MARK HAMILL IN CORVETTE SUMMER

<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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V55LpBWODhg/VjM0YsMaURI/AAAAAAAApko/WsmaT22NEF8/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-10-30%2Bat%2B2.13.54%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V55LpBWODhg/VjM0YsMaURI/AAAAAAAApko/WsmaT22NEF8/s640/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-10-30%2Bat%2B2.13.54%2BAM.png" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">year: 1978 cast: Mark Hamill, Annie Potts, Kim Milford, Eugene Roche, Brion James rating: ***1/2</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> Kenny Dantley, a naïve yet determined California teenager, builds a corvette from a junk heap... It's stolen and he journeys to Las Vegas with a girl he ends up rescuing... And then, having gained wisdom, has a do-or-die confrontation with the main villain...<br /> <br /> This sounds like the template of another Mark Hamill flick but CORVETTE SUMMER came out a year after STAR WARS:<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span></span>with a laidback and likable performance by Hamill, a gorgeous orange Stingray, and an involving odyssey turned romance with Annie Potts as a motormouth hooker/love interest.<br /> <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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OHr6BY88Hxo/Ujjid_QB5hI/AAAAAAAAams/dpzpEwfsBtI/s1600/hotone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="334" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OHr6BY88Hxo/Ujjid_QB5hI/AAAAAAAAams/dpzpEwfsBtI/s640/hotone.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenny's Corvette is so close yet so far, far away</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> There are similarities of low-budget exploitation films such as VAN NUYS BLVD and MALIBU BEACH but with a higher budget and a very popular (at that time) current superstar. Thus SUMMER has the combination of breezy drive-in flicks and that of a mainstream nature, with a last-minute moral message as our hero turns to the dark side before realizing he may love the girl more than making money.<br /> <br /> Although the best scenes involve Hamill's Kenny Dantley as a fish outta water during the second act, searching for that needle in the seedy Las Vegas haystack. Filmed almost entirely in Sin City during daylight hours, we see the town without the glittering neon: a sleeping skeleton in the desert heat.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f4KErRlMEIE/VFgjO90FghI/AAAAAAAAkaA/xxjHIEiM7lg/s1600/VETTE1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="122" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f4KErRlMEIE/VFgjO90FghI/AAAAAAAAkaA/xxjHIEiM7lg/s1600/VETTE1.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The Vanishing Point of Corvette Summer</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ziJrBk1f6z8/VFgLgssytyI/AAAAAAAAkZw/cBaeaDiMys0/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ziJrBk1f6z8/VFgLgssytyI/AAAAAAAAkZw/cBaeaDiMys0/s1600/images.jpg" width="139"></a>This gloriously addictive curio keeps on rolling... <i>from the beginning</i> as Kenny builds his labor-of-love in the high school auto shop class and, after a quick cruise down Hollywood boulevard, it's mysteriously ripped off in the care of a flaky student... <i>through the middle</i> as Kenny journeys through Las Vegas working odd jobs as the peripheral search continues... <i>to the end </i>with a climactic car chase "dogfight" against LASERBLAST actor Kim Milford...<br /> <br /> This provides a fantastic and thrilling chase along the road back to Los Angeles, which, to casual viewers, might be too little/too late for a movie that promises high octane action-packed fun.<br /> <br /> Recommended viewing for lazy afternoons, this summertime cult classic features Eugene Roche as Kenny's faithful and possibly crooked auto shop teacher, Wendy Jo Sperber as a student and Danny Bonaduci as the dork that let the HOT ONE get away and with cameos by Roger Corman stock actor Dick Miller as a lucky gambler, SOUTHERN COMFORT veterans Brion James and T.K. Carter and an appearance by TV favorite Stanley Kamel as a thieving casino pimp.<br /> <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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2SQy-2qFeik/VjMy4p8dC7I/AAAAAAAApkg/xxNQ2x2qHaU/s1600/1005543_809400435772545_4785840771472077015_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2SQy-2qFeik/VjMy4p8dC7I/AAAAAAAApkg/xxNQ2x2qHaU/s640/1005543_809400435772545_4785840771472077015_n.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roaring through the Vegas desert near Tatooine</td></tr> </tbody></table> <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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D3t13x-Lg5w/T_uBQGkV-dI/AAAAAAAAIvo/32GEDiPnIwo/s1600/309746_10150333700786600_1172987693_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D3t13x-Lg5w/T_uBQGkV-dI/AAAAAAAAIvo/32GEDiPnIwo/s640/309746_10150333700786600_1172987693_n.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Las Vegas or Bust</td></tr> </tbody></table> <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/-CjRngJVQ1F8/UViVjToXkJI/AAAAAAAAXwg/q4eHcxJjDdA/s1600/corvette+summer4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CjRngJVQ1F8/UViVjToXkJI/AAAAAAAAXwg/q4eHcxJjDdA/s640/corvette+summer4.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two vehicles during the final CAR WARS</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IrcUSt-Frw8/T_uBAKubDEI/AAAAAAAAIu4/oAbuFLak8_8/s1600/313558_10150321791606600_1005464629_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IrcUSt-Frw8/T_uBAKubDEI/AAAAAAAAIu4/oAbuFLak8_8/s640/313558_10150321791606600_1005464629_n.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hot One</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xX-z-QuXPaQ/T_uBB1fyU9I/AAAAAAAAIvM/F0oQNaYcitw/s1600/320781_10150340213881600_199046923_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="366" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xX-z-QuXPaQ/T_uBB1fyU9I/AAAAAAAAIvM/F0oQNaYcitw/s640/320781_10150340213881600_199046923_n.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Hamill's Kenny goes hitchhiking to Las Vegas</td></tr> </tbody></table> <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/-Srt-Lsr839M/T_uBCVbDX-I/AAAAAAAAIvY/CoNo0wNlrlk/s1600/383664_10150447994001600_1715240945_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Srt-Lsr839M/T_uBCVbDX-I/AAAAAAAAIvY/CoNo0wNlrlk/s640/383664_10150447994001600_1715240945_n.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Hamill chasing a dream</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNg124LPuGU/UACNTZMfrfI/AAAAAAAAIyQ/E1anXR-GjgY/s1600/540316_10150780706106600_879581971_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="372" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNg124LPuGU/UACNTZMfrfI/AAAAAAAAIyQ/E1anXR-GjgY/s640/540316_10150780706106600_879581971_n.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Kim Milford and Brion James beating up Mark Hamill</b></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white;">The infamously bad yet fantastically awesome b-movie LASERBLAST stars Kim Milford as a bullied teenager who finds an alien's laser gun that fits on his arm, and in using the weapon he slowly turns into a monster killing people and road signs...</span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white;">One being an advertisement for STAR WARS, the sci-fi blockbuster from the previous year that starred MARK HAMILL who, the following year, starred in CORVETTE SUMMER wherein LASERBLAST's Kim Milford played a criminal who, after he gets outmaneuvered by Hamill, blows up his own car: but with a pistol this time. </span></div> <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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oq6WL56YZeg/TwYjiZgzUrI/AAAAAAAADo0/XQlPBnPaJ-k/s1600/title00_000612145-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="574" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oq6WL56YZeg/TwYjiZgzUrI/AAAAAAAADo0/XQlPBnPaJ-k/s640/title00_000612145-1.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kim Milford blasts a STAR WARS sign</td></tr> </tbody></table> <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/-9eolbgzKqk0/Tw4KQzmAvmI/AAAAAAAADxM/C3JH0XpLvb0/s1600/n50868108192_1202180_5512.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9eolbgzKqk0/Tw4KQzmAvmI/AAAAAAAADxM/C3JH0XpLvb0/s640/n50868108192_1202180_5512.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kim Milford in LASERBLAST </td></tr> </tbody></table> <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/-i1MruRdzdBE/Tw4K0OI7AQI/AAAAAAAADxU/KTRCQ-GVORI/s1600/382761_10150469596121600_84251876599_8691979_1466371697_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="364" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i1MruRdzdBE/Tw4K0OI7AQI/AAAAAAAADxU/KTRCQ-GVORI/s640/382761_10150469596121600_84251876599_8691979_1466371697_n.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Hamill and Kim Milford</td></tr> </tbody></table> <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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-52ScDfi21Ls/Tw4JpaWsWiI/AAAAAAAADw8/Wf64pwGMOpo/s1600/1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-52ScDfi21Ls/Tw4JpaWsWiI/AAAAAAAADw8/Wf64pwGMOpo/s640/1.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kim Milford in CORVETTE SUMMER</td></tr> </tbody></table> <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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-46FEfECjt_k/Tw4Jp78-JaI/AAAAAAAADxE/jT7OwsyBD1c/s1600/2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-46FEfECjt_k/Tw4Jp78-JaI/AAAAAAAADxE/jT7OwsyBD1c/s640/2.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Destruction of the Death Car</td></tr> </tbody></table> <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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CuvtTBBnJi4/UViXceDbBAI/AAAAAAAAXxA/NFGGntZb0Zs/s1600/corvettesummer6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="364" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CuvtTBBnJi4/UViXceDbBAI/AAAAAAAAXxA/NFGGntZb0Zs/s640/corvettesummer6.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Corvette-Summer/84251876599">LIKE CORVETTE SUMMER ON FACEBOOK</a> AND <a href="http://www.corvettesummerjedi.com/">THE CORVETTE SUMMER BLOG</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PNiFd8s1210/UVimM757i6I/AAAAAAAAXxY/MX-fftoaZts/s1600/CORVETTESUMMER9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="354" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PNiFd8s1210/UVimM757i6I/AAAAAAAAXxY/MX-fftoaZts/s640/CORVETTESUMMER9.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=corvette+summer">WARNER ARCHIVE CORVETTE SUMMER ON AMAZON</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FuqsMt_GXRY/VBNPSDbA_6I/AAAAAAAAjl8/S-A8ud0hXQ4/s1600/VETTE2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="368" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FuqsMt_GXRY/VBNPSDbA_6I/AAAAAAAAjl8/S-A8ud0hXQ4/s1600/VETTE2.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And, as part of pop culture history, you can often find this corvette revving on the TCM cable channel...</td></tr> </tbody></table>

action, annie potts, kim milford, mark hamill, seventies

MARK HAMILL IN CORVETTE SUMMER

year: 1978 cast: Mark Hamill, Annie Potts, Kim Milford, Eugene Roche, Brion James rating: ***1/2 Kenny Dantley, a naïve yet determined C...

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION

<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/-YQbrGZzklUs/UVeO5y22UqI/AAAAAAAAXvo/qTYdsr3z3HE/s1600/gijoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YQbrGZzklUs/UVeO5y22UqI/AAAAAAAAXvo/qTYdsr3z3HE/s640/gijoe.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 2013 cast: Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum <b>rating:</b> **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Channing Tatum might have seen the Kurt Russell action thriller EXECUTIVE DECISION and thought highly of Steven Seagal, who played a potentially vital character for the first twenty minutes. Following a similar doomed cameo in SIDE EFFECTS, Tatum’s Duke is in charge of G.I. JOE, a crack unit based in the desert that winds up slaughtered by an assault team manned by the President of the United States, played by Jonathan Pryce. But that’s not really the President – a devious double has taken over and now the maligned unit, sans the unlucky yet heroic Duke and now led by Dwayne Johnson's Roadblock, has to stop whatever else Evil Prez has in store, including a stockade of nuclear missiles.<br /> <br /> Once we’re out of the desert and into other regions, the best scenes take place around the perimeter of a mountaintop monastery where good guys and bad guys battle it out using tons of rock climbing rope and cables. These resilient heroes aren’t our central trio, who are busy crashing a Washington party before winding up in the suburbs where a third-act savior awaits in the form of Bruce Willis… the "original Joe" himself… providing enough guns and ammo to start a… or rather, hopefully end a… Third World War.<br /> <br /> The finale is contained within an assortment of grumpy world leaders (with several jokes against North Korea) gathered around their own red nuclear buttons, as a mad-gleaming Pryce needs only a purring lap cat to be a world-dominating Bond villain (he was one, actually). Thus a worthy team up of The Rock and Willis is never quite realized… We needed more Army action figure types than the amour-plated Ninjas, who seem straight out of a corny graphic novel. Thus the combination of reality and fantasy make RETALIATION an assortment of bombastic action sequences that doesn't gel together as a whole.

2013, action, bruce willis, dwayne johnson, franchise, jonathan pryce, military, sequel

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION

year: 2013 cast: Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum rating: **1/2 Channing Tatum might have seen the Kurt Russell action thr...

SAOIRSE RONAN IN THE HOST

<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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U4VtnsVD2m4/UVascgcpI4I/AAAAAAAAXvY/BThBykdUuNI/s1600/the-host.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U4VtnsVD2m4/UVascgcpI4I/AAAAAAAAXvY/BThBykdUuNI/s640/the-host.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Saoirse Ronan, Diane Kruger, William Hurt rating: *1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Young ladies, if you’re having trouble choosing the right guy, frantically pontificating who’s best suited to meet your needs – and ultimately steal your heart – you might not be completely alone. A parasite from another planet could have taken over your body; your body serving as THE HOST... possibly the worst science fiction film ever created for the teenage market. <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="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-37lRpxbBOFo/VHTSop2jxLI/AAAAAAAAlEw/yUO6hV7OYw4/s1600/saoirse-ronan-new-the-host-poster-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-37lRpxbBOFo/VHTSop2jxLI/AAAAAAAAlEw/yUO6hV7OYw4/s400/saoirse-ronan-new-the-host-poster-01.jpg" width="293"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster of THE HOST</td></tr> </tbody></table> Beginning with the plot underway: the Earth is already controlled by bright blue-eyed aliens wearing human bodies who, although peaceful enough on their own or with each other, are liken to Nazis when it comes to taking over. After all, they need to get every last skin-suit to run the entire planet <i>their</i> way.<br /> <br /> One person in particular is Melanie, played by the lanky and otherwise talented HANNA actress Saoirse Ronan, who survives a suicidal leap from a skyscraper and then, after receiving the alien transplant, she doesn’t completely adhere to this new soul transition, an operation with the underlying purpose of – chaperoned by Diane Kruger’s antagonistic Seeker – discovering where the remaining survivors are hiding. <br /> <br /> What makes this movie such a campy howler are the frantic mental conversations between Melanie's human side against her alien half, named The Wanderer and shortened to Wanda after being saved by her Uncle Jeb (William Hurt) in the scorching desert. A resilient Jeb leads a ragtag human army in an underground maze of caverns, and although not trusted at first, and mistreated by several of her human captors, Melanie/Wanda continues to argue with herself over escape, betrayal and ultimately which dude to crush on: the first being her former lover and the second a really nice guy who’s fallen for not Melanie, but Wanda. (Meanwhile Melanie, whose thoughts often sound like a perturbed valley girl, is downright pissed!)<br /> <br /> Turning sports cars and helicopters into silver bulletproof vehicles is the only real effort to make this unintentionally hilarious navel-gazing INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS an action-based sci-fi flick. The production value resembles a low budget cinematic effort or perhaps an expensive straight-to-DVD venture. And as for a being considered a worthy teen romance, Melanie/Wanda hardly knows her boys long enough for the “relationships” to matter: the sappy conversations make TWILIGHT (also by Stephanie Meyer) seem like GONE WITH THE WIND in comparison.

2013, action, diane kruger, saoirse ronan, science-fiction, teen, william hurt

SAOIRSE RONAN IN THE HOST

year: 2013 cast: Saoirse Ronan, Diane Kruger, William Hurt rating: *1/2 Young ladies, if you’re having trouble choosing the right guy, f...

CYNDI LAUPER & JEFF GOLDBLUM IN VIBES

<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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5igxp6rvWeo/VDguQg-TfAI/AAAAAAAAkCM/6k9ao92FM78/s1600/vibes-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5igxp6rvWeo/VDguQg-TfAI/AAAAAAAAkCM/6k9ao92FM78/s1600/vibes-cover.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1988 cast: Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Falk, Julian Sands rating: *** </td></tr> </tbody></table> It's a shame this comedy/adventure, about two slacker city folk with psychic powers, bombed so hard in  theaters because Cyndi Lauper – the 1980's icon who sang about girls wanting to have fun – is a pretty good actress, sharing the right amount of lightweight chemistry with fellow psychic (and really nice guy) Jeff Goldblum and rogue con-artist Peter Falk, who tricks the duo into finding his kidnapped son when he's actually seeking a mysterious pyramid of light on a mountaintop. <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kHrKjLjP8xY/UvP5nvc58LI/AAAAAAAAc2s/0Jd5viVfWl0/s1600/Screen+shot+2014-02-06+at+1.10.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kHrKjLjP8xY/UvP5nvc58LI/AAAAAAAAc2s/0Jd5viVfWl0/s1600/Screen+shot+2014-02-06+at+1.10.27+PM.png" width="142"></a></div> This is where the film, after establishing the likable characters in New York and then their hijinx in a small Ecuador town, goes downhill: once they reach the destination, there's nothing more to build. But Lauper is adorable throughout: her presence alone making the decent parts, and even the boring ones, somewhat worthwhile. And it's no surprise that WARLOCK's Julian Sands is a worthy adversary.<br /> <br /> Produced by Ron Howard through his Imagine Film company, VIBES would seem a strange choice after the mega-hit SPLASH and proving himself outside the comedy box with COCOON. Perhaps because his close friends, successful writing team Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, penned the story and screenplay that Howard climbed on board in the first place. And while it didn't blow the doors off the box office, at least Ron didn't pull a George Lucas, who backed another risky whim written by his own collaborators, Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, <i>quack quack</i>.<br /> <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/-0jALnoGWfuY/UVIh96KLLXI/AAAAAAAAXt0/8C-2EQaVrOE/s1600/vibes4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="344" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0jALnoGWfuY/UVIh96KLLXI/AAAAAAAAXt0/8C-2EQaVrOE/s640/vibes4.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cyndi Lauper and Jeff Goldblum</td></tr> </tbody></table> While it's a quirky romantic comedy, there are aspects of science-fiction and outdoorsy pulp adventure, director Ken Kwapis keeping the pace thanks to Lauper and Goldlum, who, unlike their reverse-magnetic behavior on set (according to Lauper's own autobiography), seem to really be in touch with each other. Then again, that's what actors do, pretend.<br /> <br /> The best scenes as the polar opposites bonding in New York: Cyndi's Eli Diamond has an imaginary friend giving her predictions while Goldblum's Nick Dreezy views the past by touching objects, both possessing "gifts" that are, as danger roles in, more of a curse: but at least they have each other to depend on, and ultimately, fall in love with.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KCY-LaKxU-w/UVIh53o9xvI/AAAAAAAAXto/BybE8HTWA0E/s1600/vibes2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="352" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KCY-LaKxU-w/UVIh53o9xvI/AAAAAAAAXto/BybE8HTWA0E/s640/vibes2.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cyndi Lauper as Elli Diamond</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U1gRvemfCrA/UVIiB1ejMaI/AAAAAAAAXt4/GBDjt-MH81M/s1600/vibes6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U1gRvemfCrA/UVIiB1ejMaI/AAAAAAAAXt4/GBDjt-MH81M/s640/vibes6.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cyndi Lauper with shotgun</td></tr> </tbody></table> <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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dbFPH2BEKJ8/UVIiCN4Go9I/AAAAAAAAXt8/nYaZBI56qlA/s1600/vibes7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dbFPH2BEKJ8/UVIiCN4Go9I/AAAAAAAAXt8/nYaZBI56qlA/s640/vibes7.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=Vibes&tag=imdb-adbox">BUY VIBES AT AMAZON</a></td></tr> </tbody></table>

cyndi lauper, eighties, jeff goldblum, michael lerner, peter falk, romantic comedy

CYNDI LAUPER & JEFF GOLDBLUM IN VIBES

year: 1988 cast: Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Falk, Julian Sands rating: *** It's a shame this comedy/adventure, about two sla...

