A BRONX TALE (1993)

Featuring: Robert De Niro; Chazz Palminteri; Francis Capra; Lillo Brancato

Director: Robert De Niro

Well known film director Martin Scorsese and acclaimed screen actor Robert De Niro often collaborated during their respective careers by making quite a number of films together. Some of these include cult classics like Taxi Driver (1976); Raging Bull (1980); Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995). A Bronx Tale, however, was Robert De Niro's first attempt at directing. And what an attempt it turned out to be, even though it did not obtain the box office success it deserved!

Based on the stage play by Chazz Palminteri, who also adapted and wrote the script for the movie, it tells the story of Calogero Anello, a young American boy of Sicilian descent, growing up on the streets of the Bronx neighborhood of New York during the 1970's. Torn between his love for his working stiff father, Lorenzo (also portrayed by Robert Di Nero) and his admiration for his local gangster kingpin, Sonny (Chazz Palminteri, in a terrific performance) he must learn to find the correct path in life that will, in the end, be the right one for him to follow.

This poignant coming-of-age film is simply great on so many levels. From the excellent acting all round, to the authentic settings, to the time period mo-town music score. But it is especially the two young actors (Francis Capra as the younger Calogero and Lillo Brancato as the later teen version of the boy) that really stands out. Therefore, kudos to Mr De Niro for a fantastic first directing attempt. This makes it yet one more of those movies that simply must form part of any serious DVD collection.

I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5nQyoo1LwY

 

The famous line-up scene with Fancis Capra (front, second from left), Robert De Niro (behind, next to Francis) and Chazz Palminteri (at the end of the row on the right)    

POLTERGEIST III (1988)

Featuring: Tom Skerritt; Nancy Allen; Heather O'Rourke

Director: Gary Sherman

Rumor has it that the original Poltergeist movie series was cursed. Apparently four of the initial 80's cast members died within six years from the release of the first film in 1982. Now, if that is enough to make it 'cursed' you'll have to decide for yourself. What is tragic though, is the fact that Heather O'Rourke (who played Carol Anne in all three movies) died four months before the premier of number three at the tender age of twelve. But there is nothing mysterious about her death. She died because doctors messed up by incorrectly diagnosing her when she fell ill.

This time the action takes place in a state of the art high rise building in Chicago. Carol Anne was sent to live with her uncle Bruce (Tom Skerritt) and aunt Pat (Nancy Allen) in an attempt to escape the evil spirits that haunt her. But they manage to find her nevertheless. And if you think the ghosts can mess up a house, wait till you see what they do to a skyscraper!

The acting overall in this last of the sequels is at best mediocre. Fortunately the special effects more than make up for it. And in the final analysis this provides quite a fitting end to the entire ghostly saga.

Again, I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqKUY56RSzQ

 The late Heather O'Rourke. May she rest in peace...

POLTERGEIST II (1986)

Featuring: Craig T Nelson; JoBeth Williams; Heather O'Rourke

Director: Brian Gibson

This first sequel did not receive quite the same rave reviews as the original did. Maybe it was because Steven Spielberg was no longer involved. Maybe people simply expected too much. Whatever the reason it still made a killing at the box office and I found it just as entertaining.

After their ordeal in California, the Freeling family moves in with Diane's mother in Arizona. This, they hope, will help them escape the ghosts that haunted their Cuesta Verde house. However, it soon turns out that it wasn't the house that was haunted, it was them! So, no matter where they go, the evil spirits will find them. The only solution is that dad Steve (Craig T. Nelson) must learn how to battle these spirits in order to fend them off and thus protect his family...

The scary stuff in this movie is even scarier than that of the previous one. But it is Julian Beck as the "Beast" disguised as Reverend Kane that will scare the bejeebies out of you. This is actually good fun, just as long as you don't take it all too seriously.

I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZnZwFybeok

 Is this guy (played by Julian Beck) creepy-looking or what...?

POLTERGEIST (1982)

Featuring: Craig T. Nelson; JoBeth Williams; Heather O'Rourke

Director: Tobe Hooper

Unlike the movie we looked at last week, this one leaves very little up to the imagination. The scary stuff is very visual! But what makes this film stand out in the horror genre, is its subtle use of humor. Some horror flicks are all about the fear factor while other are so shocking that it becomes downright silly. But this Steven Spielberg production proved that you can see humor in any situation no matter how frightening it may get. And that, to my mind, is to a large extend responsible for the original movie's huge box office success.

Strange things start to happen in the Freeling family's new house: pieces of furniture start re-arranging itself; inanimate objects start moving around; a dead tree comes to life and attacks one of the children and finally, one of the others seems to have disappeared into the TV. Before long, dad Steve (Craig T. Nelson) begins to suspect it all has to do with the place where the house is built - on top of an old defunct cemetery! 

The special effects (provided by none other than George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic company) is nothing short of spectacular, even at today's standards. And, as already mentioned, the excellent use of humor set the bar for many horror movie makers ever since. So, this one is well worth another look, even if you have seen it before.

I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tZIsNSToYI

 Jobeth Williams and Heather O'Rourke in the famous chair scene

SIGNS (2002)

Featuring: Mel Gibson; Joaquin Phoenix; Rory Culkin

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Real horror lies not in what is visual but in what is imagined; not in what is shown but in what is suggested. And Signs is a good example of this truth. Which just goes to show you don't need blood and guts and exploding heads to scare people.

After loosing his wife in a horrific car accident, preacher Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) struggles with his faith in God. But when mysterious crop circles start appearing in the corn fields on their farm, the family soon finds themselves in a fight for survival against what seems to be an invisible alien force.

This movie demonstrates how fear can be such a powerful force that it can move ordinary people to do extraordinary things. But at the same time it also shows how faith in something besides yourself can overcome even the most paralyzing of fears: the unknown.

I have no hesitation in awarding this suspense thriller with 4 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5-Lv4CJmFM

 Rory Culkin, Joaquin Phoenix, Mel Gibson and Abigail Breslin