Carter, Howard Movie Reviews

Youngsters Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek kill in the Midwest. Based on a true story, Badlands is an excellent interpretation of being an outsider and floundering in the currents of change that surround and define us.

The film opens up and ends in diary fashion - the voice of Sissy Spacek narrates here and there, telling the tale her bleak existence in 50s rural midwest America. Holly (Spacek) lives alone with her father, dog and pet catfish. Her catfish gets sick, so she tosses him in the yard as he flounders for a gasp of air before he suffocates to death... and this is just the appetizer. She disobeys her father, so he shoots and kills her dog - and then you start to see a set of characters full of rules, but no true love... just self-imposed morality as it fits their need for control of every situation.

One lazy day Holly meets Kit (Martin Sheen), a handsome James Dean-esque character who is cocky, handsome, intelligent and shows interest in Holly. Kit is far from a father's dream of a catch for his daughter - kit is at least 10 years older and works as a garbage collector. While that profession pays better today, in the 1950s, it was hardly something worth writing home to mother about.

Holly's father forbids her to see Kit, but Kit is persistent and finally decides to kill the man who is in the way of their romance. The killing is less passionate or spontaneous than it is cold, emotionless and calculating. Similar to the way one swats a fly without remorse, killing it simply because it became too annoying, and life goes on. Holly just watches in a daze, not truly horrified at her wounded, dying father, and not surprised or mad at her beau.

Kit feels compelled to burn down the family home to cover up his crime, but then takes a record player outside so it won't burn - then goes to a self-recording record-making booth to make a confession record that plays outside the burning house as his morbid confession.

They live out in the wilderness, like animals, building primitive forts and look-out posts. When sheriff's deputies close in on them, the true killing spree begins. While a fairly unassuming garbage collector with no former criminal record, Kit has the skills of Rambo - he sets up camoflauged hiding areas and manages to kill all 3 deputies single-handed. They continue on a cross-country escape from justice, killing those who get in their way and sparing a few on a whim.

While Holly never truly pulls a trigger herself, she is the hapless participant and enabler - not threatened, but just tagging along like a faithful German Shepherd.

The movie is truly bizarre - but in a way, true to life in a chilling way. The young couple achieves a dark celebrity-like status - everyone knows who they are and are scared by them, yet fascinated at the same time.

The film is not overtly bloody and violent like the shoot-em-ups of today, but somehow very violent in an intimate way... there are many scenes without music or much background noise - just the eerie silence of the last breath of a dying gun-shot victim - things get so quiet, you can almost hear Holly's eyelids click when she blinks.

This is not a movie for kids and not a film to watch when you're tired - there are slow, silent scenes, but the film is far from boring. Aspiring actors and directors can learn a lot from this film's cinematography, direction and incredible acting. Despite it's almost flawless quality in filmmaking, it is a dark, depressing tale with no social redeeming values - other than a testimony to the results of raising children in a loveless environment. When children are not loved at home, they will attach themselves to the first person who shows interest in them - and find the near worship of their own pleasure as the pinnacle of existence.

Terrence Malick is one of the few poets of American cinema. He turns a tale of loose cannon and his clueless girlfriend driving across the country into pure poetry. Rent it, you will never forget it.

If you hit pause you'll see little Kevin Costner as a frat boy. This is a good flick as morgue guys turned pimps. Ron Howard directs and Mike Keaton's 1st film. too bad shelley Long is in it.

This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen and a keeper. Michael Keaton's "Billy Blaze", a ne'er-do-well entrepreneur, is hilarious and his antics are fast-paced and manic ("Note to self: CALL STARKIST"). Henry Winkler's metamorphosis from Superwimp into Superman is a relief ("YOU'RE GONNA PLAY TENNIS WITH GOD!") Shelley Long's portrayal of a hooker is great. Cameo includes Clint Howard (Ron Howard's brother) as a dorky high-school kid looking for a prom-night ride for him and his girl in a limo, ANY limo, even the City Morgue's hearse! See it with someone you can laugh with until your sides hurt.

I haven't seen this movie in 20 years, but it has still stayed with me. It's one of those blessedly funny films that you can watch while your brain is on autopilot.Ron Howard has really created a fine comedy here. Chuck works as a director in the local morgue. He's a good guy, but he's as stiff and uptight as the corpses. Yet he has a decent-paying day job and a loyal, if shrewish and carping, fiancee. If he can put aside bad sandwiches and aggressive dogs, it's not a bad life. All that changes when he's bumped from his cozy day shift at the morgue -- the plum job has gone to his employer's nephew -- to the night shift to work with Bob, his diametric opposite. Brash, loudmouthed, and annoying, Chuck can barely tolerate him. Chuck, however, forms a friendship with a kind prostitute named Belinda, and with the death of her pimp, he agrees to implement one of Bob's wild schemes: to run an escort service for Belinda and her sister prostitutes out of the morgue. Everybody's happy and making lots of money until a prominent pimp, who is peeved at missing out on a piece of the action, pays Chuck and Bob a visit. This is a fine and very entertaining movie. Check out the theme song from the short-lived early-80's pop band Quarterflash!

This is a killer concert, and I was lucky enough to see it live on television. I do miss the live aspect of the DVD in that they edited out some of the mistakes and the booing of Hilary Clinton. While I understand why they cleaned things up, they mistakes were some of the best parts of the show. Melissa Etheridge came out and started singing, but the microphone was not working. This went on for a little bit and was great, but it was edited fom the DVD. The sound and the show is amazing, and it was great to see the reactions to the performers. Bill Joel doing Manhattan 2120, and the Who. Killer.

Without this concert, New York would still be in a depression. All the victims wouldn't have gotten the money that they needed. And, most importantly, we wouldn't have seen such a great collection of music all in one place. From the moment David Bowie walks on stage (which you don't actually see, but...) to the moment Paul McCartney walks off, this truly is the greatest concert ever. Here are some of my thoughts on some of the artists:

Bowie -- enthusiastic and proud
Bon Jovi -- Hard rocking fun
Goo Goo Dolls -- great cover
Who -- stunning as always
Jagger -- powerful and energetic
Taylor -- amazingly touching
Fallon -- get a life
McCartney -- a youthful finish

As for the DVD itself, it looks great and sounds great, but should not have been edited. (If you want to see an unedited version, some collectors have it for trade on the internet.) Other than the editing factor, the DVD is well worth the money.

Paul McCartney, the Who, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Elton John, David Bowie. This is a once-in-a-lifetime gathering of stars playing a benifit concert for 9/11. Most of the artists do a good job of choosing appropriate material -- Paul McCartney's "I'm Down" and "Yesterday." The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Won't Get Fooled Again." Yet some do not -- Jay-Z's "H To The Izzo" or Jimmy Falon's "'80's Medly." Nevertheless, however, we will never have another concert like this again.

For sure buy this DVD, you must..but I hate the story, always have..the effects are great, but I am waiting for that perfect "walking dead" movie that makes you believe it's happening. "DAY" fails, because noone would act they way these characters do and they are not likeable. But own it for the great beginning scenes of the city , the cave scenes and the good ending.

With visceral grit and gore turned up Day of the Dead finishes the original Romero trilogy. Completely outnumbered by the flesh eating zombies, a small band of scientists and military personnel hold up in an underground cavernous bunker. The overworked and overwrought scientists try to make headway with 'specimens' harvested from up ground sorties. While this would have stood on its own merits; I think it pales in comparison to the original film and its place in the trilogy. I have such a respect and affection for the original this just seems a disjointed tack-on, I didn't care for Dawn of the Dead much either. Too much self referential humour, it's missing the chilling and serious aspects of the original. While it was mildly amusing to see Bub do his thing, and interesting to note the pathos when he finds his doctor in a heap, it wasn't enough of a saving grace.

Romero's maligned third Dead movie [following Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead] suffered from both fans high expectations for another Dawn like action epic and the then popular comedic slant in horror [i.e Return of the Living Dead and Re-Animator] is, in my opinion, the best movie in the series. The world has now been overrun with zombies and the last vestiges of humanity are hidden away in an underground bunker, slowly going stir crazy. This is grim, dark stuff far closer in tone to Night of the Living Dead than the comedic cult classic that was Dawn of the Dead.

Anchor Bay has done an almost perfect job restoring the movie. The picture is gorgeous, the extras a delight, and the packaging sweet. But the audio, oh the audio. There are six little alterations that, for someone like me, who knows the movie by heart, can irritate (it just sounds 'off'). So I dock the DISC a star, the movie itself retains a five star rating, but this edition would get 4 and a half stars. Nonetheless, fans of Romero, or of intelligent and darkly serious horror movies, need this in their libraries. Highly recommended.

For sure buy this DVD, you must..but I hate the story, always have..the effects are great, but I am waiting for that perfect "walking dead" movie that makes you believe it's happening. "DAY" fails, because noone would act they way these characters do and they are not likeable. But own it for the great beginning scenes of the city , the cave scenes and the good ending.

With visceral grit and gore turned up Day of the Dead finishes the original Romero trilogy. Completely outnumbered by the flesh eating zombies, a small band of scientists and military personnel hold up in an underground cavernous bunker. The overworked and overwrought scientists try to make headway with 'specimens' harvested from up ground sorties. While this would have stood on its own merits; I think it pales in comparison to the original film and its place in the trilogy. I have such a respect and affection for the original this just seems a disjointed tack-on, I didn't care for Dawn of the Dead much either. Too much self referential humour, it's missing the chilling and serious aspects of the original. While it was mildly amusing to see Bub do his thing, and interesting to note the pathos when he finds his doctor in a heap, it wasn't enough of a saving grace.

Romero's maligned third Dead movie [following Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead] suffered from both fans high expectations for another Dawn like action epic and the then popular comedic slant in horror [i.e Return of the Living Dead and Re-Animator] is, in my opinion, the best movie in the series. The world has now been overrun with zombies and the last vestiges of humanity are hidden away in an underground bunker, slowly going stir crazy. This is grim, dark stuff far closer in tone to Night of the Living Dead than the comedic cult classic that was Dawn of the Dead.

Anchor Bay has done an almost perfect job restoring the movie. The picture is gorgeous, the extras a delight, and the packaging sweet. But the audio, oh the audio. There are six little alterations that, for someone like me, who knows the movie by heart, can irritate (it just sounds 'off'). So I dock the DISC a star, the movie itself retains a five star rating, but this edition would get 4 and a half stars. Nonetheless, fans of Romero, or of intelligent and darkly serious horror movies, need this in their libraries. Highly recommended.

I am totally unaware of the writings of Larry Brown. This put me at a severe disadvantage when trying to enjoy 'Big Bad Love.' The character Leon Barlow (Arliss Howard) came across as a Hunter S. Thompson without the satirical wit of the Gonzo King. Leon is a drunkard who hopes to become a respected fiction author. So far, he receives only rejection slips in the mail on almost a daily basis. He is divorced from Marilyn (Debra Winger) and they have two children. Leon's drinking is destroying his life and everyone else's around him. We ceaselessly witness Leon's alcohol induced fantasies and nightmares. The man is sick and needs help. Unfortunately, Leon is oblivious and indifferent about seeking a cure. Will even a tragedy do anything to motivate him to straighten out his life? Angie Dickinson portrays his somewhat affluent codependent mother who adds to the problem by not allowing him to hit bottom. In the back of his mind, Leon knows that she will always pull his bacon out of the fire.

I am not one those people who feels compelled to pretend that this sort of film is challenging, provocative, and thoughtful. As matter of fact, one should be wary whenever a professional reviewer employs these terms. It is often their way of damming with faint praise. I was so bored after the first twenty minutes that I had to force myself to endure the rest of the story. It does not stand on its own. You will probably intensely dislike "Big Bad Love' unless you take the additional time to acquaint yourself with Larry Brown's short stories. Also, I guess I'm tired of the peculiar hint that only serious alcoholics and drug addicts can become great writers. Whatever, ultimately I can only give 'Big Bad Love' two stars.

