Collection ID 836
Director: John Schlesinger
Starring: Martin Sheen, Helen Shaver, Harley Cross, Robert Loggia, Elizabeth Wilson
Genre: Horror
Studio: Orion Pictures   Release date: 1987   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, Spanish (USA)
Summary: A New York psychiatrist finds that a voodoo cult, which believes in child sacrifice, has a keen interest in his own son.
My Rating:
My Review: An excellent supernatural thriller with a pretty good cast. Martin Sheen (playing Cal Jamison), Robert Loggia (as Lt. Sean McTaggert), Helen Shaver, Jimmy Smits, Harley Cross, and others. After the tragic death of his wife, police psychiatrist, Martin Sheen moves to New York with his young son. He is soon called upon to help investigate the brutal, ritualistic murders of two young boys. It is soon discovered that a voodoo cult with ties to the Santeria religious sect. When the cult starts to pay an interest in his son, things get far more dangerous. The movie has several supernatural elements, excellent suspense, thrills and tension. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Collection ID 35
Director: John Schlesinger
Starring: Martin Sheen, Helen Shaver, Harley Cross, Robert Loggia, Elizabeth Wilson
Genre: Horror
Studio: Orion Pictures   Release date: 1987   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, Spanish (USA)
Summary: A New York psychiatrist finds that a voodoo cult, which believes in child sacrifice, has a keen interest in his own son.
My Rating:
My Review: An excellent supernatural thriller with a pretty good cast. Martin Sheen (playing Cal Jamison), Robert Loggia (as Lt. Sean McTaggert), Helen Shaver, Jimmy Smits, Harley Cross, and others. After the tragic death of his wife, police psychiatrist, Martin Sheen moves to New York with his young son. He is soon called upon to help investigate the brutal, ritualistic murders of two young boys. It is soon discovered that a voodoo cult with ties to the Santeria religious sect. When the cult starts to pay an interest in his son, things get far more dangerous. The movie has several supernatural elements, excellent suspense, thrills and tension. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Collection ID 486
Director: William Wyler
Starring: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith
Genre: Action
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)   Release date: 1959   Rated: G   
Language (Country): English, French (USA)
Summary: When a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
My Rating:
My Review: Directed by William Wyler this epic movie is based on a novel by Lew Wallace. It's also a remake. The original black and white version was released in 1925. I've added that version to my NetFlix, but it's hard to imagine that it might be better than this version. Starring Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur, Jack Hawkins as Quintus Arrius and Haya Harareet as Esther. Ben Hur is a Jewish prince living under the rule of Romans in early 1st century Jerusalem. When his childhood friend (Messala - played by Jack Hawkins) arrives as commander of a Roman legion, the two are initially friendly. Soon their differing politics set them on opposite sides in Rome's plans for Jerusalem. When the new governor arrives, a roof tile falls from Judah Ben-Hur's home. Striking the governor, Messala uses the incident as an excuse to remove his former friend from the scene. A powerful former prince is the last thing he needs in his efforts to pacify the province. Messala knows they're not 'guilty', but he sends Judah to the galleys and imprisons his mother and sister in a dungeon. In a fateful confrontation, Judah swears that he will return for his revenge. Intertwined with the story of Judah is the story of Jesus, who influences Judah in a few key scenes. This magnificent epic took some time to watch (it's more than three hours long), but it was well worth it. The movie captured 11 Oscars in 1960, and I rate it a 5 out of 5.

Collection ID 1193
Director: William Wyler
Starring: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith
Genre: Action
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)   Release date: 1959   Rated: G   
Language (Country): English, French (USA)
Summary: When a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
My Rating:
My Review: Directed by William Wyler this epic movie is based on a novel by Lew Wallace. It's also a remake. The original black and white version was released in 1925. I've added that version to my NetFlix, but it's hard to imagine that it might be better than this version. Starring Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur, Jack Hawkins as Quintus Arrius and Haya Harareet as Esther. Ben Hur is a Jewish prince living under the rule of Romans in early 1st century Jerusalem. When his childhood friend (Messala - played by Jack Hawkins) arrives as commander of a Roman legion, the two are initially friendly. Soon their differing politics set them on opposite sides in Rome's plans for Jerusalem. When the new governor arrives, a roof tile falls from Judah Ben-Hur's home. Striking the governor, Messala uses the incident as an excuse to remove his former friend from the scene. A powerful former prince is the last thing he needs in his efforts to pacify the province. Messala knows they're not 'guilty', but he sends Judah to the galleys and imprisons his mother and sister in a dungeon. In a fateful confrontation, Judah swears that he will return for his revenge. Intertwined with the story of Judah is the story of Jesus, who influences Judah in a few key scenes. This magnificent epic took some time to watch (it's more than three hours long), but it was well worth it. The movie captured 11 Oscars in 1960, and I rate it a 5 out of 5.

