The Case of the Hillside Stranglers (1989)

Director: Steve Gethers

Writers: Steve Gethers, Darcy O'Brien

Composer: Gil Melle

Starring: Richard Crenna, Dennis Farina, Billy Zane, Tony Plana, James Tolkan, Karen Austin, Matthew Faison, Robert Harper, Mary Jackson, Rosanna Huffman, William Bassett

More info: IMDb

Tagline:From October 1977 to February 1978 ten young women were brutally slain.  Their bodies were dumped on a hillside in Los Angeles.

Plot: The true chilling story of the "two of a kind", killin' cousins Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, better known as the Hillside Stranglers.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

When it comes to films based on real events, it's hard not to compare them.  THE HILLSIDE STRANGLER (2004) is a better film all the way around and I highly recommend that one.  This one, though, feels like it has the trappings of an average TV movie complete with some filler and not always 'on' performances.  For the most part, though, the acting is pretty good.  It's nice to see Farina in the role of a bad guy but he's not given nearly as much to do as his presence deserves.  Of the two killers, the focus is more on Zane's character and he's fun to watch, too, especially with that goofy mustache.  Crenna has moments of good and no so good.  One laughably bad moment happens near the end when Grogan's (Crenna) girlfriend, J.D. (Austin), puts herself in harm's way of getting killed by Buono (Farina).  Boy was that not only a dumb move but a dumb, ill-fitting scene.  It screamed amateurishness.  Another big offender was Gil Melle's out of place score.  There were times I thought that a producer with a tin ear pulled Melle's cues from another film entirely.  Bizarre, man.  For fans of true crime, this really only holds interest from the standpoint of the actors on screen and not so much for what the good guys and bad guys did.  

Time Limit (1957)

Director: Karl Malden

Writers: Henry Denker, Ralph Berkey

Composer: Fred Steiner

Starring: Richard Widmark, Richard Basehart, Dolores Michaels, June Lockhart, Carl Benton Reid, Martin Balsam, Rip Torn, Khigh Dhiegh, Yale Wexler, Alan Dexter, Manning Ross, Joe Di Reda, James Douglas, Kenneth Alton, Jack Webster, Edward McNally

More info: IMDb

Tagline: This is the face of war you've never seen before!

Plot: During the Korean War former POW Major Cargill admits to having collaborated with the enemy but military investigator Colonel Edwards wants the details.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

I must've blinked when Karl Malden's name came up as the director.  It's his sole film in that capacity.  It's a good one, too.   The picture starts off much lighter than it ends (the last act is pretty intense) and the performances intensify as the film progresses toward the truth which is withheld until the final moments of the picture.  There's a good story here as well, one that shows you how not everything is black and white and how being by-the-book isn't always the right choice when faced with the lives of men in your hands.  The big payoff, of course, is the last act when we see first hand what went down with the death of an American POW, the son of a high ranking officer who brings in Col. Edwards (Widmark) to get to the bottom of it by way of Maj. Cargill (Basehart), the man charged with treason in relation to the case.  It's a good war drama that deserves a look.

The Achievers: The Story of the Lebowski Fans (2009)

Director: Eddie Chung

Composer: Greg Kuehn

Starring: Joe Blevins, Jeff Bridges, Lu Elrod, Jerry Haleva, James G. Hoosier, Jim James, Becky Jones, Robin Jones, Stormy Lang, Will Russell, C. Scott Shuffitt

More info: IMDb

Tagline: You're not dealing with morons here.

Plot: This film follows the intertwining lives and sub-culture of "Achievers," fans of "The Big Lebowski."

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I've been a big fan of the Coen brothers for nearly thirty years but I've never understood the cult-ish appeal of THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) after having watched it at least twice.  This documentary helps break down the reasons why so many people are drawn to it to the point that I'll watch it again with an adjusted pair of eyes.  As far as the documentary goes, it's alright.  It's more about the people who started and participate in the main Lebowskifest that's been going on for some years.  Cool?  Jeff Bridges is in it and he's having a great time.  Ridiculous?  The one chick who's one goal in life is to win the first place trophy for the trivia contest. She's rabidly obsessed with winning it.  Wow.  Just wow.  It's on Netflix instant and it's worth a look for anyone who is a huge fan of The Dude or for those like me who just don't get the gushing fan base.

For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism (2009)

Director: Gerald Peary

Writer: Gerald Peary

Composer: Bobby B. Keyes

Starring: Roger Ebert, Andrew Sarris, Pauline Kael, Patricia Clarkson, Leonard Maltin, Janet Maslin, Elvis Mitchell, Rex Reed, Richard Schickel, and tons of other film critics

More info: IMDb

Plot: The history of American film criticism.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Probably not.

