moonspinner55 Reviews

The Spell (1977 TV Movie)

Cut-rate "Carrie"

[4/10 · 4 May 2025]

Odd that Academy Award-winning actress Lee Grant and talented television director Lee Philips would get involved in this: a small-screen variation on Brian De Palma's "Carrie", a boob-tube imitation that is strictly for boobs (and children in 1977 who weren't allowed to see R-rated "Carrie" in theaters). The young girl is plain and overweight but finds in the occult a release to her frustrations (what a great lesson to all the plain, overweight teenagers of the world!). Incidentally, there were other "Carrie" clones right about this time: "Jennifer", "Ruby", even parts of De Palma's own "The Fury" (I guess he couldn't get enough of that telekinesis). This one stoops to low means of occult-related revenge...and shame on Philips for wasting his--and our--collective time. *1/2 from ****

Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

Another sequel nobody asked for...

[5/10 · 4 May 2025]

2017's "Happy Death Day" was a cheeky combination of "Scream" with "Groundhog Day", wherein the protagonist--a catty sorority babe--was caught in an unexplained time-loop hoping to unmask her birthday killer. The sequel (with the same cast and director, but without the original writer) wants to explain that time-loop while going back and covering the same ground (one of the characters likens the plot to "Back to the Future Part II"). Jessica Rothe is still a nifty heroine; though, without her snarky edge, she may be too sweet a cupcake. Christopher Landon, now the director and the writer, gets too silly with the visual humor--and almost maudlin when reuniting Rothe's Tree with her deceased mother--but he keeps the movie popping and it's never dull. Plus, this may be the only time you'll ever see someone gleefully leap into a wood-chipper! ** from ****

Touched by Love (1980)

Do-gooder drama has fine cast but no panache...

[4/10 · 4 May 2025]

True story from 1963--transplanted from Sweden to Canada--concerns a withdrawn young girl, a cerebral palsy patient at a home for disabled children, who blooms in her love for Elvis Presley and his music. A new nurse's aide to the school hopes to reach the girl but is told early on by a doctor that everyone including the other children have given up on her. Diane Lane (fresh off her remarkable debut in "A Little Romance" the previous year) struggles with her role, which requires the budding star to hold back her innate sparkle and her fierce intelligence (she's asked to be troubled and then adorable, that's it). Deborah Raffin is the college drop-out who doesn't need experience in bringing this girl out of her shell--she succeeds by caring (it's that kind of picture). Terrific cast including Michael Learned, John Amos, Mary Wickes, Cristina Raines and Clu Gulager certainly helps, but do-gooder drama is a by-the-numbers exercise in heart-tugging sentiment with a little bit of the King mixed in. *1/2 from ****

The Box (I) (2009)

Adequate--nothing more

[5/10 · 4 May 2025]

Married couple with child in 1976 Richmond, VA seem to have a comfortable life: the husband works in optics at NASA and the wife is a literature teacher at a private school. However, all is not rosy; a lack of funding at the school means the couple will have to pay full tuition for their son, the wife needs a pricey operation on her foot (don't ask), while hubby has just been rejected by his employer from working on a special project involving putting a camera on Mars. With all this bad news coming at once, a burn victim with ties to the Mars project has delivered a package to the couple's doorstep containing a wooden box housing a big red button. It's later explained that pushing the button will net the couple $1M cash, tax-free, but that someone they don't know will have to die in exchange. Ordinary folks going down the rabbit hole usually makes for tasty suspense, but this thriller becomes unwieldly. Yes, it's a game with no winners, but waiting for these characters to think their way out of the trap can be frustrating (especially if they're vacuous to begin with). A major plot sticking point: this couple supposedly lives "paycheck to paycheck", but to many of us in the audience, their world may seem pretty cozy as is. Performances by Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, and Frank Langella (in monotone-sinister mode) are adequate, much like the rest of "The Box". ** from ****

Operation Petticoat (1959)

What's the price for going overboard here?

[3/10 · 3 May 2025]

Grueling World War II comedy from director Blake Edwards was nevertheless popular at the box-office. Misadventures of a US Navy submarine (painted pink!) during the Battle of the Philippines was based on actual Pacific Fleet situations, though that doesn't make the galumphing humor any the more amusing. Told in flashback, this silly "crowd-pleaser" is neither involving nor charming. Stars Cary Grant and Tony Curtis are a lukewarm match (Curtis later said Grant was his real-life idol, and that he initiated this project as a way of getting the two together). One Oscar nomination: for Best Original Screenplay by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin, based on Paul King and Joseph Stone's original treatment. Both the picture and Grant were Golden Globe nominees in the Comedy category. Shapiro and Richlin received a WGA nomination for Best Written American Comedy. Later a short-lived TV series co-starring Curtis' daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis. *1/2 from ****

No Deposit, No Return (1976)

Hopelessly out-of-touch...

[2/10 · 3 May 2025]

Two would-be safecrackers at Los Angeles airport, nice guys who have 72 hours to pay off a $9K debt to mobsters, wind up as custodians to two pre-teen runaways, siblings out of prep school (with a pet skunk!) who want to fly to Hong Kong to see their mother. The kids get cozy with the not-so-crooked crooks and ransom themselves out to get their friends out of trouble. Out-of-touch Disney comedy with one big slapstick set-piece: the skunk gets loose on the beams of a skyscraper under construction (Don Knotts goes to rescue it and ends up with a bucket stuck on his head). Formula whimsy given a slight professional shine from David Niven and Darren McGavin, but the chattering tykes (Kim Richards and Brad Savage) are a nuisance and Knotts is on auto-pilot. * from ****

Before and After (1979 TV Movie)

Fine for Duke-addicts; all others, beware...

[3/10 · 3 May 2025]

Just nine days before the premiere of NBC's remake of "The Miracle Worker", Patty Duke Astin slipped in this frivolous piece about weight loss for ABC. She's a dumpy, overweight 40-year-old wife and mother (at 139lbs!) who splits her pants at a party and has to wear a curtain home (don't ask). After her husband leaves her to find himself ("It's not you--it's me!"), she goes on a diet and starts an exercise regimen, losing 23lbs. Suddenly skinny, she begins dating a younger man but learns that being thinner doesn't solve life's problems. This teleplay by Hindi Brooks has hopes to be a comedy, a marital drama, a romantic drama, and a feminist anthem. It also plays like Patty Duke's Greatest Hits, with a hint of "Valley of the Dolls" (with an exercise montage and pal Barbara Feldon getting hooked on pills), a hint of "Me, Natalie" (the ugly duckling becoming a swan), and more: husband Bradford Dillman is reunited with Duke from "The Swarm" and wheedling mom Rosemary Murphy is reunited with Patty from "You'll Like My Mother". The star gets to be a little sexier here than usual, which is fun to see; however, director Kim Friedman never finds an appropriate tone from scene to scene, leaving viewers hungry for something extra. *1/2 from ****

Blade Runner (1982)

An existential rumination (meaning, it's a dirge)

[5/10 · 3 May 2025]

Ex-cop in 2019 Los Angeles hired by his former boss to 'retire' four illegal replicants. Thoughtful if dirge-like futuristic-noir from Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" cloaks everything money could buy in rainy darkness and shadow. Harrison Ford does solid work, and the visuals are arresting...at first. Eventually, the film's celebrated look becomes monotonous, although each of the nonhumans is fascinating. Some striking sequences, yet the final showdown is drawn out too long and becomes ineffective. Director Ridley Scott put together a newly-edited version in 2007 (it's an improvement); followed by "Blade Runner 2049" in 2017. Nominated for two Oscars: art direction and visual effects. ** from ****

Scanners (1981)

Non-mind-blowing...

[2/10 · 2 May 2025]

This Canadian-made thriller from writer-director David Cronenberg is cool, calculated, and aloof. It asks great patience from viewers and doesn't even deliver an eventful finale. Power-mad psychotic (after world domination!) is pitted against a telepathic man recruited by a scientist to destroy him. Though the picture looks soupy and unattractive as photographed by Mark Irwin, Cronenberg does deliver one queasily suspenseful scene: a lecture conference that climaxes with an explosion. It wasn't enough to engage mainstream audiences at the time--however, cultists seem to love it. Jennifer O'Neill and Patrick McGoohan head up a most underwhelming cast. * from ****

Flashpoint (1984)

Some excitement in the third act...

[4/10 · 2 May 2025]

Kris Kristofferson and Treat Williams play US border patrol guards in Texas, hard-drinking buddies when they're not "busting wetbacks", who think they may have found their ticket to freedom when Kristofferson comes across a 20-year-old jeep buried in the desert along with $800K in 1963 currency (hmm, right around the time of the Kennedy assassination!). The two men weigh the ethics of the circumstance and attempt to find out if the money was stolen, possibly in a bank robbery; but before they can quit their jobs, they're assigned to help suspicious-acting feds from D. C. nail a drug trafficker. Crassly-written adaptation of George LaFountaine's novel, heavy on the macho posturing, is overloaded with villainous superiors and government shadys. We also get two good-time gals (Tess Harper and Jean Smart), dumb-bunnies merely around for a love scene and also to supply some pertinent information. The plot leads to a surprisingly riveting standoff, though the final scene (with Rip Torn overacting) is a washout. *1/2 from ****

The Mechanic (1972)

One of Bronson's best films!

[7/10 · 1 May 2025]

Charles Bronson stars as assassin Arthur Bishop, working for a secret organization while mentoring impudent rube Jan-Michael Vincent, the ambitious son of a big shot who happens to be on Bishop's hit list. Tight Lewis John Carlino screenplay is full of sly betrayal and dark character content, while Richard H. Kline's gritty cinematography sets the perfect bitter tone. A terrific vehicle for Bronson, who had it stipulated in each of his contracts that wife Jill Ireland would be part of the cast (she appears here as "The Girl"). Bronson is once again partnered with British director Michael Winner, whose work here is solid--especially his staging of a morbidly funny finale, imitated for years to come. *** from ****

Baby Blue Marine (1976)

The supporting players make it worthwhile

[6/10 · 30 April 2025]

Jan-Michael Vincent plays a "Baby Blue Marine" (i.e., a Marine boot camp failure) during World War II. He's initially sent home in disgrace after just five weeks--wearing baby blue fatigues--until he's knocked unconscious (by a white-haired Richard Gere), forcing him into a different uniform: that of a Raider Marine. Original screenplay by Stanford Whitmore opens with a hilarious loser's outfit overseen by an incredulous drill instructor (Michael Conrad, who's terrific). The rest of the film isn't quite so good, especially with Whitmore's overripe narrative playing out like a Preston Sturges wannabe accented with barracks talk, introspective drama, and curlicues of wobbly comedy. Vincent (laying on the sensitive soul routine) isn't the recruit I wanted to follow, anyway; that honor would go to Bruno Kirby (B. Kirby Jr.) as a fake bed-wetter who just wants to get home to his lonely wife. **1/2 from ****

Clean and Sober (1988)

Keaton stretching his acting chops--and yet he's miscast here

[2/10 · 30 April 2025]

12-step drama from director Glenn Gordon Caron, working from an overwritten screenplay by Tom Carroll, features a miscast Michael Keaton as a Philadelphia real estate salesman with a cocaine problem. He steals $92K from an escrow account, but loses some of it in the stock market and most of it buying blow. Hiding out in a rehabilitation center, Keaton's screw-up gets a sponsor and meets other addicts, falling for abused co-dependent fellow addict Kathy Baker. Carroll's writing is contrived in a pseudo-serious key, while the acting is arduously phony; Keaton is out of his depth and Baker overdoes the 'ordinariness' of her doormat druggie. Audiences were smart enough to stay away...you know something's wrong when even Morgan Freeman can't break through the plastic. * from ****

Batman: True or False Face (1966) Season 1, Episode 17

The highlight of "Batman"'s freshman year...

