Chuck La Font Movies
- 1991
The Applegates is the video title for the darkly satirical comedy Meet the Applegates. The titular family, for all intents and purposes human beings, are actually a clan of giant Brazilian Cocorada bugs. Paterfamilias Dick Applegate (Ed Begley Jr.) takes a job with an Ohio nuclear power plant, with the intention of triggering an explosion, thereby exterminating all humankind and allowing the bugs to live in safety. Alas, every one of the Applegates falls victim to assimilation: Dick becomes a typical suburban philanderer, his wife Jane (Stockard Channing) succumbs to the seductions of the credit card, and the Applegate kids transform into obnoxious mall-cruising teens. By the time the Applegates' Aunt Bea (Dabney Coleman) links up with them to supervise the nuclear explosion, the family considers Auntie a nuisance and plots a fitting demise for her. Director Michael Lehmann had previously skewered upper-middle class values in Heathers; completed in 1989, Meet the Applegates buzzed into local cineplexes in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ed Begley, Jr., Stockard Channing, (more)
- 1990
- R
Hider in the House is a well-made and produced but ultimately unsatisfying and formulaic slasher thriller. Tom (Gary Busey) was an abused child who learned to avoid the abuse by hiding under sinks, in closets or anywhere he could be out of sight. After spending 10 years in a mental institution for setting a fire that killed his parents, Tom is released and finds a newly built house where he makes his home in the attic. The house is bought by Julie (Mimi Rogers) and Phil Dryer (Michael McKean) and their children. Tom begins to feel that he is part of the family, but when Phil is unfaithful to Julie, Tom plots his revenge. Busey is compelling in his role and builds Tom's character with skill to show him as both a dangerous and sympathetic psychopath. Unfortunately, the film does not fulfil its potential and slides into a predictable, formula ending, but the skillful direction and the good performance of Busey make this film well-worth viewing. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary Busey, Mimi Rogers, (more)
A deliciously nasty black comedy, Heathers is set at a cliquish high school in Ohio. The most exclusive of those cliques is the Heathers, comprised of the prettiest and most popular girls in town. The group's leader is the manipulative Kim Walker, who orchestrates the humiliation of anyone who fails to meet her standards. Eventually, Heathers member Winona Ryder begins to exhibit a conscience; together with her hardcase boyfriend Christian Slater, Ryder plots to avenge all the unfortunate victims of the group. Before long, Heather (Kim Walker) ends up dead along with Kurt and Ram, with poignant suicide notes posted near their bodies. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, (more)
The 1987 portmanteau comedy feature Amazon Women on the Moon lampoons several film genres in general and the 1954 sci-fi cheapie Cat Women of the Moon in particular. Other sketches in Amazon Women include an opening bit with Arsenio Hall; a vignette titled "Son of the Invisible Man" wherein a naked Ed Begley Jr. runs around in full view of the nonplussed supporting cast; the It's Alive parody "Hospital", which offers the spectacle of Michelle Pfeiffer giving birth to Mr. Potato Head; and a Siskel & Ebert takeoff, featuring Arche Hahn as a TV viewer whose entire life is given a "thumbs down." Directed by several hands, including Joe Dante, Carl Gottleib, Peter Horton, John Landis, and Robert K. Weiss, Amazon Women on the Moon also features a satire of the Kroger G. Babb school of "sex hygiene" exploitation cheapies, with syphilis victim Carrie Fisher being counseled by unctuous doctor Paul Bartel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Ralph Bellamy, (more)
A mysterious and possibly otherworldly stranger comes to the rescue of a frontier town in this Western, which was strongly influenced by the George Stevens classic, Shane. The peace of a small mining community is shattered when Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart), the ruthless proprietor of a powerful strip-mining company, arrives in town with his son Josh (Christopher Penn) and a posse of hired guns to drive out the townspeople and take control of the territory. Megan (Sydney Penny), a young girl whose pet was killed in the melee, prays to God for someone to defend the village from the marauders; soon, the Preacher (Clint Eastwood) arrives on a pale horse, and joins forces with Hull Barrett (Michael Moriarty), the unofficial leader of the miners and one of the few who attempts to defend himself, to take a stand against LaHood and his men. As the Preacher and Barrett try to organize the miners to fight the invaders, both Megan and her mother Sarah (Carrie Snodgrass) find they're drawn to the Preacher, who keeps to himself and seems to have more than his share of secrets. Pale Rider was also directed by leading man Clint Eastwood; it was his first Western as both director and star since the acclaimed The Outlaw Josey Wales. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, (more)
