September 15, 2020 — While Cobra is far from a comedy film, the aura of this movie is cheesier than it should be. Still, it is a cult classic. And when you look past terrible dialogue, which includes gems like “You’re a disease, and I’m the cure,” this film is a whole lot of fun.
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September 9, 2020 — Three years earlier, he directed the often criticized Alien 3, a movie he has since separated himself from in order to save face.
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September 2, 2020 — In 1984, Arnold Schwarzenegger was nowhere near the household name that he is now. The bodybuilder already had a few mainstream hits with the Conan movies, but it wasn’t until The Terminator that he started his journey towards Hollywood royalty. The Terminator gave Arnold a chance to play the villain early in his career and let Mr. Universe show that he had some acting range and not just an impressive physique. Of course, Arnold is only one piece of the puzzle that made The Terminator a pop-culture phenomenon.
August 26, 2020 — John Hughes has so many notable hits under his belt, from Home Alone to Ferris Bueler’s Day Off to Uncle Buck. So why is it that we always get hung up on The Breakfast Club. There’s a good chance that, if it’s playing on TV, you’ll stop flipping channels and suffer through commercials to watch it. I’m not even a huge fan, and even I know that, if it’s circulating on cable, I’ll get sucked back into that stupid library. But what is it about The Breakfast Club that draws us back in time and time again? Is it a great movie? Truth be told, I really don’t think so, but it also doesn’t have to be.
August 19, 2020 — You can count on your hands the number of sequels that are better than the original, and Aliens is one of them. It’s no surprise when you know that the legendary James Cameron was the writer and director of this infamous sequel. There is no doubt that the man responsible for the first two Terminator movies, Titanic, and Avatar would be able to take on another brilliant director’s work and build on it. There is no shortage of love for this movie, but it may be even better than most people realize.
August 12, 2020 — We think of horror icons as the grotesque monstrosities and unstoppable specters that embed themselves in our minds and haunt our dreams. They’re the Jasons and Freddys and Leatherfaces of the movie industry, revered for their impact on the genre. It’s strange to think, then, that a common goof with truly nothing special about him could stand up with these greats. Ashley “Ash” J. Williams (Bruce Campbell) may not disembowel hapless teenagers for a living, but the one-armed man is no stranger to leaving piles of bodies wherever he goes.
August 6, 2020 — The fact that this movie was a major box office bomb is mind-blowing in retrospect. It has all of the hallmarks of a classic, but it only made $8 million at the box office, a number that was paltry even back in 1995 when this film was released. When you compare that to its $42 million budget, it’s surprising that anyone made it out of production with a job. The problem wasn’t the content of the film – it was more about the timing. Though the film is set in 1999 and the New Year’s Eve of 2000, it has aged like a fine wine and is possibly more relevant now than it was in its initial release.
July 29, 2020 — 1995 certainly was a wild ride! We explored the depths of the Congo, revisited the heyday of Sin City, took part in a deadly cross-dimensional tournament, visited a world overtaken by the sea, and made friends with talking toys. It was, to say the least, a busy year!
That aside, we still had time for one very important and poignant tale. It was that of little Alan Parrish, the young boy who, in 1969, was allegedly chopped to bits by his gruff and stern father, Samuel (Jonathan Hyde). At least, that was the story circulated through the decaying town of Brantford, NH, before it became overrun by the wild monkeys, stampeding rhinos, and deadly mosquitos of Jumanji. READ MORE »
July 22, 2020 — The Lost Boys is widely regarded as a cult classic, but should it? Sure, almost all of its cast went on to do great things, but that by itself doesn’t make for a great movie. The truth is that The Lost Boys was a flawed movie, but only in one particular way. For the most part, The Lost Boys is an enjoyable movie, but there is one thing that may spoil its legacy.
July 15, 2020 — The 80s were one wild ride for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He kicked them off as a loinclothed barbarian and ended them as the unlikely twin brother of Danny DeVito. Somewhere in the middle, he traveled back in time as a futuristic murderbot, was trapped inside a deadly game show, and took up arms against a band of expert mercenaries. Amidst all that, he still had time to go toe-to-toe with an intergalactic hunter with a penchant for spinal columns and a weakness against mud.