I had read the short story collection before, and seeing the movie made me go back to see what I had missed--but I hadn't missed anything. It is not often that a movie actually out performs a book, but Arliss Howard took Brown's unsympathetic Barlow and turned him into a character I could actually empathize with. The Barlow in "92 Days" I couldn't care less about. This is redneck surrealism done right.
I don't get why so many people have a sore tooth about the film. The cinematography is great and the characters are really southern instead of backwoods cliche. Scenes that didn't make the film get represented with image metaphors (a cow at the typewriter--a chainsaw on the porch--a pig getting carried down the road--so if you paid attention to the book and film at all nothing really gets left out.
Also, the casting is perfect. Arliss plays the best fall down drunk I've ever seen--"That's me and Monroe, Monroe."--and Debra Winger plays the heartbroken ex-wife like no one I've ever seen. The desperation in her face as she is running down the road in the final scene broke my heart.
I think Brown is a talented writer(although the 'gritty realism' thing gets old with me, and sometimes the lack of real emotions his characters have seems unbelievable), but the lady who said to skip the film and go just for the book is crazy. Arliss turned coal to diamonds(maybe not that drastic), and the film deserves alot more credit than it's been given by reviewers and viewers who don't like to think.

I think this will be a movie that people keep looking for - until it gains the appropriate status it deserves. Even if it's 20 years from now. It's terrific - even if unsettling, a bit hard to follow (unless you free up your head to let the movie lead you), idiosynchratic (to say the least), and challenging. It's a piece, not just a movie. Every little detail is right and in its right place. If you want a lesson in acting, watch this movie. Arliss Howard, Debra Winger, Paul LeMat, Rosanna Arquette, Angie Dickinson are wonderful - honest, real, without a trace of how they do this amazing work. (Catch the neat cameo by Michael Parks, too) The acting is so smoothly done that these people could be your neighbors - and certainly mine. These are great actors/actresses - all of whom have been underrated in their careers and not "scene" often enough. The photography is enthralling at times. Beautiful, even when focused on the ugly. There is warmth and wit and heart and honesty. There is a very true portrait of what it is like for a writer - or perhaps any creative person - who, not always by choice, must live in his/her own head. "All you know, Leon, is what goes on in your own head." The music is a perfect match. While the directing requires a lot from the viewer and the script, written by Jim P. Howard and Arliss Howard (yes, the very same Arliss Howard)based on stories by Larry Brown (very much worth reading), is not easy at times, the movie is well worth the effort to find it. If you want a movie about real people, with real humor, real daily struggles, and a great big heart - this is it. With the DVD you can replay the hard parts, enjoy again the great parts. An imperfect (sorta like real life) movie, yes, but the lessons about movie making and the lessons about acting from this cast are perfect. If you truly get into this film, you'll never quite look at yourself in the mirror the same way again.

At several points during the screening of this film I found myself hoping that a catastrophe might overtake the entire cast(Frances McDormand excepted), however neither flood, nor fire, nor earthquake was forthcoming, and it was left to sleep to quell my misery. For this film is truly miserable; all the more so for having such a promising premiss which, through the neatly produced trailer, had me full, or at least half-full, of expectations.
*
Someone sadly had faith enough to bankroll Lisa Cholodenko, without due supervision of her script, which presents as a rough first draft, that is to say at best a few ideas, a few sketchy scenes, waiting to be developed into a coherent, captivating narrative; the characters are thin to the point of being skeletal, their development 'subtle' bordering on utterly absent, the dialogue stilted and forced, their motivations oscillating between facile cliche and inarticulate opacity. Frances McDormand does her best to fashion a plausible living character from what she has been given, but even she gives up when asked to smooch Kate Beckinsale - you can almost see her turning to face the camera, and in an aside confiding, "Yep, this is ridiculous". Miss Beckinsale herself quite clearly can make neither hide nor hair of her character, and leaves the film looking as lost as the majority of the audience. Christian Bale survived the ordeal of filming by dosing himself up on powerful sedatives, the effects of which are plainly evident on screen.
*
The music, obviously so central to proceedings, needs special condemnation. The idea that the band in question 'lacks inspiration' and 'fails to draw you in', to use Cholodenko's own words, is very dangerous, since this uninsipired music is exactly what the audience is forced to listen to for many a minute. Tedious, hackneyed, middle-of-road pseudo-British Rock and sort-of-roll does not a great sound-track make.
*
Clearly, this film is not trying to be great art, but I fear it is intended to be entertaining, and in that intention it fails, sleepily if not spectacularly.

Lisa Cholodenko's "Laurel Canyon" is an exploration of several subjects scandalous: sex, drugs, psychiatry, whiny rock music. Aspiring to a lot, accomplishing very little, it nevertheless reaffirms that Frances McDormand is chameleonic, feisty actress. In a year thin of dynamic female roles, she might even earn an Academy Award nomination.

