John Simon Movies
- 1998
British director Caleb Lindsay helmed this romantic comedy with a twist. Two jaded London women, Dallas (Amelia Curtis) and Popeye (Louisa Milwood Haigh), are tired of the dating game and concoct a scheme to profit from men's attentions. They place personal ads, accept dates, and bilk their suitors out of dinners, gifts, and loans of money before dumping them. Elliot (Kevin McKidd) and Oz (John Simon) are two lonesome guys who decide to try singles ads for the first time. After they go out with Dallas and Popeye a few times, it dawns on Elliot that Dallas is stringing him along. He warns Oz that the women might be playing them for fools, but Oz has fallen hard for Popeye. Popeye tells Dallas that she is just playing Oz for bigger stakes, but eventually romance proves stronger than financial incentives. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin McKidd, Amelia Curtis, (more)
- 1991
This isn't a film about a singer from the Lone Star state. "Texas Tenor" is a style of playing the saxophone which brings out its big sound and biggest volume. This documentary does a creditable job of exploring the life and times of the popularly unknown jazz and R&B saxophone legend Illinois Jacquet. He has played with most of the greats and almost single-handedly developed a rompin'-stompin' saxophone sound which has been a feature of great R&B ever since. A virtuoso performer with masterful phrasing, he became a star in the 1940s under the tutelage of Lionel Hampton, who had him change from alto to tenor sax and then gave him the opportunity to record an epochal solo in Flying Home. In addition to past and current performance and backstage footage, many jazz and rhythm and blues greats comment on Jacquet's playing and his place in music history. Some jazz-knowledgeable reviewers, evidently hoping for an entirely different and more erudite treatment, expressed disappointment in this documentary, others lauded it as one of the best ever made. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
This sex-filled exploitation favorite has bounced from one double-billing to the next, undergoing numerous re-titlings (including Bride of Satan and Fury of the Succubus) in the process. It stars Lana Wood as a frustrated housewife who begins having nightly trysts with a tall, dark stranger... who, of course, turns out to be Satan himself. Thus begins her descent into dementia, as she begins to distance herself even further from her husband and kids (if that were possible) while painting portraits of her enigmatic new lover. For reasons never detailed in the film, there is a fully-functional guillotine in the cellar, and it's only a matter of time before heads begin to roll. Assorted devil-worshippers pop up out of nowhere for a confusing climax. Not a bad little time-waster, this film relies more on nudity than scares, with a dollop of gore for good measure. Britt Ekland fans be warned: despite her prominent billing in the credits, her role barely amounts to a walk-on. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Britt Ekland, Lana Wood, (more)
