Zachary Weintraub Movies
Seven teens on the way to a party discover that they're in danger of losing their heads to a vengeful ghost that won't stop killing until he's gathered enough gourds to make a complete collection in this low-budget shocker featuring Night Court's Richard Moll. Local legend around the "lost" town of Wormwood states that on All Hallow's Eve one-hundred years ago, a local lunatic tortured the town youngsters by submerging them in boiling oil. When the local townspeople discovered what was happening to their children, they ripped the man from his home and chopped off his head. Now, every seven years, the killer returns to claim another seven heads. Tonight is the night he is set to return to Wormwood, and as the unsuspecting teens make their way through the wilderness they wander right into town square. It's a foreboding place where bones line Main Street and the locals cower in fear of the supernatural wrath to come. Will these seven teens be able to keep their heads until the dawn sends this headless demon back to hell, or is it time for the savage specter's reign to finally come to an end? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Aaron Brown, Rebecca Mozo, (more)
Millennium's Lance Hendriksen stars in this post-apocalyptic action flick from director Zachary Weintraub. Following an asteroid strike, the earth has become a desolate place. The remaining population is divided up between pure humans and a race of super-powered mutants. A vendetta between the groups two leaders leads to a bloody war between the factions. Dream Warrior also stars Daniel Goddard and Sherilyn Fenn. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Goddard
During the Roman Empire, the wicked and crass Crassius (Patrick Bergin) rules his small province with an iron hand and a sharp sword. The only resistance in his domain is a tribe of women skilled in the martial arts -- Amazons -- who regularly whip Crassius' gladiators in defense of their freedom. One Amazon in particular -- the outrageously beautiful former slave dancer Serena (Nichole Hiltz) -- is bent on revenge, seeing how Crassius was responsible for the brutal death of her mother, the destruction of her childhood village, her enslavement, and the death of her boyfriend Lucius (Richard Norton). It all comes down to a no-holds-barred clash of Amazons and gladiators in a packed arena, with Serena and Crassius headlining the bout. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
Terrence McNally's stage play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune was a two-character piece, which starred Kathy Bates and F. Murray Abraham on Broadway. Garry Marshall's film version of the McNally play streamlines the title to Frankie and Johnny, expands the dramatis personae to include at least a dozen fascinating characters, and "glamorizes" the decidedly unglamorous Frankie and Johnny in the forms of Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino (their first co-starring stint since Scarface). Purists carped at the changes, but overall the film is likeable enough to transcend these carps. While serving an 18-month sentence on a forgery charge, Johnny (Al Pacino) discovers the joys of cooking and classical literature. Upon his release, he is hired by gruff but good-hearted New York diner owner Nick (played by Garry Marshall "regular" Hector Elizondo). Also working for Nick is a waitress named Frankie (Michelle Pfeiffer). When Johnny expresses interest in Frankie, she keeps him at arm's length, her mistrust of men stemming from an unmentioned but obviously traumatic experience in her past. Eventually, however, Frankie and Johnny do get together, their curious relationship setting the stage for a dramatic denouement wherein both lovers bare their souls. The bulk of the original McNally play is concentrated in the film's final 20 minutes; the rest of the picture is a kaleidoscope of comic and poignant vignettes and quick-sketch character studies. Of the newly minted characters, the standout is Nathan Lane in the traditional "gay best friend/severest critic" role: he plays the character so effectively that one forgets he's essentially a cliché. As for the stars, Al Pacino is ideally cast as Johnny, but Michelle Pfeiffer, superb though she is, seems a bit ill at ease as the emotionally tattered Frankie; she totally wins the audience's hearts, however, in the film's memorable bowling-alley sequence. Smoothing over the rough spots in Frankie and Johnny is the evocative musical score by Marvin Hamlisch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, (more)
Based on a novel by Iris Rainer Dart, Beaches traces the 30-year oil-and-water friendship between free-spirited Bronx Jew CC Bloom (Bette Midler) and uptight San Francisco WASP Hillary Essex (Barbara Hershey). The two meet as children in Atlantic City (played by Mayim Bialik and Marcie Leeds) and are reunited in the 1960s, when CC is a struggling singer and Hillary is trying to break free from her staid upbringing by becoming an activist. The two ladies room together, then fall out when both are attracted to off-Broadway producer John Pierce (John Heard). CC wins John, but she quickly outgrows him as she matriculates into a bawdy performer. The recently patched-up friendship between CC and Hillary is torn asunder again when Hillary and her new husband express distaste for CC's performing style. Comes the 1970s, and CC and Hillary are reunited after shedding their respective spouses. Broke again, they once more become Manhattan roommates. Their bond strengthens, but there is tragedy in store for the duo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey, (more)
