Home Movies (1979)

A cult guru urges a shy disciple to make life a movie and be its star.

Ostensibly made by director De Palma as an exercise with his film students this is a haphazard satire with some neat cinematic ideas and a lot of hit-and-miss humor.

Maltin*1/2: "Flaky farce reminiscent of De Palma's early work...Original in concept but tiresome in execution, although nobody eats a hamburger like Allen."

Christine (1983)

A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.

Although very well produced, this Stephen King adaptation is ultimately disappointing, doesn't quite deliver the expected thrills and is overlong.

Halliwell (no star): "Thin and gruesomely extended horror flick which never begins to be convincing. For teenagers only."

Maltin**: "...never hits bull's-eye, despite a promising start that captures teenage life quite nicely."

Dressed to Kill (1980)

A mysterious blonde woman kills one of a psychiatrist's patients, and then goes after the high-class call girl who witnessed the murder.

Although basically a succession of brilliantly staged sequences all in homage to Hitchcock, this movie manages to deliver the shocks and to entertain with a good helping of wicked humour.

Halliwell**: "Occasionally brilliant, generally nasty suspenser clearly derived from many viewings of Psycho. Certainly not for the squeamish."

Maltin***1/2: "High-tension melodrama...Writer-director De Palma works on viewer's emotions, not logic, and maintains a fever pitch from start to finish."