Category Archives: Film Review

Bedazzled (2000, directed by Harold Ramis)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Elliot (Brendan Fraser) has a go-nowhere job at a computer company and an unrequited crush on Alison (Frances O’Connor), a co-worker who doesn’t even know who he is.  One night, at a bar afterwork, he’s approached by the Devil (Elizabeth Hurley), who offers Elliot seven wishes in return for his soul.  Elliot agrees but then he discovers that the Devil is tricky and his wishes always have an complication.  Elliot wants to be powerful so the Devil turns him into a Columbian drug lord.  Elliot wants to be sensitive and the Devil turns him into a whiny crybaby.  Elliot wants to be president and suddenly, he’s Abraham Lincoln being told to get ready for the theater.  Whenever things start to get too dangerous, the Devil brings Elliot back to reality so that she can continue to taunt him.

An Americanized remake of a British comedy that starred Dudley Moore and Peter Cook, Bedazzled was unfairly savaged by the critics when it was first released.  While it can’t match the wit and heart of the original and not all of the wishes are equally effective, the remake has its charms.  When Bedazzled first came out, most people talked about Elizabeth Hurley’s sexy performance of the Devil.  When she appears as a school teacher, it’s not a surprise that every student brings her an apple at the start of the day.  Hurley is so sexy that it’s easy to miss that she’s also giving a really good performance.  Hurley’s Devil is a prankster.  She likes to steal souls but mostly, she’s just having fun ruining all of Fraser’s wishes.  Brendan Fraser is likable as Elliot and the way he responds to each wish gives him a chance to show off his comedic skills.  Finally, the movie has a good ending, with Elliot growing up and realizing the truth about his crush on Alison.

Bedazzled may not be up to the level of some of director Harold Ramis’s other films but it’s still better than its reputation.

Freefall: Flight 174 (1995, directed by Jorge Montesi)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

During a routine flight from Montreal to Edmonton, the two pilots (played by William Devane and Scott Hylands) discover that they do not have enough fuel to make it to their destination.  Their aircraft was one of the first in the fleet to use the metric system but a conversion era led to the ground crew measuring the plane’s fuel in pounds instead of kilograms.  With the help of an air  traffic controller (Nicholas Turturro), the pilots try to land their plane before it falls out of the sky.

Based on a true story, Freefall is one of the many airflight disaster films that were made for television in the 80s and 90s.  (Not surprisingly, the genre became less popular after 9-11.)  The emphasis is on the pilots and ground control remaining calm and professional in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  While Devane and Hylands look for a place to land, flight attendant Shelley Hack keeps the passengers from panicking.  In typical disaster movie style, the passengers have their own dramas that are wrapped up as they wait for the plane to either land or crash.  It’s a low-budget movie but the cast does a good job.  William Devane is one of those actors who just looks credible flying an airplane.

The movie’s main lesson?  Don’t use the Metric System unless you absolutely have to,

 

10 Films For The Weekend (6/20/25)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hail To The King, Baby

This Sunday is Bruce Campbell’s birthday.  Our own Case Writes will be reviewing Bruce’s two autobiographies on that day.  Here’s a few films you can watch while celebrating.

Sadly, the first three Evil Dead films are not streaming anywhere for free this weekend.  However, Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), which features Bruce as a nursing home resident who may or may not actually be Elvis Presley, is available on Tubi.  This is definitely Bruce’s best non-Ash performance and there’s actually something very touching about the idea of an elderly and forgotten Elvis teaming up with John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis) to battle an ancient mummy.  There’s a lot of humor to be found in this film but there’s also a definite strain of melancholy and Bruce gives a truly moving performance as someone who you’ll want to believe in.  The film is on Tubi.

Maniac Cop (1988) is nowhere near as good as the Evil Dead films or Bubba Ho-Tep but it does give audiences a chance to see Bruce giving a relatively “serious” performance as a policeman who is accused of a murder that was actually committed by a hulking zombie cop.  Not only does this film feature Bruce Campbell but it’s also got Tom Atkins, William Smith, Richard Roundtree, and Robert Z’Dar.  If nothing else, this film is a tribute to exploitation canniness.  Director William Lustig and screenwriter Larry Cohen understood that the idea of dangerous cop would remain compelling one long after the film’s initial release and, as such, Maniac Cop retains a definite cult appeal.  The film is on Tubi.

