cult film freak: drew barrymore

Showing posts with label drew barrymore. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 1/06/2024 / No comments / allen garfield , david graf , drew barrymore , eighties , hollywood satire , luana anders , road movie , romantic comedy , ryan o'neal , sam wanamaker , sharon stone , shelley long

RYAN O'NEAL & SHELLEY LONG HAVE 'IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyD9zs32iKcVByOgVk_7wqFAqLrqt4MHLtmELHyFApLbd093a7e1UGoNsGJxZ7zbhbYZgI_PKHBNUDxQBMhzwMHyBJZtywsICM-EVZ_T73tWIeOjcESMXtMjO4QgEQ4ZO19M0EdVSOzH3LxxPFSLVMr5jNfAp5yZC_ybyTy3Nk_nmKG1dSMuprR4Le6Vi/s2136/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-06%20at%201.39.54%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1282" data-original-width="2136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyD9zs32iKcVByOgVk_7wqFAqLrqt4MHLtmELHyFApLbd093a7e1UGoNsGJxZ7zbhbYZgI_PKHBNUDxQBMhzwMHyBJZtywsICM-EVZ_T73tWIeOjcESMXtMjO4QgEQ4ZO19M0EdVSOzH3LxxPFSLVMr5jNfAp5yZC_ybyTy3Nk_nmKG1dSMuprR4Le6Vi/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-06%20at%201.39.54%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES Year: 1984 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Ryan O'Neal was the original Leonardo DiCaprio, both starring in what turned out surprise hits, LOVE STORY and TITANIC respectively, after which avoiding blond sex symbol status to link with a creative director, and, along with auteur films by Stanley Kubrick and Walter Hill, O'Neal's Martin Scorsese was Peter Bogdanovich, who he'd later satirize in the romantic comedy (and partial road movie) IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Hiding behind a cute frame story involving O'Neal as film professor turned director with wife Shelley Long, channeling Bogdanovich's first wife/creative partner Polly Platt, who, following a quirky hitchhiking whirlwind romance and later, after a divorce, face a similar court battle with daughter Drew Barrymore ("I'm divorcing my parents"): otherwise randomly appearing throughout an underrated gem that both celebrates and parodies the 1970's Renaissance Era...</p><p><span></span></p>

allen garfield, david graf, drew barrymore, eighties, hollywood satire, luana anders, road movie, romantic comedy, ryan o'neal, sam wanamaker, sharon stone, shelley long

RYAN O'NEAL & SHELLEY LONG HAVE 'IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES'

Title: IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES Year: 1984 Rating: ****1/2 Ryan O'Neal was the original Leonardo DiCaprio, both starring in what turne...

STEPHEN KING'S OTHER HORROR ANTHOLOGY FILM 'CAT'S EYE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoa8fFZFye28tg94Hf0YgPQ3nFwaIlvEpPS2cK1MaqmfVwfD6ByoJ7gZrvftEqTVxK3t6i0qjcx2IyB1uGSTDh_ysPQA2rOZjOIDvVqJWZLMe3hJiJkJMa-_TN1OHHBN79hMQrX_3TIKK2P8uq5iG2WGwGPamDUDTKhTEd0hs5SM_RItMWiigO9d_iA/s780/ce3.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="780" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoa8fFZFye28tg94Hf0YgPQ3nFwaIlvEpPS2cK1MaqmfVwfD6ByoJ7gZrvftEqTVxK3t6i0qjcx2IyB1uGSTDh_ysPQA2rOZjOIDvVqJWZLMe3hJiJkJMa-_TN1OHHBN79hMQrX_3TIKK2P8uq5iG2WGwGPamDUDTKhTEd0hs5SM_RItMWiigO9d_iA/s16000/ce3.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Robert Hays stuck again in a very high place for CAT'S EYES Year: 1985 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Iconic horror author Stephen King, backing his second anthology horror after the successful CREEPSHOW by his good friend George A. Romero and CAT'S EYE by his CUJO director Lewis Teague, doesn’t just write 
spooky ghost stories strictly befitting the horror genre, he conveys edgy, unimaginable nightmares...<br>
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And in the first and best of three tales, being involved in 
the mafia — with or without having knowledge of it — can be pretty 
frightening, intimidating, and possibly lethal: for the entire family...</p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

candy clark, drew barrymore, horror, horror anthology, james woods, kenneth mcmillan, lewis teague, robert hays, stephen king, suspense

