Neale, Leslie

Gremlins 2 - The New Batch

Zach Galligan, the star of the first Gremlins, is back, along with Phoebe Cates, his girlfriend from the first film. They're both working in an ultramodern skyscraper owned by a Donald Trump clone (a hilarious John Glover). Galligan's furry little buddy is captured by a mad scientist, who not only helps it multiply, but invests the nasty, scaly offspring with intelligence and the ability to talk. (Watch for the one that has Tony Randall's voice.) What follows is imaginative mayhem that spoofs old movies, modern television, and the conveniences of postmodern technology. In some ways, the sequel is even more inventive and laughter-inducing than the original. --Marshall Fine

Billy Peltzer and Kate Beringer move to New York City and meet up with their Mogwai friend, Gizmo, when a series of accidents creates a new generation of diverse gremlins. Billy, Kate, and Gizmo must once again use all their experience to prevent another catastrophe.

Clean and Sober

After making his mark in several hit comedies including Beetlejuice, Michael Keaton startled critics and audiences alike with his acclaimed performance in this 1988 drama about one man's struggle against cocaine addiction. Keaton's comedic energy is transformed here into the kind of jittery intensity that's perfect for his role, suggesting a driven personality who can maintain the appearance of self-control for only so long before he crashes and burns. After a series of setbacks, Keaton's character seeks refuge in a drug rehabilitation program and must confront the truth of his own addiction at the urging of a counselor (Morgan Freeman) who's heard every lame excuse in the book from addicts struggling to quit. Kathy Baker leads a superb supporting cast as a recovering alcoholic and battered wife whose flagging self-esteem is boosted by Keaton's attention. Under the careful direction of Glenn Gordon Caron (of TV's Moonlighting fame), Keaton and Baker handle this delicate material with consummate skill and grace, turning a potentially depressing story into a moving portrait of people who must battle their inner demons step by tentative step. --Jeff Shannon

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid

HONEY, I BLEW UP THE KID is the hilarious sequel to the enormously popular comedy hit, HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS -- and an even GREATER adventure! This time, wacky inventor Wayne Szalinski (Rick Moranis) accidentally zaps his two-and-a-half-year-old son with a particle beam, causing the child to grow whenever coming in contact with electricity. Soon topping 112 feet, the overgrown baby is attracted to the bright, shiny lights of Las Vegas, and nothing stands in his way! Now the chase is on. The excitement is growing. And you're headed for thrills and laughter bigger than ever!

Gremlins (Special Edition) / Gremlins 2 - The New Batch

Uncle Sam

This G.I.-zombie tale, smartly scripted by exploitation auteur Larry Cohen (It's Alive, God Told Me To) and directed by William Lustig (Maniac, Vigilante), straddles the line between antiwar satire and slasher-movie silliness. American soldier Uncle Sam, as he's known to his hero-worshipping young nephew, is a bullying homicidal misfit too ornery to die. His bloodied and burned corpse, sent home from Kuwait for burial, crawls out of his casket and declares war on punks, crooked politicians, draft dodgers, and pretty much anyone who wanders into his path. There are some interesting ideas floating around--a pointed commentary on the attraction of violence under the flag of patriotism, an undercurrent of psychosis and sadism in Sam's home life, and a clever twist on all-American iconography--which get lost in the Fourth of July reign of terror. Body-count fans will appreciate victims hacked with hatchets, cleavers, and garden shears, teenagers buried alive, and a severed head found smoking in a barbecue pit. David "Shark" Fralick stars as Sam, with Isaac Hayes as a crippled Korean War vet and small roles by cult stars Bo Hopkins, Timothy Bottoms, P.J. Soles, and Robert Forster, a smarmy governor given a fireworks sendoff he'll never forget. --Sean Axmaker

Uncle Sam

This G.I.-zombie tale, smartly scripted by exploitation auteur Larry Cohen (It's Alive, God Told Me To) and directed by William Lustig (Maniac, Vigilante), straddles the line between antiwar satire and slasher-movie silliness. American soldier Uncle Sam, as he's known to his hero-worshipping young nephew, is a bullying homicidal misfit too ornery to die. His bloodied and burned corpse, sent home from Kuwait for burial, crawls out of his casket and declares war on punks, crooked politicians, draft dodgers, and pretty much anyone who wanders into his path. There are some interesting ideas floating around--a pointed commentary on the attraction of violence under the flag of patriotism, an undercurrent of psychosis and sadism in Sam's home life, and a clever twist on all-American iconography--which get lost in the Fourth of July reign of terror. Body-count fans will appreciate victims hacked with hatchets, cleavers, and garden shears, teenagers buried alive, and a severed head found smoking in a barbecue pit. David "Shark" Fralick stars as Sam, with Isaac Hayes as a crippled Korean War vet and small roles by cult stars Bo Hopkins, Timothy Bottoms, P.J. Soles, and Robert Forster, a smarmy governor given a fireworks sendoff he'll never forget. --Sean Axmaker

Honey I Blew Up the Kid [Region 2]