Don Bajema Movies
- 1996
- R
With a cast comprised of a few professional and many more non professional actors and a realistic, earth setting, this independent drama of a young pool shark's decision whether or not to turn pro rings convincing and true. Most of the tale is set at the Crab Tree, a funky East Bay, San Francisco poolhall run by the aging curmudgeon, Pop. Pop and his real son have a tense relationship and frequently bicker. It is very different with his informally adopted on, T.C., a talented pool huckster who wandered into his bar two decades before as an orphaned 12-year-old. Though T.C. has the stuff to make it as a professional billiards player, he lacks ambition and no amount of cajoling from either Pop or his girl friend Lois seems to make him want to stop scamming nickel and dime winnings out of suckers, for though he really is good, T.C. remains unsure of himself. Then Pop gets diagnosed with throat cancer. To pay for the life-saving operation, loyal T.C. decides to overcome his fears and try to make it as a pro. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Lenny (Tom Sizemore) is the kind of man who simply cannot get through the day without messing up, or suffering some amazing piece of bad luck. As a consequence, he has lost every one of the jobs his uncle has set him up with. That's how he loses his job as a gas station attendant: he leaves the place to ferry Eloise, a particularly good-looking girl, to a job interview. She looks like a good thing for him though, and they move in together, despite a lack of funds. Soon, he even loses his job at a porno flick, when that gets raided by the police. Oddly, he is almost insanely jealous of Eloise's former boyfriends. After the pair of them become homeless, he cooks up a scheme to recoup some money that proves he is completely clueless, once and for all. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Sizemore, Pam Gidley, (more)
Punk icons Lydia Lunch and Henry Rollins star in this cult drama about a pregnant pianist named Hedda whose marriage to husband Neal (Don Bajema) hits the skids with the sudden appearance of a mysterious stranger. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lydia Lunch, Don Bajema, (more)
This underrated teen-revenge horror film starring Stephen Geoffreys (Fright Night) was the directorial debut of Robert Englund, best known as Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Geoffreys plays Hoax, a picked-on nerd who lives with his religious-nut mother Lucy (the marvelous Sandy Dennis). One day Hoax calls a 976-line for a "Horrorscope," and the demonic voice at the other end starts giving him wicked advice. Before long, he has killed his brother's girlfriend with tarantulas, slashed the face of a teen tough with his newly-sprouted talons, and gutted several of his tormentors. Only a well-meaning journalist and a sexy schoolmarm can stop the now-demonic Hoax before he sends the whole neighborhood straight to Hell. Granted, the screenplay is rather confused and slow-moving, but Geoffreys and Dennis are great, the effects work by Kevin Yagher is skillful, and this is one of the few teen-horror films with characters that are actually interesting. Look for Robert Picardo (The Howling) in a fun cameo as the diabolical Mark Darke. After a brief stint as a teen star, Geoffreys went on to appear in gay porn films as "Sam Ritter." ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Geoffreys, Jim Metzler, (more)
Rob Nilsson both directed and starred in Heat and Sunlight. Nilsson plays a San Francisco photographer who has trouble curbing his obsessions. He falls in love with dancer Consuelo Faust, then is unable to shake off his violently jealous impulses when the ardor cools. The musical score by David Byrne and Brian Eno successfully conveys the seismic disturbances in Nilsson's troubled psyche. The film itself lacks cohesiveness, though the individual sequences are for the most part worthwhile. Heat and Sunlight has enough exposed skin and profanity to fully warrant its R rating. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rob Nilsson, Consuelo Faust, (more)
Signal 7 is cab-driver jargon; if you want to know what it means, please treat yourself to this breezy low-budget effort. Shot on location in San Francisco, the film concentrates on the exploits of cabbies Speed (Bill Ackridge) and Marty (Dan Leegant). Their day-to-day adventures and misadventures are punctuated by their reactions to various large and small crises, and their oft-elucidated hopes of becoming actors. Lensed on videotape, Signal 7 was transferred to 35-millimeter stock for its theatrical showings. Given the fact that it sounds as though the actors were making it up as they went along, we shouldn't be too taken aback that Signal 7 was dedicated to pioneer improv filmmaker John Cassavetes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bill Ackridge, Dan Leegant, (more)
