Kategoria: 1981

#736 Blow Out (1981)

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Blow Out was always a tiresome watch for me for some reason. I’ve had the movie lying around for quite some time and even started watching it a couple of times but always quit the movie early on to switch to something a bit more entertaining.

Admittedly the synopsis here is very interesting: A guy working as a sound technician for the movies records a tire blow out – hence the title – leading to a car crash that kills a politician, and gives him a chance to prove the deed was an assassination instead of a random act of misfortune. It’s the execution here that leaves a lot to be desired. There’s something to the story that could’ve made a decent 50’s Hitchcock movie, but an early 80s movie could’ve really used a more fresh approach.

Considering all the subpar movies John Travolta was involved during the time, his performance here is very admirable and he makes a very decent male lead. Blow Out along with Urban Cowboy released year earlier remain his strongest roles of the era.

The ending has been praised of its nihilistic, the sign of the times approach, but to me it felt like a cheapish payout for a gag set up earlier in the movie. Again, this is something Hitchcock might’ve been able to pull off during the 50s, but here it feels awkwardly out of place.

80s-o-meter: 60%

Total: 58%

#728 Looker (1981)

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Looker, written and directed by Michael Crichton is an interesting, if a bit uneven scifi thriller both adorable in its early 80s clumsiness and partly impressive in its vision. It’s also a milestone in the effects department, making heavy use of computer imagery that not only were first to be seen on the silver screen, but ones that also look surprisingly solid, given their age.

If Looker is somewhat solid on the technical and conceptual level, as a thriller it’s mediocre at the best. The last 45 minutes of the movie ends up – in comparison to the engaging, mysterious buildup in the first act – a series of less than stellar choices, including the final outcome.

The social commentary about the superficiality of the advertisement industry is an interesting notion, and an issue that has obviously pretty much tenfolded since the release of this movie.

80s-o-meter: 70%

Total: 74%

#699 Cutter’s Way aka Cutter and Bone (1981)

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Cutter’s Way is an unique experience, an interesting and stylish character study of two very different kind of men driven by an unsolved murder case. We’re presented with Richard Bone who confidently trusts his charm will see him through whatever life throws his way, and a vietnam vet Alex Cutter who links around with his crippled leg, spewing guilt and grudge around wherever he goes.

It takes the movie a good while to progress with Cutter being the ignitive catalyst and Bone who tries to weasel his way out of any kind of decision making concerning his life – or the others’. All the waiting and buildup pay off as it makes the final point of no return feel impactful in a palm-sweatting kind of way.

John Heard as the unrelenting Cutter and Jeff Bridges as the anti hero hunk of meat are both a treat to watch and play their parts to the perfection. Originally unsuccessfully launched in the US as ’Bone and Cutter’, the movie never quite gained the recognition it should’ve.

80s-o-meter: 70%

Total: 84%

#681 Dead & Buried (1981)

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On the surface Dead & Buried seems like a yet another early 80s slasher but as the events progress further the movie gets some elements of mystery and thriller that really make the story much more interesting to follow.

Towards the end it becomes obvious Dead & Buried is a very untypical movie of the era, and more close to some classic black & white era spook stories. I like it. The movie has a lot of style and ambiance to it that is only broken up occasionally by some of the clumsier special effects.

The movie seems to suffer a little from some identity problems, but once it finds its own voice Dead & Buried is well worth your time.

80s-o-meter: 48%

Total: 76%

#658 Zorro The Gay Blade (1981)

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Let’s get this out of the way: Zorro The Gay Blade is not a good movie.

It’s a tiresome watch that although quirky at times rarely manages to make one laugh – that is unless an overacted, flamboyant gay characterisation and men wearing a drag still passes as a humour for you in 2017.

Zorro, a disguised Spanish nobleman fighting against the powers that be was a source for countless books, series, comics and movies from the 1920s on, but hasn’t been any part of the pop culture for the last 30 years or so. This, in addition to the movie being outdated when it came out in the first place underline its total irrelevance as a spoof.

80s-o-meter: 15%

Total: 22%

#657 Modern Problems (1981)

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Starring Chevy Chase, a star of many top comedies of the era, I really wanted to like this movie, but I’m afraid it’s not good news.

You know those randomising algorithms that take known genres, words, adjectives and verbs and then generate something with a roll of a dice. Modern Problems feels like its been written by one: It introduces one completely loose concept after another and never follows one through to the finish.

The characters are bit of a similar kind of mess and Chevy Chase as the lead hams his way through the movie without any kind of enthusiasm. Performance wise Dabney Coleman’s self-absorbed self-help book writer is spot on, but little good does that do when the rest of the movie is so off.

In the end, Modern Problem’s problem is not a modern one, but a very ancient instead: Finding a reason to exist.

80s-o-meter: 58%

Total: 34%

#654 Just Before Dawn (1981)

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Just Before Dawn is one of those kids hiking in the woods and getting chopped by a serial killer movies – but it’s one of the slightly better ones.

The plot you already know if you’ve watched any of these kinds of movies, but clearly some thought has gone into making sure the movie is not just a carbon copy of the others, and things are kept more interesting for example by giving the movie a slightly different pacing.

Like most of the movies in this genre, this slasher cannot really be recommended. But, if you really must watch one of these, Just Before Dawn might just be the ticket.

80s-o-meter: 61%

Total: 59%

#630 Mommie Dearest (1981)

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An exploitation movie depicting the difficult mother-daughter relationship of Joan Crawford and her step daughter suffers from being much more irrelevant now, 40 after the death of its prota/antagonist.

Although Faye Dunaway’s portrayal of Crawford is extremely intensive, and she manages to steal every scene she’s in – like a real diva should – Mommie Dearest just does not hold interest to anyone unfamiliar with her character.

80’s-o-meter: 12%

Total: 38%