THE BIG BUS (1976)--Directed by James Frawley. Stars Joseph Bologna, Stockard Channing, John Beck. Parody of disaster films is set on a nuclear-powered bus traveling non-stop from New York to Denver. A few good laughs and good performances by Bologna and Channing. The bus contains a swimming pool and a bowling alley! Also with Harold Gould, Larry Hagman, Ruth Gordon and Ned Beatty. Frawley directed many episodes of THE MONKEES, winning an Emmy for its pilot.

THE BIG BUST-OUT (1972)--Directed by Richard Jackson. Stars Vonetta McGee, Linda Fox, Karen Carter, Gordon Mitchell. "Soft skin bursting through hard prison walls!" A group of foxy female prisoners--and a nun!--escape from a Middle Eastern prison run by sadistic lesbian guards. They are recaptured by brutal Miller Drake (Mitchell), who plans to sell the women into white slavery. The prisoners bolt again, this time heading into the desert, where Drake recaptures them. Proving that the Italians can churn this kind of stuff out better than almost anybody, this has a much higher body count than most women-in-prison pictures, as well as a midget who likes to whip women, lots of machine-gun fire, and some decent skinny-dipping footage. None of the actors really registers, but I can't really say that I cared. Also with Tony Kendall, William Berger, Monica Taylor and Rose Margaret Keil. Released theatrically in the United States by New World Pictures, THE BIG BUST-OUT can also be found as CRUCIFIED GIRLS OF SAN RAMON. The director is actually Ernst R. von Theumer (JUNGLE WARRIORS), which the Internet Movie Database claims is a nom de plume for Mel Welles (LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS)! Is this really true?

THE BIG CHILL (1983)--Directed by Lawrence Kasdan. Stars William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, Tom Berenger, Meg Tilly, Jeff Goldblum, Mary Kay Place, and JoBeth Williams. Overrated comedy-drama about seven college radicals of the sixties reuniting for a weekend after a classmate's funeral. Dialogue is funny and the acting is generally good, but I hate any movie featuring successful people whining about their tough lives. Probably inspired TV's THIRTYSOMETHING and was inspired by John Sayles' RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN. Kevin Costner received his big break as the dead classmate, but was cut out of the picture by Kasdan. Great soundtrack. From the director of SILVERADO and GRAND CANYON.

BIG CITY BLUES (1999)--Directed by Clive Fleury. Stars Burt Reynolds, William Forsythe, Giancarlo Esposito, Arye Gross, Georgina Cates. Fleury also served as writer and producer of this unbearable 2 DAYS IN THE VALLEY knockoff about one night in the lives of a pair of PULP FICTION-inspired hit men (Reynolds, Forsythe), two transvestites (Esposito, Gross) and a prostitute (Cates) searching for her doppelganger. Of course, all their paths intersect at the end for a terribly contrived climax, but it's doubtful you'll still be watching. The performances, dialogue, and situations are awful across the board. I guess Cates manages to bring a bit of sweetness to her role, but I don't know what kind of accent Reynolds is attempting. British? Cajun, maybe? It isn't consistent enough to pinpoint, and a scene in which Burt is stripped naked, strapped to a bondage table and splashed with chicken blood by a trio of devil worshippers has got to be the most humiliating of his career. Reynolds and Forsythe receive co-producer credits. Also with Balthazar Getty, Donovan Leitch, Roxana Zal and two scenes involving middle-aged men in embarrassing sexual situations. Music by Tomas San Miguel.

THE BIG DOLL HOUSE (1971)--Directed by Jack Hill. Stars Roberta Collins, Pam Grier, Sid Haig. One of the earliest and best examples of the women-in-prison genre popularized in the 1970s. Like most films of its kind, it mixes healthy doses of nudity and violence with liberal messages of feminism and prison reform. It's too bad Grier was never able to break free of the exploitation actress label and become a mainstream movie star. She certainly had the looks and talent for it. Filmed on location in the Philippines. Also with Kathryn Loder, Brooke Mills and Pat Woodell. Pam even sings the theme song. Eddie Romero and John Ashley served as executive producers. Director Hill has a cameo at the end.

THE BIG HIT (1998)--Directed by Kirk Wong. Stars Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Avery Brooks. I really liked this energetic martial-arts comedy. Wahlberg (basically reprising his BOOGIE NIGHTS role) is a sweet and likable hitman working for mobster Brooks. His partner is the flamboyant and greedy Phillips, who decides to take a job on the side and kidnap the beautiful daughter of a Japanese billionaire for ransom. Wahlberg, who is strapped for cash since he's supporting both his Jewish fianc (Christina Applegate) and his scheming golddigging mistress (Lela Rochon), goes along with Phillips reluctantly. Unfortunately, the kidnapping victim (China Chow) turns out to be the goddaughter of Brooks, who gives Phillips the assignment of discovering the identities of the kidnappers and killing them. THE BIG HIT is populated with a number of engaging characters, and Wong, a veteran of Hong Kong action cinema, finds the right note between action and slapstick. Wahlberg is quite pleasant as a professional assassin who can't stand for anybody to dislike him, and China Chow is a real discovery as the pampered daughter of rich parents who falls for Wahlberg. Music by George S. Clinton. Also with Elliott Gould, Lainie Kazan, Antonio Sabato, Jr. and Sab Shimono.

BIG JAKE (1971)--Directed by George Sherman. Stars John Wayne, Richard Boone, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Wayne. The Duke is Big Jake. Bad guy Boone kidnaps Big Jake's grandson and demands a one million dollar ransom. Pretty routine western has lots of action and a good cast. Was Wayne's fifth picture with O'Hara. Also with Chris Mitchum and Bobby Vinton!

THE BIG KAHUNA (1999)--Directed by John Swanbeck. Stars Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Peter Facinelli. Be forewarned: there isn't a surfboard within a thousand miles of THE BIG KAHUNA, Kevin Spacey's first film to be released since winning the Best Actor Oscar for AMERICAN BEAUTY. Heck, there isn't even any sunshine, since nearly all the action takes place indoors on one set. Being a big-shot movie star means having the clout to make pictures just for your own enjoyment, and although KAHUNA is obviously a labor of love of Spacey, who produced the picture and hired his longtime acting coach John Swanbeck to direct it, it also contains a lot for fans of swell acting to love as well.

THE BIG KAHUNA is based upon HOSPITALITY SUITE, a prizewinning play by Roger Rueff, a former Amoco engineer who was inspired to write it after attending a convention just like the one in the film and experiencing all the drinking, glad-handing and false promises firsthand. KAHUNA contains a premise rather than a plot: three employees of a company that manufactures industrial lubricants attending a convention at a hotel in Wichita, Kansas man a tiny hospitality suite in an effort to land one specific potential client: Dick Fuller, the Big Kahuna, a corporate president who could become their biggest customer ever. While waiting for the Big Kahuna to arrive, the three talk. And talk. And talk, which is just fine with me, since Rueff's dialogue is sharp and witty, and delivered by three actors at the top of their game.

Spacey has the showiest role as Larry, and it's impossible to watch him in this movie without flashing back to GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, David Mamet's riveting ode to fast-talking salesmen in which Spacey's passive character drew the brunt of everyone else's cruel barbs. Now it's his turn, and Larry emerges as one so caustic, so wired, so driven that, like many of James Woods characters, you assume he must be on something. Despite his fast-talking exterior, Larry is brutally honest, and even though he has an eye for the ladies, he's never cheated on his wife after 12 years on the road. Phil (Danny DeVito), Larry's longtime friend and partner, is hitting the far side of middle-aged, and is beginning to burn out. He's thinking of making some changes--he's already quit drinking and divorced his wife--and has a calmer outlook than Larry. They're teamed with first-timer Bob (Peter Facinelli from CAN'T HARDLY WAIT) from Research who's representing the brains of the company and has been brought along by Phil to answer any technical questions the Big Kahuna may have. Bob is newly married, wet behind the ears and still excited by life. He's also a born-again Christian, which leads to some fascinating discussions, arguments and even revelations about selling and sincerity.

Although Spacey and Facinelli turn in outstanding performances, it's DeVito who may surprise some people. His character is the most difficult of the three to play, since he's mostly asked to serve as a buffer between the brash Larry and the idealistic Bob, who are really two sides of the same coin. DeVito, a marvelous comedic actor who was astonishingly able to invest his venomous TAXI character Louie with a touch of pathos, delivers an introspective performance as a man learning the way he has lived his life maybe wasnt the best way, and injects his close-ups with the weight of a man in a state of conversion.

While KAHUNA doesn't exalt any new themes or messages (let's face it--Arthur Miller wrote the last word on salesmen fifty years ago), I liked it for its performances, the sometimes fast, sometimes contemplative dialogue, and its attempt at merging the worlds of Christianity and commerce.

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986)--Directed by John Carpenter. Stars Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong. This comedy/kung-fu/fantasy/romance/action film received some good reviews, but was an inexplicable dud at the box office. Russell is hilarious as a dull-witted truck driver who finds himself in a battle with a 2000-year-old Chinese Godfather with magical powers (Hong). Russell plays reluctant hero Jack Burton as a swaggering wannabe-macho man who's seen too many John Wayne movies--a fish-out-of-water in this strange Chinatown underground society where sorcery and ancient myths are commonplace; he's the only character who doesn't know what's going on! Dun, who went on to co-star in TV's MIDNIGHT CALLER, is his Chinese sidekick. Russell goes through one action scene with lipstick smeared on his face after a kiss from Cattrall. The special effects (courtesy of Richard Edlund) and action sequences are fun, and Russell's parody of an action hero is priceless. Gary Goldman and W.D. Richter collaborated on the screenplay; Carpenter (as usual) provides the mostly synthesized score.

BIGFOOT (1970)—Directed by Robert F. Slatzer.  Stars John Carradine, John Mitchum, Chris Mitchum, Lindsay Crosby, Joi Lansing, Judy Jordan.  Chris Mitchum and girlfriend Jordan break away from their biker gang to do a little smooching.  They stumble upon a Sasquatch graveyard (Chris sweeps away some dirt, uncovering an obvious rubber mask that gives when he pokes it), and then are attacked by a family of Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) that kidnap bikini-clad Judy.  The sheriff refuses to go traipsing about in the forest late at night, so Chris recruits his gang and a pair of traveling peddlers played by Carradine and Chris’ uncle John.  They find Judy and lingerie-clad parachutist Lansing tied up in the Bigfoot camp, where they apparently are being saved for breeding purposes.  There is some goofy stuff in this movie (the bikers ride Yamahas), but it’s mostly boring and bad.  Seeing Ken Maynard play the storeowner made me wonder whether Al Adamson had anything to do with the movie.  Also with William Bonner, James Craig, Red West, Doodles Weaver and Anthony Cardoza.  The poster proclaimed Bigfoot the “greatest monster since King Kong,” which may well be true, but not in this movie.

BIGFOOT: THE MYSTERIOUS MONSTER (1976)—Directed by Robert Guenette.  Stars Peter Graves. "This may be the most startling film you ever see!"  MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE star Graves hosts this hilarious 1976 "documentary" from Sunn Classics, in which he convinces us that, yes, he too once was skeptical, but once you've seen the conclusive evidence, you'll have no choice but to believe that Sasquatch is real.  It covers the Loch Ness Monster and the Yeti a little bit, but the film’s focus is Sasquatch, complete with “dramatic” reenactments using actors wearing hairy suits created by Tom Burman’s studio.  Complete with psychics, plaster footprints, dramatizations, and Graves peering at Sasquatch feces through a microscope, this movie, also widely known as THE MYSTERIOUS MONSTERS, is funny stuff.  One reenactment appears to be ripped off from THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK.  For some reason, the bit with Graves allowing a psychic to read vibes from a briefcase containing a plaster cast of Sasquatch’s footprint is my favorite.  You’ve got to admire Graves for keeping a straight face, although—who knows—maybe he’s sincere.  Of course, the notorious Patterson film is included.

BILL & TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY (1991)--Directed by Peter Hewitt. Stars Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, William Sadler, Joss Ackland. A rare example of a sequel that's more entertaining than the original. Our knuckle-headed heroes (Reeves and Winter) return from their "excellent adventure" just in time to be killed off by their evil robot duplicates from the future. They meet Death (Sadler) at the Pearly Gates, and challenge him to games of Battleship and Clue in an attempt to return to Earth. Sadler is terrific, and his performance is the best reason to see this movie. George Carlin and Pam Grier are good to see in supporting roles. Be sure to keep an eye out for a "special appearance" by William Shatner! Script by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, who wrote the first BILL & TED film. Followed by a short-lived Fox sitcom and a slightly more successful animated series on Saturday mornings, neither of which featured Reeves and Winter.

BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE (1989)--Directed by Stephen Herek. Stars Alex Winter, Keanu Reeves, George Carlin. Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves) are a couple of dumb guys who won't be able to perform with their rock & roll band (the Wyld Stallyns) unless they pass history. They do so by traveling with Carlin in his time-traveling phone booth and hanging out with Napoleon, Billy the Kid, Abe Lincoln, etc. Was a big hit with teens, but you may find it a bit silly and juvenile.

BILL COSBY--HIMSELF (1983)--Directed by William H. Cosby, Jr. Stars Bill Cosby. Very funny concert film with the standup doing routines on parenting, dentists, drunks, and other everyday subjects. Was taken from four Hamilton, Ontario shows in 1981. Not quite as good as Richard Pryor's best concert films, but it's up there with EDDIE MURPHY: RAW.

BILLY JACK (1971)--Directed by Tom Laughlin (as T.C. Frank).  Stars Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Kenneth Tobey, Bert Freed, Clark Howat.  BILLY JACK is nothing less than one of the most popular motion pictures ever produced.  It isn’t much of a stretch to say that no movie released in 2006 will be as profitable or be seen by more people than BILLY JACK was in its theatrical releases.  The story of a half-Indian and ex-Green Beret who protects a schoolful of teenaged hippies from bigots, BILLY JACK is a testament to the tenacity and confidence of Tom Laughlin, who produced, wrote, directed and starred in the film as Billy Jack.

Although BILLY JACK was a tremendous hit in the early 1970s, it can be something of a chore to watch today.  Much of it has dated terribly--for instance, the drug humor of the improvisational group The Committee (including a long-haired Howard Hesseman) and the folk music performed by the flower children characters--but BILLY JACK’s stances against individualism, non-violence and racial intolerance are as relevant now (or more so, as Washington extremists strive to plaster Red and Blue labels over us) as ever.

The story behind BILLY JACK is a fascinating one.  The leading character portrayed by Laughlin had already appeared in a biker movie, THE BORN LOSERS, that American International released in 1967.  Laughlin, who produced and directed that picture too, held on to the rights to Billy Jack, and after THE BORN LOSERS became a hit, he landed financing from Warner Brothers to do a bigger-budgeted sequel called BILLY JACK, which first came out in 1971.  Warners, in Laughlin’s view, buried the film on the bottom of double bills in dirty, disreputable theaters, so he sued the studio and received the right to release the movie his way.  The Laughlin method was to travel around the country “four-walling” theaters--renting the auditoriums himself, playing BILLY JACK in them, keeping all the box office receipts, and giving the theaters the concession profits.  Laughlin and his family (who also appeared in the movie) made personal appearances to support the release, and relied on massive regional television advertising to get the word out.  BILLY JACK, which was already something of a hit in 1971, was a veritable smash upon its 1973 re-release, breaking box office records across the country and turning its karate-kicking anti-hero into a household name.

BILLY JACK is nothing if not ambitious.  It preaches about so many subjects--gun control, education, racism, the generation gap--that the film often falls into tedium.  The script is by Laughlin and his wife Delores Taylor, who plays Jean, the teacher at the Freedom School, where troubled teens go to escape their uncaring families or recover from bouts with drugs or other dangerous lifestyles.  One is 15-year-old Barbara (Julie Webb), who escaped her abusive father Mike (Kenneth Tobey), a local deputy sheriff, ran off to Haight-Ashbury, got pregnant, came home to a beating from her father, and found shelter at Jean’s school, where she begins a loving relationship with an Indian boy.  Their miscegenational relationship is a burr under Mike’s saddle, spurring him to create trouble around their small Arizona town for the students, who are also harassed by weak Bernard (David Roya), the son of venal town boss Posner (Bert Freed).

Luckily for Jean and the kids, they have a protector in Billy Jack, one of Hollywood’s few liberal action heroes.  Laughlin’s clenched though charismatic performance makes Billy Jack an interesting character.  He learned to kill in Vietnam, where he saw so much senseless bloodshed that he makes a strong effort to return to his Native American roots and avoid the violence of the White Man’s world, even though mankind’s inhumanity to his fellow man forces him to seek justice using the skills taught to him by the government, namely hapkido karate.

If you’re patient enough to endure BILLY JACK’s pitfalls, there’s much to admire.  I agree--when the Laughlins’ daughter Teresa begins caterwauling her way through a self-penned folk ballad about her dead brother, you’ll want to strangle her.  However, Laughlin does an okay job staging his action scenes, which attempt to preach non-violence while simultaneously stimulating us with shots of Billy Jack kicking bad guys in the face.  Few cinematic moments are more moving than the opening title sequence involving an illegal roundup of wild mustangs, beautifully shot by 2nd-unit cinematographer John Stephens and set to Coven’s affecting Top 40 hit “One Tin Soldier.”  The acting is variable with hardy character actors like Tobey (THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD) and Clark Howat (as the sympathetic sheriff) doing nice work and amateurs such as Taylor barely able to recite dialogue with a vestige of emotion.  But what the lesser actors lack in technique, they make up for in honesty and earnestness.

This cinematic ode to tolerance and peace also has one classic moment that’s the stuff of Hollywood legend.  Bernard and his posse harass the children in an ice cream parlor by pouring flour over the head of a cute little girl.  Billy Jack waltzes in and gives a long speech about how, when he sees such beautiful young angels mistreated by idiotic savages.  Then, he “...just...goes...BERSERK,” freaks out and kicks the crap out of the hoods.  Irony or Laughlin’s commercial instincts kicking in?  Also with Victor Izay, Richard Stahl, Dan Barrows, Alan Myerson, Cisse Cameron, Stan Rice and Lynn Baker.  The melodramatic score is by Mundell Lowe.

BILLY JACK GOES TO WASHINGTON (1977)--Directed by Tom Laughlin (as T.C. Frank). Stars Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, E.G. Marshall, Sam Wanamaker, Dick Gautier. Laughlin's remake of MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON was even produced by Frank Capra Jr., son of the legendary director of the original that starred James Stewart. When the junior senator of Billy Jack's (unnamed) Southwestern state dies, the governor (Gautier) appoints Billy (Laughlin) to fill the post temporarily in order to lure the minority, poor and youth vote. When Billy attempts to introduce a bill allowing a youth camp to be built on land previously earmarked for a nuclear plant, greedy businessman Wanamaker and corrupt senator Marshall frame him. There is a lot of talk and only one action scene in this admittedly sincere drama, although Laughlin seems to have forgotten that the karate scenes were what made the original BILLY JACK such a hit in the first place. I believe Laughlin's heart was in the right place, and his performance--especially during the climactic filibuster--is pretty good, but the fourth and final (to date) BILLY JACK movie is worth seeing as a '70s curio at best. This film was never really finished, which explains the sometimes crude editing and jumbled plot. Laughlin struggled to obtain financing in order to complete his political diatribe, but the film was never released in theaters and only became available on videocassette in 1999. Also with John Lawlor, Lucie Arnaz, Pat O'Brien, Teresa Laughlin, Peter Donat, Victor Izay and William Wellman Jr. Suzanne Somers has a credit, but was cut out of the movie. Elmer Bernstein composed a stately score that's deserving of a soundtrack release. Laughlin actually ran for President in 1992. Heck, I would have voted for the guy.

BITE THE BULLET (1975)--Directed by Richard Brooks. Stars Gene Hackman, James Coburn, Candice Bergen. Entertaining epic western about a 700-mile cross-country horse race across a grueling desert landscape. Good performances all around--well, except for Bergen, of course. Also with Ben Johnson, Dabney Coleman and Jan-Michael Vincent. From the director of THE PROFESSIONALS.

BLACK MAMA, WHITE MAMA (1972)--Directed by Eddie Romero. Stars Pam Grier, Margaret Markov, Sid Haig. Exploitative remake of THE DEFIANT ONES with plenty of female nudity. Grier and Markov escape from a womens' prison in the Philippines, and evade the authorities and a vicious drug-dealing pimp, while helping a band of revolutionaries. Haig is great as a redneck bounty hunter. The leads have a good number of nude scenes, and Romero keeps the pace up. H.R. Christian scripted from an original story by Joe Viola and Jonathan Demme. Pam and Margaret reteamed for more nude fight scenes in Steve Carver's ARENA.