Michael J. Kaplan Movies
- 1989
- Add The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie to QueueAdd The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie to top of Queue
Upon temptation from Satan himself, Melvin Junko (aka the Toxic Avenger) has visions of yuppiedom dancing in his head when he begins working for an evil Japanese conglomerate which plans to destroy the world (including Melvin's hometown) with toxic waste. When he realizes what he is doing, he becomes the mutant superhero and begins, again, his heroic crime fighting. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Fazio, John Altamura, (more)
A once-in-a-lifetime cast of veterans performs David Berry's play about Libby Strong (Bette Davis) and Sarah Webber (Lillian Gish), widowed sisters vacationing on a Philadelphia island for their 60th consecutive summer. Libby is blind and embittered, while Sarah is healthy, supportive, and almost annoyingly chipper. Their neighbor Tisha (Ann Sothern) tries to convince Sarah to put Libby in the care of her daughter, but Sarah hasn't forgotten Libby's moral support when her own husband died, and she won't entertain such notions -- until she is swept off her feet by an aging roué (Vincent Price). When Libby spitefully sabotages this romance, an infuriated Sarah decides that gratitude has its limits. But when it actually comes down to selling their summer house and sending Libby packing, Sarah can't do it. In the film's flashback sequences, Libby is played by Margaret Ladd, Sarah by Mary Steenburgen, and Tisha by Ann Sothern's real-life daughter Tisha Sterling. Another film personality of long standing, Harry Carey Jr., is well cast as the sisters' handyman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, (more)
- 1976
- R
- Add Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson to QueueAdd Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson to top of Queue
"Truth is whatever gets the loudest applause." Debunking western myths even more than he did in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), Robert Altman's Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976) sardonically explores the gap between western history and legend in show biz-obsessed America. Megalomaniac "Buffalo Bill" Cody (Paul Newman) assumes the legend created for him by writer Ned Buntline (Burt Lancaster), aided and abetted by his producer (Joel Grey) and his publicist (Kevin McCarthy), perpetuating myths of white triumph over savage "Injuns" in his Wild West show, as audiences cheer him on and buy his merchandise. But when Sitting Bull (Frank Kaquitts) joins the troupe with his interpreter (Will Sampson), his request for authenticity threatens to throw a wrench into the proceedings. Regardless of how Bill may feel about the facts, he must bow to the preferences of the paying public. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Joel Grey, (more)
- 1940
After the Nazi invasion of Russia, Soviet films became "acceptable" again in US theaters, which they most certainly had not been during the Russo-Finnish war. Per its English-language title, Heroes of the Sea is a tribute to the Soviet navy, with a bit of romantic intrigue thrown in for good measure. The principal character is Rear Admiral Beliayev (V. I. Osvetimsky), a career sailor descended from a long line of seafaring men. Beliayev's son (S. D. Stolyarov) carries on the family tradition as a submarine commander. Father and son are united as one during a climactic sea skirmish against The Enemy, a sequence both exciting and suspenseful. In keeping with the Soviet party line of the era, the heroine (A. M. Maximova) is no landlocked ingenue, but an ace Russian navy pilot! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vladimir Osvetsimsky, S. Timokhin, (more)
