Heroes

70s Drama
2 stars

Total bullshit. When I saw this movie back in the late 1970s, the ending was straight out of a psycho-post traumatic stress disorder nightmare, with Henry Winkler unable to conquer his demons. Well, this version has replaced that with Sally Field consoling Winkler on the grass, telling him it's okay. This was my sister's favorite movie, presumably with the downbeat ending intact. Up until the ending switcheroo, the film is sort of a late 1970s continuation of the tone of Two Lane Blacktop, only not nearly as strong. The Vietnam war is never tackled head on, and for some reason I find that particularly insightful in 2008. Winkler deserves props for the effort.

Macon County Line

70s Drama
2 stars

A couple of young men with a woman in tow run into trouble in the deep south. A potentially interesting formula, but this one was a dud. Scary southerners has been done elsewhere, and better. I had my finger hovering over the "stop" button on the remote like I was Jamie Farr wielding the gong on The Gong Show, but I put in the time and watched the entire thing. Bleh.

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde

70's Thriller
British
2 stars

I'm not sure when I last thought this about a film, but this film is a prime candidate for a remake, by a thoughtful producer who can push the gender-bending and sexual elements (I'm thinking Shawn Ryan of The Shield) using today's mores. This film rushes headlong into deviant territory, only to become relatively chaste when the going gets good. Premise for the ages, though, a gender battle of Jekyll and Hyde rather than meek/ogre.

The Killer Inside Me

70s Drama
2 stars
Stacy Keach is cool, and I'm sure the Jim Thompson story was good, but this movie was pretty lame.

5 Card Stud

Western
2 stars
Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, Yaphet Kotto. Amazing cast, just not a very good film. How this ever got street cred escapes me.

CSA: Confederate States of America

Mockumentary
2 stars
One note fake doc about the south taking over the world. I applaud the take on storytelling, but wanted a little more cinematic rise & fall.

Miracle Mile

80s Drama
2 stars
L.A. in the 80s. Nuclear war fear. Mare Winningham has a mullet.