BEST WORST MOVIE

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-pGYXz-hnJdod2w-s-NmwwuAPTA-eliwgx5MISnyDxsN-LI3XcCPq7osWO8EUIThYlcsjhC2JO_Aiozg2tA7WjO_CDsk9ktAaR-V3Nf2cCpUQCBLr5511XkkfCvtW7yaRRNgMIx8msA/s1600/troll3.jpg"><b><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543198203107076178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-pGYXz-hnJdod2w-s-NmwwuAPTA-eliwgx5MISnyDxsN-LI3XcCPq7osWO8EUIThYlcsjhC2JO_Aiozg2tA7WjO_CDsk9ktAaR-V3Nf2cCpUQCBLr5511XkkfCvtW7yaRRNgMIx8msA/s200/troll3.jpg" style="float: right; height: 181px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></b></a><b>title:</b> BEST WORST MOVIE<br /> <b>year:</b> 2010<br /> <b>cast:</b> George Hardy, Michael Stephenson, Margo Prey, Connie Young, Darren Ewing, Jason Steadman, Claudio Fragasso, Rosella Drudi, James M. Tate<br /> <b>director:</b> Michael Stephenson<br /> <b>rating:</b> ***1/2<br /> <br /> A film in which I appear, as one of many fan/fanatics of the 1990 so-bad-it's-good horror flick TROLL2 (having written an unofficial sequel script), this documentary glosses over yesteryear's making of this amazingly terrible but hilariously engrossing gem while centering primarily on today's George Hardy, who played the patriarch of the "Waits" family who, swapping homes with a local "Nilbog" clan, battles the town's residents: a horde of goblins, not trolls. Hardy, a successful dentist in Alabama, got the role while practicing in Utah - the rest is history. The documentary, helmed by a mostly camera-obscured Michael Stephenson... who played "Joshua", the child actor who starred in the film... follows George at home: then as he greets fans at screenings across America, including an unsuccessful attempt at an autograph show overseas. While it's fun seeing (most of the) fellow cast members laughing about their past, it's Italian director Claudio Fragasso who steals the show as the essential antagonist... he's not sure why his movie's considered so bad, while Hardy and Stephenson embrace this phenomenon, using this documentary as an outlet: with captivating results.

documentary, horror, science-fiction, tens

BEST WORST MOVIE

title: BEST WORST MOVIE year: 2010 cast: George Hardy, Michael Stephenson, Margo Prey, Connie Young, Darren Ewing, Jason Steadman, Clau...

THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXZKSuZHoUwZlnCkvuNiwyvmrGqEALNFYdwXIcJ3YKg2iqNHVZ6VrQ9IOVNg0S20xNwUJRI0h5Y4Lw3-BIU4URmbrFmeY99TGZQID1aJW_rLWQKu7e3rgC2-dOd27LrJ-0cqC7pSCz8I/s1600/deborahwinters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXZKSuZHoUwZlnCkvuNiwyvmrGqEALNFYdwXIcJ3YKg2iqNHVZ6VrQ9IOVNg0S20xNwUJRI0h5Y4Lw3-BIU4URmbrFmeY99TGZQID1aJW_rLWQKu7e3rgC2-dOd27LrJ-0cqC7pSCz8I/s640/deborahwinters.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1970 cast: Eli Wallach, Deborah Winters, Julie Harris, Stephen McHattie rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> A psychedelic-era cult film about a suburban family with problems beneath the surface, headlined by rebellious teenager "Maxie," played by Deborah Winters who, when not freaking out on bad acid, scrutinizes her parent's shortcomings: like booze and hypocrisy.<br /> <br /> Eli Wallach is terrific as the drink-after-work patriarch, as are Stephen McHattie as the hippie son and wife Julie Harris, whose hard-nosed lecture to Maxie in a mental institution provides an explosive, and perhaps even effective, climax. But it's Deborah Winters alone, who, with a brooding reserve as intense as the drug-induced tirades, provides an underlying "vibe" throughout: where <i>anything </i>can happen... at <i>any</i> time. </div>

cloris leachman, deborah winters, drama, eli wallach, hal holbrook, julie harris, rug culture, seventies, stephen mchattie

THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR

year: 1970 cast: Eli Wallach, Deborah Winters, Julie Harris, Stephen McHattie rating: ***1/2 A psychedelic-era cult film about a suburb...

