[3] Kim Henkel, co-creator of the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre, writes and directs this fourth film in the series, about a car of high school prom attendees who get stranded near the infamous Sawyer family’s house and get picked off one by one when they split up to find help. The most interesting thing about this flick is that it features early performances from …
[6] The ‘Nerds’ return for a slightly inferior sequel centering around a fraternity conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where the adversarial Alpha Beta fraternity frames the nerds for a crime they didn’t commit and tries to get them expelled from the fraternal order. Robert Carradine returns as the lead nerd, but Anthony Edwards takes a cameo role (maybe he was busy shooting Top Gun?) this …
1980 Theatrical Version [7] 2006 Richard Donner Cut [7] Three space criminals clad in shiny black suits come to Earth and force Superman into a confrontation, just as he’s decided to give up his powers for a normal relationship with Lois Lane. Superman II was shot concurrently with Superman: The Movie, both under the direction of Richard Donner (The Omen, Lethal Weapon). But after Donner had …
[7] SPOILER REVIEW: The original Blade Runner is one of the finest motion pictures ever made, so the thought of Hollywood making a sequel 35 years later made my skin crawl. But color me surprised. While it pales in comparison, the sequel is actually far better than I would ever have imagined or hoped it could be. Ryan Gosling stars as an android Blade Runner, …
[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 …
[6] The third Evil Dead film gets a bigger budget and a more traditional plot, but the polish and structure don’t compensate for low-budget invention and madcap inspiration. Bruce Campbell is prime here, delivering a smattering of memorable lines and a few good scenes of physical comedy as a department store employee whisked back in time to 1300 AD where he must battle an army …
[6] As the sequel to an almost perfect film, Back to the Future: Part II naturally comes up short. While it lacks the heart and coherence of the first film, it’s wild with ideas and invention, both on screen and behind the scenes. The plot is twisted, thrusting Doc Brown and Marty into the year 2015, then to an apocalyptic alter-1985, and finally back to …
[6] Christopher Lee dons the fangs again for this sequel to Hammer’s original Horror of Dracula, but he hated his dialogue so much that he refused to say any lines. Even though he’s mute and his screen time is limited, a little Lee goes a long way. His performance is interesting and unusual, a more feral depiction than any of his other Dracula outings. Unfortunately, …
[6] Peter Cushing returns for Hammer’s first sequel to their highly successful Curse of Frankenstein. Cushing’s mad doctor escapes the guillotine and sets up camp in a new town, where he transplants the brain of his deformed assistant into a reanimated corpse. For campy horror fun, Revenge of Frankenstein begins and ends well, but the middle portion is pretty unremarkable — an uninspired rehash of …
[7] An unusual sequel of sorts, The Godfather Part II spends equal time in the past and the present, exploring the early life of Vito Corleone (with Robert DeNiro taking over the mantle from Marlon Brando) while also following the continuing story of Vito’s son Michael (Al Pacino reprises his role). Thematically and emotionally, the movie plays like a long and redundant epilogue to the first …
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