Kevin Thompson Movies
Scary Movie screenwriters Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer join forces to parody the "biggest" movies ever to hit the silver screen in this comedy that gives such popular box-office hits as Pirates of the Caribbean and Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe the same treatment that Scary Movie gave to the slasher subgenre. A virtual smorgasbord of spoof, Epic Movie tells the tale of four fully grown orphans: one the victim of snakes that attacked her plane, another raised by a kindly Louvre curator, the third a Mexican "libre" wrestling refuge, and the last an average mutant from an "X"-community. When the curious quartet visits a sprawling chocolate factory, they stumble across a magical wardrobe which transports them to the enchanted land of Gnarnia. It seems that the wondrous fantasy land has recently fallen under the spell of the evil White Bitch (Jennifer Coolidge), and in order to bring peace back to Gnarnia these four bumbling mortals will have to join forces with a charismatic pirate, a painfully sincere group of aspiring wizards, and one particularly libidinous lion. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, (more)
In a land where cartoon characters and flesh-and-blood people work side by side, one little black duck lands in a big pot of trouble in this comedy, which brings the beloved Looney Tunes characters into the real world. Daffy Duck (voice of Joe Alaskey) has grown tired of his status as Warner Bros.' leading avian second fiddle and demands that if he can't be given equal billing with his rival Bugs Bunny (also voiced by Alaskey), he wants to be released from his contract. Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman), Warners' vice president in charge of comedy, is way ahead of Daffy and orders studio stuntman D.J. Drake (Brendan Fraser) to kick the duck off the studio lot. D.J. soon discovers getting rid of Daffy is no easy task, and the duck is in tow when Drake makes a startling discovery -- his father Damien Drake (Timothy Dalton), a movie star best know for playing ultra-suave secret agents, really is a secret agent, and he's been kidnapped by Mr. Chairman (Steve Martin), the evil leader of the monolithic Acme Corporation. Damien knows the secret hiding place of the priceless Blue Monkey Diamond and Mr. Chairman will stop at nothing to get it, so D.J. and Daffy set out to rescue Damien and save the diamond, one step behind Acme's musclemen and one step ahead of Kate and Bugs, who now realize how important Daffy is to the Looney Tunes franchise. Looney Tunes: Back in Action also stars Heather Locklear as a lounge singer working for Yosemite Sam (voice of Steve Babiar), Joan Cusack, John Cleese, Stan Freberg, and Roger Corman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, (more)
- 1994
"Deception" is the operative word in this episode, wherein Cory (Ben Savage) and Shawn (Rider Strong) try to sneak an R-rated video into the Matthews house right under the nose of their babysitter--who happens to be Cory's eternal nemesis Mr. Feeny (William Daniels). Also, Eric (Will Friedle) tries to hide the fact that he's flunked his driver's test so that he'll still be able to go out on dates. Not unexpectedly, both Cory and Eric end up in the doghouse; what IS unexpected are those earrings that somehow have come into Mr. Feeny's possession! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
After one of his practical jokes misfires--literally!--at Alan's store, a desperate Shawn (Rider Strong) hides out in Cory's room. Before long, everyone catches on that Cory (Ben Savage) has a secret, but they say nothing until they're able to gently persuade our hero to fess up. In a pivotal moment, Cory must demonstrate that he doesn't have to lie on Shawn's behalf to prove his friendship--and to prove to Shawn that the world will not end if he admits his wrongdoing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- PG
Though Adventures in Dinosaur City predates We're Back, the two films make good companion pieces. The "live action" characters-a bunch of precocious pre-teens-are zapped back to prehistoric times. We've established that the kids idolize a group of animated TV-series dinosaurs, so guess who they meet in the flesh (so to speak)? In the manner of the "Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm" segments of the various 1980s Flintstones revivals, the kids help the dinosaurs solve Jurassic-era crimes. It's all a great deal of fun, but at 88 minutes it may be a bit too wearing for very small children. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omri Katz, Tiffanie Poston, (more)
- 1992
After taking a temporary Holiday job as a mall Santa, Al (Ed O'Neill) commiserates with several fellow Ho-Ho-Ho-ers in a bar. As the liquor flows, Al conjures up memories of Christmases past--as well as all the clever methods he has used to avoid buying his family presents. His favorite tactic was to turn all the Bundys against each other just before December 24th--but this year Peg (Katey Sagal) and the kids have forged a united front against this insidious scheme (which has worked like a charm since 1974 at least!) Highlights include two musical numbers: a Bundy-ized variation of "12 Days of Christmas" and the spirited spoof "Bundy the No-Man". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
