Marc Poppel Movies
- 1995
- R
This psychological thriller was cowritten by Steven Pressfield, who went on to become a successful novelist with The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) and historical fiction such as Gates of Fire and Tides of War. Linda Hamilton stars as Lauren Porter, a well-regarded professor of psychology who fears that she may be suffering from multiple personality disorder. As a young girl, she received psychological scars when her mother murdered her stepfather and then committed suicide. She approaches one of her students, Tom Beckwith (James Belushi), a former cop who has quit the force in order to study psychology, and tells him of her concerns. Although he is struggling with his own relationship with his daughter, Beckwith agrees to trail Porter, and before long she has indeed slipped into a totally different personality, that of Lena, a club-hopping swinger. When Lena gets into trouble with a man she's picked up, Beckwith intervenes and receives a brutal beating. Soon, the murder of an investigator and the death of Porter's ex-husband are laid at her feet. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Belushi, Linda Hamilton, (more)
Bette Midler stars as a Martha Raye-type entertainer during the World War II era in this big-budget nostalgia piece. Midler plays big-band singer Dixie Leonard, who is chosen to perform at an overseas USO Christmas show by her uncle Art Silver (George Segal), a comedy writer for famed comedian Eddie Sparks (James Caan). Dixie is shuttled to London, where she is thrown on-stage with Eddie, who takes an immediate dislike to her. But her performance is a sensation, and the audience can't stop howling at Dixie's smart one-liner comebacks to Eddie. Dixie is catapulted to stardom, and the repartee between Eddie and Dixie becomes the stuff of legend. The two spar together through World War II, the McCarthy era, and Vietnam. But Dixie stops speaking to Eddie when he fires a writer for being a communist sympathizer and, later, she doesn't speak to him again after he arranges for a reunion between her and her son on the battlefields of Vietnam. Finally, Dixie, now an old woman, is cajoled to appear on a television awards show to reunite with a now decrepit Eddie, age 91. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, James Caan, (more)
Not to be confused with the 1994 exchange-of-murders melodrama Dead On, this 1991 film was originally shipped out under the title Relentless 2: Dead On. You may recall that in the first Relentless in 1989, Judd Nelson starred as a serial killer. Nelson isn't around for the sequel, though two of his near-victims, a mother (Meg Foster) and her son (Leo Rossi), make return appearances. Relentless 2 elaborates on the possible aftereffects of Nelson's psychotic behavior, as manifested in young Rossi. Could the kid have learned too much about the inner workings of a murderer's mind? The premise is a workable one, and the film makes the most of it, with several genuinely frightening setpieces. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
Four friends decide to travel to Zimbabwe for a white-water rafting trip, but find that its no vacation when their stoic American guide (Stephen Shellen) turns out to be an ex-soldier with a few psychotic grudges against humanity. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Shellen, Lisa Aliff, (more)
James Woods and Sean Young were still "an item" when they costarred in The Boost. The stars play an investment broker and his girlfriend, who begin snorting cocaine on a recreational basis. Inevitably, the drug takes its toll, and soon Woods and Young have thrown away their lives in their desperate pursuit of their next fix. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Woods, Sean Young, (more)
- 1986
Something in Common is a made-for-television comedy about a middle-aged, widowed career woman (Ellen Burstyn) who discovers that her grown son is having a love affair with a woman (Tuesday Weld) her own age. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
In this satirical sci-fi comedy, Samantha (Kelli Maroney) and Regina (Catherine Mary Stewart) are two sisters whose father was a hard-bitten Green Beret, but who've grown into typical Valley Girls. They end up spending the night in a steel-lined room just as a comet passes close to the earth, vaporizing the people in its wake. When Samantha and Regina emerge, they discover that they have the city to themselves, and they begin the shopping spree to end all shopping sprees. En route to the mall, they discover Hector (Robert Beltran), the only survivor they've found so far, and they argue over who gets the last boyfriend on Earth. However, the mall holds an unpleasant surprise -- a small army of zombified stockboys who the gals must battle using an arsenal they shoplifted along the way (while lamenting that "Daddy would have gotten us Uzis!" after a MAC-10 fails to fire). Meanwhile, a cadre of soldiers from a special military experiment have come out of hiding, but it seems that they need fresh blood to survive, and Samantha and Regina look like just the refreshment they need. Cult figure Mary Woronov also appears in a supporting role as a scientist. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Stewart, Kelli Maroney, (more)
Director John Carpenter returns to the suburban landscape he explored so chillingly in Halloween (1978) with this lean, stripped-down adaptation of the Stephen King best-seller about a haunted car with a devilishly bad attitude and the teen underdog who falls head-over-heels for her chrome-accented charms. Shortly after geeky, horn-rim-sporting Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) narrowly escapes a beating at the hands of shop-class bully Buddy Repperton (William Ostrander) on the first day of his senior year, he soon falls prey to a far more duplicitous villain in the form of a rusted-out 1958 Plymouth Fury nicknamed "Christine" by its crusty owner George LeBay (Roberts Blossom) -- who sells wide-eyed Arnie the old hulk despite the protests of best friend Dennis (John Stockwell) and the admonition of his domineering parents. As Arnie sets to the task of restoring Christine, his hobby grows into an obsession -- and the real power that hums beneath her hood begins to emerge, seemingly granting newfound coolness and sex appeal to the once-nerdy outcast, while simultaneously drawing away his very soul. A vengeful spirit, Christine lashes out violently at those who dare to stand between her and Arnie -- starting with Repperton and his gang, who completely trash the car, but are soon hunted down one by one and pulverized beneath the whitewalls of the miraculously-restored Fury. When Arnie's pretty, popular girlfriend Leigh (Alexandra Paul) begins to suspect she may soon be on the receiving end of automotive vengeance, she calls on Dennis for help... but a frightening midnight ride in Christine convinces Dennis that Arnie's only hope lies in destroying the demonic vehicle. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, (more)
