Sonny Boy (1989)

3.5 / 5 Mar '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Robert Martin Carroll
Written by: Graeme Whifler, Peter Desberg
Actors include: David Carradine, Paul L. Smith, Brad Dourif
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Exploitation, Comedy
Length: 97 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This could be one of the weirdest movies I've ever seen. It's not particularly well shot, it feels very straight to video and with every minute it seems to get increasingly more bizarre. It's kinda like a mix of Bad Boy Bubby, Raising Arizona and Mad Max 2 only much cheaper and more mean spirited I suppose. The story is about a fat man named Slue who is sort of a mob syndicate for a backwards town (the whole thing is quite surreal in a way) and his lovely wife (?) Pearl (David Carradine in a dress with bad make-up...he would never pass). When they send their crime henchman the irritating Weasle (Brad Dourif) to do bad things he kills a couple and accidentally kidnaps their baby in their stolen car. The baby Pearl wants to keep as his/her own and they call him Sonny Boy. From there they abuse the heck out of the kid in every possible way (it's pretty nasty, they even cut out his tongue for his 6th birthday) and lock him away and feed him raw chickens and stuff. From there they decide he's a really good weapon so they start unleashing him to commit crimes for him. It sort of goes on from there in an insanely exploitative manner, but unfortunately it did feel like it went on for a little too long and it did try a little too hard to be weird. Still if you like films that make you not believe your own eyes this is a must see. Something tells me David Carradine would want to be remembered this way...

Availability:  Never been on DVD

Boxcar Bertha (1972)

4 / 5
Tagline:  Bertha Loved Lovin'...But There Was More Money in ROBBIN' TRAINS!
Directed by:  Martin Scorsese
Written by:  Ben L. Reitman, Joyce Hooper Corrington
Actors include:  Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Bernie Casey
Genre:  Crime, Drama, Action
Length:  92 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review:
Pretty neat little tale that was apparently taken from the diaries of a woman named "Boxcar" Bertha Thompson. Barbara Hershey plays our freespirited title character who after losing a family member during the Depression rides the rails to adventure. She meets a fellow named Bill Shelly who is a union leader who is railing against the railroad. Together they rob people and trains in order to collect money to distribute to the poor. It's very reminiscent of the Bonnie & Clyde story in several ways though I wouldn't call it a copy cat. I was really surprised at the exploitative nature of the film considering it is a Scorsese, but since he's working with Corman maybe that is where the excess comes in. No matter why it's there, it's a very fun movie and it has violence, nudity and it's pretty exciting throughout. The cinematography was quite lovely and the movie is well made, I'm a little surprised that I hadn't heard more about this one until relatively recently.

Availability:  On DVD