Walt LaRue Movies
In this arch sci-fi sex comedy-cum-action extravaganza, a hard-nosed female mercenary helps a hapless yuppie find a new body for his robot girlfriend in the post-industrial wasteland of the American Southwest. In the year 2017, what little remains of civilization feeds off the scrap heap of 20th century waste, while even casual sex has become a matter of regulations and contracts. Like many other members of the L.A. white-collar elite, Sam Treatwell (David Andrews) takes refuge in a quasi-marriage with his beloved sex robot, Cherry (Pamela Gidley). After a soft-focus, bubbly sexcapade short circuits Cherry's body, Sam considers replacing her, but the shoddy production values of modern robots make it obvious that the vintage appliance is irreplaceable. To put it simply, the guy's in love. The wistful romantic therefore heads out to The Zone, a forbidding no man's land, where he hopes to find a new "chassis" in which to insert Cherry's unique personality chip. To do so, he needs the help of a "tracker," and E. Johnson (Melanie Griffith) is just the woman for the job. The gun-toting, red-headed road warrior leads Sam through a dystopian desert landscape full of psychopaths and opportunists toward their final destination: an abandoned warehouse full of antique androids. Along the way, Sam learns what it's like to interact with a woman who has brains and a heart instead of a microchip. Filmed in 1986, Cherry 2000 didn't receive its limited theatrical release until 1988, the same year star Griffith received an Oscar nomination for her role in Working Girl. Griffith and director Steven de Jarnatt previously worked together on the pilot for the 1980s revival of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Ben Johnson, veteran of many a Hollywood Western, appears as E. Johnson's mentor, Six Finger Jake. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melanie Griffith, David Andrews, (more)
A film that captures the steamy, colorful essence of New Orleans, this crime thriller tells the romantic story of a classy detective whose investigation of a gangland murder lands him in trouble with the city's new District Attorney, a woman with a rigid penchant for following the letter of the law. Despite their differences, the two manage to work together and eventually fall in love. Unfortunately all of this leads them to have to fight for their lives when their investigation into the case and the corruption surrounding it gets them bumped up to the top of a hit man's list. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, (more)
A mysterious and possibly otherworldly stranger comes to the rescue of a frontier town in this Western, which was strongly influenced by the George Stevens classic, Shane. The peace of a small mining community is shattered when Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart), the ruthless proprietor of a powerful strip-mining company, arrives in town with his son Josh (Christopher Penn) and a posse of hired guns to drive out the townspeople and take control of the territory. Megan (Sydney Penny), a young girl whose pet was killed in the melee, prays to God for someone to defend the village from the marauders; soon, the Preacher (Clint Eastwood) arrives on a pale horse, and joins forces with Hull Barrett (Michael Moriarty), the unofficial leader of the miners and one of the few who attempts to defend himself, to take a stand against LaHood and his men. As the Preacher and Barrett try to organize the miners to fight the invaders, both Megan and her mother Sarah (Carrie Snodgrass) find they're drawn to the Preacher, who keeps to himself and seems to have more than his share of secrets. Pale Rider was also directed by leading man Clint Eastwood; it was his first Western as both director and star since the acclaimed The Outlaw Josey Wales. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, (more)
Expanding on their Saturday Night Live characters, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd star as Jake and Elwood Blues, two white boys with black soul. Sporting cool shades and look-alike suits, Jake and Elwood are dispatched on a "mission from God" by their former teacher, Sister Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman). Said mission is to raise $5000 to save an orphanage. In the course of their zany adventures, the Blues Brothers run afoul of neo-Nazi Henry Gibson, perform the theme from Rawhide before the most unruly bar crowd in written history, and lay waste to hundreds of cars on the streets and freeways of Chicago. In case you aren't swept up in the infectuous nuttiness of the brothers Blue, you might have fun spotting film's legion of guest stars, including James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Steve Lawrence, Twiggy, Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman), Frank Oz, and Steven Spielberg. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, (more)
One of the bigger non-cartoon moneymakers for Disney in the 1970s, The North Avenue Irregulars is predicated on the premise of the "Neighborhood Watch" system. Priest Michael Hill (Edward Herrmann), newly arrived on North Avenue, decides to buck the patriarchal notions of his superiors by delegating church responsibilities to the neighborhood women. Since the ladies include Vickie, Jane, Anne, Claire and Rose (Barbara Harris, Karen Valentine, Susan Clark, Cloris Leachman and Patsy Kelly), we're well primed for a surfeit of feistiness. Father Michael entrusts the church funds to Rose, who loses it all at the race track. In trying to retrieve the cash, he comes up against an influential bookie ring, controlled by several of the above-suspicion town officials. The wily priest responds by organizing the ladies of his congregation into the North Avenue Irregulars, a two-fisted crimefighting unit. There's slapstick aplenty within the film's 99 minutes, including the expected comic car crash. North Avenue Irregulars is based on a (drawn-from-life?) novel by the Reverend Albert Fay Hill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Herrmann, Barbara Harris, (more)
At first glance, Cow Town seems to be a documentary, as an unseen narrator describes the changes made in the Old West by the advent of barbed wire. Before long, however, the audience is assured that this will be a typical Gene Autry western. Autry plays a ranch owner who incurs the wrath of his neighbors by placing barbed wire around his turf. The local cowboys are certain that the new "invention" will mean the end of their jobs, since there will no longer be a need for ranch hands to keep the cattle from roaming free. Feeding into these fears is a group of "concerned citizens," who turn out to be a band of cattle rustlers. Autry manages to round up the baddies, smooth the ruffled feathers of the cowboys, and sing several old favorites. The supporting cast includes Gail Davis, who'd later star in the Autry-produced TV series Annie Oakley, and ace stunt men Jock Mahoney and Ted Mapes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Gail Davis, (more)
- 1943
- NR
The Norwegian resistance to the Nazi occupation of their country inspired several wartime films from Hollywood, including this Warner Bros. production, filmed in and around Monterey, California. In October 1942, a German observation airplane discovers a seaside village named Trollness where the Norwegian flag is flying over the town square. A ground patrol discovers an empty town littered with corpses, including a number of Nazi officials. The story of the massacre is told in flashback. Errol Flynn plays Gunnar Brogge, a fisherman engaged to Karen Stensgard (Ann Sheridan), whose father, Martin (alter Huston), is the village physician. Gunnar and Karen are working to undermine the Nazis. The town is divided, with the minister leading a contingent which believes that violence, even against the sadistic Germans, is morally wrong. Karen is concerned about the imminent arrival of her brother, who is known to be friendly to the German occupiers; she fears he may learn of plans by the British to deliver a supply of guns to the resistance. The Nazi commandant, Captain Konig (Helmut Dantine), keeps up the pressure to learn of any opposition to his administration, eventually deciding to execute a selected number of the villagers to force someone to reveal the extent of the resistance's schemes. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, (more)
