Casey King Movies
Mel Brooks does it again with this send-up of vampire films. That Leslie Nielson plays the great blood-sucking count gives viewers a good idea as to what they are in for. This Dracula takes himself very seriously despite the fact that he's a bit of a klutz with a tendency to slip in the bat guano that adorns his castle floor. Staying very close to Bram Stoker's original story, Brooks also pays sly homage to other major vampire film classics, including Nosferatu. Though silly but subtle gags abound in this outing, Brooks has taken great care to recreate the late 19th-century atmosphere in rich detail and harkens back to Hammer horror movies popular during the '50s and '60s. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Leslie Nielsen, Peter MacNicol, (more)
Fatal Instinct is an Airplane-style spoof of the late-'80s, early-'90s cycle of erotic crime thrillers. Setting the plot in motion is a kinky murder. Armand Assante plays the cop assigned to the case; he's also the prosecuting attorney; the "Sharon Stone" part is essayed by Sean Young. A dash of Body Heat is thrown in the pot as Assante's wife Kate Nelligan plots her hubby's demise. Tony Randall has a bit as a judge, while the film's semi-mocking jazz score is provided by Clarence Clemmons -- who shows up on screen to toot his sax at various crucial plot junctures. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Sherilyn Fenn, (more)
If a comedy is to be made from the plight of the homeless, who have to scrape through their days returning deposit bottles and cleaning car windshields to get their daily bread as the rich get richer and more heartless, it may as well be Mel Brooks' Life Stinks. The trademark Brooks humor dominates this fable about a ruthless billionaire, Goddard Bolt (Mel Brooks), who wants to obliterate a poor section of Los Angeles and build a high-tech commercial center in its place. His only problem is that he owns only half the land needed for the construction, the other half belonging to equally ruthless billionaire Vance Craswell (Jeffrey Tambor), who has his own ideas for the land. The two try to buy each other out until, finally, a deal is struck: Craswell bets that Bolt cannot survive a month on the streets as a homeless man. If Bolt makes it, he gets the property. If he doesn't, Craswell gets it. Bolt agrees and, as a poor man, he begins to feel the pain of being uprooted and alone, even meeting a friendly homeless woman, Molly (Lesley Ann Warren) with whom he forms an attachment. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mel Brooks, Lesley Ann Warren, (more)
- 1988
In this above-average made-for-television drama, Bernadette Peters stars as a mother facing the greatest challenge of her life. Based a true story, Matthew Lawrence stars as David Rothenberg, a six year-old who was viciously set on fire by his jealous father. Severely burned and disfigured, David courageously clung to life despite the odds against him. Determined to see her son through the ordeal, the film shows how his mother Marie (Peters) tirelessly worked to help nurse him back to life. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
- 1986
- R
In this actioner, young people become a crack team of elite commandos and head for Central America to save the life of a kidnapped American ambassador's daughter who happens to be a friend of theirs. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Linda Blair, James Van Patten, (more)
Flamboyant, giallo-style gore effects are the only highlight of this otherwise pedestrian supernatural horror film, which was originally filmed in 1981 as The Witch and shelved for four years, before it experienced a mild midnight-movie revival in the wake of The Evil Dead's success. The ghastly goings-on begin when a clergyman (Larry Pennell) and his family move into an eerie mansion built near the lake where a powerful local witch was drowned four centuries earlier. It soon becomes evident that the spirit of this evil sorceress, whose powers have increased exponentially after her death, is not content with conducting the standard haunted-house scare tactics, and the bodies begin to pile up at an incredible rate. (These audacious death scenes peak with one poor soul's dismemberment courtesy of a flying circular saw.) When a homicide detective (Albert Salmi) and a minister (James Carl Houghton) discover the cause of the macabre mayhem, they prepare to conduct an exorcism (in the mode of The Amityville Horror), much to their own peril. Overblown performances, a scatter-shot screenplay, and hilariously messy gore effects make this movie impossible to take seriously, but it does have a certain tacky charm. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Albert Salmi, Lynn Carlin, (more)
- 1972
En route to Los Angeles to pick up a prisoner, Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway) runs into trouble in a small town. Losing his temper with a pair of hostile local cops, Ed ends up booked on a misdemeanor, thrown into jail, and subjected to some rough treatment at the hands of the local constabulary. Realizing that he himself has been just as brutal with suspects in the past, Ed begins to question his future as a police officer. Ultimately, Ironside (Raymond Burr) shows up and offers to post bail--but Ed refuses, preferring to work out the situation by himself. Directed by star Raymond Burr, this is one of several Ironside episodes featuring an original song by Marty and David Paich, in this case "The Other Side", performed by James Griffin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
When their lavish home is invaded by a violent and unstable black criminal, a high-living white Beverly Hills couple is forced to confront their worst nightmares in filmmaker Larry Cohen's satirical black comedy. Famous car dealer Bill (Andrew Duggan) and his wife, Bernadette (Joyce Van Patten), go through the motions of their mundane day-to-day existence while coasting on a fragile web of lies and tentative affection. When Bill discovers a rat in the filter of his pool, he is frozen with fear until Bone (Yaphet Kotto) mysteriously appears and removes the threatening vermin. Their gratitude is short-lived when Bone forces his way into their posh home with the intention of raping Bernadette and making off with a tidy sum. However, when he discovers some questionable discrepancies with their financial records, Bill is forced to make a trip to the bank to make a withdrawal while Bone and Bernadette await his return -- but Bone warns that he will not hesitate to kill Bernadette if Bill doesn't return in due time. Their transparent façade forever shattered, captor and captive form an unusual bond while Bone's meal ticket opts for an ominous change of plan that he believes will rid him of excess baggage while also drawing a substantial profit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 1971
In the life of sexually successful young high-school student Phil Fuller (Kristoffer Tabori) the episodes in this story enable him to gain increased maturity and understanding. Phil is attracted to his gym teacher's beautiful wife who has a phobia about growing old and who eventually takes him to her bed. The boy also has a girlfriend with a late period, so he gallantly arranges for an abortion for her. When they discover she is not actually pregnant, he finds out that his mother (Joyce Van Patten) is seeking an abortion. Though he and she were not on very good terms, he stands by her throughout the whole ordeal (not entirely by choice) and wins her friendship. The story is broadly based on a novel by James Leigh. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
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