BURT REYNOLDS, CANDACE BERGEN, JILL CLAYBURGH 'STARTING OVER'

<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/AVvXsEgwAboAIlPhoDL6kIV9BijDFmw4FoGPTR917hj5QeCD6WpSIhSXmMwb1Q1S-o1zjM6w-MDVQnRaVzNQ9uuCEn-tTjW2wdGk_BlHy5HmcyKaRYxGZzkBARNizbAUgZi1Dt1CjUorXZugI1JwZbQ3DyBweUhCO4-pLTTey7r_JMW85A8dl87nGzigSNc3ZNCJ/s928/Screen%20Shot%202024-09-15%20at%205.53.15%20PM%203.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="928" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAboAIlPhoDL6kIV9BijDFmw4FoGPTR917hj5QeCD6WpSIhSXmMwb1Q1S-o1zjM6w-MDVQnRaVzNQ9uuCEn-tTjW2wdGk_BlHy5HmcyKaRYxGZzkBARNizbAUgZi1Dt1CjUorXZugI1JwZbQ3DyBweUhCO4-pLTTey7r_JMW85A8dl87nGzigSNc3ZNCJ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-09-15%20at%205.53.15%20PM%203.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Starting Over Year: 1979 Rating: **<br></u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There are two things that connect the romantic-comedy STARTING OVER with Burt Reynolds' career breakthrough DELIVERANCE: he doesn't have the defining mustache, and it's not a "Burt Reynolds Movie" but a movie he co-stars in with other people...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Successful TV-writer and future mogul James L. Brooks' original script is directed by Alan J. Pakula, more prone to political thrillers... and he's about as comfortable here directing as Burt is being basically stuck in a vehicle that would have far better suited an Alan Alda, Henry Winkler or Charles Grodin type...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

alan j. pakula, burt reynolds, candace bergen, charles durning, james l. brooks, jill clayburgh, love triangle, romantic comedy, seventies

BURT REYNOLDS, CANDACE BERGEN, JILL CLAYBURGH 'STARTING OVER'

Starting Over Year: 1979 Rating: ** There are two things that connect the romantic-comedy STARTING OVER with Burt Reynolds' career break...

SOPHIA LOREN AND CLIFTON WEBB SEEKING 'BOY ON A DOLPHIN'

<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/AVvXsEhsu058Yp9bci8Cg3NuGYC2hivyurIoMvT08wiI-PSp3sFyMdtwZtvIIOrDBpVK5mhcG_zGZlJ0C3e4gJrg8P4a16fsHvDbHrBGhPKTBD-C_vBZWEZPCvP91x3JCRUtoV2s57V-l5DDcuuKdAqvNIJpcoE1bpO6G-ybJRmFUhcT7kV1Pgpf_QGltoUdAr1m/s1358/1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsu058Yp9bci8Cg3NuGYC2hivyurIoMvT08wiI-PSp3sFyMdtwZtvIIOrDBpVK5mhcG_zGZlJ0C3e4gJrg8P4a16fsHvDbHrBGhPKTBD-C_vBZWEZPCvP91x3JCRUtoV2s57V-l5DDcuuKdAqvNIJpcoE1bpO6G-ybJRmFUhcT7kV1Pgpf_QGltoUdAr1m/s16000/1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sophia Loren in BOY ON A DOLPHIN Year: 1957 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Rarely has there been a film with such uneven casting — and BOY ON A DOLPHIN was America's introduction to Italian bombshell Sophia Loren, here a tough and feisty diver/fisherman's girlfriend, only better — alone discovering the titular artifact beneath her Greek hometown's connected shoreline...<br></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>After which she attempts convincing the comparably dull, glib, idealistic and aloof, utterly disconnected museum curator Alan Ladd of her discovery — and with bizarre dyed-yellow hair above feminine, peeled-back/plastic-surgery eyes, he seems twenty-years too old playing the delightfully boisterous Sophia Loren's love-interest...</p><span></span>

action, adventure, alan ladd, clifton webb, diving, fifties, greece, romantic comedy, sophia loren, treasure

SOPHIA LOREN AND CLIFTON WEBB SEEKING 'BOY ON A DOLPHIN'

Sophia Loren in BOY ON A DOLPHIN Year: 1957 Rating: ***1/2 Rarely has there been a film with such uneven casting — and BOY ON A DOLPHIN was ...

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...

MICHAEL MADSEN AND SCOTT HAMM DUENAS IN 'FINAL WAGER'

<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/AVvXsEigdkzOqtMKw5hMN5keaNjS7UFMcosEetHRO8MVq6DaCsxMb7GD7dsbA5nBiJMTeO1XtlqLQr-dVMYVilgdDUpIBkXCpz6_93wTyfjK339p2r2KZEy9Z2bZ4ZcBkb60yl93TFfxOeMI67YTuCoAoIXOqSAHfun_mbXEx_Q0nBNemTop1kmLZZhrv1tlNbt7/s1606/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-10%20at%2011.14.23%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdkzOqtMKw5hMN5keaNjS7UFMcosEetHRO8MVq6DaCsxMb7GD7dsbA5nBiJMTeO1XtlqLQr-dVMYVilgdDUpIBkXCpz6_93wTyfjK339p2r2KZEy9Z2bZ4ZcBkb60yl93TFfxOeMI67YTuCoAoIXOqSAHfun_mbXEx_Q0nBNemTop1kmLZZhrv1tlNbt7/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-10%20at%2011.14.23%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Michael Madsen in FINAL WAGER Year: 2024</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Michael Madsen's famous tough guy voice has become even harsher with age, providing an underline crime flick edge to FINAL WAGER, an otherwise tavern-set romantic-comedy with a TWILIGHT ZONE-style twist of an unlucky gambler who realizes he cannot lose a bet on Christmas: so it's also an upbeat Holiday flick... but without getting lost in sentimentalism despite a financial assistance subplot driving our resilient, likeable lead...<br></p><p></p><p>Instead, it's his fiance, played by down-to-earth, light-up-a-room beauty Fernanda Romero... owner of the central bar... who keeps the low-budget yet impressively slick and professional-looking indie not only intriguing, but surprisingly unpredictable despite the firmly established fact this lucky-streak-gambler will <i>always</i> win — because he can possibly lose his girl, and from beginning, middle and end, their relationship is what FINAL WAGER truly relies on. <br></p><p><span></span></p>

2024, christmas, comedy, fernanda romano, gambling, michael madsen, romantic comedy, scott hamm duenas

MICHAEL MADSEN AND SCOTT HAMM DUENAS IN 'FINAL WAGER'

Michael Madsen in FINAL WAGER Year: 2024 Michael Madsen's famous tough guy voice has become even harsher with age, providing an underlin...

CYNDI LAUPER & JEFF GOLBLUM 'VIBES' PETER FALK & JULIAN SANDS

<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/AVvXsEjq2vWk51Szpap0pLdKzKQCbdm7KbcEP-Kw8Kfi6z10tLyXMQ846gUjsbkUaLp1BiYT-V5MLLlHL3DBs-L-YJ7uCJnVDkWmPoSdLUd7MVCE2JWYSqUUizAqdnZLog-cIbunqNvQHZosMRJV5DLA8h29TnvORMLkF5E9mnAXxJmy8qq9SFNCg3Y5cRUHnOzH/s2128/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-28%20at%2012.02.59%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="2128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2vWk51Szpap0pLdKzKQCbdm7KbcEP-Kw8Kfi6z10tLyXMQ846gUjsbkUaLp1BiYT-V5MLLlHL3DBs-L-YJ7uCJnVDkWmPoSdLUd7MVCE2JWYSqUUizAqdnZLog-cIbunqNvQHZosMRJV5DLA8h29TnvORMLkF5E9mnAXxJmy8qq9SFNCg3Y5cRUHnOzH/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-28%20at%2012.02.59%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: VIBES Year: 1988 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>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... </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>Here's 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's presence alone making the decent parts, and even the boring ones, somewhat worthwhile. And it's no surprise that WARLOCK actor Julian Sands is a worthy adversary...</p><p><span></span></p>

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

CYNDI LAUPER & JEFF GOLBLUM 'VIBES' PETER FALK & JULIAN SANDS

Title: VIBES Year: 1988 Rating: *** It's a shame this comedy/adventure, about two slacker city folk with psychic powers, bombed so har...

BURT REYNOLDS & JULIE ANDREWS 'THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN'

<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/AVvXsEhdNd4eF74TqDzSFfYq0TuolxbVW9t9aKhAkmFMQUZ9GrU1WEshCaNSnjPcIcdmnN_wVN2Ln8neM0UtlDSlmF0QkaASdcOjcFTmu18S6PblHrZDB_RdBAcIiqg0zUyuGFiazjBDKsdlYahJov-PgAxsyW1ssYTFvvkfFwR1KTOgJvHaGlOXJXenvaqO_GVb/s2008/Screen%20Shot%202024-11-16%20at%2011.32.52%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="2008" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNd4eF74TqDzSFfYq0TuolxbVW9t9aKhAkmFMQUZ9GrU1WEshCaNSnjPcIcdmnN_wVN2Ln8neM0UtlDSlmF0QkaASdcOjcFTmu18S6PblHrZDB_RdBAcIiqg0zUyuGFiazjBDKsdlYahJov-PgAxsyW1ssYTFvvkfFwR1KTOgJvHaGlOXJXenvaqO_GVb/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-11-16%20at%2011.32.52%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Burt Reynolds in THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN Director: Blake Edwards Year: 1983 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There are two movies reported to have been what Burt Reynolds decided to star in instead of co-starring in TERMS OF ENDEARMENT for the role famously taken by Jack Nicholson... and along with being box office bombs, they embodied each sub-genre that rode Burt through six-years as box office king...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The second is the action-comedy STROKER ACE directed by collaborator/stuntman muse Hal Needham; and the first by a director Burt's said to have liked the best, Blake Edwards, in the romantic-comedy THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN...</p><p><span></span></p>

blake edwards, burt reynolds, cynthia sikes, denise crosby, eighties, jennifer ashley, jill carroll, julie andrews, kim basinger, marilu henner, romantic comedy, sela ward

BURT REYNOLDS & JULIE ANDREWS 'THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN'

Burt Reynolds in THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN Director: Blake Edwards Year: 1983 Rating: *** There are two movies reported to have been what Burt...

BURT REYNOLDS AND KRIS KRISTOFFERSON ARE 'SEMI-TOUGH'

<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/AVvXsEiLDaNPfvwD4fGSodpDeuuVMUryxdiU2CLAzNipgxKvjKfPKlQC3D0UBTlJQ-TjBz-Me77_rh1jrhRwPZn_9UeDw0euvag0LGB0SdzMWvc_SrcGsK8CEVB-GhK24cR-Fu4yddUO2Hd8_gxNjIEFsn_xfRQGazXWywj87OvDLn7GEX7y3MVjMMRYcMG0Tw/s2198/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-25%20at%2010.41.43%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1235" data-original-width="2198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDaNPfvwD4fGSodpDeuuVMUryxdiU2CLAzNipgxKvjKfPKlQC3D0UBTlJQ-TjBz-Me77_rh1jrhRwPZn_9UeDw0euvag0LGB0SdzMWvc_SrcGsK8CEVB-GhK24cR-Fu4yddUO2Hd8_gxNjIEFsn_xfRQGazXWywj87OvDLn7GEX7y3MVjMMRYcMG0Tw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-25%20at%2010.41.43%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Burt Reynolds in SEMI-TOUGH Year: 1977 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Having been a college football star before an injury leading to acting lessons, football became Burt Reynolds' <i>Rosebud</i>... and the second mainstream football flick for Burt Reynolds isn't as gritty as THE LONGEST YARD, which took place in prison involving prisoners vs guards...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But SEMI-TOUGH centers on a professional team where the most famous and beloved players, odd couple Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson (flanked by muscular loon Brian Dennehy and a stable Roger E. Mosely), hardly compete on the field but, as a romantic comedy, seek a relationship with the team owner's progressive daughter, Jill Clayburgh...</p><p><span></span></p>

brian dennehy, buddy, burt reynolds, football, jill clayburgh, kris kristofferson, love triangle, michael ritchie, roger e. mosley, romantic comedy, seventies, sport

BURT REYNOLDS AND KRIS KRISTOFFERSON ARE 'SEMI-TOUGH'

Burt Reynolds in SEMI-TOUGH Year: 1977 Rating: *** Having been a college football star before an injury leading to acting lessons, football ...

OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN & JOHN TRAVOLTA IN 'TWO OF A KIND'

<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><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><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/AVvXsEiIbLPkMq5vs2Kf4rpok04CY-LE2UPjgQzc2myONKVzb7k0gBM-HBq7jV6Ay7DM7unUrDj4ZK3eMqtdl83T7JoSt-dBIEm501R5QpwqMIPnOIFQUo0lnxS0UHjvcqlUQ5oJf4K2u6g19j_Zn8NphsKyEhFRwOov1sf1cVGqsJsR-oOBpLP74fE82RMbtA/s1578/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-08%20at%204.37.44%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="1578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbLPkMq5vs2Kf4rpok04CY-LE2UPjgQzc2myONKVzb7k0gBM-HBq7jV6Ay7DM7unUrDj4ZK3eMqtdl83T7JoSt-dBIEm501R5QpwqMIPnOIFQUo0lnxS0UHjvcqlUQ5oJf4K2u6g19j_Zn8NphsKyEhFRwOov1sf1cVGqsJsR-oOBpLP74fE82RMbtA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-08%20at%204.37.44%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Olivia Newton-John Travolta in TWO OF A KIND Year: 1983 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Iconic <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2013/09/grease-revisited.html?fbclid=IwAR0-PhBPy889pCmRszKQD5oPStQoljiUhS7-RsVTruqtL-UYJW8GzAmLKS4">GREASE</a> stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John turned down reprising their roles in the sequel because of a bad script, and yet they chose the bizarre TWO OF A KIND instead, a romantic comedy involving guardian angels... <br></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></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></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Including Charles Durning and Scatman Crothers who, to save Earth from God voiced by Gene Hackman, must prove that the randomly selected John Travolta, as a bank robbing inventor, could risk everything for equally broke bank teller Olivia Newton-John, pulling off what Elliott Gould did to Christopher Plummer in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/02/need-a-plummer.html">THE SILENT PARTNER</a>: keeping the money the crook reportedly stole...</p><p><span></span></p>

charles durning, eighties, fantasy, gene hackman, heist, john travolta, oliver reed, olivia newton-john, richard bright, romantic comedy, scatman crothers

OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN & JOHN TRAVOLTA IN 'TWO OF A KIND'

Olivia Newton-John Travolta in TWO OF A KIND Year: 1983 Rating: *** Iconic GREASE stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John turned down re...

TOM HANKS & DARYL HANNAH IN RON HOWARD'S 'SPLASH'

<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/AVvXsEh2UKqM_bM4w0PvCqt8rAuS-qMSLCbHXhE7rQzTz70OIftf_q8lD1qRf_Rh-dQIrTpDfVDSyiI8szRkD00F0ouLJhcBZCunY-s_iUbH0WjjnLcgg-WaeYB2OgXXx6Z9Z2FEFh2AlgNGCHJwzXkNVJ94y7sm1vxk2k2wVf1y7Zw_-glXgStsnJ6ULmpo5w/s2039/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-14%20at%205.42.57%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="2039" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2UKqM_bM4w0PvCqt8rAuS-qMSLCbHXhE7rQzTz70OIftf_q8lD1qRf_Rh-dQIrTpDfVDSyiI8szRkD00F0ouLJhcBZCunY-s_iUbH0WjjnLcgg-WaeYB2OgXXx6Z9Z2FEFh2AlgNGCHJwzXkNVJ94y7sm1vxk2k2wVf1y7Zw_-glXgStsnJ6ULmpo5w/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-14%20at%205.42.57%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: SPLASH Year: 1983 Director: Ron Howard Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>On David Letterman, John Candy got an awkward, giggling reaction from the audience when he described the plot of his upcoming movie, SPLASH, which, to most everyone's surprise, worked so perfectly it didn't seem a stretch at all...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Involving two pairs connected to Tom Hanks...the first and funniest with his older, flaky, black-sheep, scene-stealing brother Candy, passive partner of their family's fruit/vegetable company, hilariously running after any woman around (seeming like a character visiting from his own movie) while Hanks, struggling to keep the business alive and having just broken-up with his girlfriend, is both aloof and brokenhearted...</p><span></span>

daryl hannah, eighties, eugene levy, fantasy, john candy, romantic comedy, ron howard, tom hanks

TOM HANKS & DARYL HANNAH IN RON HOWARD'S 'SPLASH'

Title: SPLASH Year: 1983 Director: Ron Howard Rating: ****1/2 On David Letterman, John Candy got an awkward, giggling reaction from the audi...

