George "Buck" Flower Movies

This by-the-numbers action-revenge drama that plays like several other similarly-plotted, good ol' boy pulp flicks of its era, such as Billy Jack (1971) and Walking Tall (1973). Timothy Bottoms stars as Poke Jackson, a convict who's just been released from prison after a stint for drug trafficking. The catch is that Poke was innocent, having been framed for the crime by a corrupt lawman, Sheriff Duke (Bo Hopkins). Poke makes his way home to his beautiful girlfriend Mary Lee (Susan George) and their illegitimate son, only to find that Duke has moved into his place as Mary's lover. Incensed, Poke sets out on a course of vengeance that will pit him against the tough cop and culminate in a lethal car chase. With supporting characters named "Bull," "Cleotus," and "Buford," the redneck pedigree of A Small Town in Texas (1976) is distinct. The film was penned by screenwriter William W. Norton, who wrote several better examples of this high-octane, macho genre, including White Lightning (1973) and Gator (1976). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The time is the 1950s: seedy Brooklyn private eye Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) is hired by shady Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro) to locate a pop singer who reneged on a debt. Harry ventures into Harlem, the first step of a Heart of Darkness-inspired odyssey. Each time Harry makes contact with someone who might know the singer's whereabouts, he or she is killed in a horrible, ritualistic fashion; a Satanic cult seems to be at the bottom of all the carnage. Harry solves the mystery, all right. He just didn't know that he had the answer all along -- even before Louis entered his office. Also available in the "unrated" video version, Angel Heart is best known as the film that nearly got an X-rating due to a no-holds-barred sex scene involving Mickey Rourke and Lisa Bonet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Things have barely settled from the excitement and resolve of the original Back to the Future, when in pops that crazy inventor Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) with news that in order to prevent a series of events that could ruin the McFly name for posterity, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox ) and his girlfriend are whisked into the future to the year 2015, where Marty must tangle with a teen rogue named Griff, who's obviously the descendant of Biff, the first Future film's bully. Marty foils Griff and his group when he jumps on an air-foil skateboard that flies him through town at rakish speeds with the loser bullies beaten again. Marty gets a money-making brainstorm before hopping in the time-traveling DeLorean, and he purchases a sports almanac. He figures that back in 1985 he'll be able to place sure-fire bets using the published sports scores of the games that are yet to happen. Unfortunately for Marty, Dr. Brown disapproves of his betting scheme -- he feels too much messing with time is very dangerous -- and he tosses the almanac. A hidden Biff overhears the discussion about the almanac, sees it get tossed out, and grabs it. Thus begins a time-traveling swirl to make the head spin. Biff swipes the DeLorean, heads back to 1955, and with the help of the unerring almanac, bets his way to power. The now-altered "Biff world" has turned into a nightmarish scene with Biff the mogul, residing in a Vegas-styled pleasure palace and running everything. It's all our hero Marty can do to pull the pieces together this time, as he must jump between three generations of intertwined time travel. The end of Back to the Future, Part 2 introduces its sequel as the zany professor has already time-dashed away to the Wild West of the late 1800s and invites Marty into a new adventure. ~ All Movie Guide

Sexploitation vet John Tull stars as Sammy Beal, a less-than-scrupulous boxing manager whose current protégé is virginal country boy Johnny (Steven Hodge). Half-pint Sammy is a walking textbook example of Napoleon complex: when he's not screaming his sweaty head off at Johnny or punch-drunk assistant Benny Bravo (George "Buck" Flower"), he's mauling and berating any woman that comes within grabbing distance (including sexploitation mainstays Rene Bond and Uschi Digart, whose poolside romp with Tull should please her fans). Naturally, he dissolves into a whimpering man-baby immediately after sex. Johnny's rough-hewn skill at the sweet science catches the eye of cigar-chomping mobster Louie Gardino Frank Finklehoffer, who dispatches comely B-girl Lisa (Mirka) to distract him from his training. The naïve puglist naturally falls for her voluptuous charms, but trouble rears its head when he catches her in a bedroom tussle with Sammy. Things rapidly come to an ugly end for all involved. ~ Paul Gaita, All Movie Guide