July 9, 2020 — It’s hard to categorize Jaws into a genre. It has elements of drama, suspense, comedy, and horror, and I guess that may be why it’s one of the best movies ever made. Based on a book by Peter Benchley and directed by Steven Spielberg, Jaws may have had a rough production that threatened its future, but there’s no denying its place in classic cinema today. When you mix in one of the most iconic music features of all time by the incomparable John Williams, you get an essential Criterion Collection film that may be in the top ten of all time.
July 4, 2020 — Bill Pullman’s President Thomas J. Whitmore, wary of the suicide mission that looms ahead of him, steps atop a platform and surveys the sea of young, inexperienced pilots. They’re nervous, scared, and aware that this could very well be their last night alive. Whitmore knows this, too, but he doesn’t let anyone see his own reservations. Instead, he asks for a microphone and recites one of the greatest speeches ever to come out of Hollywood.
June 24, 2020 — There has been a debate raging on the internet for years as to whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie. If Die Hard is a Christmas movie – which it is – then Lethal Weapon is definitely a Christmas movie. A significant scene in the first act takes place at a Christmas tree farm, the soundtrack is packed with holiday music, and the film ends on Christmas day. With all that considered, Lethal Weapon is not a movie to enjoy only once a year. There are plenty of reasons to watch this movie whenever you like. READ MORE »
June 17, 2020 — Not too long ago – or very long ago, depending on when your eyes grace this review – I was spinning frantically aboard the Men in Black: Alien Attack ride at Universal Studios Orlando. Somewhere between my stomach churning from the constant jarring motion and my lungs burning from laughter, my mind sparked a memory. It was of a 12-year-old me sitting near the middle of a theater, my still-impressionable mind about to observe a movie that would leave me fantasizing of civilizations beyond our own.
June 10, 2020 — Jurassic Park is the kind of movie that comes along once in a generation. There is so much to appreciate about this movie even 30 years later. Some people may not realize how quotable the film is, but we’ll get to that later. The more pressing issue is that this movie is nearly perfect and set precedents that films in 2020 strive to meet. Let’s delve into the magic of Jurassic Park and appreciate how great it was then and how great it still is now.
June 9, 2020 — You know how people tend to latch onto movies and use them to completely define their personality? They watch the same movie ad nauseam until their significant other wants to lobotomize it from their memory? They’ll get tattoos inspired by the film, collect an absurd amount of apparel and merchandise over the decades, and will essentially become synonymous with the film to the point where anytime it’s mentioned, friends and family immediately think of them.
June 2, 2020 — Remember what it was like to be a kid and get into all sorts of trouble. You’d sneak down to the rock quarry or beach and make inappropriate jokes with one another, laughing about the most nonsensical stuff. Or maybe you’d scope out a friend’s attic, stumble upon a treasure map, and spend the weekend evading thugs while hunting down an old pirate’s stash of treasures. READ MORE »
May 27, 2020 — Animated television series. The mid-eighties to early nineties was quite the time to be alive for young boys. There were plenty of iconic cartoons like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G.I. Joe and Transformers feeding our need for action. Before all of those iconic shows, though, there was one that kicked off the craze and remained popular even 30 years later. Of course, we’re talking about the one and only He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. To this day, anyone who was a kid in the early 80s will tell you how they look back at He-Man with fondness. To understand why this show about an alien bodybuilder fighting a living Skeleton was so popular, you must first know a bit about it. READ MORE »
May 22, 2020 — Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, written by Daniel Petrie Jr. and starring Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Detroit cop who visits Beverly Hills, California to solve the murder of his best friend.
May 17, 2020 — When I sat down with Top Gun, I didn’t really know what to expect. Sure, I understood the basic premise and that Tom Cruise was some hotshot in the sky, but I guess I never contemplated just how “80s” the movie was going to be. To say it personified the generation may not be a strong enough statement, but more on that a little later. What I can say is that it’s not a movie for everyone, but it’s a movie that everyone needs to watch.
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