Warlock (1989)

“Warlock” is a Satan-themed horror spin on “Highlander,” where two warring men, one evil and one good, zap from their mid-20th century world to present day America. Here, it’s a male witch (Julian Sands) and a Pilgrim-employed witch hunter (Richard E. Grant) that bounce from early Boston to modern L.A. (huh?) and then back to modern Boston. This “horror” movie is too silly to provide a single scare, and drops more logic balls than a first- grade basketball team. So let’s skip talk of suspense. Sands milks devilish charm as the pony-tailed blond Errand Boy of Satan, while Grant is deadly serious (and therefore hilarious) as the ’80s-rock- hair-dressed-as-a-squirrel Man of God. The best bits are on an airplane, as Grant’s MofG goes hysterical at the sight of creamer mini-cups and cigarette lighters. “Witchcraft!” he yells. Funny. But scary? No. C

Withnail & I (1986)

“Withnail & I” is near-perfect British art house cinema, best watched with a bottle of wine. This dark-as-night autobiographical farce from director Bruce Robinson is vulgar-funny from the start as two unemployed, starving London actors – Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and “I” (Paul McGann) – grow tired of living in their house of squalor. They bum the key to a countryside cottage owned by Withnail’s gay uncle (Richard Griffiths), and head out for R&R. If only. In a film full of great lines, the best is “We’ve gone on holiday by mistake!” The cottage is in ruins, there is neither food nor firewood, and the locals do not abide fools, and these actors are fools. Uncle Monty soon appears with food and wine in hand, and his eyes set on “I.” This is how you do a city-country farce, bare-knuckle satire all around with human follies roasted on a spit. The love–hate “bromance” between the leads is priceless; the ending sad. Griffiths (who now plays Harry Potter’s uncle) nearly steals the film from the brilliant Grant. Second best line: “We want the finest wines available to humanity, we want them here and we want them now!” A-men! A