Erin Flannery Movies
- 1988
- PG
This screwball urban comedy is about two dippy roommates, struggling musicians Lolly (Melanie Mayron) and Hattie (Helen Slater), who are asked by an equally spacey, drug-dealing friend-of-a-friend Diane (Loretta Devine) to baby-sit a bag containing nearly a million dollars while she scoots out of town in order to avoid trouble. Once the money is in their possession, however, temptation proves too much for Lolly and Hattie, who use the ill-gotten cash to pay the rent, buy new instruments, and embark on a shopping spree for earrings, clothes, and shoes. While the girls dig themselves deeper into trouble with every dollar spent, they also encounter a variety of eccentric characters, including a fellow musician (Danitra Vance), their ailing landlady (Eileen Brennan), Lolly's boyfriend (Christopher Guest), and a parking lot attendant (Stephen McHattie). The latter, however, is actually a cop who's keeping surveillance on them from across the street. Mayron co-wrote the script for Sticky Fingers (1988) with actress and first-time director Catlin Adams. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Slater, Melanie Mayron, (more)
- 1987
- R
The sublimely derivative Blindside stirs up a modicum of tension. The principal character is a onetime surveillance expert, who after purchasing a motel can't resist the temptation of spying on his guests. No, there's no shower stabbing here, but there isa brutal murder. Before long, our peeping-tom protagonist is up to his chin in drug-traffic intrigue. As the voyeuristic hero, Harvey Keitel is the most recognizable performer in Blindside; with the exception of the always welcome Lolita Davidovich, the rest of the cast is unremarkable. Filmed in 1986, Blindside was released in the US in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harvey Keitel, Lori Hallier, (more)
- 1986
Produced for the HBO Cable service, Act of Vengeance reenacts the 1969 murder of United Mine Workers leader Jock Yablonski. Yablonski (Charles Bronson) virtually writes his own death warrant when, after a "safe" mine collapses and 80 miners are killed, he rebels against the incumbent UMW boss Tony Boyle (Wilford Brimley) to campaign for presidency of the union. Boyle gets the word out that one less Yablonski in the world would be preferable. Yablonski is depicted as being fully aware of the danger he faces in challenging Boyle--and is supported in his decision by his courageous wife (Ellen Burstyn). Based on the book by Trevor Armbrister, Act of Vengeance premiered on April 20, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A series of brutal rapes and murders have begun occurring in a small town. Teenager, Tim (Duncan McIntosh), has had horrible dreams and fears he is the murderer, especially since many of his friends have been victims. The town doctor, Sam Cordell (John Cassavetes), and the sheriff, Hank (John Ireland), discover the community has a dark past involving Satanism. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cassavetes, Kerrie Keane, (more)
CIA computer technician John Savage seeks revenge for the terrorist killing of his girlfriend. Threatening to make public his insider's information, Savage forces his reluctant bosses to train him in the art of assassination. He then heads into enemy territory (at least, it was enemy territory back in 1982) on a search-and-destroy mission. There is nothing in The Amateur that we haven't seen elsewhere, but Savage and a solid cast of supporting players Christopher Plummer,Marthe Keller, Arthur Hill, Ed Lauter, Nicholas Campbell, Jan Rubes et. al.-- keep the proceedings lively. Robert Littell co-adapted the film's screenplay from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Savage, Christopher Plummer, (more)
A music teacher (Perry King) at a tough Los Angeles high school reaches out to his students with the gift of music -- only to find a gang of sadistic punk rockers is actively dissuading new members from joining the orchestra. Not only are the punkers sadistic; they are also led by the nefarious Timothy Van Patten (sporting Willie Aames-style blow-dried hair). The plot development: Van Patten is a musical prodigy, as he proves by banging out some angry classical tunes on the school Baldwin in front of the teacher's startled class. King tries to befriend the lad, but he rejects the offer with scorn. When King attempts to settle for a truce with the gang leader in order to end his students' harassment, he finds himself targeted for a slowly-escalating campaign of terror, culminating in a deadly game of hide-and-seek in the high school after hours. One by one, King faces the murderous gang; one by one, teenagers die in a succession of increasingly violent fashions as the already-exploitive film degenerates into a Death Wish clone. As a feature film, Class of 1984 seems more like it was made for television. The plot is completely contrived; the characters are unbelievable (especially the punks, who seem to be the sort of punks that exist only in the imaginations of "B"-grade Hollywood film directors), and the production values are poor. Yet Class of 1984 has a certain charm, a certain earnestness that makes it watchable, if unintentionally amusing. The film includes a soundtrack by Alice Cooper which includes the stirring anthem "I Am the Future." Another point of interest: this may be the only film including a scene in which Michael J. Fox is stabbed during a prison-style cafeteria riot. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Perry King, Timothy Van Patten, (more)
