The Karate Kid Parts 1-3 (1984-89)

I watched all of the first 3 movies and really enjoyed them! I hadn't seen the first in over 30 years so it was an enjoyable rewatch. The movie holds up pretty decently. I think one of the secrets to not make a film look dated is to avoid showing alot of technology like phones, camera, radios and tvs. There's not much of that in this movie so it appears more timeless. I really liked Part II and their trip to Okinawa. The scenery and music were great and I liked the love stories in the movie and the storm at the end that causes the corrupt landowner to have a change of heart. Part III spotlighted Miyagi's bonsai tree store and the "secret tree' he had hidden at the bottom of a steep cliff. That was a pretty amazing development. He also reveals something that he hadn't said before in the movies, that his heart would be empty without the young Daniel character. It was fate that they met, like many great friendships. 

I got a better sense of how merciless the "kobra kai" students and their teachers are. And now I know why the TV show has been popular using the same characters. I never saw the show but my friend was telling me that it's basically a new generation of students doing the same thing. I'm not sure I'm really that interested in it, and the drama. I guess I don't really care for the characters that much. They're a bunch of racist assholes in the movies and don't really care to spend more time with them. I asked my friend if Ralph Macchio's character Daniel still has the car that Miyagi gave him, and learned that he does, and that the Daniel character is now teaching his son the ways of the master. That's about all I really care about in the saga. 

Fright Night (1985) and The Lost Boys (1987)

Watched these movies for the first time recently; In the late 80s, I guess I just wasn't interested in vampires or vampire movies all that much. 

In Fright Night, a teen discovers that his suave new neighbor (Chris Sarandon - maybe his most famous role) is a vampire, but no one believes him. When the vampire starts to stalk the kid, he turns to a has-been horror actor and late-night horror TV host "Peter Vincent" (Roddy McDowell) to help him slay the vampire. The movie has alot of grisly makeup and visual effects which - at the time - were no doubt pretty impressive. 

I liked the story element where the old has-been actor gets involved, and that his name is an amalgamation of Vincent Price and Peter Cushing. Vincent has a funny line where he says (paraphrasing) "the only horror your generation is interested in has to do with a guy in a ski mask slaughtering virgins". I suppose it was kind of true at the time, but ironically, I think movies like Fright Night helped to revive the vampire movie.

The Lost Boys was something of a cult vampire hit but I was never interested in it.  Watching it in 2021, I can see how appealing it could have been, with a cast that includes Cory Haim, Cory Feldman, Keifer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, and Jason Patric, who plays the older brother in a family that just moved into town. 

The marketing buzz I remember about this movie showcased the vampires hanging out and flying about in the night with their new "recruit", and that was my impression of the movie for years.  However I didn't realize that there was more to this movie, including a few other rather entraining subplots that add to the suspense. The first one involves the two Coreys getting together to become vampire busters, and it's pretty interesting to see them get close to and eventually break into the vampire's lair. 

The other subplot involves the single-mom character (Diane Weist) who dates a mild-mannered gentleman in town played by Edward Hermann who steals the movie at the end in a twist I did not see coming. You have to see it to believe it. 

Best Picture Winners I don't like: Grand Hotel and Green Book, plus Round Midnight

I recently caught up with two Best Picture Winners for the first time; both of them I didn't like!

Grand Hotel is a movie I've known about forever but never saw --- finally I had a chance to watch recently, but realized I wasn't missing much. I felt the characters were introduced to the audience too quickly and I kept trying to follow with what everyone's purpose in the hotel was. Joan Crawford shows up as a stenographer/reporter needing to interview Wallace Beery for some reason but gets distracted for about 20 minutes fighting off flirtatious advances from John Barrymore's character. Beery has a German accent in this film and his character is different from other tough-guy roles I've seen him in. Lionel Barrymore comically plays a doctor but is ultimately un-interesting. Greta Garbo also shows up but also was really un-interesting to me.

This movie didn't work for me! Apparently it was turned into a musical about 30 years ago but I can't imagine how better or worse it would be with songs. 

I also did not like Green Book.  I didn't find the Viggo Mortensen character very likeable or believable at any stage of the film. At the very start of the movie he is shown throwing two glasses in his garbage can at home because two Black workers drank from them. If he hates Black people so much I can't believe that he would ever take the job as a driver for Mahershala Ali's jazz musician character, which is almost made to be slightly comical when more seriousness should have placed on his character, I felt. And the movie should have focused more on him instead.  

The movie as a whole just didn't work for me. The blogger and former TV personality Bobby Rivers wrote about Green Book and I tend to agree with his assessment; he explains a bit better than I can - Blog post from Bobby Rivers' blog talks about Green Book

I also recently watched another movie about a Jazz player and his white friend -  Round Midnight - it's been on my "to-see" list for years and I finally watched it for the first time, and I liked it. Liked it much better than Green Book. Like Green Book, Round Midnight is also about a Black jazz musician (Dexter Gordon) in the 1950s-early 60s era, but in a different country and in a neighborhood with less racial prejudice. Instead of at the prime of his career, Dexter Gordon is at the end of his career - and life. He's a heavy drinker. 

The film shows how he befriends a white Parisian man who has idolized him all his life. When they meet and become friends, the white man becomes his caretaker and lets him live in his home with his daughter.

It's similar to Green Book in that it is ultimately a bout how an artist inspires another man's life. But in Round Midnight there's lots of jazz and musical performances from start to finish. I was convinced that Dexter Gordon was this jazz musician in Paris, and that he really was an alcoholic. It was almost difficult to watch because I really felt I was watching a real person disintegrate on film. 

Jaws 2, Jaws 3, Jaws: The Revenge

I re-watched these three sequels recently -- my verdict is that they did not age very well, especially Part 2 and Part 3 - I found those to be so dull and boring to watch. 

As for Part 2 - Who cares about the people on Amity Island? I mean, really? Give us some characters to like or care about besides Chief Brody. Or his kids. At least make them interesting. The Mayor is a jerk--- it would've been really satisfying to see him get eaten by the shark. 

Jaws 3 is also very dull. The characters aren't interesting, not even Dennis Quaid. Louis Gossett is supposed to play a greedy corporate type, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to like him or not. I kind of like the idea of a shark attacking a theme park - think of all the various situations that could happen--but there's not much to it. The best part only happens in the last 10 minutes when the shark breaks through the glass - it should have happened 2 hours sooner. I always remember - Jurassic World (2015), which handled suspense and thrills at a theme park much better.

To my surprise, the Jaws sequel I enjoyed the most out of these three was the most critically panned one - Jaws the Revenge. It's almost universally panned as one of the worst movies and sequels ever made. Except by me. I found I actually liked it on this re-watch. I first saw it when it came out in theaters in 1987, and at the time, I didn't think it was great, but I didn't hate it either. There is some subtle adult humor and dialogue by some of the characters - including the marine biologist (Mario Van Peeples) that went right over my head at the time; I was only about 11 years old. I liked Peeples' character, and also liked the diversity of the cast which is really refreshing. And I liked the Brody widow/mom/grandmom and Michael Caine relationship - it was totally believable that he would be interested in her. He's such a good actor that he's good even in a crappy movie.

As for the shark stuff. Well I dunno about that. I do like that the Brody mom finally leaves Amity and goes to live somewhere else. But another killer shark following her and attacking her family even after she moves??? You really have to turn off part of your brain to enjoy this film I think. 

There is a spiritual/magical/mystical element to it that I kind of liked, and wished was explored more in this film. From what I read, the original plan was to have someone put a voodoo curse put on the Brody Family and have a shark attack them no matter where they go. That would actually explain a whole lot about this movie. But that specific element \got cut from the film, unfortunately. Apparently, the novelization of the film has the curse in place. 

One thing I didn't like - the ending...it's really bad - it's not clear what happens to the shark. That's the worst thing about it in my opinion. I guess it's good that no other Jaws movies were made after that. And hopefully these sequels are lessons to future filmmakers on how to make good sequels and avoid bad ones.

Still, out of all the Jaws sequels, Jaws:The Revenge is my favorite.

Top Gun (1986), Heartbreak Ridge (1986), and the latest Top Gun

Last weekend I watched two military-themed movies, Heartbreak Ridge and Top Gun, both from 1986. Both have similar parallels and deal with senior officers training younger fighters. In Heartbreak Ridge, Clint Eastwood is a marine about to retire but gets put in charge of training some new recruits including Mario Van Peeples, whose character is really interesting; he's a musician and loves to sing and perform in bars and occasionally gets in trouble or thrown in jail for reckless behavior. Eastwood's character is pretty reckless, too and the two form an unlikely relationship. I'd like to have seen a whole movie about Mario Van Peeples's character, similar to how the "Maverick" character is portrayed as the focus of Top Gun. But it was an okay movie; one needs to keep remembering that it is a movie set and made in the 1980s. One bizarre scene involves the marines trying to make a long-distance phone call with a credit card. 

The two Top Gun movies are pretty similar to the Eastwood movie, I feel. In the first movie, the focus is not on the senior officer but of course Tom Cruise's character and friends. For whatever reason, I never saw this movie before last week.... but as I was watching, I was paying close attention to some of the details because I knew there'd be some callbacks in the sequel. The movie was good had some good flying sequences.

Then I saw the sequel, which came out last weekend, and I liked it better than the first. It had some typical Hollywood cliches, but I didn't mind them because I was basically looking for mindless escapism and fun and so I didn't criticize the film too heavily. The sequel is a bit more like Heartbreak Ridge because the "older" Cruise character is now the senior officer on the verge of retiring and faced with training some young hotshots. And I liked that the Val Kilmer character got promoted to admiral, but Cruise never advanced that far. And it was nice to see a diverse group of fighter pilots. And I liked the pairing of Cruise and Jennifer Connelly who is a bar owner and has becomes the love interest. Their scenes were really good and reminded me of Eastwood's and Marsha Mason's in Heartbreak Ridge a little bit, especially the ending. 

 

Munchies (1987)

I was just in grade school when Munchies came out; I never watched it when it came out, or rented it on video tape/dvd over the years. Probably it was because I may have grown tired of the tiny creature horror comedies that came out in the mid-late 1980s; most all of them seeming to capitalize over the success Gremlins (1984) the first of these types of movies and the most popular and best-remembered today. Full-disclosure: I've rewatched Gremlins and its sequel many times over the years; they are definitely "childhood favorites". I also remember watched Ghoulies (1985) which I didn't like. Then came Critters (1986) and its sequel Critters 2 (1988) and those were fun and I liked those.

But Munchies? Nope, never seen it. Until now.

Watching it for the first time in 2022, I now understand that the filmmakers were aiming for outrageous parody, no question about it. Had I watched the movie as a kid, no doubt most of the subtle satirical humor would have gone over my head. Examples of this are all the cops and townsfolk afraid of communists around every corner, common back then (and modern times!).  A sleazy entrepreneur / media mogul / real-estate developer (Harvey Korman) and his wife are totally reminiscent of disgraced televangelists and politicians of that era (and modern times!). 

It's notable to point out that Munchies director Tina Hirsch was the Film Editor on Gremlins, and co-star Nadine Van der Velde was one of the heroes in Critters. So we've got alot of little movie monster cred happening here. And of course Roger Corman was producer. Back in the 1980s when this movie came out, I had no idea who he was. 

It felt like the filmmakers and actors were all having fun making this movie, and when I can tell that is happening, then it makes me enjoy the film, too. And it seems like the writer (Lance Smith) really got creative in finding new ways the little creatures can attack us. 

For example:

• In Gremlins, we had creatures in a mailbox, a microwave, a movie theater, a bar, and in a department store.
• In Ghoulies, there were creatures in a toilet and in an old mansion
• In Critters, we had creatures in space and on a farm.

But Munchies raises the set-piece bar in new ways - now we have creatures driving a car, in a lake, in a mini-golf course, in a cave, in an ice cream store, in a fast-food restaurant, and finding ways to multiply in a factory warehouse. One of my favorite sequences involves a showdown in a video store, where the heroes shield themselves with a giant Clint Eastwood cardboard advertisement (for Pale Rider). A pretty neat scene, and a nostalgic one, too, as video stores are non-existant today.

When I watch older movies today, what often distracts me is seeing the old technology being used. I recently watched a thriller film where there were countless scenes of people talking on telephones, or people using a phone booth. But....I can't remember any telephones used in Munchies, even with all the mayhem and destruction that happens in the course of the film.  I'm not sure if that was intentional or not. To me, if there are no telephones use in a film, it makes the film appear "less dated" than some other movies of the same time. Funny how one character in the movie is obsessed with a vinyl record collection; a modern viewer (and vinyl collector) might really appreciate that since vinyl collecting is "in" again in 2022. One unappealing thing about this movie - like other movies like it - is how sexist those little creatures are made to be, and this can make a modern viewer cringe. It's satisfying, though, when they meet their eventual demise (no spoilers here, though). 

Then there are the special effects. Some people who are used to CGI don't like these types of movies where puppets are used. But in my opinion, when it comes to tiny alien creature horror-comedies, I'm ok with the use of actual puppets vs GCI, even if they are ridiculous-looking as they are in Munchies.  Recently, I watched a semi-newish horror comedy called Yoga Hosers (2015) starring Lily Rose Depp; in that movie, she battles little sausage creatures. The movie was OK, but the creatures were all CGI and I kept wishing the filmmakers just went "old-school" and just used puppets the old fashioned way. If you are going to make a ridiculous movie, why waste time with all the GCI and just go for ridiculous looking puppets?

This may seem like a small, insignificant, b-movie, but I have a feeling alot of directors have watched Munchies and been inspired by it for their own horror-creature-comedies. 

I'm sorry I passed up on it for so long and never watched it until now. But am so glad I have seen it, and I would recommend it to you if you have never seen it!  

This post is part of the Roger Corman Blogathon!

Hosted by Cinematic Catharsis and Reelweedgiemidget Reviews

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) and Moon Over Parador (1988)

I watched Kiss of the Spider Woman in honor of William Hurt's passing last week; it is one of those that has been in my queue to watch for awhile. It was so good, especially knowing some of the backstory that is was based on a play and before that, a novel that deals with prisoners in Brazil during a time of dictatorship and uprising in the 1970s. Brazil isn't mentioned (or at least I didn't hear it mentioned), but there is a shot of the Brazilian flag in the warden's office, so it is up to the audience to make sense of whatever isn't explicitly explained. 

