Reviews

Implausible but mildly diverting crime caper directed by Menahem Golan a few years before he and cousin Yoram Globus gave the world Cannon Films and a its raft of bad '80s movies starring a young Chuck Norris, an old Chuck Bronson, and various and sundry break dancers and American ninjas. The film begins on a low note - a karate match featuring Robert Shaw as a pair of battling twin brothers, courtesy of special effects that would have embarrassed Patty Duke circa 1963. Things pick up when Shaw - along with Richard Roundtree as a master thief just of of prison and Barbara Hershey (going through her Seagull phase) as his sexy girlfriend - land in Israel, where the massive and elaborate diamond heist is to take place. The location filming in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and elsewhere makes this film distinctive and watchable, even if it's never going to make anyone forget Topkapi, Rififi, or The Asphalt Jungle. Oh, and Shelley Winters shows up unnecessarily from time to time pretty much reprising her Poseidon Adventure role as a gregarious American yenta visiting Israel. Hardly a forgotten gem, but worth a look for fans of '70s cheese thanks to the cast and settings.

Halfway between playing Major Nelson and J.R. Ewing on television, Larry Hagman found the time to direct this low-budget sequel to the 1958 schlock horror classic that first put Steve McQueen on the map. The tone is somewhere between an Attack of the Killer Tomatoes-like parody (though several years prior to that film)and a straightforward monster-on-the-loose thriller. Although never truly scary, there are a few nice moments, including a climax that essentially recreates the classic movie theater scene from the original but resets it in a crowded bowling alley. Mostly it's fun to try and spot the many well-known actors who appear throughout, including Godfrey Cambridge and Carol Lynley as town locals; comedian Shelley Berman as a hair stylist; Dick Van Patten as a Boy Scout leader; and Burgess Meredith and Hagman himself (nearly unrecognizable) as a pair of hobos. Young Cindy Williams (pre-Laverne & Shirley and American Graffiti) plays a dope-smoking hippie chick, while character actor Richard Stahl gives a great slow-burn comic performance as the bowling alley owner. If you're a fan of the original or just enjoy early-'70s drive-in creature features, you may have some fun taking a look at this.

Completely idiotic stoner comedy set incongruously (though not amusingly)among the knights and damsels of the Middle Ages. Kind of like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but with a lot more weed, non-stop F-bombs, and almost zero laughs. Perhaps the Jack Black dud Year Zero would make a better point of comparison. Danny McBride rarely lets on that he can actually be funny at times in other things, James Franco looks like he'd be more comfortable with his arm pinned back under that rock from 127 Hours, and the usually adorable Zooey Deschanel has almost nothing to do whatsoever. And if you're thinking about renting out the DVD just to briefly see Natalie Portman in a thong, keep in mind that you first have to sit through the spectacle of seeing Toby Jones WITHOUT the benefit of a thong. That's right: you're going to get mooned by Dobby the House Elf.

What starts out as your basic meat-and-potatoes, DEATH WISH-style revenge flick turns so ugly, so quickly, with a SAW-like torture scene that it has a tough time fully recovering. The film becomes a bit more intriguing as we see several intricately engineered murders(think FINAL DESTINATION meets Rube Goldberg)that protagonist Gerard Butler seems to be carrying out from inside prison walls. Either Butler's character is one of the most brilliant criminal geniuses ever conceived for the silver screen...or the ending is a completely idiotic and ridiculous cheat. The latter would be my assessment. Which is too bad, because a really satisfying ending to this film might have turned this into a guilty pleasure (or perhaps something even better) instead of the cynical, insulting mess that left me so annoyed and angry with the filmmakers.