Rick Baker Movies
Notorious for his eager willingness to don a gorilla suit at the drop of a hat, special makeup effects wizard Rick Baker is as likely to create jaw-dropping, realistic creature effects as he is to ham it up under simian prosthetics as he did in, among others, director John Landis' directorial debut Schlock (1971) and The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977). The creator of some of the most memorable makeup effects effort captured on celluloid, Baker began experimenting with movie makeup after being inspired by horror films as a child. Constantly seeking new approaches to creating realistic effects and designs, Baker became assistant to legendary effects designer Dick Smith (The Exorcist) while in his teens. Later becoming an independent makeup effects artist, one of Baker's earliest breakthrough works was the 1974 TV movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, in which he convincingly transformed actress Cicely Tyson into a 110-year-old woman. Following Autobiography, his work in films ranged from King Kong (1976) to Star Wars (1977), to creating a malicious mutant toddler terror for the It's Alive films. Baker got a taste for werewolf makeup while working as a makeup effects consultant on The Howling (1980), which experience undoubtedly paid off the next year, with his work on An American Werewolf in London (1981), for which he was awarded the first ever Best Makeup Oscar at the 1981 Academy Awards. The werewolf theme would again carry over to Baker's work on the groundbreaking Michael Jackson video "Thriller." Working constantly in both television and film, Baker became one of the most respected and requested makeup effects artists working in film, consistently nominated for, and often winning, a slew of Oscars and other awards for his unique and strikingly imaginative creations, which spanned all genres. Throughout the '80s Baker faced the constant challenge of topping his previous works, again going ape with Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), and moving into Sasquatch territory with his Oscar winning design for Harry in the 1987 family comedy Harry and the Hendersons. In 1988, Baker helped to create a number of personas for Eddie Murphy in the film Coming to America, a collaboration that would resurface in one of his most successful works of the late '90s. Beginning the '90s as an effects supervisor on Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), the decade offered a unique challenge to the artist in the form of attempting to combine his tangible creations with their increasingly popular digital counterparts, that some speculated would render makeup effects obsolete. Though he continued in creating incredible and convincing prosthetic effects, Baker embraced digital technology, considering it a natural progression and added resource for his remarkable creations. Murphy and Baker's re-teaming for 1996's The Nutty Professor earned Baker another Oscar to add to his increasing collection, and his work on the wildly popular sci-fi comedy Men in Black (1997) earned him yet another. In 2000, Baker teamed with director Ron Howard in creating a live-action telling of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, this time with the ever-unpredictable Jim Carrey buried under the usual mounds of makeup. He once again teamed with Murphy on The Klumps: Nutty Professor 2 (2000), again winning Baker the Best Makeup Oscar at the 73rd Annual Academy Awards, before setting his sites on Tim Burton's ambitious remake of Planet of the Apes in 2001. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- R
- Add An American Werewolf in London to QueueAdd An American Werewolf in London to top of Queue
While wandering the English moors on vacation, college yanks David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) happen upon a quaint pub with a mysterious patronage who warn them not to leave the road when walking after dark. Irreverent of such advice as characters in horror films always are, the two decide to find a short cut....David wakes up in the hospital with a nasty bite wound to his shoulder; the freshly deceased, and rapidly decomposing, Jack arrives soon after to deliver the grim news that, unless he commits suicide, David will become a werewolf when the moon is full. David dismisses the encounter as a hallucination, but all indicators point to lycanthrope; evenings of barking and bloodletting follow closely behind. While the story is thin and much of the tongue-in-cheek humor is overdone, there are plenty of genuine jolts thanks to makeup guru Rick Baker's eye-popping special effects. The werewolf, resembling a cross between a bear and a wolverine, appears frighteningly real, and, given the fantastic premise, the gore is most convincing (although surprisingly and refreshingly scant). The hospital dream sequences are creative, and the scenes in which the werewolf runs rampant through downtown London are particularly good. In all, An American Werewolf in London is an original, atmospheric film that manages both to scare and amuse. While dismissed by most American critics upon its release, the film managed to secure a place in the annals of American cinema when Baker won an Academy Award for his amazing effects and creature designs. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, (more)
Director Joel Schumacher inherited the Batman franchise from Tim Burton and began steering it in the campier direction of the Sixties television show with this third installment. First-time Batman/Bruce Wayne (Val Kilmer), in his only outing as the Caped Crusader, is effectively brooding as he ponders strange dreams about his parents' death and escapes his own near-demise at the hands of Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones), a former district attorney driven insane and turned into a master criminal when a gangster throws acid in his face. Meanwhile, as sexy psychologist Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman) tries to analyze and seduce both Bruce Wayne and Batman, Wayne Enterprises employee Edward Nygma (Jim Carrey) reacts badly to getting fired, using his self-invented mind-energy device to transform into the super-intelligent Riddler. The Riddler teams up with Two-Face to bring down Batman and drain the minds of Gotham City residents with his device, while Batman gets some much-needed help in the form of circus performer Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell), out for vengeance after being orphaned by Two-Face. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, (more)
Cult director Larry Cohen (It's Alive) directed this violent blaxploitation film. Nasty racist John McKinney cripples a black shoeshine boy, who grows up to be Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson), the Godfather of Harlem. The crimelord now has his tormentor McKinney (Art Lund) in his pocket, based on the cop's mob ties. Tommy's traitorous girlfriend Helen (Gloria Hendry) hands over the evidence, and McKinney moves in for the kill. But he may have underestimated the violent Tommy, who makes him shine his shoes in blackface while singing "Mammy." Rick Baker provided makeup effects, and James Brown did the music for this bloody oddity, followed the same year by Hell Up in Harlem. Cohen and Williamson got together 23 years later for an interesting (if unsuccessful) attempt at reviving the genre, Original Gangstas. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
When their lavish home is invaded by a violent and unstable black criminal, a high-living white Beverly Hills couple is forced to confront their worst nightmares in filmmaker Larry Cohen's satirical black comedy. Famous car dealer Bill (Andrew Duggan) and his wife, Bernadette (Joyce Van Patten), go through the motions of their mundane day-to-day existence while coasting on a fragile web of lies and tentative affection. When Bill discovers a rat in the filter of his pool, he is frozen with fear until Bone (Yaphet Kotto) mysteriously appears and removes the threatening vermin. Their gratitude is short-lived when Bone forces his way into their posh home with the intention of raping Bernadette and making off with a tidy sum. However, when he discovers some questionable discrepancies with their financial records, Bill is forced to make a trip to the bank to make a withdrawal while Bone and Bernadette await his return -- but Bone warns that he will not hesitate to kill Bernadette if Bill doesn't return in due time. Their transparent façade forever shattered, captor and captive form an unusual bond while Bone's meal ticket opts for an ominous change of plan that he believes will rid him of excess baggage while also drawing a substantial profit. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A workaholic architect, frustrated in his job but determined to make a better life for his family, is bestowed with a powerful universal remote that allows him more control over his life than he ever knew possible in director Frank Coraci's high-concept fantasy comedy. On the surface, Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) seems to have it all, yet with all the demands forced upon him by his ungrateful boss (David Hasselhoff), Michael finds that setting aside time to spend with his loving wife, Donna (Kate Beckinsale), and two picture-perfect children, Ben (Joseph Castanon) and Samantha (Tatum McCann), has grown increasingly difficult. When a frustrating bout with the television remote leads the overworked husband and father to a nearby Bed, Bath & Beyond in search of a universal remote with the power to control all of his electronic devices, a curious peek into the back room leads Michael into the company of eccentric employee and talented inventor Morty (Christopher Walken). It seems that Morty has created a device that will not only allow Michael complete control over his television and stereo, but his entire life as well. As Michael discovers that the remarkable device has the power to muffle the barks of the family dog, zoom himself past an irritating quarrel with his wife, and even allow him to travel back and forth through time to different points in his life, the rush of being able to skip straight to the good parts in life soon leaves him feeling as if he's missing out on the total experience. Only when Michael begins to realize that the he has lost control of his life and the remote is now programming him does he finally learn that life is as much about the moments he'd rather forget as it is the moments he will always remember. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, (more)
Cocoon is a warm-hearted science-fiction fable that avoids becoming overly corny thanks to the performances of its mostly senior cast. Wilford Brimley, Don Ameche, and Hume Cronyn are three old-timers who sneak out of their retirement home a few days a week to swim in the large pool on an abandoned estate next door. When the threesome begins to feel curiously younger, they discover strange pods on the floor of the pool. These pods are alien cocoons, which are being pulled from the ocean by a team of extra-terrestrials in human form led by Walter (Brian Dennehy), who has hired a local charter operator (Steve Guttenberg) to assist him. Walter explains to the seniors that energy from the cocoons is restoring youth and vigor to the older men every time they go for a dip. The aliens agree to let the men continue to swim in secret, but of course they can't keep their discovery to themselves. Soon the pool is swarming with retirees, with the notable exception of Bernie (Jack Gilford), who has no interest in prolonging life any longer than necessary. The aliens ultimately prepare to return home and offer the retirees eternal life if they leave Earth behind as well. Director Ron Howard treats his old-timers with care and dignity, and they respond with deeply sympathetic performances (Ameche won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar); the film's science-fiction trappings ably sustain the story's all-too-human ruminations on youth, aging, life, and death. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, (more)
Coming to America casts comedian Eddie Murphy as pampered African prince Akeem, who rebels against an arranged marriage and heads to America to find a new bride. Murphy's regal father (James Earl Jones) agrees to allow the prince 40 days to roam the U.S., sending the prince's faithful retainer Semmi (Arsenio Hall) along to make sure nothing untoward happens. To avoid fortune hunters, Prince Akeem conceals his true identity and gets a "Joe job" at a fast-food restaurant. Murphy and Hall play multiple roles, and there are innumerable celebrity cameos peppered throughout the proceedings -- including the Duke Brothers (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) from Trading Places. Coming to America made further headlines when humorist Art Buchwald sued the film's producers for plagiarizing one of his works. Buchwald carried the case to trial, where he won a sizeable judgement against the film's producers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, (more)
Two thugs move from drug dealing to more serious crime in a low-budget thriller shot on location in Arizona. Alex (Bill Osco) and Ray (Jason Williams) are two scruffy small-time hoods who are hoping to make a big score on a cocaine deal. However, not long after scoring the drugs in a desert airplane drop, Alex and Ray are ambushed by the police while making their way into town. The crooks kill the cops and steal an ice-cream truck to make their getaway, tossing the driver out the door as they head west. Alex and Ray find they're short on gas and money as they make their way to the dealer eager to buy their dope, and during a stop at a gas station they empty the cash register, kill the attendants and kidnap Karen (Diane Keller) while stealing her boyfriend's car. Both Ray and Alex enjoy tormenting naive Karen, but Ray has sadistic sexual designs on her, which Alex cannot tolerate. Cop Killers was shot under the title Sweet, Mean and Deadly, and featured producer Bill Osco in his first acting role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
The team behind the Scream trilogy, director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson, present another entry in the teen-horror genre with Cursed. Starring Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg, the film tells the story of two siblings who have to battle a werewolf that has been wreaking havoc on their neighbors, just as they learn that they might be marked with "the sign of the beast," and may become werewolves themselves. Along with Shannon Elizabeth and Judy Greer, Cursed also co-stars Dawson Creek alumnus Joshua Jackson, as well as R&B star Mya. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson, (more)
- 2008
- R
- Add Dark Reel to Queue
A long-dormant Hollywood mystery returns with ferocious intensity when an avid movie fan wins a walk-on role in an upcoming horror film and finds himself thrust into the center of a blood-soaked, behind-the-scenes killing spree. Adam Waltz (Edward Furlong) was beginning to think his life was going nowhere until the day he won a role in the latest shocker from high-powered studio chief Connor Pritchett (Lance Henrikson). But just as Adam meets scream queen Cassie Blue (Tiffany Shepis) and all his wildest fantasies start coming true, a serial killer begins stalking the set and slaughtering all of the actors. Scheming to cash in on the publicity while the bodies are still warm, Pritchett attempts to turn the low-budget thriller into a Hollywood hit. The first step is to expand Adam's role - not a difficult goal considering the actors are dropping like flies - though the future of the film comes into question when Detective Shields (Tony Todd) takes up the case. Shields is determined to get his man, even if it means shutting down the production altogether. Now everyone is a suspect, including Adam, and the only hope for getting the film made is to wrap up production before the entire crew gets sent home in body bags. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Furlong, Lance Henriksen, (more)
- 2000
- PG
- Add Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas to QueueAdd Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas to top of Queue
He's mean, he's green, and he's doesn't like the Yuletide season one bit -- Jim Carrey stars in this live-action adaptation of the classic children's story by Dr. Seuss (aka Theodore Geisel). High atop Mt. Crumpet, the Grinch (Carrey) observes the residents of Whoville joyously preparing to celebrate Christmas. The Grinch was born in Whoville years ago, but was shunned due to his scary appearance, and his unrequited love for Martha May Whovier has turned him bitter; the good cheer of the Whos has been a thorn in his side ever since. Finally the Grinch decides he's had enough of all this happiness, and with the wary aid of his dog Max, the Grinch conspires to steal Christmas from Whoville, making off with their presents, holiday decorations, Christmas trees, and everything else used to enjoy the holiday. Molly Shannon, Christine Baranski, Jeffrey Tambor, and Clint Howard play several of the citizens of Whoville, while Anthony Hopkins narrates (taking over from the late Boris Karloff, who memorably read Dr. Seuss' story in Chuck Jones' 1966 animated adaptation of the story). Ron Howard directs. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Jeffrey Tambor, (more)
- 1986
Sponsored by the publishers of Fangoria magazine, this documentary explores the world of horror-film conventions. Interviewed are such celebrities as make-up expert Tom Savini and directors Tobe Hooper and Wes Craven. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
Gorillas in the Mist is based on the autobiographical 1983 book by naturalist Dian Fossey. Before the book could be brought before the cameras, Fossey had been mysteriously killed; her death provides a logical, if somewhat ghoulish climax to the film. A Kentucky girl, Fossey (Sigourney Weaver) is inspired by famed anthropologist Louis Leakey (Ian Cuthbertson) to devote her life to the study of primates. Travelling into deepest Africa, Fossey becomes fascinated with the lives and habits of the rare mountain gorillas of the Ugandan wilderness. Studying them at close quarters, Fossey develops a means of communicating with the gorillas, and in so doing becomes obsessed with the beasts' well-being. She is so devoted to "her" mountain that she loses the opportunity for a romance with a National Geographic photographer (Bryan Brown). Appalled by the poaching of the gorillas for their skins, Fossey complains to the Ugandan government, which dismisses her by explaining that poaching is the only means by which some of the Ugandan natives can themselves survive. She refuses to accept this, and becomes a militant animal-rights activist, burning down the poachers' villages and even staging a mock execution of one of the offenders. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigourney Weaver, Bryan Brown, (more)
Where the original Gremlins was a horror film spiked with comedy, Gremlins 2: The New Batch is essentially a black comedy, with a couple of horrifying touches. As the film starts, the fantastical trinket shop in Chinatown, which sold the Mogwai in the first film, is demolished by a crazed multi-media businessman called Daniel Clamp (John Glover). The heroes from the first movie, Billy (Zach Galligan) and Kate (Phoebe Cates), happen to work for Clamp in his huge high-rise. They find the Mogwai within Clamp's building, but not before he has accidentally spawned legions of mischievous, lizard-like Gremlins. Soon, the Gremlins are wreaking havoc throughout the building. In the original film, their misdeeds were violent, but here they're also goofy and satirical. Director Joe Dante has filled the film with quick verbal and visual jokes, which, for many, makes Gremlins 2: The New Batch a satire and inversion of the typical horror film. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, (more)
- 1984
- PG
- Add Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes to QueueAdd Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes to top of Queue
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes is a reverent retelling of the Edgar Rice Burroughs original, with a 1980s-sensibilities slant. Shipwrecked on the coast of Africa, Lord Jack Clayton (Paul Geoffrey) and his pregnant wife Lady Alice (Cheryl Campbell) attempt to survive in the hostile environment, but both die shortly after the birth of their son John. Abandoned in the wilderness, the orphaned John is adopted by a family of rather highly evolved apes, and raised as one of their own. Years later, John-now known as Tarzan, and now played by Christopher Lambert-comes across a party of white hunters. Rescuing one of the intruders, Belgian Captain Phillipe D'Arnot (Ian Holm) from a horrible death , Tarzan is taught to speak English by the grateful D'Arnot. Coming across the remains and possessions of Tarzan's parents, D'Arnot discovers that the Lord of the Jungle is actually the Earl of Greystoke. Brought back to England, Tarzan is introduced to society, where his crude, apelike manners offend everyone--except the likeable (and painfully senile) 6th Lord of Greystoke (Ralph Richardson, in his final film role) and Greystoke's American ward, Jane Porter (Andie McDowell, whose Southern-fried voice is dubbed by Glenn Close). Disturbed at the notion of Tarzan's inheriting Greystoke manner, his more greedy relatives begin plotting against him. But it is Tarzan himself who decides that he cannot adapt himself to England-especially after a painful reunion with his ape foster father, imprisoned in a science-lab cage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, (more)
While vacationing in the Pacific Northwest, the Henderson clan's dad George (John Lithgow), mom Nancy (Melinda Dillon), daughter Sarah (Margaret Langrick) and son Ernie (Joshua Rudroy) accidently run over a strange animal with their car, and when they get out to see what it is, they find the seemingly dead body of a hairy Bigfoot-type monster (Kevin Peter Hall). Believing that the creature is a grizzly bear, the Hendersons take it home, planning to stuff the beast and put it on display in their living room. Predictably, the hirsute monster revives and is adopted by the family as a pet. Originally conceived as a TV series by comedian Brad Garrett, Harry and the Hendersons ultimately did make it to the small screen as a weekly syndicated sitcom in 1990, with Kevin Peter Hall repeating the title role during the series' first 24 episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, (more)
Mike Mignola's acclaimed comic book series about a creature from Hades who joins the battle against evil arrives on the screen in vivid form in this adaptation directed by distinctive horror filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. During World War II, the Third Reich has joined forces with the evil Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden), who has used his occult powers to summon up a young demon from the depth of Hell to be used as the ultimate Axis weapon. However, the demonic creature is captured by American forces, and put in the care of Professor Broom (John Hurt), the founder of a top-secret organization called the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Under Broom's tutelage, the creature develops empathy and a desire to do good while his physical powers and paranormal talents are honed to a fine point. Sixty years later, the demon, now known as Hellboy (Ron Perlman), is part of an elite secret defense team alongside Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), a beautiful young woman who can create fire with her mind, and Abe Sapian (Doug Jones), an aquatic humanoid with the power of telepathy. Despite his many years of fighting for right, Hellboy finds himself facing his greatest challenge when the powerful Rasputin returns, determined to bring the demon back to the forces of darkness so that evil may finally rule the world. Hellboy's supporting cast also includes Jeffrey Tambor, Rupert Evans, and Brian Steele. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Perlman, John Hurt, (more)
Filled with enough cameos to keep film buffs entertained, this otherwise routine action-comedy by John Landis boasts Michelle Pfeiffer as one of its major attractions. She plays Diana, a woman prone to having affairs with some very dangerous men, and Jeff Goldblum is Ed Okin, an aerospace engineer whose lot is thrown in with Diana's when the woman is caught in a bind at the airport. The beautiful Diana is an airhead on the scale of the Hindenberg, her only concerns are clothes and men -- which she either most attractively wears or wears out, depending. While Ed is at the airport one day trying to sort out his life, Diana arrives with six smuggled emeralds in tow and is immediately welcomed by several hired assassins. Fear and expediency propel her into Ed's car, and the two are off on a series of narrow escapes that has them pursued by everyone from Iranians to baddies played by well-known international directors (Roger Vadim) or singers (David Bowie) or comedians (Dan Aykroyd). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, (more)
