Friday, August 2, 1985
Fright Night gets right to it
5 second plot: Charley finds out that his new neighbor is a vampire. And he's killing someone every day. Everyone thinks Charley's imagination is running wild because he's a fan of monster movies. But the threat is real and soon enough Charley gets himself into a whole lot of trouble.
5 second review: This movie's got that awesome teenage '80s vibe. Add the fact that it's an old school fun monster movie and you've got a winner. There are some flaws here and there and it's sometimes overly dramatic. But it's still pretty decent and it's got some great memorable visual effects.
IMDb score: 7,1/10
Our score: 8/10
Friday, July 12, 1985
Explorers is old school
5 second plot: Three friends find a way to travel as fast and as far as they want to. So what does one do in that case? Build a spaceship of course.
5 second review: It's a great adventure movie for kids. It's all about being fearless (and worry-less). The visual effects are really old school and the movie is very monotonous. But the aliens are definitely memorable.
IMDb score: 6,6/10
Our score: 3/10
Thursday, June 13, 1985
NausicaƤ of the Valley of the Wind is a bit too dark
5 second plot: In a far away future wars have destroyed the world. The air is toxic, there are giant killer bugs and what's left of humanity is still at war, killing each other. But there is one hopeful light at the end of this dark tunnel, and that's the girl from the title, a brave princess with a heart of gold.
5 second review: It's not a very cheerful movie, this one. Most of the people in it are no good, there are only a few actually worth saving. It starts off as a great adventure, but then tumbles down the evil roller-coaster of mankind. Great visuals, but I prefer it a little less bleak.
IMDb score: 8,2/10
Our score: 6/10
Friday, November 16, 1984
Night of the Comet doesn't have very much to say
5 second plot: The comet that killed the dinosaurs millions of years ago passes by earth again. The tail of the comet turns every human (animals too I guess) into dust. Two sisters survive and try to make the best of it. Oh yeah, not everyone turns to dust. Some people change into (reasonably smart) zombies.
5 second review: This is very '80s. Especially the hair. And the soundtrack. There is not a lot going on in this movie. The girls take the end of civilization rather lightly. They're mostly having fun. Shopping and stuff. One way or another electricity just keeps working. Traffic lights and everything.
IMDb score: 6,4/10
Our score: 3/10
Sunday, September 23, 1984
Threads is not very uplifting
5 second plot: What would happen to the world in case of a global nuclear war? It would suck. Big time. This is the un-romanticized tale of that event. The real deal. Not very pretty.
5 second review: The film is poorly made and is very outdated. But that actually doesn't matter. The message still gets through. Loud and clear. One stupid decision and in the blink of an eye the entire world is down the shitter. This is a must see. Really.
IMDb score: 7,9/10
Our score: 8,5/10
Friday, August 10, 1984
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is a whole lot of WTF
5 second plot: Buckaroo Banzai is a multi-talented almost-superhero. He found a way to contact alien life forms in the 8th dimension. But his contact sets off a chain of events that could destroy the world.
5 second review: The title is awesome, there's no discussion there. The aliens are awful. The movie is just terrible. You're only going to like this if you like over-acted 80's extravaganza. It's supposed to be funny (I think that was the idea), but it's not. I was intrigued at first (mostly due to the title) but that didn't last very long.
IMDb score: 6,4/10
Our score: 2/10
Friday, July 13, 1984
The Last Starfighter is clumpsy
5 second plot: Alex is a guy who's very good at playing the video game 'Starfighter'. What he doesn't know is that this video game is used as a recruiting device for real starfighters who have to defend a group of planets far away from earth. One day Alex gets a visit from Centauri who's there to help him fulfill his destiny.
5 second review: The special effects are really awful and most of the alien creatures are awful as well. The sets and some of the props are memorable, but still not very spectacular. The only time the movie feels like a lot of fun is when Alex (or his replacement) is back on earth. But he doesn't spend much time there.
IMDb score: 6,7/10
Our score: 4/10
Friday, October 14, 1983
Possession is an old cow
5 second plot: A husband and wife stop getting along and things get out of hand. I'm just making this up because I didn't get past the 15 minute mark.
5 second review: The overacting and outdated scenery drove me crazy. I'm sorry, but for my own safety, I turned it off after 14 minutes. The movie really sucked big time. For me, that is.
IMDb score: 7/10
Our score: 0/10
Thursday, July 7, 1983
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life is nuts
5 second plot: The guys from Monthy Python give us their take on the meaning of life. They cover everything: birth, education, religion, war, projectile vomiting,...
5 second review: The first half of the movie feels like these nutcases know what they are doing. They really seem to want to get a message out. Hold a mirror in front of us. But then they start fucking around. Probably had a few drinks too many and start throwing crazy shenanigans in our direction. The story stops making any sense. It's like they were testing how far they could take it before someone stopped them. But no-one did. The movie just went out like that. It's fun, but I think it was more fun for them than it is for us.
IMDb score: 7,6/10
Our score: 7/10
Friday, June 17, 1983
Fanny and Alexander are not really the main characters
5 second plot: The kids from the title are part of a big warm family with a kind grandmother leading them all in the right direction. But not all is good. One of her sons dies and his widow remarries a terrible man that can't keep up his appearances very long and starts to bully her and her children.
5 second review: My god, this movie lasts forever... And nothing really happens in it. The cinematography, sets and some back stories are okay, but for the most part I couldn't stop thinking how incredibly boring and stupid I thought this movie was. There is very little entertainment value. I can't believe this movie won the foreign language Oscar. But I'm glad I sat through it. However stupid I thought it was, it's still a classic must see.
IMDb score: 8,2/10
Our score: 2/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)