Last Seen 70s/80s Movie

[TaeKwonZombie]

Originally Posted by Tommy Jarvis

Same here, it was amazing.

Yeah I agree, one of my favorites, and best.

next up I saw The Jitters (1989) with the infamous hopping Japanese vampires, what can I say a fun little comedy horror. Bad acting, and silly story, but I liked the hopping vampires.

[FryeDwight]

ROLLER BOOGIE (1979). Adorable Linda Blair, a flautist planning to attend Juilliard decides winning a roller skating contest is more important . She meets Bobby (professional skater Jim Bray in his first and last role) and despite their social differences, future plans and the threat of the local skating rink being torn down by mobsters (Mark Goddard from LOST IN SPACE plays the leader), they practice and naturally fall for one another.

A guilty pleasure of the first degree and not a good movie by any means, but if You go into it with that attitude RB really isn't all that bad, almost like a Frankie/Annette beach movie. Better than expected photography (Dean Cundey) and a cool cast including Beverly Garland (IT CONQUERED HE WORLD, PRETTY POISON), Roger Perry (COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE, THE THING WITH TWO HEADS) and lovely Kimberly Beck (MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH and FRIDAY ,the 13th PART 4).

Also, You'll just have to love the car Linda drives (Excalibur SSK) and how she
always finds a close parking spot despite big crowds. ***

[Tommy Jarvis]

Die Hard 1988 ★★★★★

Let's get this out of the way first: yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Of course. What else would it be?

It's also one of the last in a legendary series of action blockbusters. When John McClane was the believable everyman blue collar hero before he turned into an Expandables-ish caraicature of himself. When action movies focused on followable entertainment, before The Matrix introduced the era of cookie cutter CGI where your brain automatically tunes out after five minutes.

Filled from start to finish with witty and funny dialogue. From the pizza-line to welcome to welcome the party. And of course the infamous yippikayay-line. Uttered by Bruce Willis as a joke, thinking it would never make it to the final cut. It ended up being the signature phrase of the franchise and milked to death in the sequels. How about that?

And last but not least: the villain. The late great Alan Rickman delivers his first career making performance as the suave and ruthless gentleman robber Hans Gruber. Filling every moment on screen with equal parts charisma and menace. – Hans! Boopee! – *Bang*

Did I mention five star classic?

A Garfield Christmas Special 1987 ★★★★

What better day to watch this one.

It's a lot of fun when you know what to expect. Cheesy? Sometimes, sure. But it's the type of wholesome family that perfectly goes with the occasion.

Black Christmas 1974 ★★★★★

What better way to start than the ultimate Christmas horror. With one of the strongest feats being contrasts between the intense and the innocent. Providing some much needed relief in the process.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Cujo 1983 ★★★★

A King-adaptation to kick off the New Year. Sounds like a plan.

The combination of the main character and the slow burn is a good idea. You really get the time to let it sink in. This Saint Bernard, this sweet old slobberpuss. Under the normal run of things, he would not hurt a fly. But then he turns into this vicious killer, all because of a scenario that's very plausible at the setting of book and film. Horror in its purest form.

That said, it is a slow burn, which is no good news for the more impatient among us. So we got an infidelity subplot that's not really essential to the central storyline. But it is well told and keeps you invested. And it's a bit uncanny as well how pairings with Dee Wallace and Christopher Stone at the time always had a bit of irony to them.

When it does get going, the movie wastes no time in getting scary with the killing of Ed Lauter (aka Colonel Belt) and the type of guy you have seen before but cannot put you finger on … (fuck it, IMDB here we come... Oh, he played a racist on an episode of MASH). And holy shit, it's Deep Throat.

I also enjoyed how the emphasis is not set on the beats, but on the constant threat. Every time they stick their head out of the car, the dog can pounce and pose an ovwerwhelming threat. Which is even more amazing considering the simple trickery they used to set up this shot. Not to mention the terror at the end when the child appears to have from dehydration. I was on the edge of my seat. Who does terrorized better than Dee Wallace?

Well recommended.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989 ★★★★★

What should have been a worthy ending to a very entertaining trilogy.

The chemistry and banter between Ford and Connery are exhilirating and at the same time irresistible. So good I almost forgot to mention to the excellent comic relief provided by Salah and Marcus. Lost in hos own museum, huh?

Connery: I'm only as human as the next man.
Ford: I WAS the next man.

Connery: I didn't know you could fly a plane.
Ford: Fly, yes. Land, no

What keeps the movie interesting are all the little tidbits you find on rewatches. Like how the conselor Friday the 13th: a new beginning ends up bestowing the infamous fedora on our hero. And blimey, is that Alexi Sayle?

Must see, obviously.

Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 ★★★★½

An amazing introduction to one of the all time greats when it comes to epic heroes. One of the standards for action comedy blockbuster entertainment.

