Reid Cruickshanks Movies
What does a biographer do when the truth about his subject is far less pleasant than the legend? That is the moral dilemma at the heart of Cobb, which explores the lives of both baseball's premier hitter, Ty Cobb (Tommy Lee Jones), and the sportswriter assigned to set his story down, Al Stump (Robert Wuhl). Stump arrives at the Tahoe home of the dying Cobb to write the official life story of the first man inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. He finds a drunken, misanthropic, bitter racist who abuses his biographer as well as everyone else. Stump must either candycoat his subject's life or present an accurate picture of a disgusting man who happened to become an American sports hero. The movie's biting focus on Cobb, ferociously performed by Jones, is not matched by its weaker representation of Stump, an imbalance which ultimately weakens the film's overall effect. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Wuhl, (more)
Hollywood visionary Tim Burton pays homage to another Hollywood visionary, albeit a less successful one, in this unusual fictionalized biography. The film follows Wood (Johnny Depp) in his quest for film greatness as he writes and directs turkey after turkey, cross-dresses, and surrounds himself with a motley crew of Hollywood misfits, outcasts, has-beens, and never-weres. The real story, however, is his friendship with aging, morphine-addicted Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau), whom he tries to help stage a comeback. Landau's unforgettable Oscar-winning performance must be seen to be believed, as must Rick Baker's Oscar-winning makeup. While it would have been easy to make a film simply ridiculing the bumbling director, Burton instead focuses on his driving passion for filmmaking and his unwavering persistence in the face of ridicule and failure. Possibly the most surprising aspect of the film is the genuine sentiment with which Burton treats the relationship between Wood and Lugosi; his devotion to Lugosi is touching, as is Lugosi's final soliloquy -- an inane bit of dialogue from the hilariously bad Bride of the Monster that grows into a poignant metaphor for the actor's life and ultimate triumph of his spirit. Even the look of the film is right; it manages to preserve the air of one of Wood's own films while retaining a sense of artistry in much of the composition on screen (note the scene at the drug rehab where Lugosi endures a horrifying night of detox). In all, Ed Wood is a unique film -- at times side-splittingly funny; at others, tragic or even frightening -- and a heartfelt tribute to the love of movies, good and bad alike. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, (more)
Music video director Amy Goldstein made her feature film debut in this revenge thriller that plays like a knockoff of La Femme Nikita and Ms. 45. Lynette Walden stars as Angel, a woman from the streets dressed up in leather togs, who has been programmed to kill all men who get their kicks exploiting women. She receives her assignments through a video arcade game called "Silencer" in an upscale Los Angeles bar. After Angel receives her marching orders, she efficiently dispatches a collection of low-life pimps and batterers and spends her downtime with Tony (Paul Ganus), a man obsessed with Christian iconography. But a cog is thrown into Angel's smooth-running death machine by George (Chris Mulkey), an ex-lover who stalks her as she performs her killings. Clearly, a confrontation with George is at hand. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynette Walden, Chris Mulkey, (more)
Chevy Chase added a classic comic hero to the film landscape with Fletch, one of his few truly popular star vehicles in a famously misguided post-Saturday Night Live career. Chase plays Irwin M. Fletcher, known to everyone as Fletch, a Los Angeles Lakers-loving investigative reporter with a gleeful disdain for deadlines and a knack for pushing the buttons of his frustrated editor (Richard Libertini). He's also known for donning numerous disguises and assuming zany false identities to help gain information. While pursuing an ongoing story about a powerful drug dealer who operates from Venice Beach, he comes across an intriguing offshoot in which he becomes intimately involved. Aviation executive Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) has an unusual proposition for Fletch: If Fletch agrees to an elaborate plan to kill him, for reasons Stanwyk refuses to divulge beyond explaining that he has bone cancer, Fletch will walk away with a healthy sum of money and a plane ticket to Brazil. Curious yet suspicious by profession, Fletch begins investigating Stanwyk's true motives, which leads him through numerous misadventures. Among them are a visit to a stuffy country club; a high-speed car chase with an unwitting passenger; repeat encounters with Stanwyk's wife (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), although she may not be his only one; and a trip to Provo -- that's Utah, not Spain. Inspired by a novel of the same name by Gregory McDonald, Fletch went from thriller to comedy as it was adapted into a vehicle for Chase. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, (more)
- 1985
The first wedding anniversary of Vera (Beth Howland) and her policeman husband Elliot (Charles Levin) threatens to be a disaster from the word "go". Not only is Vera unable to pry her husband away from his professional duties, but she can't even get him to remember their "special song"--until she gets arrested! The singing quartet The Indian River Boys (John George Campbell, Stephen Tolman, Curry Worsham and Rick Cox) weave in and out of the proceedings as a Greek Chorus of cops and jailbirds, while future political pundit Bill Maher and onetime Grease costar Barry Pearl (he was the original "Doody") show up as police officers. With this episode, Alice moved from Sundays to Tuesdays, where it would remain for the rest of its run. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky's second American film may well be the only existential adventure flick in Hollywood history. Two prisoners, Manny (Jon Voight) and Buck (Eric Roberts), escape from a desolate Alaskan maximum-security facility. They hop aboard a speeding train, making a clean escape. But the engineer has suffered a heart attack, and the train goes out of control. To prevent a disastrous head-on collision, the railroad heads decide to derail the runaway train, killing its occupants to save the lives of hundreds of others. Once Manny catches on to what's happening, he tries to jump off the train, only to be talked out of such a foolhardy act by railroad employee Sara (Rebecca DeMornay). As doom approaches, Manny apparently goes mad, viciously preventing any attempts to stop the train or rescue its passengers: if he's to die, and if the others are to be saved, it will be on his terms, or no terms. Runaway Train was slated as a project for Akira Kurosawa in 1970, but for various creative and scheduling reasons, it remained on the back burner for 15 years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, (more)
Director Jonathan Demme made one of his more conventional movies with Swing Shift, an examination of life on the American home front during WWII. Goldie Hawn, who also served as the film's producer, stars as Kay, a woman who takes a job on the line at a plant producing war planes after her husband goes off to fight in Europe. One of her coworkers is her best friend Hazel, played by Christine Lahti, whose performance earned an Oscar nomination and a New York Film Critics award. Kay falls in love with another coworker, Lucky (Kurt Russell), who couldn't enlist because of a weak heart. Kay's husband Jack (Ed Harris) comes home on leave and finds out that his wife has betrayed him. Lucky then decides to pursue Hazel, driving a wedge between the two best friends. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, (more)
- 1984
Dana Elcar of MacGyver fame guest-stars as accountant George Olson, whose daughter Jenny (Leah Ayres) has been kidnapped to prevent him from testifying against mobster Tommy Largo (Michael Baseleon). It turns out that both George and Jenny are mere pawns in a power play between Largo and the real villain of the piece, Eddie Devane (Steven Williams). In their efforts to save the day, the A-Team succeeds only in making matters worse--at least at first. Watch for the fleeting but funny reference to Land of the Lost! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The original 1946 Dark Mirror starred Olivia de Havilland as twin sisters, one of whom has committed a murder. Since each twin can provide an alibi for the other, a rumpled detective (Thomas Mitchell) and a handsome shrink (Lew Ayres) are compelled to get to the truth through patience and not a little sneakiness. Dark Mirror was remade as a TV movie in 1984, this time with Jane Seymour in the "leads" and Vincent Gardenia as the detective. Seymour has a field day alternating between the good and bad twin; would that the audience was having as much fun. There really isn't any point to this dour remake, except perhaps to honor a contractual commitment to Jane Seymour, whose playing is so ripe that we secretly hope both twins will get the chair. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- R
In this loud teen movie, a motley crew of youths, ranging from the rainbow-haired King Vidiot (Jonathan Gries), to Eugene the king nerd (Leif Green) and a washed-up video freak descend to the usual level of tricks to keep their video arcade from being shut down by a businessman (Joe Don Baker) who believes the games are a threat to the mental health of today's youth. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Don Baker, Leif Green, (more)
- 1983
- R
This made-for-TV comedy postulates that, someday, members of carpools will be selected by computer. The four so anointed herein are Harvey Korman, Peter Scolari, T.K. Carter and Stephanie Faracy. Their lives go along in their usual luckless fashion until the quarter of mismatched "poolers" find themselves in possession of a million dollars that has fallen from an armored car. But ex-cop Ernest Borgnine has his eyes on the loot as well, and the chase is on. Basically a bargain-basement It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Carpool first aired October 5, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Ex-Vietnam chopper pilot Roy Scheider is now in charge of Blue Thunder, a high-tech copter designed to quell possible terrorism during the 1984 LA Olympics. His onetime comrade-in-arms Malcolm McDowell, now his bitter enemy, will stop at nothing to neutralize Blue Thunder and expedite an armed takeover of the United States. Well, there's the plot: now sit back and enjoy those eye-popping aerial scenes. Blue Thunder was later adapted into a weekly TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Scheider, Malcolm McDowell, (more)
