35 years of Summer Blockbusters - May 20th

May 20, 2005 - Five years ago Warner Bros. released Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist. This was the second film produced by the studio as a prequel to 1973's The Exorcist. It is a situation very unique even for Hollywood. Paul Schrader was directing a prequel to The exorcist, when Warner bros., not confident in the direction the film was going replaced him with Rennie Harlin. Harlin's version as released in August 2004 and was met with scathing critical reviews and poor box office. With most of Schrader's version completed they gave him the money to finish and his version was released to slightly better reviews, but it was lost amongst the hype for Star Wars Episode III.
At The Movie House rating **1/2 stars

May 20, 1994 - Sixteen years ago Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner starred in the big screen adaptation of the TV series Maverick. It's an action packed western comedy that packs a wallop of fun and surprises. It was well received considering it was based on show that had gone off the air thirty two years earlier. At The Movie House rating *** stars

May 20, 1988 - Twenty two years ago Ron Howard released his big screen fantasy epic Willow based on a story by George Lucas. Critics felt Howard was out of his depth with the special effects and Lucas forgot how to tell an entertaining story. Compared to the princess Bride from a year earlier the film seemed to have no heart. To dark for kids and too cliched for adults it struggled to find an audience outside of sci-fi fantasy geeks. At The Movie House rating **1/2 stars

May 20, 1987 - Twenty Three years ago Axel Foley for Hills for Beverly Hills Cop II. This follow up to 1985's big hit was bigger and louder than the first, but lacked the casual charm of the original. It was still a big hit. Murphy and Paramount are working on Beverly Hills Cop IV.
At The Movie House rating **1/2 stars

May 20, 1983 - Twenty Seven years ago Columbia Pictures released Space Hunter; Adventures In The Forbidden Zone. This action comedy knock off of Star Wars was part of the 3-D craze going through Hollywood in the early 80's. The film failed at the box office and now has a cult/camp following.
At The Movie House rating - not rated

May 20, 1976 - Thirty Four years ago the film Hawmps, a fact based comedy about the cavalry on camels and Trackdown a "B" exploitation pic starring a young Eric Estrada were released. Hawmps featured a Benji short! At The Movie House rating - neither film is rated.