Dennis Quaid performs terrificly as the outrageous Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire, a movie that’s a weird mix of taking a piss at its subject – but with a certain affection.
Month: May 2016
#434 The Last Dragon (1985)
It’s not as if an 80s kung-fu movie wouldn’t have been amazing on its own, but The Last Dragon also adds to the mix a kickass soundtrack and just kills with its sheer epicness!
#433 Raising Arizona (1987)
Raising Arizona totally took me surprise by not once going by the obvious route of the lowest common poop-barf denominations all baby involved comedies usually take.
#432 Monkey Shines (1988)
Romero’s Monkey Shines succeeds beautifully in conveying the idea of a homicidal monkey, but fails when taking the concept too far into the telepathic mumbo jumbo.
#431 Year of the Dragon (1985)
While Year of the Dragon chooses style over substance and theatricality over realism, its unrelenting badassery makes the movie an experience well worth your while.
#430 Young Guns (1988)
Featuring an all-star cast, Young Guns is yet another western taking huge liberties in its story to cover the fact that Billy the Kid or his life events were never really that interesting.
#429 Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors tackles a huge amount of themes, including adultery, murder, divorce and guilt with amazing ease, without feeling exhausting at all.
#428 Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
Much of the Allen’s ’Broadway Danny Rose’s charm lie in the characters and the witty dialogue that flows effortlessly, but ultimately the story leaves no lasting impression.
#427 Betrayed (1988)
A sleeper hit, Betrayed travels deep into the dark side of humanity and its grim message is more topical today than ever before.
My advice is to just watch it before reading any summaries or reviews.
#426 Millennium (1989)
Although Millennium totally wastes its amazingly exciting setup with a downright ridiculous and campy depiction of the future, it still manages to be surprisingly entertaining.
#425 The Mighty Quinn (1989)
A jamaican cop investigating a murder has to tightrope between his personal life, the powers that be and being loyal to his people and in this lovable caribbean action thriller.
#424 Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982)
A motorcyclist gets sent a hundred years back to the Wild West in a likeable scifi adventure movie that falls short in fully utilising its setting of getting to use modern in the past.
#423 Graduation Day (1981)
Graduation Day tries to pass as a somewhat professional movie, but the obvious lack of knowledge of even the basics of film making makes for an awful movie experience.
#422 St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)
St. Elmo’s fire goes from drama to another, but the tragedy that is to be a spoiled grown up kid without any aim in the life fails to touch or to make an emotional connection.
#421 Motel Hell (1980)
What seems like another poorly aged horror movie at first, Motel Hell is just so utterly ruthlessly gross and bizarre that by the end the positives outweight its shortcomings.
#420 Lion of the Desert (1981)
Lion of the Desert is a rare and important – and some 30 minutes too long – depiction of italian colonialism and cruelty in northern Africa mostly forgotten by the western cinema.
#419 Private School (1983)
Located in the parallel universe where girls love to be sexually harassed, Private School is a collection of excuses to show some naked skin, and as such its T&A is above average.
#418 Deal of the Century (1983)
Black comedy about the morality – or the lack thereof – of weapons manufacturers manages to take a few good jabs, but plays a bit too tame and safe towards the end.