Cut and Run (Italy, 1985)

Nine Things About the Movie Cut and Run

1. This is the final movie of Ruggero Deodato's so-called Amazonia Trilogy (after "Jungle Holocaust" and "Cannibal Holocaust").

2. "Cannibal Holocaust", which is about a group of Western journalists being tortured and killed by savage natives of the Amazon, was so infamous that there was demand for a sequel. But Deodato didn't want to make "Cannibal Holocaust 2". So he made "Cut and Run", which is about a group of Western journalists filming drug runners being tortured and killed by savage natives of the Amazon. See the difference there?

3. The plot consists of about three different stories that are as lost and confused as the journalists in the jungle. One of the stories is about a father and his missing son. One of the stories is about the cocaine trade. And one of the stories is a cheap rip-off of "Apocalypse Now". None of the stories are complete, nor do they mix well.

4. 80's teen idol Willie Aames is in this movie. In clean-cut America, his good looks may have distracted everybody from his acting ability. But in Venezuela (where the movie was filmed), his terrible overacting made me laugh out loud.

5.  Actually, a lot of this movie made me laugh out loud. All the acting is bad, the story is ludicrous, and the gore is everywhere.

6.  Speaking of gore, this is Deodato we're talking about here. The only reason you watch one of his movies is to watch blood and guts and spears and knives. What's awesome is how elaborate all the decapitation and mutilation gore is, but when someone gets shot, they just fall over with no bullet holes.

7. The movie is perhaps most notable for having the best depiction of a man being ripped in half by a jungle rope trap.

8.  A young Eriq La Salle has a small role as a pimp, dressed all in purple. He later became the well-known and respected actor in the series "ER".  And the guy that plays the mutant Pluto in "The Hills Have Eyes" is here, too. He just pops up out of the water every now and then and kills someone.

9. Make no mistake, this is a bad movie. But for fans of bad movies, it's worth checking out. And while it doesn't have the kick of "Cannibal Holocaust", followers of Deodato's career need to put this on their shelf.

Annie (USA,1982)

Nine Things About the Movie "Annie" (1982)


[After watching the 2014 version of "Annie" I decided tonight to go back and watch the original 1982 version again. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid, and I remember loving it when I was little. This review reflects my adult perspective on the revisiting. I realize that this review will make a lot of die-hard fans very angry with me.]

1. What did I just watch? OK, the songs are just as catchy as they were. And fine, Carol Burnett still rules.

2. But the movie itself? The movie is utterly ridiculous. And weird. And there is entirely too much dancing. Most kids today wouldn't have it.

3. I realize that this movie is based in the Depression, and is based on the original comic, which had different social standards. But I still find the movie disturbing in ways that were completely over my head when I was 11.

4. This movie is blatant capitalist propaganda. It openly worships money and power, and demonizes the poor. It even manages to make fun of communism.

5. I was horrified to now understand the context in which the song "Tomorrow" was used - to encourage the President of the United States to distract poor people from paying attention to their situation.

6. In this movie, money is always the solution, and people are essentially property.

7. Besides being classist, the movie is sexist and racist.

8. The character of Punjab is a car crash of gasp-inducing stereotypes.

9. But they all smile and sing about it, so that counts for something, I guess. 

Platoon [USA, 1986]

Nine Things About the Movie Platoon

1. This is Oliver Stone's early classic, a scorching view of the Vietnam war. It was the first of Stone's Vietnam Trilogy (followed by Born on the Fourth of July and Heaven and Earth).

2. It is based on Stone's actual experiences as a soldier in Vietnam. This was the first Hollywood film to be written and directed by a Vietnam Veteran.

3. Stone made this movie as a counterpoint to the very pro-military John Wayne Vietnam movie, The Green Berets.

4. It stars a young Charlie Sheen as a rich white boy that drops out of college to volunteer to fight in Vietnam. Stone deliberately points out the class (and racial) disparities of the soldiers who fought in the war.

5.  Far from depicting the American fighting forces as united against the enemy, the movie shines a light on the various political maneuverings inside a single platoon - which is responsible for more than one incident of "friendly fire".

6. Besides the fantastic performance of Sheen, Tom Berenger's portrayal of a soldier who has been in country just a little too long is also memorable.

7. The point of the movie is to show Sheen's character arc. He slowly learns that the men that survive the longest are the ones that give up their humanity and act on bloodlust and animal instinct.

8.  The movie is also famous for it's soundtrack, which showcases one of the most epically sorrowful pieces of classical music ever, "Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber.

9. Even now, almost 30 years after it was made, this movie remains one of the defining accounts of the Vietnam War. It's fascinating, tragic, and important.

New Year's Evil (USA, 1980)

Nine Things About the Movie New Year’s Evil

1. This little cult film is one of those good “bad” films.

2. It’s about how radio and television’s hottest Los Angeles rock hostess Blaze throws a New Year’s Eve punk rock party and invites callers to vote on the best New Wave rock song.

3. The first caller proposes that the best New Wave song is “We Don’t Need No Education.”

4. The next caller identifies himself as Mr. Evil and tells Blaze that he is going to kill someone each time an American time zone hits midnight.

5. The New Year’s Eve concert is full of fake teenagers in a fake mosh pit to a band called Shadow. They dance like zombies, so I guess that means they are full of fake drugs.

6. Across town, in an insane asylum, the inmates are watching the concert and dancing like they have Down’s Syndrome.

7. My favorite murder in the movie is when Mr. Evil suffocates a gal with a bag of weed.

8. Since the psychopath is only trying to kill one person an hour, it’s not the most suspenseful slasher flick ever made.

9. I think the movie was trying to make a statement that when women work, it effectively emasculates their husbands.