SPLICE

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFeA9ICEC7CRrN2OjnVTOQLumvvFWnIorROxSk0aJ2kLb0BEJf3PzYxikK8VDglVP-sSAk_iP7dN3QRIj6oJbY7Usd_ast8pe_fkTeYY1oIhxqT5F7q3BrG_9wzvgg8tOojtVhfW0oRU/s1600/splice_14.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540980010968562034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFeA9ICEC7CRrN2OjnVTOQLumvvFWnIorROxSk0aJ2kLb0BEJf3PzYxikK8VDglVP-sSAk_iP7dN3QRIj6oJbY7Usd_ast8pe_fkTeYY1oIhxqT5F7q3BrG_9wzvgg8tOojtVhfW0oRU/s200/splice_14.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 176px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><strong>title:</strong> SPLICE<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 2010</div><div><strong>year:</strong> Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chaneac, David Hewlett</div><div><strong>rating</strong>: **1/2</div><br /><div></div><div>The names of the two scientists, "Clive" (for "Frankenstein" actor Colin Clive) and "Elsa" (ala Elsa Lanchester, "The Bride of Frankenstein") is a nod to laboratory-set horror films and a prediction of what's to come. Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley create their own "monster" using animal, reptile and human DNA, thus resulting in a female creature resembling a Jurassic Park dilophosaurus till becoming a gorgeous winged teen bent on rebellion. It's involving till the last half hour when the couple move their untamed beast to a rural farmhouse, where there's not enough stuff to do, or people to kill.</div>

adrien brody, horror, sarah polley, suspense, zeroes

SPLICE

title: SPLICE year: 2010 year: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chaneac, David Hewlett rating : **1/2 The names of the two scientists...

TRACKS

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBoQ2A4e6Q_kA0bDhE4FLMdjKg-qxkW4bahcDHLrCu-2F1vHF874Yw3wzH8oOvEUP69xPx7gbFPgqfKDhZZJadx9peKqhAJ2BEgiAwFO79OdyADuKBks-YVjSEzkSPqzXckUn5KDAqYs/s1600/tracks.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540975813114161122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBoQ2A4e6Q_kA0bDhE4FLMdjKg-qxkW4bahcDHLrCu-2F1vHF874Yw3wzH8oOvEUP69xPx7gbFPgqfKDhZZJadx9peKqhAJ2BEgiAwFO79OdyADuKBks-YVjSEzkSPqzXckUn5KDAqYs/s200/tracks.jpg" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px; float: right; height: 144px;" /></a><strong>title:</strong> TRACKS<br /><div><div><strong>year:</strong> 1977</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Dennis Hopper, Dean Stockwell, Taryn Swope, Zack Norman, Michael Emil</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> **</div><br /><div>Before settling into character-driven films where the camera stayed in one or two settings, allowing the viewer to "realize" a plot through documentary-like conversation, Henry Jaglom used this same device in a train odyssey with Dennis Hopper, during the height of his real life drug use, playing a Vietnam vet escorting a dead soldier's body for burial. Hopper's too old and spaced-out for a soldier, especially one lusted-upon by young college lass Taryn Swope: unrealistically forgiving for his sporadic eccentricities. A meandering journey that even Dean Stockwell, Zack Norman and Michael Emil (the last two starring in Jaglom's next road movie, SITTING DUCKS, with terrific results) can't save. </div></div>

dean stockwell, dennis hopper, henry jaglom, michael emil, zack norman

TRACKS

title: TRACKS year: 1977 cast: Dennis Hopper, Dean Stockwell, Taryn Swope, Zack Norman, Michael Emil rating: ** Before settling into cha...

MAHOGANY

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2WrzgwkoVYr-vdScp-VxS7767sIB-lx7OxCeeGo3swR2cUCHX5skTCavDA9n-p1_DaWqrG-iy5hjYcwo1Bl9D9igKDloUd1c6buHZFQPsS9btvE_xv-d6UZpkWrV6um5HOoGzwxgDic/s1600/mahogony.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540958130826577474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2WrzgwkoVYr-vdScp-VxS7767sIB-lx7OxCeeGo3swR2cUCHX5skTCavDA9n-p1_DaWqrG-iy5hjYcwo1Bl9D9igKDloUd1c6buHZFQPsS9btvE_xv-d6UZpkWrV6um5HOoGzwxgDic/s200/mahogony.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 114px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><strong>title:</strong> MAHOGANY<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 1975</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Diana Ross, Anthony Perkins, Billy Dee Williams</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> **</div><br /><div></div><div>Odd pairing of eccentric Anthony Perkins, as a famously flitting photographer, and Diana Ross, as a would-be fashion designer stuck in a nowhere job... Perkins turning Ross into a famous model in Italy... is distracted with Ross's mundane relationship with Billy Dee Williams, a temperamental political climber in the slums of Chicago. "Mahogany" must choose between being Perkin's famous puppet or William's non-famous one. Her final choice is predictable, leading to a dull conclusion. </div>

anthony perkins, billy dee williams, blaxploitation, diana ross, seventies

MAHOGANY

title: MAHOGANY year: 1975 cast: Diana Ross, Anthony Perkins, Billy Dee Williams rating: ** Odd pairing of eccentric Anthony Perkins, as...

THAT MAN BOLT

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJz30RaXhwWP8vGMN12UUy1MlrPC18Y_30H1jwJ2_SFMN8Me8XQD7ScosiDR58LKr03N-uvqjTSQ7mtuA9Dc0-lEsqPoVwoc8e8WDfg2NheR-tV7x2D8Ju1mFd-xOSL2e0pUg1-WghwRk/s1600/bolt.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538463365184624850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJz30RaXhwWP8vGMN12UUy1MlrPC18Y_30H1jwJ2_SFMN8Me8XQD7ScosiDR58LKr03N-uvqjTSQ7mtuA9Dc0-lEsqPoVwoc8e8WDfg2NheR-tV7x2D8Ju1mFd-xOSL2e0pUg1-WghwRk/s200/bolt.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 194px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 141px;" /></a><b>title:</b> THAT MAN BOLT<br /> <div> <div> <b>year:</b> 1973</div> <div> <b>cast:</b> Fred Williamson</div> <div> <b>rating:</b> ***1/2</div> <br /> <div> More Bond than Blaxploitation, this nifty adventure stars Fred Williamson as dapper badass Jefferson Bolt, with a lotta cash the bad guys want: but he's holding on no matter what's thrown at him. Ever-moving action makes up for a thin plot. Beautiful girls, a thug-ridden casino, big explosions on an island fortress: you can't ask for more... except maybe further adventures with the title character, which unfortunately never happened. </div> </div>

action, blaxploitation, fred williamson, seventies

THAT MAN BOLT

title: THAT MAN BOLT year: 1973 cast: Fred Williamson rating: ***1/2 More Bond than Blaxploitation, this nifty adventure stars...

DEAD & BURIED

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfG7T2CG-YVk06Ok1cAsaGjzIyn4JXCKCqYJq8-sVlu9y4PtKIUm4P-1ukYsB-tUJ3jWRmFiLixDJEQETS_WPdmGC3BzsrZufKngiL3086RiXHtsWGXcF5v5A5Gc64ozaAVlSHMP791Y/s1600/fQ5NA7cOH58BcxnNqxV51E5o5iu.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfG7T2CG-YVk06Ok1cAsaGjzIyn4JXCKCqYJq8-sVlu9y4PtKIUm4P-1ukYsB-tUJ3jWRmFiLixDJEQETS_WPdmGC3BzsrZufKngiL3086RiXHtsWGXcF5v5A5Gc64ozaAVlSHMP791Y/s1600/fQ5NA7cOH58BcxnNqxV51E5o5iu.jpg" /></a></div> <div> </div> Eighties horror/suspense centers on a small town where dead folks return to life, but instead of becoming the typical moaning, sleepwalking zombies they're as normal as can be.<br /> <div> <br /> The local sheriff, James Farentino, investigates with sporadic advise from the elderly undertaker/plastic surgeon, Jack Albertson, but Melody Anderson, as Farantino's off-kilter stepford wife, and Lisa Blount (who died last week) as a gorgeous, and very lethal, hospital nurse, provide the real kicks.<br /> <br /> Jolts of music occurring each time a dead person unexpectedly reemerges into society is effectively chilling. And while the ending is quite predictable, this is a "walking dead" flick with style, substance and originality. </div>

eighties, horror, james farentino, lisa blount, melody anderson, suspense, zombie

DEAD & BURIED

Eighties horror/suspense centers on a small town where dead folks return to life, but instead of becoming the typical moaning, sleepwalk...

TOY STORY 3

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUS5ZIl9le4MwiVccWCIH8gD_uNu3C_0jTOwiOfuaNgHX0k1XjFALeDCT6lwwldAjnU7Rpa7ixCXObd8-K8IHASs-qRZ5lAz5u72UifiEVUe82hg-POFDEldV1XfSwqkuDvw7oih7fps/s1600/toy+story3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536147080283621138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUS5ZIl9le4MwiVccWCIH8gD_uNu3C_0jTOwiOfuaNgHX0k1XjFALeDCT6lwwldAjnU7Rpa7ixCXObd8-K8IHASs-qRZ5lAz5u72UifiEVUe82hg-POFDEldV1XfSwqkuDvw7oih7fps/s200/toy+story3.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 181px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><strong>title:</strong> TOY STORY 3<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 2010</div><div><strong>voices:</strong> Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Michael Keaton, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> ****</div><br /><div></div><div>The third (and possibly final) outing of the TOY STORY franchise is liken to an exploitation prison flick including the genre's staple elements: an evil warden, his ruthless henchmen, solitary confinement, and even good old fashion torture! The prison here is a daycare center, seeming like paradise at first and then becoming a nightmarish hellride our heroes must not only escape from, but their ultimate goal... to reach Andy's house before he ventures to college... adds suspenseful momentum equal, if not exceeding, the original. A prolonged death-impending sequence involving a flaming junkyard incinerator may be too intense for young children.</div>

computer animated, disney, michael keaton, ned beatty, pixar, prison, tens, tom hanks, wallace shawn

TOY STORY 3

title: TOY STORY 3 year: 2010 voices: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Michael Keaton, Joan Cusack, N...