EDGAR WRIGHT'S SLACKER ACTION 'SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD'

<div></div><div><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/AVvXsEhXPkoCjM9JICkSaKqx8I_V4IaR-P0B9eikoxU-ZLHnkqMif8Dje6VJAZEXVGDZI_uEkBGVHxoVNz7FmLttfimbcijGgaWM0oq2tOl8NztnNK_KszPcxyLs1HKEart3DHiPM98SdqdLAa8HzXBlV4QPkjdSL0s5SGd0r04RfTVL69AXaYylY4L7qsEp_Q/s773/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-07%20at%203.22.26%20AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="773" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXPkoCjM9JICkSaKqx8I_V4IaR-P0B9eikoxU-ZLHnkqMif8Dje6VJAZEXVGDZI_uEkBGVHxoVNz7FmLttfimbcijGgaWM0oq2tOl8NztnNK_KszPcxyLs1HKEart3DHiPM98SdqdLAa8HzXBlV4QPkjdSL0s5SGd0r04RfTVL69AXaYylY4L7qsEp_Q/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-07%20at%203.22.26%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 2010 Rating: ***1/2 Director: Edgar Wright</u></td></tr></tbody></table>Famously retro/nostalgia driven SHAUN OF THE DEAD director Edgar Wright goes mainstream without selling-out in this cross between FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF, KILL BILL and THE MATRIX where a passive twenty-something slacker gets the chance of a lifetime to date a beautiful vixen <i>way </i>out of his league... but it's not gonna be easy as he must battle all her ex-boyfriends (and one girlfriend), who appear sporadically as video game villains...</div><div> </div><div>Some of the best moments are getting to know Scott Pilgrim (played with laidback frustration by Michael Cera) <span style="font-style: italic;">before</span> he's given the ultimate task... hanging with bandmates (his fuzz bass sounds awesome) and striking out with other babes before finding Miss Right: thus leading to each battle that, since they're supposed to resemble high-octane video games, are never overboard or "unrealistic" i.e. <i>anything </i>goes... right up Wright's alley.  <br></div><div><span></span></div>

comic book, edgar wright, mary elizabeth winstead, michael cera, romantic comedy, science-fiction, slacker, tens

EDGAR WRIGHT'S SLACKER ACTION 'SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD'

Year: 2010 Rating: ***1/2 Director: Edgar Wright Famously retro/nostalgia driven SHAUN OF THE DEAD director Edgar Wright goes mainstream wit...

JONATHAN DEMME'S QUIRKY CULT ROAD PICTURE 'SOMETHING WILD'

<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/AVvXsEhb2h22aIp8bS_p-R2pOyKbn_27Atohrkr1D-W0-zzUDzb6sF2PhiCAsXClPcI3EyTQR91e5LvALnUhAcdL4wFiQ7eZpLFHXG5flWo0l6j3qJDfkb3o90q6eg1uvJ8i7D6ilnhKVWpOdJP9f4u8ruZ4YpF7PKqOdSsyF7ECCm6D4XDIapevRocEp_yDD6cN/s2230/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-03%20at%2012.32.04%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="2230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2h22aIp8bS_p-R2pOyKbn_27Atohrkr1D-W0-zzUDzb6sF2PhiCAsXClPcI3EyTQR91e5LvALnUhAcdL4wFiQ7eZpLFHXG5flWo0l6j3qJDfkb3o90q6eg1uvJ8i7D6ilnhKVWpOdJP9f4u8ruZ4YpF7PKqOdSsyF7ECCm6D4XDIapevRocEp_yDD6cN/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-03%20at%2012.32.04%20AM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ray Liotta's  in SOMETHING WILD Year: 1986 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Director Jonathan Demme's sexy road-flick SOMETHING WILD plays around with its title threefold, beginning with stiff-suited yuppie Jeff Daniels skipping out on a humble New York cafe's lunch check...<br> <br> And after being spotted and then picked-up by an extremely loose and experienced Melanie Griffith, taken down the departing highway to a rural motel for some ultra-R-rated sex, the audience (and Daniels) only <i>think</i> they know who's truly WILD here...<br> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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><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/AVvXsEgEryiUGaSGJmwZOpHGBfKbPl8S-1Om6JOZUvrPP3BJZcCC2lE5rgty-vpzHfo90_3bxF-UUFS9ZGeDeX6NkCG3o5LGs4JdTsGUq8cPAf2tqf-VNdTdw08_ZuwsK0yKNtDeUO5tudPj2t15l-6u-Nd_nUaBMxUToE1g6_orwoZAj-OJqgoAeYR-9niOJIKB/s1330/Screen+Shot+2020-01-12+at+9.29.30+PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="1330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEryiUGaSGJmwZOpHGBfKbPl8S-1Om6JOZUvrPP3BJZcCC2lE5rgty-vpzHfo90_3bxF-UUFS9ZGeDeX6NkCG3o5LGs4JdTsGUq8cPAf2tqf-VNdTdw08_ZuwsK0yKNtDeUO5tudPj2t15l-6u-Nd_nUaBMxUToE1g6_orwoZAj-OJqgoAeYR-9niOJIKB/s16000/Screen+Shot+2020-01-12+at+9.29.30+PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ray Liotta in SOMETHING WILD</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Until the 45-minute "Kong-mark" when, after the romance hits a peak at Griffith's ten-year high school reunion, purposefully bordering on endearing small town cinema saccharine, Ray Liotta as Ray — Griffith's freshly sprung ex-con/ex-husband — shows up, and the breezy vehicle veers from fun-wild to wildly-dangerous: A quirky romantic comedy now sharing a Neo Noir/thriller template... <br> <br> During the best scene in another, more dark and shabby motel, Daniels is stuck between Liotta and Griffith in what's been natural to them all along... having nothing to do with sex, only facts. Daniels's initially polite cat-and-mouse wordplay with Liotta makes one forget his prior risque physicality and odd couple banter with Griffith the film once seemed entirely built around: <i>the boys</i> wield the truly daring anti-chemistry, and at this point even <i>she</i> knows it... <br> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>

eighties, indie, jeff daniels, jonathan demme, kristin olsen, margaret colin, melanie griffith, quirky, ray liotta, road movie, romantic comedy, thriller

JONATHAN DEMME'S QUIRKY CULT ROAD PICTURE 'SOMETHING WILD'

Ray Liotta's  in SOMETHING WILD Year: 1986 Rating: ****1/2 Director Jonathan Demme's sexy road-flick SOMETHING WILD plays around wi...

