Uriah43

This film begins with a young police officer named "Karl Hettinger" (John Savage) meeting his new partner "Ian Campbell" (Ted Danson) as part of his assignment with the Los Angeles Police Department. Around the same time, a convict named "Jimmy Smith" (Franklyn Seales) is released from prison and meets another former inmate named "Gregory Powell" (James Woods), and they start a series of robberies in Los Angeles. One night, while scouting an area they plan to rob at gunpoint, they are pulled over for a minor taillight violation by Ian and Karl. Suddenly, without warning, Gregory Powell pulls out a gun and, while pointing it at Ian, demands that Karl give his firearm to Jimmy Smith. Afterward, the two police officers are ordered into Gregory's car and ordered at gunpoint to drive all the way to Bakersfield. The outcome that follows will have serious consequences for everyone involved. Rather than reveal any more, I will simply say that this turned out to be a pretty good film, made even more remarkable because it was based on an actual event. Admittedly, there were some segments within the second half of the film that weren't quite as intense as the first half, but even so, I thought it was definitely worth a watch, and I have rated it accordingly.

After getting injured at an event, a race car driver named "Mitch Cooper" (Rory Calhoun) loads his '57 Chevy onto a trailer and drives to see a friend who owns a garage, hoping to stay there for a while and work on his car. When he arrives, he's greeted by a young man named "Les York" (Race Gentry), who tells him that his old friend passed away a few years ago and that he now owns the garage and the house where he used to live. Disappointed by this news, Mitch starts to leave, but Les convinces him to stay after he shows an interest in racing and volunteers to help fix his car. Additionally, Les has an attractive wife named "Rene York" (Connie Hines), which certainly doesn't hurt. Eventually, after Les assists him in repairing his car, Mitch agrees to let Les demonstrate his racing skills, despite Rene's reservations. I won't go into more detail, but overall, this was an okay race car film with solid acting and a plot that kept my interest throughout. Although I would have liked a little more suspense here and there, I still thought it was worth the time, and I've rated it accordingly.

This film begins with three children playing with a Ouija board inside a tent when their father interrupts to inform the lone girl that her parents want her to return home for the night. Not long after she leaves, something dreadful occurs in that house, resulting in the entire family being killed, leaving only one of the children alive. The scene then shifts a couple of decades later, with the child now grown into an adult and changing his name to "Joe" (Ben Morrison) due to a serious family issue involving his father that happened many years ago. As it turns out, Joe is now the father of a teenage boy named "Noah" (Michael Palladino), and the two of them are driving to see Joe's father, who is dying from cancer. Immediately after the funeral, Joe meets his childhood friend "Beverly" (Laura Kirchner), who hasn't seen him since the night they played with a Ouija board. Considering that the two had a crush on one another, they are delighted to see each other again, so much so that Beverly invites both Joe and Noah to spend some time with her and her husband, "Geoff" (Branden Smith), at a cabin in the woods. Initially, Joe declines; however, after talking with Noah, he changes his mind and drives out to meet them there anyway. What Joe doesn't realize, however, is that Noah discovered that same Ouija board while visiting Joe's father and brought it with him to the cabin, and things quickly change for the worse afterward. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will say that this film started off relatively slow and remained that way until it completely collapsed at the very end. Additionally, although the acting was okay, there wasn't enough action or suspense to make the horror worthwhile. Everything seemed rather dull and listless. That being said, while I don't consider this to be a terribly bad movie necessarily, truth be told, I wasn't overly impressed with it, and I have rated it accordingly.