One of the key American independent films of the 1990s, Richard Linklater's feature debut is an audacious look at the twentysomething culture in the college town of Austin, Texas. Set over the course of a 24-hour period, the film is a collection of short, unconnected glimpses into the dropout subculture, touching base with a variety of musicians, students, street people and general eccentrics. While there's no real plot to speak of, Linklater's eye for nuance and gift for dialogue are superb, and the portrait he paints is so uncannily accurate that the term "slacker" was almost immediately co-opted as a media buzzword, one interchangeable with the similarly-overused "Generation X." Regardless, the film is an evocative reflection of a community and its culture and remains a definitive artifact of its time and place. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Linklater, Mark James, (more)
This slapstick parody of space movies chronicles the riotous exploits of a group of dim-bulbed, misguided aliens under the mistaken impression that they are supposed to invade the Earth after they hear a rebroadcast of Orson Welles' notorious "War of the Worlds" one Halloween night. Thinking they are late, they rush in with their ramshackle spaceship and end up in Big Bean, Illinois, a peaceful midwestern town. Naturally after they announce they want to kill the "Earth scum," the residents want to kill them. Fortunately, the town sheriff and his daughter try to keep the moronic Martians safe and help their captain get them safely back in space. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Barr, Royal Dano, (more)
Sometimes kids like to do things to gross out or shock their parents. This is only natural, but many companies exploit this tendency by creating toys to appeal to that childish joy in the disgusting. In the late '80s, a new kind of bubblegum card, the Garbage Pail kids, featuring caricature paintings, of ugly, unclean moppets with yukky names such as Greaser Greg and Valerie Vomit, Windy Winston, and Foul Phil, each with an offensive habit, found popularity. This hastily-assembled live-action film-- billing itself as a children's comedy-- was hastily assembled to capitalize on that popularity. Featuring midgets dressed up as the bubblegum card characters, it is the story of an antique collector and his assistant who find a mysterious garbage can from outer-space. The assistant ignores his boss's stern orders not to open the can and frees the Garbage Pail Kids. Now the two must somehow get the raunchy rugrats back into the can before they gross-out the world. Appalled parents found the film, even the very idea of it, so offensive that they launched a nation-wide protest that resulted in its withdrawal from circulation. You've been warned. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Newley, MacKenzie Astin, (more)
- 1987
- PG
While on a dig in Peru, a shady archaeologist uncovers a strange creature, which he dubs a "Munchie." He brings the animal home, but it begins to mutate and procreate--with disastrous results--soon after a con artist kidnaps it. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harvey Korman, Charles Stratton, (more)
Virtually unnoticed during its brief theatrical run, this wildly entertaining horror-comedy achieved healthy cult status following its home-video and cable TV releases. The directorial debut of Fred Dekker (writer of the successful horror parody House), this low-budget effort throws alien monsters, axe-wielding killers, flesh-eating zombies, nudity, and (gasp!) drunken fraternity shenanigans into a blender, spiced with witty one-liners and references to dozens of horror classics (and anti-classics). The result is a satisfying treat that will tickle the tastebuds of horror fans. The film's nominal protagonists are a pair of randy fraternity pledges (Jason Lively, Steve Marshall) who open a literal can of worms when they steal a corpse from the campus medical facility and release a horde of space-leeches, which proceed to infest the bodies of everyone in sight. The host bodies subsequently become homicidal zombies with a penchant for popping in on unsuspecting (and undressing) sorority girls. The town's only hope (such as it is) seems to be a hard-boiled ex-cop (Tom Atkins), who has uncovered the secret link between the zombie invasion and a 30-year-old axe-murder case... and who's also several sandwiches shy of a picnic. Dekker keeps things moving at a brisk pace thanks to some outrageous set-pieces (some of which happen so quickly they'll have viewers reaching for the pause button) and clever dialogue, particularly for Atkins ("Girls, the good news is your dates are here; the bad news is, they're dead"), who dives into his crusty character with relish. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Lively, Steve Marshall, (more)
John Hughes's third directorial effort, Weird Science, follows in the tradition of his previous teen-centered films, Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith play the wannabe hipster Gary and his nebbish weak-willed best friend, Wyatt, a pair of high-school geeks who are hapless with members of the opposite sex. Using Wyatt's computer, they create what they believe is the ideal woman. A lightning storm brings that woman to life, and she takes the form of Kelly Le Brock. Lisa sets about building their self-confidence, but trouble begins brewing when Wyatt's cruel, military-minded older brother, Chet (Bill Paxton), begins to realize that something is not as it should be. Hughes would finish his cycle of high-school themed films with his next movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Michael Hall, Kelly LeBrock, (more)
