Masters of the Universe (1987)

Masters of the Universe (1987)

[6]

If you were making a movie based on a famous toy line and you had no choice but to cast Dolph Lundgren in the lead, you probably couldn’t do much better than Gary Goddard did with Masters of the Universe.  The screenplay by David Odell (The Dark Crystal) transplants the action from He-Man’s homeworld to our own planet.  I’m sure this was a cost-cutting measure more than anything else, but seeing these larger-than-life characters as fish out of water is probably one of the reasons this movie ends up cutting the mustard… barely.

Back to School (1986)

Back to School (1986)

[7]

Rodney Dangerfield stars as a corporate tycoon who enrolls in college to help inspire his son (Christine‘s Keith Gordon) to stay in school. Now, I’m hard on comedies and I honestly don’t like very many of them — but I really enjoyed Back to School. It’s a terrific vehicle for Dangerfield and his direct, throw-away sensibility. When a stand-up comic is featured in a narrative film, the formulaic plot usually ends up constraining the talent and strangling all the fun out of the movie. But Back to School keeps things loose enough for Dangerfield to shine. It even allows him to keep his balls after the obligatory third-act character catharsis. (Learning lessons can be so castrating.)

¡Three Amigos! (1986)

¡Three Amigos! (1986)

[5] John Landis (Animal House, An American Werewolf in London) directs comedy heavyweights Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short in this goofy flick about three silent film stars who accept a job in Mexico only to realize it's not…
Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

[6] As far as early '80s made-for-TV movies, you could do a lot worse than Dark Night of the Scarecrow. Larry Drake (Dr. Giggles, Darkman) plays as mentally-challenged man who is murdered by vigilantes after being falsely accused of assaulting…
The Kindred (1987)

The Kindred (1987)

[4] Somehow, Oscar-winners Rod Steiger (In the Heat of the Night) and Kim Hunter (A Streetcar Named Desire) got swindled into starring in this sub-par creature feature about a scientist (Hunter) who performs Frankenstein-like genetic experiments in her basement. On…
The Last Starfighter (1984)

The Last Starfighter (1984)

[7]

For a movie that was no doubt jumping on the E.T. and Star Wars bandwagon, The Last Starfighter manages to carve a niche for itself. Teenager Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) wins the high score on a mysterious video game and is suddenly recruited by an alien to defend the universe from some cosmic bad asses. What counts here is charm. The Last Starfighter oozes with the stuff, and it’s not forced. I love the trailer court setting and the depiction of the tight-knit community that live there. Casting “The Music Man” himself, Robert Preston, as a charlatan recruitment officer named Centauri is a stroke of genius. You can’t help but love Preston, even when he’s peddling bullshit. Dan O’Herlihy also does a commendable job acting through heavy prosthetics as Grig, Alex’s lizard-like trainer and shipmate.

Legend (1985)

Legend (1985)

[8]

Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Alien) directs this lavishly mounted fantasy film that’s high on style but low on action. The sets are jaw-dropping, whether it’s the huge, scintillating fairy forest or the fiery underground dungeons of hell. Makeup artist Rob Bottin (The Howling, The Thing) showcases some spectacular Oscar-nominated work. Just look at Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show‘s Dr. Frank-N-Furter) as Darkness, in his head-to-toe prosthetic makeup, red skin, cloven hooves, and immense black horns.  It’s one of the most breathtaking achievements in the history of movie makeup.

Forbidden World (1982)

Forbidden World (1982)

[5]

Somehow, Roger Corman’s rip-offs tend to be the best around. This one takes aim at Alien, centering around a team of scientists who accidentally breed a genetic mutant that escapes and starts eating them, all one by one. The dialogue is atrocious in a ‘so bad, it’s good’ kinda way and the special effects are hit-and-miss, but Tim Suhrstedt’s cinematography is far better than usual for B-movie’s of this sort. Since Corman’s involved, you also get a healthy dose of extraneous sex and boobage. Director Allan Holzman inter-cuts one of the sex scenes with a kill sequence to interesting effect, and you have to love it when dull exposition is delivered by two female scientists while they sponge-bathe each other in the shower.

Overboard (1987)

Overboard (1987)

[6] A nasty heiress (Goldie Hawn) falls off her yacht and gets amnesia, only to be discovered by a handyman (Kurt Russell) she once screwed over. To get revenge, he convinces her that she's his wife and the mother of…
Casualties of War (1989)

Casualties of War (1989)

[7] Michael J. Fox stars in this Vietnam War flick from Brian DePalma, but combat isn't the focus here. Fox plays a soldier who puts his life on the line when he tries to free a young Vietnamese woman that…