Sy Richardson Movies

Originally prepared for European release under the title Catchfire, Backtrack wasn't given a wide distribution until 1991, and then only to capitalize on the Oscar win of Silence of the Lambs star Jodie Foster. In Backtrack, Foster plays a youngish innocent who witnesses a mob hit. Professional assassin Dennis Hopper is contracted to silence Foster for keeps. Instead, he falls in love with her. Directed by star Hopper, Backtrack has some of the feel of his earlier, better Easy Rider: the cast is populated by such old Hopper chums as Dean Stockwell, Charlie Sheen, Joe Pesci, Bob Dylan, Vincent Price and Julie Adams; and, like Easy Rider, it looks as though the story was improvised during filming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Piper (Holly Marie Combs) is hiding from her demon enemies at the magic school, awaiting the birth of her new baby and trying to find out who has mounted the latest assault against her son, Wyatt. Meanwhile, Phoebe's (Alyssa Milano) powers are deactivated, robbing her of empathy just at the moment that she needs it most. And Paige (Rose McGowan) tries to relieve the stress of the past few days by conjuring up her "Mr. Right" -- and accidentally unleashes his evil twin, "Mr. Wrong"! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A cop is determined to avenge his father's death in this action-drama. Brad Davis stars as Johnny Modine, a Los Angeles cop whose father is murdered on Christmas Eve. The investigation leads to a bitter and disfigured killer known as Iceman (Jonathan Banks), who has links to Johnny's past as a police cadet. Rocker Adam Ant co-stars and Dorothy Ann Puzo, daughter of famed author Mario Puzo, directed. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

This grim sci-fi film presents a dim view of the near future in which humanity has been decimated by a virulent plague. The survivors are rigidly divided into those who are plague-free and those who are dying. The former live in heavily-guarded areas and have most of the wealth and power, while the latter are quarantined. A few people have a fatal but not contagious mutation of the virus. These are the Zero Men, and during their lives they are able to move in an out of the different zones; some of them are mercenaries and when the daughter of a prominent industrialist is kidnapped and taken to the plague zone, it is up to one of these terminally ill soldiers of fortune to save her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this bawdy musical, a prince is pressured to procreate in order to keep his kingdom going. Unfortunately, he is a picky fellow and refuses to do his royal duty with anyone but the exquisite, enigmatic "Princess Beauty," whose picture hangs in the royal hall. He enlists the aid of a learned friend to help him make it to Fairyland to find her. Many erotic adventures ensue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Once again, Charles Bronson plays a renegade cop out for vigilante justice in the darkest heart of the urban jungle. This time, he is targeting an especially ruthless pimp who has been leading innocent young girls into prostitution. When the pimp kidnaps the beautiful daughter of a Japanese businessman, rapes her and forces her to begin streetwalking, the cop decides to let nothing, not even the law, stop him from bringing the slimeball to graphically violent justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Much against his will, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) checks into a hospital to be treated for a bloody nose. His mortal fear of being left alone in a hospital room is only exacerbated when Monk stumbles upon the body of a doctor who has been bludgeoned to death by an oxygen tank. The weapon belongs to an elderly patient who couldn't possibly have arisen from his sickbed to commit the crime, but he's the only suspect the police have. In his efforts to solve the murder, Monk not only learns the true significance of the old adage "physician heal thyself", but also ends up at the mercy of a killer who is fully prepared to "medicate" our hero into the next world. This is the final episode of Monk's fifth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Everett Silas plays a 30-year-old black male who works at the Watts dry cleaning business owned by his family. He is quite comfortable with the debilitated African-American community around him--but not with his brother, who has escaped the ghetto and achieved prosperity as a lawyer. The day of his brother's wedding is the same day as the funeral of his best friend. Silas thus has only twenty-four hours to make a permanent decision: whether to cast his lot with the underprivileged, as represented by his late friend, or with those who aspire for better things, represented by his brother. My Brother's Wedding has the crudity to be expected of an independent production, but also has more honesty and energy than most mainstream films dealing with internal racial divisiveness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This inept, obviously low-budget, poorly-acted horror-comedy is primarily a showcase for Nai Bonet a belly-dancer turned actress in her role as Nocturna, the last descendant of Count Dracula. Nocturna has followed her love interest -- rock guitarist (Tony Hamilton) -- from Transylvania to Manhattan in spite of the wrath of her infamous grandfather, who proceeds to follow her. But his thirst for revenge is thwarted by Jugulia (Yvonne de Carlo), a vampiress with a protective bent toward Nocturna, her musician, and their friends. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Alex Cox's directorial debut was a wickedly funny and willfully bizarre story that became a major cult item once it began making the art-house rounds a year after its release (an initial run in a string of Southern grind houses and drive-ins, where it was billed as an action film, was a resounding failure). Having lost his job and his girlfriend, punk rocker Otto (Emilio Estevez) meets a guy named Bud (Harry Dean Stanton) who offers him $25 to drive his wife's car out of a "bad area." When a handful of angry people start chasing Otto, he realizes that something is up, and he discovers that Bud repossesses cars for a living. With few immediate prospects, Otto joins Bud at the repo yard and is soon "ripping" cars with the best of them. When an anonymous source posts a $20,000 reward for a missing 1964 Chevy Malibu, it turns out that what's valuable isn't the car itself, but what's in the trunk, which is very hot, glows brightly, and kills anyone who comes in contact with it. A vaguely surreal modern-noir science-fiction comedy with echoes of Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Repo Man is packed with more incongruous sight gags than anyone can absorb in one viewing; keep your eyes peeled for the air fresheners, the generic newspaper box, and the watches without hands. Harry Dean Stanton gives a superb comic performance as the intense but laid-back Bud, Emilio Estevez delivers perhaps the best work of his career as the petulant but goofy Otto, and Tracey Walter is hilarious as the spaced out repo-yard man Miller. Iggy Pop wrote and performed the theme song and The Circle Jerks appear as a lounge band. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Two actors who owe their entire careers to the western genre seek revenge against a legendary screenwriter who once mistreated them on the set of an early film in this eclectic send-up of The Searchers from Repo Man director Alex Cox. Mel and Fred have been acting in westerns since as far back as either man can remember, but the one thing they recall above all is the terrible mistreatment they suffered as children while working on the film "Buffalo Bill vs. Doc Holliday." In those days, celebrated screenwriter Fritz Frobisher seemed more like a real-life monster than a master storyteller, and seemed steadfast in his determination to make the two child actors suffer as much as humanly possible. While chances are good that Frobisher has long forgotten his fateful transgression, Mel and Fred have been harboring their bitter grudge for years now. One day, the vengeful duo discover that Frobisher is set to make a personal appearance at a special movie screening in Monument Valley - the very sight where John Ford's famous westerns were filmed - and eagerly begin packing their bags for the ultimate revenge road trip. Despite the fact that Mel and Fred have been waiting for this day since the last time they set eyes on the sadistic scribe, things suddenly take an unexpected turn that leave the fate of all involved hanging on their knowledge of Euro-Western maestro Sergio Leone. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This bizarre comedy spoof on spaghetti westerns was made in a hurry on location in Almeria, Spain. Simms (Joe Strummer), Willy (Dick Rude), and Norwood (Sy Richardson) are inept hitmen who decide to rob a bank. They encounter the MacMahon's (The Pogues), a quintet of caffeine-addicted gunslingers who ride motorcycles across the range wreaking havoc. Elvis Costello has a reoccurring role as a waiter who is always ready with a new tray of coffee. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Directed by Mike Mitchell, Surviving Christmas finds Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) uneager to spend another lonely Christmas in his own home. Longing for holidays past, Drew travels to his childhood home intending to relive the experience of a family Christmas -- unfortunately, his family no longer lives there. This represents only a small snafu to Drew, who offers the Valco patriarch and his wife (Sopranos star James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara) a huge amount of money if they consent to pretend they are his parents and that he is a cherished member of the family. This entails participating in Latham family traditions, such as Christmas tree selection and crowded holiday shopping excursions. Though the Valcos reluctantly go along with Drew's requests, Alicia, their eldest daughter, arrives at home and refuses to comply with her "brother's" wishes. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide