Tag: 1984

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Movie Review

Dreamscape (1984) Movie Review

Dreamscape – Movie Review

Discover the thrilling world of Dreamscape with this movie review. Join Alex Gardner as he enters people's dreams and uncovers an assassination plot.

ABC Film Challenge – Horror – Q (Quaid)

Director: Joseph Ruben

Writer: David Loughery, Chuck Russell, Joseph Ruben (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A man who can enter and manipulate people’s dreams is recruited by a government agency to help cure the President of the United States of his nightmares about nuclear war but stumbles upon an assassination plot.

Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Dreamscape starts when psychic Alex Gardner (Quaid) is recruited by Doctor Paul Novotny (Sydow). They have worked together before, but Alex decides to use his gifts for profit. He has been recruited to a specialist job to dream link with people suffering nightmares.

However, Alex is unaware he will be linking with The President (Albert) who has been suffering from nightmares about nuclear wars. When Alex prepares for the job, he learns of a much dark secret and must figure out how to escape.

Verdict on Dreamscape

Dreamscape is an action horror movie following a psychic who gets recruited to help the President deal with his nightmares. However, he learns about a much more sinister project put in place and now he is the centre of it.

This movie takes us into the idea of being able to enter someone’s dream. It shows what people could be struggling with and how people will do anything for help. When we see the different things people battle with nightmares, we get a nightmarish series of creations consuming the victims. Even if some are based more real problems, others are more the worst thoughts taking over their minds. Where this movie takes another bold step, is the reason why the research happened in the first place. It takes an already popular idea and takes it in a new direction to add even more terror and tension to it.

Where to Watch

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Final Thoughts – Dreamscape is a disturbing journey through dreams and nightmares.

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Movie Review

Mermaid Legend (1984) FrightFest 2024 Movie Review

Mermaid Legend – FrightFest 2024 Movie Review

Discover the captivating story of Mermaid Legend, a slightly supernatural drama about a woman seeking revenge for her husband's death.

Director: Toshiharu Ikeda

Writer: Takuya Nishioka (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: Woman is avenging the death of her husband in this slightly supernatural drama.

Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Mermaid Legend starts when fishers Migiwa Saeki (Shirato) and Keisuke (Etô) are out on the water. Migiwa dives for their search, but on the latest outing somebody kills Keisuke and leaves Migiwa to fend for herself in the open water. When she gets back to shore, she goes in search of answers with Keisuke’s best friend Miyamoto Shouhei (Shimizu).

As Migiwa goes in search of answers, she turns her search into revenge. It leads to her locating the people involved and making them pay for what they did to her.

Verdict on Mermaid Legend

Mermaid Legend is a revenge thriller following a woman who goes on a bloody path of revenge after her husband is murdered. She dives into an underground operation, facing the people she believes were involved.

This movie follows a traditional left-for-dead revenge idea. It shows getting close to someone and learning more before seeing the fights, which they overcome, in this case, strength to eliminate the targets. The slow build lets the final act explode, with a relentless feeling which creates a chaotic nature. We can see why this movie has a cult following, as it has plenty of great moments.

Final Thoughts –Mermaid Legend is bloody, gory and chaotic.

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Movie Review

Police Academy (1984) Movie Review

Police Academy – Movie Review

Police Academy

Director: Hugh Wilson

Writer: Neal Israel, Pat Proft, Hugh Wilson (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A group of good-hearted, but incompetent misfits enter the police academy, but the instructors there are not going to put up with their pranks.

Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Police Academy starts when Carey Mahoney (Guttenberg) finds himself in trouble with the law again. As punishment, Mahoney is sent to the police academy along with a host of other recruits including his new friend Moses Hightower (Smith).

Mahoney looks to find the quickest way out, however, LT Harris (Bailey) isn’t going to make this easy. This sees the unlikely candidates becoming the latest members of the force.

Verdict on Police Academy

Police Academy is a crime comedy following a group of unlikely recruits training to become police officers in New York. It sees recruits from different backgrounds coming together to overcome the training procedure to make it.

This is the first of a long last comedy series and gets to poke fun at the different stereotypes in the police force. It has a part feel of a college movie, mixed with a military one. This is because we see the different rankings trying to make it. Certain jokes haven’t dated as well as others, while the pure message gets the job done in a fun comedy.

Final Thoughts –Police Academy is a fun comedy even if certain parts have dated.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Oscar Nomination – F – Footloose (1984) Movie Review

Director: Herbert Ross

Writer: Dean Pitchford (Screenplay)

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Chris Penn, Sarah Jessica Parker

Plot: A city teenager moves to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned, and his rebellious spirit shakes up the populace.


Tagline – One kid. One town. One chance.

Runtime: 1 Hour 49 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Footloose starts when Ren (Bacon) moves to small religious town where rock music and dancing have been banned by the community led by Rev, Shaw Moore (Lithgow). Ren wants to keep himself enjoying the music from his home and dancing like nobody is watching, which is causing problems across the town, pointing out just how much of an outside he is.

As Ren struggles to settle in the popular girl from school Ariel (Singer) who has her own dreams of escaping takes a liking to him, which could help the town break free of their shackles, once and for all.

