Genre: Horror

Year: 1987

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Martin Sheen, Helen Shaver, Harley Cross, Robert Loggia, Elizabeth Wilson

Director: John Schlesinger

My Review: An excellent supernatural thriller with a pretty good cast. Martin Sheen (playing Cal Jamison), Robert Loggia (as Lt. Sean McTaggert), Helen Shaver, Jimmy Smits, Harley Cross, and others. After the tragic death of his wife, police psychiatrist, Martin Sheen moves to New York with his young son. He is soon called upon to help investigate the brutal, ritualistic murders of two young boys. It is soon discovered that a voodoo cult with ties to the Santeria religious sect. When the cult starts to pay an interest in his son, things get far more dangerous. The movie has several supernatural elements, excellent suspense, thrills and tension. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Summary: A New York psychiatrist finds that a voodoo cult, which believes in child sacrifice, has a keen interest in his own son.

Genre: Action

Year: 1964

Country: Italy, Spain, West Germany

Rating:

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, Gian Maria Volonté, Wolfgang Lukschy, Sieghardt Rupp

Director: Sergio Leone

My Review: Clint Eastwood stars as Joe in Sergio Leone's 'Man with no name' trilogy. In this third and final film, Joe, the wandering gunman comes upon a lawless town with two 'bosses'. The town is rife with greed, pride, revenge and violence - The perfect breeding ground for a man like Joe. Hiring on with the Baxters and then the Rojos, Joe's gun starts a war that earns him a fistful of dollars and a far more trouble than he was hoping for. It's a remake of Akira Kurosawa's classic Yojimbo, and the music by Ennio Morricone elevates this movie above the standard Spaghetti Western. This movie was a turning point in Clint Eastwoods career. On an incredibly small budget, Sergio Leone created a classic that has withstood the test of time. I give it a 5 out of 5.

Summary: A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.

Genre: Horror

Year: 1986

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, Ted Sorel, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon

Director: Stuart Gordon

My Review: I've been a fan of the H.P. Lovecraftian Cthulhu mythos for quite some time (going back to the 80's), and here is one of the most powerful movies in that genre. Yes, an entire genre dedicated to this very small niche. Lovecraftian horror speaks of unutterable names, hidden horrors, other worlds, dark places best left unexplored by the mind of man. Directed by Stuart Gordon, From Beyond takes one of H.P. Lovecraft's novels to the big screen. The story - a pair of scientists have finally succeeded. They've opened the door. Their sonic resonator stimulates the pineal gland, allowing those in the resonance field to see the beings in that other dimension. Inhabited by strange and hostile creatures, their interaction with occupants in our world is less than welcome. As our group of daring scientists interacts with these beings from beyond, they find that their minds and bodies are being altered. Exposure to this far realm is twisting their very souls. Fantastic story, cheesy special effects, great music, poor acting, great direction. Best line from the movie? "Humans are such easy prey". I give this movie a 4 out of 5.

Summary: Two scientists are on the verge of discovery, creating a resonator to stimulate the pineal gland located in the brain - to create a 6th sense. But this is a horror movie not a documentary so things go...well, wrong. The resonator opens up a world visible only to those in the 'field' or range of the device but one that is constantly expanding and filled with horrific creatures that certainly aren't friendly. This IS without a shadow of a doubt the best film EVER. The cast surpases brilliance - Jeffery Combs certainly deserves more recognition as the BRILLIANT actor that he is, Barbara Crampton is one foxy chick and that Leroy 'Bubba' Brown character has to be one of the funniest 'Shaft' wannabee's ever put to film. I won't spoil the film for you but just wait to see what happens to Dr.Edward Pretorius - "My God Edward, WHAT have you become?" - "Myself!". Pure genius.I'd recommend this film to anyone - you'd be mad to miss it, and why isn't it on DVD? - Criminal!

Genre: Comedy

Year: 1964

Country: UK

Rating:

Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens

Director: Stanley Kubrick

My Review: Difficult to classify, this dark comedy is a satire aimed squarely at the military industrial complex. A deranged American general orders his bombers to drop their nuclear bombs on Russian targets. This cold war thriller is a taut drama, a dark comedy and a political satire. All the aspects of this movie are perfectly blended and balanced in an amazing work by Stanley Kubrik. Who else could make you laugh at the prospect of nuclear armageddon? The casting was perfect, the acting superb, and the dialog was astonishing. The locations, sets and technically perfect props make for a 100% convincing war drama, but the humorous elements convince us it's a comedy. Even though we know that this is a satirical dark comedy, the producers spared no expense to convince us that everything portrayed in the movie could happen. 5 out of 5.

Summary: An insane general starts a process to nuclear holocaust that a war room of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.

Genre: Adventure

Year: 1985

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson

Director: Robert Zemeckis

My Review: Written (in part) and directed by Robert Zemeckis, this movie features a fantastic, well-matched cast of Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson and others. The story is a sci-fi comedy featuring time travel. One of my favorite subjects. The eccentric Doc Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd) invents a time traveling DeLorean, and Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) inadvertently mucks up history, by preventing his parents from getting together. As Marty and Dr. Brown do their best to unravel this comedic time-travel adventure, we're treated to an excellent movie. The acting, direction, writing, 80's soundtrack, and special effects were all outstanding. Very entertaining, very funny, excellent movie. I own it, and so should you. FYI: The date Oct 26, 1985 plays prominently in the movie. That's the day Kim and I got married (on my birthday). Coincidence? Perhaps it's a significant time travel date! 5 out of 5

Summary: Eccentric Doc Brown invents time travel; young Marty McFly goes back in time, stops his parents from meeting; they must, or he won't be born.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Year: 2008

Country: USA, Germany

Rating:

Starring: Jim Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Jack Huston, John Hurt, Cliff Saunders

Director: Howard McCain

My Review: I should have known better. From the previews, I was fairly convinced that this movie was a stinker. After watching it, I'm certain. The only thing this movie has going for it is the location and cinematography. The cgi was well done, but poorly integrated into the live action shots. In this movie, Kainan's (played by James Caviezel) spaceship crashes in an iron-age Nordic lake. While he waits for the rescue ship to arrive, he encounters the viking inhabitants of this primitive seed planet. Soon he and the Vikings are fighting for survival against a powerful dragon with unearthly powers. Caviezel's acting seems limited to scowling and grunting, while the rest of the cast is barely able to keep their lines straight. The only bright spot in acting was John Hurt. Ron Perlman's performance was buried under a one dimensional character. The story is a poorly staged rehashing of Beowulf and the characters are all one dimensional cut outs and the dialogue highly anachronistic. If you like explosions, bare chested men and glitzy camera work, you'll love this 'Predator vs Vikings' blockbuster. I give it a 2 out of 5.

Summary: In 709 AD, in the Iron Age, a spacecraft crashes in the Viking kingdom of Herot, Norway, and the pilot Kainan survives. He turns the beacon on; learns the language and culture of the planet using a machine; and finds that the predator, Moorwen, that he was transporting, had escaped. While chasing the alien monster, he finds a village completely destroyed and is arrested by the warrior Wulfric, believing that he killed the locals - Kainan is brought to Herot as a prisoner.

Genre: Comedy

Year: 1985

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest, Donna Dixon, Bruce Davison

Director: John Landis

My Review: A great comedy starring Chevy Chase and Dan Akroyd. Two bumbling government employees are recruited as unwitting decoys in a Nuclear tipped espionage spoof. The barbs are sharp, the writing witty, and Chase and Akroyd work well together at the top of their game. Ripe with Doctor Strangelove parallels, this well directed slapstick comedy is an excellent send up of military intelligence. Keeps getting better ever time I watch it. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: Two bumbling government employees think they are U.S. spies, only to discover that they are actually decoys.

Genre: Action

Year: 1985

Country: UK

Rating:

Starring: Powers Boothe, Meg Foster, Yara Vaneau, William Rodriguez, Estee Chandler

Director: John Boorman

My Review: Based upon a true story? Here's an environmentalist movie. A save the rain forest movie. Despite it's bleeding heart liberal themes, it's actually pretty good. The only star of note is Powers Boothe (playing Bill Markham/Dadde), and his acting wasn't all that bad. Aside from the b-cast, there were a lot of nubile young lovelies sans shirts to keep your attention throughout the movie. The story, a big city engineer is employed to build a dam on the Amazon. During a brief outing one day, his young son is abducted by a group of jungle dwelling natives. Over the years, Bill continues to search for his son while work continues on the dam. Eventually, Bill stumbles upon the 'invisible people' and finds his son living an idyllic life among the natives. Unable to tear him away from this paradise, he returns to his skyscrapers and urban squalor. Father and son are reunited again when a tribe of fierce warriors kidnap the women of Tomme's tribe. As Bill does his best to help Tomme and his tribe, mother nature does her part to help protect the fragile ecosystem of the Amazon. Excellent story (writing), direction and locations. The production was top notch, with much attention paid to language, customs and costumes (or lack thereof). I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: Based on a true story, Powers Boothe plays an American dam engineer in Brazil. Boothe's son (played by Charlie Boorman - son of director John Boorman) is kidnapped by a rain forest tribe, and raised as one of their own. Boothe continues to look for him and after many trials and adventures, stumbles upon him.

Genre: Adventure

Year: 1987

Country: UK

Rating:

Starring: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Jon Cryer

Director: Sidney J. Furie

My Review: Starring Christopher Reeve as Superman, and Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor. In this last of the franchise, Superman battles Nuclear powers. In a crusade to rid the world of nuclear weapons, the Man of Steel does battle with Lex Luthor's latest creation - Nuclear Man. This low budget movie is rife with little subplots, but the central theme of nuclear disarmament is quite prevalent. Supernans arch nemesis creates a solar powered adversary to test Superman's mettle. The special effects are wires and green screen. The acting (aside from Gene Hackman) is truly abysmal, the dialogue terrible, the editing crap (there's obviously a lot of missing footage in this 90 minute theatrical release) and the direction horrid. I give this stinker a 1 out of 5.

Summary: The Man of Steel crusades for nuclear disarmament and meets Lex Luthor's latest creation, Nuclear Man.

Genre: Crime

Year: 1986

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye, Daniel Roebuck, Dennis Hopper

Director: Tim Hunter

My Review: A teen drama with a very serious story. Starring Daniel Roebuck, Crispin Glover, Dennis Hopper, Keanu Reeves and many others. In this movie; based on a true story; a high-school dropout/loner kills his girlfriend and tells his friends what he did. When they don't believe him, he takes them to see the body. A shocking movie that exams the emotions, motives and reactions of the characters in this brutal social drama. The characters are drawn from the ordinary kids of Middle-America. They aren't the jocks, the popular kids or the straight A's of your ordinary midwest town. They're the ones that no one notices, the kids who don't stand out, who don't volunteer, the ones who never make the Dean's list. Excellent writing, direction and acting. The acting by Crispin Glover was easily the best, but the whole cast exuded a particular energy and chemistry. The editing and camera work were also top notch. The sideways humor in this movie creates a bitter and black tone that fits perfectly with the socially detached and maladjusted characters of the movie. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: A high school slacker kills his girlfriend and shows off her dead body to their friends. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.