B&S About Movies: 45 Highlights/Non-Genre Reviews by R.D Francis
45 highlights with a cross-section of the 920-plus reviews and features by R.D Francis at B&S About Movies.
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- DirectorDavid FowlerStarsMatthew MacCaullTaylor Dianne RobinsonBen CottonA random bear attack during a family camping trip leaves Greg (father) and Samantha (daughter) trapped by demon worshiping cult known as The Circle. Unbeknownst to all is that there's an infiltrator in the cults ranks. She is communication with a former member on the outside named Grady. Grady's plan is to lead a small group of rescuers into the heart of The Circle. But will they get there in time to save Greg, Samantha, and others from the demon known as Percy Stephens?Disney wildlife documentarian David Fowler goes Italian Giallo in a tale about a backwoods religious cult.
- DirectorJason LesterStarsEllie BamberJustin ChonHannah MarksHigh Resolution, an adaptation of Tao Lin's novel Taipei, tracks Paul and Erin as they confront what it means to be young and in love in the early days of the 21st century.An existential effort by Jason Lester, the son of noted '70s and '80s director Mark L. Lester.
- DirectorElisa FuksasStarsSalvatore CostaVincenzo CreaJessica CressyLoving girlfriend, family fortune, breakout movie role: he's got it all. Until an app awakens a powerful new yearning. While in Rome to shoot his first movie, Niccolò becomes obsessed and sent into a self-destructive spiral.A Michelangelo Antonioni-inspired techno-noir regarding loneliness and alienation brought on by one’s addiction to social media.
- DirectorEsteban CrespoGonzalo GilsanzStarsRaúl ArévaloPaulina GarcíaCandela PeñaCarlos is a businessman who gets a request to intercede on behalf of a US engineer in the oil industry who's been kidnapped.A review of the Netflix-streamed, Spanish thriller.
- DirectorMichael Matteo RossiStarsKrista AllenFrancis CapraVernon WellsA young low-level drug dealer is reunited with his estranged mom and uncle to protect him when a ruthless drug kingpin puts a hit on him.A well-made, direct-to-streaming indie-actioner on a budget.
- DirectorMiranda BowenStarsJoseph KennedyOphelia LovibondDaniel LapaineLucille and Joe have moved to Gozo, a tiny island in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Malta. They have a nice car, a steady income, a beautiful farmhouse with breathtaking views and a swimming pool. They seem to have it all. But when a young tourist goes missing on the island, Joe's disquieted conscience begins to get the better of him. As the buried horrors of Lucille and Joe's past resurface, the cracks begin to show in their homespun paradise.The Hitchcockian meets the Shakespearian as a man deals with the isolation brought on by his reliving the past -- shot on the Mediterranean island of Gozo.
- DirectorRic Roman WaughStarsGerard ButlerMorena BaccarinRoger Dale FloydA family struggles for survival in the face of a cataclysmic natural disaster.
- DirectorSusan RodgersStarsRy BarrettColin PriceSpencer GrahamThe men in a broken family reunite many years after a domestic tragedy drives them apart.
- DirectorChris WaxStarsMaya StojanChris WaxJason KropikCASE 347 follows psychologist and UFO skeptic, Dr. Mia Jansen (Maya Stojan), and a team of documentary filmmakers who believe that alien abduction claims are forms of "mass hysteria". This is their footage:A found-footage, sci-fi horror shot in the cinèma vèritè-style of French filmmaker Jean Rouch.
- DirectorJulian KimPeter S. LeeStarsYeena SungDonald ChangCharles RyuWhen the Choi family lose their dry cleaning business, they learn to love each other to survive the crisis and heartaches that they cause each other.
- DirectorVahagn KarapetyanStarsChristos DiamantoudisNikos TsoleridisStellina VogiatziThis is a story about Wicca book. The book which devil plagued mankind with suffering. The all-powerful book of the Witches. But wherever there was evil, wherever an innocent would suffer, there would be Mia.A Greece-made indie horror that understands the concept of image over dialog when telling a story.
- DirectorFrant GwoStarsJing WuMan-Tat NgZhi WangWith the sun dying out, a group of brave astronauts set out to find new planet for the whole human race.A sci-fi disaster blockbuster from China seen in the US on the Netflix platform as The Wandering Earth.
- DirectorShawn GerrardStarsSteven YaffeeVictoria KucherRisa StoneAs they approach their 30s, an academic physicist and her long-time photographer boyfriend realize that they have reached a crossroads in their relationship.
- DirectorJeremy SavilleStarsSusan DiolCamille James HarmanAlbie SelznickFaced with a financial crisis, Joe, a divorced, quick-witted bartender, applies for a job at a failing Detroit radio station -- as a black female disc jockey.A much-maligned, critically misunderstood radio station-based flick.
- DirectorShane BelcourtStarsKristian BruunCara GeeMeghan HeffernAfter feeling he has nothing left to live for on earth, a lonely geologist tries to qualify for a one-way mission to Mars with the help of an offbeat musician who is just as lost as he is.
- DirectorMarco RossonStarsMarcella BragaClaudia MarascaToni PandolfoA professor goes to a small town in Italy to study the story of a witch killed in the early 1800's, and is drawn into a web of terror and possession as the spirit of the witch attempts to find a new host.AKA Evil River in the U.S.
- DirectorHall BartlettStarsJames FranciscusJuliet MillsPhilip AhnA skilled flyer but very rebellious young seagull is kicked out of his clan. However, instead of being sad or lonely, he decides to enjoy and explore his newfound freedom.A review of the film along with an overview of the '70s "Jesus Rock" movement that inspired it.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsMichael DouglasDemi MooreDonald SutherlandA computer specialist is sued for sexual harassment by a former lover turned boss who initiated the act forcefully, which threatens both his career and his personal life.A review along with an exploration of the “Erotic Thrillers” cycle of the ’90s.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsMasayuki MoriMachiko KyôKinuyo TanakaA tale of ambition, family, love, and war set in the midst of the Japanese Civil Wars of the sixteenth century.The groundbreaking, influential Japanese ghost tale.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsRichard DerrBarbara RushPeter HansenAs a new star and planet hurtle toward a doomed Earth, a small group of survivalists frantically work to complete the rocket which will take them to their new home.A well-made, '50s disaster flick with numerous remake attempts.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsYûta SoneKimika YoshinoShohei HinoA yakuza enforcer is ordered to secretly drive his beloved colleague to be assassinated. But when the colleague unceremoniously disappears en route, the trip that follows is a twisted, surreal and horrifying experience.Another crazed, Takashi Miike joint!
- DirectorAlessandro De GaetanoStarsNick PlakiasCynthia ClineLaVerne LightAn electronics expert searching for evidence of aliens picks up signals that he believes are from an alien spacecraft--and they are coming from a lake near town.A "Close Encounters"-styled film on a budget.
- DirectorRussell KernStarsJames AerniChopper BernetRex CutterThe planet Jupiter has moved closer to the Earth causing an increased gravitation pull which affects the human brain, and people with certain blood types in higher elevations. The result is that the citizens in a town in the Rocky Mountains have become blood-hungry, flesh-eating, and insane.A much-bootlegged, Colorado-shot post-apoc film.
- DirectorJohn HowardJustin SimmondsStarsR. Eric HuxleyJanus BlytheLise RomanoffA madman stalks nurses, brutally stabbing them to death. In his fevered mind, he believes his victims to be a woman from his past named Linda. Police struggle to apprehend him before he can murder and mutilate again.An SOV-slasher classic.
- DirectorTom DoadesStarsJoe TurkelByron ClarkJohn O'ConnellA group of people inside an underground complex which possesses high tech computers which tracks world events consider all options as nuclear war is at hand,air supplies may last only eight days and Biblical prophesy unfolds.A lost, and very inventive post-apoc film for the religious set -- made on a tight budget.
- DirectorSpencer WilliamsStarsCathryn CavinessSpencer WilliamsJuanita RileyAn atheist accidentally shoots his Baptist wife. She dies and goes to a crossroads, where the devil tries to lead her astray.A wonderful, inspiring black & white-shot "race flick" regarding faith.
- DirectorJosé Ramón LarrazStarsAndrea AllanKarl LanchburyMaggie WalkerA young model and her petty thief boyfriend find their way through the English fog to a backwoods manor in hopes of looting it. What they find instead is murder.A great, plot-twisty, British film marketed as a "Last House on the Left" clone, but it's not.
- DirectorPeter FilardiStarsVincent KartheiserChad ChristSabine SinghBased on the true story of drugs, satanism, and murder in the upper class town of Northport, Long Island in 1984.A troubled, failed horror production drawing from the life of teen murderer Ricky Kasso.
- DirectorJimmy HustonStarsEarl OwensbyMonique ProulxPhil LanerA skid row reverend helps young junkies to a better life. This incurs the wrath of the local drug dealer who sends his goons after the good minister.An Earl Owensby-produced drive-in classic that pinches from 1974's Death Wish.
- DirectorAlan SmitheeStarsSean Patrick FlaneryDiane LaddMonet MazurTwo musicians are unknowingly drawn into a supernatural scheme.Michael Pare in a Christsploitation flick with heavy metalsploitation overtones.
- DirectorPaul NaschyStarsPaul NaschyJulia SalyLola GaosA man moves his ailing wife to his family's ancestral house for a period of recovery. Things are not what they seem to be, when the wife becomes plagued with terrifying visions, which begin to worsen her ailment.A Paul Naschy film based on a European legend about a serial killer.
- DirectorWim VinkStarsAngelique VieseeJudith DriessenAd KleingeldWim Vink's classic splatter short about a girl who takes bloody revenge on those who tormented her.An SOV (shot-on-video) classic from Europe.
- DirectorJay DubinStarsVinny AppiceBlack SabbathEric BloomConcert film of 1980 East Coast U.S. performance by heavy metal bands Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult.The classic concert film starring Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult.
- DirectorJim GillespieStarsSylvester StalloneCharles S. DuttonPolly WalkerA lead detective being stalked by a serial killer is asked to check into a clinic treating law enforcement officials who can't face their jobs.A failed Sly Stallone vehicle based on a best-seller.
- DirectorAndy AndersonStarsJohn S. DaviesLauren LaneMatthew SacksA group of strange beings at a master computer control room use their equipment to kill people by remote control.A low-budget wonder of an '80s AI world.
- DirectorDustin RikertStarsChris EngenSheree J. WilsonJeff FaheyFamily drama spanning decades follows the Williams clan connected through motorcycle passion. No analysis, just their struggle to bond amid internal conflicts from the 1940s to present.The "sequel" that no one knew was made! Actually, it's one of two "sequel" films!
- DirectorJim SotosStarsTanya RobertsRon MaxNancy AllenA serial rapist stalks and murders prostitutes.A proto-slasher film that leads to John Carpenter's Halloween.
- StarsMichael JamesThomas StrikerRonald L. MarchiniThe lost Ron Marchini film filled with snow and martial arts mayhem!
- DirectorRichard ComptonStarsRichard HarrisErnest BorgnineAnn TurkelIn a post-apocalyptic world divided between two groups called the Flockers and the Ravagers, an adventurer and his "pleasure girl" try to find their way to a rumored safe haven called the Land of Genesis.A late-to-the-'70s-apocalypse dystopian flick before Snake Plissken changed the game -- with links to and a discussions of other films from the era.
- DirectorNaomi HolwillStarsHelmut BergerDirk BogardeAllan BryceA look at the ideas and people that was involved in the naziploitations movies.A well-made documentary on the genre -- with links to reviews of other films from the era, including the best-known film: Love Camp 7.
- DirectorJerry SangiulianoStarsFarrah ForkeTerry LondereeJoe LombardoEmployees of a software company discover a conspiracy to use the games made by the company to control the thoughts of its customers.An early AI film inspired by the Polybius legend. Features links to other '80s AI films.
- DirectorJoel M. ReedStarsJamie GillisRyan HilliardRon ArmstrongInvestigators search for soldiers' missing bodies, and hear unbelievable rumors about zombies. Dismissing those rumors they set out to investigate. After two men are found dead, CIA special-agent Nick Monroe is sent to flush out what are suspected to be deserters from the old U.S. Army Chemical Corps unit. Nick's ruthless investigation uncovers a ghoulish plot of world domination, but first he must escape the horror that does not want to be known... yet!The infamous Gamma 689 -- with an overview of other Nazi-zombie films and the career of Joel M. Reed.
- DirectorLee MaddenStarsJeanne CrainAlex NicolDan SpellingA woman is persecuted by Jesus freaks after they've crucified her preacher husband.Includes an overview of Hagsploitation films and Manson-inspired "hippie flicks" of the '60s and '70s.
- DirectorJohn Henry JohnsonStarsBrent RitterBettina JuliusClayton A. McCawA group of teenagers battle a horde of zombies and evil creatures that live underneath a graveyard.Includes an overview of '80s SOV films, as well as other Denver, Colorado-shot indie films.
- DirectorWolf GremmStarsRainer Werner FassbinderGünther KaufmannBoy GobertIn a totalitarian society of the future, in which the government controls all facets of the press, a homicide detective investigates a string of bombings, and finds out more than he bargained for.For fans of Jean-Luc Godard’s neo-noir Alphaville, Elio Petri’s pop-art romp The 10th Victim, Claude Chabrol’s Docteur M, and Francois Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451.