Collection ID 1581
Director: Ted Post
Starring: James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison, Paul Richards
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, TV Movie
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox   Release date: 1970   Rated: G   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: Brent is an American astronaut, part of a team sent to locate missing fellow American astronaut, George Taylor. Following Taylor's known flight trajectory, the search and rescue team crash lands on an unknown planet much like Earth in the year 3955, with Brent being the only survivor of the team. What Brent initially does not know, much like Taylor didn't initially know when he landed here before Brent, is that he has landed back on Earth in the future, in the vicinity of what was New York City. Brent finds evidence that Taylor has been on the planet. In Brent's search for Taylor, he finds that the planet is run by a barbaric race of English speaking apes, whose mission is in part to annihilate the human race. Brent eventually locates some of those humans, who communicate telepathically and who live underground to prevent detection by the apes. These humans, who are in their own way as barbaric as the apes, want in turn to protect their species. Brent has to figure out a way to save ...
My Rating:
My Review: Here is the sequel to a smash hit - Planet of the Apes (I own it - 5 out of 5). Directed by Ted Post (Hang 'Em High, Go Tell The Spartans (not the comedy), Magnum Force). Starring James Franciscus as Brent (a human astronaut), Charlton Heston as Taylor (in a very small role) and others. This movie picks up just where the original left off. On a lonely stretch of beach in the very far future (What year was it? 3978, 3955?). Taylor and Nova are leaving the apes behind, heading off into the 'Forbidden Zone'. Another space ship has crashed on this future earth. It's surviving crew member - Brent - searches for Taylor. Brent hooks up with Nova and the search is on. Soon the pair discover a group of mutant humans dwelling under the surface. As the apes prepare to attack these mutant humans, the threat of their gods retribution could be total annihilation at the hands of a nuclear bomb! The writing was a mixed bag. No where as good as the first, but it did contain several unique elements. Unfortunately, it seems as if some scenes were patched in afterward. The acting talent was missing as well. The direction was o.k., but their were some problems with production work. The underground sets were great, but the costume work was shoddy. 3 out of 5.

Collection ID 1505
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Starring: Robin Williams, Kurt Russell, Pamela Reed, Holly Palance, Donald Moffat
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Cinema Group Ventures   Release date: 1986   Rated: PG-13   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: A small-town loser determines to have one more shot at the big time by winning a football game.
My Rating:
My Review: Robin Williams (playing Jack Dundee) and Kurt Russell (playing Reno Hightower) provide us with excellent performances in this sports focused comedy. In this movie, Dundee and Hightower re-write history, conjuring up demons of the past, they struggle to overcome their failings in 1972, when they lost a crucial high-school football game. The outcome of that game has weighed heavily on their souls, creating paths they cannot escape without replaying the game. Convincing their former rivals to re-play the game wasn't difficult, but facing possibility of a repeat took monumental effort to overcome. All that lays ahead of them now is a football game designed to reset their paths or seal their fates. Well written, but sorely limited in scope and transparent in its outcomes. I give it a 3 of 5.

Collection ID 7
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Starring: Robin Williams, Kurt Russell, Pamela Reed, Holly Palance, Donald Moffat
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Cinema Group Ventures   Release date: 1986   Rated: PG-13   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: A small-town loser determines to have one more shot at the big time by winning a football game.
My Rating:
My Review: Robin Williams (playing Jack Dundee) and Kurt Russell (playing Reno Hightower) provide us with excellent performances in this sports focused comedy. In this movie, Dundee and Hightower re-write history, conjuring up demons of the past, they struggle to overcome their failings in 1972, when they lost a crucial high-school football game. The outcome of that game has weighed heavily on their souls, creating paths they cannot escape without replaying the game. Convincing their former rivals to re-play the game wasn't difficult, but facing possibility of a repeat took monumental effort to overcome. All that lays ahead of them now is a football game designed to reset their paths or seal their fates. Well written, but sorely limited in scope and transparent in its outcomes. I give it a 3 of 5.

Collection ID 212
Director: Barbara Kopple, Danny Schechter
Starring: Edward Asner, Numa V. Bertel Jr., Madeleine Brown, Kevin Costner, Walter Cronkite
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Embassy International Pictures   Release date: 1992   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: A documentary destined to calmly explain and analyze the facts, myths and rumours about John Kennedy's assassination and the overwhelming use of information in Oliver Stone's epic "JFK" (1991), at the same time it presents a behind the scenes documentary on the controversial film. Features interviews with the cast and director, and the personalities who lived and remember the facts concerning the November 22, 1963, like reporters, eyewitnesses and others, and some of the real characters from the movie, like Jim Garrison, Numa Bertel, Lou Ivon and Perry Russo.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 850
Director: Barbara Kopple, Danny Schechter
Starring: Edward Asner, Numa V. Bertel Jr., Madeleine Brown, Kevin Costner, Walter Cronkite
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Embassy International Pictures   Release date: 1992   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: A documentary destined to calmly explain and analyze the facts, myths and rumours about John Kennedy's assassination and the overwhelming use of information in Oliver Stone's epic "JFK" (1991), at the same time it presents a behind the scenes documentary on the controversial film. Features interviews with the cast and director, and the personalities who lived and remember the facts concerning the November 22, 1963, like reporters, eyewitnesses and others, and some of the real characters from the movie, like Jim Garrison, Numa Bertel, Lou Ivon and Perry Russo.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 1501
Director: Penny Marshall
Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jared Rushton
Genre: Comedy
Studio: American Entertainment Partners II L.P.   Release date: 1988   Rated: PG   
Language (Country): English, French (USA)
Summary: When a boy wishes to be big at a magic wish machine, he wakes up the next morning and finds himself in an adult body literally overnight.
My Rating:
My Review: Starring Tom Hanks, here's a great story. A whimsical comedy with lots of heart. A young boy (12/13 years old) gets fed up with adolescence, he wants respect, wants responsibility, wants to be 'big'. His wish is soon granted by a magical 'Zoltar' machine. Josh learns that being grown up isn't all that great. He has to get a job, and deal with grown-ups and some new found 'feelings'. Eventually he wishes he was a kid again. I've seen this movie many times, and it keeps getting better every time I watch it. 5 out of 5.