Fans of cult actor Rip Torn will appreciate his bizarre '69 film Coming Apart. He plays a troubled psychiatrist who's in the midst of severe marital problems. Like many better-adjusted people, he sets up a hidden camera in his apartment that captures all of his rather sordid interludes with various women.

 The film either fascinated or put off critics and audiences when it was first released, but is touted on the box as trailblazing, largely because of its reality-based aura. Much of it plods along (reality can be dreary, after all) but Torn is outstanding as the tortured soul who lies at the heart of the film. My vote for the strangest scene occurs when one deranged nymphomaniac mounts Torn's knee and begins to hump it. Viveca Lindfors and Sally Kirkland appear as damaged goods. Available at Boite Noire.

 So here is the evidence that making a bad movie is a fine art. Having thoroughly enjoyed the antics of Ray Liotta in Turbulence, I rented the sequel, Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying. The first one had all the hallmarks of great cheese: campy dialogue, screwy setups, ludicrously over-the-top villain. The second was just plain bad, with Jennifer Beals hitting rock-bottom as a passionless heroine. I was so hoping for my fix of bad. Now this was disappointment! :

 

--Matthew Hays