Paul Mason Movies
Based on the 1987 Japanese film Hachiko Monogatari, as well as on a true story, Hachiko: A Dog's Story stars Richard Gere as a college professor who finds an abandoned dog and takes the poor lost animal in. The film follows the two as the man and animal soon form a strong and unexplainable bond. Joan Allen co-stars in the Inferno Entertainment production. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Joan Allen, (more)
Ving Rhames, Nick Cannon, and Mena Suvari star in director Steve Miner (Friday the 13th Part II, Halloween: H20)'s remake of the apocalyptic gore-fest that originally concluded George A. Romero's zombie trilogy back in 1985. A small American town has been infected with a deadly virus, and the military is determined to contain the sickness by establishing quarantine. When the situation spirals out of control and the infected residents develop a taste for human flesh, the military and surviving residents must band together to battle an enemy whose goal is not simply to kill, but to consume as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ving Rhames, Mena Suvari, (more)
One of the most celebrated horror films of the late '70s is given a new look in this remake, produced by blockbuster filmmaker Michael Bay. George and Kathy Lutz (Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George) are a young couple who are looking for a new home, and think they've found a dream house in Amityville, Long Island -- a large and beautiful home available at a bargain price. George thinks that there must be a catch, and learns that the house has a dark history -- a year before, a man living in the house murdered his family in their sleep, claiming he was commanded to commit the crime by demons. Shrugging off stories that the house is haunted, George and Kathy move in with their three kids, only to discover that something evil lurks within the house, and even Father McNamara (Philip Baker Hall), an expert on possession, is powerless to clear the dark spirits from the home. The Amityville Horror was based on the same book by Jay Anson that provided the basis for the 1979 film, which in turn documented an actual incident. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, (more)
- 1992
- PG
In this drama, the ingenious and lucrative scam of an excellent con artist comes crashing down when the IRS catches on. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- C. Thomas Howell, Wallace Shawn, (more)
This commendable horror effort from Tibor Takacs is a stylish and more entertaining follow-up to his directorial debut The Gate. Employing a novel twist to the story-within-a-story convention, the plot involves meek but intense bookstore clerk Virginia (Jenny Wright), who develops an overpowering affection for the works of the late pulp horror author Malcolm Brand. A deranged murderer who removed parts of his body as offerings to his unrequited love, Brand had once claimed to his publisher that the bizarre supernatural tales in his books were purely autobiographical. After plunging into Brand's final novel I, MADMAN, Virginia soon becomes convinced that elements from the book are haunting her in the real world. It turns out that's only the half of it: it seems Brand himself (played by Randall William Cook, who also designed most of the effects for the film) has apparently returned to life to pursue her, believing her to be the woman who once jilted him. Pulp horror elements dominate this atmospheric and clever film, which boasts fine performances from Wright and Clayton Rohner as her detective boyfriend, and features a genuinely creepy villain. There's even a bit of excellent stop-motion animation, depicting one of Brand's ghastly storybook monsters, which tears its way into the real world for the ultra-violent climax. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny Wright, Clayton Rohner, (more)
- 1988
- PG13
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This low-budget cult classic horror spoof has one of the great movie titles of all time. Mike (Grant Cramer) and his sweetheart, Debbie (Suzanne Snyder), are smooching on lover's lane when they see what appears to be a meteorite crashing over the horizon. They loosen their liplock long enough to investigate and find a curious circus tent. There they discover malevolent clowns who stop their victims with popcorn-shooting guns and acid-drenched pies in order to feast on human blood. The unfortunates are then entombed into inescapable cotton-candy cocoons. Officer Dave Hanson (John Allen Nelson) is called to investigate with help from Officer Mooney (John Vernon). For those viewers who already think clowns are a little creepy to begin with, this one will push them over the edge. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, (more)
A judge becomes guilt-ridden after a technicality forces him to release a band of murderous crooks in this crime thriller. As a result of his action, an anguished husband becomes a bloodthirsty vigilante looking for revenge against the crooks because they murdered his wife. This causes the judge to enter the gang's dangerous neighborhood to see that justice is finally done. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman, (more)
