Bill Paxton Movies
Possessing a special talent for totally immersing himself in his roles, Bill Paxton does not always get the recognition he deserves. Tall, rangy, and boyishly good looking, Paxton's career is a curiosity that has found the character actor turned filmmaker succeeding in intermittently pulling the rug from under filmgoers' feet with a constantly expanding sense of maturity and range.Paxton's interest in films emerged during his teens when he began making his own movies with a Super-8 camera. He formally entered the entertainment industry in 1974 as a set dresser for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Paxton made his acting debut as a bit player in Crazy Mama (1975), and afterward, the young thespian moved to New York to hone his skills. Following performances in a couple of horror quickies, Paxton formally launched his Hollywood career with a tiny part in Ivan Reitman's Stripes (1981) and this led to a steady if not unremarkable career in film and television during the '80s. In addition to acting, Paxton made short independent films such as Fish Heads, (1982) which became a favorite on NBC's Saturday Night Live. Paxton's acting career got a much-needed boost in 1985 when he was cast as Ilan Mitchell-Smith's obnoxious big brother Chet Donolley in John Hughes' Weird Science. Some of Paxton's more memorable subsequent roles include that of a cocky intergalactic soldier in James Cameron's Aliens (1986), a crazed vampire in Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark, and sickly astronaut Freddie Hayes in Ron Howard's Apollo 13. In 1996, Paxton landed a starring role, opposite Helen Hunt, in the special-effects blockbuster Twister; since then his career has taken an upward turn and Paxton is getting more leads than ever. Though few audiences saw it in its limited release, critics were quick to praise Paxton's turn as con-artist Traveler in the 1997 movie of the same name. Following a doomed voyage on the Titanic the same year, the workhorse actor once again intrigued filmgoers as a small-town dweller struggling with his conscience after stumbling into over a million dollars in usually flamboyant director Sam Raimi's strikingly subdued A Simple Plan. A quiet and intense performance enhanced by a talented cast including Billy Bob Thornton and Bridget Fonda, the psychological crime drama once again provided further proof that Paxton's impressive range of emotion stretched beyond what many filmgoers may have previously suspected. Though subsequent performances in Mighty Joe Young (1998) and U-571 (2000) did little to backup the promise shown in A Simple Plan, Paxton still had a few tricks up his sleeve, as evidenced by his directorial debut Frailty (2002), a surprisingly competent and genuinely frightening tale of religious fervor and questionable sanity. Though cynical filmgoers may have initially viewed the trailer-touting praises of former collaborators Raimi and James Cameron as favors from old friends, the taut tale of a father who claims that God has provided him with a list of "demons" that he and his sons must cast from the earth blind-sided critics and filmgoers with its disturbingly minimalistic yet complex psychological thriller that recalled the thematic elements of previous efforts as Michael Tolkin's The Rapture (1991). His performance as a loving father who reluctantly embarks on God's mission was a vital component of the films emotional impact, and was once again proof that this former supporting player still had a few tricks up his sleeve. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In Kathryn Bigelow's tale of vampires in the American Southwest, the creatures of the night aren't elegant, cloaked aristocrats. They're a gun-toting gang that dresses and acts like a motorcycle gang. Caleb (Adrian Pasdar), a restless young man from a small farm town, meets an alluring drifter named Mae (Jenny Wright). She reveals herself to be a vampire, who "turns" Caleb into one of her kind rather than kill him. But the rest of her "family" is slow to accept the newcomer. The ancient leader, Jesse (Lance Henriksen), and his psychotic henchman Severen (Bill Paxton) lay down the law; Caleb has to carry his own weight or die. However, he can't bring himself to kill. He manages to win the gang's approval when he rescues them from certain death in a daytime gunfight during a spectacular motel shoot-out in which every bullet hole lets in a deadly ray of sunlight. When the vampires threaten Caleb's real family, he's forced to choose between life and death. The film avoids the complex vampire mythology of such films as Interview with the Vampire. Instead, it emphasizes the intense, seductive bond that forms between Caleb and the violent but tightly knit gang. Bigelow would later utilize this powerful dramatic device in her 1991 film Point Break. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, (more)
Big-budget special effects, swiftly paced action, and a distinct feminist subtext from writer/director James Cameron turned what should have been a by-the-numbers sci-fi sequel into both a blockbuster and a seven-time Oscar nominee. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley, the last surviving crew member of a corporate spaceship destroyed after an attack by a vicious, virtually unbeatable alien life form. Adrift in space for half a century, Ripley grapples with depression until she's informed by her company's representative, Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) that the planet where her crew discovered the alien has since been settled by colonists. Contact with the colony has suddenly been lost, and a detachment of colonial marines is being sent to investigate. Invited along as an advisor, Ripley predicts disaster, and sure enough, the aliens have infested the colony, leaving a sole survivor, the young girl Newt (Carrie Henn). With the soldiers picked off one by one, a final all-female showdown brews between the alien queen and Ripley, who's become a surrogate mother to Newt. Several future stars made early career appearances in Aliens (1986), including Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, and Reiser. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, (more)
