3/5
I try to watch a lot of films. I try to avoid the bad ones, but sometimes you just don't see them coming. The unfortunate thing is you can't get that time back. Life is short. I'll try to steer everyone in the right direction. I rate films on a 5 point scale. This will always be a Spoiler-Free blog.
Showing posts with label 1988. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1988. Show all posts
December 21, 2014
Scrooged
Richard Donner, 1988
3/5
On paper, Scrooged seems like a pretty good idea. Create modern version of the classic Christmas Story and add Bill Murray, and infuse it with some meta elements of making a staged classic Christmas Carol television special during the updated retelling. Sprinkle in some campy zombie makeup, give Murray the obligatory 80's mullet, and of course add Bobcat Goldthwait. And although it carves out its own little niche in the Christmas genre, there isn't a lot of warm fuzziness to Scrooged. You won't really come away with it with a good feeling like you will with some of the other versions of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". Instead there's more of a prolonged icy blackness that mostly just subsides over the latter moments of the film. Perhaps its the gaudy contemporary aesthetic to the corporate atmosphere in much of the film. Murray's character does arch, but it's not a complete moral makeover like you would see in Groundhog Day. But to give him credit, he has only had a few days to gain a different perspective and not hundreds of years. In a sense it's probably because his character is just downright bitter. There's not a lot of nuance to Frank Cross the person. Instead, he's just a nasty man who by the end of the film has you convinced he has had a moment of clarity. But is it really that convincing that it will stick? In a sense it doesn't really matter. Because the journey is still entertaining, witty enough, dark enough when it needs to be, and cheery enough when it needs to be. (with some good meta elements involved), dark enough when it needs to be, and cheery enough when it needs to be.
3/5
December 6, 2014
Funny Farm
George Roy Hill, 1988
3/5
Andy Farmer (Chevy Chase) and his wife Elizabeth (Madolyn Smith) decide to get out of New York City and pursue a more peaceful life north in Vermont. But when they arrive in the town of Redbud, it's not the tranquil paradise that they imagined it would be.
There was was once a period of time when Chevy Chase was a comedic force in Hollywood. Coming off of the success of such iconic films as Caddyshack, Fletch and a couple of the National Lampoon's Vacation films, he was one a few go-to comedic actors of the period (Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Dan Akroyd, John Candy among others). Chase's style is certainly distinct, and ultimately quite two dimensional. The oblivious but sentimental thirty-something. The guy who has some heart to invest in a situation but doesn't necessarily have the grace to see it follow through properly. Funny Farm is an under-appreciated film, and probably one of the best outlets for Chase's dry humor. Though undeniably flawed, there are certainly some memorable elements to the movie. Paying the town’s residents $50 a piece to emulate a Norman Rockwell painting so that they can turn over their cursed home and get the hell out of dodge. Excitedly going home with the new dog, hoping to further reinforce the country living they are so desperate to do - only to have the dog IMMEDIATELY run away. Realizing that the phone you had installed in the new home is a pay phone. It's forgivingly corny and worth a look around the holidays.
February 8, 2014
The Great Outdoors
Howard Deutch, 1988
2/5
Chet Ripley (John Candy) is looking forward to spending some quality time with his family on their vacation in rural Wisconsin when his in-laws Roman (Dan Akroyd) and Kate (Annette Benning) suddenly show up expecting to join in on the fun.
The Great Outdoors is probably one of those films that you put on thinking you've never seen it before, and when it hits a couple of the key scenes you realize that you've seen it. The Old 96'er steakhouse scene. The bat loose in the house scene. Or perhaps the quintessential 80's romance scenes are enough to jog the memory. The point is, those comical scenes stand out in what's ultimately a rather forgettable film. While John Hughes has plenty of notable writing credits over the course of his career (Home Alone, Ferris Bueler's Day Off, The Breakfast Club), not all of them are winners (Curly Sue, Beethoven, Career Opportunities). The presence of two of the great Canadian imports Dan Akroyd and John Candy are certainly enough to pull you in. What's interesting with both of them is they do what they typically do, and as long as that's within the proper framework it's fine. Akroyd is always the fast-talking chubby(ish) robotically-toned force who relies on and shifts in accent and facial expression rather than slapstick comedy. Candy typically uses more physical comedy and is more limited as an actor, but is certainly more of a warm force on screen. There's a familiarity with him, a sentimentality. Whenever you see John Candy on screen it reminds you of how much you miss him. The Great Outdoors certainly has it's flaws. Distracting edits, poor set design, weak story, too much bear, too much raccoon subtitling. Why did they have to talk so much? At times the very heavy animal presence is as wearisome as watching bears pick through the garbage heap like they do in the film. Perhaps their was a SAG quota for animal trainers' working hours in 1988.
2/5
The Great Outdoors is probably one of those films that you put on thinking you've never seen it before, and when it hits a couple of the key scenes you realize that you've seen it. The Old 96'er steakhouse scene. The bat loose in the house scene. Or perhaps the quintessential 80's romance scenes are enough to jog the memory. The point is, those comical scenes stand out in what's ultimately a rather forgettable film. While John Hughes has plenty of notable writing credits over the course of his career (Home Alone, Ferris Bueler's Day Off, The Breakfast Club), not all of them are winners (Curly Sue, Beethoven, Career Opportunities). The presence of two of the great Canadian imports Dan Akroyd and John Candy are certainly enough to pull you in. What's interesting with both of them is they do what they typically do, and as long as that's within the proper framework it's fine. Akroyd is always the fast-talking chubby(ish) robotically-toned force who relies on and shifts in accent and facial expression rather than slapstick comedy. Candy typically uses more physical comedy and is more limited as an actor, but is certainly more of a warm force on screen. There's a familiarity with him, a sentimentality. Whenever you see John Candy on screen it reminds you of how much you miss him. The Great Outdoors certainly has it's flaws. Distracting edits, poor set design, weak story, too much bear, too much raccoon subtitling. Why did they have to talk so much? At times the very heavy animal presence is as wearisome as watching bears pick through the garbage heap like they do in the film. Perhaps their was a SAG quota for animal trainers' working hours in 1988.
October 5, 2013
Beetlejuice
Tim Burton, 1988
(REWATCHED)
4/5
Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis) realize that they are deceased. Bound to their country home they loved dearly, they want to do anything they can to stop the new residents from getting too comfortable. They seek the help of "Beetlejuice", a "bio-exorcist" who assists them in scaring the new homeowners away.
A classic for children of the 1980's, any probably scary to young ones of today. One of Tim Burton's best, probably second best (with Edward Scissorhands in the lead). He uses the innocent Vermont backdrop to showcase quirky caricatures and his own bizarre creations. You venture into the white farmhouse only to discover the model home Adam has been working on so detailed, and comes alive as soon as they are dead. There are so many moments in this film that have a lasting impact. Walking out of the house and landing in the sand-worm's dimension. The waiting room of the case worker's office. The possession scene at the dinner table. And most of Beetlejuice's antics. Keaton is so buried in his role. One must wonder who or what he used to channel this performance. He probably should have been nominated for an Oscar, but it was a very competitive year with Dustin Hoffman winning Best Actor for his role in Rain Man. The film still took home an Oscar for Best Makeup, and for good reason.
Tim Burton's older films are so much better than his newer films. Why? Age? Did he lose that edge as he got older? Probably a lot of reasons. But he certainly took more risks in the 1980's. This film was so out there for it's time, it could have completely flopped. But it didn't. It was made on a rather modest $15M budget and ultimately grossed $73M. At times it has an almost Cronenbergy feel to it. But also very much unlike Cronenberg's films in the sense that the characters never really take themselves seriously. Adam and Barbara are very quickly accepting of their own death, and jump into a more defensive mode in trying to maintain ownership of the house. The most serious person in the film is likely Lydia (Winona Ryder), but her lack of fear of communicating with her deceased housemates certainly diminishes any kind of serious tone and only adds to the comedy.
(REWATCHED)
4/5
A classic for children of the 1980's, any probably scary to young ones of today. One of Tim Burton's best, probably second best (with Edward Scissorhands in the lead). He uses the innocent Vermont backdrop to showcase quirky caricatures and his own bizarre creations. You venture into the white farmhouse only to discover the model home Adam has been working on so detailed, and comes alive as soon as they are dead. There are so many moments in this film that have a lasting impact. Walking out of the house and landing in the sand-worm's dimension. The waiting room of the case worker's office. The possession scene at the dinner table. And most of Beetlejuice's antics. Keaton is so buried in his role. One must wonder who or what he used to channel this performance. He probably should have been nominated for an Oscar, but it was a very competitive year with Dustin Hoffman winning Best Actor for his role in Rain Man. The film still took home an Oscar for Best Makeup, and for good reason.
Tim Burton's older films are so much better than his newer films. Why? Age? Did he lose that edge as he got older? Probably a lot of reasons. But he certainly took more risks in the 1980's. This film was so out there for it's time, it could have completely flopped. But it didn't. It was made on a rather modest $15M budget and ultimately grossed $73M. At times it has an almost Cronenbergy feel to it. But also very much unlike Cronenberg's films in the sense that the characters never really take themselves seriously. Adam and Barbara are very quickly accepting of their own death, and jump into a more defensive mode in trying to maintain ownership of the house. The most serious person in the film is likely Lydia (Winona Ryder), but her lack of fear of communicating with her deceased housemates certainly diminishes any kind of serious tone and only adds to the comedy.
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