The Jewel of the Nile (1985)

A sequel to Romancing the Stone (1984) that continues the story of Jack T. Colton (Michael Douglas) and romance author Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner).
Joan, suffering from writer's block and bored with travelling the world in Jack's boat, seeks adventure (and inspiration) further afield, but once there discovers that it's not the creative plain sailing she was hoping for.
Danny DeVito also returns as Ralph, the incompetent villain hoping to acquire the titular jewel for his own purposes; i.e. a quick and easy profit.
The location is changed but the blend of bickering lovers and adventuring that characterised the previous film is retained. For a while it seems like it'll tick the same boxes, but it's not quite as much fun the second time around.

2½ umbrella tricks out of 5

Wedlock (1991)

aka Deadlock

At an undefined point ‘in the future’ Rutger Hauer’s luck goes unexpectedly sour. He’s placed in a penal colony where every inmate is fitted with an exploding, electronic collar that triggers if they wander outside of a painted border line. Cross the line = head goes boom.
What unfolds is predicable, light sci-fi stuff. I felt like I’d seen it before even though I hadn't. The prisoners are clichés and the twists and turns are totally transparent. But it’s not terrible and if you enjoy watching Rutger then it’s even enjoyable in places; he gets some caustic lines that raise a chuckle. It’s as if it set out to be average and achieved it.

2½ colourful names out of 5

Cujo (1983)

In a world before mobile/cell phones, a family-friendly St. Bernard turns rabid and terrorizes the guilty and the innocent alike.
It would be a terrifying ordeal for the people involved, but it never quite reaches those peaks for the viewer, unless you have a real fear of dogs and see every canine as a potential slobbering killer.
Alongside the dog’s descent into madness is the story of a married couple’s descent into potential break up. They have a young son (Danny Pintauro) who looks genuinely shit-scared when the dog attacks.
It's not a film that will take pride of place on a King fan's shelf, but it's unlikely they'll feel the need to hide it along with a few of the others.

2 strings of doggy-drool out of 5