Vic Trevino Movies

Edward J. Olmos made his directorial bow with the powerhouse crime saga American Me. Olmos stars as street-gang leader Santana, who during his 18 years in Folsom Prison rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful, crime-free life. But his old gang buddies force him back into his old habits. The omniprescene of the "Mexican Mafia" in the southwest is sufficient to make this film a daunting, demoralizing experience. Upon its release, American Me received a lot of press play due to the fact that Olmos shot his Folsom sequences on location, using actual prisoners as extras and bit players. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The most fascinating thing about Beastmaster 2 is how well the cartoonish sword-and-sorcery characters blend in to contemporary Los Angeles -- it may as well be documentary. Marc Singer plays Dar, a muscle-headed barbarian whose main claim to fame is his ability to communicate with a wide array of animal friends. Dar is informed that his evil brother Arklon (Wings Hauser) has nefarious designs on the universe. Arklon has teamed up with Lyranna (Sarah Douglas), a sexy witch who cracks wise in Valley Girl vernacular, a parlance picked up during her travels through the portal of time to a netherworld called L.A. Arklon has to find a quick way to decimate the universe, so Arklon and Lyranna travel through the portal to steal a neutron detonator from a military base close to Los Angeles. Dar and Southern California teen Jackie Trent (Kari Wuhrer) -- who had gotten stuck in the portal and ended up in Togaland -- pursue Arklon and Lyranna as they make their way through the time hole. Once in La-La land, Dra and his companion find themselves pursued by the LAPD, which considerably slows up their race to catch Arklon. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

It's time to redecorate the Playhouse, and it promises to be a noisy event inasmuch as today's secret word is "House." (SCREAM REAL LOUD!) Borrowing a page from Tom Sawyer, Pee-wee tricks his friends Cowboy Curtis, Ricardo, and Miss Yvonne into doing all the work. When Reba the Mail Lady arrives to deliver Clocky, the gang unexpectedly meets two new friends: Floory and Mrs. Rene (Suzanne Kent). And to top it off, Miss Yvonne stages an impromptu tea party. William Marshall makes his debut as the King of Cartoons, bringing a vintage TV to the festivities. "Open House" was released on video in tandem with "Pee-wee Catches a Cold" in Volume 1 of Pee-wee's Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Today's secret word is "End" -- but that's only the beginning, folks! The Playhouse gang has fun retelling their favorite story: For example, Pee-wee and Ricardo re-enact "The Nutcracker," while Magic Screen serves up "Jack and the Beanstalk." Best of all is Miss Yvonne's story, which she relates silently via the language of the hula-hula dance. "Love That Story" was released on video in tandem with "Fire in the Playhouse" in Volume 7 of Pee-wee's Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The big news for season two of Pee-Wee's Playhouse is the selfsame Playhouse's "new look"--which extends to redesigning several puppet characters, notably Globey. Though Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens), Miss Yvonne (Lynne Stewart), Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne), and many other regulars are still in attendance, there are also several new faces including Suzanne Kent as neighbor lady Mrs. Rene and William Marshall as the King of Cartoons, replacing the previous season's Gilbert Lewis. The season's ten half-hour episodes include "Open House," in which Pee-wee supervises the Playhouse's makeover; "Puppy in the Playhouse," wherein our hero tries to adopt a doggy that already belongs to one of his best friends, Reba the Mail Lady (S. Epatha Merkerson); "Store," wherein Miss Yvonne goes shopping at Pee-Wee's imaginary convenience shop; "Pee-Wee Catches a Cold," an object lesson in how anything can be cured with a good dose of chicken soup; "Why Wasn't I Invited," in which a misunderstanding almost causes Pee-Wee to miss the Countess' big party; "Tons of Fun," highlighted by a lip-synched performance "That Certain Feeling" (original artist: Bob Hope); "School," which brings Christopher Columbus briefly back to the land of the living; "Spring," a study in disconsolation as Pee-Wee fails to make the baseball team; "Playhouse in Outer Space," which proves that even a secret word like "Zyzzybalubah" can crop up in casual conversation; and "Pajama Party," which delivers just what the title promises (and it's co-ed, too!) For its second season, Pee-Wee's Playhouse earned still another Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series. ~ All Movie Guide

In this actioner, a band of American soldiers are on a helicopter flight over Vietnam to find a downed plane when they suddenly crash land in enemy territory. The vegetation is dense and filled with Viet Cong and the usual jungle dangers, but that is the least of their worries, because it soon becomes apparent that one of their own engineered the crash. Unfortunately, the saboteur is the only one who knows the way back to safety. This does not stop their dangerously temperamental leader, Stewart, from executing him, causing the rest of the men to question his sanity. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this taut thriller, a Las Vegas taxi driver must run for his life after stealing a cool million's worth of Mafia money. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide