Category: 1987

Hope and Glory (1987) Film Review

Rating 15
Length 1h53
Release 03.09.1987
Director John Boorman
About A nine-year-old boy growing up in London during the Blitz enjoys an exhilarating childhood among the tragedies and ruins of World War II.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: BBC IPlayer
Trailer:

The Good

The final act in which we spend more time with the Grandfather is that sort of bittersweet nostalgia warmth you get from seeing a familiar relationship that you no longer have presented on screen.
Ian Bannen is perfect in the role and is able to successfully portray the man as a grumpy yet loving family man that takes Billy under his wing.

There’s a scene in which the Rowan family are caught in the middle of an air raid. The slow motion shows the impact of bombs dropped in England. The craft used to produce that scene is incredible; from the ripples on the faces, to the lighting used.

The Bad

It’s an odd one in that the quality of this film feels more like a TV drama than an internationally known, Oscar nominated, film. It’s incredibly well made and the story is gripping, but there’s something that’s lacking.

The Ugly

I almost wish the sex scenes were edited out to bring the rating down to at least a 12. Not that it isn’t well done, and it is somewhat necessary to the plot. However, by removing these scenes, you would create a perfect film for younger viewers.
This would make for an incredible educational film; having a protagonist of 9 years old is a perfect focus for those initially learning about WWII and the conditions during the Blitz.

Final Thoughts

Charming, flawed, yet really funny. Another film that needs to be watched by everyone.

The Princess Bride (1987) Christmas review

Rating PG
Length 1h38
Release 01.02.2023 (In the US)
Director Rob Reiner
About Buttercup, a princess, is madly in love with a farm boy, Westley. Unfortunately, things take a turn in their lives when Westley goes out in search of employment and gets attacked by a pirate.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime (for rental or purchase), Free on ITVX
Trailer:

First Thoughts

There are some films that are meant to become part of who you are and there are films that are beloved by a generation. Sometimes, there are films that manage to be both… and more.

I first watched The Princess Bride without knowing what it was called and I didn’t watch it from the start. Buttercup was in the eel infested waters and I was hooked.
It was at least five years before I managed to watch it from the beginning, but from that point it was in regular rotation and among classics such as Goonies and Labyrinth.

Naughty

  • The “true love” of Wesley is never in question for me, that man loves Buttercup and will do anything for her. Buttercup, on the other hand? You’re telling me she needed three specific words to realise her world’s Superman is Clark Kent?!
    Pffft, as sure as I recognise Jack Skellington in Humperdinck, Buttercup should recognise the non-Sicilian voice during the duel of wits.
  • Yes, another Buttercup grumble. Did she really have to be so… damsel in destress?! She jumps into eel infested waters and there’s a rebellious nature about her that makes her simply standing and whimpering as Wesley fights an ROUS very, very, annoying.

Nice

  • The plot device of sick Wonder Years boy and Grampa Columbo spending quality time together and reading the book that unfolds is one of a few instances in which this works. It takes you out of the story, with purpose.
  • The cast is incredible. The main cast are incredible; individually and as part of an ensemble. However, it is also the supporting cameo performances that are as memorable. The only problem you’ll have is deciding who is the best and I’ll be honest; that will change depending on when you view the film.
  • The testament of this being an excellent film is when you come to a rewatch, there’s the anticipation of the next great scene and knowing it is going to make you laugh.
  • My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die. The story arc of Puss in Boots in human form, gives the audience some of the best parts of this film; from his clash with the Man in Black, to his uttering of the words above. It’s heartbreaking, wholesome and funny.
    Then there’s the consideration of what is known about Mandy Patinkin at the time of filming and how he used his personal experience and the loss of his own father to add conviction to the showdown with the Six Fingered Man.
  • On an additional note in regards to behind the scenes; the more you read about the filming the bigger your smile will be while watching; for example, the tale of Cary Elwes’ broken foot kicks the ass of the Lord of the Rings’ broken foot story.

Final Thoughts

I will never tire of this film. Rob Reiner is an incredible director and has created an uplifting film that will remain as beloved for many years to come.

Hellraiser (1987)

Rating 18
Length 1h34
Release 11.09.1987
Director Clive Barker
About A couple moves to an old house to find the man’s brother and the wife’s former lover who has turned into an ugly beast. He now bids the woman to bring him human sacrifices to help him be whole again.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Free with ads on Amazon Prime
Trailer:

Trick

  • It’s a bit of a mess, production wise. It’s clearly filmed in London, but the house is a family inheritance to the American in the couple?! It’s considered a “British” film, but every attempt is made to suggest that it’s set in America: including some bad dubbing.
    Don’t get me wrong, I hate it when it’s done the other way around too. It pulls me out of the film completely.
  • I’m meant to believe that Julia fucks Frank within five minutes of meeting him and that’s enough for her to not only accept him as the inside out baboon from The Fly, but go off and lure men back to the house even the Young Ones would be ashamed of?! Fuck off, I’m not buying it, and because I’m not buying it the film is shit.
  • I feel a bit like Frank when he’s being spun around; I don’t know where to focus and I really want to be sick. There’s something about the combination of sex and violence that feels exploitative.

Treat

  • The Cenobite designs are a thing of nightmares, but incredibly well made. You can easily see why The Priest (aka Pinhead) has become so iconic.
  • Andrew Robinson all but wasted until that final act when you can see why he was place in the role and then it makes sense. Many will know him from Star Trek, others perhaps from Dirty Harry and he is as much a joy here as he is in anything else you might see him in.
  • Ashley Laurence holds her own as daughter Kirsty. I almost wish we’d been following her from the start; it certainly would have given the film more grounding and a character focus.

Final Thoughts

Much like The Fly, this film goes into the pile that make me physically sick. For those that can handle it, it’s American Werewolf in London and The Thing cranked up to 11.

Three O’Clock High (1987) Film Review

Rating PG
Length 1h41
Release 9.10.1987 (USA. No UK release)
Director Phil Joanou
About Preppy high school reporter Jerry Mitchell (Casey Siemaszko) is asked to write a story on a tough new kid named Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson), a boy rumored to have a violent past. Jerry tries to call off the story, but in the process he infuriates Buddy, who challenges him to a parking lot brawl immediately after school that same day. As Jerry desperately attempts to escape the impending fight, he instead ends up finding the courage to stand up to Buddy.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Rental from Amazon Prime
Trailer:

The Good

  • There’s this wonderful western feel about the film. Almost a reworking of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I’d never thought how well suited the High School environment was for the typical Western story.
  • This is such a surprising film. Once you know the director was inspired by Scorsese, you can really see the influence. It works and I’m really glad it didn’t go for the same tone as all the other ‘coming of age’ films.
  • The film being contained to the one day is such a good move. Its only a shame that the film doesn’t set a date so that it could have yearly rematch protentional, much like the brilliant Empire Records and charming Groundhog Day.

The Bad

  • Plot point: Buddy’s whole motivation for wanting to fight Jerry is that “I don’t like people knowing me.” Well, I can see where you’re going wrong. You don’t want people knowing you? STOP FIGHTING PEOPLE!
    I find it so frustrating that he’s the reason why people are so curious about him. It starts before we even see him because of his behaviour in the previous school. Gah, it’s nonsensical and drives me mad. What’s worse is that it is the type of non logical that students do actually use.

The Ugly

  • Two plot points:
    ONE: The English teacher who is kissed by Jerry not only doesn’t give him a detention, but she full on kisses him in front of everyone?! Okay, so its a trope, but this trope must die.
    TWO: Buddy destroys the library, breaks a kid’s nose, punches out the principle and a security guard before he engages in the fight with Jerry. Yet he turns up the next day, no problem. How was that kid not arrested?!

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed it, despite its faults. I could have done with more Mitch Pileggi, but I’m equally happy with the little I got.

Jaws the Revenge (1987)

Rating: PG
Length: 1h 29
Release: 21.8.1987
Dir: Joseph Sargent
About: The island community of Amity is terrorised by shark attacks when a vengeful shark returns to avenge the death of her progeny.

The Good

  • I really loved the conversation between Ellen and her daughter-in-law after kissing Hoagie for the first time. In a film bogged down with shit, it was quite refreshing to have this honest interaction about something real.
  • I really enjoyed Michael Caine’s performance as Hoagie. While we get very little about the character other than mystery and stories, he’s charming enough for me to be pissed off at Michael’s attempts at cock-blocking his mother. The Caine-ness of it all can be summed up in the final act where he is talking, only to cut himself off mid-sentence to utter “shit” in a way only Michael Caine can.
  • I really loved the casting of Sean Brody. He was a lovely bright and bubbly character that I took to immediately. Then that bastard shark went and did its thing.

The Bad

  • Much like the second film, everyone seems miserable. Even the majority of the conversations that are had seem rooted in negativity. Even the dialogue between Michael and his chipper friend, Jake becomes snippy when we get half way. Yes, I know its about a “vengeful” shark however, its success (the film’s, not the shark) relies on the human relationships and interactions. Yes, it also opens with the death of a character we’ve seen in all previous films, but the negative exchanges are nothing as cathartic as dealing with grief.
  • The continuity between movies is shit. Sean is younger than he was four years previous, Michael has a kid that would have been one year old during the events of SeaWorld and he’s now a Marine Biologist. Okay, so I guess we can ignore Jaws 3 and things work out. But I can’t, I watched that bastard yesterday. Yes, I’m getting pissy about characters in a film about a shark that goes to the Bahamas for Christmas to seek out, and presumably, kill the remaining Brody family.
  • Was there a need to recreate the opening of the Little Mermaid with Michael and the shark?!

The Ugly

  • Is Ellen psychically connected to the shark? What the fuck is with the editing when Michael is attacked?! At first it looked like she was witnessing the attack. Nope, she was having a vision or some shit.
  • The character of Ellen as a whole was just off. More an embodiment of her husband than anything reminiscent of Lorraine Grey’s initial performances. From her fear of the water to her bickering with her son. It all seemed out of character, even considering what she’d been through. While I was happy with her heading out to sea, I’d have liked to see her go out a little more prepared.
  • The fucking shark! Jesus, that shark all but tap danced. Gone is the tension from the first film. Just because the bar is placed so high and you can’t reach it, doesn’t mean you have to reach for new lows! There was no attempt to try and make what I can only guess was a man in a fish suit, act like an actual shark. Instead, what we get is a grey rubber mass going for the solo ‘participation award’ in synchronised swimming.
  • Slow-mo death scenes are bad. Yet we get a fair few in this. Including the death of the fucking shark itself. After its weird jiggles from the ‘bomb’ come electric shock thingy, the film goes for Sharky like he’s Ursula.

Final Thoughts

Actually floats in the ‘its so bad, its a bit funny’ category. That said, I spent most of my life treating Jaws as a singular movie and I think I’ll be going back to that way of thinking.

The Lost Boys (1987)

Rating 15

Length 1Hr 37

Release 31.7.1987 (US release)

About Teenage brothers Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim) move with their mother (Dianne Wiest) to a small town in northern California. While the younger Sam meets a pair of kindred spirits in geeky comic-book nerds Edward (Corey Feldman) and Alan (Jamison Newlander), the angst-ridden Michael soon falls for Star (Jami Gertz) — who turns out to be in thrall to David (Kiefer Sutherland), leader of a local gang of vampires. Sam and his new friends must save Michael and Star from the undead.

Treat

  • Ed Herrmann is always a joy to see in anything he did. Because of his performance, and his previous roles, I am surprised every time by the reveal. Especially when you play him against Sutherland, who is always good at playing the alpha. This time, because I didn’t remember the dinner sequence, I was convinced it was going to end up being the grandpa as the head vamp.
  • The music to this film is like the 80s equivalent of the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. Cry Little Sister, People are Strange and Good Times are iconic to this film.
  • There’s some excellent flying POV shots at the beginning of the film which keep the mystery of who the vampires are. At least that’s I think that was the purpose. It’s hard to tell going into it already knowing the plot.
  • I love the fact that we are presented with a brotherly relationship that is quite harmonious. At least at the start. It allows that change in character for Michael to have more of an impact.
  • The comedy is pitched perfectly to balance out the darkness within the plot. It could have quite easily be taken too far and camp up the film, but as it stands, it enables the film to be more Goonies after puberty hits than a bloated emo fest.

Trick

  • What the hell was with Corey Feldman’s ‘I am Batman’ voice. It really was stupid and quite possibly made this one of very few roles of his I absolutely hated.
  • Why the hell does Corey Haim have a poster of Rob Lowe in his bedroom? I mean if it was something I believed the character would do, fine. But I so didn’t believe it.
  • How many times did the name ‘Michael’ have to be said? Jesus, that bugged the fuck out of me.

Final Thoughts

Yet another film that scared me as a kid but I love now. The only let down is Feldman’s performance.

The Monster Squad (1987)

Rating: 15

Length: 1Hr 19

Release: 14.8.1987 (no UK release)

About: Five youngsters find themselves up against the combined might of Dracula, the Mummy, the Gill Man and Frankenstein’s Monster who arrive in town in search of a magic amulet.

Treat

  • It’s a great way to homage the Universal monster movies of the 40s and get them all into the one movie.
  • The film has a decent cast of kids and adults. They’re used well and have moments to stand out.
  • While on the short side, time wise, it matches up to the similar lengths of the monster movies it’s emulating.
  • Having young Phoebe be the one to do the spell that frees the town was brilliant. Not sure how I feel about it being the result of the original reader not being a virgin. Perhaps it was an original idea at the time, but it feels tropey by today’s standards. Also, when it comes to Phoebe, I love the friendship she has with Frankenstein’s monster.
  • Gillman’s face is incredible. It seems to rectify all the issues I had with the original design.