- 1987
- R
Better known as It's Alive III, Island of the Alive details the further exploits of the murderous mutant infants introduced in director Larry Cohen's It's Alive! (1974). Said infants are shipped off to a desert island, where they are completely cut off from civilization. The government intends to eliminate the penned-up infants, but Michael Moriarty, the father of one of the babies, organizes a protest against this wholesale slaughter. It is clear to anyone who can read that director Cohen is drawing parallels between the quarantined children and society's treatment of AIDS victims. The strength of Cohen's direction and storytelling prowess is slightly weakened by some inadequate special effects in the closing scenes, wherein the babies reproduce and wreak havoc on the Mainland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Moriarty, Karen Black, (more)
Horror journeyman Larry Cohen, writer and director of numerous quirky horror projects, made his first foray into the genre with this low-budget cult favorite about a murderous mutant baby on a suburban rampage. The story opens with a delivery-room massacre as the newborn child of Frank and Lenore Davies (John P. Ryan and Sharon Farrell) answers the doctor's slap by tearing him to pieces -- along with a few other medical personnel -- before fleeing the hospital for whereabouts unknown. The subsequent hunt for the killer baby creates a rift between Frank, who wants the child destroyed, and Lenore, whose maternal instincts convince her that her child is not deliberately homicidal but merely frightened and defending itself. The baby's bloody rampage continues with several murders (including the creepy scene in which the terrible tyke savages the neighborhood milkman), until it is cornered by Frank and a police task-force. At the crucial moment, Frank has a sudden change of heart and tries to defend the infant from the police. Despite painfully low production values that render the monster scenes a bit silly (Rick Baker's creepy-looking but inarticulate baby model was simply pulled along on a string), Cohen's concept shines through, presenting a skewed but sincere interpretation of family values that could only be pulled off in the horror genre (see also Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes for another example). The script makes passing suggestions that the mutation was a result of an inadequately tested fertility drug, a concept explored more fully in the sequel It Lives Again and quite extensively in the third installment, Island of the Alive. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Ryan, Sharon Farrell, (more)
Famed producer Dino De Laurentiis tries to steal the thunder from Jaws, then the top-grossing film of all-time, in this big budget remake of King Kong. (De Laurentiis related his tactics to Tom Snyder: "When Jaws dies, nobody cries. When Kong dies, they all cry.") Updated to the 1970s, the original Robert Armstrong character is now Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin), a big-shot oil magnate from Petrox Oil, looking for new petroleum deposits on a recently discovered Pacific island. Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) is a counter-culture paleontologist, stowing away on Wilson's ship, who warns that they are headed for "Skull Island," where prehistoric monsters still live and roam free. Also along for the ride is Dwan (Jessica Lange, in her film debut), a down-on-her-luck starlet, shipwrecked in the ocean after the sinking of a yacht. She really becomes down-on-her-luck when the group lands on the island and a giant ape, Kong, takes a shine to her. Kong kidnaps her and Dwan takes umbrage when the ape tries to remove her clothes by shouting, "You male chauvinist ape!" But Prescott comes to her aid and rescues her from the gorilla's big mits. Wilson, seeing money to be made on Kong, locks him in the cargo hold of his ship and transports him to New York City. Once there, Kong manages to escape and wreak havoc upon the beleaguered town, before being compelled to climb up the World Trade Center for sanctuary. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, (more)
Comedians Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence team up for a story that wouldn't appear to have many immediate humorous possibilities -- two men serving life sentences in prison for a crime they did not commit. Life opens in Harlem in 1932, where Ray Gibson (Eddie Murphy) is a small-time con man in debt to Spanky, a gangster (Rick James). Ray spots would-be bank teller Claude Banks (Martin Lawrence) at a gambling spot and, figuring him for an easy mark, lifts his wallet -- only to discover Claude is broke. Ray and Claude's mutual need to raise some cash brings them together when Spanky offers them a job bringing back a load of moonshine from bootleggers in the deep south. However, things don't go well for Ray and Claude, and they're