[8/10 · 28 April 2025]

Two-part episode (numbers #17 and #18) from "Batman"'s freshman season features the show's creepiest villain, False Face (played by Malachi Throne, but curiously credited as ?). Master of Disguise replaces jeweled Mergenberg Crown with a ringer, traps Batman and Robin in his subway hideout where he glues the Dynamic Duo to the train tracks. This pair of "Batman" episodes are genuinely suspenseful for once instead of merely cartoony, featuring tight direction from William A. Graham and excellent work by director of photography Jack Marta (the colors are luxuriant, and False Face really pops off the screen).

Skyway to Death (1974 TV Movie)

"Disaster" movie without much of a disaster...

[4/10 · 25 April 2025]

Aerial tramway in the California mountains gets stuck 8,000ft above rocky terrain with seven tourists and a tram-guide in attendance. Seems a recently-fired technician sabotaged the wiring, and now the two (count-'em-two) men running the operation from base are desperate for a rescue plan. A helicopter shows up but does more harm than good (I blame the pilot), but a ground mechanic thinks he can talk an engineer on-board via telephone into getting the tram in motion. Throw out the misleading title and you have a cast that keeps things somewhat interesting, even if the writing is terribly clichéd: Bobby Sherman is the college-age guide, Joseph Campanella is the engineer in love with marriage-reluctant Stefanie Powers, Severn Darden is a pickpocket, Ross Martin is cheating on wife Nancy Malone, John Astin plays an acrophobic who's brave when he acts without thinking, and Ruth McDevitt is wily old lady on a break from her nursing home. Aside from one glaring mistake in the back-projection, the visual effects aren't too shabby, and the lack of hysterical melodrama is a relief. *1/2 from ****

Cry Rape (1973 TV Movie)

Third-act surprise will either be welcomed or be a deal-breaker...

[6/10 · 25 April 2025]

Hard-hitting CBS-TV movie initially appears to be a cut-and-dry case of a serial rapist and his victims, his hotshot defense attorney, his uncertain mama and loyal sister, and a looming court case--but writer Will Lorin, working from an original treatment by himself and Leonard Freeman, adds a Hitchcockian touch to the proceedings that is not only surprising and effective (if far-fetched) but also welcomed. "Cry Rape!" threatens at numerous points to turn into an episode from any number of TV cop dramas of the early '70s, with only a few strong performances (particularly by Andrea Marcovicci as the sex fiend's fourth victim) to distinguish it. However, the third-act twist is a good one, and the denouement is satisfying. One Emmy nomination: Best Original Writing in a Drama to Lorin. **1/2 from ****

Della (1965)

A mere footnote in Crawford's career...

[3/10 · 25 April 2025]

Failed pilot for a proposed NBC-TV nighttime soap opera guest stars Joan Crawford as diamond-studded, stinking rich recluse Della Chappell--living with her grown daughter in a mansion on the hill in Royal Bay--whose father was the town's founder. Della doesn't want progress to change Royal Bay, and so has declined all offers to sell family-owned land to developers. Paul Burke, an attorney for his father's shipping business, gets a rare invitation to Della's estate and tries wheedling his way into Della's good graces, hoping to get her to sell property to his father, but immediately becomes smitten with Della's daughter, whose skin condition (a sort of sun allergy) has left her a prisoner in luxury--and resentful of her mother. Written by executive producer Richard Alan Simmons, this footnote in Crawford's career would be deadly dull if it weren't so ridiculously over-scored by Fred Steiner and hideously over-dressed (including an indoor/outdoor backyard set complete with statue garden, tree swing and a telescope hut!). Both Crawford, whose close-ups are softened by filters, and daughter Diane Baker are alternately mercurial, neurotic, lovestruck, and breathlessly melodramatic...and still this thing is a slog. Joan's final soliloquy, explaining her complicated relationship with her daughter, is topped off by an outfit which is color-coordinated with the drapes and the chrysanthemums on the piano. *1/2 from ****