Sadly, Bruce Campbell is killed off rather early in Maniac Cop 2 (1990).  That’s a shame because the second film is a lot better than the first one.  Robert Davi plays the detective who won’t be pushed around while Robert Z’Dar takes the maniac cop’s search for revenge to a whole other level.  Leo Rossi is memorably unhinged.  Personally, I would have liked to have seen Bruce try to take a chainsaw to the Maniac Cop but it was not be.  Maniac Cop 2 can be viewed on Tubi.

Finally, The Woods (2006) is a sadly underrated horror film, one the features Bruce in a supporting role as a loving dad.  Agnes Bruckner give a wonderful performance in the lead role, investigating her mysterious school and taking way too much abuse just because she has red hair.  Hey, I’ve been there!  I’m just happy that “fire crotch” didn’t catch on the way that “Gingers have no soul” did. (Seriously, the redheads have no soul thing was funny when South Park did it but everyone else needs to shut up about it.)  The Woods is an atmospheric horror film from Lucky McKee and one that I would recommend even if it wasn’t Bruce Campbell’s birthday.  View it on Tubi.

Pleasures, Guilty And Otherwise

Seriously, if I had to suggest one non-Bruce Campbell movie to you for this weekend, it would be my favorite Lifetime film, True Confessions of a Go-Go Girl (2008).  Chelsea Hobbs plays a recent college graduate who realizes that she can either waste more of her life in law school or she can just make a bunch of money by being a …. GO-GO GIRL!  The use of the anachronistic term “go-go girl” really does get to the charm of this movie, which manages to be both enjoyably trashy and quaintly old-fashioned at the same time.  Hobbs discovers that she loves to dance and that men love to watch her dance.  Her wimpy boyfriend freaks out when Hobbs goes from being a meek “good” girl to an aggressive temptress.  The film is at its best when its embracing the decadence and the melodrama.  On stage, Hobbs is empowered and I was all about that.  Of course, Hobbs has to using hard drugs and learn a lesson because that’s the way these films go.  Still, this one is a lot of fun and it features Corbin Bernsen doing his somewhat sleazy father figure thing.  Find this film on Prime.

The Perfect Teacher (2010) is also available on Prime and you need to watch it because it features my favorite line of all time.  “I can be your dream …. or I can be your NIGHTMARE!”  This is another perfect Lifetime film and it can be viewed here!

The Wrong Cheerleader (2019) is one of the best of Lifetime’s wonderfully over-the-top “Wrong” film, featuring Degrassi’s Cristine Prosperi and, of course, Vivica A. Fox.  “Looks like he messed with the wrong cheerleader.”  Hell yeah!  It’s on YouTube.  (I have a feeling that if I ever hire someone incompetent, Vivica A. Fox will show up at my door and say, “Girl, looks like you hired the wrong landscaping crew.”)

The Babysitter’s Seduction (1996) was not originally made for Lifetime but it definitely found a home there.  Keri Russell is the innocent babysitter.  Stephen Collins is the handsome but sleazy guy who seduces her and then tries to frame her for killing his wife.  This film’s twists was probably more effective back when Stephen Collins was still best-known as Rev. Camden as opposed to being known for …. other things.  But it’s still a top-notch example of embracing the melodrama.   It can be viewed on Tubi.

From the best Lifetime films, let’s now consider the best SyFy films.  Jersey Shore Shark Attack (2010) not only features Tony Sirico, Paul Sorvino, and Jack Scalia but it also features characters with names like Nooki, TC, and Paulie Balzac dealing with killer sharks in New Jersey.  Joey Fatone appears as himself and is promptly eaten.  Of the many shark films to have been produced by the Asylum, this is definitely one of the best.  It’s on Tubi!

Directed by actor Bruce Davison, Bigfoot (2012) not only features the title character but it also includes Danny Bonaduce, Barry Williams, and Sherilyn Fenn amongst the cast.  Alice Cooper plays himself and meets a less-than-heroic end.  This Asylum film is a true classic.  It’s on Tubi!

(Click here for last week’s recommendations.)

