Charles Dennis Movies

Originally titled 2000.1: A Space Travesty, this zany send-up of Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi classic will never be confused with Noel Coward or Neil Simon. The inescapable Leslie Nielsen (who also co-produced and co-scripted) stars as U.S. Marshall Richard "Dick" Dix, who springs into action when President Bill Clinton (Damien Masson) is kidnapped and held hostage on Moon Base Vega. There is nothing for Dix to do but suit up and board a space vessel bound for the moon to rescue the finger-waggling chief executive, whose clone is wreaking more havoc than usual back on Earth. The film's high level of humor can be gleaned from the fact that onboard the spaceship is a highly intelligent computer named "SAL," who sounds like a character from The Godfather -- and dresses accordingly. A Canadian/German co-production, 2001: A Space Travesty was filmed in 2000, then went straight to home video, though it did not make its "official" American debut until it was shown on the Comedy Central cable network on January 13, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

William Forsythe plays a serial killer who mails assorted body parts (from his unlucky female victims) to the police. As if this isn't enough, he then goes after Detective Dietz's (Leo Rossi) lady friend. This killer really is, relentless. ~ Rovi

Trying to shoot an erotic feminist film, a knock-out lady director chooses a small coastal town, where she's hoping she can work in an uninterrupted environment. However, the local rowdies--right-wing Christians, and red-neck stud-dudes--interfere from the get-go. ~ Rovi

In this slapstick chase-adventure, some unlikely heroes try to outwit each other for possession of a huge stash of cash hidden on the train they are all riding together. The comedy is a little uneven here or at least not to everyone's taste, and the pace is fast-forward frantic. Josef (Ed Lauter) and Georgiana (Pamela Stephenson) manage to break into her father's estate and swipe $5 million in cash from the safe, with plans to spirit the money across country on a train. Meanwhile, Michael (Michael O'Keefe) is a con man being chased by irate women on a roller derby team who have reason to be angry with him. He zips into a second-hand clothing store and dons the disguise of an army uniform, hoping to board a train for New York unnoticed. But when an officer gets suspicious at the station, Michael retorts that he is escorting a nearby coffin -- a coffin that actually contains the stolen $5 mil. The thieves are also nearby, but for reasons of their own, they go along with Michael's charade. Along for the ride are a neurotic woman (Beverly D'Angelo), an eccentric train conductor (David Wayne), a stowaway Vietnam defector, a blond woman of the underworld, a nymphomaniac, and briefly, a crafty con man (Louis Gosset Jr.). From that point onward, episodic vignettes are tossed here and there as the train moves ever closer to New York, and the protagonists try to outmaneuver each other for the money. Viewers may note that along for his fourth cinematic ride is Jim Carrey in a bit part. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

An exceedingly complex plot with a few gaps in logic characterizes this uneven thriller by George Bloomfield. Photographer Michael (Michael Sarrazin) is now in a mental institution because after he got back from a dangerous assignment in the Middle East he found his wife raped and murdered. His mistress Paula West (Susan Clark) manages to get him released and then asks a private detective to keep an eye on him in case he flips out again. Trouble brews when the dead wife's lover (Anthony Perkins), who knows the truth about how she died, wants some remuneration for his silence. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In order to maintain their youth, vampiric jungle freaks kidnap and sacrifice pretty young things in this horror/thriller. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi