Home Fries (1998)

At the behest of their psycho mother (Catherine O'Hara), two brothers (Luke Wilson, Jake Busey) kill their stepfather (Chris Ellis). But when they discover their stepfather's pregnant mistress (Drew Barrymore) might have overheard the killing, she becomes a "loose end" that must be dealt with. There's a problem however, when one (Wilson) of the brothers falls in love with her! Directed by Dean Parisot (GALAXY QUEST). This quirky black comedy is ridiculous at times and over the top but still remains wildly amusing for the most part. Yes, it's a shallow movie, often going for cheap laughs but it gets the job done. The cast is up for it. Barrymore is adorable but the scene stealer is Catherine O'Hara as the batsh*t crazy mother from hell. Pity it's not better written, there's a classic black comedy in there somewhere. With Shelley Duvall, Lanny Flaherty and Daryl Mitchell.

Move (1970)

A struggling writer (Elliott Gould) in New York City writes pornography and walks dogs for the rich in order to make a living. When he and his wife (Paula Prentiss) decide to move to a new apartment, things go from bad to worse as the real world and his fantasy world clash. Based on the novel by Joel Lieber and directed by Stuart Rosenberg (COOL HAND LUKE). A mess of a movie! Taking advantage of the screen's new freedom, Rosenberg tosses in as much gratuitous nudity as possible (if you ever wanted to see Elliott Gould's butt, this movie is for you) but this film about a paranoid failed writer walking through a surrealistic Manhattan just isn't funny. This was director Rosenberg's only comedy and one can see why. The man just doesn't have a comedic sensibility. There's a slightly (very slight) amusing sequence when Gould has a sexual encounter with a ditzy Brit (Genevieve Waite channeling Marilyn Monroe) but not enough to lift the movie out of the quicksand it's in. With Ron O'Neal, John Larch, Mae Questel and Jeannie Berlin.

Kampf Um Rom (aka The Last Roman) (1968)

Set in the 6th century A.D., the Roman Empire is a shadow of its former self as the Ostrogoths rule over it. When the Ostrogoth king dies, his two daughters (Harriet Andersson, Honor Blackman) fight over who will be Queen. The devious leader (Laurence Harvey) of what remains of Rome takes advantage of this by playing both sides while the Emperor (Orson Welles) of the Byzantine empire also has designs on Rome. Based on the novel THE STRUGGLE FOR ROME by Felix Dahn and directed by Robert Siodmak (THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE) in his swan song as a film director. From 1943 to 1952, Siodmak made a series of excellent films in the U.S. but after THE CRIMSON PIRATE, he returned to Europe to make movies. Siodmak wasn't content with the script but proceeded anyway. As an epic (its 3 hours long), it's visually impressive and structurally incoherent. Unless you're a Roman history buff, you may well be confused about the Roman, Goth and Byzantine triptych's power battle. With Sylva Koscina, Michael Dunn, Robert Hoffman, Ingrid Boulting, Lang Jeffries and Florin Piersic.

A Prize Of Gold (1955)

Set in post war Berlin, an Air Force Master Sergeant (Richard Widmark) falls in love with a German woman (Mai Zetterling) who is the caretaker for a bunch of German war orphans. She is trying to get the children away from Germany and to Brazil where they can start life anew. He attempts to help her by conceiving a daring heist of gold bullion. Based on the novel by Max Catto (THE DEVIL AT FOUR O'CLOCK) and directed by Mark Robson (VALLEY OF THE DOLLS). A decent enough heist movie and, of course, everything doesn't go as planned. If it did, there wouldn't be much suspense. The group of thieves are all amateurs and it's easy to spot the loose cannon (Nigel Patrick) that is going to muck everything up and I couldn't help but wonder why the others couldn't see it too. As the "girl" providing some romantic interest, Mai Zetterling is wasted. With George Cole, Donald Wolfit, Andrew Ray and  Karel Stepanek.

Annabel Takes A Tour (1938)

While on tour promoting her latest movie, an actress (Lucille Ball) conjures up a fictitious romance with a famous romance novelist (Ralph Forbes) as a publicity stunt. Directed by Lew Landers (DAVY CROCKETT, INDIAN SCOUT). An unnecessary sequel to THE AFFAIRS OF ANNABEL (1938). Unnecessary because it's just more of the same. In the first movie, I found Jack Oakie (as Ball's publicist) irritating and he's just as irritating here and again, considering how he screws up every time, why does Ball continue to listen to his crazy publicity stunts. If it were actually funny, such complaints wouldn't matter but it isn't amusing in the least. Lucille Ball tries but it's like putting make up on a corpse ... it's still dead. With Ruth Donnelly, Bradley Page and Frances Mercer.

Junior Miss (1945)

A young teenage girl (Peggy Ann Garner) meddles in her family's lives which leads to a series of misunderstandings that causes problems for everyone. Based on the hit Broadway play by Jerome Chodorov and Joseph Fields (by way of the short stories by Sally Benson) and directed by George Seaton (MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET). The kind of sitcom material in the pre television days that proved popular on Broadway. JUNIOR MISS was performed by community theatres and high school productions for decades. Today, it's a relic of another era. Fresh off the success of A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (1945), Peggy Ann Garner is sweet and charming which goes a long way in overcoming the tediousness of the contrived plot though to be fair, it's not altogether unpleasant. With Mona Freeman, Allyn Joslyn, Faye Marlowe, Barbara Whiting, Mel Torme and Stephan Dunne.

The Case Of The Sinister Spirit (1987)

A publisher (Robert Stack) is accused of murdering his top client (Matthew Faison) during a visit to the author's Denver estate. But he wasn't the only invited guest and they all had motives to do the writer in. Enter Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to defend him. Directed by Richard Lang (BLOOD BLACK AND WHITE). The fifth entry in the thirty movie Perry Mason franchise done after the series ended in 1966. This is one of the better entries with a very clever finale. While it's fairly easy to guess the murderer, it's the murderer's motive that's the big surprise. With Leigh Taylor Young, Barbara Hale, William Katt, David Ogden Stiers, Kim Delaney, Percy Rodrigues and Dwight Scultz.

Wuthering Heights (2026)

Set in 19th century England, the owner (Martin Clunes) of the Wuthering Heights estate brings home a young boy (Owen Cooper morphing into Jacob Elordi) he has rescued from the streets. The boy forms a bond with the owner's young daughter (Charlotte Mellington morphing into Margot Robbie) that turns into a passionate love as they grow into adults. Loosely based on the classic novel by Emily Bronte and directed by Emerald Fennell (PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN). First off, this is NOT Emily Bronte's WUTHERING HEIGHTS, it's clearly Fennell's WUTHERING HEIGHTS! Fennell has gone on record as saying she wanted to recreate the feeling of a teenage girl reading the book for the first time. I'm not a teenage girl so clearly I'm not the demographic Fennell was aiming for. Fennell brings in S&M, masturbation and lots of f*cking which weren't in Bronte's novel but I assume Fennell feels its what teenage girls want to see. Fennell jettisons Cathy's older brother from the film and instead of an elderly housekeeper, Nelly is now an Asian servant (Hong Chau) about the same age as Cathy. I've seen many Heathcliffs (Laurence Olivier, Charlton Heston, Richard Burton, Timothy Dalton, Ralph Fiennes among them) and they all brought an intensity, the destructive passion that destroys Heathcliff. Alas, Elordi may be a hunk but he can't summon up that passion and when he wants to show passion, he licks Robbie's face like a dog! Judging from what's on view here, Fennell's reimagination of Bronte's novel suggests that love is only passionate when it degrades us. On the plus side, the film looks fantastic thanks to Linus Sandgren's (LA LA LAND) elegant cinematography. With Shazad Latif and Alison Oliver.