I'm obviously a movie fan/freak and I love talking about and hearing people talk about movies so naturally, this is right up my alley.  It's a great little history of just what it says it is.  When you think of movie critics, most people can probably think of two and that begins and ends with Siskel & Ebert.  What I found interesting is not necessarily how many of these critics got their start (which is usually what I dig about these pictures) but how film criticism began and evolved.  Nowadays it seems like it's a lot of bozos like me praising and bitching but there's a whole history to film critics that I never knew existed and it's pretty darn interesting.  I've never found a critic that I agree with all the time and that's OK.  Hell, I've never met anyone I agreed with 100%.  I'd be both delighted and afraid if I ever did.  But it's the reviewers that know the history of the type of film they're writing about and have a talent for entertaining and informing that I dig the most.  Ultimately it's still praising and bitching but some people can disguise it with charm and wit to make it more easily digestible without leaving a bad taste in your mouth.

The Life Zone (2011)

Director: Rod Weber

Writer: Ken Del Vecchio

Composer: Kenneth Lampl

Starring: Robert Loggia, Lindsey Haun, Martin Kove, Charles Durning, Angela Little, Ken Del Vecchio, Blanche Baker, Katarzyna Wolejnio, Tara Buck, Thomas G. Waites, Eric Etebari

More info: IMDb

Tagline: What if your choice was taken away?

Plot: Kidnapped by a mysterious figure, three women find themselves trapped in an abandoned hospital.

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again? No.

DEVIL MAY CARE BUT I DON'T SPOILER ALERT!!!  YARRRRR

It was late one night a few months back, I had just watched a flick, I was ready for something else and this sounded interesting largely because I'm a huge fan of Robert Loggia.  I talked about this one for days after telling everyone how entertainingly bad it was.  Why?  For starters, seeing Loggia overact in the shadows with the cheesiest of dialogue.  I guess Satan (OOPS, there's a spoiler) has a touch of the theatrics in him.  The dialogue is often very silly and awkward.  You get glimpses of it in the trailer.  What's more is that it's pretty clear early on that Loggia is the devil.  What you don't know until the over-the-top monologue he gives at the end is that these gals are in Hell and they will spend eternity bringing their babies to term (or something like that).  It's pure pro-life propaganda all the way.  It should be more of a 30-45 minute film in the vein of a Twilight Zone episode with that 'shocker' of an ending.  The acting is sometimes as goofy as the dialogue but its biggest fault is betraying its secret by giving far too many clues, the biggest of which is how Loggia plays his part.  It's not too far from being hit over the head with a hammer foreshadowing.  If the screenplay had been tighter and a more careful eye given to accentuating the thriller/mystery aspect of it, it probably would've fared a lot better.  But as it stands, this will only be horrific to extreme pro-life advocates who cry at the mere thought of an abortion.  Uber religious 12 year old girls will be very frightened by this.  The filmmakers could've widened the appeal of this picture if they had handled it more deftly. 

The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) (2011)

Director: Tom Six

Writer: Tom Six

Composer: James Edward Barker

Starring: Laurence R. Harvey,Ashlynn Yennie, Maddi Black, Kandace Caine, Dominic Borrelli, Lucas Hansen, Lee Nicholas Harris, Dan Burman, Daniel Jude Gennis

More info: IMDb

Tagline: 100% medically INaccurate.

Plot: Inspired by the fictional Dr. Heiter, disturbed loner Martin dreams of creating a 12-person centipede and sets out to realize his sick fantasy.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

It's been a while since I watched this and I was sleepy which means my memory is foggy on it, but what I remember was being left with a sense of disappointment and a touch of boredom.  However, the black and white photography was a brilliant move.  It helps create a darker, bleaker universe around the central character of Martin, wonderfully played by Laurence R. Harvey who doesn't utter a single word.  Creator Tom Six pulls a great move in following up his first film by seemingly setting this one in the real world where THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (2009) is an actual movie.  I was impressed.  Like it or not, he's doing something different and I can appreciate that.  This first sequel (the final act of the HC trilogy will be released this year and the trailer has just hit) ups the gross-out ante over the first one and you get a lot more money shots than you did previously.  I liked what I saw but it seemed to go on for too long.  My sleepiness could have contributed to that which is why I'm willing to give it another go.  I'll see the third film, too, and if I like it I'll probably eventually pick up the box set with all three films.  It's a premise that feels like it's a one-joke kind of film but Tom Six is getting a lot more mileage out of it than you'd think possible.

I Am Divine (2013)

Director: Jeffrey Schwarz

Writer:  ???

Composer: Michael Cudahy

Starring:  Divine, Michael Musto, Mark Payne, Greg Gorman, Mink Stole, John Waters, Tab Hunter, Ricki Lake

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The true story of the most beautiful woman in the world

Plot: How Divine, aka Harris Glenn Milstead, became John Waters' cinematic muse and an international drag icon.

My rating:  8/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

Any fan of John Waters and/or Divine needs to see this.  The filmmakers do a fabulous job of encapsulating Divine's life in a 90 minute frame.  Not only do you get to hear from many people who were a part of his life (like Water and Mink Stole) or were influenced by him, but you also get to hear from Divine herself from vintage interviews.  I really dug hearing about Glen's early days as the character came to be and the footage from the 60s and 70s is fun, fun, fun!  The ride is over lickety split and it's a super way to learn more about one of the most unusual characters to come down the pike.  It's currently on Netflix instant.