STEPHEN KING'S OTHER HORROR ANTHOLOGY FILM 'CAT'S EYE'

Robert Hays stuck again in a very high place for CAT'S EYES Year: 1985 Rating: ***1/2 Iconic horror author Stephen King, backing his sec...

DOUBLE 'FIRESTARTER' FEATURE W/ ORIGINAL AND 'REKINDLED'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Heather Locklear and Drew Barrymore YEAR: 1984</u></td></tr>
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<u>FIRESTARTER</u>: During what looks like a five-dollar opening credit sequence, the synth score by Tangerine Dream, a hybrid of Pink Floyd and John Carpenter, provides a silk hat on a...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Love the spaceman on the right</u></td></tr>
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Well FIRESTARTER isn't exactly (or entirely) a dog: But based on a novel by Stephen King, it can mislead rabid horror fans as a droning Science-Fiction thriller without wraiths or psychos but nefarious government agents with black suits, like HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH compared to its famous, popular predecessors involving tangible killer ghost Michael Myers...<br />
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Although, directed by capable b-movie/drive-in staple, Mark L. Lester, it's got a terrific look, produced by movie mogul Dino De Laurentis — plus the cast of otherwise great actors turning in good-enough performances: Particularly young lead, Charlie (short for Charlene), played by the ET-famous Drew Barrymore: She displays the right amount of possessive power and, most important, empathetic vulnerability in a picture that feels like a dark espionage mated with a pulpy and Gothic, coming-of-age melodrama — using random bouts of cringe-worthy dialogue along with a sporadic overdose of technical exposition...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Your bunny mug floweth over</u></td></tr>
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Things tighten after being captured and separated by her father (played by) David Keith, who has Old Testament powers to make people see what he tells them — the proverbial Pharaoh's staff-into-serpent kinda deal...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Original Firestarter Score: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
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This after Dad and Charlie are on-the-run (which includes well-done flashbacks leading to the present time) during an action-led first act act, befitting Lester's <i>appeal to a primal audience </i>style that made those old "cheap" vehicles so appealing (and would progress the next year with his popular-peak COMMANDO)...<br />
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Then when dad and daughter are both "politely" sequestered inside contrived cozy living/bedrooms (including the usual steel wall behind a draped steel window) inside a rural government compound (which we never get an establishing shot of), it's the chemistry between Barrymore and assassin George C. Scott as Raintree, established earlier as a coldblooded killer and now pretending to be a friendly old orderly named John, that really works. He warms her heart with a hypnotic (for her) and comfortably creepy ruse (for us) in what's overall a <i>pretty good</i> film that doesn't try to be<i> really great</i>, and with just enough of the titular promise of torched/scorched bad guys while the characters, good and bad, develop between scenes that moves the story forward in an economic B-movie that has enough A-value to feel completely legit in the King-adapted galaxy.  <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>McDowell with Not-Drew YEAR: 2002</u></td></tr>
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<u>FIRESTARTER 2: REKINDLED</u>: Better than one would expect from a miniseries of a sequel based upon a semi-famous Stephen King novel adaptation, especially after THE SHINING miniseries, which was the famously opinionated author's attempt to erase Stanley Kubrick's legendary classic off the chalkboard (nice try, Stephen, but WINGS star Steven Weber <i>don't know Jack</i>)...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>RekindledTVMovieScore: ***</u></td></tr>
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Same thing happens here as the child version of the second Charlie doesn't follow what happened in the first; that which was more logical and suspenseful...<br />
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For example, Malcolm McDowell takes George C. Scott's role, with half his face burned from what seemed his scorching barnyard death, and instead of the aforementioned deception between the first Raintree and Charlie — in this case, after the father gets shot on the street, McDowell's simply walks up and grabs her hand, replacing daddy — and she doesn't freak out?! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>3/4ths of the DVD double feature</u></td></tr>
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But this is really about the grownup twenty-something Charlie whose powers are sought to be REKINDLED by everyone but herself. The gorgeous (and yes, talented) former MIGHTY DUCKS child starlet Marguerite Moreau (coached by Emilio Estevez, first son of Martin Sheen, Barrymore's captor in the original) turns in a smooth performance despite way too many uneven, confusing, off-color flashbacks. And it's part romantic-soap as she's paired with a well-written but mediocre-acted standard handsome (and intentionally oblivious) employee of the agency tracking her down... <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>One of those devilish Stephen King adapted touches</u></td></tr>
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Whether taking place in a constructed small town main street, or the city that it purposefully mirrors (for the final battle), there's simply not enough fire... or victims of the flames... to go around...<br />
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With sexy dark-grunge Charlie's powers more spoken and/or anticipated, the bedlam's handed to a group of boys who share her formidable gift, mentored by Raintree, yet are pretty weak in the antagonist department. Enough elements work, though, like an important cameo by Dennis Hopper (as a survivor of the initial test that screwed-up Charlie's parents); an effective hybrid of body count terror (still not horror); and with a more backseat yet still palpable element of sci-fi, this REKINDLED miniseries (with ten minutes trimmed for a movie-length DVD) is a ride worth burning through. At least once.