Shock Waves (1977)
[7] Nazi zombies rise from the sea and prey on a group of youngsters stranded at an abandoned island resort. You either love the sound of that, or you don't. I dig it. Peter Cushing makes a welcome appearance as…
Travels with My Aunt (1972)
[5] At her sister's funeral, an eccentric woman meets her uptight nephew and takes him globe-trotting to find an old flame. The combination of the great George Cukor and the ever-acerbic Maggie Smith doesn't add up to anything compelling in…
Barry Lyndon (1975)
[5] Beautifully shot and slavish to Kubrick's singular, intentionally off-putting vision, Barry Lyndon follows the circuitous rise and fall of an unscrupulous man through love and war, as he swindles his way into aristocracy and sews the seeds of his…
A Boy and His Dog (1975)
[7] In this adaptation of Harlan Ellison's novella, a horny teenager and his sarcastic dog communicate telepathically while wandering a post-apocalyptic wasteland in search of food and women. The heart of this film is the antagonistic yet loving relationship between…
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
[7] A gaggle of Oscar-winners go topsy-turvy and fight to survive when a luxury liner capsizes at sea in the trend-setting disaster flick, The Poseidon Adventure. The film delivers on producer Irwin Allen's desire to blow shit up (think of…
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
[7] Director Sydney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Network) takes on Agatha Christie and delivers a light-hearted soufflé of a murder mystery. I always tend to enjoy ensemble films within a claustrophobic setting, so being trapped on the Orient Express during…
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
[7] The skeleton crew of an isolated police precinct battle a vengeful street gang that lay siege to the building. John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) writes and directs this simple, straight-forward, solidly executed action/thriller, imbuing it with his love of…
Quintet (1979)
[2] Glaciers move faster than Robert Altman's bleak post-apocalyptic drama. The ice-age backdrop is the only interesting thing about Quintet, but it's completely irrelevant to the story line. Paul Newman plays one of the last survivors of the human race,…
Jaws 2 (1978)
[8] For a studio-enforced, obligatory sequel to a damn-near perfect film, you could do a lot worse than Jaws 2. (Try Jaws 3 or Jaws 4!) The first half of the movie embroils us in the affairs of the Brody…
Over the Edge (1979)
[8] The teenagers of a sterile suburban experiment turn to drugs and violence as they rebel against cops, teachers, parents and city planners in Over the Edge, directed by Jonathan Kaplan (The Accused, Immediate Family). This is a surprisingly dark,…