Gunslingers, including the young braggart Leonardo DiCaprio, reluctant outlaw turned minister Russell Crowe, and mysterious Sharon Stone, descend on the town of Redemption to participate in a shoot-out contest hosted by the tyrannical Gene Hackman. Having mixed reviews when it was released, I hadn’t expected this to be so entertaining and fun. Everyone in the gradually diminishing cast of characters has their moment to shine as the tournament takes each of them out one by one. There are a few silly shots that I could have done without, but the rest is quite cool. I was also not prepared for how young DiCaprio and Crowe would look in this one, but Hackman makes one great bad guy to root against. 

Anthony Edwards meets Mare Winningham, the woman of his dreams, at La Brea Tar Pits, but before they can even go on one date, he accidentally intercepts a phone call that indicates nuclear war will be starting within seventy minutes and spends the rest of the film trying to find Mare so they can somehow escape the apocalypse together. I hadn’t gone into this expecting much. Not having heard anything about it, I thought maybe it would just be another forgotten bizarre 80s film similar to my most recent watch of Society. Instead what followed was a pretty solid end of the world scenario that changes tones frequently but never strays far from its blend of romance and apocalyptic drama. It has an unexpected mix of standouts in its cast including Kurt Fuller, Denise Crosby, and a very young Mykelti Williamson, but the pairing of Edwards and Winningham makes for a kooky but surprisingly appealing lead couple that are hard not to root for.    

Adopted teenager Billy Warlock feels out of place in his Beverly Hills family with a sexy sister and two perfect parents. After his sister’s coming out party, his instincts were spot on. Absolutely screaming its 1980s California setting at every moment, it’s also an unexpectedly bizarre and disgustingly gory film. The writing and acting are rather lame, though the special effects are pretty good for what they’re trying to portray, but in many ways none of that matters after seeing the climax which I cannot imagine anyone saw coming. 

A few days before Christmas, Toronto mall bank teller Elliott Gould discovers that his bank is going to be robbed and uses that information to his advantage. Unfortunately for him, it does not take long for ruthless robber Christopher Plummer to discover his ruse. What I thought was going to be a simple heist film turned out to be an absorbing meeting of the minds. I’m not used to Plummer being so sadistically evil, but he carries it off well. Gould might be the protagonist of the story, but he’s no hero. I continued to wonder if and how he was going to get out of his various predicaments.