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Cult Film Freak amigo Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas in a thrifty but important cameo as a cab driver</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Raintree warming up to our little Firestarter Drew Barrymore, which is the epicenter of the movie</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gdpv5rWqCWpcwmKHCbYB7j8cif6w1emuotFSvjGAXFhIeAFYFmsL71bVDX6QnmDkaMa973b3OUTr_ztMBYZbtTrgEopR_IokcqWShdWtyVDxzUVN9IwjKL7VFh1H-cErscC86VxQv6Y-/s1600/3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gdpv5rWqCWpcwmKHCbYB7j8cif6w1emuotFSvjGAXFhIeAFYFmsL71bVDX6QnmDkaMa973b3OUTr_ztMBYZbtTrgEopR_IokcqWShdWtyVDxzUVN9IwjKL7VFh1H-cErscC86VxQv6Y-/s1600/3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>When she was the cutest thing in the world, Heather Locklear meets future husband David Keith during THE Gov't test</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Drew Barrymore David Keith Firestarter Drew Barrymore David Keith Drew Barrymore Firestarter</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>George C. Scott's assassin's assasin Raintree takes aim at an unsuccessfully hidden away...</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Firestarter and father, who hid in a property that they own... Not very smart...</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT98y_WebR8x5onKYcVXEYI2P3TSj72gie7cmG2470KpA4Uqb5wHYLf-lxSlTlo72BJS00_-WgF2b5txeFJ8emZxQWYMwLA2cGhdUFU96Ilw1jwcs-03gHsrdsTRAaRtJK0G6qwhefKNPy/s1600/66.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT98y_WebR8x5onKYcVXEYI2P3TSj72gie7cmG2470KpA4Uqb5wHYLf-lxSlTlo72BJS00_-WgF2b5txeFJ8emZxQWYMwLA2cGhdUFU96Ilw1jwcs-03gHsrdsTRAaRtJK0G6qwhefKNPy/s1600/66.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A terrific unfolding by director Mark L. Lester Firestarter as Agents appear out of trees... It's the evil E.T.</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_0mA6z6BTJBTO6GUWXw3UMMP4IZ86uNbGcAfAiiYD5ADGo8N0-J8tKxeSBXCLa-Qd3WWMdyqMDlTWcraDGaA29FVK9O9xfRjs3klPYfzgnXJMzqeLJflV3VBZFJMjeV3YCfaHrtzq6es/s1600/33727687_483549908740857_977438697194520576_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="903" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_0mA6z6BTJBTO6GUWXw3UMMP4IZ86uNbGcAfAiiYD5ADGo8N0-J8tKxeSBXCLa-Qd3WWMdyqMDlTWcraDGaA29FVK9O9xfRjs3klPYfzgnXJMzqeLJflV3VBZFJMjeV3YCfaHrtzq6es/s1600/33727687_483549908740857_977438697194520576_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>In The Shining, that power was compared to burning toast, so there it is, another King connection</u></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_N4SBNUHazwGlghEDB6IclVsDDXddFDRNk1gewGc11PMpCBQFSIOIYFYVrCMZ6FRdlB3THFMcN7ea_49gutdlhX5tBBIoEXcWtdf6xdh4Ka1WprGWjjFVvlcxntUqFLJELQQXnXdcvAH/s1600/DeRII-mV4AA2mQE.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="884" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_N4SBNUHazwGlghEDB6IclVsDDXddFDRNk1gewGc11PMpCBQFSIOIYFYVrCMZ6FRdlB3THFMcN7ea_49gutdlhX5tBBIoEXcWtdf6xdh4Ka1WprGWjjFVvlcxntUqFLJELQQXnXdcvAH/s1600/DeRII-mV4AA2mQE.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>"Ha! Thanks... I had some photos at one point but have no idea where they are now. Appreciate it!"</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeI8yf0zkyUGMjdNs9fU52aff4U_Ef9l_VF8JlSbQzgdK3FKv9b_rkCAfAhlXLKOHkD1qSkshDeom3psWVzTKs5tr0GCjmXAYALY7IghyQuQyteGoA4dYDa40CbV0jMdgTPBVIA4akdyp1NLcwr_Pbganhl6_mMriCyJB8tBgxo3zFIh0K6ReDHyYnw/s1597/Screen%20Shot%202022-05-17%20at%2010.55.25%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="1597" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeI8yf0zkyUGMjdNs9fU52aff4U_Ef9l_VF8JlSbQzgdK3FKv9b_rkCAfAhlXLKOHkD1qSkshDeom3psWVzTKs5tr0GCjmXAYALY7IghyQuQyteGoA4dYDa40CbV0jMdgTPBVIA4akdyp1NLcwr_Pbganhl6_mMriCyJB8tBgxo3zFIh0K6ReDHyYnw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-05-17%20at%2010.55.25%20PM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u> Lisa Anne Barnes as Serviceman's Girlfriend in FIRESTARTER</u><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />

david keith, dennis hopper, drew barrymore, horror, malcolm mcdowell, mark l. lester, miniseries, science-fiction, sequel, tangerine dream, TV, zeroes

DOUBLE 'FIRESTARTER' FEATURE W/ ORIGINAL AND 'REKINDLED'

Heather Locklear and Drew Barrymore YEAR: 1984 FIRESTARTER : During what looks like a five-dollar opening credit sequence, the synth s...

Written by James M. Tate / 5/25/2014 / No comments / 2014 , adam sandler , drew barrymore , romantic comedy

ADAM & DREW RETURN IN BLENDED

2014, adam sandler, drew barrymore, romantic comedy

ADAM & DREW RETURN IN BLENDED

year: 2014 Just when you thought it was safe to go back to an Adam Sandler movie, up rears BLENDED, a romantic comedy crossed between ...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/14/2013 / No comments / candy clark , drew barrymore , horror , horror anthology , james woods , kenneth mcmillan , lewis teague , robert hays , stephen king , suspense

STEPHEN KING'S CAT'S EYE

candy clark, drew barrymore, horror, horror anthology, james woods, kenneth mcmillan, lewis teague, robert hays, stephen king, suspense

STEPHEN KING'S CAT'S EYE

year: 1985 cast: Drew Barrymore, James Woods, Robert Hays, Kenneth McMillan rating: ***1/2 REVIEW OF CAT'S EYES HAS MOVED

Written by James M. Tate / 6/19/2013 / 2 Comments / dee wallace , drew barrymore , eighties , henry thomas , peter coyote , science-fiction , steven spielberg

STEVEN SPIELBERG'S E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL THEATRICALLY REVISITED

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hXPyre5bMAyrIQuXTjZXKD6iuxVG0dE5cUYGfB5oAeKuDNyiQG2uqLGB84Cr4lnLNa4yv3sakghOY72yNIiicQeZeBr5ZA3ROCFVUA0OkETdqZum3Y7Yesj3MS3Mhb4FTu9PPeMCDao/s1600/photo-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hXPyre5bMAyrIQuXTjZXKD6iuxVG0dE5cUYGfB5oAeKuDNyiQG2uqLGB84Cr4lnLNa4yv3sakghOY72yNIiicQeZeBr5ZA3ROCFVUA0OkETdqZum3Y7Yesj3MS3Mhb4FTu9PPeMCDao/s320/photo-9.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1982 rating: ****</td></tr>
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“Children are great – if their moms don't get too involved!” actress Dee Wallace wrote in a Cult Film Freak interview. “They trust, connect, and are always in the moment. I love working with kids… And dogs!”<br />
<br />
Dee's single mom, Mary, has three terrific kids and one friendly dog (unlike her CUJO antagonist a year later) in the Steven Spielberg blockbuster E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL, and having the chance to watch this once again, on the big screen, it still holds up: The more deservingly heartfelt moments are subtler in re-watching... And while the searing, melodramatic ending drags on way too long... E.T. dying slowly after government agents infiltrate the house of Henry Thomas’s young Elliott... some of the less contrived tear jerking and/or endearingly memorable moments are when E.T. responds quietly to little sister Gertie's initial fear...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikaSjsbngA572omO4oP7Bdi8PMwwrv0y0J4dem8TbUFFqKaNimcxHV-hNe6sjy0eg68FX2rAM3dQtTAIco22o9mLe5sbPWhyUu9xgbdi8BNTAv5Z3COdb31r9jcQxOtAQDKLINi3tfsTE/s1600/et.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikaSjsbngA572omO4oP7Bdi8PMwwrv0y0J4dem8TbUFFqKaNimcxHV-hNe6sjy0eg68FX2rAM3dQtTAIco22o9mLe5sbPWhyUu9xgbdi8BNTAv5Z3COdb31r9jcQxOtAQDKLINi3tfsTE/s200/et.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dee & Henry</td></tr>
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Or the freeing of doomed frogs inside class after E.T. gets plastered on Coors beer and Elliott, experiencing the same feelings while the drunken alien watches a John Wayne flick in the family room, smooches the hottest girl in school (future BAYWATCH, CHASERS and UNDER SIEGE hottie Erika Eleniak, who autographed the vintage LP above). <br />
