JASIMO’S BLOG

Each month, I’ll be summarizing movie titles of various genres and eras that you can find on any physical media format with embedded preview trailers that will accompany them whenever applicable. Next month’s random digest will feature mostly horror related as October provides that seasonal mood where you just might get a few hairs raised and then some.

I must begin with one really bad apple that needs serious analyzing: SUPER CAPERS (2009, PG) is a seriously flawed parody of 1980s movie references than a superhero spoof that was critically pummeled upon its release — it still retains a 6% score on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing. Believe it or not — pun intended — I discovered this title at the thrift store, and I think there’s a valid reason why: I don’t see many good superhero movies stocked up at the thrift store. And believe me when I say this movie is mediocre on almost every occasion. The performances and special effects are lousy, and nearly all other development is executed haphazardly. Conversely, this would have been made in 2026 had a YouTube creator taken a smartphone, cranked up some AI slop and score 100 million views from it. That would qualify the movie for becoming a viral sensation, bad reviews be damned.

Our story involves a superhero under the name of ’Gruberman’ who is ‘sentenced’ by a judge to a team of fellow caped crusaders with lackadaisical superpowers after he commits some sort of a criminal offense. They band together to fight off evildoers. Sounds like fun if you asked me. 

There’s scream queen Danielle Harris in a lead role as ‘Freeze’, plus a few brief appearances by Tom Sizemore as a lawyer, and June Lockhart in her final onscreen role as an elderly woman. Let us not forget the most important element of paying tribute to superheroes and that is by hiring ‘Campy Batman’ legend Adam West in a ‘Batmobile’ homage — here, he’s known as ‘Manbat’ and we only get a paltry amount of screen time for the appreciation. And where’s the camp, you ask? I couldn’t find it.

So far, there hasn’t been another re-release of the film on physical media after Lionsgate released it on DVD a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away — there’s that useless STAR WARS ref again! And I’ll be the one to admit that Lionsgate sure put out a lot of made-for-video dreck even after it acquired Artisan. As far as I’m concerned there has never been a Blu-ray edition of the movie. Perhaps someday, the responsibility will come from its Vestron Video label that could give guilty pleasures like this one a second life, but at the end of the day I would pass up on this one, regardless.

But then, you can’t go wrong with a far more superior superhero flick like KICK-ASS, made three years later and with glowing reviews. By Lionsgate, by golly!

If you like explosions, fistfights, car crashes, buddy cop mayhem, bad guys in cowboy hats, and some of the craziest death-defying stunts around such as dangling from a helicopter, then ACTION U.S.A. (1988, R) offers a fully loaded combination of insanity that money can buy.

The premise is awfully simple: a pair of ‘FBI’ agents protect a young woman after her boyfriend is gunned down by ruthless diamond thieves, and the hunt is on. Veteran actors best known for grade-Z drive-in fare play villains including Cameron Mitchell and Ross Hagen. Movies like this one usually go to extremes for rough violence and don’t have proper plot developments. That’s perfectly fine because this is a ‘fan’ flick and not something the Academy would consider for its next awards ceremony.

There’s an interesting history about this film known for its location filming in Waco and extensive use of its low budget production. ACTION U.S.A. was released on home video in 1989 by way of Imperial Entertainment during an era filled with no-name video-store titles saturating the market, including the action genre. After more than three decades of relative VHS obscurity, it was rediscovered and fully restored for theatrical exhibition in 2020, mostly thanks to a revived interest in 80s-fused nostalgia. I watched the Blu-ray edition put out by MVD and it looks brilliant for a cinematic time capsule that packs wild punches.

Does this comedy about going back to school as a grown-up without a brain remind me of the one with Rodney Dangerfield? Inheriting that familiar premise is BILLY MADISON (1995, PG-13), which was Adam Sandler’s first lone starring role in a feature film that would brand him a modern version of Jerry Lewis primed with bathroom jokes and absurdities. In the end, the film’s message rings true: there’s a smart-alecky kid in every one of us.

We have here an odd-balled tale about a wealthy grown-up ‘boy’ who’s heir to a Fortune 500 company owned by his dad (Darren McGavin). To prove himself worthy of inheriting the business, the party-loving Billy must attend grades K through 12 while trying to hold lasting impressions with a third-grade teacher (Bridgette Wilson). 

Highly notable in the cast is an uncredited Chris Farley as a bus driver — he was another SNL alumnus who starred in that year’s TOMMY BOY, another 90s comedy with a cult following just over a month after the release of this film.

Sandler would end up being the most bankable comedy act during the 1990s second half with future box-office smash hits including HAPPY GILMORE and THE WEDDING SINGER. It’s no surprise that this film earned a critically bad rap, but fortunately, audiences gave it ‘the people’s choice’. That leading man Sandler and his childish antics on screen made audiences laugh hard ‘til it hurts proved why he had so much lasting appeal. BILLY MADISON was simply the beginning of things to come.

Not to be confused with the long-running television legal drama of the same name. LAW AND ORDER is an exciting 1953 Western starring Ronald Reagan (who else?). He commands the role as marshal ‘Frame Johnson’, a brute lawman whose oath is keeping the peace as never-ending work, only to settle into another town for an engagement with a casino dealer (Dorothy Malone).

This fairly standard Western packs in quite a lot for a running time of 80 minutes: lots of gunslingin’, fistfightin’, some beautiful broads, a cliffhanger of a climax, and of course a leading man whose versatility and boldness on the screen would forecast a political future that lies ahead for him. Simply put, with a title such as LAW AND ORDER, it masterfully speaks of All-American all around. And nothing felt more American than getting more out of life by going out to the movies on a sunny weekend to catch all the spectacle in 1953.

The Blu-ray release from Shout Factory offers a lot of promotional material and publicity stills as bonuses. I found it amazing that the ‘introducing’ cast member Ruth Hampton got a fair amount of attention for the movie — according to Wikipedia, it was said that Universal landed a replacement role for her because she ran for, and get this… Miss Universe! 

1983 was a very uncommon year at the movies based on my observations, and horror titles just seemed to veer off course including a 3D JAWS sequel that had nothing to do with the first and second JAWS. Stephen King, however, was on a roll after the previous year’s CREEPSHOW, so he fared better with not one, but three of his novels adapted for the silver screen that were released during the second half of ‘83: THE DEAD ZONE, CHRISTINE, and this terrifying tale of a vicious Saint Bernard — CUJO (R*). Reviews were mixed as usual for King’s book-to-movie product, but I’d say this scared the bejesus out of me with its gnarly makeup FX of the dog that offered plenty of bite on 4K Ultra HD.

It all started with a bat bite, turning this once-humble Saint Bernard into a supernatural ‘monster’ that finds and attacks its human prey in a quiet town in Maine. Soon, the vicious dog finds a mother and son trapped inside of a broken-down Ford Pinto, harnessing its powerful display of terror overnight.

Dee Wallace was already a certified scream queen in THE HOWLING, and her solid performance gives the movie high marks. Danny Pintauro as the young boy would shortly go on to being cast in the long-running sitcom WHO’S THE BOSS.

(*) Did You Know? – Early VHS copies published by Warner Home Video in 1984 mistakenly printed the ‘PG’ rating on the tape’s label. It is, however, an ‘R’ picture just as it played in theaters, with a few graphic scenes.

After the major success of the second ‘Mad Max’ installment THE ROAD WARRIOR, there had been a tidal wave of futuristic action films about societal collapse just like it. Examples that come to mind are 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS and SOLARBABIES. They were released either on the big screen or straight to VCR, but most of them were crummy copycats and full of mediocrity to end up in a landfill somewhere. Take, for instance, 2020 TEXAS GLADIATORS (1983), just one of numerous Italian exploitation pictures of the era with cheesy dialogue, outlandish synth music, torture and minimalist production which, to my surprise, is a great time capsule of late-night fodder that wouldn’t look or feel this authentic in the present. 

It’s a tale that had been duplicated many times before, and it applies here in early-80s spectacle: the population of ‘Texas’ bands together to overthrow a corrupt regime that uses violent tactics and weaponry to suppress and control them. Some observers believe this film has the ingredients of a bloody Spaghetti Western and they may be right because in quoting a popular reference to Ragu… that’s Italian.

This wasn’t the first time I watched it, though. Back in the late 90s, I discovered this film at a video store clearance shelf for roughly five bucks, which was considered cheap at a time when VCRs still ruled the roost. It was originally released by Media with an ‘R’ rating (in other words, edited) when it had distribution rights to release Joe D’Amato titles including ATOR THE FIGHTING EAGLE and ENDGAME (which also starred Al Cliver). I regretted giving away that copy now, but the good news is that Severin, a distributor known for oddball genre films with high to extreme amounts of shock value, stepped in and brought it back in the 4K format and fully uncut. They really gave it a good polishing, even if it’s never been a pristine looking film to begin with.

Before receiving accolades in CITIZEN KANE, Orson Welles founded the Mercury Theatre in 1937, a production company that made radio shows, stage performances and motion pictures. It is well mentioned that its 1938 radio broadcast of ‘War Of The Worlds’ is Mercury’s most famous. The noir-ish spy thriller JOURNEY INTO FEAR (1943, no MPA rating) was among the few of its movies released by RKO and featured a number of cast members that were a part of the Mercury troupe including Robert Cotton (who also wrote the screenplay), Everett Sloane and Agnes Moorehead.

With a running time of only 68 minutes, the harrowing film follows a gunnery engineer from the United States who is thrust into danger and intrigue onboard a ship of secret agents brought in by the Turkish secret police after becoming an unsuccessful target as a Nazi criminal. That very last line of dialogue from Cotton’s character is entirely the point.

Warner Archive generously gives its releases of vintage movies an added lift with historical artifacts included as extras, as it features three broadcasts of the ‘Mercury Theatre On The Air’ radio program  — ‘Dracula’, ‘Treasure Island’ and ‘A Tale Of Two Cities’.

Following up on BETTER OFF DEAD, director / animator Savage Steve Holland re-enlisted fellow actor John Cusack for this obnoxious summer comedy called ONE CRAZY SUMMER (1986, PG). That’s the best description I can make of a title that is loaded with JAWS references and Bobcat Goldthwait in a ‘Godzilla’ costume. Above all, it is certainly one of those rarer summer 80s flicks that tries its hand at being a live-action cartoon.

Cusack is a high school graduate who animates his tale about searching for love in preparation for a job entry. That story could become fulfilled as he and his friends set out for Nantucket on a wild summer vacation. Soon enough, he rescues a beautiful singer (Demi Moore) and starts a relationship while helping out on saving her grandfather’s estate that is overtaken by snobby developers.

This zany romp comes awfully darn close to being a ‘cult’ movie had it been funnier and more refined as with BETTER OFF DEAD, but at least the animated vignettes coming from Holland give this one an added spark of enlightenment. It’s also delightful to catch the highly versatile Moore in a singing act (and yes, she can sing!) before claiming successful roles later on during her amazing four-decade career. And just like in three of the POLICE ACADEMY films, Goldthwait’s hyperactive gags take the cake — he’s even announcing the trailer in his familiar form.

I will not reveal the climax due to potentially spoiling the film, but I can tell you there’s a striking similarity to the events in SUMMER RENTAL, another 80s summer comedy.

** Fun Fact: Holland designed and animated the ‘Whammy’ for the 80s game show PRESS YOUR LUCK, where a contestant loses all cash earnings just for landing on it.

NOTES ON A SCANDAL (2006, R) is a supercharged character-driven thriller in a somewhat familiar premise as FATAL ATTRACTION, and the one you shouldn’t have missed. It is the story of a friendship between two teachers that leads into a downward spiral. The arrival of a high school’s new art teacher named Sheba (Cate Blanchett) convinces the lonesome and derided Barbara (Dame Judi Dench) to create a bond. Following a discovery that Sheba is having an illicit affair with a 15-year old student, the relationship becomes heated as Barbara takes ‘Machievellian’ revenge against her.

A powerful screenplay by Patrick Marber that was adapted from Zoë Heller’s 2003 novel supported by two strong performances by the lead actresses gave way to critical acclaim, Oscar nods and successful box office returns for this film. Pretty much ranks among the most honest and most intelligent thrillers of the 2000s if you ask me, and still awaiting a 4K Blu-ray release.

And that will be it for this month’s roundup. Keep discovering all the content you can find on physical media because it’s all yours to keep. Are you a fan of good movies, bad movies or just plain movies? There’s plenty of them floating around, but you can answer the call in the comment section below.