Joy Boushel
Though its PG-13 rating is well earned, Look Who's Talking has some elements that might appeal to a family audience. Chief among them, of course, is the "talking baby" protagonist. The product of an extramarital affair, infant Mikey (played by several different babies, and given voice by Bruce Willis) is a cynical, sarcastic observer of his new world. Mikey's mother, Kirstie Alley, having been dumped by her married lover George Segal, searches high and low for a new father for her baby. Of course, the perfect daddy is right under her nose all the time: cab driver John Travolta, who was on the scene when she went into labor on the sidewalk. The best moments in Look Who's Talking include Ms. Alley's imaginary flights of fancy, and the misadventures of Mikey as he progresses from sperm to reluctant newborn (his violent vocal protests against being yanked from the womb are worth the admission price in themselves). Look Who's Talking has spawned two sequels, neither of which are as charming or disarming as the original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, (more)
- 1987
A video game designer hacks into a bank's computer system and skims money from various corporate accounts. Though she has three partners in this crime, Carly (Diana Reis) decides to cut them out of the deal, and hides the location of the money within the software of her newest game, Thrillkill. When she is murdered by a mysterious third party, her jilted partners are determined to find the three million dollars before they too are laid to rest. Carly's sister Bobbie (Gina Massey), a flight attendant, happens to be in town and becomes their main target. Luckily, a friendly detective named Frank Gillette (Robin Ward) steps in to keep Bobbie safe and try to unravel the clues that Carly left before her death. All they know is that it has something to do with Thrillkill, but time is running out. The body count rises and double-crosses become triple-crosses as the thieves try to find the money before Bobbie and Frank do. But Frank isn't exactly the man he claims to be, and he may be leading Bobbie into a trap for his own financial gain. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Ward, Gina Massey, (more)
In this suspenseful thriller two strangers are suddenly thrown together in the strangest of circumstances when they witness a killing and a robbery and then find $5 million aboard a New York-bound train. Now they are forced to flee from the CIA, the Russians, and others while simultaneously trying to discover where the money came from and what to do with it. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Sarrazin, Margot Kidder, (more)
Considered fairly gruesome in its day, the original 1958 The Fly looks like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood compared to this 1986 remake. Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis star as Seth Brundle, a self-involved research scientist, and Veronica Quaife, a science-magazine reporter. Inviting Veronica to his lab, Seth prepares to demonstrate his "telepod," which can theoretically transfer matter through space. As they grow closer over the next few weeks, she inadvertently goads Seth into experimenting with human beings rather than inanimate objects. Seth himself enters the telepod, preparing to transmit himself through the ether -- but he doesn't know that he is sharing the telepod with a tiny housefly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, (more)
- 1986
A Canadian-Australian coproducton which originally aired over Australia's 7 Network, the six-hour miniseries Spearfield's Daughter stars Kim Braden as the title character. The daughter of a prominent and powerful Australian politician (Chris Wiggins), Cleo Spearfield (Kim Braden) incurs her father's wrath by becoming a reporter, with the Vietnam war as her "beat." When not dodging bullets and negotiating rice paddies, Cleo is wooed by two attractive gentemen, gonzo American journalist Tom Border (Steve Railsback) and Murdoch-like British publishing mogul Lord Jack Cruze (Christopher Plummer. Adapted by Jon Cleary from his own novel, Spearfield's Daughter was syndicated to the US beginning the week of May 25, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
This plodding horror bore from Prom Night director (and one-time softcore porn-maker) Paul Lynch slogs through Friday the 13th territory with a tale of standard teen slasher-fodder falling victim to a shambling subhuman killer. This particular crop of annoying kids has stolen Daddy's boat for a sex-and-drug-filled orgy on a remote island. Sadly for them, the island is inhabited by packs of wild dogs and a shaggy Mongoloid. The Bigfoot-like behemoth is apparently the spawn of a savage coupling between a slavering rapist and a former female resident of the island. It lopes about, chopping and bludgeoning the teens (who are particularly obnoxious, even for a film of this sort). Whatever interest this deathly dull flick may have mustered is completely obscured by some of the murkiest cinematography on record; the fact that nearly every scene is shrouded in complete darkness may prove a blessing in disguise. The film's ad campaign sported the slogan "God help us," which could easily have been a plea from the film's financial investors. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janet Julian, David Wallace, (more)
Riding the coattails of the resurgent boom in horror films after the success of Halloween, Terror Train features teeth-chattering direction by Roger Spottiswoode and pristine cinematography from John Alcott. The story is the basic slasher film premise, remounted on a moving train. A college fraternity decides to hold a New Year's Eve party on a train. But an uninvited guest, a disturbed ex-fraternity member, decides to take revenge on the partying students by killing them off one by one in increasingly grisly fashion. On board the terror train is horror film perennial Jamie Lee Curtis, along with David Copperfield, and Ben Johnson as Carne the conductor, who tries to calm the women students by saying things like, "Now you young ladies stay up here --it's too dangerous down in that other car." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, (more)
