Joe Leahy Movies
Unlike the first season of the animated superhero spoof Freakazoid!, in which most of the episodes contained three to four separate segments, eleven of the twelve Season Two episodes are comprised of a single, self-contained narrative--thereby providing even more time for computer-generated superhero Freakzoid!, aka nerdy Dexter Douglas, to make a fool of himself before an audience of millions. In the season opener, "Dexer's Date" is interrupted by The Lobe's plan to destroy the entire TV industry (the fiend!). "The Freakazoid" illustrates the fact that a superhero's birthday party is hardly cause for celebration (turns out that HE is expected to dole out the favors). In "Mission: Freakazoid", our hero must rescue his family from the oppressive country of Vuka Nova. "Virtual Freak" finds all the characters we care about being sucked into a VR world, while The Lobe raises Holy Ned at the local mall. "Hero Boy" pits Freakazoid! against traditional enemy Guieterrez, who's now developed a cloning process. In "A Matter of Love", a "dream" girl turns out to be a nightmare--namely, an ancient monstrous succubus. "Statuesque" reaches a peak of terror as Dexter's girlfriend Steph gets stoned--literally. Then, it's Freakazoid vs. the Orangumen in "Island of Dr. Mystico", followed by Cave Guy and Cobra Queen teaming up for trouble in "Two Against Freak". And in "Normadeus", The Lobe reverses Freakazoid!'s resonance frequency, which may cause our hero to go to pieces. That leaves one final two-adventure episode, consisting of "Freak-a-Panel" , in which Freakazoid discovers that tracking down Cave Guy may be less of a challenge than "escaping the mediocrity" of a sci-fi convention; and "Tomb of Invisibo", a double takeoff of "The Mummy" and "The Invisble Man", all in one, and even together, also too, hey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Rugg, David Kaufman, (more)
The only thing that anyone could be certain of in Season One of the animated superhero spoof Freakazoid! is that no one can be certain of anything. Most of the season's 12 episodes contained three to four short segments, interrelated only by the fact that the star of each one is Freakazoid!, a super-powered but somewhat doltish good guy whose alter ego is teenage computer geek Dexter Douglas. Also appearing are Dexter's sort-of girlfriend Steph, the neurotic police sergeant Cosgrove, and seedy master villain The Lobe. This season's consignment of craziness includes a bloodless spoof of the "Friday the 13th" movies, filmed in SCREAM-O-VISION; an escapade with Lord Bravery, a shameless takeoff of Hanna-Barbera's Jonny Quest; the ongoing plight of the Huntsman, an unemployed superhero who goes into hissy-fits because there aren't any criminals in his city; and a Woody Allen-esque luncheon in which a group of old, out-of-shape superheroes kvetch about how life has passed them by. Also, a group of lawn gnomes try to improve their malevelont image; Freakazoid! is saddled with a self-appointed sidekick, the obnoxious Fan Boy; our hero tries to tame a mad dog, dubbing his new pal "Foamy"; Christmas is threatened by the misbehavior of crime czar "Arms" Akimbo; "The Nerdator" kidnaps all the nerds in the world, thereby diminishing Freakazoid!'s fan base; the Cobra Queen grosses everybody out, dude, when she sets up headquarters in a sewer; and Leonard Nimoy is pestered by autograph seekers (Wait: Are you sure this is really a cartoon?) The only episode containing a single segment is "The Chip" which explains the computer meltdown that transformed Dexter Douglas into Freakazoid!, narrated by Motion Picture Association of America executive Jack Valenti (we swear we're not making this up). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Rugg, David Kaufman, (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)
In this underscripted and not wholly convincing drama, Kevin Bacon plays Jack Casey, an up-and-coming broker who crashes on the stock market one day and cashes in whatever he has left to become a bicycle messenger in San Francisco. Although not exactly a logical alternative, bicycling the hilly streets of S.F. turns out to be dangerous after Casey runs into Gypsy (Rudy Ramos), the street pusher who has the messengers run drugs for him. A series of characters and events drop in and out of the conflict between Gypsy and Casey, including love interest Terri (Jami Gertz) and Casey's friend Hector (Paul Rodriguez). Music dominates throughout the film which includes scenes of breakdancing on bikes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Bacon, Jami Gertz, (more)
This animated color feature finds a mother and her two young cubs eagerly waiting for Santa Claus to visit them in Yellowstone National Park. A kindly forest ranger who first told them about the jolly old elf is persuaded to impersonate Santa, and the young bears help him save the holiday. The film is aimed at a target audience of wide-eyed pre-schoolers. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hal Smith, Jean Vander Pyl, (more)
