The Odyssey (1997)

Odysseus sets off with his crew to conquer Troy at the beginning of an epic fantastical adventure set in a world of gods and monsters. What I like about this adaptation is that it tells the story in chronological order (unlike Homer), which makes it easier to follow along on the trials and tribulations of its hero's journey, and also helps to hammer home how long and plodding this voyage lasts. I would argue this two-part made-for-TV movie has a bit too much fluff added to pad its 3-hour runtime, but it's probably the most faithful regarding its content. Unfortunately, you can feel the constraints of the budget which hinders its overall vision, while the cheesy special effects easily date it.

2½ Nobodies out of 5

Fatal Instinct (1993)

Carl Reiner's pastiche of 1940s film noir and the erotic thriller genre smashes together spoofs of Double Indemnity, Body Heat, Cape Fear, Sleeping with the Enemy, Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct. A lot of the reason this works for me is because Armand Assante completely commits to the bit as a completely oblivious buffoon (he plays both a cop and a lawyer here). As with all parodies, it's exhausting if you're not in a receptive mood, but at just under 90 minutes, these films tend not to overstay their welcome. While some of the gags are hysterical, it seems to work better in smaller doses, and it's a bit uneven as a whole. This type of genre has to take big swings, even when it's batting 1 for 2.

2½ traumatized skunks out of 5

Gotti (1996)

Spanning almost two decades (1973-92), the story of real iife mobster John Gotti is a familiar but engaging one. Gotti is a valued decision maker within the NY mafia doing things that don't always please the new Don. His loyalty to those that deserve it is a formidable tool in his arsenal, but not everyone in the family deserves his loyalty; and when that's accounted for, the dangerous jokes around the meeting table take on new meaning.
It's no Goodfellas (1990), but then Goodfellas wasn't a TV movie, Gotti is. Nevertheless, Dir. Robert Harmon delivers a delicious slow burn within which Asante absolutely owns the screen. The transition into the second half is powerful stuff. Fans of Mafia flicks should definitely give it their attention.

4 two thousand dollar suits out of 5

Prophecy (1979)

Sent to study claims of ecological contamination, a cynical doctor and his pregnant wife (Robert Foxworth and Talia Shire) not only encounter disastrous and deadly effects to surrounding wildlife and the Native American tribe inhabiting the area, but a towering mutation in the form of a crazed and deformed bear. Its take on environmental issues is one rarely seen in horror cinema. Compared to most similar films which use nuclear waste as a device to simply create monsters, it is intelligently written with sound cause-and-effect. At the same time, I found the scientific weight fascinating as well as frightening. Writer David Seltzer deftly based the script on the tragic story of Minamata, Japan. The mutation's onslaught in the third act is poorly handled with choppy and evasive editing revealing sfx limitations. Yet despite this, the suspense holds up pretty well until the conclusion. But unreconciled plot points left me somewhat disappointed.

3 exploding sleeping bags out of 5

Judge Dredd (1995)

Stallone appears with jutting chin and less than nine minutes later the helmet comes off. It ceases to be a Judge Dredd film and instead becomes a Sly Stallone film with a comedy sidekick! There’s a decent amount of plot squeezed into the running time, but it’s full of inconsistencies and one-liners.
To be fair, it’s not all bad. Mega-City One was interesting, some of the Council of Chief Judges were good (especially McGruder) and the addition of Hershey was a nice touch, or it would've been if she’d not been there simply to hang some hurried plot advancements on. If you somehow make it to the end you'll witness the worst part. Even Walter the Wobot would be appalled.

1½ deceptions out of 5