Jo Johnston Movies
Actor Bruce Willis and writer/director M. Night Shyamalan reunite after the surprise success of The Sixth Sense for this supernatural thriller. David Dunne (Willis) is taking a train from New York City back home to Philadelphia after a job interview that didn't go well when his car jumps the tracks and collides with an oncoming engine, with David the only survivor among the 131 passengers on board. Astoundingly, David is not only alive, he hardly seems to have been touched. As David wonders what has happened to him and why he was able to walk away, he encounters a mysterious stranger, Elijah Prince (Samuel L. Jackson), who explains to David that there are a certain number of people who are "unbreakable" -- they have remarkable endurance and courage, a predisposition toward dangerous behavior, and feel invincible but also have strange premonitions of terrible events. Is David "unbreakable"? And if he is, what are the physical and psychological ramifications of this knowledge? Unbreakable also stars Robin Wright-Penn as Audrey, David's wife; the supporting cast includes Spencer Treat Clark and Joey Perillo. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, (more)
This effort from exploitation auteur Jack Hill was a profitable early entry in one of the most beloved subgenres of sexploitation cinema, the cheerleader movie. The soap opera-styled premise focuses on the lives of a squad of cheerleaders at Mesa University. Mary Ann (Colleen Camp) is worried with trying to get her roving football player boyfriend, Buck, to settle down and marry her; Lisa (Rosanne Katon) is caught up an in an affair with the married Professor Torpe (Jason Sommers); and Andrea (Rainbeaux Smith) frets over whether or not to give her virginity up. There is also a new cheerleader named Kate (Jo Johnston), who is actually a journalism student using the experience to write a feminist-slanted paper for her thesis. Kate soon learns that the cheerleaders and football players deserve more respect than she gives them and also uncovers a secret gambling ring involving the coach, Professor Torpe, and Mary Ann's father. The narrative that results from these surprisingly involved plot threads delivers all the raciness the title promises, and, thanks to the gambling subplot, even a bit of action. The Swinging Cheerleaders is less inspired and kinetic than Hill's other exploitation fare, but it delivers the sexploitation goods and manages to work in a little subversive social commentary to boot. As a result, it became a drive-in hit and earned a cult following amongst fans of drive-in movies. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jo Johnston, Cheryl Smith, (more)
