[4] George C. Scott stars as a police officer who follows a murder case that gets him embroiled in a mystery involving the Nazis and big oil. The film’s ahead of its time in vilifying the oil companies, represented here by none other than Marlon Brando. Scott’s character hits the nail on the head when he tells Brando: “You’re not in the oil business, you’re …
[7] Richard Gere plays a navy cadet who falls in love with a factory worker played by Debra Winger. The romance part of the story doesn’t work as well as Gere’s combative relationship with his drill instructor, played by Louis Gossett Jr. Director Taylor Hackford (Dolores Claiborne, Ray) does a remarkable job grounding the melodrama, especially in the tragic third act, but I have a …
[8] Director Hugh Hudson (Chariots of Fire) delivers an emotionally compelling adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ vine-swinging legend. The first half of the movie, depicting Tarzan’s childhood up through his discovery by an Austrian explorer (Ian Holm), outshines the last, but the movie still works well overall. Christopher Lambert (Highlander) does a good job bringing out the extreme pathos of a character caught between two …
[5] Clint Eastwood plays a detective (who isn’t Dirty Harry) assigned to a case involving a serial rapist and murderer whose victims begin to include Eastwood’s acquaintances. This is a paint-by-numbers serial killer movie, full of all the old cliches — like the closeups of the killer’s feet, the old ‘close the refrigerator door to reveal the killer’ gag, and bare breasts galore. Eastwood’s performance …
[7] Young Holmes meets young Watson in prep school and the two solve a mystery involving an ancient Egyptian cult that is killing members of a secret society and sacrificing virgins in ceremony! Unfortunately, the mystery isn’t very engaging and the characterizations are thin. Young Sherlock Holmes still has enough moments of whimsy to keep me amused. I like the many hallucination scenes and the …
[7] A well-structured, lovingly-crafted sword and sorcery flick. Arnold Schwarzenegger, limited as he may be, was born for this role and Basil Poledouris’ score is among the best ever recorded for film. Writer/director John Milius seems rushed at times, but some scenes are extraordinarily polished. I love the first half-hour most of all. The death of Conan’s mother could not be done better. It’s all …
[7] Four old men and their families are haunted by the ghost of a woman the men accidentally killed decades ago in this John Irvin film of the Peter Straub story. It could have benefited from a more visionary director, because it really only taps the surface of its atmospheric potential but Ghost Story is otherwise a solid spook tale of ghostly revenge that kept …
[5] The Russians invade America and spark World War III in this Cold-War emblem from writer/director John Milius (Conan the Barbarian, Big Wednesday). Political correctness aside, the opening of this movie — the Russian invasion — is very effective. But the rest of the movie fails to live up to the promise of its first 10 minutes. It’s fun to see the cast, all of …
[4] A priest’s suicide triggers a zombie apocalypse in this loose sequel to Zombie (aka, Zombie 2), both directed by Lucio Fulci. The story here is silly and the movie takes a lot of detours. The dead priest opening the gates of hell is hard to swallow, but then, few people watch low-budget Italian horror movies for great story. Still, the last act isn’t very …
[2] This movie is just too silly and disjointed for me. I hate it and I always have. It’s a boring, cheap, un-inventive waste of time and talent. I truly don’t get its appeal. The plot is beyond me, and why are all the aliens Jamaican? Why is Jeff Goldblum dressed like a cowboy? Why can’t the amazing John Lithgow rescue me from this torture? …
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