Movieline Online

Can you name three “killer pig” movies without resorting to the internet? If so, then Chawz is right up your alley…but for God’s sake don’t list that as one of your 27 levels of compatibility on eHarmony, alright?! A Korean import that mirrors (in a smudgy sort of way) the plot for Spielberg’s classic monster shark flick, Chawz is both better than you’d expect and worse than it should be. In the plus column, the movie goes for quirky right off the bat, set in a Twin Peak sian mountain town populated by the Korean equivalent of Log Ladies and dancing dwarves. But even in his more obtuse moments, David Lynch never had the cajones to introduce a 3000 pound man-eating boar! Chawz never manages to incorporate the oversized swine into the story smoothly either. There are some typical “kill scenes” where random characters are munched offscreen and even a false ending or two. But there’s just not enough bacon on display. As much as I appreciate a well-written character or two, I...

Although it wears all the accoutrements of a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western, El Topo is cut from another cloth entirely. Writer / director / star Alejandro Jodorowsky’s mind-bending, gender-bending, genre-bending experimental art film was the first certified midnight movie phenomenon, blazing a trail for the work of other outré auteur to come. Even 40 years later, its images are striking, its metaphors are mysterious and its ultimate purpose a bit bewildering. At the time of release, El Topo ’s violence, sexual perversions and sacrilegious leanings were enough to guarantee controversy. While their impact has lessened over the years, Jodorowsky’s film remains a bizarre free-for-all of politically incorrect imagery and impenetrable (but often amusing) iconography. A cowboy with a foot fetish caresses his collection of high heels. A female gunslinger amorously peels a luscious fruit. A cave full of physically deformed incest victims descends upon the spiritually deformed citize...

It’s funny what movies stick with you when you’re a kid. I remember watching The Last Dinosaur in 1977, a made-for-TV movie designed to compete with the Godzilla craze, and being more scared of star Richard Boone than any of the rubber monsters on display. As the actual “dinosaur” of the title, Boone is a loud-mouthed, hulking misogynist billionaire who longs to put a T-Rex on his trophy wall. His chance comes when his oil drill breaks through into a prehistoric world, populated by the same man-in-suit monsters seen in similar fare like At The Earth’s Core and The Land Time Forgot . While primitive, the effects are charmingly effective and photographed with more creativity than usual (a boneyard T-Rex / Triceritops fight is most impressive). But it’s Boone you remember; his bloated features and gruff voice perfect for a man who’s more at home in a cave than a mansion. While the script and acting in general will make you cringe if you haven’t seen it since it’s small screen debu...

The beauty of the double-feature drive-in movie experience was that you doubled your chances of seeing something worthwhile. And no one knew how to entertain the drive-in crowd better than Roger Corman. The mid-‘70s exploded with car culture pictures featuring stunts, sex and vehicular destruction all across America’s highways. Shout Factory’s Action Packed Collection cherry-picks three titles: Georgia Peaches , a TV pilot released theatrically overseas starring Dirk Benedict and Tanya Tucker in a Dukes of Hazzard -type scenario. Smokey Bites The Dust , with former child-star Jimmy McNichol (Kristi’s brother) as a good-natured car thief. And the top pick of the set, The Great Texas Dynamite Chase , starring 1970’s Playmate of the Year Claudia Jennings as a bankrobber who picks up another female partner and proceed to blow their way through the Lone Star State. There’s a whole lotta Thelma and Louise in Dynamite ’s DNA, but director Michael Pressman (a prolific but non-descrip...