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We all know the main story: a flying saucer lands in a forest bordering the suburbs and, after the ship takes off, one alien is left behind. He’s soon discovered and eventually befriended by a young lonely kid who, even surrounded by his older brother's smart allecky cohorts… playing poker like world-weary grownups… Elliot has no one to call a real friend.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Lnaf7uV5PTJCNIAYdhYgPOkwGY9VimhUGndULjSAqCSmB5kJUIiy__4WdfRh_m-qW0zXrJWE4oKdfSysMPUTA3_pRSz9OTKehk1Kfb9wMHVmu1F4y1c1FFuf32hp1DP_iQa2m6kCKFuO/s1600/4856985448_90241546d8_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Lnaf7uV5PTJCNIAYdhYgPOkwGY9VimhUGndULjSAqCSmB5kJUIiy__4WdfRh_m-qW0zXrJWE4oKdfSysMPUTA3_pRSz9OTKehk1Kfb9wMHVmu1F4y1c1FFuf32hp1DP_iQa2m6kCKFuO/s320/4856985448_90241546d8_z.jpg" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Novelization</td></tr>
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Some of the best moments occur in the build-up: boy and alien initially connect thanks to Reese’s Pieces (when product placement didn’t seem as obnoxious)…And then as Elliott lets his older brother, played by scene-stealing/Yoda-impersonating Robert MacNaughton, and an adorable Drew Barrymore into the big secret mom can’t know...<br />
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It's during this in-house ruse that director Steven Spielberg, fresh from the rip-roaring success of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and having established himself a space alien guru for his CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, never misses a suspenseful beat. But with so much fun going on, it's too bad E.T. and Elliott get ill so 
quickly... Right after a terrific Halloween sequence both set out with a
 Texas Instruments Speak & Spell, an attempt to "Phone Home," and the decline begins...<br />
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The movie can get corny but the yanked heartstrings don't hinder the film's steady pace. Henry Thomas was one of the great child actors, expressing every emotion possible while not coming across as an overly trained Hollywood brat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUkYf82Cc3MBjqpqb72mC49gIvHTJEEx96L476LLwqjTN9ouY9hL2uMIGwvq6NoGljL4kxfjbytlW3UCIrc9q_REW9DSUo-Xrv-4PMCVjfJXeuoeBscpWJOEmwJWlh-1sFCZGQ0AUuPoM/s1600/et.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUkYf82Cc3MBjqpqb72mC49gIvHTJEEx96L476LLwqjTN9ouY9hL2uMIGwvq6NoGljL4kxfjbytlW3UCIrc9q_REW9DSUo-Xrv-4PMCVjfJXeuoeBscpWJOEmwJWlh-1sFCZGQ0AUuPoM/s1600/et.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Infamous Atari Video Game</td></tr>
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And as mentioned earlier, the only drawback is the end, as Elliott and E.T. lay dying for what seems like an eternity... but that’s more than made up for during the iconic escape sequence resulting in the kids riding, and then flying, their bikes away from gun-wielding FBI agents.<br />
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“This is reality, Greg,” Elliott tells his brother’s more dimwitted pals after the suggestion that E.T. simply beam himself aboard the ship. And that’s what makes this magical film so timeless: It still seems very real and is more than just another heartwarming science-fiction fantasy.<br />
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“I knew it was special,” Dee Wallace wrote… And when asked if she had a feeling (during filming) of the success E.T. would garner, becoming the number one box office champ of all time until Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK made that record extinct, she finished with: “No! The public makes a hit. You do your best and hope.”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikReIxHWjVtdkDjRjLBBn8vIpZ49CpdLbU0lw9m7XBaaLseEKEVJXP5FFz4kTr2RjNDeNEJWX1YM8Inc2V9U13dApT4CwtvWt0OQtphBZphH0iGY6Y55m8hCVR3JHrKCPi4EYDO2Y4eHRk/s1600/et-lobby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikReIxHWjVtdkDjRjLBBn8vIpZ49CpdLbU0lw9m7XBaaLseEKEVJXP5FFz4kTr2RjNDeNEJWX1YM8Inc2V9U13dApT4CwtvWt0OQtphBZphH0iGY6Y55m8hCVR3JHrKCPi4EYDO2Y4eHRk/s640/et-lobby.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Future OUTSIDERS star C. Thomas Howell rides behind Henry Thomas</td></tr>
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dee wallace, drew barrymore, eighties, henry thomas, peter coyote, science-fiction, steven spielberg

STEVEN SPIELBERG'S E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL THEATRICALLY REVISITED

year: 1982 rating: **** “Children are great – if their moms don't get too involved!” actress Dee Wallace wrote in a Cult Film Freak ...

Written by James M. Tate / 3/04/2013 / No comments / drew barrymore , haley bennett , hugh grant , romantic comedy , zeroes

TAKING BARRYMORE FOR GRANT IN MUSIC AND LYRICS

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvdFUIzmq7uuIXG9HZUEHsMdePj_S-qm1TERa1Cg9gbbpF7X_IFVqT-DPhYWdXzYj57aGCUv1sWy87uz9Bu-gIpei7P_r11I4Czfq8vlqB37HErvIwq7gcFpbJaaBhySLAglc33VdvYg/s1600/music+lyrics+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvdFUIzmq7uuIXG9HZUEHsMdePj_S-qm1TERa1Cg9gbbpF7X_IFVqT-DPhYWdXzYj57aGCUv1sWy87uz9Bu-gIpei7P_r11I4Czfq8vlqB37HErvIwq7gcFpbJaaBhySLAglc33VdvYg/s640/music+lyrics+cover.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2007 cast: Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, Haley Bennett, Jason Antoon rating: ***1/2</td></tr>
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Remember WHAM, the 80’s pop duo featuring George Michael and… what’s that other guy’s name? Well Hugh Grant’s Alex Fletcher has the same problem. One can’t imagine how Andrew Ridgeley felt after George Michael became a solo superstar while he faded into obscurity. But now, perhaps, we can.<br />
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Fletcher, played by the always-affable Hugh Grant, was one of two main members of a band called POP. We begin with a music video for their big hit song "Pop Goes My Heart," as corny and infectiously catchy as they come.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fictional band POP reveling in 1980's video glory</td></tr>
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We soon learn that Fletcher, unlike his former partner, has dwindled into the “Where Are They Now?” files and is even asked to be part of a TV show where he'd box other Reagan era has-beens.<br />
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Alex’s kindhearted manager does land him a few musical gigs: Even though Knotts Berry Farm cancelled, he performs nostalgic tunes at other amusement parks, state fairs, and class reunions. His screaming female fans are middle aged… his age… yet what he really needs is a second chance and rent money: and not in that order. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haley Bennett as Cora Corman</td></tr>
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Enter Cora Corman, the hottest diva on the teeny bopper market, who happens to be a POP fanatic. She wants Alex to write a song that they could sing live in concert. This would garner a healthy paycheck and a much bigger audience than he’s had for many years.<br />
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So in this romantic comedy, where’s our love interest? Alex has a lot of plants, and his regular plant-watering girl sends over a replacement named Sophie...<br />
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Drew Barrymore displays her usual quirky charm, playing a sweet yet opinionated underdog beauty, and yet Sophie has a hidden talent. She can easily come up with lyrics and since Alex only writes music, they team up to complete the song for Cora, which must be written in a certain amount of time, providing edgy suspense throughout the breezy mainline.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drew Barrymore, Hugh Grant and a Cora Corman cutout</td></tr>
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Much of the film has the new team writing together and getting to know each other. Alex has a more colorful past – being that he was once famous at all – but Sophie isn’t completely uninteresting. Her ex boyfriend’s a famous novelist who based an iconic character after her. This is a subplot that adds intrigue to what could have been a standard rom-com while the actors… especially Hugh Grant with his subtle sarcasm and two funny side-characters (including Sophie’s dominate big sister) make everything work despite a somewhat predictable turnout.<br />
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The most important aspect of MUSIC AND LYRICS is the music itself: the songs by Pop (performed by Grant) and the one being written, and ultimately recorded, by Alex and Sophie are actually pretty decent. This is a plus since many films about fictional bands/musical artists just don’t wash.<br />
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And now, enjoy POP GOES MY HEART by the fictional band POP featuring Hugh Grant's character Alex Fletcher on keyboards and co-vocals...<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xVkU8dDSC9w" width="420"></iframe><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another shot of Haley Bennett as Cora Corman</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One-Scene-Stealer Jason Antoon as Greg the grumpy lyricist</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=Music%20and%20Lyrics&tag=imdb-adbox">BUY MUSIC AND LYRICS AT AMAZON</a></td></tr>
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drew barrymore, haley bennett, hugh grant, romantic comedy, zeroes