Straight-laced Henry Winkler takes a night-shift job as a morgue attendant. Winkler falls under the spell of wheeler-dealer coworker Michael Keaton, whose catchphrase "Is this a great country or what?" is the clarion call for his many get-rich-quick schemes. His latest plan is to turn the morgue into a nocturnal brothel, for the benefit of anything-goes hooker Shelley Long-and incidentally, to line their own pockets. Director Ron Howard and his frequent scripters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel turn the potentially lurid story material of Night Shift into an endearing comedy, with winning performances from its three often miscast stars. Keep an eye out during one of the party sequences for Kevin Costner as a carousing college boy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton, (more)
A variation on the "buddy-cop" hybridized genre, 48 HRS. greatly bolstered the career of Nick Nolte and made comedian Eddie Murphy a bonafide box-office sensation. When a pair of reckless cop-killers break out of prison, grizzled detective Jack Cates (Nolte) is left no alternative but to spring fast-talking hustler Reggie Hammond (Murphy) from the penitentiary in order to find the criminals. The catch: the pair only have 48 hours to complete their assignment before Hammond must return to prison. Naturally, the two despise each other and even engage in fisticuffs, but eventually the danger facing them proves a strong enough common bond for them to play on the same team, and even achieve a little mutual admiration. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, (more)
This sequel to Every Which Way But Loose finds Philo Beddoe (Clint Eastwood) on the road, orangutan companion Clyde in tow, as he makes his way as a bare-knuckle fighter. The action begins with Philo punching out a new victim while Clyde relieves himself on the seat of a police car, setting the tone for the rest of the story. From there, Philo and Clyde return home, where Philo, who still lives with Ma (Ruth Gordon), is offered a contest with Jack Wilson (William Smith), the Mafia-sponsored East Coast bare-knuckle champ. Philo inadvertently saves Wilson's life, but then the Mafia kidnaps his girlfriend (Sondra Locke) to force him to go ahead with the match. Philo and Wilson team up to battle the Mob, but somehow they end up fighting anyway in a grueling climactic sequence. Country music, bikers, the Mafia, an orangutan, pick-up trucks, defecation jokes, fighting, drinking, and swearing -- it's all here in this lowbrow comic stew. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, (more)
- 1980
William Allen Young guest stars as Ernie, the ne'er-do-well cousin of the Jeffersons' housekeeper, Florence (Marla Gibbs). In dire need of 1,000 dollars, Ernie prevails upon Florence to borrow the money from her boss, George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley). George refuses, insisting that Ernie is a crook -- an assertion that Florence spends the rest of the episode trying to disprove. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, (more)
- 1978
This made-for-TV movie relates the true story of the infamous Donner Party, the group of unlucky pioneers who were stranded in the Rockies by a snowstorm and had to eat the bodies of the dead to survive. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Season Four of M*A*S*H (now moved to Friday evenings) begins with the ever-irritating Maj. Frank Burns (Larry Linville) assuming command of the 4077th after the death of easygoing Col. Henry Blake. Returning from an R-and-R session, Hawkeye (Alan Alda) discovers that his old buddy Trapper John (Wayne Rogers) has been shipped out without so much as a goodbye. The sullen Hawkeye is then sent Kimpo to pick up Trapper's clean-cut replacement, B.J. Hunnicut (Mike Farrell in his first series appearance), whose spotless record leads Frank and Hot Lips (Loretta Swit) to the premature conclusion that, at long last, the joyful slovenliness of the 4077th will be replaced by traditional military spit-and-polish. The first of the series' 60-minute "special" episodes, Welcome to Korea has since been divided into two half-hour episodes for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
In the conclusion of M*A*S*H's Season Four opener, Hawkeye (Alan Alda) escorts B. J. Hunnicut (Mike Farrell), the likeable replacement of Hawkeye's old pal Trapper John, back to the 4077th. En route, B.J. gets his first taste of "surgery under fire"--and Hawkeye realizes that he's found a kindred spirit. Imagine the surprise of strutting martinet Frank Burns (Larry Linville) when the "strait-laced" B.J. turns out to be just as cheeky and irreverent as Hawkeye; clearly, it's going to be business as usual for the rest of the War. The first of the series' 60-minute "special" episodes, Welcome to Korea has since been divided into two half-hour episodes for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Several years ago, journalist Jerry Porter (John Carter) conspired with Greg Davidson (Robert Foxworth) in a blackmail scheme, but Porter managed to avoid arrest while allowing Davidson to take the rap. Adding insult to injury, Porter has been lavishly spending the blackmail money while Davidson has been languishing in prison. Now, however Davidson has escaped--and he's thirsting for revenge. A very young Annette O'Toole plays a key role in this thrill-packed episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