The Hard Way (1943)

An ambitious woman (Ida Lupino) in a small steel town is determined to push her younger sister (Joan Leslie) toward a better life. To that end, she manipulates, lies and backstabs anyone who stands in her way. Directed by Vincent Sherman (MR. SKEFFINGTON). Ida Lupino never got an Oscar nomination but she did receive the New York Film Critics award for best actress for this film. The movie itself is nothing special, a standard melodrama about clawing your way to the top of the show business heap only to find when you get there that it's pretty lonely (in that respect, one could call it the VALLEY OF THE DOLLS of its day). What is special is Ida Lupino's performance, who always seemed to inherit Bette Davis's hand me downs. Here she gets an opportunity to sink her teeth in a juicy role that's all hers (though reputedly Davis turned this down, too). I have to say I think the film lets Leslie's sister off the hook too easily. She's every bit as ambitious as her sister, at least in the beginning. Well done of its kind but not entirely persuasive. With Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Faye Emerson, Gladys George, William Hopper, Jody Gilbert and Dolores Moran.

Sixth And Main (1977)

A wealthy woman (Beverly Garland), who dabbles as a writer visits Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to soak up the atmosphere for a book she plans to write about the homeless. One mysterious homeless man (Leslie Nielsen) in particular catches her eye and she seeks him out. Written, produced and directed by Christopher Cain (THE NEXT KARATE KID). Filmed on the streets of L.A., what the movie gets right is the atmosphere, the feel and look of L.A.'s skid row and its homeless population. I'm just guessing but I suspect that those weren't background actors but real homeless people used in the background, they look authentic and not out of Central Casting. Alas, the film is saddled with a heavy handed and poorly written script that sabotages whatever authenticity the movie displays. The casting goes against type what with an unshaven and disheveled Leslie Nielsen as a homeless man and Roddy McDowall as a legless junkie scooting around on a skateboard but both do very nicely in their roles given the severe limitations of the script. With Leo Penn (Sean's father and overacting abominably), Joe Maross and in the film's best performance, Gammy Burdett as a pregnant hooker.

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

While visiting a nursing home, an unhappy housewife (Kathy Bates) befriends an elderly resident (Jessica Tandy), who regales her with stories from her past in a small Alabama town, specifically the tomboy Idgie (Mary Stuart Masterson) and her friend Ruth (Mary Louise Parker). Based on the novel FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT THE WHISTLE STOP CAFE by Fannie Flagg (who has a small role in the film) and directed by Jon Avnet (UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL). A sentimental tearjerker that shamelessly manipulates its audience but done so skillfully and with good intentions that one can't help but give it a pass. And the performances! The four leads are impeccable as the narrative shifts back and forth between the 1920s and the present day. At the time of the film's release, there was some criticism over the film downplaying the lesbian aspects which were in the novel but I found it very obvious in the movie, subtle but it's there. With Cicely Tyson, Chris O'Donnell, Lois Smith, Stan Shaw, Gary Basaraba and Grace Zabriskie.

The Fourth Protocol (1987)

An M15 officer (Michael Caine) finds himself caught between the acting director (Julian Glover) of M15, who dislikes him, and a high ranking British Secret Service official (Ian Richardson) when he suspects that the Soviets may be smuggling an atomic bomb into Great Britain. Meanwhile, a Soviet agent (Pierce Brosnan) is sent to do just that ..... smuggle an atom bomb to go off near an American airbase. Based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth (who adapts his novel for the screen) and directed by John Mackenzie (THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY). A well done but conventional cold war thriller that maintains a taut pacing throughout but fizzles its denouement. The acting is better than average for a movie like this especially Pierce Brosnan, who brings a chilly demeanor to his cold blooded assassin. There are some notable changes from the novel including a gender change for the assembler but as it's Joanna Cassidy, it's a welcome change. With Ned Beatty, Michael Gough, Ray McAnally and Betsy Brantley.