USA

David Kehr, Chicago Reader wrote:
Robert Altman’s would-be American art film (1977) is murky, snide, and sloppy, but the director’s off the hook because he dreamed it all. Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall are two Texas girls who meet while working in a California sanatorium (courtesy of 81/2) and exchange identities while Altman struggles with feminism and the American dream. As usual, the director plainly despises his characters but offers no alternative to their pettiness, although his sneaky jokes at their expense give the film its only glimmer of style.Read More »

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When it came to 1960s schlocky drive-in exploitation fare, there was no more prolific purveyor than producer David F. Friedman. This new Something Weird disc marries two of his seminal ‘roughies’ on DVD, together with some very amusing extras. The roughie was intended as the next step beyond the “nudie cutie”, which was shot in color and might, if you were lucky, show some female breast. The activity was decidedly nonsexual most of the time. The roughie not only went to a grittier black and white presentation, but because of relaxing standards, was able to present more frank nudity and sexual contact than was possible in the nudie cutie, as well as presenting a more violent and exploitative read on sexuality. Done on an ultra-cheap basis, the results are often highly unpleasant to today’s viewer. Yet they do have some appeal as historical artifacts and examples of exploitation at its nastiest.Read More »

In this adaptation of author de la Roche’s chronicle of the passionate lives of the strange Whiteoaks of Jalna, their beautiful family estate located in souther Ontario. The story begins as a young Whiteoak, a novelist travels to New York where he encounters a charming woman, marries her, and takes her back to Jalna. There she encounters many difficulties as she attempts to adjust to life with his odd family. It does not help that several soap-operatic events transpired while he was gone when his brother married the illegitimate daughter of a despised neighbor. One day a “sexy dame” suddenly shows up on the family porch. Soon she and the novelist are trysting away, but before he can consummate their affair he is killed during a terrible fall. The new widow then realizes that it is a different brother that she loves. They soon marry. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie GuideRead More »

This independent film was a joint effort by Sarah Lawrence theatre professor Wilford Leach and two of his students, protégé Brian De Palma and wealthy Cynthia Monroe, who bankrolled the project. The trio shared screen credit as writers, directors, and producers, although it is De Palma’s touch that is most evident in the film’s technical aspects, while Leach’s theatrical background suggests he was responsible for supervising the performances of the ensemble cast.
The film was made in 1963 but not released until six years later, after one of its supporting players, Robert De Niro, had begun to draw notice for his work in off-Broadway theatre and De Palma’s 1968 release Greetings. Also in the cast were Jennifer Salt and William Finley, both of whom were De Palma regulars, and fellow Sarah Lawrence student Jill Clayburgh as the bride-to-be.
(from wiki)Read More »

Synopsis by Hal Erickson
This follow-up to MGM’s 1932 John Barrymore vehicle Arsene Lupin stars the ineluctable Melvyn Douglas. Reported to be dead, suave gentleman jewel thief Arsene Lupin (Douglas) resurfaces under the assumed name of Rene Farrand. Intending to follow the straight and narrow path, Lupin/Farrand reverts to his old larcenous ways when the opportunity to pilfer $250,000 in gems presents itself. Slowing down our hero somewhat is the presence of hotshot American private eye Steve Emerson (Warren William) and glamorous adventuress Lorraine de Grissac (Virginia Bruce). Ironically, both Melvyn Douglas and Warren William also played thief-turned-sleuth Michael Lanyard, aka “The Lone Wolf”, over at Columbia.Read More »

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Brandon is back, and he has one last order of business as the Amateur Porn Star trilogy winds towards its shocking conclusion. Offered a ride by a handsome and kindly stranger, an aspiring actress (real life porn star Regan Reese) hops into the passenger seat of his car with no clue as to the horrors that await her. As darkness falls and the car pulls into an empty field at the edge of a small town, it doesn’t take Brandon long to reveal his murderous true intentions. With nowhere to run and a madman on her heels, the desperate girl is quickly caught up in a bloody game of cat and mouse.Read More »

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Amateur Porn Star Killer director Shane Ryan continues to shock and offend with this faux-snuff follow-up to his controversial 2007 debut. Brutality knows no bounds when a killer posing as a porno director lures an unsuspecting beauty to his dungeon of death. But this actress isn’t about to go down without a fight, and when she realizes she’s signed on for her final role she strikes back against her attacker with everything she’s got.Read More »

IMDB’s Plot Synopsis

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“The unofficial story of a killer who kidnaps and kills three girls is told through the tale of his last victim, ‘Amateur Porn Star Killer’ is about a girl he picks up on the street and convinces to go back to his hotel room. The girl, played by Michiko Jimenez, is shy, unnerved, and yet unable to take herself out of a bad situation. Shane Ryan himself is the killer, a guy who seems at first nothing more than your standard, 18 year old pervert with a penchant for filming his sexual escapades. What unravels is a story far darker, unsettling, and downright mesmerizing then what originally presents itself in the first few minutes of the story.” – written by Pretty-Scary, For Women in Horror by Women in HorrorRead More »

This third film version of Maxwell Anderson’s play Saturday’s Children stars Claude Rains as the impecunious but proud father of a large brood. Rains’ daughter Anne Shirley marries idealistic John Garfield, a would-be inventor who works for Shirley’s father. Feeling that he’s been tricked into marriage, Garfield gives every indication of turning out to be as much “failure” as Rains. Only when Garfield and Shirley are on the verge of breaking up do they realize that material gain is not the only barometer of success in life. Previous filmizations of this story include Saturday’s Children (29), starring Corinne Griffith, and Maybe It’s Love (35), costarring Ross Alexander and Gloria Stuart. Read More »