- 1988
- R
David Keith both directs and stars in this Sri Lanka-filmed adventure spoof. Taking equal portions of "Indiana Jones," King Solomon's Mines and The Macomber Affair, the film finds Keith playing Buck Malone, a mercenary hunter, headquartered in Borneo. Hired to guide a cotton-witted married couple through the wilderness, Malone falls in love with the wife (former Playboy foldout Kathy Shower) while hubby (Brant van Hoffman) walks around in a perpetual daze. The film ventures into John & Bo Derek territory when the intrepid trio cross the path of erotically-inclined cannibals. Further Adventures of Tennesse Buck isn't exactly rocket science, but it's immensely enjoyable on a low-comedy level. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Keith, Kathy Shower, (more)
- 1987
- R
When uptight FBI agent Joe Jennings (Beau Bridges) is forced to team up with reluctant local officer Benny Avalon (Bubba Smith), the two must learn to overcome their differences and work together to break up a drug smuggling operation. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, Bubba Smith, (more)
- 1986
- R
A rare attempt by a female director to attack the issue of rape from a woman's perspective, this drama is sure to cause varied reactions. A sense of the film's perspective can be garnered from paraphrasing its publicity: "Rapists have two problems and the 'Ladies Club' is about to remove them both." Statistics of the time note that a woman was raped every seven minutes while the conviction rate was an incredibly low 2%. A policewoman who was brutally raped and the sister of a rape victim who was incurably traumatized band together for a surgical attack on the offenders, aided by a physician whose own tragedy inspires her to lend her skill with a scalpel to the cause. The encounters with rapists, court hearings, and sneaking through police files to identify the men who got away bring suspense to this crusade for justice. Comic relief crops up now and again to leaven the seriousness of the topic. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Austin, Diana Scarwid, (more)
- 1976
Dale Messick's inexplicably popular Brenda Starr has to be one of the lamest comic strips ever perpetrated on an unsuspecting public; thus, any filmed version of the strip had nowhere to go but up. Jill St. John stars in this feature-length TV pilot film as plucky girl reporter Brenda Starr. While searching for a Howard Hughesish recluse, Brenda ends up in the wilds of Brazil at the mercy of voodoo-practicing natives. Happily, both St. John and special guest villain Victor Buono recognize the material for what it is, and make no effort to take things seriously. Brenda Starr debuted on May 8, 1976; no series of any kind followed. Other cinemadaptations of Brenda Starr include a 1945 Columbia serial starring Joan Woodbury, and a much-delayed (though not long-awaited) theatrical feature of the 1990s starring Brooke Shields. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Martin Sheen is at his most "James Dean-ish" and Vic Morrow at his most sadistic in the made-for-TV The California Kid. Sheen plays a hot rodder whose brother dies at the hands of sheriff Morrow. It is Morrow's habit to punish speeders by deliberately running them off precipitous mountain curves. Sheen goads Morrow into a no-survivors chase up a steep mountain road--where more than a few surprises await the homicidal lawkeeper. Martin Sheen's souped-up, garishly decorated jalopy gives the best and most consistent "performance" in The California Kid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Nick Nolte, (more)
- 1973
The made-for-TV Savage is worth seeing today as an example of early Steven Spielberg. Martin Landau stars as Paul Savage, a TV investigative reporter. In possession of a photograph that might destroy the career of a Supreme Court nominee, Savage finds himself the target of scrutiny from all sorts of shady types. Barbara Bain, then Mrs. Landau, costars as Savage's producer. Originally titled Watch Dog, Savage was the pilot for a potential TV series. Despite high network enthusiasm, the project never went any farther than its March 31, 1973 telecast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Once Upon a Dead Man was the pilot film for the TV series McMillan and Wife. The stars are Rock Hudson as wealthy San Francisco police commissioner Stewart McMillan and Susan Saint James as his inquisitive young wife Sally. The plot at hand starts out with a theft at a charity auction. This snowballs into the disappearance of a an Egyptian sarcophagus. Want to bet that a body will tumble out of that sarcophagus before the film is over? Once Upon a Dead Man was telecast as the first McMillan and Wife episode on September 17, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
In this drama, the second in the "Ironside" series, the Chief becomes marked for murder after he witnesses the execution of hospital security guard. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
