[5] The last film in the original Apes franchise is also the most disappointing. Roddy McDowall returns as Caesar, trying to lead apes and humans in peaceful coexistence. It’s interesting to see how the movie ties into all the previous installments, but it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. It also looks and feels cheap. Budget cuts make the final battle look like a …
[6] James Brolin and Margot Kidder move their family into a house with an evil past. The previous family was murdered in the house, and now evil spirits are determined for history to repeat itself. I could have done without so many unrelated scenes with Rod Steiger, whose priest character brings a lot of unnecessary religious mumbo jumbo into the story. The house is creepy …
[6] Al Pacino stars in the true story of Frank Serpico, a New York City cop who discovers a city-wide bribe scheme police are profiting from and rejects becoming part of it. But in doing so, he loses the trust of all the other cops and becomes a laughing stock… and then a target. I love Sidney Lumet movies and I love Al Pacino, but …
[6] Jacqueline Bisset (The Deep, Bullitt) stars as the wife of a music journalist who becomes convinced her husband’s body has been inhabited by another man, a famous concert pianist, through the use of dark magic. Alan Alda plays the journalist, whose beautiful hands strike the fancy of the aging pianist, played by Curt Jurgens. Bisset’s character goes through a lot, first noticing odd behavior …
[2] This low-rent, paint-by-numbers snooze-fest features a foursome of estranged family members brought together to the eponymous location after the death of their matriarch. But little do they know someone in the house is practicing voodoo magic to kill everyone off one by one. Will they find out who the killer is? Will you give a shit if they do? I didn’t. The House on …
[6] This first Planet of the Apes sequel is a mixed bag, but the second half wins me over. The first half of the movie is an uninspired retread of the first film, with James Franciscus replacing Charlton Heston as the main character. I like Franciscus. He manages to convey bewilderment and horror without overacting the way Heston does. The movie starts to distinguish itself …
[8] Philip Kaufman enhances the creepiness and desperation in this superior retelling of the classic tale of alien menace and paranoia. The terrific cast includes Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Brooke Adams, and Leonard Nimoy. Ben Burtt provides the spooky sound effects, including that hideous, otherworldly sound the pod people make when they spot a human in their midst. This particular film version (there …
[6] Roger Moore makes his debut as James Bond in Live and Let Die, a weird blend of voodoo magic and blaxploitation that stands apart from any other entry in the Bond ouvre. Moore does an admirable job taking over the role from Sean Connery. I actually prefer Moore, but I grew up with him in the role, so I’m understandably biased. Live and Let …
[8] Stranded in the desert on their way to California, a family is attacked by savage cannibals in Wes Craven’s brutal, low-budget horror flick, The Hills Have Eyes. I love the setting and tone of the film. The isolation of the desert location and the darkness that surrounds the family’s wrecked camper create a palpable atmosphere of dread and terror that’s hard to shake, especially …
[6] Sean Connery returns one more time (not counting his appearance in 1983’s unofficial entry, Never Say Never Again) in what is easily the silliest of his Bond films. Charles Gray picks up the part of archvillain Blofeld, who this time is hording the world’s diamond supplies so that he can build an orbiting laser gun to terrorize the world. I like the light, breezy …
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