Ransom-Relentless IV

RANSOM FOR A DEAD MAN (1971)--Directed by Richard Irving. Stars Peter Falk, Lee Grant, Patricia Mattick. Three years after Falk first played Lieutenant Columbo in PRESCRIPTION: MURDER, which was based on a play by Richard Levinson and William Link, Universal commissioned this pilot for a projected COLUMBO TV series. Grant earned an Emmy nomination (she actually lost to her own performance in THE NEON CEILING) as Leslie Williams, a high-priced civil attorney who murders her wealthy husband and stages his kidnapping to fool the authorities. Her spoiled stepdaughter (Mattick) isn't fooled, nor is Columbo (Falk), who stammers and stumbles his way into Leslie's life, pestering her with seemingly pointless questions in a polite attempt to break her down. Whereas director Irving was unable to bring much visual flair to the stagy PRESCRIPTION: MURDER, camera gimmickry, Edward M. Abroms' clever editing and even bits of animation and opticals spice up RANSOM's presentation, but never at the expense of Dean Hargrove's rich teleplay (from a story by Levinson and Link) or the performances by Grant and Falk, who worked together so well that they teamed again later in the year for a Broadway production of THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE. Also with Harold Gould, Paul Carr, Hank Brandt, Celeste Yarnall, Jed Allan and Timothy Carey. Music by Billy Goldenberg. COLUMBO began its regular run as part of THE NBC SUNDAY MYSTERY MOVIE later in 1971 with seven 90-minute episodes in its first season.

Familiar television guest star Harris toplines as Linda, a lunch-wagon proprietress who becomes the latest victim of the Jingle Bells rapist (Brown), an egotist in a hockey mask and orange jumpsuit who forces women to sing the Christmas carol while he assaults them. The police, represented by detective Long (Elliott), are ineffective, so the victims decide to organize a "rape squad", a vigilante group with a 24-hour hotline dedicated to capturing rapists, mashers, perverts, pimps and even obscene phone callers. They take karate lessons from diminutive Tiny (Edmund), who teaches them how to crush a mannequin's testicles with a baton. Soon, the newly empowered women are running all over L.A. at the drop of a dime, entrapping a sleazy club manager with an eye for Harris' curves in a see-through dress and beating a street pimp with a habit of smacking around his girls. Naturally, ol' Jingle Bells discovers the women's game plan to crush his jewels and plots a return match.

Like many exploitation movies of the era, particularly those from Roger Corman's New World Pictures that teamed up three stewardesses, nurses, teachers, etc., RAPE SQUAD tries to have it both ways: to offer strong, independent female characters in control of their own lives while still dishing out a healthy amount of nudity and violence against women. Rape scenes were frequently inserted into these films for their titillation value, as an excuse to provide its slobbering audience with a pair of bare boobs. Of course, if the film doesn't show rape as the horrifying and indefensible crime that it is, it runs the danger of not providing the drama with a strong motivation for the heroines' revenge. It's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. Since RAPE SQUAD's screenplay was penned by at least one woman (Betty Conklin and H.R. Christian receive credit), one can assume that the filmmakers were aware of the need to provide its rape victims (and the actresses who portray them) with a certain amount of sensitivity, while still paying strict attention to AIP's commercial demands for boobs and blood.

Give Kelljan credit for handling the difficult material with aplomb, delivering a suspenseful and occasionally thoughtful thriller that may not have set the drive-ins on fire (RAPE SQUAD was re-released as the less incendiary ACT OF VENGEANCE, the title on the Thorn EMI/HBO videocassette print). Adding much to the film is Brown's performance as the narcissistic rapist. Appearing in most of his scenes with his face covered by a hockey mask that predates the FRIDAY THE 13TH series, the handsome television star (LAREDO), who also played the heavy in AIP's FOXY BROWN the same year, is positively sinister and sleazy, cutting off his victims' clothing, brutalizing their breasts and compelling them to sing aloud (why "Jingle Bells" is never explained) and compliment him on his "lovemaking" skills. Harris, a beautiful brunette who began appearing regularly on TV in 1968, usually as a scheming vamp in episodic guest shots or as the lead in several unsold pilots (including the Jane Fonda role in a CAT BALLOU remake), gives an intelligent, sexy performance as Brown's nemesis, a smart, self-sufficient small-business owner who risks her life--and, in an unusual twist, the lives of her friends--in her obsession with her attacker's capture. She's so good in the role that I was unable to accept her relationship with wiseass boyfriend Tom (Kanaly, later on DALLAS), an insensitive, irresponsible ass not worthy of Linda.

RAPID FIRE (1992)--Directed by Dwight H. Little. Stars Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe. The first major Hollywood leading role for Bruce Lee's son. He plays a Chicago college student who teams up with a tough cop to bust some Chinese mobsters. For some reason, the cop's office is in an abandoned bowling alley. Lee has a few impressive action scenes, but he was never going to be the international superstar his dad was. It would have been nice if he had gotten the chance though. Also with Nick Mancuso, Kate Hodge and Tzi Ma. From the director of MARKED FOR DEATH.

RAPTOR (2001)--Directed by Jim Wynorski (as Jay Andrews). Stars Eric Roberts, Corbin Bernsen, Melissa Brasselle, Lorissa McComas, Harrison Page. Even if you've seen Wynorski's previous patchwork efforts like RANGERS and ABLAZE, which provide impressive production values at a low price by cribbing stock footage from more expensive Hollywood movies like INVASION U.S.A. and STRIKING DISTANCE, you still won't expect the level of chicanery going on here. Wynorski and producer Roger Corman have eviscerated New Concorde's CARNOSAUR trilogy, extracting nearly all of the dinosaur attacks and splicing them into newly filmed scenes shot on the cheap around Los Angeles (most notably the nearby Department of Water and Power). Not just short clips, but entire scenes have been lifted, including CARNOSAUR's opening featuring three drunken teens getting munched (by a hand puppet that's later described by Brasselle's character as weighing more than 150 pounds) and the death of Page's character, who was a sheriff in CARNOSAUR and returns several years older in RAPTOR to wear the same costume so he'll match the earlier footage. One helicopter explosion was also used in both CARNOSAUR 2 and 3!

It's actually kind of fun to see pros like Roberts and Bernsen rip through nonsense like this, and you hope they were paid well and had the good sense not to take it too seriously. In fact, the unconventional Roberts plays it straight for once, which sort of defeats the purpose of casting him in the first place. But why should he bust his hump? The director certainly isn't. His contempt for the audience results in many achingly obvious continuity errors, such as the sudden appearance of life preservers in Bernsen's lab (footage from CARNOSAUR 3, which was set on a boat) and a crime scene on a desert road in stock footage that becomes a local park in the new shots with Roberts and Brasselle that follow. On the bright side, you'll never have to sit through all three CARNOSAUR movies, since RAPTOR plays like a trailer for them, cannibalizing all the "good parts". Sexy McComas, despite being in her 30s, performs a topless scene as Roberts' teenage daughter (how can he afford breast implants on a sheriff's salary?). And you get to see the truck crash from Corman's HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP again. Perhaps the funniest moment in the film is the opening credit "Music by James Horner"; you know the Oscar-winning composer of TITANIC must be tearing his hair out, knowing Corman is still recycling his scores for HUMANOIDS and BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. Also with Tim Abell, Frank Novack, Grant Cramer, Richard Gabai, Michael Cavanaugh and Rod McCary. Frances Doel, Corman's former secretary who co-wrote the classic BIG BAD MAMA, receives a script credit.

THE RAT PACK (1998)--Directed by Rob Cohen. Stars Ray Liotta, Joe Mantegna, Don Cheadle, William L. Petersen. Fluffy but entertaining biopic of those politically incorrect rapscallions of the Vegas set: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and various friends, lovers and hangers-on. Actually the bulk of the plot follows Sinatra's effort to get Senator John F. Kennedy (Petersen) into the White House and his use of organized crime connections to insure Kennedy's presidency. While none of the actors really resembles their real-life counterpart, Mantegna as Dino and Don Cheadle as Davis probably come off best. Cheadle gets the movie's best scene in a fantasy sequence where he confronts a street mob of racists with an outrageous song-and-dance act. Liotta seems to be having a good time--he doesn't have Sinatra's powerful presence, but who does?--and while we don't really learn much about the Rat Pack, we enjoy being with them one last time. Bobby Slayton plays Joey Bishop, whose role is diminished here. From the director of DRAGONHEART.

RAT PFINK A BOO BOO (1966)--Directed by Ray Dennis Steckler. Stars Vin Saxon, Titus Moede, Carolyn Brandt, George Caldwell. No, that isn't a typographical error in the title. When the credits were added to the film, someone accidentally omitted the "nd" from the word "and". The mistake was never corrected. The film itself is a little difficult to describe. Let's just say it involves rock star/superhero Rat Pfink (Saxon), his gardener sidekick Boo Boo (Moede), a kidnapped girlfriend (Brandt) and Kogar the swinging ape. All the dialogue seems to have been dubbed later. Pretty bizarre and worth catching. Star Saxon wrote the script using his real name, Ronald Haydock. Brandt was the director's wife.

RATTLERS (1976)—Directed by John McCauley. Stars Sam Chew, Elisabeth Chauvet. Drive-in impresario Harry Novak, who usually funded softcore quickies, produced this PG horror movie. Nerve gas buried by the U.S. Army in the California desert stirs up a few hundred rattlesnakes. They become aggressive and slither in large groups, chomping down on kids, soldiers and whole families. The local sheriff contacts herpetologist Tom Parkinson (Chew) and photographer Ann Bradley (Chauvet) to look into the matter. Whether it was for budget or rating considerations, McCauley’s reticence to show much violence or gore neuters the terror impact of his film. We hear a lot about the horrible nature of the swollen corpses, but never see one, and most of the snake attacks occur off-screen. Killing children is a nice touch, since it sets up the notion that no one is safe. Chew, a steady TV actor, makes for a passionless leading man. Look for Darwin Joston (ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13) as a drunken soldier. Music by Miles Goodman, who went on to score mainstream Hollywood comedies like WHAT ABOUT BOB? and SISTER ACT 2.

THE RAVAGER (1970)--Directed by Charles Nizet. Stars Pierre Gaston, Jo Long. A narrator tells us about Joe (Gaston), a Frenchman who became an American citizen, was drafted, and became an explosives expert in Vietnam. Lost in the jungle, he witnesses two Viet Cong strip, whip, rape and blow up a Vietnamese girl. This traumatizes Joe, earning him a discharge and six months in a VA hospital. The demons remain, however, so he rents a room from a bitchy landlady (Long) and builds bombs at night. His victims are lovers, and, according to the narrator, he particularly despises “women who make love to each other”. Nizet’s formula is to film long softcore sex scenes that culminate in the participants getting blown up real good. Gaston is a terrible actor, which is maybe the least of this film’s worries. Unforgivably cheap (the set representing Joe’s room is especially pathetic) and sleazy, THE RAVAGER is not for all audiences, but some may consider this cheapie to be laughable trash. Cutaways to a couple of cops investigating the crimes (one of whom might be portrayed by the director) lead nowhere. Nizet also made the hilarious RESCUE FORCE. Looks like this may have been shot in Utah. This reportedly played in my hometown of Champaign, Illinois in January 1970.