- 1984
At this late date, it should hardly be necessary to inform viewers that The Ewok Adventure was inspired by those fuzzy little space muppets seen in the 1983 Star Wars sequel Return of the Jedi. This costly made-for-TV film was executive-produced by George Lucas, with special effects provided by Industrial Light and Magic. It was first telecast with great fanfare November 25, 1984; its soundtrack was simulcast on regional FM radio stations to provide a "full stereo" effect. The plot (frankly the least fascinating element of this project) concerns two young kids searching through space for their missing parents. The kids wind up on the forest moon of Endor, where dwell the courageous little Ewoks, commandeered by Wicket (Warwick Davis). The winner of an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program (though not necessarily aimed exclusively at kids), Ewok Adventure was released theatrically as Caravan of Courage. It was followed in 1986 by a TV-movie sequel, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, and by a Saturday-morning cartoon series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- Add Faerie Tale Theatre: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to QueueAdd Faerie Tale Theatre: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to top of Queue
The classic tale of a kind-hearted princess stalked by a jealous stepmother is brought to life in this early episode of Faerie Tale Theatre. Elizabeth McGovern is Snow White, the princess whose stepmother, the queen, banishes her because she is jealous of the girl's beauty. She takes up residence with a septet of friendly dwarfs in the woods, but eventually falls victim to a poisoned apple delivered by the queen in disguise. Only a kiss from a prince (Rex Smith) will awaken her. Veteran actress Vanessa Redgrave portrays the insanely wicked queen, and Vincent Price lends his incomparable voice and screen presence to the film as the queen's omnipresent magic mirror. ~ Carrie Downes, All Movie Guide
In the final episode of the Star Wars saga, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) emerges intact from the carbonite casing in which he'd been sealed in The Empire Strikes Back. The bad news is that Solo, together with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), is prisoner to the grotesque Jabba the Hutt. But with the help of the charismatic Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), our heroes and our heroine manage to escape. The next task is to rid the galaxy of Darth Vader (body by David Prowse, voice by James Earl Jones) and the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid), now in command of a new, under-construction Death Star. On the forest moon Endor, the good guys enlist the help of a feisty bunch of bear-like creatures called the Ewoks in their battle against the Empire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, (more)
A blend of science fiction and noir detective fiction, Blade Runner (1982) was a box office and critical bust upon its initial exhibition, but its unique postmodern production design became hugely influential within the sci-fi genre, and the film gained a significant cult following that increased its stature. Harrison Ford stars as Rick Deckard, a retired cop in Los Angeles circa 2019. L.A. has become a pan-cultural dystopia of corporate advertising, pollution and flying automobiles, as well as replicants, human-like androids with short life spans built by the Tyrell Corporation for use in dangerous off-world colonization. Deckard's former job in the police department was as a talented blade runner, a euphemism for detectives that hunt down and assassinate rogue replicants. Called before his one-time superior (M. Emmett Walsh), Deckard is forced back into active duty. A quartet of replicants led by Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) has escaped and headed to Earth, killing several humans in the process. After meeting with the eccentric Eldon Tyrell (Joe Turkel), creator of the replicants, Deckard finds and eliminates Zhora (Joanna Cassidy), one of his targets. Attacked by another replicant, Leon (Brion James), Deckard is about to be killed when he's saved by Rachael (Sean Young), Tyrell's assistant and a replicant who's unaware of her true nature. In the meantime, Batty and his replicant pleasure model lover, Pris (Darryl Hannah) use a dying inventor, J.F. Sebastian (William Sanderson) to get close to Tyrell and murder him. Deckard tracks the pair to Sebastian's, where a bloody and violent final confrontation between Deckard and Batty takes place on a skyscraper rooftop high above the city. In 1992, Ridley Scott released a popular director's cut that removed Deckard's narration, added a dream sequence, and excised a happy ending imposed by the results of test screenings; these legendary behind-the-scenes battles were chronicled in a 1996 tome, Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner by Paul M. Sammon. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, (more)
