Edward Blackoff Movies

Brian Dennehy plays a Wambaugh-type cop who has flourished as a novelist. At the moment, however, Dennehy is suffering from a profound case of writer's block. Coming to the rescue, as it were, is professional hit man James Woods. Recently dumped by his boss, above-suspicion business executive Paul Shenar, Woods is anxious to tell his life story to Dennehy, in hopes of striking it rich with a tell-all bestseller. Shenar, however, takes a dim view of Woods' indiscretions, and for a while it looks as though it's curtains for both Dennehy and his teenaged daughter Allison Balson. Screenwriter Larry Cohen has claimed that Best Seller was based on Strangers on a Train. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Several years after the events of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Jesse Walsh and his family moved into the home of Nancy Thompson, the only survivor of supernatural killer Freddie's reign of terror. Haunted by dreams of the disfigured child-killer, the lonely Jesse has trouble sleeping, falls asleep often in school and quarrels with his picture-perfect family. Lisa, his prospective girlfriend, discovers Nancy's diary in Jesse's closet, and slowly he learns of his predecessor's ordeal. When his sadistic gym teacher catches Jesse blowing off steam at a leather bar, he attempts to exact punishment of an unsavory nature. Freddie intervenes, savagely murdering the coach in the school shower room, and Jesse must flee the crime scene naked, terrified that he's going insane. His parents become convinced he's on drugs, but Jesse knows that Freddie is trying to possess him. Bereft of sleep, alienated, and frightened of what he might do to his sister or Lisa -- especially if he responds to her sexual advances -- the youth attempts to sequester himself in his friend Ron's bedroom; Freddie emerges though, killing Ron and sending Jesse on the lam. Mayhem erupts when Freddie/Jesse crashes Lisa's pool party, leading to a showdown at the abandoned factory where the madman first preyed on the children of Springwood. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Betsy Russell takes over as part-time prostitute Molly Stewart in this disappointing sequel to the surprisingly good Angel (1984). Old pals Rory Calhoun and Susan Tyrrell are along for the search for the killer of the cop who saved Molly's life in the first film, joined by street magician Johnny Glitter (Barry Pearl). More brutal and hard-edged than the original, this installment is just another violent action movie, despite some slick camerawork and a fast pace. One peculiar touch is the frequent use of Bronski Beat's savage dance hit "Why?" which, although it has appropriately exciting music, it concerns gay-bashing and has no relation whatsoever to the storyline. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

After completing Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola initially planned for his next picture to be an intimate romantic musical shot on a low budget in Las Vegas. Three years later, One from the Heart had mushroomed into a big-budget spectacular, shot on strikingly stylized sets at his newly opened Zoetrope Studio and costing a then-massive $27 million. The story concerns Hank (Frederick Forrest) and Franny (Terri Garr), a working-class couple living on the outskirts of Las Vegas; after five years together, their relationship has fallen into a rut, and they both set off in search of new partners. Hank meets up with Leila (Nastassia Kinski), a beautiful high-wire artist, and Franny has a fling with Ray (Raul Julia), a dashing actor-waiter. But Hank and Franny still love each other, and their search for romance brings them back into each other's arms. Singer/songwriter Tom Waits received an Oscar nomination for his widely acclaimed song score, performed with country crooner Crystal Gayle. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi