Top of the World (1997)

After four years in a Nevada jail Ray Mercer (Peter Weller) heads to Vegas for a quick d-i-v-o-r-c-e from his wife Rebecca (Tia Carrere). Whilst there a heist at the casino that he's not legally allowed to be in spirals out of control.
It's a 'bad day for everyone involved' kind of movie, both helped and hindered by its occasional black comedy. The story has a few clever moments and some memorable stunt-work, but overall it floats just below the average line most of the time. The clichéd movie-Vegas setting doesn't help matters, either.

2 dam odds out of 5

River's Edge (1986)

Dir. Tim Hunter's controversial work is as powerful today as it was upon its original release. It follows a group of US kids, mostly of high school age, one of whom has murdered his girlfriend. The others learn of the killing, but their deep-seated apathy toward life means the crime goes unreported.
Thematically dark, for the most part, bordering on saturnine, the slow pace segues effortlessly from weird to quietly disturbing.
I've seen it likened to Richard Linklater's work, which is an understandable but not entirely helpful comparison. It made me think more of Marisa Silver's Permanent Record (1988), even though the two films deal with post-traumatic emotions very differently. Coincidentally, both feature Keanu Reeves.

4 grim triggers out of 5

Straight to Hell (1987)

An odd low-budget Western in which four bank robbers attempt to lay low in a remote desert town after a job, but the town isn't what they hoped for.
Dir. Alex Cox's off-kilter approach to film-making is primarily what makes it interesting, because when it comes to acting, besides Sy Richardson and a few notable cameos, talent in such is definitely in short supply.
It features a number of musicians, including Joe Strummer of The Clash, Elvis Costello, and The Pogues. Again, likely not hired for their thespianism, I'm guessing they were friends of Cox. Oh, and Courtney Love is there, too, but the less said about her the better – she's very, very, very annoying.

2½ torn suits out of 5

Giant (1956)

A Texan bigwig (Rock Hudson) travels to Maryland to buy a stallion for his ranch and while there takes a shine to the landowner's daughter (Elizabeth Taylor – well, you would, wouldn't you?). The speedy romance is the beginnings of a family story that spans almost three decades. In that time fortunes change (financial and otherwise) and attitudes are adjusted.
There's almost no onscreen chemistry between the lovers in the first half, but the second half makes up for it a little, with the comfortable feeling that long-time couples can sometimes acquire being much better realised. If not for Liz and James Dean doing their thing, she adding heart and he being a fiercely independent worker who resents his boss, that first half would really drag.

3 resources out of 5

The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

The four sons reunite for the first time in years, returned to the town of Clearwater to pay their respects. The Eldest (Wayne) is the most feared. Upset at the changes he finds in the town, he digs for answers, but they aren't forthcoming and not everyone is happy with the questioning, particularly one shady ranch owner who hires a trigger-happy gunman to protect him.
It's an enjoyable couple of hours for fans of the Duke or Martin, but it's really nothing special as far as genre pictures go. The mystery is a nice touch but runs out of steam pretty quickly, and because the majority of the action scenes are held back until the last half hour the pacing may even leave some non-fans bored. In short, if you're not already itching to see it because of the cast, then you can probably live without it just fine.

3 brotherly punches out of 5

Black Widow (1987)

Theresa Russell is the Black Widow, named because of her proclivity for finding a mate and killing him shortly after his usefulness expires. Unlike the spider, however, the 'usefulness' isn't post-copulation but post-marriage, once the will has been amended to leave everything to her. It's unclear what she actually does with the wads of cash she acquires, though.
Federal investigator Debra Winger tracks the killer in a manner not dissimilar to how the killer tracks her prey, each woman succumbing to an obsession that's only really different in its focus.
The journey contains within it a number of things that are implied but not clarified, so it's up to a viewer to decide if the subtexts they thought they read were actually there or if they were accidental, surfacing in the edit.

3 green windows out of 5

WATERWORLD [1995]

Director Kevin Reynold's post-apocalyptic adventure Waterworld isn't quite as bad as it's 'box office flop' title suggests.
Although the harsh truth is it isn't all that good either.
The story of a mutant drifter, who travels the submerged planet in hopes of finding dry land is pretty much a friendlier version of Mad Max with flippers.
With it's impressive sets and rousing yet overly staged action sequences the film would be a wastefully fun way to spend an hour and half...only it's nearly 2 and a half hours.  The hero isn't particularly interesting or heroic, the villain is fun but not very threatening and any other character is drowned in a watery grave of blandness.  So if they aren't spending all this lengthy running time establishing characters what the hell are they doing?  The best I can come up with is they're attempting to smooth out the wonkiness of tone and pacing.

2½ jars of dirt out of 5

I DON'T KNOW JACK [2002]

With I Don't Know Jack, documentary director Chris Leavens shines the spotlight on deceased actor Jack Nance, who's known mostly for parts in David Lynch works, most importantly the iconic lead in Eraserhead.
The film is mostly a series of interviews with former co-workers, friends & family and the homicide detective assigned to Nance's murder case.  We're given a little insight into the actor's past, his troubled alcoholism and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death.  However, it's mostly just a lot of reminiscing about an eccentric man most people don't even know.  If you don't know who the man is, then this does nothing to spark any sort of interest in his works.  If you're already familiar then there might be the odd funny story but it mostly seems like a lengthy funeral tribute to Nance for those closest to him.

2 almost Graduates out of 5

Easy Rider (1969)

Two bikers with a secret cargo traverse the Southern parts of America en route to Mardi Gras, each one epitomising freedom in their own way.
Dennis Hopper's character is talkative, prone to frequent upset and often strung-out. In contrast, Peter Fonda's character is quiet, amiable and introspective. On the road they're at peace, self-governing and equal. But the closer they get to 'civilisation' the more hostile life becomes.
Counterculture films don't get much better or iconic than Easy Rider. The natural lighting and partly improvised script give it a kind of timely truth that other films lack. Almost everything about its structure just feels right. Even the freaky-deaky scene in the cemetery has a sincerity about it.
A ton of clones exist but nothing to equal it that I'm aware of. The soundtrack is so good that you even look forward to the musical montages.

5 campfire smokes out of 5

The Osterman Weekend (1983)

A government agency seeks to use one man to catch a group of others in a game of cat and mouse. Or is it cat and cat? Maybe it’s mouse and mouse?
It’s an adaptation of a Robert Ludlum novel, so there are the usual scenes of important men getting nervous over dodgy dealings and a twisty-turny ending. It makes you aware that not everyone sees friendship in the same way, and may even stir you to question if the people who claim to be your friends really are when they aren't beside you.
There’s an unusual car chase and a few scattered moments where Peckinpah piqued my interest technically, but, despite a strong cast his cinematic swansong isn't as memorable as much of what preceded it.

2½ trophy hunters out of 5

Super Mario Bros. (1993)

Twenty minutes into SMB I was thinking that critics had been overly harsh in their condemnation of it. Yes, it was really bad, but it wasn't train-wreck bad. Approximately two minutes after that thought occurred the train arrived.

The Mario brothers, who live together but appear to have just one bedroom with a double bed, use their plumbing skills to save a world held in the tyrannical grip of Dennis Hopper, who was evidently in need of cash.
Samantha Mathis lends support; she's pretty and somehow doesn't embarrass herself as much as every male member of the cast manages to do.

Besides names and the occasional prop the world has almost no resemblance to the game world that it purports to be based on.

Bundle it with Spawn (1997) and Double Dragon (1994) and gift the trio to someone you hate for their birthday; they'll get the message.

1 fungal scrotum out of 5

Catchfire (1990)

aka Backtrack

Jodie plays a confident career woman who witnesses a Mafia killing, forcing her to go on the run or be next in line for a shallow grave. The police and Mafia both want to get to her before the other can, which means Fred Ward and Dennis Hopper, respectively, are on her tail.
It tries to spin the hit-man stereotype from a different angle, but it doesn't work because Hopper’s character is a shit-bag regardless of his hidden, sophisticated traits. It's not helped by the implausible changes forced upon Foster’s confused victim, which are unconvincing at best. The story goes from bad to awful to stupid and back around again for another half dozen variations of the same. I watched it right to the end, but I don’t know why.

2 pink snowballs out of 5

Paris Trout (1991)

PT is a period piece set in Georgia, 1949. Theoretically there’s one law for all, regardless of skin colour, but in reality that’s not quite true, because money talks. Dennis Hopper is Paris, a white store owner and moneylender to the local mixed community. Cross the line of non-payment and the lender becomes a shark with teeth sharpened on a stone of racism.
The overuse of diffused light got on my nerves, but there’s a real sense of history in the surroundings it fell on. It’s as if the cultural climate has permeated the furniture and the room in which it sits. But what really makes the film are the fine performances from everyone involved.

3½ poisoned bites out of 5

KNOCKAROUND GUYS [2001]

Brian Koppelman & David Levien co-write & direct Knockaround Guys, a run-of-the-mill crime-drama that seems to set out to have the same body count by it's last reel as Reservoir Dogs did.
A mobster's son and his second-rate criminal friends botch up an important job that finds them in some buttfuck nowhere middle American town, which ultimately leads to some heated intereactions.  It is interesting to see the many different levels of organized crime but that's where anything even remotely engaging ends.  The dialogue is laughably clichéd, the characters are wooden and the plot is a muddled mess that could only lead in one direction.  If not for the reasonably entertaining cast I might have turned this one off pretty quickly.

2 bar brawls out of 5

Blue Velvet (1986)

Jeffrey Beaumont discovers something strange in a field near his parents' home; his desire to understand its origins leads him into a murky, suburban dream gone awry. What unfolds drags the viewer to a place most of us pretend doesn't exist. Often unsettling, always powerful, the film is an unfurled canvas depicting a surrealist landscape that is both analogous to reality and surreptitiously real. When Blue Velvet makes you feel afraid, remember this: scratch the surface of anything shiny and you’ll likely find something less appealing underneath. The shine isn't merely an illusion, it’s one facet of the larger whole.

5 strange worlds, Sandy out of 5

TRUE ROMANCE [1993]

Hookers. Cocaine. Guns.
...and Elvis.
Quentin Tarantino's first screenplay for the Tony Scott directed True Romance is a wild and stylish romp of a road movie. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette lead an all-star ensemble supporting cast through a fantastical, glamorized violent world that looks more fun than intimidating. It's a little immature and offensive at times but this is Tarantino so it should be expected.
Filled with characters so stereotypical it's gleefully absurd, an in your face "too cool" soundtrack and Gary Fucking Oldman in one of his best roles, True Romance is a pulp cult classic that is pure guilty fun.

4 tips of the hat to Gassenhauer out of 5

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Tobe Hooper smartly trades in the raw and gritty for camp in this loose sequel/parody to the 1974 cult classic. This time, you’ve got Dennis Hopper running around with a chainsaw, vowing vengeance for his kin who was killed in the original. The demented characters of the family are given more of a personality while Leatherface reveals himself to be an incompetent buffoon with a soft spot for a certain female radio jockey. On top of that, you’ve got this great sequence near the beginning of the film with a car chase and chainsaws set to Oingo Boingo’s “No One Lives Forever.” It doesn’t get any better than that.

3 homemade chili out of 5