Friday Foster (1975)

While it has violence and nudity, there’s something lighter and frothier about the blaxploitation film, Friday Foster (1975); it’s almost ready to be a crowd-pleasing TV movie pilot, maybe because the film is being based on a comic strip (comparable to Modesty Blaise in terms of syndicated newspaper comics). A vehicle for the great Pam […]

Drunken Master II (1994)

Over the closing credits of Drunken Master II (1994; aka The Legend Of Drunken Master), as tradition with a lot of Jackie Chan movies, we see out-takes of the stunts and action sequences. And it helpfully confirms that Jackie Chan did indeed throw himself onto an actual bed of fiery coals in the factory climax, […]

Between The Lines (1977)

There’s something charmingly mellow about Between The Lines (1977). It’s not a broad comedy nor is it a hard hitting drama, but it is amiable and funny, with an air of inevitable sadness about work and compromise. Its subject determines the form in a sense. Set in the city of Boston, Between The Lines is […]

The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)

When I finally watched The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988), I understood clearly why director Penelope Spheeris was hired for Wayne’s World, and to understand even the head-banging culture that Wayne’s World was parodying. This was a decade where pop music was defined by metal’s popularity, from glam rock to […]

Smile (1975)

Smile (1975) is a forgotten satire about a beauty pageant in Santa Rosa, small town California, representative of the heartland. Written by Jerry Belson and directed by Michael Ritchie, there’s plenty of gags and one liners about the Young American Miss Pageant, which this movie observes, from the preparations to talent show routines to the […]