Janice Karman Movies
Exploitation auteur Jack Hill wrote and directed this wild, often satiric girl-gang movie, whose story is loosely (make that very, very loosely) based on Othello. The Silver Daggers are a gang of young hoods who control an inner-city high school, where they sell drugs and sex to the student body and fight anyone who gets in their way. The Daggers have a ladies' auxiliary, The Dagger Debs, who rumble just as hard as the men, but one day chief Dagger Deb Lace (Robbie Lee) meets her match in Maggie (Joanne Nail), a new kid who won't back down. When a scuffle lands Maggie and the Debs in jail for the night, Maggie comes to Lace's rescue, and Maggie becomes Lace's new right-hand woman. However, fellow Deb Patch (Monica Gayle) is jealous of Maggie's friendship with Lace, and begins spinning a web of deceit to destroy Lace's trust in the new deb. In the midst of the infighting, the Silver Daggers find their turf challenged by a rival gang who pose as a community action team, and the Debs join forces with a revolutionary political group. Kitty Bruce, Lenny Bruce's daughter, plays Doughnut, one of the Debs, and Marlene Clark plays a Mao-spouting revolutionary leader. This exploitation cult item gained a new life in 1996, when Quentin Tarantino, a big fan of director Hill, sponsored a theatrical re-release through his company Rolling Thunder Pictures. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- R
Six recently divorced males gather 'round a restaurant table and talk about their past lives and their recently failed marriages while trying to piece their lives back together. This drama is somewhat interesting for presenting the topic of life after a divorce from a man's point of view. (And yes, Neil Sedaka sings the smash title song over the final credits - so don't change that dial!) Originally made for television, and broadcast on ABC in two parts - one on Wed., Sep. 5, 1979, and one on Friday, Sep. 7, 1979 -- this film was reissued on video about ten years later to capitalize on Billy Crystal's growing fame. When it arrived on home video, the picture received its first MPAA rating (R) and was edited down from its original running time of 150 minutes to 96 minutes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- Add Alvin & the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Christmas to QueueAdd Alvin & the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Christmas to top of Queue
Several years after the death of novelty album recording artist Ross Bagdasarian, his son Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. brought his father's most popular creation, Alvin and the Chipmunks, back to life with a record album called Chipmunk Punk (1980). The resurgence in popularity of the high-pitched, squeaky-voiced, animated chipmunks Alvin (the mischievous one), Theodore (the giggly, shy, fat one) and Simon (the brainy one) allowed Bagdasarian, Jr. to follow that project with Alvin & the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Christmas (1981), a half-hour television special and accompanying record album. Voicing the same character Bagdasarian had, that of the chipmunks' "father" Dave Seville, Bagdasarian, Jr. created the story of the chipmunks preparing a Carnegie Hall appearance, only to realize that Alvin has given away his harmonica, an instrument with which he's scheduled to perform a solo. On the play list for their big show was "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas, Don't Be Late)," the single that launched the chipmunks' decades-spanning career in 1958. So popular was Alvin & the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Christmas, that in 1983, NBC produced a second chipmunks TV series, Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983-1990), which ran as a Saturday morning children's program, spawning a variety of videos and further record albums. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., Janice Karman, (more)
Join Alvin, Simon, and Theodore as they graduate from their weekly TV adventures to the big screen in the exciting, feature-length animated tale The Chipmunk Adventure. The three boys use a clever scheme with a tape recorder to trick their babysitter, Rebecca Miller, into letting them out of the house. The Chipmunks con the woman into believing that David Seville has granted them permission to set off on a trek around the world, in pursuit of the diamond smugglers Claudia and Claus. Of course, the boys make a point to solicit help from their female friends, The Chipettes, who excitedly agree to tag along on this globe-charting odyssey. A musical to boot, The Chipmunk Adventure features the boys singing such numbers as "Diamond Dolls," and the rollicking and rousing "Woolly Bully."The Chipettes join in as well, with the memorable tune "The Girls of Rock 'n' Roll." ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., Janice Karman, (more)
- 1994
- Add Alvin & the Chipmunks: Trick or Treason to QueueAdd Alvin & the Chipmunks: Trick or Treason to top of Queue
Nearly a decade after the heyday of the daily cartoon series Alvin & the Chipmunks came this Halloween-themed cable TV special. Anxious to join the Monster Club, precocious singing chipmunk Alvin undergoes a grueling trick-or-treat initiation. Naturally, things go awry, spelling trouble not only for Alvin but for his chipmunk siblings Simon and Theodore--not to mention long-suffering David Seville. In keeping with the Chipmunks' tradition of "covering" popular songs, this special includes a spirited rendition of the 1961 novelty hit "The Monster Mash". Trick or Treason debuted October 28, 1994, over the USA network, which was then showing reruns of the original Alvin & the Chipmunks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Alvin, Simon, and Theodore are back in director Tim Hill's computer-animation/live-action hybrid following the further adventures of the world's most adorable singing trio. Songwriter Dave Seville (Jason Lee) has been struggling to gain recognition in the music industry for some time, and despite the fact that his former college roommate (David Cross) is now a high-profile powerbroker at Jett Records, Dave still can't manage to get a break. Things soon start to look up, however, when Dave discovers three singing chipmunks hiding out in the branches of a Christmas tree in Jett Records' world headquarters. Realizing that these woodland crooners cold prove to be his ticket to the big time, Dave does his best to transform Alvin (Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler), and Theodore (Jesse McCartney) into the next great pop sensation. As adorable and talented as they may be, though, these bouncy little critters aren't quite domesticated just yet; they still have a wild streak in them a mile wide, and it isn't long before Dave's life, home, and career are in utter chaos. But staying mad at such lovable little creatures is next to impossible, no matter what kind of mischief they might get into. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Lee, David Cross, (more)
Alvin, Simon, and Theodore meet their musical match after returning to school and entering into a battle of the bands competition in hopes of saving the school's troubled music program. Sent to live with Dave Seville's younger nephew Toby (Zachary Levi), the three lovable marmots decide that getting an education is more important than belting out pop tunes. But the school's music program is about to go belly up, and the only way to save it is to win the 25,000-dollar prize in the upcoming battle of the bands. Though the Chipmunks are confident they have the songwriting skills to steamroll the competition, a newly formed singing trio dubbed the Chippettes promises to give them some stiff competition on-stage. Brittany, Eleanor, and Jeanette are indeed the real deal, and the closer the competition gets, the more Alvin, Simon, and Theodore realize that in order to win, they'll have to give it everything they've got. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, (more)
