DANGEROUS YOUTH

Carole Lesley and Frankie Vaughan

DANGEROUS YOUTH (aka These Dangerous Years/1957.) Director: Herbert Wilcox. 

In Liverpool there is a spot known as Dingle Point, and the young male residents, prone to getting into trouble, are known as "Dingle Boys." One of these boys, Dave (Frankie Vaughan), wins a singing contest after beautiful Dinah (Carole Lesley) does a lovely rendition of "Isn't This a Lovely Evening?" and figures she is a shoo-in. Dinah is not a gracious loser -- frankly she's much better than Dave, who does a hokey Presley imitation --  and throws a shoe at him. Later on Dave and his buddies are drafted and a number of melodramatic situations ensue -- one boy is killed when a mine explodes and there is a fight involving fists, a knife, and a gun -- after which Dave goes on the run accused of murder, and winds up hiding out in Dinah's apartment. Can these two singers actually fall in love?

Frankie Vaughan

Dangerous Youth is full of incident but is still dull. Vaughan was a British pop star whose most famous moment was performing with Marilyn Monroe in Let's Make Love. He is adequate as an actor but only had a few credits, having a much bigger career as a vocalist. Carole Lesley, who has winning looks and personality, managed about twice as many credits as Vaughan. George Baker plays an army chaplain or "padre" who tries to help Dave. 

Verdict: Nothing much in this cheapie. *. 

CHILD'S PLAY 2

Chucky on the attack! 

CHILD'S PLAY 2 (1990). Director: John Lafia.

Two years after the events of Child's Play, little Andy (Alex Vincent) has been placed in foster care while his mother is undergoing psychiatric evaluation. His foster mother (Jenny Agutter) is more understanding of Andy and the trauma he underwent, but his foster father (Gerrit Graham) is not certain he even wants the boy in his home. None of them realize that the crazy Chucky doll has  been (improbably) reconstructed and that it is still infested with the spirit of a serial killer (Brad Dourif) whose goal remains the same: to transfer his consciousness into Andy's body.

Andy overhears his foster parents 

Child's Play 2 is an acceptable sequel to the original, but it does have some problems. Alex Vincent is still a cute kid but he's called upon to be a little more emotional in this and isn't quite up to the challenge. As fellow foster child Kyle, Christine Elise is too perfunctory in key moments. The musical score is so overdone that at times you get the impression you're supposed to be watching a space epic with a huge budget. There are at least as many anti-climaxes in this as in the original. On the other hand, there are some inventive killings, such as one interesting bit with a terrified old lady teacher and a copy machine. One can't quite get over the feeling -- unlike the original -- that this is essentially a moron movie.

NOTE: This was followed by Child's Play 3 in which Andy is now a teen at a military academy and Chucky comes a'callin but picks out a new victim to place his soul into. 

Verdict: Entertaining if imperfect sequel. **3/4. 

IRRESISTIBLE

Susan Sarandon and Sam Neill

IRRESISTIBLE (2006). Written and directed by Ann Turner. 

Sophie (Susan Sarandon) is an illustrator of children's books who lives in Australia with her husband, an advertising exec named Craig (Sam Neill). Craig has a special computer assistant named Mara (Emily Blunt), but Sophie finds the younger woman a little bit creepy. When things -- including one of her favorite dresses that Mara later shows up wearing -- start disappearing from the house, a paranoid Sophie is convinced that Mara is behind the strange thefts. Or is she losing her mind? Other weird things begin happening as well. 

Emily Blunt

Irresistible is a strange, suspenseful and intriguing movie that keeps you wondering what's going on and eventually provides a reasonably satisfying conclusion along with at least one extra twist. The three leads are excellent, and the couples' children are adorable. However, Irresistible nearly derails a couple of times due to some utterly illogical moments. (I can't imagine a person actually taking their boss's spouse to court, for instance, and that the work situation wouldn't become extremely awkward afterward). Some of the characters' actions may have you scratching your head as well. 

Verdict: Pretty good if flawed suspense film. ***.