Barry Goldberg Movies

A more straightforward horror film than the darkly comic Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988), this third chapter in the "Living Dead" saga was directed by Brian Yuzna and is quite similar plot-wise to his earlier film, Bride of Re-Animator (1990). J. Trevor Edmond and Mindy Clarke star as Curt Reynolds and Julie Walker, a young couple in love. Curt's father is Col. John Reynolds (Kent McCord), a scientist working on a top-secret project at a nearby military compound. When Curt steals his dad's security pass and sneaks Julie into the base, they discover that the project involves bringing corpses back to life using the powerful gas Trioxin, responsible for events in the previous films. The military hopes to use the mindless, flesh-consuming zombies as weapons, but the experiment goes gruesomely awry. Later, Julie is killed in an accident on Curt's motorcycle and the grief-stricken boyfriend brings her to the base and exposes her to the gas. As she begins craving human flesh, Curt must try to keep her alive while also facing down a local street gang he's unintentionally crossed, as well as the soldiers seeking Julie, led by his father. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

A yuppie and a hippie are the offbeat pairing of this character comedy in the tradition of earlier mismatched buddy films such as Midnight Run (1988). Kiefer Sutherland is uptight, 26-year-old FBI agent John Buckner, who's been assigned to escort an aging counterculture radical named Huey Walker (Dennis Hopper) to Oregon for trial on a charge that's decades old. Buckner finds Huey's lifestyle and beliefs irresponsible. Once the two are bound for their Pacific Northwest destination, Huey begins to play psychological mind games with the straight-arrow Buckner, convincing him that he's tripping on hallucinogenic drugs, getting him drunk, and setting him up with a hooker named Sparkle (Kathleen York). Huey trades places with his captor and soon a game of cat-and-mouse is afoot as the agent pursues the one-time radical, with surprising revelations abounding regarding Buckner's childhood and Huey's motivations for allowing himself to be captured. Flashback also stars Carol Kane, Cliff De Young, Richard Masur, Michael McKean, and Paul Dooley. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The road movie gets a smart update with this seriocomic tale of two Cheyenne men traveling from their reservation in Montana to New Mexico. For one of them, Buddy Red Bow (A Martinez), a quick-tempered activist, the journey is a practical one; his sister has been arrested and he is the only family member who can help her out. Buddy has no transportation, so he's forced to ride with Philbert Bono (Gary Farmer), a phlegmatic hulk of a man who is using his 1964 Buick as a vehicle for a spiritual journey of his own. Philbert's easygoing ways and insistence on frequent stops to meditate prove irritating at first to Buddy, but the men reach an accommodation as the trip wears on. Buddy comes to see that blaming the white man and what he sees as system rigged against Native Americans is distracting him from his true mission: to better understand himself and his place in the world. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

This grim tale is based upon actual events and chronicles the coming-of-age of two high-school seniors living in gritty Caddo, Texas in 1960. The teens lose their innocence when they become involved in the corruption and seediness that exists about their town after its leading citizen, the town judge and the town sheriff begin working on the latter's re-election campaign. The sheriff's challenger is desperate to win and so engineers the release of a dangerous convicted killer, whose actions he plans to blame upon the sheriff by making it look as if the incumbent accepted a bribe for the crook's early release. No one comes out clean in the end as the crook begins a vengeful killing spree and the corruption of both the judge and the sheriff are exposed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A U.S. senator who is planning an upcoming election instructs his aid to escort his troublesome daughter to a reform school so he will not be embarrassed during the campaign. The aid (Martin Sheen), with the company of his friend (Alan Ruck), set off on a road trip with the headstrong daughter (Kerri Green) and find their hands full in this light comedy. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Valley boys take on the punk rockers in this teen-age adventure. This time they use skateboards instead of zip guns, knives and fists. The rich Valley kids, "The Ramp Locals," are led by Corey Webster, while the leather-clad, street-wise punks follow Tommy Hook. The trouble begins when Corey falls in love with Tommy's little sister who has come from Indiana for a visit. The rivalry between the gangs culminates during the grueling "LA Massacre," a 20-mile downhill skateboarding race. The winning team will earn a corporate sponsor. For the final race, the filmmakers strapped a camera in front of a skateboard to give viewers a sense of the thrills experienced by the daring "thrashers." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In a casting twist, this remake of Arthur Penn's The Miracle Worker casts Patty Duke, who won an Oscar for her work as Helen Keller in the original, as Annie Sullivan, the woman who taught the deaf and blind Keller sign language. (In Penn's original, Sullivan was portrayed by Anne Bancroft.) The story, however remains the same; through perseverance and a bit of luck, Sullivan teaches Keller first to dress herself, then the sign-language alphabet, then finally the means of communication. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Troubled by huge gambling debts, Steve (Richard Grand) is a salesman whose life and prospects are dreary indeed. His wife is anxious to move upward economically and socially, and he is caught between her desires and the grimness of his situation if he is unable to repay the debts. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Gene Wilder and Bob Newhart star as husbands who have some explaining to do in this made-for-television comedy. Wilder stars as Harry Evers and Newhart as Marvin Ellison, two friends who decide to keep up their Thursday night escapades after their weekly poker game breaks up. When their wives find out though (Ellen Burstyn and Cloris Leachman, respectively) they want to know just what their husbands have been doing. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide