1990

[2] First off, Demon Wind is not about farts. If it were, it would most assuredly be a more interesting movie. Instead, it’s about a young man (Eric Larson) who drags a bunch of his friends to the ruins of his grandparents’ house in the middle of nowhere. The old folks died under mysterious circumstances sixty years ago, and junior’s suddenly curious to find out …

[4] Chris Columbus (Adventures in Babysitting) directs this John Hughes production about an eight-year-old boy accidentally left at home while his family flies to Paris for the Christmas holiday. At first, the boy (Uncle Buck‘s Macaulay Culkin) enjoys his freedom, but when two burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) target the house, he must find the courage to fend them off. I get why Home …

[5] Bill Murray stars in and co-directs (with screenwriter Howard Franklin) this comedy of errors about a trio of bank robbers who successfully pull off a heist, only to find themselves utterly jinxed in their escape from New York City. Geena Davis and Randy Quaid co-star as Murray’s co-conspirators, with Jason Robards playing the retiring police chief hot on their tails. Quick Change isn’t a …

[7] Meryl Streep plays a drug-addicted actress forced to stay with her celebrity mother (Shirley MacLaine) in order for insurance companies to allow her to continue working in Hollywood. Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) directs this pseudo-autobiographical story written by Star Wars‘ Princess Leia herself, Carrie Fisher (based on her novel). Nichols captures Fisher’s decidedly snarky, self-deprecating tone on what could …

[3] In this direct-to-video sequel to 1982’s Zapped!, Todd Eric Andrews plays the new kid at high school, where he allies himself with the science club and makes fast opponents of the affluent jocks in key club. As the rival groups compete in a series of Homecoming activities, Andrews discovers something behind some loose bricks in the science lab that gives the nerds the edge …

[3] A pregnant woman and her boyfriend visit Big Mamma’s whorehouse and abortion clinic, where her fetus is flushed down the toilet into a sewer of toxic waste. The critter manages to survive and seek revenge on everyone at Big Mamma’s place, hookers, johns, and all. The Suckling, also called Sewage Baby in some markets, is bottom-of-the-barrel in production value and has acting that ranges …

[6] John McClane (Bruce Willis) has another run-in with terrorists on Christmas Eve, this time at Dulles Airport in Washington DC. McClane fights a rogue faction of U.S. military who sympathize with a deposed dictator being flown in for justice. Meanwhile, McClane’s wife (Bonnie Bedelia) is trapped on one of the many circling airplanes that are running out of fuel during a snowstorm. The Die …

[3] In the sewers beneath New York City, a big talking rat trains four big talking turtles to become ninja warriors so they can be shadowy superheroes to would-be victims in the night. Now, right away, you’re either going to run with this or you’re not. I can run with it — but what I can’t run with in this first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles …

[7] Jason Patric stars as an alcoholic drifter with a troubled past who wanders into a kidnapping/ransom plot with a widow and her uncle, played by Rachel Ward and Bruce Dern. While Dern’s character does much of the planning, Patric and Ward develop a lustful relationship. But does she really love him? And can either of them trust Dern’s character? Under the direction of James …

[7] [This review is of the Director’s Cut of the film, not the original theatrical release.] Kevin Costner falls in love with his boss’s wife and lives to suffer the consequences in this brutal but stylish action/drama from director Tony Scott (True Romance, Top Gun). The script sets up a friendly, almost father-and-son relationship between Costner and his boss, played by Anthony Quinn. The relationship …

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