Category: 1980s

After his friend former CIA-turned DEA agent Felix Leiter’s (David Hedison in his second outing) new bride is murdered by drug lord Robert Davi, Timothy Dalton’s James Bond finds his licence to kill revoked when he choses to pursue Davi instead of following MI6 orders. When I decided to watch various Bond films, it seemed prudent to also check out each actor’s portrayal of the iconic character. I generally expect Dalton to be a film’s villain, so casting him as Bond provides a much different take than the previous actors, much darker and younger. The Drug War plot, propelled wonderfully by Davi’s ruthless kingpin who is himself supported by a young Benicio del Toro, amps up the tension and pulls Bond into a more modern action flick age. I also can never not be amused when the licence to kill is referred to as an actual thing instead of the metaphorical device I had always assumed it to be.  

Bullied teenager Keith Gordon hopes his life will turn around when he purchases Christine, a 1958 Plymouth Fury with a questionable history. Soon Gordon is so taken by Christine that he cares about nothing else. Adapted from the classic Stephen King novel, it’s not very scary but it is quite a bit of engrossing fun. Centered around a few dislikable characters, it’s easy to root for the car in the end especially as the fantastic special effects illustrate how powerful she truly is.   

Trying to escape a dead end life in a dying small town, teenaged Diane Lane finagles her way into joining a rock tour with her unpracticed punk band that includes her cousin Laura Dern and little sister Marin Canter. It’s rather incredible that I hadn’t ever heard of this film until stumbling on reviews fairly recently. It’s a fantastic merging of Girl Power and early 1980s MTV culture. Lane’s character is so very relatable while also being aspirational. She has no idea what she’s doing, but she’s not going to let that stop her or get in her way even as she fumbles at almost every step. At only seventeen years old, Lane the actress is impressive, carrying the film on her young back in ways that is hard to look away. 

New Jersey trucking magnate Danny DeVito arrives in Hollywood determined to make it big writing scripts for television. Despite being turned away by almost all the major networks, he manages to sell a series and make it big with the help of his girlfriend Rhea Perlman, an underappreciated employee at the biggest ratings company. As director, DeVito plays to his strengths here and he works delightfully with wife Perlman. It offers plenty to amuse with its occasionally scathing view into the television industry, especially when the networks had more power. 

Another edition of Peter Ustinov as the famous Belgian detective, here Poirot travels to a hotel on the Adriatic Sea run by Maggie Smith to relocate a ring that Colin Blakely’s mistress Diana Rigg stole from him. Once there, a murder is committed amongst the intertwined group of hotel guests, giving Poirot a further mystery to solve. Maybe a tad sillier than the others, but I enjoyed the central mystery here better than Murder on the Orient Express or Death on the Nile. Even with a less lavish production than the other two, the location is stunning, the period details are delightful, and the cast, which also includes James Mason and Roddy McDowall, are top notch making it an entertaining murder mystery.   

Two American detectives, Don Knotts and Tim Conway, who work for Scotland Yard are called to an expansive manor house to investigate the murders of its owners. It’s essentially an extended episode of Scooby-Doo where Scooby and Shaggy are replaced by these two comic greats. The story’s pretty predictable and it doesn’t feature the bungling duo in their prime, but it’s still fun and appreciative for being the last lead role pairing of the two.