A Death in Canaan (1978 TV Movie)

Buckling under pressure...cop pressure

[5/10 · 24 April 2025]

Dramatization of Joan Barthel's book by writers Thomas Thompson and Spencer Eastman is a fact-based account of a murder which occurred in Canaan, Connecticut in 1973. Teenager comes home one night after band practice to find his single mother--the town drunk last seen at the market flashing a wad of cash--on the floor, dying, after an attack by an intruder. He calls his friend's family and then for an ambulance, but once the police arrive, they immediately suspect the kid even though he has no marks on his body, no blood on his clothes, and he has a tight alibi (which no one in charge appears to take into consideration). But this isn't a story about catching mom's killer--rather, it's a document about how police sway, persuade and coerce an innocent, naïve, easily-led kid into incriminating himself. Director Tony Richardson (of all people) goes heavy on the villains of the piece: the police chief, his subordinates, even the conductor of the lie detector test (who exchanges knowing smirks with the chief once they've got the boy where they want him). Meanwhile, Stefanie Powers (as Bethel) and the townspeople rally to the teen's defense. It's hard to be infuriated by this movie for the reasons intended. Obviously, the miscarriage of justice (which includes a hard-ass judge in the courtroom) gets our blood boiling, though the slant Richardson and the writers take is even more aggravating. As the accused, Paul Clemens is likely giving Richardson what was intended here, yet his character has been made sketchy, often acting benumbed and open-mouthed vacuous. Powers' casting is another problem: she does little but write in her notepad, agree with the locals with a reassuring smile, or toss off clichéd dialogue such as, "There's a story here and I'm going to get it!" There's definitely a story here but I don't think anyone really got it. ** from ***

Sweet, Sweet Rachel (1971 TV Movie)

Telepathic hypnosis: brainwashing from a distance!

[5/10 · 24 April 2025]

Overstuffed TV movie-of-the-week has a psychic researcher from a California university and his blind assistant (who really is psychic!) investigating a young widow and her relatives after she comes to him distraught over her husband's suspicious death--seems he leapt from an upstairs window in their cliffside manor calling out her name. Portly Alex Dreier and calm, rational Chris Robinson are quite the twosome on this baffling case, prompting one to wonder if "Rachel" was meant to be the pilot for a weekly series (apparently it wasn't, but it's a nifty idea!). "Special guest star" Stefanie Powers gets convincingly hysterical under the thumb of her nefarious aunt and uncle (Louise Latham and Pat Hingle, a nightmarish duo), while Dreier pulls a fast one on a homicide detective after his department fails to do an autopsy on a dead body. Directed by television veteran Sutton Roley from a teleplay by Anthony Lawrence, this is an eerie little effort, though the lack of any light relief is distinctly felt. ** from ****

Sunday in the Country (1974)

"Straw Dogs" for oldsters...

[2/10 · 24 April 2025]

British-Canadian co-production stars Ernest Borgnine as a churchgoing grandpa who heads three fugitive bank robbers off at the pass when they try taking refuge on his farm. Borgnine's granddaughter Hollis McLaren, whom gramps continually calls out for ("Lucy! Lucy!"), naturally wants to go into the town and bring back the police, but gun-toting Ernie decides he'd rather "tend to things" first. Pedestrian wallow, a masochistic melodrama in the "Straw Dogs" vein but for oldsters only. Borgnine gives it his usual fortitude but it's a lost cause, and features the most grating gospel-country songs in B-movie cinema. * from ****

Out of Sight (1966)

"This is really serious!" .. "I'll say! I'm the only one here without a date!"