The Boys In Company C (1978, directed by Sidney J. Furie)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

In 1967, a group of young men arrive at the Marie Corp. Recruit Depot in San Diego.  Tyrone Washington (Stan Shaw) is a drug dealer from Chicago who tells everyone not to mess with him and who soon emerges as a natural born leader.  Dave Brisbee (Craig Wasson) is a long-haired hippie who tried to feel to Canada and who shows up for induction in handcuffs.  Vinny Fazio (Michael Lembeck) is a cocky and streetwise kid from Brooklyn.  Billy Ray Pike (Andrew Stevens) is a country boy from Texas.  Alvin Foster (James Canning) is an aspiring writer who keeps a journal of his experiences.  Sgt. Loyce (R. Lee Ermey, making his film debut) molds them into a combat unit before they leave for Vietnam, where they discover that all of their training hasn’t prepared them for the reality of Vietnam.

The Boys In Company C has the same basic structure as Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, right down to R. Lee Ermey playing the tough drill sergeant.  The sharp discipline of basic training is compared to the chaos of Vietnam.  Ermey always said that he was playing a bad drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket because he tore down the recruits but never bothered to build them back up.  In The Boys In Company C, Ermey plays a good drill sergeant, one who is tough but fair and who helps Washington reach his potential.  It doesn’t make any difference once the company arrives in Vietnam, though.  Both The Boys In Company C and Full Metal Jacket present the war in Vietnam as being run by a collection of incompetent officer who have no idea what it’s like for the soldiers who are expected to carry out their orders.

Of course, The Boys In Company C is nowhere near as good as Full Metal Jacket.  Full Metal Jacket was directed by Stanley Kubrick and it’s a chilling and relentless look at the horrors of combat.  The Boys In Company C was directed by Sidney J. Furie, a journeyman director who made a lot of movies without ever developing a signature style.  The basic training scenes are when the film is at its strongest.  When the company arrives in Vietnam, Furie struggles with the story’s episodic structure and it can sometimes be difficult to keep track of the large ensemble cast.  The Vietnam sequences are at their best when the emphasis is on the soldiers grumbling and bitching as their officers send them on one pointless mission after another.  The soccer game finale tries to duplicate the satire of the football game that ended Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H but it does so with middling results.  The Boys in Company C is a collection of strong moments that never manage to come together as a cohesive whole.

The movie is still important as one of the first major films to be made about the war in Vietnam.  However, it’s since been overshadowed by The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and, of course, Full Metal Jacket.

 

Brad reviews 10 TO MIDNIGHT (1983), starring Charles Bronson!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Charles Bronson is Leo Kessler, a veteran detective who’s seen it all and has grown sick of a system of justice that he thinks favors criminals over their victims. When girls start getting murdered, he immediately suspects the arrogant Warren Stacy, played by Gene Davis in the best role of his career. When Kessler and his partner Paul McCann (Andrew Stevens) start putting the pressure on Stacy, the killer responds by going after Kessler’s daughter Laurie (Lisa Eilbacher). Needless to say, our hero will do anything to stop the madman, ANYTHING!

10 TO MIDNIGHT is a special movie in my house because it’s my wife’s favorite Charles Bronson film, even when she didn’t have any overall appreciation for Bronson as an actor. Luckily for her, she had me to introduce her to the rest of the iconic actor’s voluminous catalog of movies. I saw 10 TO MIDNIGHT myself when I was pretty young, probably 13 or so. I remember being scared that first night after I watched the movie when I was trying to go to sleep. My wife and I watched it today on my old VHS tape that I’ve owned going back to the late 1980’s. 

There are several elements that elevate 10 TO MIDNIGHT above the average cop / slasher thrillers of the 1980’s. First, it’s Charles Bronson in the lead role. Bronson has such a strong presence on screen that his presence alone elevates almost any material. He looks great in the film, and the role gives him some good opportunities, as both a mentor to the young cop, and even more importantly, as a dad who wants to do better for his daughter. It’s a solid role that seems to fit Bronson like a glove. Second, we know from the very beginning of the movie that Warren Stacy is in fact the killer. We also know that the law seems to be working in his favor. And because of that, we’re on Kessler’s side as he goes to extreme lengths to stop his reign of terror. Finally, the script and director J. Lee Thompson go all in on the sex and violence. Examples include Stacy killing his often naked victims while he himself is in the nude. There is much talk in the film about items of a sexual nature and Stacy even has a sexual release device that almost has to be seen to be believed. It definitely adds a decadent and voyeuristic feel to the proceedings. And I haven’t even mentioned yet that it has one of the very best endings of any Bronson film, second only to THE MECHANIC, in my humble opinion.

I highly recommend 10 TO MIDNIGHT!

