19 - Nightmares

Connection To GOIN' SOUTH - Veronica Cartwright

This was a film I wasn't that familiar too until very recently, it had never been on my radar and was honestly looking through films that where on Youtube in full and this was one so I read up about it, I'm not going to pretend I knew of it's existence before then.

With horror anthology movies I think most people can count them on one or two hands - The Creep Show movies, Twilight Zone Movie, Dead Of Night - most likely perhaps, some will say Body Bags or The Willies among others as well, and I know I'm leaving loads off but the point is I think horror anthology is more something people will associate with television.

The first thing I'll say about Nightmares, is that  the running roughly of 90 minutes just flies by - 4 stories, none of them hidden classics, at least don't wear out their welcome, I swear I thought I'd been watching less then an hour by the time the fourth one finished.

The first story up is "Terror In Topanga" (nobody better tell Cory - I've been holding that joke in since I saw the title come up), I think it's the weakest of the bunch, I was going to say the ending is stole by the movie Urban Legend but then I realized the ending is probably based off the original urban legend.

"The Bishop Of Battle" was made in the 80's don't you know - well obviously the whole film was but this just stands out with the clothing, the walkman, the arcade graphics, Emilio Estevez seems to play the typical 80's douche who's obsessed with getting to Level 13 on a arcade game, fun segment.

"The Benediction" as Lance Henriksen as a Priest who as give up on faith after a child death, it's probably the best acted since Henriksen is a talented guy, this is the one that probably felt it went by quickest to me (but I didn't sit and time each segment).

"Night Of The Rat" is goofy but is fun and features a giant rat ending up terrorising the home of Veronica Cartwright and Richard Masur. As there ever been a feature length film with the same plot, I'd be surprised if it hasn't.

Overall, even though stories verge on the silly, it's sort of fun and like I said the time just flew by, as give me a taste to maybe watch some more horror anthologies somewhere down the line, I recommend it but reviews I've read suggest it wasn't brilliantly recieved.

18 - Goin' South

Connection To CAMP NOWHERE - Christopher Lloyd

Last year I went on a Clint Eastwood binge, this mean't watching a lot of his westerns - seeing many of them for the first time - this is related to Goin' South because it re-sparked my love for the western, it reminded me what I enjoyed so much about these oaters. It's not that I'd gone off the western, it's just being a few years since I got on a roll with them, hell even one of my favourite films is a western (Once Upon A Time In The West).

Anyway this brings me to the 1978 western Goin' South, starring and directed by Jack Nicholson and with a pretty darn cool supporting cast and I think was not successful on original release because it seems somewhat forgotten as far as I know.

Henry Moon (Nicholson) is a robber who is sentenced and to be hanged in Longhorn, but due to bill from the Civil War, that allows a condemned man to be saved from the gallows if an unmarried woman would like to marry him and be responsible for him. Julie Tate (Mary Steenburgen) weds Moon, for him to work in a goldmine on her property, Moon's old gang show up and discover that they are mining gold but Julie and Moon's relationship is changing.

Like a lot of the best westerns you notice how it's shot with a lot of great use of locations, I think this was only 1 of 3 Nicholson actually directed, and none of the films really where too successful at best, his co-star Steenburgen (in her movie debut) plays naive well and has good chemistry with Nicholson and there is enjoyable supporting cast including John Belushi (also making his movie debut technically, this was shot before Animal House but released after), Danny DeVito (whose worked with Nicholson 5 times total I think), Christopher Lloyd (really enjoyed him here), Ed Begley Jr. and Tracey Walter. It's also fun seeing Lloyd lusting after Steenburgen an whole 12 years before the romance of Back To The Future 3.

Overall it deserves to be better known that actually is, Like I said Nicholson and Steenburgen have decent fun chemistry in the leads and have a great cast around them, I'd recommend this for fans of the western genre.

17 - Camp Nowhere

Connection To THE EYE - Jessica Alba

I don't recall ever seeing this before, I mean it could have been on in the school holidays and watched it, but I doubt it because I tend to have a pretty good memory of what I have actually watched, and honestly I think if I would have seen it I would have liked and possibly held even if minor some sort of affection for it.

Yeah, I liked this, the Rotten Tomatoes fresh rating of only 10% just honestly seems a tad unfair, I talked about bad child actors a little bit in the write up for Leave It To Beaver, even mentioning the 1994 Little Rascals (which just this week as had a new Direct To DVD film called Save The Day), but there is none of that problem here, all the kids are likable and none deliver bad performances.

The films plot sees the kids lead by Mud (Jonathan Jackson) realizing they are all facing the same thing - a boring summer camp this year (all of them different) and trick their parents into sending them to the same summer camp (with no counsellers or rules or etc.) with the help of Christopher Lloyd, who they've paid a $1000 too, they end up blackmailing him to run he camp when they soon get bored with the lack of rules.

While it's lightweight stuff - it is a kid's movie after all - it was very enjoyable to watch, Jessica Alba appears as originally an extra but gets bumped up to have a few lines and Smallville's Allison Mack is also among the cast. It dawned on me while watching as well that the red headed girl right at the front on the picture was my the show Hang Time.

I can see while the film as built a loving following. Back To The Future fans should take in that Lloyd shares screen time with Biff Tannen himself, speaking of Lloyd he's great as the "adult" lead role.

Overall fun, funny with an enjoyable cast of child actors. The only problems I really saw is the feeling at the end how the really situation would go down to how it was in this movie.