Raymond Lynch Movies

Partly based on Charlie Chaplin's My Autobiography, this humorous and dramatic biopic features an all-star cast including Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr., Dan Aykroyd, Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Kline, Diane Lane, and Chaplin's real-life daughter, Geraldine Chaplin, who portrays his mentally ill mother. With the use of flashback, an elderly Chaplin discusses his autobiography with his editor (Hopkins), who urges him to be more vulnerable and emotionally honest with his memoirs while journeying through his poverty-stricken childhood, closest friendships, many marriages, merciless pursuit by J. Edgar Hoover (Kevin Dunn), and ingenious invention of "The Little Tramp." Highlighted works such as The Gold Rush (1925) and The Great Dictator (1940) illustrate significant turning points in Chaplin's prolific filmography. Director Richard Attenborough's film also explores the circumstances surrounding Chaplin's exile from America and his eventual return to receive an honorary Academy Award. ~ Lisa Kropiewnicki, All Movie Guide

In this near-surrealist episode, everyone at the 4077th is suffering from the fatigue of a medical crisis. Unable to go to sleep for any great length of time, the staff begins taking little cat-naps. The result is a series of dreams and nightmares that are as bizarre as anything out of a Luis Bunuel or Ingmar Bergman movie. Strangest moment: The imaginary honeymoon of Margaret Houlihan (Loretta Swit). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 1971 exploitation vehicle is primarily designed for maximum squirms, produced as it was at the height of the true-life killer's notoriety, but it's notable for the efforts made by the filmmakers to include authentic case details while theorizing about the identity of the still-unapprehended serial slayer. Opening with a major red herring in the guise of a trucker who claims to be the Zodiac before being killed by police in a domestic violence standoff, we're eventually introduced to the real psycho, a postal worker named Jerry (Hal Reed) who breeds rabbits in his apartment and murders in order to collect slaves to serve him in the afterlife. From there on we follow Jerry as he haunts lovers lanes and beaches, shooting and stabbing his victims while wearing the same bizarre black outfit described by survivors of the real-life Zodiac's attacks. For dramatic purposes, though, the film presents no survivors, just deaths and occasional near misses when Jerry decides that a potential victim won't serve him well in the great beyond. The low budget contributes to the film's tense, depressing atmosphere, and while no performance is more than simply credible, Reed is effective as the arrogant Zodiac, taunting the police and the press with his defiant letters and phone calls. The film ends with the haunting image of Jerry helping an old woman across the street while he addresses the audience directly, letting us know that we're all potential targets, not only in danger from him but from the hundreds of surreptitious killers just like the Zodiac who roam unfettered and unlikely to be caught. Perhaps The Zodiac Killer's most horrifying moment, however, is a brief cameo by comedian and former Spike Jones Orchestra member Doodles Weaver, who provides a bitterly zealous rant against women that feels uncomfortably real. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide