80's Month Day 28: Predator

In the late 1980's Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the height of his powers, and in 1987 the former 7-time Mr. Olympia starred in two films. One of those was The Running Man and the better of the two films was Predator. This is actually the 3rd Schwarzenegger film iv'e reviewed for "80's Month" and this one did appear on my "10 Arnold Schwarzenegger Movies Everyone Should See" list (you can check that post out by clicking here).

The movie is a fun and entertaining sci-fi/action flick, and the plot is pretty simple; an elite six-man team, lead by a man named Alan "Dutch" Schaefer (played by Schwarzenegger) is tasked with going into the jungle on a rescue mission. However, the team comes across a ruthless, super-hunter alien who, among other things, has the ability to camouflage itself to the surrounding environment. Eventually toward the end of the film you do get a good look at the Predator, and while it is a cool creature design, I think it's best that for much of the film you know the alien is there but you only see through the Predator's p.o.v, or a translucent figure against some trees. The Predator gradually begins killing off members of the team and, of course, in the end Schwarzenegger kills the creature.

The movie has some pretty good special effects and, alongside Schwarzenegger, both Carl Weathers (who plays Colonel George Dillon) and Jesse Ventura (as Blain Cooper) are both characters I really like in the film.

Overall, some good action, some quotable lines, a solid villain, and Arnold at the top of his game, makes this a worthwhile movie. I wouldn't recommend the sequel over the crossovers with the Alien franchise though.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5

Have a suggestion for a review?

Did you enjoy a full month looking back at films from the 1980's?

Leave a comment below.

80's Month Day 27: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Well, '80's Month' is quickly coming to a close and today's movie is 1982's The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The film is based on a stage play of the same name (which I've never seen so I won't attempt to compare the two), and it's a bit of an odd but fun movie. 

 

The movie is about a whorehouse in Texas (as the title would suggest) which has been nicknamed the "Chicken Ranch". The Chicken Ranch, which has been a fixture in the community for years, is run by a woman named Mona (played by Dolly Parton) who just wants to run a nice establishment. She's involved with the town Sheriff, Ed Earl Dodd (played by Burt Reynolds) which only complicates matters later in the film. There are a few musical numbers in the movie and, while they're not those sort of stuck in your head all day tunes, some of them are pretty entertaining. The Sneakin' Around sequence in particular is a lot of fun. 

Well, despite this local brothel never causing any trouble and being generally excepted by the community, a "watchdog" reporter named Melvin P. Thorpe (played by Dom DeLuise) aims to rid Texas of this immoral establishment. Eventually, after butting heads with the Sheriff on numerous occasions, Thorpe does get what he wants in the end and the Chicken Ranch is shut down. This isn't one of the funniest Dom DeLuise roles, but I don't think it's really supposed to be. A lot of the funniest lines actually come from Ed Earl's Deputy (played by Jim Nabors).

Overall, if you like Burt Reynolds, Dolly Parton and the occasional musical number, then you'll probably have a good time with this one. I really like the movie, but I wouldn't call it any sort of masterpiece. It's one of those rare films that I'm really not sure how good it is but, I enjoy it. 

So, a 3.5 out of 5 seems like a fair rating.

Have a suggestion for a review?

Leave it in the comments below.

The Loss of Bill Paxton

 

 

Bill Paxton, a man who starred in dozens of films over the years, has sadly passed away at the age of 61. Probably best known for his film roles in the late 80's and through the 90's, whether it be in Twister, Aliens, Tombstone, True Lies, Titanic, or a personal favorite of mine Apollo 13, Paxton's presence in films will be missed.

80's Month Day 26: Spaceballs

"...Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb"

 

The 1987 Mel Brooks film Spaceballs is one of my all-time favorite comedies and one that I reference and quote pretty frequently. So, before '80's Month' was over, I felt I needed to get this one in.

The movie is a parody of nearly all things outer space/sci-fi related; from Star Wars to Star Trek to Alien and Planet of the Apes, and references to Transformers and Flash Gordon. 

The basic plot involves Planet Spaceball running low on breathable air and the Princess of the oxygen-rich planet of Druidia being kidnapped by Dark Helmet (played by Rick Moranis). The plan is to hold the Princess hostage until the King of Druidia (played by Dick Van Patten) gives the Spaceballs the code to his planets airlock and surrenders all the fresh air. In the hopes of getting his daughter back the King hires Lone Starr (played by Bill Pullman) and his mawg sidekick Barf (played by John Candy) to rescue her for which they will be paid a handsome sum of 1,000,000 'Space Bucks'.

The movie is full of fun character and wall to wall jokes. Mel Brooks, who plays both the President of Planet Spaceball as well as character Yogurt, gets a lot of laughs. Bill Pullman and John Candy play off each other pretty well, and I like Daphne Zuniga as Princess Vespa. But, the standout performance in the film is the of Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet. Every moment of screentime with this character is hilarious, and some of the exchanges between Dark Helmet and his second in command Colonel Sandurz (played by George Wyner) are the best parts of the movie.

Overall, if you like Mel Brooks comedies, or even comedies in general, then this one is worth a watch. I've seen it more times than I can remember and I still get a good laugh out of it.

I give it a 5 out of 5.

Have a suggestion for a review?

Leave it in the comments below.

80's Month Day 25: Missing in Action 2: The Beginning

 Missing in Action 2: The Beginning is the 1985 follow up film to 1984's Missing in Action. This a prequel to the events in the 1984 film and, while this one didn't quite make the cut on my "10 Chuck Norris Movies Everyone Should See" list (which you can check out here), it is a solid action flick.
Interestingly, just like another 80's POW action movie (Rambo: First Blood Part II), this one isn't as good of a film as it's predecessor but does provide a bit more action.

In this one, Colonel James Braddock (played by Chuck Norris) is being held in a North Vietnamese POW camp. The camp is being run by a man named Colonel Yin (played by Soon-Teck Oh), who forces his prisoners to grow opium for a French drug runner. Throughout the film Yin is constantly torturing and toying with the POWs in hopes of getting Braddock to admit to list of war crimes. Braddock always refuses until one day a fellow POW comes down with malaria, and Braddock agrees to trade an admission of guilt for the necessary medicine. However, Yin tricks Braddock and instead gives the sick POW a lethal dose of opium. The enraged James Braddock promptly escapes, steals a bunch of weapons, and starts killing Vietnamese soldiers left and right while freeing fellow prisoners along the way. Eventually, It all comes down to Braddock versus Yin. They decide on hand to hand combat and, of course, Braddock beats him pretty convincingly. Then, with Yin down and unable to continue the fight, Braddock leaves and blows up the building.

It's an entertaining and enjoyable movie, especially for Chuck Norris fans. Is it one of the best action movies of the 1980's? Probably not, but I say it's worth checking out if you've never seen it.
I give it a 3.5 out of 5.


Have a suggestion for a review?
Leave it in the comments below.

80's Month Day 24: Rocky III

Obviously the third film in the 'Rocky' franchise, Rocky III was released in 1982. The film stars all of the keys actors from the first two films; Sylvester Stallone, Burgess Meredith, Talia Shire, Burt Young, and Carl Weathers, as well as introducing Mr. T as Clubber Lang (a character that only appears in this film).

The film picks up where the previous one left off, with Rocky being the Heavy-Weight Champion having recently beaten Apollo Creed in a rematch. However, this entry marks a bit of a turning point in the series for two main reasons; First off, Apollo Creed (played by Carl Weathers) isn't Rocky's opponent like he was in the previous two films, and second, Rocky's friend/manager/trainer Mickey Goldmill dies in the movie. Rocky early on loses a fight to a trash-talking challenger Clubber Lang, after being distracted by Mickey having a heart-attack. Afterwards, and for good reason, Rocky is pretty down, demoralized, and has lost the will to go into the ring and box without Mickey in his corner. However, his old rival Apollo tells him that the he can beat Clubber Lang if he gets back the "Eye of the Tiger" (a hunger and passion to win). So, Apollo trains Rocky, a friendship between the two starts to form, and pretty soon Rocky is ready for a rematch with Clubber. What follows is a middle of the road fight sequence with Rocky, of course, emerging victorious.

Overall, this one isn't my favorite 'Rocky' movie but I do enjoy it. Mickey's death is emotional, Mr. T is an entertaining foe, and the song "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor gets stuck in my head after each viewing.

I give this one a 4 out of 5.

...and if you want to read my ranking of all the 'Rocky' movies, you can by clicking here.

Have a suggestion for a review?

Leave it in the comments below.

80's Month Day 23: Die Hard

The 1980's gave us some of the most memorable action movies of all-time. Films like Predator, Escape from New York, RoboCop, Commando, Missing in Action, First Blood, and Lethal Weapon just to name a few. However, one of the best (and the one that made Bruce Willis an action star) is 1988's Die Hard. I wrote about this one briefly for my "10 Movies to Watch this Holiday Season" list in December of last year, because it is a 'Christmas Movie' (If you want to check out that list, you can by clicking here).

Now, I'm not going to go into the whole plot as Die Hard is one of those films that everyone has either already seen or they need to go see ASAP. The real brief overview is; a NYC cop named John McClane (played by Bruce Willis) travels to L.A. for Christmas with the hope of patching things up with his estranged wife. While he's there, some terrorists take over the skyscraper where his wife works and it's up to John to save the day. It's simple, straight-forward and, if you've never seen it, probably sounds pretty generic. Where the film excels isn't in having a brilliant one-of-a-kind story, but rather from being perfectly cast and having some great writing. 

The casting is all-around solid but, it's the two leads that really stand out. Both Bruce Willis as the wise-cracking hero John McClane and Alan Rickman as the villain, German-terrorist Hans Gruber, are great in their roles and compliment each other perfectly. Now, in addition to the cast the film benefits from the plot moving along at an exciting pace and some of the most memorable action movie lines and moments from the 80's. From "Yippie-Ki-Yay Mother F****r" to "Now I have a machine gun. Ho-Ho-Ho", the movie provides entertainment throughout.

Overall, If you haven't guessed, I love Die Hard and I highly recommend it.

I give it a 5 out of 5.

Have a suggestion for a review?

Leave it in the comments below.