[2/10 · 22 April 2025]

Beach bunny overhears nefarious plans by "Big Daddy" to bomb the upcoming beach fair, enlists the aid of a nerdy special agent (top-billed Jonathan Daly, who acts like his teeth are too big for his mouth). Universal aping the A. I. P. "Beach Party" flicks, which were already going out of style. Musical guests Gary Lewis & the Playboys and The Turtles help, but nothing could possibly compensate for the lack of laughs in this script, the leering/nudging performances, the ugly cinematography, and the slow, wooden direction by one Lennie Weinrib, who helms these proceedings like someone who's never seen a movie before much less directed one. * from ****

Get Carter (1971)

A bit arty, but worthwhile for Caine's performance...

[5/10 · 20 April 2025]

This adaptation of Ted Lewis' novel "Jack's Return Home" by director Mike Hodges is rather arty for a tough guy drama, but it gets the job done. Michael Caine stars as London gangster Jack Carter who doesn't believe his brother was killed in a car accident, returning to his old haunts in Newcastle to find the hoods responsible. Hodges, making his feature directorial debut, likes to show off with the camera, but he has a great asset in his leading man. "Get Carter" is cool and calculating, and the gritty location shooting is flavorful. One BAFTA nomination: for Ian Hendry (playing Eric Paice) as Best Supporting Actor. Remade in 2000. ** from ****

Somewhere (2010)

Somewhere lousy...

[2/10 · 18 April 2025]

"Somewhere", written and directed by Sofia Coppola, doesn't go anywhere--and if that's her idea of amusing irony, her career is in a lot of trouble. Tale of a busy but burnt-out actor in today's apathetic Young Hollywood isn't new ground for Coppola, and casting slack-jawed Stephen Dorff as the movie star at the center of the non-action was another mistake. We understand that the Sunset Strip youth of today are aimlessly hedonistic, indifferent and spoiled, but Coppola views them dispassionately in a rock-and-roll din. An early sequence with Dorff's head covered in plaster for a life mask seems to symbolize the alienation inherent in an actor's life, but those who really believe that celebrity living occurs in an isolated bubble is playing right into the filmmaker's hands. Coppola obviously respects the cliché she's peddling here--and she isn't the first to do so--but I wouldn't call her intentions good, nor would I accuse her of being naïve. She's so 'in touch' with this milieu that she's out of synch with her art--and her audience. * from ****

Lifeforce (1985)

The vampires are interesting...but that's about it

[3/10 · 18 April 2025]

British-US space shuttle comes upon spacecraft hidden in the coma of Halley's Comet. The investigating astronauts bring back an alien being that resembles a large bat, also three naked humanoids, two men (their nether-regions discreetly covered) and a woman (who is on full display). Adaptation of Colin Wilson's novel "The Space Vampires" is full of life-sucking sequences (complete with mouth-to-mouth kinetic electricity), ghoulish shapeshifting, sexual hypnotism and telepathy, autopsies, the works (even that old standby: an erotic nightmare which climaxes with colonel Steve Railsback awakening with a scream à la James Stewart in "Vertigo"). Director Tobe Hooper (who reportedly was handed a blank check by Cannon Films' producers Golan & Globus after his success with "Poltergeist") knows how to mount a serious science-fiction tale without that '80s-trendy tongue-in-cheek overlay; still, the vampires are the only interesting aspect of the picture--the military and medical personnel being stiff and boring. A box-office dud at the time, "Lifeforce" has now acquired a loyal following. *1/2 from ****

Helter Skelter (1976)

Strictly as a courtroom drama, tight and gripping...

[6/10 · 18 April 2025]

194mn television event via Los Angeles prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's non-fiction bestseller covering Charles Manson's capture and trial after the Tate/LaBianca murders of 1969. Steve Railsback riveting in the lead (almost too chilling, as this role quickly became an albatross around the actor's neck). No portrayals of the victims--and none were necessary; the film is purely a court case/docudrama and is all the better for it. Three Emmy nominations: Tom Gries for his direction, Billy Goldenberg for his music, and for film editing. Gries also received a DGA nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Specials. *** from ****