Edward Bunker Movies
A young boy grieving the loss of his grandmother struggles with his new live-in tutor in this period-family drama from director Sally Champlin. Trapped in an endless cycle of depression following the death of his grandmother, Brian (Tim Redwine)'s has retreated into a silent world of sadness and ennui. When Brian's parents hire an amiable young widow named Mary (Angela Jones) as a live-in tutor in one final bid to keep their son out of the military academy, the troubled young boy lashes out and refuses to accept his new teacher. Determined to break through Bryan's monolithic emotional barriers, Mary reaches out and directs all of her efforts to saving her young charge from falling into a deep depression from which he may never fully recover. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2001
One of several government-espionage series unveiled during the 2001-2002 TV season, UC: Undercover detailed the exploits of the Special Operations Group, an elite five-person team answerable only to the Justice Department. Using up-to-date technology and advanced martial arts skills, the Group was dedicated to tracking down and capturing supercriminals and terrorists (though several episodes dealing with the latter were toned down in the wake of the World Trade Center tragedy). Described by several observers as the Wiseguy of the early 21st century, the series found its regulars adopting all manner of disguises and new identities in order to infiltrate the illicit organizations which they'd targeted for extinction. Originally cast as group leader John Keller, Grant Show was replaced in the second episode by new leader Frank Donovan (Oded Fehr); other regulars included Jon Seda as Jake, Vera Farmiga as Alex, Bruklin Harris as Monica, and Jarrad Paul as Cody. Executive produced by Steve Salerno (one of the writers of the movie hit Armageddon), UC: Undercover began its weekly, 60-minute NBC run on September 30, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Farmiga, Oded Fehr, (more)
Actor-turned-director Steve Buscemi follows up on his restrained 1996 directorial debut Trees Lounge (1996) with this gritty, understated prison drama. Twenty-one-year-old suburban kid Ron (Edward Furlong) got busted for dealing drugs and slapped with an especially severe jail sentence. Though he tries to keep a low profile at prison, he soon attracts unsavory attention of various sex-starved goons. Fearing rape, he appeals directly to Earl (Willem Dafoe), a fellow prisoner who runs the place like it was his own fiefdom. Though Ron's request is strictly against this rarified culture's baroque rules, Earl takes him under his wing, and soon he is a part of Earl's inner circle. Slowly Ron learns the breadth of Earl's power, ranging from the easy procurement of drugs to the violent dispatching of a prisoner who gets out of line. As Ron grows increasingly indebted to Earl, he wonders how he is expected to repay him. Yet Earl, who shows his fondness for the lad with fatherly tenderness counterbalanced with repressed yearning, never pushes his advantage. Other members of the cast include Tom Arnold as a salivating hill-billy and an almost unrecognizable Mickey Rourke as a cross-dressing prison queen. This film was highly praised at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, (more)
Hollywood wannabes struggle to succeed while striving for relationships that are doomed to fail in this gloomy comedy-drama from writer-director Alexandre Rockwell. Rosie Perez stars as Mercedes, a transplanted New Yorker now living in East L.A. and taxi dancing at a seedy Hollywood strip joint. Mercedes has dreams of achieving stardom as an actress, but her lack of talent means that her goal will probably always elude her. Her travels take her into contact with several eccentric characters including a sage transvestite (Steve Buscemi), a showbiz insider (Sam Fuller), a savvy bartender (Quentin Tarantino), and her useless agent George (Stanley Tucci). Although he won't leave his wife, Mercedes worships her boyfriend Harry Harrelson (Harvey Keitel), once a prominent actor on a TV western whose glory days are long past. In the meantime, Ernesto (Michael DeLorenzo), a faithful customer and gravedigger, falls helplessly in love with Mercedes, but his passion is unrequited, even though he tattoos Mercedes' name across his chest. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosie Perez, Harvey Keitel, (more)
- 1994
A woman's greed wreaks havoc on those in her life in this made-for-cable movie. Madchen Amick stars as Lauren Harrington, the seemingly perfect and beautiful wife of Paul (John Lithgow). What Paul doesn't know is that Lauren set up a former boyfriend (Eric Roberts) and sent him to jail as part of a million-dollar scheme -- and he's ready for some payback. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lithgow, Eric Roberts, (more)
- 1993
In Best of the Best 2, Alex Grady and his partner, Tommy Lee, turn their karate talents toward crime fighting. An illegal fighting club, headed by Wayne Newton, is a center for crime and criminals. Alex and Tommy decide to take it down but first they have to fight their way through Brakus, the big evil, and his growth protein-engorged posse. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Roberts, Phillip Rhee, (more)
- 1992
- R
In this psycho thriller, Richard Sullivan is a mild-mannered, trusting ad-man who is tickled when his long lost cousin Harry suddenly shows up at his door. Harry is accompanied by Connie, his fiancee and the innocent Richard welcomes them into his happy home. Unfortunately, whereas Richard, his wife Kate and their son Alex live an idyllic existence, Harry and Connie's relationship is stormy and unstable. Connie constantly whines about wanting the perfect home, and both of them are intensely envious of the Sullivans. Their jealousy takes a darker turn when they try to become the Sullivans. First they begin undermining Richard and Kate's authority over Alex. Then Harry and Connie begin going through the couple's personal effects and files. Eventually, the spooky duo begins impersonating the Sullivans as much as they can. When Kate begins to get suspicious,the story takes a deadly turn for neither she nor Richard realize that they are dealing with cold-blooded, murderous psychopaths. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Harris, David Keith, (more)
In 1992, Reservoir Dogs transformed Quentin Tarantino practically overnight from an obscure, unproduced screenwriter and part-time actor to the most influential new filmmaker of the 1990s. The story looks at what happens before and after (but not during) a botched jewelry store robbery organized by Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney). Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) is a career criminal who takes a liking to newcomer Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) and enjoys showing him the ropes. Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) is a weaselly loner obsessed with professionalism. Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) has just gotten out of jail after taking the rap on a job for Cabot; he's grateful for the work but isn't the same person he used to be. While Mr. Blonde goes nuts during the heist, the thieves are surprised by the sudden arrival of the police, and Mr. Pink is convinced one of their team is a cop. So who's the rat? What do they do about Mr. Blonde? And what do they do with Mr. Orange, who took a bullet in the gut and is slowly bleeding to death? Reservoir Dogs jumps back and forth between pre- and post-robbery events, occasionally putting the narrative on pause to let the characters discuss such topics as the relative importance of tipping, who starred in Get Christie Love!, and what to do when you enter a men's room full of cops carrying a briefcase full of marijuana. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, (more)
- 1990
Working undercover, Metro officer Jake Janowitz (Beau Starr) witnesses the murder of a Treasury agent. Hunter (Fred Dryer) becomes curious over the fact that Janowitz has not only turned in a confused and muddled report of the incident, but he has also filed the report way past the required due date. Even more puzzling is Janowitz's attitude since the killing: he seems not to care at all whether he lives or dies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Miracle Mile starts conventionally enough, with bashful musician Anthony Edwards going ga-ga over waitress Mare Winningham. After a pleasant if somewhat quirky day together, Edwards and Winningham plan a tete-a-tete at the all-night restaurant where the girl works. While preparing to call her on a pay phone, Edwards intercepts a frantic call from a soldier stationed at a Midwestern missile silo. The message: nuclear warheads have been launched, and it's only 70 minutes to Armageddon! This unsettling news casts severe doubts over the future of Edwards' and Winningham's relationship. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Edwards, Mare Winningham, (more)
A man who fails to make the grade as a Los Angeles cop goes on a killing spree as the dangerous "Sunset Killer," to show the dupes who wouldn't hire him. He uses all his cop smarts to try to elude all who dare try capture him. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, Robert Loggia, (more)
Learning the value of teamwork, the racially diverse U.S. karate team must work through their personal troubles to successfully participate in the upcoming international competition. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, (more)
Sylvester Stallone tries his luck with his first cop buddy movie in Tango and Cash, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. Stallone is Ray Tango, a Los Angeles narcotics cop who dresses in fancy suits, wears wire-rim glasses, and talks to his stockbroker more than he talks to his mother. Kurt Russell is Gabriel Cash, another Los Angeles narcotics cop who has long, disheveled blonde hair and dresses in worn-out sweatshirts. Together, Tango and Cash are the two best narcs in LA, which causes drug baron Yves Perret (Jack Palance) no end of distress. Since Yves controls a billion-dollar drug empire, Tango and Cash have to be taken out of the picture in some way. So Yves arranges for Tango and Cash to be framed for a crime. But the duo accepts a plea bargain that will give them 18 months in a minimum-security prison. Unfortunately, Yves arranges for their destination to be diverted to a maximum-security hell-hole where Yves's minions proceed to torture Tango and Cash --although they still have time to trade quips with each other. Ultimately, they escape from their torture chamber and seek out Yves and his gang. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, (more)
As Don Haden (Cliff DeYoung) and his family travel to their cabin retreat, they are kidnapped and held hostage by a bunch of escaped prisoners. When one of the convicts (Robert Factor) turns out to be a crazed Vietnam war veteran, both kidnappers and victims must struggle to survive. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff De Young, Kay Lenz, (more)
Directed by former Starsky and Hutch TV star Paul Michael Glaser, this post-apocalyptic science fiction yarn satirized American entertainment, mocking pro wrestling, game shows, and law-and-order reality programming. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Ben Richards, a cop in the totalitarian America of 2019, framed for massacring rioting civilians during a famine. After escaping from jail, Richards tries to prove his innocence, but his efforts are thwarted at every turn by a regime in need of a scapegoat. Richards is captured along with an innocent civilian, Amber Mendez (Maria Conchita Alonso), and they are forced to participate in a violent game show called "The Running Man," hosted by the unctuous Damon Killian (Richard Dawson). The object of the game for Richards and Mendez: obtain freedom by staying alive against a gauntlet of skillful assassins like "Subzero" (Prof. Toru Tanaka) and "Captain Freedom" (Jesse Ventura), each armed with unique weapons like razor-sharp hockey sticks and chainsaws. With the help of some fellow "contestants," Richards is able to tap into government computers and prove his innocence. The Running Man was very loosely based on a short story by Stephen King, who wrote it under the name Richard Bachman. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, (more)
- 1987
- R
Writer Jill Clayburgh wants to remove her coke-addicted daughter Martha Plimpton from the corruptive environs of Manhattan. When assigned to write an article about family trees, Clayburgh, with daughter in tow, heads to the bayous of Louisiana, there to seek out an elusive great-uncle--and, it is hoped, to give Plimpton a new start in life. Upon their arrival in the deep south, Clayburgh and Plimpton are confronted with the uncle's rugged, iron-willed wife Barbara Hershey and her four grown sons. The anticipated culture clash results in tragedy for all concerned. Wavering between the plausible and the outrageous, Shy People makes for fascinating, almost mesmerizing viewing. Released late in 1987 to qualify for the Academy Awards, the film was given a general release in mid-1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jill Clayburgh, Barbara Hershey, (more)
Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky's second American film may well be the only existential adventure flick in Hollywood history. Two prisoners, Manny (Jon Voight) and Buck (Eric Roberts), escape from a desolate Alaskan maximum-security facility. They hop aboard a speeding train, making a clean escape. But the engineer has suffered a heart attack, and the train goes out of control. To prevent a disastrous head-on collision, the railroad heads decide to derail the runaway train, killing its occupants to save the lives of hundreds of others. Once Manny catches on to what's happening, he tries to jump off the train, only to be talked out of such a foolhardy act by railroad employee Sara (Rebecca DeMornay). As doom approaches, Manny apparently goes mad, viciously preventing any attempts to stop the train or rescue its passengers: if he's to die, and if the others are to be saved, it will be on his terms, or no terms. Runaway Train was slated as a project for Akira Kurosawa in 1970, but for various creative and scheduling reasons, it remained on the back burner for 15 years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, (more)
The hook in Walter Hill's mythic retelling of the James-Younger outlaw legend is in the casting; the James, Younger, Miller, and Ford Brothers are played by a string of acting brothers, the Keachs, the Carradines, the Quaids and the Guests. The film begins as outlaws are robbing a bank. After the robbery, Ed Miller (Dennis Quaid) finds himself kicked out of the gang for needlessly killing a man during the robbery. Jesse James (James Keach) hands over Ed's share of the money and tells him to leave, a feeling held mutually by Ed's brother Clell (Randy Quaid). After the killing the gang decides to split up for awhile. The James boys return to their wives and farms, while Cole Younger (David Carradine) travels to Texas with his prostitute girlfriend Belle Starr (Pamela Reed). After the brief respite, the gang reunites to rob a well-stocked bank in Northfield, Minnesota. The robbery turns out disastrously, with most of the gang either wounded or dying. The James boys are the only ones not seriously hurt, and they leave the rest of the gang behind, escaping while they can. After the James boys leave, the remnants of the gang are captured. But trailing the Jameses is a relentless posse. Frank and Jesse manage to keep one step ahead until the Ford brothers (Christopher Guest and Nicholas Guest) make a deal with the Pinkerton detectives trailing the outlaws. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Keith Carradine, (more)
Paroled criminal Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) is compelled to withstand the calculated cruelties of slimy parole officer Earl Frank (M. Emmet Walsh). The more Max tries to go straight, the more he is defeated by circumstance or hectored by the sadistic Frank. It becomes clear after a while that neither Max nor his fellow ex-cons will be able to survive looking for legitimate work. Max is too "far gone" as a human being to succeed at anything other than crime. He goes back to his old thieving ways, inveigling reformed crook Jerry Schue (Harry Dean Stanton) into helping him. A climactic "big caper" goes tragically awry, thanks in great part to the tragic flaws in Max's personality. Based on a novel by Edward Bunker, Straight Time is possibly the most realistic cinematic probe into the sociopathic psyche of the career criminal. Famed theatrical director and instructor Ulu Grosbard directed, with an uncredited assist from star Hoffman; it was their second film together, after Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, (more)