CHARLES CHAPLIN ENDS WITH 'A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG'

<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQsaadfERFQTEXbJD3whf7xsL9DWIZd5ZXBMEE43NkvkuX95_Wjb7wQGTEkCcoV_BLYYdiFAe2nhFAtEkbwJ6QUF0_FDM-ysprDTVrpsUcoZ8AgRCuRg-T5OROUtYrqZAR6lov5YJnJZ5_HHOvAhGDbQ4U-Ciq-ZiwxQzsuvf3P-e9xtH8yRaVKvZ7V9e/s400/1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="400" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQsaadfERFQTEXbJD3whf7xsL9DWIZd5ZXBMEE43NkvkuX95_Wjb7wQGTEkCcoV_BLYYdiFAe2nhFAtEkbwJ6QUF0_FDM-ysprDTVrpsUcoZ8AgRCuRg-T5OROUtYrqZAR6lov5YJnJZ5_HHOvAhGDbQ4U-Ciq-ZiwxQzsuvf3P-e9xtH8yRaVKvZ7V9e/w400-h325/1.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><u>A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG Year: 1967</u></span></td></tr></tbody></table>By the late sixties, Charlie Chaplin and Marlon Brando were both iconic performers known for their topnotch skills: The first a physical comic and the latter extremely dramatic... </span><br> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">So when Brando tries for slapstick comedy in Chaplin's final directorial effort, A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG, it's one of the most dramatically awkward and totally ill-suited performances ever... by anyone, perhaps. But it's mostly Chaplin's fault. Having once told Orson Welles that he needn't move the camera using creative angles because his antics made up for it, he should have realized that wasn't the case with Brando and/or Sophia Loren; the latter our titular stowaway on a ship holding the multi-millionaire oilman/ambassador "captive" in his cabin while on the verge of gaining importance in politics, or something like that... </span><br>

angela scoular, carol cleveland, charles chaplin, geraldine chaplin, marlon brando, patrick cargill, romantic comedy, sixties, sophia loren, sydney chaplin, tippi hendren

CHARLES CHAPLIN ENDS WITH 'A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG'

A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG Year: 1967 By the late sixties, Charlie Chaplin and Marlon Brando were both iconic performers known for their top...

OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND & DICK POWELL IN WARNER'S 'HARD TO GET'

<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/a/AVvXsEgaAtg1PmYdv7r8VC_ig8M9npMLtr3pVZxFkCp72ar9fFFiMt6O5mdWa0IumZ4ySQgrAVvGjpOINNFpceF_0iv95pvwA3v7h59wJoU0lG2qHN8xXtW2Ss6em2YlwxhWAyoroLn6el1EEKnRvPHqWtLFXp0TECMRY_QwTcu9hgZxo29dyFF3uo1kX0EZeA=s1172" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaAtg1PmYdv7r8VC_ig8M9npMLtr3pVZxFkCp72ar9fFFiMt6O5mdWa0IumZ4ySQgrAVvGjpOINNFpceF_0iv95pvwA3v7h59wJoU0lG2qHN8xXtW2Ss6em2YlwxhWAyoroLn6el1EEKnRvPHqWtLFXp0TECMRY_QwTcu9hgZxo29dyFF3uo1kX0EZeA=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Olivia de Havilland & Dick Powell in 1938 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Gas station attendant Dick Powell punishes cash-less rich girl Olivia de Havilland, forcing her to scrub floors of the adjoining motel: Yet <i>she's the one</i> who seeks the plot's revenge, pretending to be her rich dad's maid instead of daughter (replaced by real maid Penny Singleton); and Powell's more than a poor man's dreamer, holding a grand idea for a "modernized" gas station...<br> <br> Long story short, Olivia falls in love after Powell croons "You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby" by moonlight, and then has to get out of the hole she's dug herself involving that lie... </p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

bonita granville, charles winninger, dick powell, olivia de havilland, penny singleton, romantic comedy, slapstick, warner archives

OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND & DICK POWELL IN WARNER'S 'HARD TO GET'

Olivia de Havilland & Dick Powell in 1938 Rates: ***1/2 Gas station attendant Dick Powell punishes cash-less rich girl Olivia de Havill...

WARREN BEATTY & SUSANNAH YORK SHUFFLE 'KALEIDOSCOPE'

<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/a/AVvXsEjUUz5Z59W0QxWAhnwC5Z9bqJdSy5k7rcBpai37vXsnrl0G4HOx8Xgp9UYWxeClOXKEQ-UqOgbt7ttfXbdaOcbREh1-XwIVr4YdZxMeacbqtjps4o6BXvMy9sM4esg35cdVRDDraxkcncwpmq4mBWpKp0xvOeeNYDZ2py_RIlW1u9mfU1RiPvsYOBzp9g=s717" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="717" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUUz5Z59W0QxWAhnwC5Z9bqJdSy5k7rcBpai37vXsnrl0G4HOx8Xgp9UYWxeClOXKEQ-UqOgbt7ttfXbdaOcbREh1-XwIVr4YdZxMeacbqtjps4o6BXvMy9sM4esg35cdVRDDraxkcncwpmq4mBWpKp0xvOeeNYDZ2py_RIlW1u9mfU1RiPvsYOBzp9g=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The famous scene in THUNDERBALL, the first James Bond feature featuring supervillain Bloefeld, has his associates seated around a table, wondering which one of them will be found out as a traitor... for then to die in front of everyone... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And the same thing happens here with jovially sinister, talky antagonist Eric Porter as Dominion, more like Le Chiffre from CASINO ROYALE since American import cat burglar Warren Beatty is sent by British police to break the bank with a single night's poker match on the baddie's home turf, a castle with groovy interior befitting the rest of the cheerfully dated late-60's aesthetic... </p><p><span></span></p>

british, clive revill, eric porter, gambling, romantic comedy, sixties, spy, susannah york, thriller, warner archives, warren beatty

WARREN BEATTY & SUSANNAH YORK SHUFFLE 'KALEIDOSCOPE'

Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2 The famous scene in THUNDERBALL, the first James Bond feature featuring supervillain Bloefeld, has his associates ...

ROB LOWE W/ ANDREW MCCARTHY & JACQUELINE BISSET IN 'CLASS'

<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><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/AVvXsEgwf3KEGHZwiRf1hlS08RqPeR5JuNtq2Qc4qduC5J9psRy4SocNtqH2tscSU9ltbK3Wo9N8pSHfEFqZpwf0HQl5AwvWOo9LBJpyRrdQDv5vs6oWX1cYBTyuitmc5cglhDR207quZjYUI7LZ5YJgzEFxoSoQi-TCRVRVzLYJ1VaIxRKjMhKKnIHD3LtttZL0/s2246/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-12%20at%209.51.07%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="2246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwf3KEGHZwiRf1hlS08RqPeR5JuNtq2Qc4qduC5J9psRy4SocNtqH2tscSU9ltbK3Wo9N8pSHfEFqZpwf0HQl5AwvWOo9LBJpyRrdQDv5vs6oWX1cYBTyuitmc5cglhDR207quZjYUI7LZ5YJgzEFxoSoQi-TCRVRVzLYJ1VaIxRKjMhKKnIHD3LtttZL0/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-12%20at%209.51.07%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Opening credit for CLASS from 1983 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While CLASS stars future <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/brat%20pack">Brat Packers</a> Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy before <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2014/05/rob-lowe-films.html">ST. ELMO'S FIRE</a> made them both 11th hour qualifiers after SIXTEEN CANDLES and THE BREAKFAST CLUB (then cemented with ABOUT LAST NIGHT and PRETTY IN PINK), it relies on the two previous decades while epitomizing the eighties Sex Comedy template including a hapless virgin, a partying rich kid and a sexy older woman straight out of THE GRADUATE...<br></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></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Leading to the inevitable (and at the time heavily promoted) May/December romance between McCarthy and Jacqueline Bissit is a sort of devil-may-care prep school ANIMAL HOUSE with students smoking and drinking, and where Lowe's cocky practical joker character recalls Tim Matheson's HOUSE chief Otter Stratton... </p><p><span></span></p>

alan ruck, andrew mccarthy, brat pack, eighties, jacqueline bisset, john cusack, rob lowe, romantic comedy, sex comedy, stuart margolin

ROB LOWE W/ ANDREW MCCARTHY & JACQUELINE BISSET IN 'CLASS'

Opening credit for CLASS from 1983 Rating: *** While CLASS stars future Brat Packers Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy before ST. ELMO'S FIR...

GLORIA SWANSON DECOMPRESSES SUNSET IN '3 FOR BEDROOM C'

<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/a/AVvXsEiVZA2CDZBpJmeJ4oipfa2OUEXhHwvwy35C17CH3qbs1aXym6gSBUJeEVtdfn3OL9-E3KyuUpbKwtLvZcfn5MT-qtN5I_t0ykp8ZsKmfVlUTXe5eSjdIiJGY9SDt086xqJMClx_eJxVX8og8sBsCDkzLl0a61K2YpAzsMnomMalJWhwGMLYlvIP_1Kxog=s1159" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="1159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVZA2CDZBpJmeJ4oipfa2OUEXhHwvwy35C17CH3qbs1aXym6gSBUJeEVtdfn3OL9-E3KyuUpbKwtLvZcfn5MT-qtN5I_t0ykp8ZsKmfVlUTXe5eSjdIiJGY9SDt086xqJMClx_eJxVX8og8sBsCDkzLl0a61K2YpAzsMnomMalJWhwGMLYlvIP_1Kxog=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Warren and Gloria Swanson in 3 FOR BEDROOM C Year: 1952 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of the most bizarre career choices perhaps in the history of cinema was when the once has-been silent film star Gloria Swanson, after playing has-been silent film star Norma Desmond in the beloved smash hit SUNSET BOULEVARD, turned down script after script attempting to turn her into what she easily could have become... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Something like, say, a female Vincent Price since, while deemed a Film Noir/Drama, SUNSET is nothing short of a terrifying claustrophobic Horror that inspired the likes of PLAY MISTY FOR ME that inspired FATAL ATTRACTION, both involving obsessive women desperately clinging to a man by slitting their wrists, and even MISERY... </p><p><span></span></p>

fifties, fred clark, gloria swanson, hans conried, import, james warren, janine perreau, romantic comedy, steve brodie, train

GLORIA SWANSON DECOMPRESSES SUNSET IN '3 FOR BEDROOM C'

James Warren and Gloria Swanson in 3 FOR BEDROOM C Year: 1952 Rating: ***1/2 One of the most bizarre career choices perhaps in the history o...

ELVIS PRESLEY HIDING HIS STRENGTHS IN 'FOLLOW THAT DREAM'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWON7gBUuLHwLBVJyuKKRMkM3pILJIdzExK9HQXPhGJ_3cuO7vDaVAK3u8R2tAVA3iASAHrT2LpJTGuyhyU6kvBHH8nh-_lztM4fBAwGlkHtJafNXdII4U4pW1RTsIy17AUfh57AZwtnD3/s935/Screen+Shot+2021-09-01+at+1.59.35+AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="935" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWON7gBUuLHwLBVJyuKKRMkM3pILJIdzExK9HQXPhGJ_3cuO7vDaVAK3u8R2tAVA3iASAHrT2LpJTGuyhyU6kvBHH8nh-_lztM4fBAwGlkHtJafNXdII4U4pW1RTsIy17AUfh57AZwtnD3/w400-h271/Screen+Shot+2021-09-01+at+1.59.35+AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Broadcast: 1962 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Every album from any rock band or artist has that one song that glides smoother, grooves while keeping a steady hand-sweeping guitar rhythm, and it's not a sappy ballad but a kind of soft boogie, in-between; usually a forgotten track that never made the charts but glues the album together, somehow...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span>As is FOLLOW THAT DREAM in a theatrical sense, made by the highly eclectic THEM and KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE serious director Gordon Douglas who also had musical fun with SHE'S WORKING HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE: plus he worked a whole lot with Frank Sinatra... </span></p><p><span>And here, Elvis was in his long decade-spanning "visual album" phase, seeming finished with the genuine Rock N' Roll </span><span>LP's (following the soulful Sun Records and the chart-topping classics),</span><span> sinking into hit/miss motion pictures he was musically replaced by The Beatles (who ironically worshiped him). And yet, in actuality, FOLLOW THAT DREAM is set RIGHT before the British and American game-changing counter-culture Invasion, and actually isn't too shabby...</span><br></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB_0wiM5RQT3M3Hj0AhTqB6hGslN_fDaExHNixMFY6Q0C5NkReab96s2hyyYKMpeH_DZhVIpOwiP8aTjr1x5GvekNW1Ml8GepvIiSVQ4czkHMe1kgFYtGzK35Ax4ryi4EHO99zGnyR5YQ9/s320/53110739_661215770974269_2998010678687563776_n.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="227" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB_0wiM5RQT3M3Hj0AhTqB6hGslN_fDaExHNixMFY6Q0C5NkReab96s2hyyYKMpeH_DZhVIpOwiP8aTjr1x5GvekNW1Ml8GepvIiSVQ4czkHMe1kgFYtGzK35Ax4ryi4EHO99zGnyR5YQ9/w227-h320/53110739_661215770974269_2998010678687563776_n.jpeg" width="227"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Anne Helm & Elvis Presley</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Basic and unpretentious, not seeming like a vehicle to sell a soundtrack or to prove his big screen presence, DREAM borders on a fable...<br> </p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbmKTv9FAbG3e6i1Pn8PtH0xifqa6ea9nD742GpsG7pzb-RXG7XYP4C1pxCoedOLC3b3xKb7NHPu9REx9gKBTtQo3DcgWsFyN_hm85AC-UHgGLPNCRhnKMy6JqBzksBYtcSKLR8vzviJU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-01+at+2.19.05+AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1259" data-original-width="1387" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbmKTv9FAbG3e6i1Pn8PtH0xifqa6ea9nD742GpsG7pzb-RXG7XYP4C1pxCoedOLC3b3xKb7NHPu9REx9gKBTtQo3DcgWsFyN_hm85AC-UHgGLPNCRhnKMy6JqBzksBYtcSKLR8vzviJU/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-03-01+at+2.19.05+AM.jpeg" width="320"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Elvis Presley in Follow that Dream</u></td></tr> </tbody></table><p>The plot involving a naive clan of nomads, not related save Presley's Toby Kwimper and his Pop, played by Arthur O'Connell (the drunk lawyer-friend of James Stewart in ANATOMY OF A MURDER)...</p><p>He's the stubborn and prideful driver of his own vehicle with a surreptitious-sexy 19-year-old babysitter... of twin boys and a little girl... who'd been carried around and about since she was gawky-thirteen: that being Anne Helm as Holly Jones, one of the most genuine Elvis ingenues being that she's really not an ingenue-type for most of the film, but more of a little sister (or "kissin' cousin") who puts in the most work in the new outdoors family business...</p><span></span>

action, anne helm, arthur o'connell, elvis presley, gordon douglas, joanna moore, musical, romantic comedy, simon oakland, sixties

ELVIS PRESLEY HIDING HIS STRENGTHS IN 'FOLLOW THAT DREAM'

Year of Broadcast: 1962 Rating: **** Every album from any rock band or artist has that one song that glides smoother, grooves while keepin...

WOODY ALLEN'S CINEMATIC FANTASY 'THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO'