Shortly after The Terminator wrote his name in bold neon lights across box-office grosses, this action thriller took advantage of the hitherto (almost) unexploited comic side of star Arnold Schwarzenegger and paired him with Rae Dawn Chong. Colonel Matrix (Schwarzenegger) is retired and living peaceably with his 10-year-old daughter when she is kidnapped by the henchmen of an exiled Latin American dictator. The dictator's plan is to reinstate himself in power by eliminating the president of his country, using Matrix to kill him (or he will kill the kidnapped daughter). Matrix escapes from the plane that is supposed to be carrying him to his mission and then proceeds to go from one violent confrontation to the next as he hunts down the dictator and moves to rescue his daughter. Helping him is Cindy (Chong), who has her own reasons for wanting the dictator dead. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, (more)
- 1985
The Atlanta Child Murders is a five-hour, two-part dramatization of one of the most tragic and controversial homicide cases of the past twenty years. From 1979 through 1982, some 28 African-American children and young adults disappeared from Atlanta--some without a trace, but others to later turn up as murder victims. Part One (which debuted February 10, 1985) details the beginning of the manhunt conducted by the Atlanta Chief of Police (James Earl Jones). Screenwriter Abby Mann uses the actual events as a springboard for his thesis that the case and its outcome revealed many uncomfortable truths about the still-fragile state of race relations in the New South. Both parts of The Atlanta Child Murders were later combined into one 245-minute "feature film."
The second part of the five-hour TV docudrama The Atlanta Child Murders originally aired February 12, 1985. After 28 African-American children and young adults have either disappeared or been murdered, the Atlanta police finally have a suspect in custody: Small-time show business entrepreneur Wayne Williams (Calvin Levels). Scriptwriter Abby Mann utilizes actual court transcripts of Williams' trial, which results in a conviction on one count of murder. This decision in essence leaves the cases of the other 27 victims unresolved--and in so doing, Mann opens the door to speculations that Williams, a black man, was a "convenient" suspect, who might possibly have been railroaded in the authorities' haste to find a solution to the sordid case. Whatever Mr. Mann may have felt concerning Williams' guilt or innocence, the fact remains that the murders and disappearances stopped cold once Williams was in custody (as of this writing, Williams persists in his efforts to reopen the case, claiming that he was framed by the white power structure). Morgan Freeman served as narrator for both installments of The Atlanta Child Murders. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The second part of the five-hour TV docudrama The Atlanta Child Murders originally aired February 12, 1985. After 28 African-American children and young adults have either disappeared or been murdered, the Atlanta police finally have a suspect in custody: Small-time show business entrepreneur Wayne Williams (Calvin Levels). Scriptwriter Abby Mann utilizes actual court transcripts of Williams' trial, which results in a conviction on one count of murder. This decision in essence leaves the cases of the other 27 victims unresolved--and in so doing, Mann opens the door to speculations that Williams, a black man, was a "convenient" suspect, who might possibly have been railroaded in the authorities' haste to find a solution to the sordid case. Whatever Mr. Mann may have felt concerning Williams' guilt or innocence, the fact remains that the murders and disappearances stopped cold once Williams was in custody (as of this writing, Williams persists in his efforts to reopen the case, claiming that he was framed by the white power structure). Morgan Freeman served as narrator for both installments of The Atlanta Child Murders. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Originally telecast November 11, 1985, An Early Frost was the first TV movie to deal with the subject of AIDS. Aidan Quinn plays a personable young gay lawyer who is stricken with the HIV virus. As his health deteriorates, Quinn finds that his physical agony is secondary to his mental anguish. Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands play Quinn's parents, who must not only come to grips with their son's impending death, but with their own long-standing fears and prejudices concerning homosexuality. No easy answers are offered in this realistic drama, which also stars Sylvia Sidney as Quinn's grandmother and John Glover as a fellow AIDS victim. Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman won Emmys for their pioneering teleplay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, (more)
John Hughes's third directorial effort, Weird Science, follows in the tradition of his previous teen-centered films, Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith play the wannabe hipster Gary and his nebbish weak-willed best friend, Wyatt, a pair of high-school geeks who are hapless with members of the opposite sex. Using Wyatt's computer, they create what they believe is the ideal woman. A lightning storm brings that woman to life, and she takes the form of Kelly Le Brock. Lisa sets about building their self-confidence, but trouble begins brewing when Wyatt's cruel, military-minded older brother, Chet (Bill Paxton), begins to realize that something is not as it should be. Hughes would finish his cycle of high-school themed films with his next movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Michael Hall, Kelly LeBrock, (more)