Trick

  • It’s another film that almost forgets who they want their audience to be. I always find it odd when a film centres around young teens that can’t go see the film themselves.
  • It’s lacking something. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but not having it makes the film feel longer than it is and a bit like The Goonies’ cousin no one likes to talk about.

Final Thoughts

It checks all the boxes for a decent film, but it falls flat on the overall feel of the film.

Predator (1987)

Rating: 18

Length: 1Hr 47

Release: 1.1.1988

About: Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a soldier of fortune, is hired by the U.S. government to secretly rescue a group of politicians trapped in Guatemala. But when Dutch and his team, which includes weapons expert Blain (Jesse Ventura) and CIA agent George (Carl Weathers), land in Central America, something is gravely wrong. After finding a string of dead bodies, the crew discovers they are being hunted by a brutal creature with superhuman strength and the ability to disappear into its surroundings.

Treat

  • The Predator is visually out of this world. Sorry for the bad pun, but it’s on a level with the xenomorph in terms of something that could prompt a nightmare. It’s hidden well which adds to the fear factor.
  • You have a group of commandos who are hench and seen action. And they’re scared enough to say they’re scared. Yup, that’s enough to have my heart racing.
  • Outside of the opening shot in space, you could have walked into this movie thinking it was a war film. In fact, I think that would have been scarier because you’d truly be one of the mission team. It does add to the fear because you sense what’s coming.
  • I think the scariest part of the film is that Arnie doesn’t defeat him. Not really. Predator kills himself and that is one of the scariest parts of war.

Trick

  • The biggest issue I have with the film is it’s final act. I’m watching a group of commandos, the best of the best, all bite the dust because of this creature from outer space. Yet, Arnie, the one who doesn’t get a single shot off at it prior to the one hour mark is able to defeat it single handily?! That makes the Predator an absolute pussy and Arnie too ‘invincible’.
  • Adding to the above point, I don’t buy Billy’s demise and for me, he’s the character who had shown the best skill and tactics to pull off what Arnie did. Bring him into the final showdown and help Arnie do his Kevin McCallister shit to the jungle and then have him killed. It gives a little more of a sense that this Predator is a fucking killing machine and stops you losing 5 of the team within about 45 seconds of each other.
  • Oh, and Predator once the helmets been removed?! Did he just have a manicure that he was waiting to dry?! What was with the pussy assed slaps. He could have removed Arnie’s innards with on blink and everyone knows it. That was the perfect opportunity to kill Billy (or your chosen commando).
  • I find the score by Adam Silvestri too distracting. It’s overly similar to his Back to the Future score and, for me, it didn’t fit the film.
  • I genuinely don’t know how I feel about the introduction of the female Guerrilla operative just before the halfway mark. While her actions set in motion a lot of the plot for the second half and there’s the argument that her being female is what stops them killing her, I’m not sure that it’s still not lip service casting or if I’m seeing snowflakes.

Final Thoughts

Not the masterpiece I remember it being, but then again I’d misremembered it as being set in Vietnam, so perhaps I shouldn’t hold the film to account.

A bloody, gory, war movie with an extra terrestrial playmate.

Howling iii: The Marsupials (1987)

Rating: 18

Length: 1Hr 34

Release: 13.11.1987 (US)

About: An Australian scientist (Barry Otto) finds marsupial werewolves, one of whom (Imogen Annesley) finds work in a horror movie.

Treat

  • It had a skeleton werewolf attack, even if it was brief. I felt it was something new to the sub genre while reminiscent of some of the Greek Myth films.

Trick

  • Everything else. The acting was painfully bad, which just showed you quite how bad everything else was.
  • The plot made no sense and part of that was brought to light by strange scenes, shitty transitions and absolutely no concept about how humans work and behave, let alone mythical beasts.
  • The story is absurd and that’s without considering the fact that the main female werewolf has a hairy pouch in which her ugly assed were-baby grows. The “birth” scene is just fucked up.

  • The script would have made better toilet paper. The number of times “we need to get out of here” is uttered, for the same people too build a camp Fire in the exact same place they need to get away from is head scratching.
  • The music is odd synth-like 80s noise that is just as nauseating as the bad camera work and random POV shots. Literally random. They start as Werewolf POV, then for no reason we’ re seeing through the eyes of passer-by number two.
  • I did a unit on third cinema in uni which is best compared to guerrilla film making. Footage would be filmed on different quality of celluloid, simply because that’s what was available. I’ve seen better quality filming in Third Cinema. Actually, I’ve seen better YouTube videos produced.

Final Thoughts

Bad film. Bad, bad, film.