Kurt Fuller Movies

Ghostbusters
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson star as a quartet of Manhattan-based "paranormal investigators". When their government grants run out, the former three go into business as The Ghostbusters, later hiring Hudson on. Armed with electronic paraphernalia, the team is spectacularly successful, ridding The Big Apple of dozens of ghoulies, ghosties and long-legged beasties. Tight-lipped bureaucrat William Atherton regards the Ghostbusters as a bunch of charlatans, but is forced to eat his words when New York is besieged by an army of unfriendly spirits, conjured up by a long-dead Babylonian demon and "channelled" through beautiful cellist Sigourney Weaver and nerdish Rick Moranis. The climax is a glorious sendup of every Godzilla movie ever made-and we daresay it cost more than a year's worth of Japanese monster flicks combined. Who'd ever dream that the chubby, cheery Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man would turn out to be the most malevolent threat ever faced by New York City? When the script for Ghostbusters was forged by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, John Belushi was slated to play the Bill Murray role; Belushi's death in 1982 not only necessitated the hiring of Murray, but also an extensive rewrite. The most expensive comedy made up to 1984, Ghostbusters made money hand over fist, spawning not only a 1989 sequel but also two animated TV series (one of them partially based on an earlier live-action TV weekly, titled The Ghost Busters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ghostbusters 2
Ivan Reitman's sequel to the phenomenally successful Ghostbusters is looser and more self-assured than the original. The film opens with a title reading "Five Years Later" and finds the ghostbusters living in hard times. A restraining order has forbidden the boys to partake in paranormal warfare, and as a result they have had to seek other lines of work. Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston (Ernie Hudson) spend their time performing at children's' birthday parties, and Egon (Harold Ramis) is busy conducting experiments investigating the effect of human emotions on the environment, leaving ghostbusting behind. Venkman (Bill Murray) and Dana (Sigourney Weaver) have split up. Venkman now hosts a local cable show called "The World of the Psychic." Dana, now divorced and the mother of a little baby named Oscar, works as an art restorer in a museum -- and this is where the plot kicks in. While Dana is restoring a portrait of a 16th-century tyrant by the name of Vigo the Carpathian, the portrait becomes hexed. The evil Vigo wants to return to life by taking over the body of Dana's little child. Vigo has enlisted Dana's boss, Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol), to compel Dana to cooperate. Soon dirty sludge and slime flow through the streets of Manhattan, and the ghostbusters have to reunite to save the city from a funky paranormal evil. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

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

This lightweight and slightly ribald comedy marks the feature film debut of Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), a buxom seductress best known for hosting a popular syndicated television show that features wonderfully bad old horror movies. After losing her latest job for refusing to sleep with her new boss, Elvira tries to launch a Vegas career. Just before that scheme falls flat, she finds salvation when an aunt dies and leaves her a huge old New England mansion. When the black-clad and sexy Elvira, with her flamboyant make-up and acres of cleavage hit the town, she creates an instant scandal amongst the old folks and inspires lusty dreams in the minds of the young. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Ivan Reitman's sequel to the phenomenally successful Ghostbusters is looser and more self-assured than the original. The film opens with a title reading "Five Years Later" and finds the ghostbusters living in hard times. A restraining order has forbidden the boys to partake in paranormal warfare, and as a result they have had to seek other lines of work. Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston (Ernie Hudson) spend their time performing at children's' birthday parties, and Egon (Harold Ramis) is busy conducting experiments investigating the effect of human emotions on the environment, leaving ghostbusting behind. Venkman (Bill Murray) and Dana (Sigourney Weaver) have split up. Venkman now hosts a local cable show called "The World of the Psychic." Dana, now divorced and the mother of a little baby named Oscar, works as an art restorer in a museum -- and this is where the plot kicks in. While Dana is restoring a portrait of a 16th-century tyrant by the name of Vigo the Carpathian, the portrait becomes hexed. The evil Vigo wants to return to life by taking over the body of Dana's little child. Vigo has enlisted Dana's boss, Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol), to compel Dana to cooperate. Soon dirty sludge and slime flow through the streets of Manhattan, and the ghostbusters have to reunite to save the city from a funky paranormal evil. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

