Monthly Archives: December 2014

Dreamchild (1985) Gavin Millar, Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher

Dreamchild (1985)
Exploring the somewhat darker and more mysterious side of the Lewis Carroll’s classic book, the movie follows Alice Liddell (the book’s inspiration) as an old woman who is haunted by the characters she was once so amused by. As she thinks back on it, she starts to see her relationship with the shy author/professor in a new way and realizes the vast change between the young Alice and the old.
Read More »

Automatic (1995) John Murlowski, Olivier Gruner, Daphne Ashbrook, John Glover

automaticposter
Robgen industries newest security system is “The J Series Automatic”, an android model designed and programmed to protect humans from violent attacks. But one night, an Automatic named J269 discovers a Robgen executive trying to rape a female employee named Nora Rochester. While trying to stop the crime, he inadvertently kills the executive. At this point, J269 then calls Goddard Marx (his creator and a Robgen chairman) to inform him of the incident. Marx tells the android to stay there with Rochester until help arrives, but Marx is intent on sweeping the fiasco under the rug by sending mercenaries to eliminate both J269 and Rochester. Now the two are fugitives on the run from a para-military hit squad.
Read More »

To All a Goodnight (1980) David Hess, Jennifer Runyon, Forrest Swanson, Linda Gentile

To All a Goodnight
It’s Christmas break at the Calvin Finishing School for Girls, and the students are planning a big party while the president of the school is away. A group of boys show up and the fun begins, until mysterious killer starts bumping off couples one by one. The police show up and promise to keep everyone safe, but they prove ineffectual against the crazed psycho. Could the killings have anything to do with the girl who was killed in an initiation stunt at the school a few years earlier?
Read More »

The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) Richard Thorpe, Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, Louis Calhern

The Prisoner of Zenda
English trout fisher Rudolf Rassendyll is about the only tourist not coming for the coronation of Central-European King Rudolf V at Strelsau, but happens to be a distance relative and is approached on account of their canning resemblance to stand in for the drunk king, in order to prevent his envious half-brother Michael, who arranged spiking his wine to seize the throne when the reputedly less then dutiful Rudolf stays away. The ceremony goes well, and he gets acquainted with the charming royal bride, related princess Flavia, but afterward the king is found to be abducted; he must continue the charade and once the hiding place, the castle of Zenda, is found is involved in the fight between political parties for control over Rudolf V, his the throne and his bride, for which a formidable third candidate, Michael’s disloyal co-conspirator Rupert of Hentzau, was waiting in the curtains.
Read More »

Death at Broadcasting House (1934) Reginald Denham, Ian Hunter, Austin Trevor, Lilian Oldland

Death at Broadcasting House (1934)
When an actor is murdered during the recording of a radio play, Detective Inspector Gregory quickly discovers that the victim had many enemies amongst his fellow players. When his deductions lead him into a blind alley he decides to reconstruct the crime, hoping that this tried and tested device will lead him to the killer. All the technical and human resources of Broadcasting House are brought to his aid…
Read More »

Insignificance (1985) Nicolas Roeg, Gary Busey, Tony Curtis, Theresa Russell

Insignificance (1985)

Four 1950’s cultural icons (Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio and Senator Joseph MacCarthy) who conceivably could have met and probably didn’t, fictionally do in this modern fable of post-WWII America. Visually intriguing, the film has a fluid progression of flash-backs and flash-forwards centering on the fictional Einstein’s current observations, childhood memories and apprehensions for the future. Read More »

Cobra Verde (1987) Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, King Ampaw, José Lewgoy

Cobra Verde (1987)
The feared bandit Cobra Verde (Klaus Kinski) is hired by a plantation owner to supervise his slaves. After the owner suspects Cobra Verde of consorting with his young daughters, the owner wishes him gone. Rather than kill him,the owner sends Cobra Verde to Africa. The only white man in the area, Cobra Verde finds himself the victim of torture and humiliation. Later, he trains soldiers in a rebel army. Far from home, Cobra Verde is on the edge of madness.

Read More »