Anthony Fingleton Movies
Based on the true story of a youth from Brisbane, Australia, who overcame family dysfunction to become a world-class athlete, director Russell Mulcahy's drama centers on young Tony Fingleton's (Jesse Spencer) relationship with his distant father, Harold (Geoffrey Rush), and the dedication it took to win his respect. Born into a large family and convinced by his father that he will never amount to the achievements of his brothers, Tony attempts to win his father's respect by becoming a champion swimmer. Despite his best efforts to please his father, Tony also begins to realize his own self-worth in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, (more)
Phoebe Cates stars in this bizarre comedy that wants to be the kind of stylish comic fable the likes of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice and Pee-wee's Big Adventure but ends up looking like a shabby burlesque about schizophrenia. Cates is Elizabeth, who has recently separated from her philandering husband Charles (Tim Matheson) and moved back home with her harridan mother Polly (Marsha Mason). Back in her old little-girl haunts, she regresses into childhood and recalls her imaginary childhood friend Drop Dead Fred (Rik Mayall), a nasty, ill-tempered sociopath. As a child, Elizabeth created mayhem with her imaginary pal, but Polly locked him up tight in a jack-in-the-box. But now, Elizabeth mistakenly liberates him from the jack-in-the-box, and the newly freed Drop Dead Fred proceeds to wreak more havoc than the Id Monster from Forbidden Planet -- taking vengeance upon all the people who have made Elizabeth miserable -- and then some. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phoebe Cates, Rik Mayall, (more)
This campy, amateurish horror anthology involves a quartet of spooky tales of the supernatural told around the dinner table by the cast and director of a horror film. The stories involve a mad bomber who gets his macabre comeuppance; a magical coin that transports its owner back in time; a ghost haunting a rich old man's vault; and a karate champion whose desire to achieve the "Tenth Level" reveals a secret for which he isn't prepared. Finally, the framing story ties everything up with a creepy climax. This crudely-shot, stagebound time-waster does very little with the collected tales, relying more on stilted dialogue and shoddy acting than scares or sense. Remarkably subdued work for notorious horror/exploitation filmmaker Joel M. Reed, who dumped Bloodsucking Freaks on an unsuspecting and disgusted public the following year. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
