[10] Does it mean anything that Gremlins is my favorite Christmas movie? Am I bad person because I eschew the sentimentality of It’s A Wonderful Life for the malevolent rampage of little green monsters? Actually, sentimentality plays a big part in my love for the film. With its corny premise and comic book violence, Joe Dante’s film is an unabashed homage to the low-budget horror …
[9] A cyborg from the future attempts to assasinate the unwitting mother of a future man who will lead humanity in a war against ‘the machines.’ The Terminator remains one of the best sci-fi films of the ’80s. Thanks in part to his education at Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, ambitious director and cowriter James Cameron overcame the confines of a low budget, delivering a film …
[9] With double entendre’s out the wazoo and sight gags out the yin-yang, not to mention a shiny young Val Kilmer dancing and singing his heart out, Top Secret! wins me over. The film is from the makers of Airplane!, and as well-loved as that film is, I personally enjoy this one a lot more. The jokes come rapid-fire, ranging from low-key (“In women’s tennis, …
[9] This is the ultimate romantic adventure, complete with a great cast, exotic locations, and measured doses of action, humor, and heart. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner never looked better. They have that ephemeral “chemistry”, the kind that keeps you glued to the screen, rooting for them. The screenplay by Diane Thomas is well paced and constructed, giving plenty of breathing room to a romantic …
[10] Straight biographies rarely make great film, but by filtering the subject through another man’s envy, director Milos Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) delivers one of the best bio-films I’ve ever seen. This isn’t a film about a composer and his music (how boring would that be?) — it’s a film about an insanely jealous contemporary named Salieri. Salieri, played brilliantly by F. …
[9] When New York City becomes increasingly afflicted with ghost-sightings and demonic possessions, it’s up to a rag-tag team of self-proclaimed ‘Ghostbusters’ to save the world from the imminent arrival of a destructive, ancient god. Ghostbusters succeeds as both a comedy and a horror fantasy, thanks largely to Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis’ jaunty writing and Ivan Reitman’s sure-handed direction. Bill Murray steals the show …
[9] It may not be as clever or well-crafted as its predecessor, but the first Indy Jones sequel (which is technically a prequel) is still loads of fun. In place of the Nazis, we get a blood-drinking Indian cult, and in place of a tough-as-nails heroine who can hold her own, we get a blonde screaming mess. Temple of Doom is both darker and cornier …
[9] “As boys, they said they would die for each other. As men, they did.” Once Upon a Time in America is an epic, gorgeous, emotionally moving gangster flick from spaghetti western maestro Sergio Leone (The Good the Bad and the Ugly). Robert DeNiro stars as ‘Noodles’, a former Prohibition-era gangster returning to Lower-East Manhattan after thirty-five years in self-imposed exile over the deaths of …
[9] Compared to the previous two episodes in the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi comes up a bit short in character and drama. Richard Marquand’s direction isn’t as elegant or purposeful as Irvin Kershner’s (who directed The Empire Strikes Back so gorgeously). But the third film wraps up story threads more than adequately and gives us quite a few spectacular action set pieces, from the …
[10] In Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster classic, a young boy named Elliot (Henry Thomas) takes care of a stranded alien, helping him send a message into space for the mother ship to return and rescue him. E.T. is about loneliness and friendship. While E.T. has been physically left behind, Elliot and his family — Robert MacNaughton and Drew Barrymore play siblings and Dee Wallace plays the …
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