For a more detailed review of 10 TO MIDNIGHT, check out Lisa’s review from a couple of years back below:

Film Review: 10 to Midnight (dir by J. Lee Thompson)

So, I Watched Mickey (2004, Dir. by Hugh Wilson)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Tripp Spence (Harry Connick, Jr.) is a lawyer who cheated on his taxes.  He goes on the run with his 13 year-old son, Derrick (Shawn Salinas).  They settle in Las Vegas with new identities.  Tripp now goes by Glenn Ryan and Derrick’s new name is Mickey.  Because Derrick was given the identity of someone who was a year young than him, he is still eligible to play one more season of Little League baseball.  Mickey leads his team to victory after victory and that’s no surprise.  He’s a year older and a head taller than all the other players.  Eventually, Mickey takes his team to the Little League World Series, where he plays a team from Cuba.  Glenn knows that, with all of the publicity, the IRS is going to catch him but all that matters is that his son get to play in the big game.

I love baseball and I can get pretty sentimental when it comes to watching a Little League game.  I tear up at both version of The Bad News Bears.  I also like Harry Connick, Jr.  What I don’t like is cheating and it bothered me that this whole movie was built around a father encouraging his son to cheat.  There wasn’t any reason why Mikey had to be thirteen.  It wouldn’t have changed the plot that much if he had actually been twelve and still eligible to play.  It’s one thing when major leaguers cheat by corking their bat or wiping something on their pitches.  They’re adults and everyone knows that it’s a part of the game.  But to encourage your son to cheat at Little League?  That’s low.

Mickey was written by John Grisham, who loves baseball but who still should have known better.

Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story (1992, directed by Charles Braverman)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Hank Gathers is one of the most intriguing “what if?” stories of modern basketball.  Growing up in the Raymond Rosen Projects of Philadelphia, Hank stayed out of trouble by playing basketball.  An outstanding high school player, he went first to USC before transferring to Loyola Marymount.  Along with his friend Bo Kimble, he was a stand-out player at Loyola.  However, on March 4th, 1990, the 23 year-old Gathers collapsed during a game with Portland and died on the court, the victim of an abnormal heartbeat.  His last recorded words were, “I don’t want to lay down!”  Gathers set records in college.  Would he have done the same in the NBA?  Sadly, we’ll never know but he definitely had the talent and the ability to be one of the best.

Final Shot is a by-the-numbers biopic of Hank Gathers, focusing on his life in the projects and his friendship with Bo Kimble.  Victor Love plays Gathers while Kimble is played by Duane Davis and they both give good performances.  Their friendship feels real and when Hank helps Bo recover from a broken leg and when Bo worries about Hank’s recently diagnosed heart condition, the scenes are sincere in a way that lifts the film above the normal biopic clichés.  Nell Carter and George Kennedy both have good roles as well, Carter as Hank’s mother and Kennedy as Hank’s high school coach and mentor.  This is the type of role that Kennedy could have played in his sleep so I appreciated that he actually gave a believable performance.

Final Shot is a made-for-TV movie so it doesn’t dig too deeply into Gathers’s life outside of basketball, the way that college treat their athletes, or the systems that made playing basketball Hank’s only way of escaping the projects.  For what it is, though, it’s a fitting tribute.

I Watched Last County (2024, Dir. by Barret Mulholland)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Abby (Kaelen Ohm) has been through a lot.  A recovering alcoholic, Abby is struggling with the guilt of having caused a car accident while her young daughter was in the backseat.  Her daughter’s okay but her husband cannot forgive Abby for putting their child in harm’s way.  Needing to clear her head, Abby heads to the farmhouse where she grew up.  She hopes that her husband and her daughter will eventually join her there.  Instead, she finds herself trapped in the middle of a battle between two drug mules and a corrupt sheriff (Nicholas Campbell).

I liked Last County more than I thought it would.  It’s a straightforward thriller that doesn’t waste any time getting to the action.  Kaelen Ohm was great as Abby and I really found myself getting caught up in her story.  I wasn’t just worried about whether or not she would survive the siege led by the sheriff.  I was also really worried about what would happen with her as far as her family was concerned.  Would her marriage be saved or would she fall in love with the more sensitive of the two drug mules?  Along with good performance and direction, Last County also really captured the feel of being isolated out in the middle of the country.

Far better than I thought it would, Last County took me by surprise.  It’s on Tubi.

Sweetheart of the Navy (1937, directed by Duncan Mansfield)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

I watched this movie by accident.

I was looking for Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, an obscure Buster Crabbe film that is nearly impossible to find.  I was happy to see that someone had uploaded it to YouTube but then I watched and discovered that, even though the video was entitled Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, they had actually uploaded a movie called Sweetheart of the Navy.  I was disappointed but I went ahead and watched because the movie was only 61 minutes long and I needed something to post for today’s review.

In other words, I’ve got no one to blame but myself.

Cecilia Parker plays Joan Whitney, who co-owns a cafe on the harbor.  When her business partner runs off, he takes all the money and leaves her with all the bills.  Joan has to raise the money to keep her bar open.  Her friends, Andy (Cully Richards) and Pete (Don Barclay), decide to stage a fight against the boxing champion of the Navy, Bumper (Jason Robards, Sr., father of the  more famous Jason Robards).  They recruit the overmatched Eddie Harris (Eric Linden) to fight Bumper and then get all of their friends in the Navy to bet on the fight.  Commander Lodge (Roger Imhof) views Eddie has being his protege and tries to change his mind about fighting.  Joan tries to convince Eddie to get in the ring.

I may be biased because I was already annoyed that Buster Crabbe wasn’t in this movie but Sweetheart of the Navy was instantly forgettable, creaky, and corny.  Forgettable songs, stagey directing, and boxing action that won’t exactly put Rocky to shame, Sweetheart of the Navy took 61 minutes of my life under false pretenses.

And again, I have no one to blame but myself.

Brad reviews DONATO AND DAUGHTER (1993), starring Charles Bronson & Dana Delany!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

DONATO AND DAUGHTER tells the story of Los Angeles Police detectives, Mike Donato (Charles Bronson), and his daughter Dena Donato (Dana Delany). The two have a strained relationship mainly due to the mysterious death of Dena’s brother, Tommy, and Mike’s unwillingness to discuss the circumstances surrounding his death with her. When a serial killer (Xander Berkeley) begins targeting nuns, brutally raping and murdering them, Dena is asked to lead a task force to catch the killer. Her supervisor not-so-subtly requires that she include her father, a tough-as-nails and experienced cop, as part of the team. The remainder of the story focuses on two elements: 1) The investigation as it closes in on the extremely dangerous serial killer and 2) The family drama as Mike and Dena deal with their relationship issues. The two worlds eventually collide when the killer goes after Dena! 

While he did work on a couple of theatrical films in the 1990’s, like Sean Penn’s THE INDIAN RUNNER (1991) and DEATH WISH 5: THE FACE OF DEATH (1994), Charles Bronson spent most of the decade making made-for-TV movies. Of course, as his biggest fan, I would always watch the movies on the night they premiered on TV, with THE SEA WOLF (1993) being the only exception as we didn’t have cable TV in Toad Suck. That means on September 21st, 1993, I was glued to my television set as the latest Charles Bronson film, DONATO AND DAUGHTER, premiered to a national TV audience on CBS. I specifically remember the network running warnings due to the disturbing and violent content of the movie. I also remember enjoying that first viewing, and I still enjoy the film to this day. 

Even though he was in his early 70’s at the time, Charles Bronson still looked great in DONATO AND DAUGHTER. He gives a strong performance as both the cop trying to catch the killer and as the dad who doesn’t know how to open up to his successful, adult daughter who needs him more than he can comprehend. Dana Delany is an excellent actress, and she is able to balance her character’s determination to be the best cop possible to “show her dad,” with the vulnerability of a daughter who just needs to know he loves her. Their relationship has to work for the movie to work, and I think they both do a great job. The other standout performance in the film belongs to Xander Berkeley. His portrayal of a husband and businessman, who also happens to be a vicious serial killer, is truly creepy and gives the movie a disturbing edge. On a side note, Berkeley’s “wife” in the film is played by actress Kim Weeks. She and Charles Bronson would get married in 1998, and they would be together until his death in 2003.

Overall, I think DONATO AND DAUGHTER is well worth watching as both a cop thriller and a family drama, although I do think the thriller elements work the best. It’s not the most groundbreaking or original story you’ll ever see, but the film is elevated greatly by the iconic presence of Charles Bronson and the strong performances by Dana Delany and Xander Berkeley. I give it a solid recommendation! The trailer is included below: