Charles Fleischer Movies

Things have barely settled from the excitement and resolve of the original Back to the Future, when in pops that crazy inventor Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) with news that in order to prevent a series of events that could ruin the McFly name for posterity, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox ) and his girlfriend are whisked into the future to the year 2015, where Marty must tangle with a teen rogue named Griff, who's obviously the descendant of Biff, the first Future film's bully. Marty foils Griff and his group when he jumps on an air-foil skateboard that flies him through town at rakish speeds with the loser bullies beaten again. Marty gets a money-making brainstorm before hopping in the time-traveling DeLorean, and he purchases a sports almanac. He figures that back in 1985 he'll be able to place sure-fire bets using the published sports scores of the games that are yet to happen. Unfortunately for Marty, Dr. Brown disapproves of his betting scheme -- he feels too much messing with time is very dangerous -- and he tosses the almanac. A hidden Biff overhears the discussion about the almanac, sees it get tossed out, and grabs it. Thus begins a time-traveling swirl to make the head spin. Biff swipes the DeLorean, heads back to 1955, and with the help of the unerring almanac, bets his way to power. The now-altered "Biff world" has turned into a nightmarish scene with Biff the mogul, residing in a Vegas-styled pleasure palace and running everything. It's all our hero Marty can do to pull the pieces together this time, as he must jump between three generations of intertwined time travel. The end of Back to the Future, Part 2 introduces its sequel as the zany professor has already time-dashed away to the Wild West of the late 1800s and invites Marty into a new adventure. ~ All Movie Guide

Christopher Coppola directs this droll re-working both of Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Paul Morrissey's Heat (1972). Washed up child actor and pizza delivery guy Curson Beeley (Marc Coppola) is taken in by retired TV executive Agnes Fuchs (Barbara Bain). In her estate, Beeley lives a pampered life of luxury while Fuchs quietly tries to resurrect his career. As his television comeback seems more and more likely to happen, Beeley's life becomes complicated on other fronts -- his ex-girlfriend continues to harass him, Fuchs becomes increasingly demanding in bed, and he is plagued by a bizarre outbreak of boils. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In this action film, a former pro skier who has become a sheriff attempts to talk daring, but unprepared teens from climbing a treacherous mountain. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This first theatrical feature spun off from the television series Tales from the Crypt (which was in turn inspired by the infamous EC horror comics of the 1950s) concerns a mysterious man named Brayker (Bill Sadler), who arrives at a church-turned-rooming house in a small town in New Mexico. Hot on his trail is an equally mysterious and very menacing figure known as the Collector (Billy Zane), who arrives with policemen in tow; he claims that Brayker stole some keys from him, and he wants the cops to help him reclaim them. It turns out, however, that the "keys" are actually several amulets that contain drops of the blood of Christ; they can be used to ward off evil in the right hands, but they can lead the world to doom if used improperly. The Collector and his forces lay siege to the house with the other residents caught in the middle between Brayker and the Collector, including alcoholic Uncle Willy (Dick Miller), prostitute Cordelia (Brenda Bakke), sleazy Southerner Roach (Thomas Haden Church), postal employee Wally (Charles Fleischer), sensible Jeryline (Jada Pinkett), and landlady Irene (CCH Pounder). Bordello of Blood, the second Tales from the Crypt feature, hit theaters the following year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this black comedy, a humble cab driver spends his days daydreaming of becoming a rock-star. His blissful reverie is one day interrupted when ends up inadvertently blamed for the assassination of a world-renowned nuclear scientist. Soon afterward he finds that he has a stowaway, the late scientist's chimpanzee, the only one who knows his master's secret formula, which if ever written down could cause the destruction of the world. Now the hapless taxi driver must evade both the cops and two villainous Russian Spies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-cable comedy, Charlie Boyle is a 13-year-old genius who is attending a top university on a full scholarship. But being the only kid his age on campus isn't much fun, so Charlie invents an alter ego -- Chazz, the hippest eighth grader at Franklin Middle School. While he's a social misfit at college, he's everybody's friend in junior high. But how long can Charlie keep living this double life? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Gross Anatomy is to medical school what Paper Chase was to law school, with perhaps a little less sobriety. Mathew Modine plays a blue-collar kid attending a posh school of medicine, where everyone--teacher and student alike--seems to be well above Modine's social strata. Perhaps as a reaction to the snobbery all around him, Modine behaves as irreverently as possible. Neither teacher Christine Lahti nor lab partner Daphne Zuniga finds Modine's what-the-hell act appealing, but both are fully aware that he is a talented young man with a brilliant future. The climax of the film lays it on pretty thick in defining Modine as an all-around good fellow despite his cheekiness (he even delivers a baby just before taking his finals!), but Gross Anatomy strives successfully to be a "feel good" movie--albeit brought ever so slightly down to earth by the death of one of the principal characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Erstwhile inventor Rick Moranis has been experimenting with an electro-magnetic shrinking machine. He leaves the device unattended in his attic; shortly afterward, it is accidentally activated. Alas, the demon machine is aimed at Moranis' children, as well as the son of neighbor Matt Frewer. The kids, shrunk to 1/4-inch height, are tossed into the trash bin by the unwitting Moranis. For the rest of the film, our teeny-tiny protagonists attempt to gain their parents' attention--and to survive the wilds of the backyard, where all sorts of dangers, from bumblebees to lawnmowers, threaten their well-being. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids features Marcia Strassman as Moranis' wife, and juvenile players Robert Oliveri, Kristine Sutherland, Thomas Brown, Jared Rushton and Amy O'Neill. The visual effects are the handiwork of such masters as Joe Johnston, Phil Tippett, and David Allen. When originally released to theatres, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was double-billed with the "Roger Rabbit" cartoon Tummy Trouble; this is how it is presented on videotape as well. The film (the live-action one, that is) prompted a 1992 sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Scoffing at superstition, Laverne (Penny Marshall) refuses to answer a chain letter and tosses the missive in the trash. Predictably, all sorts of disaster begin to befall our heroine, causing her to regret her insouciance. In order to "exorcise" the supposedly jinxed Laverne, her friends arrange a conference with a highly suspicious-looking gypsy named Olga (Carol Kane). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Laverne (Penny Marshall) forms a rock band with her boyfriend Chuck (Charles Fleischer), who in turn recruits several of his classically-minded musician buddies. Unfortunately, it don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing--and this bunch hasn't a swinger among them. Even so, the new band is slated to go on as a replacement act for the Rolling Stones! The fact that the "square" musicians are played by the members of the rock group Jack Mack and the Heart Attack should give the viewer a pretty good idea of the story's outcome. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this sequel to My Girl, Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) is now thirteen and at the crossroads of adolescence, beginning to question her past. Her father Harry (Dan Aykroyd) is now married to Shelly (Jamie Lee Curtis) and preoccupied with an expectant child. Vada feels left out and decides to write about her mother -- whom she knows nothing about -- for a school project. Vada wants to travel to Los Angeles during spring break to find out more about her mother by interviewing old friends and acquaintances. Harry is reluctant to let her go but finally agrees when he arranges for her to stay with her Uncle Phil (Richard Masur), who lives in L.A. with his girlfriend Rose (Christine Ebersole) and Rose's son Nick (Austin O'Brien), who happens to be the same age as Vada. Together Vada and Nick travel all over Los Angeles, uncovering revelations about Vada's mother and her past. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Straight-laced Henry Winkler takes a night-shift job as a morgue attendant. Winkler falls under the spell of wheeler-dealer coworker Michael Keaton, whose catchphrase "Is this a great country or what?" is the clarion call for his many get-rich-quick schemes. His latest plan is to turn the morgue into a nocturnal brothel, for the benefit of anything-goes hooker Shelley Long-and incidentally, to line their own pockets. Director Ron Howard and his frequent scripters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel turn the potentially lurid story material of Night Shift into an endearing comedy, with winning performances from its three often miscast stars. Keep an eye out during one of the party sequences for Kevin Costner as a carousing college boy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide