Lew Horn Movies
- 1990
A made-for-TV effort from horror director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), this supernatural thriller is ostensibly based on the novella of the same name by Cornell Woolrich -- but the title is pretty much where the similarity ends. The plot involves a possessed Aztec ceremonial cloak (once used to line a sacred burial chamber) which poisons the soul of anyone who wears it. An improbable string of events sees the cloak turned into a little slip of a dress -- donned by several different women, but worn to evil perfection by Madchen Amick (Twin Peaks's Shelly). I'm Dangerous Tonight features colorful supporting performances from Anthony Perkins and R. Lee Ermey. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Warren Beatty directed and starred in this big-budget action comedy featuring Chester Gould's square-jawed, two-dimensional comic strip detective. Ruthless gangster Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino) touches off a gang war against underworld boss Lips Manlis (Paul Sorvino), with Big Boy and his minions rubbing out enough of Manlis's goons (along with Manlis himself) to take over his nightclub, and a healthy percentage of the city's criminal activities in the process. Caprice also gains proprietary rights to Manlis's girlfriend, nightclub chanteuse Breathless Mahoney (Madonna). Big Boy's next move to is unite the rest of the city's crooks under his command; this wave of corruption attracts the attention of lawman Dick Tracy, who is determined to smash Caprice's criminal network once and for all. As Tracy plots to put Big Boy behind bars where he belongs, Breathless uses her considerable charms in an attempt to sway Tracy from the path of righteousness; this causes no small amount of anxiety for Tracy's long-suffering female companion, Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headly), and the street-smart kid (Charlie Korsmo) they've been keeping an eye on. The various bad guys, heavily made up to resemble Gould's cartoon characters (though Beatty is not made up to resemble Tracy), include Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, R.G. Armstrong, and William Forsythe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Beatty, Charlie Korsmo, (more)
- 1988
Slated to receive a humanitarian award, Harry (Harry Anderson) searches high and low for someone to escort to the ceremony. Stopping at a newsstand, Harry makes the acquaintance of an attractive, charming and well-spoken woman named Diane (Wendy Schaal), who shares many of his interests. On the spot, Harry invites Diane to the award ceremony--only to be "reunited" with the young lady a few hours later when she is hauled into court and revealed to be a porn-film star! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- G
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In an entertaining animated children's film for the youngest moppets only (no adult double takes here) a red, white, and blue rabbit miraculously appears to save the day like "Superhare." When not zooming about on roller skates, his special powers lie hidden in a mild-mannered alter ego named Rob Rabbit (voice of Barry Gordon). Rob is a normal bunny until one day some friends are threatened by a crashing boulder at a picnic. At that moment he is transformed into the "American Rabbit" and saves them. Then a crickety old rabbit overflowing with wisdom comes to tell him that his destiny is to go forth and conquer evil. So Rob heads out to conquer, first getting a job playing at the Panda-Monium piano bar in the city in order to support himself. There he tackles a nasty gang of jackal bikers that appear again and again in different contexts. They finally burn the bar to the ground, and so the die is cast and the gauntlet thrown down to the floppy eared super-rabbit. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Arbogast, Pat Freley, (more)
- 1985
This campy drama, set in the 1940s, was inspired by a hit song by Barry Manilow. It tells the tale of an aspiring songwriter, Lola, a showgirl, and the sleazy owner of the Copa. Tragedy ensues as the two men duel over Lola's love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- PG
A cautious single mom and a frustrated writer dance around the prospect of getting together in this romantic comedy. Caustic, difficult Emily (Susan Sarandon) lives with her potty-mouthed son, Tim (Wil Wheaton), and her obnoxiously bossy mother (Jean Stapleton). Her social life consists of afternoon dalliances with a total cad. When part-time writer/inventor and full-time school security guard Joe (Richard Dreyfuss) passes up the chance to turn Tim in for not meeting the school's residency requirements, a paranoid Emily accuses him of masterminding a blackmail scheme. Unbeknownst to Emily, though, the friendless, fatherless Tim strikes up an unlikely friendship with Joe. Eventually, against her better judgement, so does Emily herself. But when one of Joe's inventions begins to take off, his sadistic ex-girlfriend, Carrie (Nancy Allen), shows up to spoil things. Directed by TV vet Glenn Jordan, The Buddy System was written by future Beaches scribe Mary Agnes Donohue. The film marked the feature debut of future Stand By Me and Star Trek: The Next Generation star Wheaton. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, (more)
- 1982
- PG
Gary Coleman stars as the title character, the bratty son of wealthy parents, who is kidnapped by a pair of bumbling crooks. The experience winds up teaching the pampered boy the realities of childhood. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Coleman, Paul Le Mat, (more)
- 1981
Erin (Mary Elizabeth McDonough) has fallen in love with Paul Matthews (Morgan Stevens), a new employee at the Walton lumber yard. His curiosity aroused by Paul's reluctance to discuss his past, John-Boy does a bit of research on his own--and discovers to his amazement that Paul's real name is Northridge, and that his father is one of the Waltons' biggest business rivals. Meanwhile, Ike and Jim-Bob gets a lot more than they bargained for when they go prospecting for uranium. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Evidently still working for the same children's-theater company depicted in the previous episode "If the Shoe Fits", Vera (Beth Howland) receives glowing reviews for her portrayal of Cinderella. In fact, Vera is so impressive that a TV producer offers her the opportunity to star in a supermarket commercial. Suffice to say the results indicate that Vera had better hold on to her day job! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Bull Meechum (Robert Duvall) loves fighting almost as much as he loves the Marine Corps. Profane, cocky, and arrogant, he's a great fighter pilot -- and he knows it. His boss hates his guts, but knows that if he's going to straighten out his lagging squadron, Meechum is the man to do it. The story and irony of The Great Santini is in Meechum's total intolerance of family life and fatherhood. Meechum has a lovely, supportive wife, Lillian (Blythe Danner), an earnest, likeable son, Ben (Michael O'Keefe), three smaller children, and a good home, but Meechum finds the pastoral nature of peacetime totally incompatible with his gung-ho nature. So he begins to drink. He drills his family unmercifully, like recruits. He hammers his son relentlessly until, in a basketball game, his son fights back, and the family cheers Ben's efforts. Tension builds in the household until, during one drunken night, Meechum breaks down. Based on a best-selling novel by Pat Conroy, The Great Santini earned critical raves but fared poorly at the box office. Duvall's performance as Meechum is generally regarded as one of his greatest. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner, (more)
- 1973
Two TV films were shown during the 1973-1974 season dealing with the emotional and legal ramifications of rape. While the Elizabeth Montgomery vehicle A Case of Rape was closer to Real Life, Cry Rape! also had a lot going for it. Andrea Marcovicci stars as Betty Jenner, whose world is rent asunder when she falls victim to a rapist. Equally as humiliating as the violation itself is the aftermath; Betty must withstand the adversarial questions of the police on the case, and then must relive her nightmare in court. Filmed in a semidocumentary fashion, Cry Rape! veers dangerously close to discouraging any woman from reporting sexual assault, inasmuch as it demonstrates the step-by-step process by which the accuser often ends up the accused. Only its contrived melodramatic conclusion robs the film of its verisimilitude. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Samantha's father, Maurice, must prove that his grandson, Adam, is a warlock, lest the Council of Witches declare the marriage of Sam and Darrin to be null and void. In his efforts to cover up Adam's "mortal-hood," Maurice sets himself wide open for a few startling surprises. This time around, Diana Chesney and Maryesther Denver are cast as "councilwomen" Enchantra and Grimalda. First telecast on December 29, 1971, "Adam, Warlock or Washout?" was written by Ed Jurist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, (more)
- 1970
In the sixth episode of an eight-part story arc, the Stephenses and the Tates continue their sightseeing tour of Salem, MA, where most of the episode was filmed. When she accidentally causes Larry's expensive Paul Revere teapot to vanish, she tries to make amends, only to conjure up the spirit of Paul Revere (Bert Convy) himself. Still thinking that he is in colonial times, Revere vows to prevent British businessman Sir Leslie (Jonathan Harris) from "invading the American market." Written by Philip Sharp and Henry Sharp, "Paul Revere Rides Again" was originally telecast on October 29, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, (more)
- 1970
You all remember Greg Mullavey as the husband of Louise Lasser in the 1976 TV serial spoof Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. But did you know that Mullavey once enjoyed top billing in a theatrical feature film? Judging by Marigold Man, perhaps "enjoyed" isn't the right word. Mullavey and Harry Cohn (not the Columbia Pictures executive!) play a couple of jobless jerks, living on the fringes of Hollywood. To avoid paying rent, Mullavey romances his landlady Joan Lemmo. This is not how he'd prefer to spend his time. No, Mullavey's goal in life is to plant marigolds from Coast to Coast. And this goes on and on for nearly 90 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
