Category: 1980s

After suffering a personal tragedy, married couple Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill take an extended vacation on their yacht where they encounter Billy Zane coming from a nearby ship where he claims the entire crew has died of food poisoning. For many reasons, they don’t believe Zane and their suspicions are justified. There is so much that is exceptionally silly in this film starting with that first tragedy that really didn’t need to be shown but is laugh out loud funny when it is. While typical for thrillers, Kidman’s character makes so many ludicrous decisions that it borders on unbelievable when she is shown to be actually competent in other areas. The writing separates Kidman and Neill through most of the film and that is its one strength. The two have to battle equally harrowing situations alone. 

In 1975 inside a five and dime store in a small Texas town, the members of a James Dean fan club are reuniting on the twentieth anniversary of his death. Through a series of flashbacks, especially from that summer Dean filmed Giant in a nearby town, the secrets and personalities of the group are revealed. Based on a play, the film is very stagey with all of the action taking place solely in the store. There’s no attempt to age the characters and they even wear the same costumes throughout the film, which requires a bit of adjusting to at first. I had been wanting to watch more of Cher’s earlier films and she, as well as the other actresses, carry the film rather impressively. My only complaint were a couple of scenes that required real anger to be portrayed by Sandy Dennis and Kathy Bates that came across as histrionic. My favorite of the group was surprisingly Karen Black. She carries off her role with regality and knowledge that she can move on from the relationship cycles the other women will remain caught up in.

As a dramatic movie, this was comically bad in most parts. After a night at the gym, Farrah Fawcett is assaulted and almost raped in her car. With no evidence, the police aren’t able to help her, but unfortunately the assailant James Russo grabbed her purse in the scuffle and is able to track her down some time later while her two roommates, Diana Scarwid and Alfre Woodard, are away at work. After a rather long intro, there are so many infuriating instances as the two fight in the house. Not trying to victim blame, but Fawcett makes stupid moves left and right to the point where it seems like she was just waiting for him. When her roommates do come home, they sympathize with the rapist instead of the person they have shared a home with. I love all three of the actresses and Farrah gives her physical all in a very weak role., but the material just doesn’t work for them here. I imagine as a play on a barebones set it works incredibly well, particularly as the women provide their various experiences with violent crimes and criminal offenders.

The tranquility of an Antarctica outpost is interrupted by a Norwegian helicopter hunting down a sled dog. The Norwegians are killed in the confusion, but the dog survives and has brought with him a creature of questionable origin. Between this, They Live, and The Fog, I’m really digging John Carpenters 1980s SciFi Horror. This has the incredible added atmosphere of the remote location and extra tension as paranoia sets in amongst the denizens, no one knowing who has been infected until it’s too late. It also has a pretty great cast that works well together, including Kurt Russell, Keith David, and surprisingly Wilford Brimley.