McDormand is Jane, a 40ish hippie record producer holed up in of those fabulously overgrown villas tucked into the Los Angeles hills, toking bongs and whiskey sours while putting her latest LP to bed. Somewhere in the myriad of short flings she produced a straight-laced son Sam (Christian Bale), a Harvard Med grad with a perky little genius for a fiancée in Alex (Kate Beckinsdale).

Predictably, Sam and Alex's routines get rattled when they move in with Jane and her band, fronted by a cocky punk named Ian (Alessandro Nivola). Writer/director Cholodenko immediately places seductive distractions in front of the newly engaged couple; Alex, the (apparent) reigning super-achiever, drops her dissertation, and everything else, to hang in the recording studio and get stoned, while Sam warms to a sweetly aggressive Israeli colleague (Natascha McElhone).

Because "Laurel Canyon" never takes the time to cement Sam and Alex's romance beyond a Scrabble game and some uncomfortable sex, there is surprisingly little at risk; both seem better suited to their new friends and surroundings than a stodgy relationship where they talk past one another. Beckinsdale might be the soup du jour, but she's a blank beauty, and McElhone presents a far more fetching, stimulating catch.

As does McDormand, who's got some mileage in those eyes, but a lot more spark, too. Jane is bursting with contradictions, and seems to suffer affairs long past their sell-by date for nuture's sake. When we discover, for example, just why it is she gets up so early every morning, we get a glimpse of how co-opted a supposedly "free and clear" existence can become. Essentially a comic role, McDormand infuses the performance with a startling amount of maternal instinct. It's just not for her son.

Bale is McDormand's equal as the sullen prodigy trying hard to deny he has the same roaming tendencies as his mother. Nivola is spot on as the affable creep. The soundtrack is worth owning if you go for British rock pop.

Cholodenko, as writer/director, knows her way around a hotel, a car, and a pool. While the scenes themselves never add up to a cohesive film - the movie is simply too didactic and point-driven - several are sharp on their own. And McDormand simply is her character. After water toting performances in "The Man Who Wasn't There" and "City By The Sea," she returns to "Laurel Canyon" brassy and keyed up, and it's like watching a lioness stalk the plains.

***1/2 "Laurel Canyon" is an intriguing character-driven drama, written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko and featuring first-rate performances by Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, Alessandro Nivola and Natascha McElhone.

Sam (Bale) and Alex (Beckinsale) are recent Harvard med school grads who move to Southern California to begin a new phase in their lives, he as a resident in a psychiatric ward and she as a genetics researcher working on her PhD. While there, the young couple moves in with Sam's mother, Jane (McDormand), an aging, hard-living but highly successful music producer who owns a gorgeous residence (in Hollywood's posh Laurel Canyon) that also doubles as a recording studio. Sam, an earnest, rigid, almost prudish young man, has long rejected the free-wheeling lifestyle of his mother whom he considers more of an embarrassment than anything else. The brainy Alex, on the other hand, who graduated first in their highly competitive class, has led a more "sheltered" existence and she finds herself strangely drawn to the hedonistic atmosphere she finds here. Another factor pulling the couple apart is the growing relationship between Sam and Sara (McElhone), the beautiful young resident who works with him at the hospital. The fifth element in the mix is Ian (Nivola), a smooth-talking, cocky young singer who, though officially attached to the much-older Jane, plays a primary role in getting Alex to loosen up, shed her inhibitions, and come join their little "party."

"Laurel Canyon" plays out like a "civilized" power struggle, with the various characters jockeying for position, staking out their territory, and attempting to pull certain key individuals into their own respective corners. Alex, with her air of naïve innocence, is clearly the main "prize" here, but Sam also feels a noticeable tug from Sara, who senses in her co-worker a kindred spirit she would like to get to know better. These are people playing with fire - Jane and Ian in particular - and one of the messages of "Laurel Canyon" seems to be that a life conducted without a clear moral code will end up in disaster for all concerned. However, Cholodenko does not seem exactly enamored of Sam's provincialism either, seeing it as a wall he has constructed in order to hide from the truth of his own nature.

McDormand makes an indelible impression as the intriguing but somewhat pathetic Jane, a woman who's failed as a mother primarily because she's never been able to grow up and accept adult responsibility. The few encounters we are privy to between mother and son are searing in their intensity, but "Laurel Canyon" keeps its confrontation scenes to a minimum, choosing instead to find its meaning in the things that are NOT said rather than in the things that are. That's a risky strategy that generally pays off, though some in the audience may find the subtlety and lack of a clear-cut resolution unsatisfying and even frustrating in the long run. The plotting is sometimes a bit too clear-cut and neat for its own good and the parallelism (i.e. the simultaneous drifting apart of Sam and Alex due to their respective "temptations") sometimes feels forced and obvious. The parallelism is less obtrusive in the case of Sam's patient, a 16-year old boy whose drug addiction is placed in stark opposition to the "casual, recreational" drug use of Jane and her music-making cohorts. Moreover, having Sam and Alex be a married couple rather than just boyfriend and girlfriend might have intensified some of the moral complexities and dilemmas faced by the characters. Still, the caliber of both the acting and the writing keeps us involved for the duration of the film.

"Laurel Canyon" spins a unique tale in a relatively unfamiliar setting and provides five fine actors an opportunity to display the perfection of their craft.

this Anchor Bay DVD appears to have serious flaws as almost all of the originally pressed discs no longer play correctly.....those of you who have these discs, Please check them in your dvd players as 9 out of 10 of them have suffered a form of corruption that doesnt allow them to work anylonger...........the worst news of all is that ANCHOR BAY dont apparently have the license to release this title again at the moment, so those of us who have dumped our Elite Laserdiscs are rather stuck with a dud dvd. Anchor Bay who are normally so excellent about handling themselves ought really to start something about refunding those of us who are stuck with a dud disc - clearly something they MUST have had some idea about.

At the beginning of the movie a murderer is guillotine and witnessed by his young son Hans. Years later Hans is working with Dr. Hertz and Dr. Bon Frankenstein (played by Peter Cushing). Frankenstein has himself frozen for exactly one hour, down to the second, where he is trying to prove that the soul does not leave the body. He is revived and to celebrate his success sends Hans out to get some champagne at one of the local pubs. Hans is in love with the owner's daughter (Christina played by Susan Denberg) and spends the night with her but when the owner is killed Hans is accused and refuses to tell where he was when the murder took place. Hans is found guilty and himself guillotined like his father. Christina sees this and jumps off a bridge and drowns.

Dr. Frankenstein retrieves Hans's body, captures his soul, and places it in Christina body. Among Frankenstein accomplishments he is a brilliant cosmetic surgeon and turns Christina into a beautiful blond with the aid of Dr. Hertz. Now with a new body and Hans's soul revenge is sought for Hans and Christina's father's deaths.

This is another excellent Hammer film and with Peter Cushing heading the cast. The quality of the DVD is excellent.

I saw this many, many years ago in the theatre... still a great movie, but the tape didn't exactly capture the lush backgrounds, the erotism of the first time. Well, I'm also not 6 (or whatever) years old.
Still, I experienced again: a delirious crush on Hans, the romantic, too-good-to-be-true, hero- who was able to love AND LUST after Christine, the flawed and mistreated servant girl (haven't we all been her at one time?)His ability to see past the scars she felt such shame from made him a big numero uno for me even way back then.
Second: yowza! I prayed that my pre-adolescent self would develop into ANY SEMBLANCE WHAT-SO-EVER of the oozing sexuality of the transformed/re-created (isn't that another wish of ours, ladies?) Christina (Susan Denberg)...
And, oh yeah... Peter Cushing is in it, too.
HA! Just kidding...the blend of old school, classic horror and repressed sexuality made for a memorable movie that I had to buy and watch again and again.
If you dig the mix... and you know who you are out there... get this movie

Yeah I know, I like watching bad movies, I think they're pretty funny, and when they have gore, I find it even better, because I love gore. And "The Dentist 2" brought both of them. It has some jokes that remind of "Dr.Giggles"'s.

This film had, in the line of what bad movie lovers enjoy, some stupid one-liners, a psycho schizophreniac dentist, some quite sadistic acts of violence (against an idiot fat lady, and many other characters played by so-so actors), a weird and lame ending, a pretty stupid scenario, and some pretty gruesome sequences of dental torture.

The story is about a maniac dentist who was put in a mental ward after he had turned crazy and went on a killing spree. That man escapes from the mental ward (and it's a very easy and stupid escape) and hides in another small town, where he becomes the town's dentist. But this man lives with the constant memory of his wife who had cheated on him (and that's what made him insane in the first episode of "The Dentist"). And it haunts him...and the insanity's back in his head, and he's on another killing spree.

This is a survivor of the "gore" genre. This film is directed by Brian Yuzna, who also brought us "The Dentist", "Faust:Love of The Damned", "Return of the Living Dead 3", and "Progeny". He's not a great director at all, but in the gore genre, he's one of those rare guys who hang on. Corbin Bernsen is not that bad as the insane dentist, but the rest of the cast is pretty bad. The gore effects are really disgusting, there are zooms of mouths being mutilated, and if you're already afraid of going at the dentist, don't see this.

Well, overall, it's a nice movie to watch as a stupid bad movie. It has some funny parts (and it's not always meant to be funny), very disgusting scenes, and a psycho dentist...it says it all­...

I give it 7/10 (in the cheese meter) 2/10 (as a normal movie)

Well...as an "avid" fan of (making fun of) horror movies, I must admit that this delightful little gem really accomplished what I paid the $3 to rent it for. This movie is filled with (as is horror movie tradition) logical fallacies, "surprise" endings, and a "suspenseful" soundtrack that sounds like a spriteful mixture of "Inspector Gadget" (the 80's series), and "Jaws"...just add the ending music, what I like to call "Ode to Ray Charles Playing a 25-key out-of-tune Piano", and you have the music down. After that Titanic-sized epic soundtrack is gone (I'm waiting for "Return to Dentist 2"), you have the plot, something that no doubt a team of trained monkeys worked very hard on while under service to the aliens. The "dentist" escapes from his local happy home by concealing a sharp pointy object inside a scar on his body, in one of the numerous painful to watch scenes, then sets up his practice in "Paradise, Missouri". It's not long before he begins to deviate into his psychotic behavior again, assaulting people with various dentistry tools (that I hope my dentist never sees!), power tools, and magazines. Of course, he knocks off the guy who played the Ice Cream Man, in (logically) "The Ice Cream Man", and if he didn't replace him with a horrible dummy, I'd say he deserves a lifetime achievement award. This timeless classic is indeed fun for the whole (dysfunctional) family! Keep in mind that, if you choose to watch/rent/sacrifice this movie (burning works best!), that you too will feel like our beloved defender of decay did at the end of the movie (that's a surprise I DON'T want to ruin!)

Dr Feinstone has escaped from a mental institution and has taken up an assumed identity in the small town of paradise. Here he hopes to start over. He keeps his impulses to clean up society at bay by cutting himself thus driving his evil out through pain. The local dentist does a lousy job on the Dr's teeth and during an argument falls down some stairs to his doom. Paradise now needs a new dentist. And they get one. At first all goes well but its not long before the old urges come back. How long can the dentist hold them back?

Quite a while as it turns out and thats something i didnt like about this movie. It takes too long to get going. in the first movie that didnt bother me so much but here, the backstory isnt quite as good to hold us over to the gorings. When the gorings come, its more of the same delightful torture we got in the first film. In one scene, an unfortunate busybody has a tooth torn out of her gums and the dangling nerve is used as bait in a game of truth or lies...not to be missed.

A typical MFTV movie with a few interesting strenths, but tends to sag and go flat here and there, especially as it skips back and forth between the story and the trial. I bought the film mainly because it has a heavy metal theme. I'm a metal fan and longhair guy and I liked this aspect of the film, and I like seeing Helen Hunt as a headbanger chick. Some of you metalheads might enjoy a few of the cool '80's hair metal parts which are sprinkled throughout the film. The one thing that irritates me about this film besides it being dull here and there is that it indirectly portrays the typical, tired stereotype of the long haired metalheads as "bad" and "evil", something hollywood wrongly and unfairly always seemed to do with us. If heavy metal isn't your thing you probably won't like this film.

Honestly... I bought it cuz Chad Allen's in it. :) But the mullet... yikes.

i thought the movie was pretty good but some parts were kind of boring. i would recommend this movie to people.