When two rival groups of surfers face off on a Southern California beach prior to a big surfing contest, things get a little tense. However, when surfer Nick Rainwood (Richard Joseph Paul) meets up with a pretty girl, Allie (Danielle Von Zerneck), the two start off a romance, in spite of the fact that they belong to opposing sides of the surfing feud. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Lloyd Bridges stars as a newspaper chief in this made-for-television movie about life in big-city journalism. This fast-paced movie, which was the pilot for a short-lived series of the same name on ABC, follows various plotlines as the reporters' personal and professional lives become intertwined. Executive producer David Milch brings a jittery tension to the newsroom, similar to his later work on NYPD Blue. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Brian De Palma's Hollywood sanitization of Tom Wolfe's scabrous satire stars Tom Hanks as Sherman McCoy, the "master of the universe," a shallow Wall Street investor who makes millions while enjoying the good life and the sexual favors of Maria Ruskin (Melanie Griffith), a Southern belle golddigger. Sherman and Maria are driving back to Maria's apartment from the airport when Maria takes a wrong turn on the expressway and the two find themselves in the South Bronx. She sees a black youth approaching Sherman's car and Maria, frightened, guns the engine, running over the teenager and killing him. The two drive away and decide not to report the accident to the police. Meanwhile, indigent alcoholic journalist Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis), anxious for a story to make good with his editor, comes upon the hit-and-run tale through local black community activist, Reverend Bacon (John Hancock). Bacon plans to use the hit-and-run case as a rallying point for the black community, while Fallow recognizes the press coverage inherent in prosecuting the callow Sherman. As Sherman is brought to his knees, the New York community fragments into different factions who use the case to suit their own cynical political purposes. Finally, Sherman is left without any allies to support him except for the sympathetic Judge White (Morgan Freeman) and the remorseful Fallow. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A boy saves and befriends a mangy ex-circus dog and adopts him as a pet--without his father's knowledge. As the family moves across the country, the dog attempts to follow, getting into close calls and lots of adventures along the way. Will Bingo end up in the arms of his favorite boy? This spoof/adventure/comedy contains some violence and profanity. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

When a private detective takes on a missing person assignment trying to find an Italian aristocrat's uncle, she discovers a conspiracy of murder and drugs. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

After a patient murders his wife, a distraught criminal psychologist resigns from his profession. But when police present him with a puzzling murder, he goes back into practice to help solve the crime and in so doing, comes to terms with his own terrible tragedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Lots of guys used to dream about having a date with Marilyn Monroe, but three friends who are about to graduate from high school to go their separate ways try to make that fantasy a reality in this comedy, set in 1962. Roy (Jason Priestley), Ned (Gabriel Olds), and Scott (Jerry O'Connell) have been buddies since the age of six, when they were entered together in a Howdy Doody look-alike contest. With only a few weeks to go before they graduate from high school, Roy has impulsively joined the Army to get away from his abusive father, while Ned has discovered he's going to be a father, and Scott is still plagued by his pesky virginity. Wanting to enjoy their last few weeks of freedom, Roy "borrows" a wad of cash and a blue Galaxie 500 convertible from his former employers, repo men Arturo and Antonio Gallo (Kurt Fuller and Stephen Tobolowsky), and persuades his friends to join him as he heads to Hollywood. Roy wants to meet the woman of his dreams, Marilyn Monroe, whom he's learned is working on a new picture, Something's Got to Give. With the help of Roy's Uncle Harry (Joe Pantoliano), they locate Monroe's home and camp out at her gate, hoping to get a glimpse of the glamourous goddess. However, Roy breaks out a reefer to smoke while they attempt to stay up all night (tactical error number one: marijuana does not make you more alert!), and when she slips out without their noticing, the three end up on a mad chase to find Marilyn before she gets away. Meanwhile, the Gallo Brothers have noticed their car is gone, and they are determined to get it back, without much concern for the health or safety of the thief. Calendar Girl was Jason Priestley's first vehicle following his success on the television series Beverly Hills 90210. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this old-fashioned screwball comedy, two Hollywood screenwriters have numerous disastrous, heated encounters before they realize the obvious and find romance. It all begins in catastrophe-ridden LA after yet another earthquake. Zina is driving her car on the freeway when she runs into Davis while trying get out from under a cracked overpass. They start out civil enough but soon find themselves fighting tooth and nail over who is at fault. Later the two instant enemies find that they run into each other wherever they go, be it a trendy restaurant or a major party. When they both begin vying for the opportunity to write the same script, the fireworks begin in earnest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV Twisted Desire could be compared to the 1968 theatrical feature Pretty Poison, the difference being that the earlier film was totally fiction, and the later one based on a true story. In a spectacular example of casting against type, Melissa Joan Hart plays 14-year-old Jennifer Stanton, who despises her dominineering parents (Daniel Baldwin, Isabella Hoffman) so intensely that she fantasizes about removing both of them from the face of the earth. Meanwhile, troubled 17-year-old Nick Ryan (Jeremy Jordan), recently sprung from juvenile detention, is trying to get his act together by working as a gas station attendant. Upon sizing up Nick, Jennifer seduces him, then persuades him to murder her mother and father. The ultimate punishment levied for the crime is bitterly ironic, all the more so because it really happened. Twisted Desire originally aired May 13, 1996, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide