Jesse Vint Movies
Like his brothers Bill Vint and Alan Vint, American actor Jesse Vint got his start in "regional" films lensed in the Southwest for the drive-in crowd. Jesse has played mainstream roles in Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974) and in the 1980 TV movie Belle Starr (as outlaw Bob Dalton). Occasionally wandering to the other side of the cameras, Vint has functioned as writer, producer and director, often under the auspices of another "good ole boy" actor-turned-producer, Max Baer. Jesse Vint wrote and directed Another Chance, and produced and wrote Hometown USA, both of which graced small-town cinemas by the end of the 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
From director Mark Stratton and screenwriter Dave Eisenstark comes Monkey Love, an independent romantic comedy set in Los Angeles. The film centers on three friends, Amy (Amy Stewart), Dil (Jeremy Renner), and Aaron (Seamus Dever). The trio have been best friends for years, with each of their very different personalities complimenting the other. But now in their college years, a wrench is thrown into the gears of their friendship. It seems that Amy suddenly begins to have romantic feelings. To make matters worse she seems to be falling for not one, but both of her male pals. Monkey Love premiered at the 2002 Seattle International Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Amy Stewart, Jeremy Renner, (more)
- 1994
The direct-to-video Deep Red combines science fiction with domestic melodrama. Lindsay Haun plays Gracie, a youngster whose bloodstream is infected by a strange, extraterrestrial element. Known as "Deep Red," this element increases Gracie's protein count, rendering her invulnerable and possibly immortal. Ruthless researcher Thomas Newmeyer (John DeLancie) plans to exploit the girl for his own purposes, even if he has to drain every ounce of blood from her body. Hero Joy Keys (Michael Biehn), an honest scientist, tries to stop Newmeyer's skullduggery -- and in the process, Keys patches up his tattered relationship with his estranged wife. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Biehn, Joanna Pacula, (more)
The Temp is yet another installment in the 1990s thriller genre of "the conniving woman who gets back at all who stand in her way to success," as seen in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Single White Female, Basic Instinct, The Crush, The Babysitter, et al. In this rehash of the perennial formula, Peter Derns (Timothy Hutton), a marketing executive for a cookie company that has recently been bought out by another firm, is forced to hire temporary help when his regular office assistant, Lance (Scott Coffey) takes paternity leave. Into the breach comes Kris Bolen (Lara Flynn Boyle), whose efficiency saves the day for the clueless Peter. Unfortunately for Peter's associates, her efficiency extends to killing off Peter's regular assistant upon her return to work by arranging an accident with a paper shredder. But Kris doesn't stop there, and Peter begins to notice a high body count of dead employees falling around him. Peter suspects Kris may be the culprit, but since he has just emerged from treatment for acute paranoia, he can't decide if he is imaging things or not. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Timothy Hutton, Lara Flynn Boyle, (more)
- 1990
- R
In this espionage actioner, two best friends working as commandos for the CIA team up to complete an assignment in the Middle East and end up making the world's most terrifying terrorist very angry. Soon the two are involved in the fight of their lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1990
- R
I Come in Peace is a silly, derivative science fiction exploitation thriller which is a triumph of style and skillful direction, despite a plot that steals elements from numerous good films and mixes them with some appallingly bad acting. Jack Caine (Dolph Lundgren) is a not-by-the books police officer investigating the death of several people, including his partner, by a gang called the "White Boys." All the victims seemed to have died of drug overdoses, but Jack thinks that there is something more sinister afoot. His investigation reveals a plot by aliens who use the bodies to extract a chemical that is sold to addicts on their home planet. Originally entitled Dark Angel, I Come in Peace, while silly and confusing, has great production values and some excellent special effects. The main reason to see this film is because of the expert direction by former stunt-man Craig Baxley who manages to keep the action moving at a fast pace and tie up the loose ends of the threadbare story. The cinematography by Mark Irwin is outstanding and shows that imagination and a good visual sense can overcome a limited budget and a bad plot. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dolph Lundgren, Betsy Brantley, (more)
- 1988
In this lively comedy, a womanizing actor dies and is granted a second chance at life on the condition that he remain faithful to only one woman. That's easier said than done, and once he's back on Earth he must choose between a virtuous lass and a shady lady. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Greenwood, Vanessa Angel, (more)
- 1986
The A-Team is mistaken for a group of vicious mercenaries, with Murdock (Dwight Schultz) being incorrectly identified as the notorious "Insane" Wayne (Jesse Vint). Hired by evil rancher Kincaid (Barry Corbin) to force young Bobby Sherman (Moosie Dryer) off his oil-rich land, the Team instead offers its services to Bobby, teaming with the boy to fend off the villains. All goes smoothly--until the real "Insane" Wayne shows up! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1984
- R
A knife-happy young lady escapes the asylum (after being imprisoned for disembowelling her lecherous father) and soon joins forces with a sleazy pig farmer with murderous tendencies of his own. Together, the deranged duo manages to keep the piggies supplied with protein-rich vittles, thanks to the chopped-up corpses of unlucky diners from the greasy spoon down the road. This Deliverance-flavored hog pile (known merely as Pigs in many of its home-video incarnations) is practically a one-man show -- written, produced, directed by and starring character actor Marc Lawrence, a familiar face in over a hundred gangster films from the past 50 years. Katherine Ross fans take note: this is not the Katharine Ross of The Graduate but a virtual unknown, whose name was nevertheless top-billed on the video sleeve. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Toni Lawrence, Marc Lawrence, (more)
Essentially a tale of romance mixed in with a dash of politics, this engrossing story involves Engracia (Victoria Abril), a young Mexican prostitute working just south of the border with the U.S., and two American border guards who are among her clients: Mitch (Scott Wilson), a tough, go-by-the-book Anglo who has no deep affection for Mexicans, and Chuck (Jeff Delgar), an idealistic new border guard who has yet to learn the ropes. In a few instances, the film exposes the prejudice against Mexicans, but otherwise, politics is secondary to what happens next. Chuck falls in love with Engracia, and the two get married in Mexico -- and then he smuggles her across the border that he himself has been hired to guard. Sure enough, the vile Mitch gets into the act and quite clearly, both Chuck and Engracia are heading for trouble. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Scott Wilson, (more)
Dempsey is the TV biopic of boxer William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey, a.k.a. Manassa Mauler. The film opens in Utah in 1911, where the teenage Dempsey works out in hopes of cracking the big time. Eight years later, Dempsey enters into his famous bout with reigning champ Jess Willard. From 1919 through 1926, Dempsey is heavyweight champion; he also carries on a wild and profligate private life, including an expensive marriage to--and even more expensive divorce from--silent film star Estelle Taylor (Victoria Tennant). Sally Kellerman co-stars as the first of Dempsey's five wives. Dempsey star Treat Williams was trained by Al Silvani, who worked with Stallone on the earliest Rocky epics. Scripted by Edward di Lorenzo, Dempsey premiered on September 28, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Fans of outrageously bad drive-in fare from New World Pictures will find much to love in this bargain-bin science fiction weirdness -- one of several Alien rip-offs foisted on defenseless audiences by Roger Corman's legendary B-movie factory. The plot -- which, of course, is irrelevant to the action -- involves a food-research team on a distant planet, whose latest genetic product decides it would rather eat than be eaten...and boy, is it hungry. Then enters our hero, an undefined government specialist (Jesse Vint) whose dreams in hypersleep find their way into almost every scene in the film -- his apparent powers of precognition, however, are never mentioned. Vint responds to the team's distress signal and shows up with his robot pal to blast the slime-beast to smithereens -- and, of course, to engage in a little intergalactic nookie with the team's female personnel. Meanwhile, the constantly mutating monster chews its way through virtually the entire cast before one cancer-ridden scientist devises a highly original (and extremely disgusting) solution. The ever-thrifty Corman recycled sets and scenes from Battle Beyond the Stars and Galaxy of Terror to pad out this weekend wonder, making up for its threadbare production values (which include plenty of cheap scares, nudity, and graphic gore). ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jesse Vint, June Chadwick, (more)
- 1980
The real Belle Starr was a homely, ill-tempered woman whose career as a western bandit was blown out of proportion by the "dime novels" of the era. Previous media Belle Starrs have included such attractive performers as Gene Tierney, Isabel Jewell and Abby Dalton, all of whom appeared to have included a cosmetician amongst their bandit cohorts. To her credit, Elizabeth Montgomery tries hard to deglamorize Belle in this 1980 TV movie, but she's still Elizabeth Montgomery. The script, by James Lee Barrett, attempts to stick closer to the facts than the earlier versions of Belle's exploits. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1979
- R
- Add Hometown USA to Queue
Max Baer Jr. borrows liberally from George Lucas's American Graffiti for this slice-of-life look at teenage life circa 1957. The story concerns a group of adolescents whose main concerns are cars, cruising, and sex. The story centers upon Rodney C. Duckworth (Gary Springer), a shy, virginal teen, and the efforts of his friends Recil Calhoun (David Wilson) and T.J. Swackhammer (Brian Kerwin) to try to fix Rodney up with a date. Unfortunately, their libidos manage to get the better of them, and Recil and T.J. end up going out with the girls themselves. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary Springer, David Wilson, (more)
- 1979
- PG
In this exciting road comedy, a WW I veteran attempts to fulfill his dream of being the first to win a transnational motorcycle rally. To assist him, he hires former war buddies. These fellows have a quiet grudge against him because they believe he deserted them during a crucial battle. Still the race begins and en-route, the kindly (and not as cowardly as he seems) racer picks up a beautiful young woman and her son. Romance and adventure ensues as the finish line draws near. The film is also titled Fast Charlie and the Moonbeam. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Brenda Vaccaro, (more)
David Carradine romps around in a loin-cloth as Kaz Oshay, a good-guy biker who hops on his destructocycle to participate in a sport to the death, in Roger Corman's futuristic gladiator motorcycle film. The film takes place 1000 years after the "Neutron Wars" have decimated civilization, except for pockets of domed cities. Surrounding the cities are vast wastelands called "ranges." Kaz is a "ranger guide" who roams the range riding horses and wielding sabers. The sabers are necessary to fend off the "Statesmen" -- roving hordes under the thrall of Lord Zirpola (David McLean). Zirpola captures Kaz and throws him into a cell, where he meets Deneer (Claudia Jennings), who tells Kaz that a group of mutants have abducted her daughter. Kaz and Deneer escape and set off in search of her daughter as they dodge the Statesmen and their high-decibel motorcycles called "Death Machines." Kaz is finally forced to participate in the "Death Sport" -- a mad free-for-all inside a tunnel in which only one contestant can emerge alive. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Claudia Jennings, (more)
- 1978
Paramedics Gage and DeSoto work to save lives when a ferry explodes in Puget Sound in this special from the Emergency! spin-off movie series. ~ Rovi
The longest (26-1/2 hours), most expensive ($25 million) and most complicated (four directors, five producers, five cinematographers, almost 100 speaking parts, several hundred extras) project made for television up to that time, Centennial was shown in two- and three-hour installments over a period of four months. An adaptation of James Michener's best-selling novel, it told the story of the settling of the American West by looking at the founding of the fictional town of Centennial, Colorado, from the settling of the area in the late 18th century to the present. Emmy-nominated for film editing and art direction, it boasts of sterling performances from Richard Chamberlain as frontiersman Alexander McKeag, Robert Conrad as the French-Canadian trapper Pasquinel, and a surprisingly powerful performance from former football star Alex Karras as compassionate but iron-willed immigrant farmer Hans Brumbaugh. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi
- 1977
In this Roger Corman production, co-producer Jesse Vint stars as Jingo Johnson, a stuntman who goes to work for a backwater mining company. Jingo unearths a hotbed of corruption, partially orchestrated by redneck sheriff, Grimes (Albert Salmi). The hero and heroine (Karen Carlson) are forced into any number of serial-like perils while eluding the villains. Black Oak Conspiracy is enlivened by the presence of several veteran character players, including Douglas Fowley, Peggy Stewart and Vic Perrin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jesse Vint, Karen Carlson, (more)
- 1976
A young country-star wannabe takes off from her carhop career to join with a young, modern Billy the Kid wannabe for an adventure in theft, murder and mayhem. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marjoe Gortner, Lynda Carter, (more)
- 1975
After premiering as a two-hour episode of The Rookies, the weekly series S.W.A.T. made its official debut with this hour-long installment. The emphasis is on series regular Robert Urich, as Officer Jim Street. Anxious to avenge the ambush slaying of his partner Rob Duran (Taylor Lacher), Street joins the Special Weapons and Technical (SWAT) team headed by hard-nosed police lieutenant Dan "Hondo" Harrison (Steve Forrest). Before passing muster, however, the hotheaded Street must learn the value of teamwork -- especially during a tense climactic confrontation with the two criminal siblings who gunned down Duran. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Steve Forrest, Rod Perry, (more)
The last gasp of gimmick-horror auteur William Castle (who produced and co-wrote), Bug is an entertaining throwback to the mutant-monsters-amok theme of the 1950s (themselves throwbacks of another kind) that he found so profitable. The film stars Bradford Dillman as a kinder, gentler mad scientist who discovers the presence of a bizarre strain of mutant cockroach emerging from the earth after a severe earthquake. Although larger than the average beetle, the most disturbing aspect of the critters is their innate ability to ignite fires with their bodies -- a talent dramatically revealed after a few of the bugs crawl up a vehicle's tailpipe. When Dillman discovers that the creatures possess a group intelligence, he attempts to train and breed them -- which proves to be less than a good idea. In Castle's heyday, this would have proven an ideal theme for one of his patented gimmicks (perhaps having little rubber bugs drop from the ceiling onto unsuspecting patrons at appropriate moments), but director Jeannot Szwarc (who later helmed Jaws 2 and the hankie-fest Somewhere in Time) plays the story straight, with remarkably chilling results. This is also remarkably violent for a mainstream PG film (particularly in the scene where Bad Seed Patty McCormack's hair is ignited by the six-legged arsonists) with a downbeat ending typical of many horror movies of the '70s. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bradford Dillman, Joanna Miles, (more)
"You may think you know what you're dealing with, but believe me, you don't," warns water baron Noah Cross (John Huston), when smooth cop-turned-private eye J.J. "Jake" Gittes (Jack Nicholson) starts nosing around Cross's water diversion scheme. That proves to be the ominous lesson of Chinatown, Roman Polanski's critically lauded 1974 revision of 1940s film noir detective movies. In 1930s Los Angeles, "matrimonial work" specialist Gittes is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) to tail her husband, Water Department engineer Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling). Gittes photographs him in the company of a young blonde and figures the case is closed, only to discover that the real Mrs. Mulwray had nothing to do with hiring Gittes in the first place. When Hollis turns up dead, Gittes decides to investigate further, encountering a shady old-age home, corrupt bureaucrats, angry orange farmers, and a nostril-slicing thug (Polanski) along the way. By the time he confronts Cross, Evelyn's father and Mulwray's former business partner, Jake thinks he knows everything, but an even more sordid truth awaits him. When circumstances force Jake to return to his old beat in Chinatown, he realizes just how impotent he is against the wealthy, depraved Cross. "Forget it, Jake," his old partner tells him. "It's Chinatown." Reworking the somber underpinnings of detective noir along more pessimistic lines, Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne convey a '70s-inflected critique of capitalist and bureaucratic malevolence in a carefully detailed period piece harkening back to the genre's roots in the 1930s and '40s. Gittes always has a smart comeback like Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, but the corruption Gittes finds is too deep for one man to stop. Other noir revisions, such as Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973) and Arthur Penn's Night Moves (1975), also centered on the detective's inefficacy in an uncertain '70s world, but Chinatown's period sheen renders this dilemma at once contemporary and timeless, pointing to larger implications about the effects of corporate rapaciousness on individuals. Polanski and Towne clashed over Chinatown's ending; Polanski won the fight, but Towne won the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Chinatown was nominated for ten other Oscars, including Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes, and Score. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, (more)
Los Angeles is the natural site for a film about earthquakes: they happen there frequently, and the landscape is familiar to moviegoers from thousands of films. A huge number of ongoing vignettes which include cameos from numerous celebrities and stars are tied together by the ongoing efforts of architect Graff (Charleton Heston) to rescue his estranged spoiled-rich-girl wife (Ava Gardner), while helping out with the ongoing rescue efforts taking place around him and while trying to determine what has happened to his mistress Denise (Genvieve Bujold). The rumbling sound effect designed for this film (Sensurround) won a "Best Sound" Oscar for the film in 1975. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, (more)
Two guys looking for a good time find more than they bargained for in this low-budget action story laced with comedy. Chris Dixon (Alan Vint) and his brother Wayne (Jesse Vint) are originally from Chicago, but when the two are scheduled to go into the Army together, they decide to spend their last two weeks before reporting for boot camp drifting through the South, chasing girls, drinking beer and raising a little hell. After picking up a pretty hitch-hiker, Jenny Scott (Cheryl Waters), who has tired of small-town life and has eyes for Chris, a busted fuel pump strands the brothers in Macon, Georgia, where Sheriff Reed Morgan (Max Baer, Jr.) makes it clear they're not welcome to spend the night. Meanwhile, a pair of ex-cons on a crime spree have arrived in Macon, and they ransack Morgan's house and murder his wife while the sheriff is picking up his son Luke (Lief Garrett) from military school. When their car breaks down again, Chris, Wayne and Jenny spend the night in a nearby barn; what they don't know is they've ended up on the sheriff's property, and when he comes home and discovers his house is a crime scene, he assumes the worst after he finds Chris and Wayne. Max Baer, Jr., who plays Sheriff Morgan, also produced Macon County Line and co-wrote the screenplay; the movie was a major box-office success on its original release in 1974 and sparked a new career behind the camera for the former Beverly Hillbillies star. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cheryl Waters, Joan Blackman, (more)
- 1974
- R
The consumption of human flesh is the main course of this off-beat horror movie that centers on a war veteran who returns to California a cannibal. His sister likes peopleburgers too. The trouble begins when a gentle hippie chick encounters the hungry duo enthusiastically eating their latest meal. The terrified girl heads for the police, but they refuse to believe her. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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