arrested by a sheriff in Mississippi who recently killed a man and needs someone on whom he can hang the charge. Since Ray and Claude are black, from out of town and have been caught red-handed with a load of illegal liquor, the sheriff figures they're easy pickings and frames them for the murder. Soon the two men are inmates in a Southern work camp, where they spend the next 55 years learning to get along with the other inmates, avoiding the wrath of the guards, seeing younger prisoners come and go and never losing hope that someday, somehow, their innocence will be proven and they'll be released. Life is the second screen pairing for Murphy and Lawrence, who also shared screen time in 1992's Boomerang, and was scripted by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone from an original idea by Murphy. The supporting cast includes Ned Beatty, Clarence Williams III, Bernie Mac, Nick Cassavetes and R. Lee Ermey. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, (more)
Roger Moore makes his first appearance as "Bond...James Bond" in 1973's Live and Let Die. Bond is dispatched to the States to stem the activities of Mr. Big (Yaphet Kotto), who plans to take over the Western Hemisphere by converting everyone into heroin addicts. The woman in the case is Solitaire (Jane Seymour in her movie debut), an enigmatic interpreter of tarot cards. The obligatory destructive-chase sequence occurs at the film's midpoint, with Bond being chased in a motorboat by Mr. Big's henchmen, slashing his way through the marshlands and smashing up a wedding party. Clifton James makes the first of several Bond appearances as redneck sheriff Pepper, while Geoffrey Holder is an enthusiastic secondary villain. The title song, written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, provides the frosting on this 007 confection. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
For his fifth effort as a feature-film director, one-time cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld brought his cartoonish visual style and darkly humorous sensibilities to this adaptation of, appropriately enough, a tongue-in-cheek sci-fi comic book. Will Smith stars as James Darrel Edwards, a New York City cop with an athletic physique and a flippant, anti-authoritarian attitude toward law enforcement. After chasing down a mysterious perpetrator one night who turns out to be an alien, James is recruited by "K" (Tommy Lee Jones), a veteran of a clandestine government agency secretly policing the comings and goings of aliens on planet Earth. Nicknamed the "men in black" for their nondescript uniform of black suit, shoes, tie, and sunglasses, the agents are assigned to recover a bauble that's been stolen by an intergalactic terrorist (Vincent D'Onofrio). It seems the item is none other than the galaxy itself, and its theft has plunged humanity into the center of what's shaping up to become an interstellar war, unless K and his new wisecracking partner, now renamed "J," can stop the bad guy. On their side but somewhat in the dark is a pretty, unflappable city medical examiner (Linda Fiorentino) who has been zapped one too many times by K's ingenious memory-sapping device. Men in Black was a box office smash, inspiring an animated children's television series and a hit soundtrack album that featured a performance by star (and rapper) Smith. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, (more)
Otherworldly villains are on the loose again, and it's up to Earth's interstellar police force to bring them to justice in this sequel to the sci-fi comedy blockbuster Men in Black. Agent Jay (Will Smith) has become a high-ranking member of the Men in Black, the secret government task force designed to deal with unruly visitors from other worlds, while his former cohort, Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), had his memory wiped clean and now lives a simple but contented life as a mailman. However, an especially nasty alien threat has reared its not-so-ugly head; Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle) is a shape-shifting Kylothian alien who is in pursuit of another escaped visitor who holds the key to powers that would allow her to destroy the world. Making Serleena all the more dangerous is the fact she's taken on the appearance of a lingerie model, making her irresistible to most men. When the rampaging Serleena takes control of the MIB offices, Jay is forced to turn to the only man who can help him save the world -- the former Agent Kay. After restoring Kay's memory, the two remaining Men in Black set out to conquer Serleena with a motley band of friendly aliens, including a handful of worm creatures and a talking dog named Frank (voice of Tim Blaney). Jay, meanwhile, has his head turned by Laura (Rosario Dawson), an attractive waitress who was an unwitting witness to an alien attack. Men in Black 2 also features Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub, David Cross, Patrick Warburton, and Johnny Knoxville. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, (more)