MOTO ADVENTURE ONE: THINK FAST, MR. MOTO

<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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IU75PRDTxhI/UVFO--BSvhI/AAAAAAAAXso/1QF4zL-0-wo/s1600/MRMOTO1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IU75PRDTxhI/UVFO--BSvhI/AAAAAAAAXso/1QF4zL-0-wo/s640/MRMOTO1.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1937 cast: Peter Lorre, Virginia Field, Thomas Beck rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Peter Lorre is Mr. Moto, a Japanese secret agent who's both underrated and unappreciated... But he'll surprise you with a karate kick sending non-believers flying across the room.<br /> <br /> Here we begin with Moto in street peddler disguise, including a pointy beard and ragged clothing. He clumsily meanders into a store to sell a rug, and then a diamond, to an impatient proprietor who’s got a dead body semi-hidden in a wicker basket. This brings Moto on board a big ship where an important letter to a rich man’s son, Bob, has been stolen and replaced.<br /> <br /> There’s a plot hidden somewhere, having to do with smuggling diamonds to and from San Francisco. The best parts – when Moto’s not tailing and/or protecting the naïve square jawed Bob aboard the ocean liner – takes place in notorious Shanghai where our resilient hero turns tables at a fancy nightclub.<br /> <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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gWDqRvmSPVo/UVFPhl5JazI/AAAAAAAAXs0/YehkaKuKe3w/s1600/peterlorremoto11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gWDqRvmSPVo/UVFPhl5JazI/AAAAAAAAXs0/YehkaKuKe3w/s640/peterlorremoto11.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Moto investigates on sea or land</td></tr> </tbody></table> Peter Lorre is always fun to watch and this character is a real treat, hiding his Ace until each pivotal moment arises. But is this Motto guy a Charlie Chan rip-off? Perhaps so... yet there’s far more action in this series and, like many cinematic mysteries before and after, we’re never burdened with too many clues surrounding a convoluted maze.<br /> <br /> Norman Foster, who later directed an Orson Welles Mercury production aboard a mysterious ship titled JOURNEY INTO FEAR, provides a suspenseful element at both land and sea, moving the camera around enough to make this more than a wordy melodrama but an adventure that continuously pays off.<br /> <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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NBMtIgZ0BJw/UVEnIySm51I/AAAAAAAAXsM/f5vVYpXCF0U/s1600/moto3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NBMtIgZ0BJw/UVEnIySm51I/AAAAAAAAXsM/f5vVYpXCF0U/s640/moto3.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=MR+MOTO+DVD">BUY MR. MOTO COLLECTION AT AMAZON</a></td></tr> </tbody></table>

crime, franchise, mr moto, mystery, norman foster, peter lorre, sequel, thirties

MOTO ADVENTURE ONE: THINK FAST, MR. MOTO

year: 1937 cast: Peter Lorre, Virginia Field, Thomas Beck rating: ***1/2 Peter Lorre is Mr. Moto, a Japanese secret agent who's both...

GEORGE A. ROMERO DIRECTS JASON BEGHE IN MONKEY SHINES

<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="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-USLraxnm9g0/VEv9sWcgPdI/AAAAAAAAkQQ/-4ovSnBvy10/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-USLraxnm9g0/VEv9sWcgPdI/AAAAAAAAkQQ/-4ovSnBvy10/s320/1.jpg" width="232"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1988 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> George A. Romero trades in sinewy for suspense, zombies for a really smart monkey who, after being excessively injected by a powerful drug, and used as an aide for a quadriplegic man, takes to the streets and kills whoever his master, in his subconscious, wants dead. <br /> <br /> Jason Beghe’s extremely fake-looking beard (grown after the accident) aside, the muscular actor plays the part of a bed-ridden victim decently enough, but it’s Boo, as the spunky monkey Ella, that steals the show.<br /> <br /> Scenes involving the monkey-eye-view of the frantic romps through the suburbs to finish anyone that made Beghe’s life uncomfortable – this including a cheating girlfriend, a seedy doctor, a vicious parakeet and a henpecking mother – provide fun and involving fare, as does the initial setup as the monkey takes to the contained setting… the house where the bed-ridden patient resides… to learn how to become an assistant, and our hero realizes the Monkey’s up to no good, and there could have been a lot more grizzly deaths before the tables turn. John Pankow's subplot, as the friendly but ultimately devious young professor continuously inoculating Ella, is an essential device and he's a worthy actor: but his selfish triads deviates from the mainline story, too quickly veering into the “We must stop the antagonist at all costs” territory, making the final third a drawn-out, tiresome battle between man and beast when the bests scenes were in the buildup: monkey needed more space to reign. Yet despite the flaws, Romero provides a creepy setting that works  throughout.

eighties, george romero, horror, janine turner, suspense

GEORGE A. ROMERO DIRECTS JASON BEGHE IN MONKEY SHINES

year: 1988 rating: *** George A. Romero trades in sinewy for suspense, zombies for a really smart monkey who, after being excessively in...

ADMISSION

<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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u5sl4TVW63I/UU-EuZYLSeI/AAAAAAAAXqE/E5FObWf5pHg/s1600/admission.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u5sl4TVW63I/UU-EuZYLSeI/AAAAAAAAXqE/E5FObWf5pHg/s640/admission.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year: </b>2013<b> cast:</b> Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Nat Wolff, Wallace Shawn <b>rating:</b> **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> A “Quirky Comedy” will usually have either one of two types of characters: a normal person thrown into a bizarre situation or an oddball in a conventional, mundane routine who, because of their unpredictable nature, provides the quirkiness therein. ADMISSION would fit in the latter category, with a protagonist so neurotic you might wonder how she got her stuffy job – an admissions officer at Princeton University – in the first place.<br /> <br /> Tina Fey’s Portia Nathan is so frustrated and frantic… stuck in a dead-end relationship with a boring professor… she’s subconsciously dying for a love interest to spark up her life. Enter Paul Rudd, who, as super nice guy John Pressman, runs an alternative school where they milk cows and meet in a barn for more practical life applications.<br /> <br /> Turns out John isn’t the important guy on board, at least not as the plot’s concerned. He has a gifted yet troubled student named Jeremiah (a mellowed version of GOOD WILL HUNTING) , who loves philosophy and is more deserving than anyone else up for the coveted (and very limited) spot at Princeton.<br /> <br /> Well that’s Portia’s opinion; especially after learning Jeremiah’s her estranged son. Sticking her neck out to make his dream come true, much of the film centers on Portia awkwardly shadowing Jeremiah, on and off campus, while constantly reevaluating her priorities. And after a while you’ll forget all about Rudd, more of an angel on her shoulder than significant other despite a predictable roll in the hay. <br /> <br /> Creative elements, like spoken-of characters appearing who aren’t really there – especially during the final admissions process where Portia strategically tries getting Jeremiah in the door – add to the indie flavor of a film misleadingly promoted as a romantic comedy.<br /> <br /> Of the side cast, Paul Rudd's relationship with his adopted black child is sweet but ultimately pointless, while Lily Tomlin, as Portia’s stubborn mother, who, like Glenn Close in THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP, years earlier wrote a book on feminism and found a random “sperm donor” to create her child, tries hard to steal scenes, but Tina Fey does a good enough job carrying a simple story that, for better or worse, she owns entirely.

