Category: 1980s

Ex-con and jewel thief James Caan is ready to settle down with his girlfriend, but is coerced by a Mob boss to pull off one big score. But of course, one last job is rarely just one. Caan offers great control as a man who just wants to fulfill his simple dreams and thinks he is on track to realize them. There are some pretty good heist scenes, plus there’s Willie Nelson as Caan’s mentor and friend.  

Even at young ages, Keanu Reeves and Drew Barrymore had some quality performances, so it seems like this made for television movie couldn’t really be that bad. Unfortunately it is so bad, I had mostly suppressed my memories of watching it many years ago. In what comes across as a long advertisement for the city of Cincinnati, Drew falls out of a car during a Christmas Eve snowstorm and smacks her head on a tree. When she comes to, she has landed in Toyland, a town inhabited by people who curiously look like all the people back home a la The Wizard of Oz. The whole production looks like it was filmed on an off day at a storybook themed amusement park and the actors were just told to quickly phone it in. While the rest of the film makes no mention of the holiday, Christmas is bookmarked into the story by having toymaker Pat Morita morph into Santa Claus.    

In Reagan-era Los Angeles, Rowdy Roddy Piper has drifted into the city looking for work. There he is awakened to a conspiracy where aliens are living among humans, manipulating them, and stealing Earth’s resources. Those who wear the special sunglasses can see the truth, which beings are actually aliens and the subliminal messages they are using to control the populace. The plot is reminiscent of The Matrix to the point where I’m surprised the ridiculous red-pillers hadn’t latched onto this film instead when they are espousing the ‘truth’. It’s quite a wonderful piece of work. The visuals between the real and false world are fun. I’m surprised Roddy Piper wasn’t more of a leading man. He’s appealing and he leads the film quite well. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a movie where the two protagonists (Piper and an equally great Keith David) brawl with each other for more than five whole minutes. 

After getting on the wrong side of a corrupt alderman, Chicago reporter John Belushi needs to lay low for awhile and is given an assignment in the Rockies to interview reclusive bald eagle researcher Blair Brown. Though initially butting heads, the two grow to respect and love each other. It’s rare to see Belushi playing a soft romantic role and he’s rather adorable during those parts of the movie. The weakness in the film is its uneven tone. It throws in comedy to maintain some levity, but it comes at off putting times. 

In a gritty New York City, Sylvester Stallone and Billy Dee Williams are a pair of police detectives who have been recruited to an anti-terrorism squad to hunt down ruthless international terrorist Rutger Hauer. While on the squad, Stallone is challenged on how ruthless he needs to be in order to defeat the bad guys. None of the main cast are treated as superstars so the story is able to concentrate on the action and drama without becoming overwhelmed to making the stars shine. The makeup department went overtime here making Hauer unrecognizable so he could allude capture halfway through the film and also making Stallone convincingly pass off as female.    

Based on James Baldwin’s semi-autobiographical novel, this recounts the experiences and history of a Black family who moves from the South to Harlem, particularly of a teenaged boy and his relationship with his domineering, self-righteous, and heavily religious stepfather. Being made of television, it is a bit low budget and stagey at times, but it does boast an incredible cast with Paul Winfield, Rosalind Cash, and Giancarlo Esposito all in major roles. I’m sure I missed some context since I’m very unfamiliar with the Black Pentecostal church, but it does offer some interesting explorations on religion and threads that connect and reverberate through family history.