David Scott Milton Movies
This is the true story of Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz), a personable young man suffering from "lionitis," a fatal disease which causes hideous facial disfigurement. The son of freewheeling biker Rusty Dennis (Cher), Rocky is accepted without question by his mom's boyfriends and cycle buddies, but treated with pity, condescension, and disgust by much of the outside world. The local high school principal tries to get Rocky classified as brain-damaged so he won't have to enroll the boy in his school, but Rusty fights for her son's rights with the ferocity of a mother lioness. Rocky makes friends easily both at school and at summer camp. He also falls in love with Diana (Laura Dern), a blind girl who cannot see his deformed countenance and is entranced by the boy's kindness and compassion. Now that he's got his own life in order, Rocky sets about to wean his chronically depressed mother from her drug habit. Mask is the sort of story that might have ending up wallowing in its own pathos had the acting, direction and scriptwriting (by Anna Hamilton Phelan) been anything less than very good. The film proved a much-needed financial success for director Peter Bogdanovich, though unfortunately it didn't come soon enough to stave off his declaring personal bankruptcy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cher, Sam Elliott, (more)
- 1982
This Australian crime drama chronicles the life of notorious, keen witted, acid tongued 1920s Melbourne gangster Squizzy Taylor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dave Atkins, Jacki Weaver, (more)
This Is Elvis wants to have it both ways. At times, the film is a warm, loving tribute to The King. At other times, it merely exploits a dead man's reputation for the purposes of a fast buck. The documentary footage of Elvis in concert, overfamiliar though it may be, is excellent and well-selected. The dramatized portions of the film, featuring a quartet of Presley imitators portraying Elvis at different junctures of his life, range from passable to mediocre. For the record, and not in the order in which they appear, Paul Boensch III is Elvis at 10, David Scott is Elvis at 18, Dana MacKay is Elvis at 35 and an appropriately corpulent Johnny Harra is Elvis at 42. In addition, a fifth actor, Ral Donner, is heard as Elvis, narrating the whole affair. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dave Scott, Paul Boensh III, (more)
- 1979
- PG
Bill Forsyth displays some of the fey quirkiness that would distinguish his later, better-known directorial efforts in 1979's That Sinking Feeling. The film details the misadventures of four aimless Scottish youths, who impulsively steal a shipment of stainless-steel sinks. Once they've made off with their booty, the boys have quite a time unloading it on prospective buyers. Much of the humor is verbal, which can be a trial for viewers unwilling to decipher the cast's thick Glasgow accents. That Sinking Feeling was released in the U.S. only after the success of Forsyth's 1980s efforts Gregory's Girl and Local Hero. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Buchanan, John Hughes, (more)
Born to Win is the grimly ironic title of this jet-black comedy about heroin addicts. George Segal plays Jay Jay, an ex-hairdresser who struggles to support his expensive drug habit. To avoid arrest, Jay Jay turns "narc," informing on his fellow junkies. Eventually Jay Jay's sense of self-hatred threatens to overwhelm him. Also released as Born to Lose and Addict, Born to Win was the first American film for Czech director Ivan Passer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Segal, Karen Black, (more)