Raul Julia is an imprisoned revolutionary looked upon as a dangerous criminal to the government. He's excellent, and shares a number of stories of the women he loves and misses, and of the cause he believes in. "I hate being a martyr" he grieves, and we sense he hates being in that cell. The William Hurt character is his cellmate. Just two people in the cell, which is interesting, because almost everyone in the prison seem to be in overcrowded cells. This cell almost seems luxurious in comparison. But still unpleasant nonetheless. The character's name is Luis Molina and it dawned on me that perhaps this character was meant to be Latine, and I thought what other\ actor in the mid 80s could play this character so well, and I'm not sure. Hurt is very good, though, as he plays a gay and overly effeminate prison who turns Raul Julia off at first but their relationship grows over the course of the film. 

The movie has some great suspense especially toward the end, as well as some slow parts. There are also some exterior, on-location shots of São Paulo Brazil including this one (below) that shows a very odd-looking waste/trash can that I have never seen before; it's so unusual. Perhaps it was part of a street carnival happening locally. 

What is this trash can supposed to be? Very curiously placed in between the two actors.

When I was younger I don't think I would have understood the interpersonal interactions between the two characters. It is a movie that holds up very well I feel, and very relevant to an audience that understands the themes such as political imprisonment, homophobia, and repressed sexuality. This movie could have ended totally depressing and bleak as some movies are. However, the ending of the movie isn't, which I appreciated.

Moon Over Parador came out in 1988 and I remember renting the VHS Tape to watch it; I didn't like it very much at the time but remember finding some of Richard Dreyfus' antics amusing. But overall I didn't like much else. I decided to give the movie a re-watch again after over 30 years. So I gave it another try, but it still seems like something isn't right. 

If you don't know about the film, it's a satirical comedy (heavy on the satire) where Dreyfus plays an American actor who impersonates a South American dictator after the dictator dies. Raul Julia plays the dictator's assistant and drama aficionado, who  coerces the actor to play the dictator, so he's essentially a villain character.  Dreyfuss: "You're asking me to be an imposter!" Raul Julia (as the dictator's assistant): "Ah..The essence of the stage!"  I liked how Dreyfus practices the salute, mannerisms, and voice of the dictator. My favorite part was the "Dream the Impossible Dream" speech, though. But there were few other moments like that. There is an interesting part where Julia's character seems to use an early version of the internet and prints out an article from The New York Times. I also liked the autographs in Julia's office - I spotted Michael Jackson, and Ronald Reagan and some other 80s figures. 

But overall the movie seems overly long and dull, especially towards the end or last half of the film. Raul Julia plays the dictator's aide  Sonia Braga (who was also in Spider Woman) plays the dictator's mistress who eventually finds out the truth during a sexual encounter. 

By the half of the movie, I stopped caring about who finds out and who doesn't and how things pan out. There are some political elements where Dreyfus experiences seeing a village torn and repressed by the government which adds some drama to the film, but ultimately it wasn't very satisfying. I may have to watch it again to appreciate it more, and appreciate what the writers and director (Paul Mazursky) were trying to accomplish. And sadly, the advertising/marketing of the film didn't emphasize Raul Julia at all; see the American poster (above) which gives the impression of an island honeymoon romantic comedy, which it's not. 

Both of these films were featured in the great documentary about Raul Julia called American Masters: Raul Julia: The World's a Stage which aired on PBS last year and I saw for the first time. It was all about Julia from his early years as a Shakespearean actor (acting at an outdoor Shakespeare fest in New Year with Meryl Streep) to his final films including The Burning Season which I have not seen but looks very interesting.

Tribute to William Hurt from Just a Cineaste:

http://justacineast.blogspot.com/2022/03/william-hurt-1950-2022.html

Matewan (1987) with James Earl Jones, Chris Cooper

This real-life incident of the coal miner's strike (and subsequent shootout between them and their bosses) could have been lost to history, perhaps only seen as a boring piece of history to read or study in school. But this movie makes the story exciting, suspenseful and thrilling, with interesting characters and terrific performances by David Strathairn (a police chief who may or may not be an ally to the workers), James Earl Jones (one of the workers), Chris Cooper as the union organizer and Mary McDonell as his wife. I recently watched this film, and loved it. It feels very realistic, and holds up remarkably well 35 years after its release, in my opinion. It really gave me a sense of what it is like to live in this coal miner's town in 1920; many of the residents lost their homes and had to live in tents. The director, John Sayles, plays a part in the film as a strict fundamentalist/conservative clergyman who preaches that unions are communist. Seems like very little has changed in 100 years, as we still have preachers and politicians against unions saying the same thing.

Some recent (2022) video & news clips that spotlight union workers in America, to help explain labor movements.

Unions vs. Amazon: A David and Goliath story (CBS This Morning, April 2022)

 

 

Gen Z is driving the Starbucks unionization movement (Washington Post, April 2022)

 

  Why Starbucks Workers Fought to Unionize (Bloomberg, April 2022)  

 Starbucks' Union Busting Tactics Show They're Getting Desperate (Majority Report, September 2022)

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

This movie was available on Redbox recently and I decided to rent it for a night and rewatch it (after about 30 years). I had remembered some parts but not everything - I specifically remember the two lead slackers mispronouncing Socrates as So-Crates, which I thought was hilarious when I was in eighth grade. After all these years I really enjoyed this now-classic, which seems to hold up for the most part with the exception of a couple of unfortunate homophobic and sexist jokes. But there is alot I enjoyed; I really liked the ending at the school when they do their report - I had forgotten most of that sequence and it was cool to see again. Some of the time travel elements were a bit confusing to me and seemed like plot holes - for example if they become legends in the future, then why was there ever a need for them to fix their present situation? Oh well, I might have missed something so I won't question too much. As long as they had the time machine to bring back all the historical figures, the rest of the movie worked for me. 

There was a sequel from 1991 that I watched years ago as well, but have completely forgotten everything about it. I'd probably watch them both again sometime as a double feature.

And apparently there is a new, third movie that is coming out soon that I'm honestly not too excited about, but I heard an interview with the cast and they made it sound like it's fun so maybe I'll give it a watch some time.

Update: some other bloggers I follow have seen the new movie. I'll post the links here until I have a chance to see it myself.

Film Connoisseur |  Film Experience | Two Dollar Cinema

Miracle Mile (1988)

I did not like this movie, despite the cast (Mare Winningham, Robert DoQui, Mykelti Williamson) and premise - a nuclear war/apocalyptic film set in the modern day (late 80s). At the film screening I watched it at, the programmer described this film as a movie that "put an exclamation point" on all cold-war era films, since this was pretty much the last movie that touched the subject of nuclear hysterics. The director only made a couple of other low-budget movies like this one, but this one has a number of effects and stunts that might normally be found in a slighter higher budget film.

I felt as if I was constantly being asked by this movie to suspend my disbelief, and I gave up about a quarter into the movie. The movie starts out as a cute John Hughes-esque romantic comedy (the director has admitted this) but about a quarter into the film, the main character Anthony Edwards learns about an coming nuclear attack and everyone around him panics, which spreads. I liked the scenes in the cafe/diner and was hoping the entire movie would take place there with just those characters and their lives we focus on.

That might have made for a good movie.

But instead, it becomes a horror/thriller/action film. The worst part is when Edwards runs into a gym at 5 AM and asks random people, "does anyone know how to fly a helicopter"? I suppose that could be funny, but come on. If the end of the world is nigh, wouldn't you try to call your family and friends? Maybe he didn't have any.

New York Stories (1989)

This film came out in 1989, an anthology, composed of three short films (about 40 minutes each) from 3 directors.

Woody Allen has one of the films, called "Oedipus Wrecks". He plays himself, a single man who is dating Mia Farrow (who has 2 kids - one of them Kristen Dunst). He also has a mother who is always making disapproving comments, is overly critical, and generally overbearing. I have a relative with the same personality! There's a part where she comes over to his office and interrupts a business meeting. The old mother is played by Mae Questel who was the old senile lady in Christmas Vacation. She's really funny in this and should have been in more movies. I liked the short because it shows how Woody deals with her and learns to cope with her and accept her and I could relate to that.

I couldn't relate to the short film that Francis Ford Coppola directed. It's about a rich girl who lives in a hotel in New York. She has a famous musician dad (Giancarlo Gianni) and wants to see him reunite with her mom played by Talia Shire. There's also a new rich boy who comes from royalty from an unnamed country. The girl befriends him. There's also a robbery, and some funny moments with her butler played by Don Novello. He's the only down-to-earth character in this and funny; I don't know why he hasn't done more movies. Most critics don't like this short. It feels really choppy as if were three half-hour sitcom episodes cut to 40 minutes. His daughter Sophia Coppola co-wrote this, so there may be some personal/semi-autobiographical content in this, but I'm not sure. I know Francis' father was a professional flautist, so certainly there's a familial connection there.

In one scene, some of the characters take a stroll in New York's Central Park, and there's a cool shot of this awesome-looking bridge (see below). I'd love to see that bridge one day if I ever get a chance to visit New York:

Finally, Martin Scorsese's film Life Lessons is the first short, and it's pretty good. Scorsese only directed; he didn't write this film. Nick Nolte plays an artist in New York with a big studio apartment with lots of paint and canvases, and he has an apprentice/former lover (Rosanna Arquette) who lives there too. It's basically a simple story, and it's lighthearted and funny.  Nolte makes a good artist, I thought. Believable as he whips his paintbrush and oil paints on the canvas. He reminds me of a friend I had (who died last year) who was about the same age as Nolte's character in the film. We went to art galleries together and browsed and talked about the art. He even loved to paint on canvas (I have some of this paintings I want to keep) and inspired me to do more painting as well.

Batman (1989) opened 30 years ago

This article from CNN.com reminded me of when Batman opened in the summer of 1989, thirty years ago. https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/22/entertainment/batman-movie-changed-the-comic-character/index.html

It was the biggest movie of the summer. I remember going to see it with my birth father; we didn't see movies together that often, but he liked action films and this and Indiana Jones 3 were the ones we saw together that summer.

I eventually saw Batman four times in the theater, including several times with some other neighborhood friends who hadn't seen it yet. There were trading cards to go along with the movie, and I remember tying to collect all 200 of them.

I remember the scenes people were talking about - people loved the Batwing flying over the moon to give a "bat-signal", and people loved The Joker, including me; he was more interesting to me than Michael Keaton's Batman character.  I also remember someone saying "I prefer Marvel comics to DC". If I had a crystal ball to see into the future, I would have told him, "Just wait another 15 or so years and you'll see Spider Man, X-men, and almost every other Marvel hero on the big screen".

Little Dorritt (1988)

With a 6-hour running time, 1988's Little Dorritt always seemed to be a challenging watch but it was on my list because of its acclaim and cast (including Alec Guinness). Last fall the film aired on TCM in 2 parts, and I really enjoyed it!

In his 4-star review, Roger Ebert wrote that he felt the movie might be better experienced seeing it in one day, with a break for lunch in between  (read his review here).

Part 1 is very enjoyable, as we are introduced to a kind man named Mr. Stammers (Derek Jacobi) who returns to his hometown after 20 years of being overseas. He gets reacquainted with a certain family member who has a connection to a mysterious house servant, Amy Dorritt. Stammers spends the entire half of the movie learning about the mystery behind Dorritt and building a name for himself in the community as a businessman and investor.

Part 2 was even better than the first half. The entire second half was told from Amy Dorrit's point of view, and we learn much more about her relationship with her father, splendidly played by Alec Guiness.

I haven't ever read the book, but I understand the story was adapted into a 6 part mini-series starring Tom Courtenay as father Dorritt, which would make for a great watch one day.

It would be nice if this 1988 movie were ever to be released on DVD.

I was curious to see how the film performed at the box office back in 1988, so I checked IMDB and to my surprise it grossed over $1 million. When the movie played at art house theaters in 1988, many theaters charged a separate admission for each 3-hour installment.

Steel Magnolias (1989) and Educating Rita (1983)

Last year I went to see the stage play of Steel Magnolias at a local repertory theater, and I loved comparing it with it's 1989 film counterpart. In the case of Magnolias, the film -- in my opinion -- is far better than the stage version. For one thing, there's no way you can top a cast like Sally Field, Shirley MacClaine and Julia Roberts. Also, I love how the movie breaks out of the beauty shop and explores the entire town and introduces the viewer to all the other people in the women's lives, including the suitor who charms Shirley.  And I loved Shirley's dog in the film; a nice touch. And this has got to be one of of Dolly Parton's best movie roles and the part suits her well.  A few years ago, another TV-film version came out starring Queen Latifah and Alfre Woodard and is on my to-see list.

Another stage play I saw recently was Educating Rita; I had seen the 1983 film version, one of the first movies I ever watched on a VHS tape. If you don't remember that movie, it's about a middle age professor (Michael Caine) who tutors a young, unschooled married hair stylist (Julie Walters) who dreams of becoming more cultured; in the process they change each other's lives (a premise reminiscent of Pygmalion or My Fair Lady). It's an inspiring tale, filled with witty dialogue and many references to great literature. The movie version is delightful - Caine and Walters are top-notch and deserved their Oscar nominations. And I like how the movie breaks out of the professor's office setting, taking you inside Rita's house and inside the saloons where the professor frequents. However, the movie feels dated, especially the synthetic music score. On stage, it's a different experience - only the two main characters; in the production I saw, the actors were outstanding, especially the actor who played Rita, a challenging part that she knocked out of the park. I hope she gets some local award recognition. Alas, this may be an example of where there play is actually better than the film.

Rocky 1-5, Rocky Balboa, and Creed

To celebrate the release of Creed this fall, I rewatched all of the Rocky movies on Blu-Ray. here's my take on each one, with my favorites being the original Rocky, Rocky III, and Rocky Balboa (followed by Rocky II, V, Creed, and IV).

Rocky (1976)
On this re-watch, what stuck out to me the most was how lonely Rocky is, and how he really doesn't have any family. Even on Thanksgiving Day, he has no where to go except by Paulie and Adrian's. He keeps a photograph of his parents in his apartment, but we don't learn much about them or the details of his growing up. It made me want to see a movie about a young Rocky growing up; maybe someone will make that movie one day. Another thing that I hadn't noticed before is a photo of Paulie in his younger days when he was in the Navy.

Rocky II (1979)
Picks up immediately after the last movie, and we get a rematch between Apollo Creed and Rocky. In the meantime Rocky gets a job hauling meat and raising a newborn son after marrying Adrian. His proposal in the zoo by the tiger cage is classic: "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind marrying me too much?" One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Mickey has Rocky chase a chicken, which Rocky does with Donnie Creed in Creed (2015).


Rocky III (1982)
Great montage in the beginning showing how Rocky becomes champion of the world, set to the "Eye of the Tiger" song. Then Rocky prepares to fight Clubber Lang (Mr. T) and is trained by Apollo when Mickey dies. Fun movie and it's great to see Apollo and Rocky become friends. There's a private fight at the end of the movie between them, and we as the audience never learn who won until 2015's Creed, when Rocky reveals that Apollo won. I also love the painting at the end of the movie, which ends up in Rocky's restaurant in Rocky Balboa and Creed. We assume that it was painted by Paulie. I also had forgotten that this was the movie where the "Rocky" statue was unveiled. Wow - that's been up for over 30 years!

