks beautifully when not attempting to <i>mean </i>something. </div>

chuck mccann, eighties, rosanne katon, sex comedy

LUNCH WAGON

title: LUNCH WAGON year: 1981 cast: Pamela Jean Bryant, Rosanne Katon, Dale Bozzio rating: ** Oh, if only the director knew.....