2013, college, comedy, lily tomlin, nat wolff, paul rudd, quirky, tina fey, wallace shawn

ADMISSION

year: 2013 cast: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Nat Wolff, Wallace Shawn rating: **1/2 A “Quirky Comedy” will usually have either one of two ty...

THE CROODS

<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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0pkEJy0cgM8/UU032mSIdjI/AAAAAAAAXos/nD08ZJNlESs/s1600/croods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0pkEJy0cgM8/UU032mSIdjI/AAAAAAAAXos/nD08ZJNlESs/s640/croods.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #cccccc;"><span style="color: #073763;"><b>year: 2013 voices: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds rating: ***1/2</b></span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> Grug is a caveman who successfully protects his family in a cave providing, when the sun goes down, shelter and bonafide safety from the dangerous elements outside. But he’s got a huge problem, and it’s not just the hungry wildcat lurking in the moonlit exterior. His curious teenage daughter wants to explore beyond the boundaries of “normal life.”<br /> <br /> Thus begins our tale centering on a quirky clan of Neanderthals. The action begins as they strategically hunt for food, not an easy task. You’d think there would be a better (more natural) selection than a giant egg. That’s because the Croods exist in a barren landscape where opportunities haven’t opened up… but they’re about to. Boy are they ever.<br /> <br /> After the teenage daughter Eep sees a strange glow outside the closed cave, she ventures into the night and meets a bitchin’ explorer dude named Guy, who’s discovered a thing called Fire. He also has a premonition, and anyone who saw ICE AGE 4: CONTINENTAL DRIFT will get major déjà vu: The land as they know it is about to break apart.<br /> <br /> So when the initial destruction occurs, the Croods discover an inner-world so colorful and vibrant, Sam Raimi’s OZ seems like a plain paper sack in comparison. Within this creature-saturated jungle are even more dangerous elements, including a hovering flock of ravenous birds, man-eating plants, and a bigger, hungrier wildcat. But for Eep at least there’s cool stuff to discover. And we now have a destination: giant mountains in the distance where possible safety awaits. <br /> <br /> Grug and family “capture” the progressively minded Guy, who knows how to hunt bigger game, make shoes and, unlike the cranky patriarch, always looks forward to something called Tomorrow. And eventually, as the gang treks toward their goal, encountering various bizarre hybrids that screech out of the woodwork, an impatient Guy asks The Croods if they know of any pace faster than “wander.” But for a movie that takes its time, allowing each obstacle to move the story along, “wandering” does this entertaining journey just fine.<br /> <br /> The voices of Nicholas Cage and Ryan Reynolds, as Grug and Guy, eventually sound less like themselves; Cage even breaks from his breezy, shuffling tone to bring the Early Man grump-turned-hero to life. But it’s Emma Stone's Eep that really shines through, providing a flawed character with an important (and evolving) arc that will glue everything, and everyone, together.

2013, action, adventure, cloris leachman, computer animated, emma stone, fantasy, nicolas cage, road movie, ryan reynolds, science-fiction

THE CROODS

year: 2013 voices: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds rating: ***1/2 Grug is a caveman who successfully protects his family in a ca...

TANYA ROBERTS IS SHEENA

<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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-viQtNeu7aVM/UUzJTIazibI/AAAAAAAAXoc/sNo8R_4Eh1w/s1600/sheena_zpsbc02d3d4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-viQtNeu7aVM/UUzJTIazibI/AAAAAAAAXoc/sNo8R_4Eh1w/s640/sheena_zpsbc02d3d4.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1984 cast: Tanya Roberts, Tedd Wass, Donovan Scott rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> A comic book adaptation where the gorgeous blue-eyed title character could have used a lot more screen time. Tanya Roberts as Sheena, for half of the film, shows up whenever needed. Ted Wass and Donovan Scott are big city transplants from a Sports Magazine doing a story on a famous NFL kicker, who also happens to be the brother of a local African King. The kicker wants to kick his brother out of the hierarchy, permanently. And succeeds.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MYtxpW_YBfs/VGEZi82t77I/AAAAAAAAkh8/Qejrf9NKuZo/s1600/shhena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MYtxpW_YBfs/VGEZi82t77I/AAAAAAAAkh8/Qejrf9NKuZo/s1600/shhena.jpg" width="162"></a></div> Ted Wass gets neck high in trouble when thugs tail him and his tubby pal Scott, who tries way too hard as comic relief. And Sheena... the stunning girl-Tarzan who rides a Zebra and was raised by a female shaman who dies by the hands of the villain... winds up saving Ted’s life and the two make an unlikely duo.<br /> <br /> Their trek across the African flatlands and mountainsides provide the best moments. Wass has affable charm as a vulnerable everyman out of his element and while Roberts isn’t quite Oscar material, and being stuck with an intentional monotone (she was raised in the jungle after all) doesn’t help matters, she's delicious eye-candy enough, especially in that loincloth, to make this John Guillermin adventure a real treat.<br /> <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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cMiVYghUs24/UUyhbJ5PmwI/AAAAAAAAXoM/RFlDXCZvsxE/s1600/sheena1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="560" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cMiVYghUs24/UUyhbJ5PmwI/AAAAAAAAXoM/RFlDXCZvsxE/s640/sheena1.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sheena+tanya+roberts">BUY SHEENA ON AMAZON</a></td></tr> </tbody></table>