RAVAGERS is a delightfully silly romp that can't even play by its own rules. According to the film, the disaster that swept the United States, killing all animal life and most of the people, happened 40-50 years earlier. However, the poster claims the setting is 1991, impossible due to the 1970's hairstyles, fashions and technology on display. After his wife (Hamilton, the wife of George, who later married rock star Rod Stewart and became Alana Stewart) is murdered by a band of cutthroat "ravagers" led by James, Falk (Harris) sets out across the burned-out countryside in search of "Genesis", a mythical area free of contamination and pestilence. Along the way, he encounters several oddball characters, including a crazed Army veteran (Carney), a beautiful prostitute (Turkel) and a benevolent dictator (Borgnine) who believes so much in his own "Genesis" that he allows no one to leave it. Falk is also pursued throughout the film by James, who vows revenge for the death of his gay lover.

RAVEN (1992)--Directed by Craig R. Baxley. Stars Jeffrey Meek, Lee Majors, Clyde Kusatsu, Tamlyn Tomita, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. Former Green Beret Jonathan Raven (Meek) finds himself the target of the Yakuza in this pilot for a shortlived CBS series. Years before, Raven had killed the members of a Japanese assassination squad known as the Black Dragon who murdered his parents. The ninjas retaliated by attacking his Japanese wife, pregnant with his son. She died shortly after giving birth, but the baby was sent into hiding for his own protection. Many years later, Raven's search for the boy he's never met has led him to Honolulu, where he works as a bartender in an Asian nightclub owned by Ken Tanaka (Kusatsu). When Tanaka's cousin (Tagawa), a big cheese in the Japanese Mafia, threatens Ken's daughter (Tomita) unless he agrees to use his club to smuggle drugs, Raven becomes involved and recruits his old Army buddy, alcoholic private eye Herman "Ski" Jablonski (Majors), to help. Created and written by Frank Lupo (HUNTER), RAVEN is a slick, action-packed adventure featuring charming leads in Meek and Majors and sharply edited martial-arts battles. CBS later had more success on Saturday nights with the similar MARTIAL LAW (with Sammo Hung) and WALKER, TEXAS RANGER (starring Chuck Norris). Majors had just worked for CBS on TOUR OF DUTY. John Ashley was an executive producer. Music by Christopher Franke.

RAVEN (1997)--Directed by Russell Solberg. Stars Burt Reynolds, Matt Battaglia, Krista Allen. Straight-to-video actioner starring Burt and Matt as government mercenaries on a mission in Bosnia to recover a Soviet decoder, which, unbeknownst to them, the corrupt Washington politicians who sent them on the mission plan to sell to an Iranian arms dealer. When Burt (as Raven) turns bad and is believed killed in a helicopter crash while trying to steal the decoder, Battaglia retires to San Diego, gets a job as a boat mechanic, becomes engaged to big-breasted Allen (a former PLAYBOY model), and puts his past as a government hired killer behind him. A year later, the politicos still want the decoder, as does Raven, back from the dead, who begins killing the bad guys and even some good guys to get it. Does Battaglia have it? And by “it,” I mean the decoder, not acting talent—the answer to that question is quite obvious.

RAVEN HAWK (1996)--Directed by Albert Pyun. Stars Rachel McLish, William Atherton. The notion of turning sexy female bodybuilder McLish into an action star is an interesting one, but one destined to failure once the film was put into the hands of Albert Pyun, a leading contender for the title of World's Worst Active Director. One problem is that McLish is at least a decade too old to playing ingénues, in this case, a 24-year-old Native American woman convicted twelve years earlier of butchering her parents in an act attributed to an Indian ritual gone awry. Her folks were, in fact, murdered before her very eyes by goons working for Thorne (Atherton), an industrialist who wanted her family's land to build a power plant on. In Kevin Elders' remarkably shallow and lazy script, McLish escapes from custody and sets out to kill Thorne and his gunmen. RAVEN suffers from Pyun's usual mixture of confused direction and choppy editing, but McLish cuts a striking figure and certainly looks believable kicking ass. Also with Mitch Pileggi, John Enos, Matt Clark, Ed Lauter, Michael Champion, Nicholas Guest and John de Lancie.

RAW COURAGE (1984)--Directed by Robert L. Rosen. Stars Ronny Cox, Art Hindle, M. Emmet Walsh, Tim Maier, Lois Chiles. Nifty little low-budget picture produced and co-written by star Cox. It kinda rips off DELIVERANCE (Cox’s film debut), but also surprisingly has the same premise as the little-seen SURVIVAL RUN. Aw, hell, I should just say it—it’s another uncredited remake of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. Marathon runners Cox, Hindle and Maier, on a weekend dash across the New Mexican desert, become the prey of crazed survivalists led by Colonel Crouse (Walsh). Thanks to some three-dimensional acting by Cox and a decent script, RAW COURAGE is a tight little action flick. Rosen uses the stark desert scenery to good effect, and there’s plenty of running, jumping and stunt work to keep the exploitation crowd awake. Also with William Russ, Brian Curry, Jeff Curry and future UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: THE RETURN director Mic Rodgers.

RAW DEAL (1948)--Directed by Anthony Mann. Stars Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor, Marsha Hunt, Raymond Burr, John Ireland. Mann, O'Keefe and cinematographer John Alton follow up T-MEN with another hard-hitting crime thriller. Unlike T-MEN, which took a semi-documentary approach to its story about Treasury agents chasing counterfeiters, even down to the use of a Jack Webb-like narrator (before DRAGNET), RAW DEAL is a standard revenge melodrama given substantial thrust by its performances and Alton's camerawork.

With the help of his doting moll Pat (Trevor), Joe Sullivan (O'Keefe) busts out of the joint in order to nail his former partner Rick Coyle (Burr), who framed Joe and kept the $50,000 the two stole together for himself. As insurance, Joe and Pat grab a hostage: good-girl Ann (Hunt), who regularly visited Joe in prison and believed him to be a decent man inside. Joe's plan is to drive to San Francisco, pick up the $50,000 from Rick's henchman Fantail (Ireland), and grab a ship for South America. However, when Fantail attempts a double-cross, Joe puts his travel plans on hold long enough to rescue Ann, with whom Joe has fallen in love, from Rick's clutches.

Although Mann and Alton must have been limited to a meager budget (Eagle-Lion released RAW DEAL), they didn't let it limit their imagination. Alton especially shines, bathing the climax in a sea of fog and using reflections and shadows to play up the symbolic nuances of the film. O'Keefe, who played a hero in T-MEN, does a good job shading his tough-guy character with enough humanity to make Ann believably fall for him, while a 31-year-old Burr perfectly captures the menace of a man who would set a strange woman on fire just for annoying him at a party. Trevor plays perhaps the most difficult role, since she's also required to provide a running voiceover in which she ponders her conflicting feelings for Joe. Also with Curt Conway, Whit Bissell, Chill Wills, Richard Fraser and a guy who looks like Jack Kelly. Paul Sawtell handled the musical chores. Trevor won an Academy Award for KEY LARGO the same year.

RAW DEAL (1986)--Directed by John Irvin. Stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathryn Harrold, Sam Wanamaker, Ed Lauter, Paul Shenar. Arnold as a Chicago FBI agent! He is disgraced and suspended, so he busts up Shenar's mob ring to clear his good name. Harrold is his sympathetic wife. See the mighty Schwarzenegger shoot an army of mobsters at a construction site while cranking the Stones' "Satisfaction" on his car stereo! Not one of Arnold's best. Also with Darren McGavin, Steven Hill, Robert Davi and red-haired Robey. From the director of THE DOGS OF WAR.

RAW FORCE (1982)--Directed by Edward D. Murphy. Stars Cameron Mitchell, Hope Holiday, Geoff Binney, Jillian Kesner. Is this the world’s first cannibal/kung fu/zombie movie? Three white dudes from the Burbank Karate School hop aboard a ship owned by Holiday and captained by Mitchell that takes them past Warriors Island. It’s rumored to be the final resting place for kung fu fighters who used their powers for evil, but still have the ability to rise from their graves if they feel like it. It’s also the home of cannibalistic monks who trade jade to a Nazi white slaver in exchange for naked women to eat. So, of course, Mitchell and a few survivors--including the Burbank guys, some cute women, one of the women’s loudmouthed husband, and Holiday--end up on Warriors Island after the Nazi’s kung fu army invades his ship and sinks it. RAW FORCE is such a gleefully idiotic movie that you have to love it. Murphy wallows in the gratuitous nudity, lame comic relief, cheap special effects, and enough lurid plot points for a year’s worth of drive-in movies. It feels like Murphy believed he’d only get one chance to direct a movie, so, by God, he put all of his ideas into the same 90-minute screenplay. The second act drags a bit with a visit to a bordello and a long party scene played mostly for comedy, but everything occurring on Warriors Island is pure trash-movie gold. Cannibals? Naked chicks? Nazis? Zombies? Kung fu? Stuff that blows up real good? A drunk Cameron Mitchell? And Murphy promises a sequel at the end! Oh, how I wish…

RAW JUSTICE (1994)—Directed by David A. Prior. Stas David Keith, Robert Hays, Pamela Anderson, Stacy Keach, Charles Napier, Leo Rossi. From the director of RAW NERVE comes the equally humorous RAW JUSTICE, an absurd action movie with a marvelously trashy cast. Dorky Hays is falsely accused of murdering the Mayor’s daughter, and bounty hunter Keith, the victim’s former boyfriend, is assigned by the Mayor (Napier) to keep an eye on him while he’s on bail. The two reluctantly (isn’t it always?) team up when Keith discovers a conspiracy to murder Hays and conceal the truth about his ex-lover’s death. Inexplicably mixed in is streetwalker Anderson, who engages with Keith in cinema’s most gratuitious sex scene ever, but falls for mild-mannered Hays. Can you imagine if prostitutes actually looked like a young Pamela Anderson? Who wouldn’t pay $50 for that? The stupid plot contains no surprises, but plenty of “twists” and perfunctory action scenes. Some of the humor is good, but whatever success RAW JUSTICE had is almost entirely due to its cast. I don’t know how Prior got these actors to fly south and act in his low-budget wonders. Pam was already the Tool Time Girl on HOME IMPROVEMENT. Shot in New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama.

RAW NERVE (1991)—Directed by David A. Prior. Stars Ted Prior, Sandahl Bergman, Traci Lords, Randall “Tex” Cobb, Jan-Michael Vincent, Glenn Ford. The great Ford ended his feature-film career with this looney action movie filmed in Mobile, Alabama. In the supporting role of a detective investigating a murder case (with a visibly drunk Vincent as his partner), Ford plays most of his scenes behind a desk in a high school unconvincingly masquerading as a police station. The director’s brother plays a racecar driver who, inexplicably, receives psychic visions of women being murdered by a serial killer. 23-year-old Lords plays Ted’s jailbait sister who wears tight tops, short skirts and do-me pumps while lounging around the house, and Cobb is their filthy uncle. It’s pretty silly, but certainly watchable for its cast, if nothing else. Or for the challenge of trying to make sense of the plot. Ford had a more serious role in the TV-movie FINAL VERDICT in 1991. He never acted again. He passed away in 2006.

A REAL AMERICAN HERO (1978)—Directed by Lou Antonio. Stars Brian Dennehy, Forrest Tucker, Ken Howard. Big Brian steps into Joe Don Baker’s and Bo Svenson’s shoes to portray legendary Tennessee lawman Buford Pusser in this made-for-TV pilot movie. Pusser is a short-tempered type prone to vigilantism, which gets him into hot water with the local judge when he busts up a tavern owned by suspected bootlegger Danny Boy Mitchell (Howard). While avoiding Mitchell’s hired assassins, Buford somehow finds the time to befriend a former prostitute having a hard time fitting into McNairy County’s puritanical populace and to pick up his two kids from school every day. Tucker also played Buford’s father Carl in FINAL CHAPTER—WALKING TALL, the third and last theatrical feature based on Pusser’s life. Svenson returned to the role for a shortlived 1981 TV series, and The Rock starred in 2004’s WALKING TALL remake. Also with Brian Kerwin, Lane Bradbury, Sheree North, Ed Call and Brad David. Howard rarely played heavies and soon got his own CBS series, THE WHITE SHADOW.

REAL LIFE (1979)--Directed by Albert Brooks. Stars Albert Brooks, Charles Grodin, Frances Lee McCain. Nearly two decades before television networks fell all over themselves attempting to outdo each other with the most insulting, degrading and tasteless concept in reality programming, comic genius Albert Brooks spoofed them all in his debut film, REAL LIFE. At the time, Brooks had already earned his reputation as the most brilliant comic mind in Hollywood with his standup routine and the short films he directed for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.

Drawing his inspiration from the acclaimed 1973 PBS miniseries AN AMERICAN FAMILY, in which cameras followed around the Loud family, and armed with $500,000 invested by the owner of the Chicago Bulls, Brooks set out to create his own version of "mad" TV, an often silly, always hilarious examination of the "typical" American family. Brooks, who directed and co-wrote the film with THIS IS SPINAL TAP's Harry Shearer and longtime collaborator Monica Johnson, also stars as Albert Brooks, a neurotic, self-absorbed Hollywood comedian who sets out to chronicle one year in the lives of the Yeager family: veterinarian Warren (Charles Grodin), wife Jeannette (Frances Lee McCain) and their two children. Shooting using ridiculously futuristic cameras that are worn over the heads of their operators like a space helmet and obsessively unable to resist interfering with the lives of his subjects, Brooks as Brooks manages to capture the most embarrassing moments in the Yeagers' lives, including Jeanette's menstrual cramps, Warren's accidental killing of a prized show horse, and the exposure of Jeannette's gynecologist as a notorious black marketer of babies.

Albert's biggest weakness as a filmmaker is his inability to find a suitable ending, a habit that started here, but until that point, REAL LIFE is a blackly comic satire of suburban life, documentary filmmaking, science and Hollywood materialism. LOST IN AMERICA is probably Brooks' best film, but REAL LIFE is almost as good and timelier than ever. Also with J.A. Preston, Julie Payne, Jennings Lang, Johnny Haymer, David Spielberg and Mort Lindsey. The hilarious "3D" trailer features no REAL LIFE footage.

RE-ANIMATOR (1985)--Directed by Stuart Gordon. Stars Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, David Gale, Barbara Crampton, Robert Sampson. Horror film by stage director Gordon was controversial because of its explicit gore, but the tongue-in-cheek tone prevents anyone from taking the violence seriously. Combs is a nutty medical student who discovers a serum that can raise the dead. When Gale tries to steal it, Combs cuts off his head and keeps it alive. Lots of bizarre scenes, including one where Gale, holding his own decapitated head in his hands, performs oral sex on a beautiful naked blonde (Crampton) strapped to an autopsy table. You won't soon forget that scene. Loosely based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft, it's one of the best horror films of the '80s. Music by Richard Band. From the director of ROBOT JOX.

REAR WINDOW (1954)--Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Stars James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr, Wendell Corey. Suspenseful thriller stars Stewart as a photographer confined to a wheelchair because of a broken leg. He can't leave his apartment, so he spends all of his time looking out the windows at his neighbors. He becomes expert at their comings and goings, even to the point of inventing nicknames for each of them according to their daily rituals. Things get serious, however, when he starts to believe one of his neighbors (Burr) has killed his wife, cut her body up in small pieces, and buried her in the yard. Since Stewart can't move, he enlists the aid of girlfriend Kelly and nurse Ritter as investigators. A good statement about voyeurism, and a heck of an exciting movie. Kelly was never sexier. Score by Franz Waxman. The guy who invented The Chipmunks (Ross Bagdasarian) plays a piano-playing neighbor. Nominated for four Academy Awards.

RECOIL (1997)--Directed by Art Camacho. Stars Gary Daniels, Richard Foronjy. Daniels stars as Ray Morgan, an L.A. detective, in this PM Entertainment thriller that never lives up to the promise of its opening. Camacho opens the film with a bang, a 20-minute action sequence that includes a bank robbery, a shootout between police and robbers covered in body armor, a lengthy car/motorcycle chase through the world's longest warehouse in which dozens of obstacles are smashed and run down, and another shooting that results in the death of the son of mob boss Vincent Sloan (Foronjy). Sloan swears vengeance upon the police officers involved in the shooting, which leads to an elaborate bloodbath that leaves pretty much the entire cast of characters in a coffin by the closing crawl. Daniels is one of PM's steadiest leading men, capable with guns and with his fists, while Ken Blakey's sharp photography and Camacho's crisp pace help turn RECOIL into one of the studio's better films. Of course, everything that follows the high-octane opening reels is anti-climactic, but it certainly keeps you attentive. Also with Robin Curtis, Kelli McCarty (PASSIONS), Tom Kopache and Griffin Drew. Gregory McKinney, who plays Daniels' partner, died unexpectedly from a brain aneurysm a year later.

RED ALERT (1977)Directed by William Hale. Stars William Devane, Michael Brandon, Ralph Waite. THE CHINA SYNDROME meets THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN when a Minnesota nuclear power plant goes berserk, leaks radiation and traps 14 employees inside. Maverick power plant cop (!) Devane's investigation leads to a suicidal plant worker, a malfunctioning computer and a last-minute dash to prevent a large crane from spreading deadly radiation across the Midwest. Brandon plays his family-man partner, and Waite his by-the-book boss. Nothing special here, although the cast, Hale (credited as Billy Hale) and composer George Aliceson Tipton do good work. Sandor Stern (THE AMITYVILLE HORROR) based his teleplay on the novel PARADIGM RED by Harold King. Also with Adrienne Barbeau, M. Emmet Walsh and Jim Siedow (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE). From the director of the infamous LACE.

RED DAWN (1984)--Directed by John Milius. Stars Patrick Swayze, Powers Boothe, C. Thomas Howell, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, Ben Johnson, Harry Dean Stanton. Holy crap, the Russians have invaded the tiny town of Calumet, Colorado! Looks like it’s up to some local high school kids to save us all from the evils of Communism. Although well-mounted by director Milius (CONAN THE BARBARIAN) and enthusiastically limned by a young cast of soon-to-be stars, RED DAWN is completely ludicrous and nigh impossible to take seriously. After the Commies parachute into Calumet, high school football star brothers Jed (Swayze) and Matt (Sheen) hide out in the nearby mountains with a few friends. A few weeks later, after the enemy has completely infiltrated their hometown and placed their parents and other dissenters in concentration camps, the kids become freedom fighters, calling themselves the Wolverines (their school mascot) and blowing up enemy tanks and shooting down soldiers. Boothe joins their ranks for awhile as an Air Force pilot shot down near their camp. Set aside the wonky politics and numerous plotholes, and you can have a good time with this movie, which presents a startlingly hefty body count. In fact, RED DAWN was criticized during its theatrical release for its violence, which landed it the MPAA’s first PG-13 rating (actually, THE FLAMINGO KID was first to be rated, but released four months later). Also with Jennifer Grey, Ron O’Neal, William Smith, Frank McRae and Lane Smith. Music by Basil Polidouris.

RED DRAGON (2002)--Directed by Brett Ratner. Stars Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel. In an effort to squeeze out a few more bucks from the Hannibal Lecter series, Dino de Laurentiis financed this remake of Michael Mann's 1986 thriller MANHUNTER, which was also an adaptation of Thomas Harris' novel RED DRAGON, which introduced the Lecter character. He's only a peripheral character in this one, as FBI profiler Will Graham (Norton) is recruited by his old boss Jack Crawford (Keitel) to capture a serial killer who is targeting families. His victims live in different states and have no connection to one another, so how is he choosing them? For advice, Graham visits his old foe, Lecter (Hopkins for the third time), who has his own reasons for aiding the man who put him in prison. RED DRAGON is a perfunctory police procedural at best, lacking the style, subtext, characterization and even excitement of Mann's film. Even its all-star cast, including Fiennes (SCHINDLER'S LIST) as the Tooth Fairy, doesn't stack up next to MANHUNTER's. What's really strange is that, for all the dissing he did of Mann's film, Ratner sure did steal a lot of it, right down to dialogue and camera angles. Watch both movies back-to-back and you'll see what I mean. Also with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony Heald, John Rubenstein, Tom Verica, Michael Cavanaugh, Bill Duke, William Lucking, Azura Skye, an unbilled Frank Whaley and Mary Beth Hurt, the voice of Ellen Burstyn and Lalo Schifrin as a composer. Music by Danny Elfman.

RED EYE (2005)--Directed by Wes Craven. Stars Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox, Jack Scalia. Craven doesn’t have enough story to fill this minor thriller, which runs only 77 minutes before credits (that pad it out to 85). Lisa (McAdams from WEDDING CRASHERS), who manages a major hotel in Miami, is accosted on a late-night Dallas-to-Miami flight by a man (Murphy) who claims to hold her father (a wasted Cox) hostage. To earn his freedom, she must contact the hotel and make sure the director of Homeland Security (Scalia), on his way to the hotel, is moved to a different suite, where he can be assassinated by Murphy’s confederates. It’s basically a two-actor play most of the way until its increasingly preposterous ending, which asks the audience to swallow a lot of hooey. The short running time and the credits for “additional music” (Marco Beltrami did the score) indicate RED EYE might have suffered from post-production troubles. Craven doesn’t seem to have his heart in it, and McAdams, while lovely, seems miscast. The Bruce Willis thriller HOSTAGE, released a few months earlier, featured a similar plot and is a better film. Also with Jayma Mays, Suzie Plakson, Dey Young and Robert Pine.

RED HEAT (1988)--Directed by Walter Hill. Stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Belushi, Peter Boyle, Ed O'Ross. Harken back to a time known as the late 1980's, when Hollywood peppered the landscape with dozens of movies fitting into the "buddy cop action/comedy" genre in hopes of capitalizing on the success of films like 48 HRS. and LETHAL WEAPON. You wouldn't believe some of the teamups that happened as a result: Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker in DOWNTOWN, Jay Leno and Pat Morita in COLLISION COURSE, Lee Majors and Don Rickles in KEATON'S COP, Dabney Coleman and Matt Frewer in SHORT TIME, Tom Hanks and a dog in TURNER & HOOCH, Jim Belushi and a dog in K-9, Jim Belushi and John Ritter in REAL MEN...

Hey, there's that name again. The late 1980's was also a time when Hollywood tried to turn Jim Belushi into an action star. Why would anyone attempt to transform a sarcastically funny ex-SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE cast member and future ACCORDING TO JIM sitcom star into a guns-blazing, fists-thumping action hero? I don't know, but it almost worked. Belushi, who changed his name to "James" during this period, costarred with none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger in RED HEAT, a buddy cop action/comedy by Walter Hill, the director of 48 HRS. The trailer is amusing, since it posits Arnold and James as equals, using just their surnames in promotion: "Schwarzenegger. Belushi. RED HEAT!"

It's not bad, really, but is definitely on Hill's B-list. You know the story: uptight cop teams up with carefree slob cop to catch druglord. At first, they hate each other, but soon learn to trust and even like each other. And punctuated with a chase or a shootout every 11 minutes or so. Peter Boyle (EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND) is the cop superior who takes Belushi off the case (fat chance), Larry Fishburne (THE MATRIX) is another uptight cop and Gina Gershon (BOUND) is a dancer. It's certainly worth a rental, if only to see a naked Arnold fighting a bunch of other naked guys in a snowbank in Austria (meant to simulate the Soviet Union). RED HEAT also shot for a day in Moscow's Red Square, and there's some novelty value in seeing Arnold, playing a Soviet cop, walking there. And, by the way, Schwarzenegger makes no effort to attempt a Russian accent, so prepare yourself for a German-sounding "Ivan Danko". Music by James Horner.

RED LINE (1996)--Directed by John Sjogren. Stars Chad McQueen, Roxana Zal, Jan-Michael Vincent, Michael Madsen. Good grief, what some people will do for money. Vincent made this direct-to-video chase movie just days after a notorious car accident that messed up him pretty badly. Word is that he checked himself out of the hospital against doctor’s orders so he could get to the set on time. I believe it, considering his frightful appearance here. His face is scarred and scratched up like a bloody pulp, and he can barely speak. Some say you can even see him wearing his hospital bracelet in some scenes, but I didn’t. The best reason to see RED LINE is for the Vincent freak show. I’m not sure there is a second best reason. Sjogren stages a lot of car chases in this simple story of a low-rent hood (McQueen) who manages to set opposing gangs (one led by Vincent, the other by Madsen) against each other so he can claim a cache of diamonds for himself, but the chases aren’t very thrilling or original. There’s always something to see with a cast this low-rent (including an unfunny Dom DeLuise, Corey Feldman and a naked Julie Strain), and Sjogren’s in-joke involving McQueen outdriving his pursuers in a stolen Mustang just like the one his daddy drove in BULLITT (including identical camera angles) is kinda cute. Joe Estevez and Ron Jeremy have strange cameos, and Zal, the girl from SOMETHING ABOUT AMELIA, has a topless scene.

RED ROCK WEST (1992)--Directed by John Dahl. Stars Nicolas Cage, Lara Flynn Boyle, Dennis Hopper. This film noir-inspired thriller was so highly acclaimed by critics that it was released to theaters after it debuted on cable TV and videotape. Cage is an ex-Marine Everyman who enters a small town out West, becomes mistaken for a hitman, falls for Hopper's wife (Boyle), and becomes involved in a number of funny and violent situations. Seemingly inspired by the films of Alfred Hitchcock and the stories of James M. Cain, it's also quite reminiscent of Dahl's earlier film THE LAST SEDUCTION. J.T. Walsh is pretty sleazy as the town sheriff, Hopper is crazy as usual, and, although she's not much of an actress, Boyle is very sexy in this role. Also with Dwight Yoakam and Dan Shor.

RED SUN RISING (1993)--Directed by Francis Megahy. Stars Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Terry Farrell, James Lew, Soon-Teck Oh. One of The Dragon's best films stars the kickboxing champ as Thomas Hoshino, a half-Caucasian/half-Japanese Kyoto cop who travels to Los Angeles to avenge the murder of his partner at the hands of mulleted ninja Jaho (Lew), possessor of a mystical "death touch". He teams up with Karen Ryder (Farrell), a beautiful detective who mistrusts the Japanese because her father was a Flint auto worker who was laid off one year short of retirement and was killed by a robber while attempting to make ends meet managing a liquor store. Surprisingly for an action movie made during the 1990s, racism and xenophobia are major themes and afflict the likable characters, as well as the villains. Hoshino and Karen finds themselves smack in the middle of a war between black and Hispanic street gangs, a war being instigated by Jaho's boss Yamata (Oh) in order to provide weapons to both sides.

RED SUN RISING is a step up from most of the routine actioners Wilson had been making for Roger Corman at Concorde/New Horizons and Richard Pepin and Joseph Merhi at PM Entertainment, primarily because executive producer Ashok Amritraj appears to have handed British director Megahy a higher budget than Wilson usually worked with. More money translated into more realistic sets, sharper photography and a more accomplished supporting cast. Perhaps having a larger budget and a more experienced director (Megahy was directing English TV shows during the '70s) allowed the star to relax a little bit; he always was likable and seemed like a nice guy, but Wilson also usually seemed very serious. RED SUN allows him to smile and joke around a bit, and he displays genuine chemistry with Farrell, who was just getting ready for her long run on STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE. I've seen a lot of Don "The Dragon" Wilson movies, and this represents one of his best performances.

RED ZONE CUBA (1966)--Directed by Coleman Francis. Stars John Carradine, Coleman Francis, Anthony Cardoza. Anyone who believes Ed Wood is the worst director of all time should have to sit through some of Coleman Francis' oeuvre. The acting, dubbing, editing, scripting and direction are uniformly atrocious. I think this has something to do with some escaped convicts who are drafted to battle Cubans during the Bay of Pigs. It's hard to tell exactly what's going on most of the time. Carradine only shows up at the beginning to sing the theme song (!), and tell the film's story in flashback. Originally released as NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNDO FINE, it sat on the shelf for five years before finally being released by Hollywood Star Pictures.

REFORM SCHOOL GIRL (1957)--Directed by Edward Bernds. Stars Gloria Castillo, Edd Byrnes, Ross Ford, Luana Anders, Jack Kruschen. Ed Bernds (QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE) directs Edd Byrnes (77 SUNSET STRIP) in this fun low-budget JD flick. Desperate for kicks and to get out of the slovenly apartment in which she lives with her shrewish aunt and lascivious uncle, 17-year-old Donna (Castillo) goes on a joyride in a snazzy convertible with teen psycho Vince (Byrnes). Donna's Really Bad Decision becomes worse when A) she discovers Vince has stolen the convertible and B) he runs over a pedestrian and flees the scene. Donna refuses to be a fink and identify the driver, so she's sent to a girls' reformatory that appears to be staffed by unmarried, middle-aged female fuddy-duddies (think Miss Hathaway at age 60) and sensitive, bespectacled shrink David Lindsay (Ford). Although the headmistress seems to believe Dr. Lindsay is a threat to the girls' libidos (Ford possesses all the sexual energy of Eddie Deezen), he takes a healthy interest in Donna--for professional reasons only, of course--not even tattling when he catches her and another girl sneaking into the tool shed for a late-night session of necking with a pair of local boys. Donna's problems get worse, however, as she becomes the target of a ruthless girl gang and, later, Vince, who devises a crazy scheme to silence her before she can squeal his name.

Yeah, it's pretty campy all right, but REFORM SCHOOL GIRL works in its own crude fashion. Filled to the brim with hot, tough-talking teen babes and simmering with overblown '50s slang and outdated mores, Bernds' film (he also wrote it) moves quickly and is surprisingly sleazy in places, especially the scenes involving Donna and her slob, T-shirt-wearing uncle (Kruschen, an Oscar nominee three years later for THE APARTMENT). Byrnes makes the most of his first film role, demonstrating what might have happened if 77 SUNSET STRIP had ever dared to film an episode about Kookie's evil twin. Castillo is cute, but vanished after making the same year's INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN, and cult audiences will delight in the saucy appearances of Anders (EASY RIDER), yummy Yvette Vickers (ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES) and 20th-billed Sally Kellerman (M*A*S*H). Also with Ralph Reed, Jan Englund, Donna Jo Gribble and Linda Rivera. Produced by American International Pictures and their crack team of technicians, including cinematographer Floyd Crosby and composer Ronald Stein. Was remade by Jonathan Kaplan (THE ACCUSED) for Showtime in 1994 with FRIENDS star Matt LeBlanc as Vince and Heather Graham's sister Aimee as Donna.

RELENTLESS (1989)--Directed by William Lustig. Stars Leo Rossi, Judd Nelson, Robert Loggia. Brat Packer Nelson marked his descent into B-movie hell with this well-acted crime drama. As Buck Taylor, he's the abused son of a dead Los Angeles cop who becomes L.A.'s "Sunset Killer", picking his victims at random out of the phone book and leaving taunting notes for the police. Sam Dietz (third-billed Rossi), on his first day as a detective, investigates along with his irresponsible older partner Malloy (Loggia). Although Lustig (who also made MANIAC COP) and Phil Alden Robinson, the auteur of FIELD OF DREAMS who scripted as "Jack T.D. Robinson", don't seem to know much about police procedure, an above-average cast and nice use of sun-faded L.A. locations made RELENTLESS successful enough to spawn three sequels, which like went directly to video. Not much action, but some nice stunt driving at the climax. Also with Meg Foster, Angel Tompkins, Frank Pesce, Ken Lerner and director Lustig. Nice score by Jay Chattaway.

RELENTLESS 3 (1993)--Directed by James Lemmo. Stars Leo Rossi, William Forsythe, Signy Coleman. Serial killer expert Sam Dietz (the likable Rossi) is back in Los Angeles chasing psychos, this one a cross-dressing escaped mental patient named Walter (Forsythe), who somehow is able to charm beautiful women back to his creepy lair, where he skins them and has sex with their corpses. I saw "somehow", since no woman I know would be so willing to date this weirdo, but different strokes... There isn't much action, due to the low budget, and Lemmo's screenplay is pretty typical police-procedural fare with Forsythe daring Rossi to catch him and Rossi putting the clues together. Rossi's girlfriend (Coleman) is even placed in jeopardy. R3 has its moments of depravity and suspense, though, and you could do a lot worse while watching cable late at night. Also with Robert Costanzo, Stacy Edwards, Tom Bower, Savannah Smith Boucher and Edward Wiley. Music by Scott Grusin.

RELENTLESS IV: ASHES TO ASHES (1994)--Directed by Oley Sassone. Stars Leo Rossi, Famke Janssen, Colleen Coffey. Rossi is back as LAPD detective Sam Dietz, this time partnered with wisecracking cutie Jessie (Coffey) and chasing a serial killer who performs death rituals with the bodies of his victims, who all happen to be beautiful women (and often nude). A key to solving the crime lies in the files of beautiful psychiatrist Dr. Sara Jaffee (Janssen), who remains mysteriously tightlipped, except when she's pressing them against Detective Dietz. But is she really attracted to Sam or just playing him for a sucker? This is just about as good as any movie with a "IV" after its title can be and much too good to be directed by Oley Sassone (THE FANTASTIC FOUR). The performances are quite fine, especially that of Rossi, normally a supporting actor in tough-guy parts who probably enjoyed the opportunity to flirt with women, tease his partner, engage in sensitive man-to-man bonding with his teenage son, see an angel (!) and kick a little ass. Action fans may not find what they're looking for here, but the mystery is interesting, and the plot takes a surprising twist at the climax. Terry Plumeri scores like he's Pino Donaggio. Also with Ken Lerner, Christopher Pettiet, John Scott Clough and Lisa Robin Kelly of THAT '70S SHOW. Rossi was also a co-producer. A year later, Janssen hit it big as Bond Girl Xenia Onatopp in GOLDENEYE.