Made for less than a million dollars, the slightly obscure Dead End is a chilling little indie you don't want to miss. It might just be the best Christmas horror movie no one ever heard of and every dollar is up there on the screen. It's quirky, weird, funny, bizarre, and scary all at once. Black comedy for sure but much more, this would make a nice double feature with The Perfect Host, another movie we're big on around here. So, grab some eggnog and a snack or two and check out the inimitable Ray Wise with legendary Lin Shaye as they take their family down a wrong turn, what's up with this road? Why doesn't it end? After all, they're just trying to make it to Christmas Eve dessert at Frank's mother's house. Tubi, Plex, Freevee, enjoy! 2.75 stars/2.75
Greetings All - For those that may not be familiar with my yearly tradition, it's not meant to be a definitive list of any sort, it's basically a stack (well these days that's stack and chips) of movies I'll keep in my queue of MOVIES....that's right, we love movies around here. So hopefully one may catch your eye or remind you to revisit it in a good way, have a great rest of your summer! TR
1 10 (1979)
George Webber's (Dudley Moore) childish excursion to Manzanilla, Mexico that makes up the bulk of this classic is one of the great beach resort sequences in all of cinema. It was also a breakout role for Brian Dennehy who plays a bartender if you can believe that. And Bo Derek of course but the real reason to see this gem is Dudley Moore who died way too young and was one of the comedic greats. 3.0 stars/5
2 WHITE WATER SUMMER (1987)
This one entered the list a few years ago and has been a rising star since. Worth seeing for the scenery and cinematography alone, Kevin Bacon leads a group of teens on a survival summer thing and becomes the counselor from hell. Caught in the middle with his summer ruined is Sean Astin who is great in this. Your eyes are not fooling you if he looks older in some scenes - it was actually filmed in 1985 and held up for a couple years. Someone then had the bright idea to film new scenes with Astin doing narration stuff but clearly doesn't match up. Sort of a guilty pleasure movie but oh, so fun. 2.75 stars/5
3 HOT SUMMER NIGHTS (2017)
Neo-noir mixed with coming-of-age? Sounds great from the start and thanks to Elijah Bynum in his directorial debut, it is. Timothy Chalamet plays a slightly aloof teen who makes friends with a total badass (Alex Roe, excellent) for the purposes of selling weed all summer. It's a basically a drugs tale along the lines of Blow as they get in deeper and deeper trouble. Takes place in Cape Cod where another summer favorite of mine, The Way, Way Back does which didn't make the list this year. This is a surprisingly stylish and fun hybrid of two great genres. As Gordon Ramsay would say..."Well done!" 3.25 stars/5
4 DON'T MAKE WAVES (1967)
G-rated by today's standards, back in 1967, MGM put out this Tony Curtis vehicle out as a sexual farce back when they had a rating called M for mature audiences. Sort of what became R. Curtis plays a tourist visiting Malibu beach when he has the misfortune of running into (literally) an Italian artist (femme fatale Claudia Cardinale.) They're the two main leads but the films explores various relationships and pairings between the rest of the cast which includes the infamous Sharon Tate in her breakout role. A great look at Southern California culture circa 1967. 2.75 stars/5
5 MALIBU HIGH (1979)
Featured a couple months ago as the B-movie of the month, what's the summer without a little sleaze. Ok, well a lot of sleaze in what I like to call Crown International's best release ever. Viva la Jill Lansing! 2.75 stars/2.75
Hats off to Nicolas Tomnay who wrote and directed this full-length version of his original short film The Host from 2001. A unique blend of black comedy and psychological horror that instantly claims it's own territory in the cinematic universe. I was dazzled and impressed with this one and have already watched it several times.
Clayne Crawford plays "John," a bank robber on the run from a recent score. He winds up in the Hollywood Hills, North Vermont Ave section up by Greek Theater and cons his way into a house owned by "Warick" (David Hyde Pierce) just about to give a dinner party. Pretending to be an old friend of a friend, John cons Warick into staying for the dinner party but then turns a knife on him and says he's taking over the house for the night as a hide-out and if Warick complies he won't get killed.
I won't give away the rest but let's just say our perfect host turns the tables on John and exacts a fun evening of revenge. And there's much more including Helen Reddy (yes, I Am Woman Helen Reddy) playing Warick's next door neighbor, hardly recognizable from her chart topping days.
Filmed in LA, thumbs way up on this one. Streams on Tubi and many other free platforms.
First things first - Edmond is one twisted freak of a movie. A bizzare treatise on racism in the form of a character study film. However, it's also powered by an absolutely brilliant nomination-worthy performance by William H Macy.
We're never really given a reason for Edmond losing his sh*t but the fun all starts when he gets off work one night and walks into a metaphysical store and gets a Tarot reading. He goes home and shocks his wife by announcing he's leaving her, walks out and his odyssey thru downtown LA begins.
I'll leave the rest to your viewing pleasure as Edmond stops at a lot of places, slowly becoming unhinged and purchasing a knife in a pawn store. There's some great support, of particular note is gorgeous Julia Stiles who plays a waitress Edmond shags.
And I haven't even mentioned the third act which is even worse for Edmond. A movie for people with thicker skins and a must-watch for aspiring actors. Streams free on Tubi and Pluto. 3.0 stars/5
