the leading man is my tpye

A Brilliant Conflict

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

In the sunny California resort community "Solana Beach", a baby disappears near the shore. This turns out to be an appetizer. More deaths occur. The bodies are being eaten by a giant octopus, who spits out the skeletal remains of its victims. Due to economic concerns, local sheriff Claude Akins and associates downplay the danger and the annual yacht race goes on as planned. Wizened newspaper reporter John Huston (as Ned Turner) becomes aware of the danger. His stout sister Shelley Winters (as Tillie) brings her young son and a friend to the shore. With his wife out of the picture, marine biologist and scuba diver Bo Hopkins (as Will Gleason) tries to eliminate the danger with his handsome friend Alan Boyd (as Mike) and some trained whales. Odd soundtrack music accompanies the action...Yes, this the plot of "Jaws" (1975) – with a giant octopus swimming in for the giant shark. Although it doesn't move or develop the story, director Ovidio Assonitis and his production team include some interesting shots and edits in early scenes. They become less flashy and more tiresome as the film progresses. The relationships between the characters is often confusing. The cast is headed up by some very dependable performers – the aforementioned are joined by "Trojan" constructor Henry Fonda as a businessman with a financial interest in the proceedings. He appears to be giving the bare basics of a Fonda performance. Mr. Hopkins, Ms. Winters and Mr. Huston can be seen "acting" on their own – each delivering dependable mannerisms and looks – in a vacuum, unfortunately.*** Tentacles (2/25/77) Ovidio Assonitis ~ Bo Hopkins, John Huston, Shelley Winters, Henry Fonda

A giant octopus is attacking a seaside resort. A newspaper reporter (John Huston) teams up with a marine expert (Bo Hopkins) to investigate. Soon they discover an underwater tunnel being built by Henry Fonda's company may be to blame for the octopus attacks. Oh and Shelly Winters is Huston's oversexed, overweight sister. Italian-American Jaws rip-off is good for some laughs and worth seeing for the slumming cast. Especially fun is hammy Shelly Winters. The sight of Winters in a novelty-sized sombrero will surely brighten your day. Henry Fonda's scenes are separate from most of the cast and he never references anything specific to the movie's plot. It's bizarre. Stelvio Cipriani's score ranges from good to irritating. Sadly, not the worst Jaws rip-off I've seen.

Sometimes you get a movie that is awful. So awful that you have a sense of dread while watching it. But, on rare occasions, an average movie-goer has at least one or two or maybe three movies that qualified as guilty pleasures. As for myself, I, too, have that syndrome. I don't know if other movie-goers have this syndrome or suffer from this scenario, but it has happen to me.And, in the case of Tentacles, this may be one of them.The story takes place on a sea resort in California called "Ocean Beach". Ocean Beach is starting see some major problems. Tourists are beginning to disappear one by one. Ned Turner, (John Huston), the local everyday man and news reporter, suspects that there's something sinister happening on his sea resort. He appointed the deputy sheriff, (Claude Akins),that a octopus is picking off the tourists, turning the beach into a snack shop. Enter the biologist, (Bo Hopkins), who explains to Turner that there is a very angry octopus eating up the townsfolk. Meanwhile, Turner's wife, (Shelly Winters), takes her children out on a sailboat and one of them volunteers to participate in the town's sailboat race. When Hopkins' girlfriend is killed by the monster and one of Winters' children's friends gets eaten by the beast, it's up to Hopkins to find the octopus and kill it. To do this, he must enlisted the help of two killer whales that can find octopus and kill it. While that is going on, the local oil tycoon, (Henry Fonda), gets blamed for waking up the angry beast.Yes, I know Tentacles is an awful movie. Yes, this is one of those ensemble cast movies or all-star movies that took its course during the 1970's. But, you got to admit that this movie is ridiculous to watch even if you hate it. I've always say that in implausible films that you don't ask any questions during the viewing of the movie. Well, I ignored answering some of the obvious questions that this movie asks. Sometimes you got to accept things for what they are. In this movie, all high expectations go right out the window for me.Where do I begin to say which parts I like? Well, I'll begin with the most stupidest. And that is, the cast of some of the most talented actors and actresses that are included in this movie are probably their money's worth. I got a feeling that Huston, Fonda, Winters, Akins and especially Hopkins, got their money's worth for making Tentacles. But, I will say that I enjoyed their performances even if they were on the big screen trying to impress in any which way possible. As for the octopus, it's shoddy. Yet, I have to admit that I enjoyed both the octopus and the two killer whales. Of course, it's is simply a bad rip-off of Jaws and Orca. In fact, if I had to rank Tentacles or Orca as being the best or worst rip-off of Jaws, I would have to say that Tentacles ranks high and below Orca, even I enjoy less of Orca.Tentacles is a stupid movie and goofy at the same time, but it's quite terrifying for a second up until the final confrontation between the octopus and the two killer whales. Now that I got that out of the way, I can say now that I just reveal one of my guilty pleasures. ★★★ 3 stars.

Shoddy picture is a complete rip off of "Jaws", as a coastal community is terrorized by a mysterious aquatic creature, right before a big sailing race, only here it is a giant octopus, rather than a shark. Only a marine biologist can save the town, with the help of his killer whales...Strange to see actors like Henry Fonda, John Huston, and Shelley Winters in the cast, as well as Claude Akins and Bo Hopkins. Poor octopus effects and direction, uninspired and derivative script, though has one effective scene at night when a yacht is destroyed, and an unfortunate woman is lifted in the air by the octopus, but otherwise, a waste.