Rocky IV (1985)
My least favorite of all the films, but it is still fun to watch especially the final fight between Rocky and the Russian boxer played by Dolph Lundgren. I didn't like the actor that played Rocky's son; he just isn't convincing to me that he's the son of Rocky and Adrian.


Rocky V (1990)
I like this movie, and it really does feel like an early 90s film thanks to the soundtrack. Rocky has to deal with some health issues and is faced with retirement. But a young boxer comes to visit him seeking a mentor, and Rocky slips into the "trainer" role for the first time. I also liked the subplot involving Rocky and his "rocky" relationship with his son (played very good by Sage Stallone, rest in peace). Another subplot involves Rocky losing all of his wealth and having to sell off everything in an auction. It seems almost unbelievable that these types of things can happen to a superstar, but sadly it does happen---for example, Burt Reynolds recently had to do the same thing due to his many debts. I liked the streetfight at the end too, even though we don't get Rocky in the ring.  Another thing I liked is the flashback scene with Rocky and Micky, which is really sentimental but gives us a little bit more of a glimpse into their relationship.

Rocky Balboa (2006)
This movie is the most sentimental of all the Rocky movies, but that's exactly why I love it. The final fight scene is cool, but what I love the most about the movie is all the other stuff happening leading to that fight. For starters, we learn that Adrian died, and that Rocky started a restaurant business and named the restaurant after her. The restaurant looks like an awesome place to visit, by the way. Rocky even allows his old rivals to come and work there part time. I like how a minor character from the first movie - "Little Marie" - steps back into Rocky's life and we get to see what became of her. Finally, it's interesting to see how Rocky's son doesn't follow in his father's footsteps. Instead, he works for a corporate firm in downtown Philly, which is exactly what Rocky wanted to do in Rocky II. After the events of Rocky V, it's not surprising that the son doesn't become a boxer.

Creed (2015)
Not a bad film; and it's packed with an emotional punch. I enjoyed it and would watch it again, even if its story seems very similar to the original 1976 Rocky and a little bit of 1990's Rocky V as Rocky becomes the trainer and doesn't box. Michael B. Jordan gives a good performance as "Donnie" Creed - who seeks mentorship from Rocky and calls him "uncle". Early on in the movie we see Donnie working in an office - and getting a promotion even - but decides to become a fighter full time. I liked the relationship that blossoms with the girl he meets in his apartment, and how he helps Rocky deal the health issues he's facing. My favorite scene in the movie happens right before the final fight sequence--when Rocky and his training team walk out to the ring from the locker room with Donnie. It's a long walk that takes maybe a minute or two but the camera shows them as if we are following right behind them the entire way. That's a cool shot; the cinematography in general is very good. It's also nice to see Rocky at work in his restaurant again. One of the saddest moments in the entire film is when Rocky explains to Donnie that his son had no interest in boxing, moved out of town, and started a new life in Vancouver. It made me think that Rocky is so alone in the world, without much of any family nearby. And here comes Donnie, who becomes a long lost "son" who is almost like the boxer"son" that Rocky always wanted. And sure enough, I left the theater wanting to see more of this saga. And surely more Rocky! Maybe another movie? If that happens, I would definitely go see it.  It would be really cool if we get to see Rocky's son again, and maybe be introduced to Rocky's grandson (or daughter).

The Black Cauldron (1985) and The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

My local library had two Disney movies from the 1980s, and I was curious to see if they still held up after 30 years.

The Great Mouse Detective I saw in the theaters when it first came out when I was 10 years old. I remember liking the commercials and the poster with the big dog -- I can just imagine someone in Disney marketing saying "let's focus on the big dog - no one wants to see a movie about rats and mice".  Funny how after almost 30 years I don't remember one thing about the movie at all - not even what the dog did.  I wish I could l say that all my memories came back to me after re-watching it last week, but they didn't. The beer drinking and the dancing French maid mice went way over my head. Maybe I fell asleep in the theater.  My favorite part was when the Sherlock mouse calculates a way of escaping from the mousetrap set up by Ratigan (Vincent Price). I also really liked the old-timey song that played during the escape, which I found out was co-written by Henry Mancini; I didn't appreciate his contribution to the film when I was 10.

Here's a neat blog post about this movie from  Classic Film and TV cafe https://www.classicfilmtvcafe.com/2021/09/great-mouse-detective-film-review.html

The other one I watched was The Black Cauldron. This was a first-time watch for me. Something about the movie back in 1985 didn't capture my interest, even if it was meant to be a "boy" movie instead of a "girl"/princess movie. Maybe it was the high-fantasy aspect. I was never a big fan of the genre; never got into Hobbit or Lord of the Rings either. But since those movies have been so popular as well as Game of Thrones. Cauldron might be big a hit if released today.