"Who are you?" the dwarf Mordecai (Billy Curtis) asks Clint Eastwood's Stranger at the end of Eastwood's 1973 western High Plains Drifter. "You know," he replies, before vanishing into the desert heat waves near California's Mono Lake. Adapting the amorally enigmatic and violent Man With No Name persona from his films with Sergio Leone, Eastwood's second film as director begins as his drifter emerges from that heat haze and rides into the odd lakefront settlement of Lago. Lago's residents are not particularly friendly, but once the Stranger shows his skills as a gunfighter, they beg him to defend them against a group of outlaws (led by Eastwood regular Geoffrey Lewis) who have a score to settle with the town. He agrees to train them in self-defense, but Mordecai and innkeeper's wife Sarah Belding (Verna Bloom) soon suspect that the Stranger has another, more personal agenda. By the time the Stranger makes the corrupt community paint their town red and re-name it "Hell," it is clear that he is not just another gunslinger. With its fragmented flashbacks and bizarre, austere locations, High Plains Drifter's stylistic eccentricity lends an air of unsettling eeriness to its revenge story, adding an uncanny slant to Eastwood's antiheroic westerner. Seminal western hero John Wayne was so offended by Eastwood's harshly revisionist view of a frontier town that he wrote to Eastwood, objecting that this was not what the spirit of the West was all about. Eastwood's audience, however, was not so put off, and an exhibitors' poll named Eastwood a top box-office draw for 1973. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom, (more)
This breathlessly paced high-tech thriller stars Sean Connery as Anderson, a career criminal who's just been released from his latest prison term. Seeking a quick financial turnover, Anderson uses mob funding to finance an ambitious robbery. With a gang of expert thieves, Anderson sets about to rob every wealthy tenant of a fancy East Side apartment building. What he doesn't know is that every move he makes is being monitored and taped by several law-enforcement agencies, who hope that Anderson will lead them to the Mob kingpins. Though the film may look like a "comment" on the Watergate break-in, The Anderson Tapes actually preceded that third-rate burglary by nearly two years. The Anderson Tapes boasts an impressive supporting cast, many of whom play wildly against type, including Alan King as an aging and infirm Mafia don. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, (more)
Peter Boyle delivers a strong and raw performance as Joe Curran, a racist factory worker who hates "hippies and niggers." The film deals with New York City advertising executive Bill Compton (Dennis Patrick), who kills Frank (Patrick McDermott), the junkie lover of his daughter Melissa (Susan Sarandon, in her film debut), when she ends up in a mental hospital after suffering an overdose of speed. Stunned by his rage, Bill goes into a bar and comes upon Joe, who discovers the murder and holds Bill in great esteem for his killing of the long-haired drug pusher, congratulating Bill on a job well done. The two begin a class-spanning friendship. When Melissa escapes from the hospital, after finding out that her father killed her boyfriend, Bill and Joe comb Greenwich Village to find her. When they come upon a hippie pot party, the two reactionaries snap, pull out their guns, and go on a killing spree. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Patrick, Peter Boyle, (more)
- 1970
Bernie Travis stars as the late Lenny Bruce, the controversial and profane stand up comic. Bruce divides his time between the sleazy, smoke filled nightclubs and courthouses when he is charged with violating obscenity laws in several states. The battles moralistic lawyers, shady club owners and drugs. The acid tongued comedian confides in girlfriend Iris McCabe (Coutney Sherman) as his legal and drug problems increase his paranoia. He refuses to concede to those who would limit his right to free speech. A powerful scene is his arrest in a New York club that is a prelude to his death by a heroin overdose. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wynn Irwin
- 1961
A rape victim goes through inner turmoil in the days following her suffering the brutal assault. Mary Ann (Carroll Baker) leaves her middle class New York home to wander the mean streets of Manhattan. She is isolated and lonely in spite of being surrounded by people. A kindly garage mechanic befriends the troubled woman on the brink of self destruction - but soon
Mary Ann must ask herself if she can really trust him. Musical score provided by American legend Aaron Copeland. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Mary Ann must ask herself if she can really trust him. Musical score provided by American legend Aaron Copeland. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll Baker, Ralph Meeker, (more)