More like a series of MTV sequences than a long-term narration, this super-thin story line focuses on a kidnapped singer (Diane Lane) and her ex-boyfriend (Michael Pare) who goes forth to save her through rainy streets, the roar of elevated subways, several alleys, and the usual warehouses. Each thrust of the story has rock music that follows along with the narration. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Paré, Diane Lane, (more)
Endlessly imitated, The Terminator made the reputation of cowriter/director James Cameron -- who would go on to make 1997's titanic Titanic -- and solidified the stardom of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie begins in a post-apocalyptic 2029, when Los Angeles has been largely reduced to rubble and is under the thumb of all-powerful ruling machines. Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a member of the human resistance movement, is teleported back to 1984. His purpose: to rescue Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the mother of the man who will lead the 21st-century rebels against the tyrannical machines, from being assassinated before she can give birth. Likewise thrust back to 1984 is The Terminator (Schwarzenegger), a grim, well-armed, virtually indestructable cyborg who has been programmed to eliminate Sarah Connor. After killing two "Sarah Connors" who turn out to be the wrong women, he finally aims his gunsights at the genuine article. This is the film in which Schwarzenegger declared "I'll be baaaack" -- and back he was, in "kinder and gentler" form, in the even more successful Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, (more)
Bad behavior turns deadly in this science-fiction drama. Jennifer (Meg Tilly) is a woman who grew up in the small town of Sutcliffe, which much of her family still calls home. One day, Sutcliffe is hit with a minor earthquake, which doesn't appear to do much damage, but a strange and disquieting turn in the city's collective behavior soon becomes apparent. Jennifer receives a phone call from her mother (Lorinne Vozoff), but while they've always had a cordial relationship, her mother loudly and hysterically berates her, and the call comes to a disturbing conclusion when her mother shoots herself. Jennifer and her husband Stuart (Tim Matheson) rush to Sutcliffe to discover that her mother is seriously injured by still alive. However, it seems as if all boundaries of civility and etiquette have broken down, as violence, crime, and rabid anger rule the usually quiet streets of Sutcliffe. It seems that the earthquake caused the town's milk supply to be contaminated by toxic waste which has an unusual psychoactive effect -- it makes it impossible for people to resist the common anti-social impulses that all people have, but most keep closely in check. Hume Cronyn plays the town's doctor; Bill Paxton, Claude Earl Jones, and Amy Stryker also appear. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Matheson, Meg Tilly, (more)
- 1983
This speculative sci-fi drama is set in a post WW III world. The story centers on a militant band of women who brainwash and change the gender of a young man and send "it" to Wales to kill the leader of a gang of white slavers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Adapted from a long novel by Pat Conroy, the story is shortened to focus on a harrowing account of institutional racism in the 1960s American South. David Keith stars as Will McLean, a senior student at the fictional Carolina Military Institute. When the school admits its first black student, McLean is confidentially charged with making sure that the newcomer's initiation does not get too violent. Yet that is exactly what happens, and McLean becomes alarmed when it seems like someone is out to kill his new charge. McLean's own investigation of the matter uncovers an elusive group of sadistic students who will go to any length to control their school. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Keith, Robert Prosky, (more)
- 1983
Considering how seldom she appeared on TV in the 1980s, Donna Reed could have picked a better vehicle than Deadly Lessons. Ms. Reed is cast as the headmistress of an exclusive all-girl's prep school. Like the title suggests, the school is being terrorized by a mysterious murderer. Only by discerning the killer's modus operandi can the Good Guys (or Good Girls) unmask the miscreant. Halfway down the cast list is Nancy Cartwright, better known as the voice of Bart Simpson. Deadly Lessons premiered March 7, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- R
In this murder mystery, a daughter begins to suspect that her father's death was not an accident after she observes her mother and a mortician during a seance. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
Billy (Jimmy McNichol, Kristy's younger brother) knows something is wrong when he comes home and finds that his batty, sexually repressed Aunt Cheryl (Susan Tyrrell in a stellar performance), has ruthlessly murdered the TV repairman -- not because he was inept or overcharged, but because she was overcharged and he managed to resist her advances. A gay-bashing detective (Bo Svenson) ignores the bare facts and single-mindedly plans to pin the murder on Billy for hanging out with a sexually suspect basketball coach. Meanwhile, Aunt Cheryl is doing everything to keep her little Billy at home (she has raised him since his parents were killed in a blazing car accident when he was 14 and does not want him to leave for college), even going to the trouble of lacing his milk with sickening substances so he is not well enough to go out. She also undermines his big game when the basketball scouts will be recruiting for college teams and manages to cause the gory disappearance of most of the cast members before the final scene plays out and an interesting identity is revealed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy McNichol, Susan Tyrrell, (more)