Nice to see veteran hardcase character actor Charles Napier in a leading role, even if it's in something as eminently forgettable as Big Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus. The eponymous Big Bob (Napier) is head man of a spit-and-vinegar auto racing team. Bob's aggregation makes a brief pit stop to save a deserving young man from being swindled by his devious uncle (William Daniels). The upshot of all this is a cross-country race between two souped-up Rolls Royce. Aimed squarely at the Smokey and the Bandit crowd, the made-for-TV Big Bob Johnson debuted June 27, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When some locals get whomped in a baseball game by a traveling team of femmes, they blame the team for the murder of their town rapist and proceed to hunt them down in the neighboring wilderness. After their numbers are significantly reduced, the bodacious babes begin to bat back. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

A blend of comedy, drama and romance, Bull Durham follows the intertwining of three lives brought together by the great American pastime. Crash Davis (Kevin Costner, showcasing his Midwestern charm) is a perennial Minor Leaguer assigned to the Durham Bulls, a hapless team with a long tradition of mediocrity. There he tutors a young, dim-witted pitching prodigy, Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) in the ways of baseball, life, and love. Each strikes up a romance with Annie (Susan Sarandon), the team's "mascot" who takes it upon herself to sleep with a new player every season. Each has his/her own conflict: Crash struggles to end his career with some measure of dignity; Nuke struggles to make it to the "big show"; and Annie struggles to find something more than a roll in the hay -- and of course, Crash and Nuke come into conflict over Annie's affections to further complicate matters. The film treats the sport of baseball with a sort of casual reverence, highlighting both the drama and the humor inherent in the game, illustrated by Annie's numerous references to baseball as "her religion." ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

Cheerleader Camp, a routine teen slasher film, follows the adventures of a group of teenage girls who go away to a cheerleader camp for the summer. Alison Betsy Russell, one of the group, is having nightmares. Brent, her boyfriend, has followed her to the camp but really seems more interested in the other girls. When those girls are found murdered, Alison believes she may be the killer. This routine slasher film follows the established formula with lots of attractive young women being killed in bloody and inventive ways and while only average, Cheerleader Camp, also released as Bloody Pom Poms, will please lovers of the genre. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

One of the few American films to deal with the tragic story of the internment of Asian-Americans during World War II, Come See the Paradise opens in the late 1930s, as Jack McGurn (Dennis Quaid) is working as a union organizer in New York City. Jack finds himself on the wrong side of the law after he gets involved in an ill-advised bombing of a scab shop, and he flees to Los Angeles, where Hiroshi Kawamura (Sab Shimono) gives him a job as a projectionist in L.A.'s Little Tokyo. Jack soon meets Hiroshi's beautiful daughter Lily (Tamlyn Tomita) and it's love at first sight. Jack and Lily decide to get married, but Hiroshi opposes the match and California law prevents mixed-race couples from obtaining a marriage license. Jack and Lily move to Seattle, where they are wed and soon have a daughter. Jack, however, begins working with the union again, which puts a strain on their marriage; Lily takes their child and returns to Los Angeles. But before long the United States enters World War II, and the Kawamura family is sent (along with all other Americans of Japanese descent living in California) to an internment camp, as it is believed they will become traitors against America if left to their own devices. Jack, ironically, is drafted into the Army and soon goes AWOL to return to California, where he tries to find his wife in the camps. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this futuristic film, the controlling corporations of the world gain and lose power by competing with one another in one-on-one death matches. However when fighter Falchion (Paul Coufos) refuses to compete, he must run from the wrath of the big businessmen and his spurned opponent. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

In a departure from the usual ER format, Ross (George Clooney) and Greene (Anthony Edwards) head to California, where Ross must handle the particulars surrounding the death of his ne'er-do-well father. The two doctors briefly stop over in San Diego, where Greene visits his retired parents (Bonnie Bartlett, John Cullum). After a few awkward moments, it becomes painfully obvious why Greene hasn't come home in several years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Never released in the theaters, this film consists of a series of short skits and parodies of television and the movies, and stars Richard Belzer, Martin Mull, and Harry Shearer. The film's 1981 production date explains the presence of Joan Hackett, who died in 1983. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

The redundantly-titled Further Adventures of the Wilderness Family, Part 2, is the 1977 follow-up to the successful 1974 independently distributed film (aka a "four-waller") Adventures of the Wilderness Family. The titular family, appropriately named Robinson, is once more headed by Robert Logan. The film contains the usual quota of brushes with danger and shots of cute woodland creatures, with the added complication of a bout of pneumonia suffered by Mrs. Robinson (Susan D. Shaw). Barry Williams, of Brady Bunch fame, sings the tunes heard on the soundtrack. Marketed on a theater-to-theater basis in the same manner as its predecessor, Further Adventures of the Wilderness Family scored a hit--resulting in yet another sequel, Mountain Family Robinson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide