Axelrod, Nina

Cobra

In the opening scene of this thoroughly mindless action flick, a psycho holds a group of terrified hostages in a grocery store, and yells to renegade cop Marion Cobretti (Sylvester Stallone) that he's going to blow the place to kingdom come. "Go ahead," says the cop nicknamed "Cobra," presumably because he's tightly coiled and strikes with deadly force. "I don't shop here." And so it goes with this brutal and for the most part disgusting Stallone showcase, in which Sly's then wife, Brigitte Nielsen, provides bad acting and ample cleavage as a fashion model (what else?) who's the only witness against a crazed cult of serial killers. Cobra likes to kill first and leave the questions to his disgruntled superiors, who call on the maverick lawman when all other options have failed. This movie does have a modest following, and for what it's worth, a few of the action sequences are disjointedly exciting. --Jeff Shannon

Sylvester Stallone creates another electrifying American hero in the Rocky/Rambo mold: Cobretti the cop a fearless dispenser of justice out to stop a gang of serial killers. Year: 1986Running Time: 87 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 085391159421

Brainstorm

Brainstorm is a fascinating but frustrating film, simply because it dabbles in greatness but fails to develop the fullest implications of its provocative ideas. It's a visually dazzling film with outstanding special effects; directed by veteran effects creator Douglas Trumbull, of 2001 fame; but too caught up in marvels of hardware and software at the expense of its characters, who remain interesting but dramatically two-dimensional. The story involves the development of a headset recorder that can replay one person's experiences--even their emotional states--into the mind of another. The device obviously invites corporate or military exploitation, and Cliff Robertson plays a ruthless executive determined to tap into its lucrative potential. But when a scientist (Louise Fletcher) records her own death experience with the device, along with incriminating evidence, the technology's inventor (Christopher Walken) must unlock the mysteries of his colleague's suspicious demise and the very nature of death itself. Punctuated by remarkable sequences from the perspective of those who use the mind-expanding headset, Brainstorm dares to reach for ambitious themes and innovative movie experiences, and that alone makes it eminently worthwhile. But with a conclusion that too literally interprets the afterlife experience with conventional angelic imagery, and a disappointingly thin role for Natalie Wood (who died while the film was still in production), the film strives for profundity and settles instead for an inspirational light show. --Jeff Shannon

Deranged/Motel Hell (Midnite Movies Double Feature)

A double bill of rural schlock, with both entries gruesome but somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Deranged was inspired by the unsavory saga of Ed Gein, whose isolated madness oiled the gears of both Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This is a low-rent production all the way, but its shabby locations have a certain eerie authenticity, and it benefits greatly from the casting of the reliable character actor Roberts Blossom--a scarecrow in the American Gothic mold--in the lead role. Now and again a somber but vaguely amusing narrator wanders into the frame to remind us that we are watching the tale of "a necromaniac, a defiler of the dead," as though we could forget. Serial-killer completists should check it out.

Motel Hell is slicker but less effective. Former Western star Rory Calhoun plays Farmer Vincent, a country hotel keeper (free samples of jerky at the front desk) whose line of smoked meats turns his customers into unwitting cannibals. The movie's got some genuinely creeped-out ideas (a backyard garden of victims, buried up to their necks?), but the execution is pedestrian and the humor pretty square. Onetime cultural icon Wolfman Jack has a few scenes as a TV preacher, for no apparent reason. --Robert Horton

Deranged: Ezra's good at making friends... into home furnishings! Based on the same terrifying story that inspired Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs, this hauntingly scary film chronicles the grisly exploits of a rural necrophiliac and murderer! Brace yourself for a "solid horror story" (Variety) that's guaranteed to make you bite your nails... because if you don't, Ezra will!

Motel Hell: You really are what you eat with Farmer Vincent's smoked meat in this creepy horror yarn that "packs a punch and goes way beyond mere terror" (Box Office)! Vincent's popular products contain a special ingredient that the psychotic farmer and his sister would literally kill to keep secret in this darkly funny flick that "just might be your cup of meat" (L.A. Herald Examiner).

Roller Boogie

Love is born to boogie in this electrifying and enjoyable (The Hollywood Reporter) romantic adventure about a Beverly Hills teen who takes love for a spin with a boy from the wrong side of the roller rink! Starring Linda Blair (The Exorcist) Roller Boogie is the ultimate fast-paced freewheeling 70s roller romp full of hot bodies (Variety) cool skating and hard-driving disco music (Film Journal)! Terry Barkley (Blair) has a talent for the flute a scholarship to Juilliard and her whole future planned out until she falls head over wheels for a roller boogie bad boy (Jim Bray). But Terry may lose more than her bearings when the local roller park is threatened by a shady development deal and the mob threatens to turn their boogie hot spot into a disco inferno!System Requirements: Running Time 104 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 027616910073 Manufacturer No: 1006866

Critters 3 - You Are What They Eat

Flesh-starved furballs invade an L.A.

Cobra/Tango & Cash

He's poison to crime. Sylvester Stallone portrays Cobra's Marion Cobretti, a cop with a style all his own and a knack for taking the blood-splattered jobs no one else dares to take. George P. Cosmatos (Tombstone) guides the whirlwind action as Cobretti confronts a crime spree that may be the work of a serial killer. Punches mix with punch lines in Tango & Cash, starring Stallone and Kurt Russell as rival Los Angeles cops who form a flinty partnership as they bust out of prison and go after the powerful drug czar who set them up. Co-stars include Jack Palance as the big-shot crimelord and, in her second film, Teri Hatcher.

Clifford's Really Big Movie

Based on the beloved character from the Clifford's Really Big... book series Clifford's Really Big Movie tells the story of Clifford the Big Red Dog a lovable canine who joins a traveling carnival when he mistakenly believes that he has become a burden to his human family. As he seeks his fortune in food Clifford helps his new animal buddies overcome their fears saves the carnival from going bust and finds his way home to his real family.Running Time: 74 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC: 085391163091 Manufacturer No: 116309

Cobra [Region 2]

Motel Hell

Motel Hell is a gruesome but somewhat tongue-in-cheek bit of rural schlock along the lines of 1974's Deranged, although slicker and less effective. Former Western star Rory Calhoun plays Farmer Vincent, a country hotel keeper (free samples of jerky at the front desk) whose line of smoked meats turns his customers into unwitting cannibals. The movie's got some genuinely creeped-out ideas (a backyard garden of victims, buried up to their necks?), but the execution is pedestrian and the humor pretty square. Onetime cultural icon Wolfman Jack has a few scenes as a TV preacher, for no apparent reason. --Robert Horton

Sylvester Stallone New Collection