Michael Miner Movies
- 2004
- PG13
- Add Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid to QueueAdd Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid to top of Queue
Directed by Dwight H. Little, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid is the sequel to 1997's tongue-in-cheek Anaconda, though none of the original cast have returned. The film chronicles a fateful mission ordered by a pharmaceutical giant: to travel deep in to the jungles of Borneo, where a rare black orchid -- one that can be used to attain immortality -- has bloomed for hundreds of years, unbeknownst to man. The eager horticulturists sent have no idea that an indigenous population of bloodthirsty anacondas has been privy to the orchid's properties for years. Not only have the orchids augmented their already phenomenal size, strength, and vitality, they've substantially increased the snakes' appetites for flesh. Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid features Peter Curtis, Johnny Messner, Morris Chestnut, and Eugene Byrd. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Messner, KaDee Strickland, (more)
This independent drama examines the relationship between Mary (Jena Malone), a 15-year-old girl whose been forced into a wisdom beyond her years by dealing with a serious illness, and her older sister Penny (Mary Stuart Masterson). The responsibility of caring for Mary has fallen to Penny, who watches over her sister by day and supports them both at night by turning tricks, using drugs to blot out her depression. While the harsh realities of life have blunted Penny's spirits, Mary has found a way to stay in touch with the beauty and magic of the world around her. Watching over Mary and Penny are Prisoner (D.B. Sweeney), a poet who got his nickname after a stay in jail; Kristjan (Karl Geary), a political refugee who works at the corner store; and Professor (Delroy Lindo), the sisters' gruff but good-hearted neighbor. The Book Of Stars received its world premier as part of the 1999 South By Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Stuart Masterson, Jena Malone, (more)
A young boy and a brilliant scientist attempt to thwart an evil cyber-villain's attempts to take over the world in this inferior sequel to the 1992 sci-fi adventure The Lawnmower Man. Former Max Headroom star Matt Frewer replaces Jeff Fahey in the title role of Jobe, the mentally challenged gardener transformed into a brilliant, computerized megalomaniac by a series of virtual reality experiments. Though destroyed at the end of the first film, Jobe finds a way to return to digital life, and he sets out in search of an important computer chip that will grant him frightening levels of power. A group of young hackers, led by Peter (Austin O'Brien), discovers this nefarious scheme and turns to retired virtual reality pioneer Ben Trace (Patrick Bergin) for help. Chase scenes and gunfights follow, both in the virtual world and the real world, as Trace and the boys try to figure out how to defeat Jobe. Despite a more blatantly futuristic setting, the sequel's special effects fail to match the standards of the first film, and the confused storyline proves more illogical than suspenseful, limiting the film's appeal to die-hard genre aficionados. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Bergin, Matt Frewer, (more)
Legendary low-budget mogul Roger Corman made a somewhat inauspicious return to the director's chair for the first time in nearly twenty years (unless one counts his uncredited participation in "pickup" shoots for several New World Pictures productions) for this quaint sci-fi/horror outing, based on the popular novel by Brian Aldiss. Opening in the year 2031, the story begins with scientist Joseph Buchanan (John Hurt) working on a top-secret military project that creates a rift in time in space, hurtling him and his ultra-high-tech hotrod backwards through time to the early 19th century. Buchanan manages to adapt quite well to his new surroundings, particularly after making the acquaintance of fellow scientist Baron Frankenstein (Raul Julia). Curiously, the Baron is presented here as an authentic historical figure, and his monster-making efforts the basis for the famed book by Mary Shelley (Bridget Fonda), which was a work of fiction. After ruminating about his situation with Mary and her future husband Percy Shelley (late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence) at the villa of mad poet Lord Byron (Jason Patric), Buchanan is approached by the Baron to help construct a mate for his intelligent but homicidal creature (Nick Brimble). Unfortunately, things do not go according to plan, leading to an ironic denouement that finds Buchanan pondering the apocalyptic results of his life's work. The film boasts solid production values and some beautiful location photography (most of the film was shot in Italy); however, the classy look and high-profile casting can't disguise the overall feel of an early New World outing, albeit with a much larger budget. The script, adapted by Corman and writer F.X. Feeney, eliminates many of the novel's intellectual twists and turns; much of the remaining dialogue comes off as merely pretentious. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hurt, Raul Julia, (more)
The serialized story structure and barbed social commentary from comic book creator and co-writer Frank Miller earned critical respect in this satirical science fiction sequel directed by Irvin Kershner. Peter Weller returns as RoboCop, a futuristic cyborg fashioned from cutting-edge technology and the biological remains of slain Detroit police officer, Alex Murphy. Still patrolling the city streets, RoboCop is scheduled by his creator, Omni Consumer Products, to be replaced by a new "superior" model, RoboCop 2, that according to designer Juliette Faxx (Belinda Bauer), will contain the human remains not of a cop but a criminal. In the meantime, an instantly addictive drug called Nuke is sweeping through Detroit thanks to a kingpin named Cain (Tom Noonan). Taking Cain to task, RoboCop is captured and dismantled. When he's put back together, the cyborg is reprogrammed with a series of socially conscious commands (in a sly mocking of the then relatively new concept of "political correctness") that render him impotent as a law enforcer. Taking charge by rewiring himself with an electrical overload, RoboCop arrests Cain, who is injured in the process. Faxx secretly takes Cain's brain and inserts it into RoboCop 2, turning the robot immediately into a law-breaking murder machine and leading to a violent showdown between two generations of robotic crime-fighters. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, (more)
- 1988
- PG13
An impoverished adolescent outcast becomes a deadly, vengeful killer against his tormentors after he finds a super-secret anti-matter gun lying in an Arizona stream bed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rodney Eastman, Kim Walker, (more)
Paul Verhoeven's American breakthrough film, Robocop, is an exceedingly violent blend of black comedy, science fiction, and crime thriller. Set in Detroit sometime in the near future, the film is about a policeman (Peter Weller) killed in the line of duty whom the department decides to resurrect as a half-human, half-robot supercop. The RoboCop is indestructible, and within a matter of weeks he has removed crime from the streets of Detroit. However, his human side is tortured by his past, and he wants revenge on the thugs who killed him. The film was later followed by two feature-length sequels and a live-action television series, neither of which were as successful as the original film. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, (more)
- 1984
- R
Shot in a cinema verite style, perhaps because this film about teenage prostitution began as a project while director Rose-Marie Turko was a student at UCLA, the format tends to hit home better than a more artificial approach. (Actors and real street people are difficult to distinguish.) Although starting out as a story about how young Ruby Star (Jennifer Mayo) was forced into prostitution in order to support herself and her baby, the film quickly dips into the seamier side of life after Ruby meets a pimp nicknamed Easy (David Dean) and gets involved with a demi-monde of degenerates. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Mayo, Jackie Berryman, (more)
