John Pochna Movies
This bittersweet comedy looks at the denizens of Echo Park, a decaying section of Los Angeles popular with struggling actors and musicians, largely because of its (relatively) low rents. May Greer (Susan Dey) is a single mother and aspiring actress who makes ends meet by tending bar (the most lucrative job she's been offered in show biz is as a combination stripper and singing telegram girl). Her neighbor August (Michael Bowen) is a body-builder from Austria who dreams of becoming a movie star like Arnold Schwarzenegger, though these days he's supporting himself by doing low-budget TV commercials for deodorant. May and August have an on-again, off-again relationship, which has more to do with sex and loneliness than love. Hoping to stretch her budget a bit, May rents out a room to Jonathan, a wannabe singer/songwriter who makes his money delivering pizzas. May takes a liking to Jonathan, and her son Henry (Christopher Walker) sees Jonathan as the benevolent father figure that's been missing from his life. The supporting cast includes cult figure Timothy Carey and Cassandra Peterson, best known as princess of the dark Elvira. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- PG
This infamous Korean War drama is best known as the movie produced by Rev. Sung Myung Moon's Unification Church, though more people seem to have read stories about its troubled production or disastrous reception at the box office than to have actually seen it: on its initial release, it grossed less than $2 million on a budget of $50 million. Starring Laurence Olivier as Gen. Douglas MacArthur (psychics reportedly told producers that the late General was happy with the casting choice), Inchon also features Ben Gazzara and Jacqueline Bisset as a married couple whose relationship is tested by the trials of war, and boasts as impressive as supporting cast as money can buy, including David Janssen, Richard Roundtree, Omar Sharif, Toshiro Mifune, and Rex Reed (who was perhaps hoping for a role that could stand beside his work in Myra Breckenridge).The lavish battle scenes are staged by director Terence Young (best known for his work on several early James Bond films), and the film presents one of your only opportunities to see Olivier, the greatest actor of his generation, talk like W.C. Fields while smoking a corn-cob pipe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Olivier, Jacqueline Bisset, (more)
- 1979
In this documentary, the legends, facts and folklore about the dreaded "Bermuda Triangle," which lies between Bermuda, Miami and Puerto Rico, are recounted. Based in some small part on the book by Charles Berlitz, it tells of lost squadrons of airplanes, boats, and mysterious electronic disturbances. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
