Say Anything (1989)
The 1980’s produced a lot of “teenage sex” movies, most of which are inane and revolting. 1989’s Say Anything is a complete surprise. It’s intelligent, funny, and full of wisdom. John Cusack plays Lloyd Dobler, who is a teenager with the unique goal of being a champion kickboxer. He doesn’tContinue Reading
Donnie Brasco (1997)
Movies about the Mafia usually end up either making the mobsters into heroes or degenerating them into caricatures. Donnie Brasco shows the human side of the Mafia, which makes it seem all the more brutal. Johnny Depp plays Joseph Pistone, an undercover FBI agent sent to infiltrate the mob. AsContinue Reading
RoboCop (1987)
What if corporate entities took over the police force of a major city? According to RoboCop, it opens it up to subversion and mismanagement at the expense of innocent lives. In the near future, Omni Consumer Products, who owns the police department of Detroit through a company called Security Concepts,Continue Reading
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
(Note: This is a review of the Special Edition released to theaters in 1997) After seeing the original Star Wars just a few weeks ago, returning to the theater to see its first sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, gave me a real feeling of what it must have been likeContinue Reading
The Lonely Guy (1983)
Steve Martin made quite a few low-brow movies during the early 1980’s, including The Man with Two Brains and Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. The Lonely Guy is probably the best of them only because it’s more human and genuine. Larry Hubbard (Steve Martin) has just been dumped by hisContinue Reading
Vegas Vacation (1997)
The Griswalds are back on the road again. It’s been almost 8 years since the last Vacation movie. Was there a real demand for another? It’s doubtful, but since the last of the series, Christmas Vacation, was the most successful at the box office, it was easy to accept thatContinue Reading
Ed Wood (1994)
Edward D. Wood, Jr is widely considered one of the worst directors that Hollywood has ever come in contact with. Before viewing this fact-based bio-pic, one might simply think that Wood was just a guy with no real idea of what he was doing. After viewing this movie, you’ll beContinue Reading