- 1981
- R
Crown International's leading sleaze director, Hikmet Avedis (The Fifth Floor) was behind this bloody horror film. Greg and Christie are a young married couple who are investigating the mysterious death of Christie's father. Their search takes them to mortician Hank Andrews (Christopher George), who leads a Satanic cult along with his demented son Paul (Bill Paxton in an early role). However, even Christie's own mother (Lynda Day George) may be in on the series of embalming-needle murders surrounding the mortuary. This occasionally creepy chiller co-stars horror regulars Michael Berryman, Paul Smith, and Alvy Moore. Porn auteur Gary Graver (aka Robert McCallum) was the cinematographer. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary McDonough, David Wallace, (more)
Bill Murray decides to be all that he can be -- and it ain't pretty -- in this hit comedy. John Winger (Murray) is a quick-witted but unambitious loser who comes home after getting fired to discover that his car has been repossessed and his girlfriend is leaving him. With no idea of what to do next, John and his best friend Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis) impulsively join the Army, more as a practical joke than a career goal. John and Russell find themselves in basic training under the hard-nosed and impatient Sgt. Hulka (Warren Oates), who is stuck with an outfit of goofballs, including overweight Ox (John Candy), naive Cruiser (John Deihl), perpetually stoned Elmo (Judge Reinhold), and the appropriately-nicknamed Psycho (Conrad Dunn). The platoon succeeds in impressing the generals spite of themselves, and John and Russell even find time to romance two pretty female MPs, Stella (P.J. Soles) and Louise (Sean Young). However, when John and Russell commandeer a high-tech military vehicle for a European weekend getaway with the girls, they happen into Soviet territory and stumble into an international incident. Remarkably, Stripes was made with the full cooperation of the U.S. Army, despite its less-than-rosy view of the all-volunteer armed forces. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, (more)
Cloris Leachman stars as Melba, a woman with whom violence is a way of life, in Jonathan Demme's high-pitched "B"-movie Crazy Mama. The film spans three decades in the violent life of Melba, beginning in Jerusalem, Arkansas in 1932, when law enforcers kill her father (Clint Kimbrough), turning her mother Sheba (Ann Sothern) into a bitter widow. Mother and daughter take off to Long Beach, California, and the time jumps to 1958, when the two are thrown out of their beauty salon for non-payment of back rent. Melba now has an attractive (and pregnant) teenage daughter Cheryl (Linda Purl). The three generations take to the road, stealing cars and creating general mayhem across the United States, robbing a motorcycle racetrack box office and a bank. But in 1959, Melba and Cheryl are picked up again, running a Miami Beach snack bar, their lives wasted in free-living terror. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cloris Leachman, Stuart Whitman, (more)
Angie Dickinson essays the title role in Big Bad Mama. This Depression-era crime caper casts the future star of Police Woman as sexy Ma Barker type Wilma McClatchie, who forces her nubile daughters (Susan Sennett, Robbie Lee) into participating in a robbery/kidnapping/murder spree. Wilma seems to be as motivated by the erotic thrill of lawbreaking as she is by the financial gains. She evens hops in the sack with her daughters, as does her common-law husband, played by William Shatner. A sequel appeared in 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, (more)
Channel One was a New York-based comedy group which presented short satirical sketches concerning television. What set this group apart was that they performed in front of genuine TV cameras, while the audience watched on TV monitors strategically placed throughout the theater. Many of the best, and most censurable, Channel One sketches were assembled by the group's mentor Ken Shapiro and released to theaters as the feature-length The Groove Tube. Shapiro himself stars in several of the sketches, most notably as "Koko the Clown," a kiddie-show host whose idea of "Make Believe Land" consists of smoking a joint and reading passages from Fanny Hill. Most of the Channel One players will be unfamiliar to audiences of the 1990s, save for Richard Belzer and Chevy Chase, the latter offering a most unusual rendition of "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover." The Groove Tube was originally rated X, thanks to such bits as "Safety Sam," wherein the audience is offered cheerful anti-VD advice by a talking penis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Part of American-International's "Beach Party" series, Beach Blanket Bingo was directed by William Asher. Frankie (Frankie Avalon) briefly deserts Dee Dee (Annette Funicello) in favor of pop star Sugar Kane (Linda Evans). Also around and about is a mermaid, appropriately named Lorelei (Marta Kristen). Scurrilous cycle gang leader Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) finds time to sing a tune, while Paul Lynde sneers a lot, Don Rickles insults a lot, Buster Keaton mimes a lot, and columnist Earl Wilson lets everybody know who he is by exclaiming "That's Earl, brother." The whole cast rushes to the rescue when South Dakota Slim (Timothy Carey) binds the lovely Sugar Kane to a buzzsaw. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, (more)