adventure, comic book, donovan scott, eighties, john guillermin, tanya roberts, ted wass

TANYA ROBERTS IS SHEENA

year: 1984 cast: Tanya Roberts, Tedd Wass, Donovan Scott rating: *** A comic book adaptation where the gorgeous blue-eyed title characte...

BURT REYNOLDS IN THE END

<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/-UZvmGznQqrQ/UUu0RWOcNgI/AAAAAAAAXn0/YfYJzHkkf64/s1600/end0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="386" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UZvmGznQqrQ/UUu0RWOcNgI/AAAAAAAAXn0/YfYJzHkkf64/s640/end0.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1978 cast: Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Kristy McNichol, Robby Benson rating: ****</td></tr> </tbody></table> Best remembered for the last half-hour involving Burt Reynolds, as a dying man with less than a year to live, and Dom DeLuise, whom he meets at an insane asylum after an unsuccessful suicide attempt: Crazy Dom's given the personal task to kill Burt so he doesn't have to do it himself.<br /> <div> <br /> Before the zaniness is a satisfying, darkly comedic hour where Reynold's character, a formerly shady insurance scammer named Sonny, drives around town: meeting with a young priest (Robbie Benson) who's more curious about Sonny's sins than a confession, followed by his flaky lover played by Sally Field, who, as he tries for a good old fashion "pity f---", has more annoying house cats than desire. Then he visits his ex wife, daughter (Kristy McNichol), and parents, each oblivious to the impending doom. <br /> <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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1KXuOCoI8C0/UUdSCYxzYPI/AAAAAAAAXis/j3Yn3q-gIaM/s1600/end2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="348" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1KXuOCoI8C0/UUdSCYxzYPI/AAAAAAAAXis/j3Yn3q-gIaM/s640/end2.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burt Reynolds after getting the bad news</td></tr> </tbody></table> The very beginning provides a hilarious yet subtle moment as Sonny's handed down the horrible news by his doctor (Norman Fell) while staring into a large aquarium, an obvious improv by Reynolds who can be quite funny reacting to things around him: including an odd looking fish and later on, his ex wife's gigolo/lover and a noisy cat in Field's shabby home.<br /> <br /> The fast-paced third act in the seemingly tranquil insane asylum with Burt and Dom's schizophrenic Marlon Borunki, who tells Polish jokes while holding back tears when we first meet him,  has funny moments: but it's Sonny's initial journey to find something to live and/or die for that really works, providing Reynolds an opportunity to wield both comedy and pathos throughout the bleak story-line.<br /> <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/-zNXSjgHp1hc/UUdSCdwQaAI/AAAAAAAAXiw/MfaJPwWWIFM/s1600/end4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="354" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zNXSjgHp1hc/UUdSCdwQaAI/AAAAAAAAXiw/MfaJPwWWIFM/s640/end4.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sally Field as the cat lady girlfriend</td></tr> </tbody></table> Since we meet Sonny right after he’s handed down his terminal death sentence, we never get to know the jerk that  made commercials selling lakeside properties without lakes, cheating on his wife with hookers, or ignoring his teenage daughter.<br /> <br /> Yet these traits seep out of the dying Sonny, and at the same time, a new man emerges for people he screwed around previously. Despite coming across as a subdued Archie Bunker, using words like "beaner" without a second thought, he's someone you'll dig hanging out with during the ninety minute odyssey. And it takes a versatile actor like Reynolds could pull off such a flawed human being and make him so likable and humorous.  <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JyS5I1PruYU/UUdSDF1W-vI/AAAAAAAAXi8/dORCaJXK6F8/s1600/end3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JyS5I1PruYU/UUdSDF1W-vI/AAAAAAAAXi8/dORCaJXK6F8/s640/end3.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burt Reynolds and Sally Field</td></tr> </tbody></table> <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/-7UJ5r6Gl3hY/UUdSOKIztSI/AAAAAAAAXjE/EL_ttqJuR5E/s1600/end12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="354" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7UJ5r6Gl3hY/UUdSOKIztSI/AAAAAAAAXjE/EL_ttqJuR5E/s640/end12.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dom DeLuise tries helping out</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v6OvjlYQ5i0/UUdSPG92kgI/AAAAAAAAXjo/ZQ_ab-bTrFk/s1600/end9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="352" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v6OvjlYQ5i0/UUdSPG92kgI/AAAAAAAAXjo/ZQ_ab-bTrFk/s640/end9.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burt Reynolds waiting for the pills to kick in</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <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/-LgEt5kmSR8k/UUdTJjgXwyI/AAAAAAAAXj8/c80352D0GaQ/s1600/end1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LgEt5kmSR8k/UUdTJjgXwyI/AAAAAAAAXj8/c80352D0GaQ/s640/end1.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The clever opening, dying font for THE END directed by and starring Burt Reynolds</td></tr> </tbody></table> </div>

burt reynolds, dark comedy, dom deluise, kristy mcnichol, norman fell, robbie benson, seventies

BURT REYNOLDS IN THE END

year: 1978 cast: Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Kristy McNichol, Robby Benson rating: **** Best remembered for the last half-hour involving...

BURT REYNOLDS IN HUSTLE

<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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9JINE1Pbr9I/UUipd0nrbGI/AAAAAAAAXlU/xIMfMWqlUb0/s1600/hustle1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9JINE1Pbr9I/UUipd0nrbGI/AAAAAAAAXlU/xIMfMWqlUb0/s640/hustle1.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1975 cast: Burt Reynolds, Paul Winfield, Eddie Albert, Ben Johnson, Catherine Bach rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> One of those “stick with it” kind of movies. After the success of the universally entertaining THE LONGEST YARD, director Robert Aldrich reteams with Burt Reynolds in a steamy/gritty cop melodrama that takes a little while to get going.<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="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ppj-PJmtN94/Uw5elRt0VTI/AAAAAAAAdLs/gJXj3S43Ev4/s1600/hustle-burt-reynolds-vhs-cover-art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ppj-PJmtN94/Uw5elRt0VTI/AAAAAAAAdLs/gJXj3S43Ev4/s1600/hustle-burt-reynolds-vhs-cover-art.jpg" width="173"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HUSTLE Artwork</td></tr> </tbody></table> Reynolds is Phil Gaines, a bitter, worldweary detective who, living with a high priced prostitute, doesn’t represent the typical law and order existence. After the dead body of a drugged young girl turns up on the beach, Gaines and his partner, Paul Winfield’s Belgrave, write it off as suicide. But a stubborn, unglued war veteran father, played with a frantic energy by Ben Johnson as Marty, can’t let go.<br /> <br /> Overlong scenes where Burt and hooker girlfriend Nicole – played by Catherine Deneuve – involved in tedious bouts of pillow talk (especially during the first ten minutes) distract from the real stuff: Gaines and Belgrave forced to take the investigation seriously as Marty (the father) sneaks around a local mob-run strip club for answers, stalking a seedy high profile lawyer played by YARD villain Eddie Albert.<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="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2dhYS1r8eXw/VJCWcbXhczI/AAAAAAAAllo/Vkf91AV12mc/s1600/hustle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2dhYS1r8eXw/VJCWcbXhczI/AAAAAAAAllo/Vkf91AV12mc/s1600/hustle.jpg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burt Noir</td></tr> </tbody></table> Essential action scenes are thrown in whenever necessary, and yet beneath the surface is character-study of a cop discovering the truth of a victim who, having been involved in stripping and hardcore porn, wasn’t very innocent to begin with. Conversations where Reynolds and Winfield discuss the validity of the case and the futility of life, while delving into pop culture movies and music, are the highlight.<br /> <br /> A clean-shaven Reynolds, a few years shy of the signature mustache and mainstream stardom, is fitfully forlorn as a man lost in the Film Noir haze, and director Robert Aldrich makes even the slower parts interesting except those conversations with Deneuve: As a love interest, she’s just not interesting. And despite a tacked-on tragic finale, this cop/melodrama feels more like reading than watching – a good thing provided you won’t be able to put this down once it picks up.<br /> <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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wHwHI3zpd8g/UUdX5cLxEaI/AAAAAAAAXkk/FFU4K8PYwDw/s1600/burt+reynolds+hustle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wHwHI3zpd8g/UUdX5cLxEaI/AAAAAAAAXkk/FFU4K8PYwDw/s640/burt+reynolds+hustle.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burt Reynolds with Catherine Deneuve</td></tr> </tbody></table> <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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ncRcq7V4vF4/UUdW-goMZvI/AAAAAAAAXkM/OaHYDKq4-1Y/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ncRcq7V4vF4/UUdW-goMZvI/AAAAAAAAXkM/OaHYDKq4-1Y/s640/0.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catherine "Daisy Duke" Bach in HUSTLE</td></tr> </tbody></table> <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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-czMeBSguiEw/UUdZ0exooSI/AAAAAAAAXk0/i0CUEup99qc/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-czMeBSguiEw/UUdZ0exooSI/AAAAAAAAXk0/i0CUEup99qc/s640/2.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=hustle+burt+reynolds">BUY HUSTLE ON AMAZON</a></td></tr> </tbody></table>

ben johnson, burt reynolds, catherine bach, cop, crime, eddie albert, ernest borgnine, neo noir, paul winfield, robert aldrich, seventies

BURT REYNOLDS IN HUSTLE

year: 1975 cast: Burt Reynolds, Paul Winfield, Eddie Albert, Ben Johnson, Catherine Bach rating: ***1/2 One of those “stick with it” kin...