Rollercoaster (1977)

3 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: You are in a race against time...and terror. You are pursuing a nameless, faceless man through America's greatest amusement parks...and, for the first time, you are experiencing the most sensational rides of our time, IN SENSURROUND
Directed by: James Goldstone
Actors include: Timothy Bottoms, George Segal, George Widmark
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Length: 119 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Although this does have one sweet disaster scene near the beginning involving a derailed rollercoaster, the rest is all downhill and it's a patronizing ride. I'm not saying that disaster movies have to be intelligent, far from it but this was beyond cookie cutter and obvious and pretty much nearly eye rolling along the way. It's about a terrorist (Timothy Bottoms who looks disturbing like George W. Bush) who makes bombs and blows up or interferes with rollercoasters for profit...I think. Our lead on the case Agent Harry (George Segal) takes our maniac seriously and therefore he's somewhat trusted by the villain. During a money drop scene things couldn't get more tedious as he's being directed to ride most of the attractions at the theme park...and we get to tag along? It's sort of like an anti-tourist video for theme parks and a really unthrilling thriller all rolled into one! Also be on the lookout for a performance from the band Sparks from whom I do like an album but definitely not the song from this movie. It's a shame this wasn't something I really dug because this formula should have spelled success.

Availability:  On DVD

The Terminal Man (1974)

3.5 / 5 Sept '10
Tagline: Harry Benson is a brilliant computer scientist. For three minutes a day, he is violently homicidal.
Directed by: Mike Hodges
Written by: Michael Crichton, Mike Hodges
Actors include: George Segal, Joan Hackett, Richard Dysart
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
Length: 107 minutes
Banned: Finland

Review:
This was a rather strange adaptation of a Michael Crichton novel (that I've honestly not read) but I likely would after seeing this film. It's sort of trippy sci-fi with some definite lessons crammed into it. Harry Benson is an intelligent man, but from a result of a head trauma he suffers from paranoid delusions and seizures where he becomes extremely violent and attacks people. Doctors have figured out a way to correct this problem by toying with his brain, inserting some chips to shock the patient when the seizures come about. After the surgery Harry is getting frustrated with all of this nonsense and flees the hospital only for things to go from bad to worse. It's a very slow moving and deliberate piece, they could have whittled it down a bit and made a much more interesting movie but as it sits it's still quite worthwhile. The useage of colors (or rather white) and angles in the cinematography were fascinating, probably one of my favorite parts of the film. It also did make a few points and teach me a couple of things and it was very interesting to look at. It's sort of a psychological horror film in several ways, rather dark and depressing, best to watch on a gray or raining evening.

Availability:  On DVD