Equal doses of thrills, laughes and occsional scares - I consider the melting Nazi's as my first horror moment - with Harrison Ford on top of his game. Surrounded by a well rounded out cast with great roles by Karen Allen as Marion. Or why not mention Ronald Lacey? Sure, you can say that this portrayal of Gestapo-officers is clichéd by now, but Lacey succeeds in the main thing: making Toth look scary.

Perfect for a night of wholesome entertainment.

[FryeDwight]

Originally Posted by Tommy Jarvis

Die Hard 1988 ★★★★★

Let's get this out of the way first: yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Of course. What else would it be?

It's also one of the last in a legendary series of action blockbusters. When John McClane was the believable everyman blue collar hero before he turned into an Expandables-ish caraicature of himself. When action movies focused on followable entertainment, before The Matrix introduced the era of cookie cutter CGI where your brain automatically tunes out after five minutes.

Filled from start to finish with witty and funny dialogue. From the pizza-line to welcome to welcome the party. And of course the infamous yippikayay-line. Uttered by Bruce Willis as a joke, thinking it would never make it to the final cut. It ended up being the signature phrase of the franchise and milked to death in the sequels. How about that?

And last but not least: the villain. The late great Alan Rickman delivers his first career making performance as the suave and ruthless gentleman robber Hans Gruber. Filling every moment on screen with equal parts charisma and menace. – Hans! Boopee! – *Bang*

Did I mention five star classic?

We watched this on Christmas Day and You are right...***** all the way, one of the best. I would like to have seen John give Hans a sucker punch to make him let go of Holly, but that's a minor quibble.

TRESPASS (1992). Two Arkansas firefighters are given a homemade map showing the location of gold in East St Louis and decide to get a hold of, not knowing they will end up in a definitely "wrong Place, Wrong Time" scenario; indeed his could almost be a "gangsta" version of THREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. Some good performances (mostly by the late and still missed Bill Paxton) but a little too long . ***

[TaeKwonZombie]

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)

The 4th Moreau movie for me, I must say I am starting to see the patterns and what is being added to the movies from the original story. H.G. Wells was a great writer, and this must be one of my favorite stories of his.

[FryeDwight]

JEREMY (1973)>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>SPOILERS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

When I was a pre-teen, my Mother and her friends all raved about LOVE STORY and how sad it was. I saw it in the Spring of '74 and thought it was OK, but couldn't really identify with Ryan O'Neil/Ali Magraw and found them more annoying than anything else.

JEREMY is a love story, but is set in a high school and appealed more to Me as the characters were sort of in my age range. Robbie Benson is good as the painfully shy awkward sophomore who meets and falls in love with the new student (Glynnis O'Connor is quite captivating-in fact, She and Robbie became a couple during filming). Things are going good, but , of course, a major SNAFU comes in.....

While I still like this, it's filmed almost as a documentary and many of Jeremy's intimates are truly no help during a time when He could really use it (I got the Paperback of this shortly after seeing the film and not as bad). Also, the bad news is revealed to Us before Jeremy and it's not as powerful as it is in the book. And, it seems everything is wrapped up way too fast ; maybe this was meant to make You feel more empathy for Jeremy, of how his life is being changed drastically and He unable to do anything. A almost haunting last shot.

So, hasn't;t really aged well, but for those who remember first loves, it's worth seeing. **1/2

[FryeDwight]

HOUSE OF SEVEN CORPSES (1973). The big draw here is seeing old vets Faith Domergue (IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA, THIS ISLAND EARTH and still looking good), John Carradine and John Ireland. Unfortunately, You have to plow almost through an hour of a "Film Within A Film" with a group of annoying types before problems from beyond the grave show up and cause havoc. Very much like CHILDREN SHOULDN"T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS, but not as satisfying a finish. **

[Sculpt]

Originally Posted by TaeKwonZombie

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)

The 4th Moreau movie for me, I must say I am starting to see the patterns and what is being added to the movies from the original story. H.G. Wells was a great writer, and this must be one of my favorite stories of his.

Congrats on completing the quadfecta! Was The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)
worthwhile? So, how would you rank them?

[FryeDwight]

COFFY (1973). Pam Grier deservedly became a star with this exploitation classic. She plays "Nurse Coffin" whose younger sister has had devastating life ruining experiences with drugs, so Pam decides to use all the weapons at her disposal to wipe out the whole drug group. mainly using her wits, her cunning, her physicality and her ultra bodaciousness to achieve that. Good cast with Sid Haig, the recently departed Linda Haynes (who learns the hard way not to grab hair during a cat fight), Robert Doqui and Alan Arbus, whose character here is as far removed from Dr Sidney Freeman (TV's MASH) as You could imagine. Lots of outrageous scenes-what an opener-, although one involving the death of a bad guy is quite shocking-even during this time-especially how 15 years after COFFY, it was done for real in Texas, although I couldn't picture the miscreants who did the crime watching a film like COFFY. ***1/2