Brainscan, directed by John Flynn—yes, the same filmmaker behind Rolling Thunder—promises a gleefully gruesome descent into the virtual abyss. Instead, it delivers a pixelated whimper: a flick that flirts with sharp psychological thrills but lands flat on its Wi-Fi dead zone. Think Virtuosity took edgier LSD, then forgot its password. What remains is vividly fake … Read More ““Brainscan” (1994): Horror Simulation or Headache Download?” »
John Flynn is back behind the camera with Nails (1992), a made‑for‑TV thriller starring Dennis Hopper and Anne Archer, but it feels less like cinematic suspense and more like a police station waiting area. It promises psychological intensity and bleak revelations—but delivers neither tension nor emotional connection. It’s the kind of TV movie that makes … Read More ““Nails” (1992): Dennis Hopper Does Grumpy Detective, and Anne Archer Just Waits for Something to Happen” »
Let’s stroll into the hopelessly choreographed hellhole of Lock Up—where Sylvester Stallone spends 100 minutes flipping through his Personal Book of Brooding Pouts while enduring soliloquies delivered by a warden so slimy, you’ll wish your fridge froze harder. Directed by John Flynn, it’s the kind of prison thriller that comes with a tear-jerk soundtrack, same-haired … Read More ““Lock Up” (1989): Stallone vs. The Prison Gigolo—A Steel-Toed Symphony of Vengeance and Mendacity” »
🎬 Intro: Biopic Before It Was Trendy Marilyn: The Untold Story predates the modern obsession with true‑life glamour shots. Back in 1980, when made‑for‑TV specials looked like they were shot under fluorescent office lights, this one dared to peel back the silk and cattle‑call façade. Co‑directed by John Flynn (alongside Jack Arnold), it’s a sprawling … Read More “Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980)” »
John Flynn’s Rolling Thunder is a revenge thriller masquerading as a simmering character study –– a rare breed where explosive violence isn’t the core, but the inevitable crescendo to unrelenting psychological torment. Starring William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones as two Vietnam vets carrying war inside their skulls, the film mixes existential malaise with sharp-edged … Read More ““Rolling Thunder” (1977): PTSD, Prosthetics, and Texas-Sized Retribution – A Gritty Revenge Opera with Dark Humor” »
There are biopics, and then there’s whatever the hell Evel Knievel (2004) is — a sanitized, Hallmark-filtered fever dream about America’s most famously unhinged man on two wheels, directed with all the passion of a DMV instructional video by John Badham. Once the king of kinetic storytelling (WarGames, Saturday Night Fever), Badham here seems to … Read More “Evel Knievel (2004) — The Ballad of a Hollow Daredevil” »
You know you’re in trouble when a movie called Obsessed leaves you feeling emotionally detached. This 2002 made-for-TV thriller, directed by a visibly bored John Badham, wants to crawl under your skin, but ends up tripping over its own clichés and face-planting into the lukewarm bathtub of Lifetime Network mediocrity. This isn’t obsession — it’s … Read More “Obsessed (2002) — A Stalker Thriller That Should’ve Just Left a Voicemail” »
You know a political drama has problems when the most suspenseful part is watching a moderator shuffle his cue cards like he’s playing poker with regret. The Last Debate (2000), directed by a John Badham who appears to have confused “urgent political drama” with “PowerPoint presentation on ethics,” is a made-for-TV movie so dry, you’ll … Read More “The Last Debate (2000) — Journalism Dies in a Marriott Conference Room” »
There’s a special circle of hell reserved for made-for-TV movies that try to disguise themselves as Deep Southern Character Studies™ — where everyone speaks in molasses-drenched metaphors, the cicadas never shut up, and family dysfunction is treated like a sacrament. Welcome to Floating Away (1998), a John Badham-directed misfire that plays like Cat on a … Read More “Floating Away (1998) — Soggy Southern Drama That Should’ve Sank Faster” »
In theory, Nick of Time should work. A thriller starring Johnny Depp, shot in real-time, directed by John Badham — the guy who gave us WarGames, Blue Thunder, and a robot who thought he was alive. Add Christopher Walken as a menacing lunatic in a trench coat and the setup sounds like a slam dunk. … Read More “Nick of Time (1995) — Tick, Tock, This Plot Is a Crock” »