I enjoyed the movie, despite the corniness of some of the characters including the furry short guy, a real moocher if there ever was one, always looking for "munchies and crunchies" (food). I like how he redeems himself in the end. I also liked the main hero, a young pig farmer who has a magical pig that can predict the future.  And I liked the harp player who bickers with his harp. The princess was OK; she had some sort of floating, glowing glass ball or "bauble" that serves no purpose; I kept waiting for that thing to pay off but it never did. She also had her own theme music which sounded alot like one of the pieces from Ghostbusters. I then learned that Elmer Bernstein was the same composer for both movies. Many of the musical sounds in Black Cauldron sound like those in Ghostbusters, but that's not a negative thing.  The villain is pretty scary, too.

Summer Rental (1985)

Summer Rental came out 30 years ago in the summer of 1985. I only saw it for the first time recently, and liked it. John Candy is amusing in it as a Chicago dad who takes his wife and two kids (one is Joey Lawrence) to Florida.

They rent a beach house and predictably, some things go wrong, which brought to mind a Jimmy Stewart movie called Mr Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962), which this is sort-of like.

The movie ends with the family entering a sailing race with the help of a pirate played by Rip Torn. It is worth seeing if you are curious about the other films in John Candy's filmography.

The Goonies (1985)

Last Thursday night I went to a free Park District screening of The Goonies, a movie that I have never seen before. A recent discussion on the Lambcast about this movie piqued my interest in seeing it; it sounded really cool. For a free movie, it wasn't a bad deal! Some of the dialogue was a bit hard to hear so I may need to watch the film again, but I loved the adventure through the underground caves with all the booby traps. Really cool stuff. For the most part the film holds up well with the exception of a few 80s references, and the fact that no one uses cell phones (I always seem to notice that when watching movies of the 80s and 90s...not so much the 1970s or earlier).  The host of the event made a little announcement before the movie started: "This movie is celebrating its 30th anniversary!" Sigh! Has it really been that long? And to think, 30 years prior to 1985 was 1955, which feels like 100 years ago.

Lock Up (1989)

From 1989, Sylvester Stallone stars in Lock Up, not a great movie but one that is 80's style dumb fun.  The movie begins with Stallone in jail, serving out the last six months of his prison sentence and looking forward to going free.

All of a sudden, he's abducted from his cell and transported to a hellhole prison run by a maniacal warden (Donald Sutherland) with a vendetta against him. Stallone makes some friends in the jail including a mechanic played by Sharkey from License to Kill (Frank McRae) and another young man who wants to learn how to drive.   The ending is a tense showdown with Stallone and Sutherland. If you are a fan of Stallone or prison movies then you might enjoy this movie.

The Good Mother (1988) directed by Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy passed away the other day at age 82; so renowned for his characterization of Star Trek's "Spock" from TV/movies that some news sources (such as CNN.com) decided to announce his passing with the headline "Actor, Poet, Vulcan, dies". "Director" should be added to the list, as Mr Nimoy directed a handful of movies, including two Trek pictures and the box office hit comedy Three Men and A Baby (1987).  The other films in his CV include the unsuccessful comedies Holy Matrimony (1994) with Patricia Arquette, Funny About Love (1990) with Gene Wilder, and  - the film I'm most curious about - The Good Mother from 1988, a heartrending drama.

Exploring such sensitive issues such as divorce, sexual harassment, and child custody, The Good Mother is not the science-fiction/fantasy film you might expect Spock would be involved with. In fact I wonder if Mr Nimoy was contractually obligated by Disney/Touchstone to direct this film after his success with Three Men.  Nonetheless, I'm sure Spock the Vulcan - ever curious about human behavior - would find the film and the issues it explores compelling.  Diane Keaton, who plays the lead, is very good as a recently divorced mother with a new lover played by Liam Neeson. Complications arise when  the lover is accused of sexually abusing her daughter and she's sued by her ex-husband for custody of the child.

I especially enjoyed seeing veteran stars Ralph Bellamy and Theresa Wright in this film; they play Keaton's wealthy grandparents who live in a lovely New England waterfont home.  My favorite part of the film is when Keaton has to explain her plight to them and asks to borrow money to pay for the legal expense (her lawyer is played by Jason Robards). Ms Theresa Wright needn't say anything - her wonderful presence alone exudes warmth, compassion, and love. Upon its initial release in 1988, critic Roger Ebert gave the film only one star in his review (Read review here), but praised the scenes with Bellamy and Wright.

The movie, overall is OK, but kind of melancholy. I think Mr Nimoy handles the subject matter sensitively and tastefully, and brings out the best in his actors, given the subject matter; Liam Neeson is especially convincing, and sympathetic.

I am interested in learning more about the making of this film, and/or any interviews with Mr. Nimoy about directing this movie. If anyone knows or has any more information, please let me know; I would appreciate any feedback!

Film legends Theresa Wright, Ralph Bellamy, and Diane Keaton in The Good Mother

Academy Award winners Diane Keaton and Theresa Wright