James Van Patten Movies

Lionsgate's money-making franchise is back with this sixth entry in the Saw film series. The editor for all of the previous films, Kevin Greutert, makes his directorial debut with this picture, once again written by Feast writers, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Mel Brooks directed and co-wrote this satiric comedy which lampoons a number of cinematic treatments of the legend of Sherwood Forest, including Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and The Adventures of Robin Hood. Robin Hood (Cary Elwes) comes home after fighting in the Crusades to learn that the noble King Richard (Patrick Stewart) is in exile and that the despotic King John (Richard Lewis) now rules England, with the help of the Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Rees). Robin Hood assembles a band of fellow patriots to do battle with John and the Sheriff, including Asneeze (Isaac Hayes) and his son Ahchoo (Dave Chappelle), the blind watchman Blinkin (Mark Blankfield), Will Scarlet O'Hara (Matthew Porretta), and Rabbi Tuckman (Brooks). The Sheriff is eager to put Robin Hood out of business with the aid of criminal mastermind Don Giovanni (Dom DeLuise), but Robin soon has an ally in the royal palace when he falls for the lovely Maid Marian (Amy Yasbeck), whose minder Broomhilde (Megan Cavanagh) has uncooperatively outfitted Marian with a chastity belt. The cast also includes Tracy Ullman, Robert Ridgely, and Clive Revill. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this futuristic actioner set in the year 2020, guns have become so illegal that even cops cannot use them to stop criminals. But officer James Tucker is a maverick and carries with him an enormous homemade revolver, which he uses to blow away bad-guys and psychotic criminals. His newest assignment is to find the evil Steelmore, who uses drugs to turn his followers into nearly invincible and super-intelligent supermen. He obtains the drug through the pharmaceutical company he blackmails by regularly killing the lovers, wives and associates of high-ranking company executives. The trouble for Tucker really begins when higher-ups take away his gun. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Danny Warren (Edward Albert) is a former minor-league shortstop who becomes a narc to uncover drug dealing in this situation comedy. Investigating at a high-school adult-education class, he falls for the tempting teacher Katherine, played by the exotic Barbara Carrera. Danny forgets the reward of $10,000 per arrest when he elects to continue his "education." He joins a colorful group of characters that includes ex-cons, illegal aliens, and brain-dead baby boomers who cause more trouble than their younger counterparts. Swimming classes and wine tasting serve as background for a series of comic catastrophes. Danny soon suspects Katherine's colleague Mrs. Grant (Susan Tyrell) of being in cahoots with the drug dealers, and Katherine and Mrs. Grant have a prolonged fight scene that is memorably funny. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this actioner, an auto engineer and an auto racer become romantic rivals when they fall for the same wealthy socialite. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In a conventional teen movie that condemns violence in the dialogue then supplies it in the action sequences, a young woman is gang raped and murdered in a California college town, sparking her brother Kevin (James Van Patten) to take up arms by night with a gang of like-minded vigilantes from his fraternity, brutally punishing any miscreants they catch in a criminal act. In the meantime, Kevin debates the issue of violent crime in the U.S. with his teachers and others during the day. As Kevin and his gang head toward a final, bloody confrontation with the low-lifes who murdered his sister, other scenes show the difference between his character, now violent, and the normal people he is supposedly protecting. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This lively film was made to cash in on the roller skating craze that swept Southern California in the late '70s. The story centers upon a poor-little-rich-girl runaway who heads for the Venice boardwalk to join the other hipsters on wheels. She and her new friends then team up to keep an avaricious developer from razing the local roller rink and putting a shopping mall in its stead. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

T.T. (Dennis Christopher), a Midwesterner, has traveled to the beaches of California for a dose of the surfin' life. He believes that the people he finds there are glamorous and knowledgeable. They reject his Midwestern nerdiness, make fun of him, and generally give him a hard time for not fitting in and wanting to. However, eventually he figures out that they are no wiser than he is, and that their lives are surprisingly empty. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this Disney western, Jim Dale plays Eli Bloodshy, and his twin sons Wild Billy and Jasper. The older man has founded the town of Bloodshy, and now that he has apparently died, his sons must battle for control of his legacy in a wild train race. One of them is a city-slicker, a mild-mannered, bible-spouting fellow; the other is a gun-fighting, drunken, hot-tempered lad, more at home with outlaws than with law-abiding citizens. When they settle with each other, they still have to battle venal Mayor Ragsdale (Darren McGavin) for real control. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Prolific television director Gary Nelson made the Walt Disney live-action comedy Freaky Friday, based on the novel by Mary Rodgers. Barbara Harris stars as suburban housewife Ellen Andrews, the wife of Bill (John Astin) and the mother of Annabel (Jodie Foster) and Ben (Sparky Marcus). Ellen just can't understand what's going on with teenaged Annabel, who hangs around the house making snappy remarks, eating ice cream for breakfast, and calling her brother Apeface. They each make a separate wish to be in the other's place, and they get their wish on Friday 13th. Ellen has to go through the day as a kid, playing on the field hockey team and dealing with typing class. Annabel has to deal with grown-up problems like getting appliances fixed and preparing a banquet. The whole silly story ends with a wacky car-chase/water skiing/hang-gliding conclusion in keeping with other Disney movies of the day. Freaky Friday was remade twice with the same title, and spawned a whole subgenre of body-switching movies in the 1980s. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi