Introduction: Rambo’s Second Cousin Twice Removed Every now and then, a movie comes along that clearly wants to ride the coattails of something bigger, better, and far more coherent. Ruckus, released in 1980, is that movie. It’s what you’d get if First Blood were written by someone who just skimmed a Vietnam article in Reader’s … Read More “Ruckus (1980) Review: First Blood… Budget Blood” »
Introduction: A Stampede of Boredom Wild Horse Hank rides in with all the fanfare of a dusty Hallmark Channel rerun someone found in a VCR and said, “Sure, why not?” Marketed as a family-friendly adventure about one girl’s fight to save a herd of wild horses, what you actually get is a 90-minute endurance test … Read More “Wild Horse Hank (1979) Review: Giddy-Up and Get Me Outta Here” »
Introduction: Disco’s Last Gasp Wheezes on Wheels If Saturday Night Fever was disco’s coronation, then Roller Boogie was the genre’s open-casket funeral—with glitter, bad wigs, and a wheezing saxophone solo for good measure. Released in 1979, just as disco’s glittery corpse was sliding off the dance floor, this film tried to slap wheels on its … Read More “Roller Boogie (1979): Disco Wheels, Dead Plot, and One Very Grown-Up Linda Blair” »
Introduction: From Masterpiece to Mess-terpiece If The Exorcist (1973) was a cinematic Hail Mary that split the uprights and baptized the horror genre in holy dread, then Exorcist II: The Heretic is the sequel that spiked the ball into its own face, tripped over the altar rail, and vomited exposition onto the congregation. Directed by … Read More “Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) – A Sequel Possessed by Bad Decisions” »
Introduction: Turbulence Ahead There’s a certain charm to 1970s disaster movies—the ensemble casts, the swelling orchestral scores, the melodrama served with a side of polyester. And then there’s Airport 1975, a film so confident in its mediocrity that it practically hands you a barf bag before the opening credits. Billed as a high-stakes aviation thriller, … Read More “Airport 1975 (1974) – A Disaster Film That Crashes Before Takeoff” »
Introduction: The Devil’s in the Details (and the Pea Soup) There are horror films, and then there’s The Exorcist—a movie that didn’t just scare audiences, it sent them vomiting into the aisles and sprinting to confession. Directed by William Friedkin and based on William Peter Blatty’s novel, this 1973 supernatural horror juggernaut remains the high-water … Read More “The Exorcist (1973) Review: A Pea Soup-Fueled Masterpiece That Still Haunts Our Catholic Guilt” »
There are films that grab you by the throat and demand your attention. Then there are films like Eddie Macon’s Run — which gently tap you on the shoulder, mumble something about injustice, and jog off into the Texas brush before you can ask for clarification. Starring John Schneider (yes, that John Schneider from The … Read More “Eddie Macon’s Run (1983): The Great Escape Meets a Made-for-TV Meltdown” »
Let’s call a sleaze ball a sleaze ball: Homework is less a movie and more a series of bad decisions edited together under the illusion of plot. Released in 1982 — right around the time when “teen sex comedy” became a cinematic goldmine — this one somehow manages to dig all the way to the … Read More “Homework (1982): The Sleaziest After-School Special That Should’ve Been Left Back a Grade” »
Stir Crazy (1980): A Prison Comedy That Breaks Out… Then Kinda Stalls in the Yard In the grand pantheon of buddy comedies, Stir Crazy feels like the inmate who got early release on good behavior — charming enough to get out, but maybe not memorable enough to hang a plaque for. Directed by Sidney Poitier … Read More “Stir Crazy (1980): A Prison Comedy That Breaks Out… Then Kinda Stalls in the Yard” »
Summer of Fear (1978): Witchy Women, Equestrian Jealousy, and Lee Purcell’s Hair Stealing the Spotlight Back in the days when made-for-TV movies came with more melodrama than logic and less budget than a used horse trailer, Summer of Fear emerged from the cauldron of 1978 like a lukewarm spell gone slightly sideways. Based on the … Read More “Summer of Fear (1978): Witchy Women, Equestrian Jealousy, and Lee Purcell’s Hair Stealing the Spotlight” »