<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/AVvXsEjtBT1XF-tff2RyAeT2DOB7GvsIH4moCQ52nKxfJECA1NeoBm15JpFb671-jHUjaYzfsp2dHbfG3UWTUXpEtpB52XRhgtECUu_0ceOlrClRGw1ElmwnIwmbEzdLOKBHFWaHAK9AVG2ojulQIvSuLMXyghL3qTyfXamkex3WwexUyNtgIT74_0Af60je8Iu3/s1942/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-15%20at%207.24.43%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1076" data-original-width="1942" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBT1XF-tff2RyAeT2DOB7GvsIH4moCQ52nKxfJECA1NeoBm15JpFb671-jHUjaYzfsp2dHbfG3UWTUXpEtpB52XRhgtECUu_0ceOlrClRGw1ElmwnIwmbEzdLOKBHFWaHAK9AVG2ojulQIvSuLMXyghL3qTyfXamkex3WwexUyNtgIT74_0Af60je8Iu3/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-15%20at%207.24.43%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Juliana Donald plays a theater worker who's very cute in THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO Year: 1985 Rates: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>As creative as PLAY IT AGAIN SAM is, with Humphrey Bogart appearing to Woody Allen's movie-buff character with advice on dames, the Depression-era PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO goes much further, deeper, with Jeff Daniels as both the actor, Gil Shepard, who brought a character, Tom Baxter, to life, literally... </p><p></p><p><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Written for the screen and having walked right through it, not only tired of being stuck in the celluloid purgatory and wanting to delve into the real world, he's smitten with Farrow's underdog cinefile, who he'd noticed in the audience during matinee screenings, again and again: Farrow's Cecelia lost her job  after her husband cheats right in front of her face: the theater is her only place to remain safe, and sane...</span></p><span></span>

danny aiello, deborah rush, dianne wiest, edward hermann, eighties, fantasy, jeff daniels, juliana donald, mia farrow, romantic comedy, woody allen

WOODY ALLEN'S CINEMATIC FANTASY 'THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO'

Juliana Donald plays a theater worker who's very cute in THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO Year: 1985 Rates: **** As creative as PLAY IT AGAIN SA...

JACK NICHOLSON 'GOIN' SOUTH' W/ DANNY DEVITO 'GOING APE'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FjJL7uWdPaQNRJeKyl9RDqMH3rKJ8Z_8zDQlMFnZ9KRkHC84mcrGkJeeA2VOAAKmOvxAumGip1hVCL89V8FfEcllaNR7sNqVmJLSj6uBPjpwHuUqzPHcKhGqGfVblZSDvkJIckPEImK0/s1600/120792.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="521" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FjJL7uWdPaQNRJeKyl9RDqMH3rKJ8Z_8zDQlMFnZ9KRkHC84mcrGkJeeA2VOAAKmOvxAumGip1hVCL89V8FfEcllaNR7sNqVmJLSj6uBPjpwHuUqzPHcKhGqGfVblZSDvkJIckPEImK0/s400/120792.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lobby Card w/ Jack Nicholson & John Belushi YEAR: 1978</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Jack Nicholson channelling Strother Martin while giving his CUCKOO'S NEST fans the eyebrow-raised crazy-fun guy in a Comedy/Western that Jack himself directed about a scruffy outlaw who, to avoid being hanged, marries a classy gal with plenty of heart and even more gold.<br> <br> Quirky ingenue Mary Steenburgen begins her career as June Tate, using new husband, Nicholson's Henry Moon, for menial chores...<br> <br> Putting him through a sort of honeymoon boot camp wherein they eventually, inevitably, predictably fall for each other. "Women love outlaws like little boys love stray puppies," he grins mischievously in this decent time-filler (think of Nicholson's 1976 Western misfire THE MISSOURI BREAKS with a slightly tighter aim) that works until the last half-hour, when Henry's foes return to steal the gold...<br>

action, christopher lloyd, jack nicholson, john belushi, mary steenburgen, romantic comedy, western

JACK NICHOLSON 'GOIN' SOUTH' W/ DANNY DEVITO 'GOING APE'

Lobby Card w/ Jack Nicholson & John Belushi YEAR: 1978 Jack Nicholson channelling Strother Martin while giving his CUCKOO'S NEST...

A BAGFUL OF PARANTHETICAL BLAKE EDWARDS ARCHIVE REVIEWS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5i8I6XW7qRVg0-P7pdb_1aQlJG9r039-Y-svtB1uHlX8XIAcZZ9cjieA5JKMs15fQW0xHW1ESAw5LKVYgILWT3PWPl5t6MHTavvrf3u06QZtw13FiawghkW5Ikz-FoNPnlyjtOCvGpqe/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-09+at+9.54.23+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="675" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5i8I6XW7qRVg0-P7pdb_1aQlJG9r039-Y-svtB1uHlX8XIAcZZ9cjieA5JKMs15fQW0xHW1ESAw5LKVYgILWT3PWPl5t6MHTavvrf3u06QZtw13FiawghkW5Ikz-FoNPnlyjtOCvGpqe/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-03-09+at+9.54.23+PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bruce Willis and Malcolm McDowell YEAR: 1991 Score: **1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: large;"><u>SUNSET:</u></span> James Garner is the real life Marshall Wyatt Earp and Bruce Willis is cowboy actor Tom Mix portraying Earp in a movie, and they team-up to solve a murder in old Hollywoodland...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> Reminiscent of those episodes of "Rockford Files" with Garner and the classier, prettier and younger Tom Selleck, but since there's really no clashing between the REAL cowboy and the FAKE one there's not much chemistry either. It's like watching two friends agreeing upon everything — what's the fun in that? But there are some decent performances and you'll have light fun watching. Meanwhile, as usual, Bruce Willis is passable doing his ever-charming-reaction acting style and James Garner keeps the ball rolling at a comfortable pace. Although in the end you'll forgot you've seen anything: except maybe cult icon Malcolm McDowell's final moments as a bizarre, classy and then monstrous villain as the affable comedy morphs wickedly into a chilling/thrilling Hammer Film.  <br>

blake edwards, bruce willis, comedy, eighties, fifties, jack lemmon, james garner, john ritter, lee remick, malcolm mcdowell, romantic comedy, sixties, thriller, TV, william holden

A BAGFUL OF PARANTHETICAL BLAKE EDWARDS ARCHIVE REVIEWS

Bruce Willis and Malcolm McDowell YEAR: 1991 Score: **1/2 SUNSET: James Garner is the real life Marshall Wyatt Earp and Bruce Willis i...