Ebert’s review of the film North has to stand as the oddest lash-out I’ve ever read. He basically attacks the film as if it killed his mother. It’s astonishing.
North IS a bad movie. And also one that I’m not quite sure what audience it was even made for. But yeah…he definitely singled that one out and got personal lol..
In fairness, NORTH is an atrocious movie.
Oh come on it’s not that bad. Sure it’s oddball, but it’s not the war crime Ebert seemed to think it was.
Friday, August 25th:
![[Image: 51RGJ+9KtsL.AC.jpg]](https://forum.frameworkcast.com/uploads/db6724/original/3X/8/1/8138eef175e3d3648e6de36134b24fa79067ffab.jpeg)
Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas team up in Desperado. Ebert review.
L.A. gumshoe Scott Bakula matches wits with the Lord Of Illusions. Ebert review.
Patricia Arquette attempts to escape Burma in Beyond Rangoon. Ebert review.
Miramax re-released the animated Arabian Knight (previously released as The Princess and The Cobbler) after a very lengthy development and a complete rework of the original cut. Read the Wikipedia article for the whole story. There are seven cuts of this movie; this cut has new actors brought in to re-record dialogue, including Eric Bogosian and Vincent Price in his final performance. Stream the 1995 cut on the Internet Archive.
Russell Simmons hosts a hip-hop documentary in The Show. A directorial debut for Brian Robbins (Head Of The Class, C.H.U.D. II, Paramount CEO). YouTube stream.
Finally, The Amazing Panda Adventure (trailer) sees friendly zoologist Stephen Lang encountering an orphaned panda cub in China. The cub goes on the run with his son to evade poachers and find a new home. Most importantly, it was paired with the Looney Tunes short Carrotblanca:
I’ve never seen CARROTBLANCA before!
For the record, Vincent Price wasn’t ‘brought in’ on what I’m going to call The Thief and the Cobbler. He performed the original voice tracks years earlier.
Man, I don’t think I’ve watched DESPERADO since college; very curious to see how that one has aged. I’m not a Robert Rodriguez hater, but I’ve definitely cooled on him quite a bit since those days, when any filmmaker was getting a bump just for being Tarantino-adjacent.
I appreciate the context for Price’s role; it’s a very convoluted development, for sure!
I don’t know if the project thread at originaltrilogy.com still exists, but yeah, the history of Thief… is epic and kind of tragic.
Desperado is still fantastic..
Salma is always hot. But I like how in DESPERADO she’s so hot that she literally stops traffic.
Wednesday, August 30th:
Mark Harmon and his kids encounter a Canadian aquatic cryptid in Magic In The Water:
Ebert review.
No one is who they appear to be on Friday, September 1st:
![[Image: MV5BOWJjOWQ4OTEtMDljMi00NjliLWI3MDUtNTc4...X1000_.jpg]](https://forum.frameworkcast.com/uploads/db6724/original/3X/b/4/b4c05ada9249151742ed586aeb5f17d449db4b70.jpeg)
Tim “Superman” Daly and Sean “Almost Catwoman” Young swap bodies in Dr. Jekyll And Ms. Hyde. A movie that squeaked into theaters; there was no newspaper ad, just a single listing at a United Artists theater. SF Chronicle review. Watch on YouTube or the Internet Archive.
Christopher Walken makes devilish demands in The Prophecy. SF Chronicle review.
Isaac Mizrahi is the subject of the fashion documentary Unzipped. Ebert review.
Sandra Oh breaks out in Double Happiness. Ebert review.
Round up The Usual Suspects. Ebert review.
I was wondering if we just whiffed on Seven in this thread. But…I looked it up and it didn’t come out until September 22?! I feel Mandela Effected. I could have sworn that Seven came out in August of 1995. September?! That doesn’t feel right.
And when did Sudden Death come out?
Double Happiness is so good.
That Jekyll/Hyde poster is a war crime.
Sudden Death is a Christmas present.
Viggo’s Satan in The Prophecy is still one of my favorite iterations of the character.
Friday, September 8th:
Snipes, Swayze and Leguizamo sashay across the screen in To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar. Ebert review. Shout Blu-Ray.
Steven Weber and Patrick Stewart face several 90s cultural challenges in Jeffrey. Ebert review. Shout Blu-Ray.
America’s archer Jeremy Renner makes his debut in National Lampoon’s Senior Trip, along with Matt Frewer, Kevin McDonald, Tara Strong and Tommy Chong. Trailer, or the whole movie.
![[Image: senior-trip-1.jpg?w=723&h=445]](https://forum.frameworkcast.com/uploads/db6724/original/3X/d/d/dd922a0e6df48f7b2c44a7811675c48cc05eaee0.jpeg)
Darryl Hannah and Keith Carradine violently slash their way through the foster care system to find their daughter and the adopting family in The Tie That Binds. Scriptwriter Michael Auerbach wrote only this movie, then returned to editing jobs. Director Wesley Strick directed only this movie, but has a solid writing career (Arachnophobia, Wolf, and recently The Man In The High Castle). Trailer.
Tom Berenger and Barbara Hershey track escaped prisoners in the remote Pacific Northwest, only to stumble on a hidden Native American tribe in Last Of The Dogmen. Ebert review. Kino Lorber Blu-Ray. Rated PG!!
LAST OF THE DOGMEN has an absolutely gorgeous score. The movie itself is very meh.