He-Man

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE-1987-I always heard a lot of negative things about this Sci-Fi movie based on the popular '80's toys but I kind of liked it!

Dolph Lundgren is He-Man who with his companions Duncan (Jon Cypher), Teela (Chelsea Field) and Gwildor (Billy Barty) is transported to Earth through Gwildor's invention called "a tonal key". The evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) wants the key and sends a bevy of super baddies with names like Beastman, Saurod and Blade (Anthony De Longis) to get it. Evil-Lyn (Meg Foster) leads them in the hunt. Courtney Cox is the earth girl who helps the good guys.

There's lots of action and crazy monster costumes and some of the dialogue is pretty funny. Despite all the battles there are really no deaths so a scene where He-Man is flogged seems a little out of place.

James Tolkan is a hot headed cop and Stanley Livingston (Ernie on TV's MY THREE SONS) is thrown in for comic relief. The part where Skeletor receives some power made me think of a scene with Langella, (an obvious ham), in the later THE NINTH GATE!).

Future TV director Robert Duncan McNeill is Cox's boyfriend and Christina Pickles is the imprisoned Sorceress of Castle Greyskull. Director Gary Goddard had written the Bo Derek version of TARZAN OF THE APES and later worked on things like HERSHEY'S REALLY BIG 3-D SHOW.

Thanks for reading!

The Ninth Gate

THE NINTH GATE-1999- Johnny Depp stars as Jack Curso an unscrupulous book dealer who agrees to authenticate a book, The Ninth Gate, which is said to have been co-written by the Devil, for a famous book collector (Frank Langella). Legend says the book can open up a gate to hell. He has sex with Lena Olin and then visits two other book collectors who also have a copy of the book. It was cool to see Jack Taylor, an American expatriate who played in many Euro-productions like HORROR OF THE ZOMBIES and NIGHT OF THE SORCERERS, as one of the collectors. The other is played by Shakespearean stage actress Barbara Jefford (who’s also in LUST FOR A VAMPIRE). They die and their collections are burned and Curso realizes he’s bitten off more than he can chew. Emmanuelle Seigner (also in FRANTIC with Harrison Ford) is “ The Girl” and James Russo is a book dealer who meets a grisly death. Allen Garfield has a cameo role.

Director Roman Polanski (married to Seigner in real life) made this a year before his much more critically acclaimed THE PIANIST. Seigner also starred in her husband’s BITTER MOON in 1992.

Thanks for reading!