Thoughts on Footloose

Thoughts – Footloose is one of the most popular 80s movies that showed us how one high school student that looks to make a difference in a small town by introducing them to rock music and dance, something the adults have banned. This will show how the younger generation will want to try and make the most of their youth, by just having fun, not being ordered around by strict rules designed around the mistakes of their parents. Kevin Bacon is brilliant in this leading role, showing his pure charisma needed to make him stand out as well as giving him the dancing sequences that are still some of the most popular to this day. The dance and music becomes its own character in the film, hitting all the heights of an 80s movie, while John Lithgow goes us an authority figure that isn’t all about being the villain, he is more about hoping for the best ofr his own daughter. Footloose does end up being one of the best feel-good movies of the 80s, one that is still popular to this day, with the message of breaking free and letting loose.

Final Thoughts – Footloose an enjoyable, memorable 80s movie forever going to be remembered.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – 80s Movies – S – Splash (1984) Movie Review

Director: Ron Howard

Writer: Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, Bruce Jay Friedman (Screenplay) Brian Grazer (Story)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, John Candy, Dody Goodman, Shecky Greene, Richard B Shull

Plot: A young man is reunited with a mermaid who saved him from drowning as a boy. He falls in love with her, not knowing who or what she is.


Tagline – She was the woman of his dreams… she had large dark eyes, a beautiful smile and a great pair of fins.

Runtime: 1 Hour 51 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Fantasy Love Story 101

Story: Splash starts as we see businessmen brothers, Allen (Hanks) who has his head straight when it comes to business, while Freddie (Candy) tends to get them both in trouble more often than not. When Allen decides to return to his family holiday home in Cape Cod, he gets to be reunited with a mermaid Madison (Hannah) who saved his life as a child and again as an adult.

Returning to New York, Allen finds that Madison has followed him their to return his wallet and finds himself needing to take care of her, as the two fall in love once again, though Madison is trying to keep her secret from Allen.

Thoughts on Splash

Characters – Allen is the straight-headed businessman, he doesn’t have much in his life outside of work with his latest relationship going down the drain and his brother always causing more problems at work. He tries to escape his work life, only to find himself returning to a holiday home, where he is saved by a mysterious woman, who later comes into his life in New York, showing him to fall in love. Madison is a mermaid, she saved Allen’s life when he was young and again when he was older, she decides to visit him in New York to spend one week with him, where she learns the culture quickly as she spends time in New York, but struggles to keep her secret safe from him. Walter is a scientist that is determined to discover a mermaid and spends most of the film trying to prove Madison is a mermaid. Freddie is the reckless brother of Allen that has always gotten him into trouble, strangely we seem to forget about him for a large part of the film.

Performances – Tom Hanks is wonderful in the leading role, he was a perfect choice for a comical lead that can do both serious and funny moments with ease. Daryl Hannah is great to bringing the beauty to the mermaid character as well as the naïve nature at times. Eugene Levy does get laughs, while John Candy gives us a couple of awkward moments.

Story – The story here follows a man that meets what he thinks is a perfect woman, only for her to have a secret, she is a mermaid. This is a story that does focus on the idea of falling in love with somebody you might not see coming, while mixing the idea that scientists would want to make the most out of a potential new discovery. This is a story that does want you to believe somebody can fall in love over a week long time together and that your business partner won’t notice you being missing for a week.

Comedy/Fantasy/Romance – The comedy is a mixed bag because Hanks and Levy do hit hard, while John Candy’s comedy has dated pretty badly now. The fantasy idea in the film does focus on the idea of mermaids being part of the world, with the romance needing to look at how the two people can fall in love quickly.

Settings – The film is set in New York which does literally show Madison being a fish out of water.


Scene of the Movie – Hanks in a boat.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Freddie’s up-skirt actions.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun fantasy comedy that just hasn’t dated on the same level it could have, but it does show just how talents Tom Hanks was going to be.

Overall: Dated Comedy.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – 80s Movies – I – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) Movie Review

Director: Steven Spielberg

Writer: Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz (Screenplay)

Starring: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone

Plot: In 1935, Indiana Jones arrives in India, still part of the British Empire, and is asked to find a mystical stone. He then stumbles upon a secret cult committing enslavement and human sacrifices in the catacombs of an ancient palace.

Runtime: 1 Hour 58 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom starts as Indiana Jones (Ford) looks to escape from Shanghai, which sees him joined by singer Willie Scott (Capshaw) and kid Short Round (Quan), only for them to end up crash landing in India.

Once in India Indiana finds himself trying to help a small village locate a stolen stone, only to find himself in the middle of a secret cult mixed up with enslavement and human sacrifice.

Thoughts on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Characters – Indiana Jones is back, taking part in shady deals with criminals, making narrow escapes, before showing his true nature helping a small village respect their history. He knows how to handle himself in a fight and will always be ready for his next daring escape. Willie Scott is a famous singer in Shanghai, one that is a complete diva, not wanting to be away from the glitz and glamour, she ends up being part of the team, spending more time screaming than doing anything else. Short Round is the quick talk, quick handed young boy that helps Indiana, he seems him as a father figure that could help him have a better life after his own parents death. Mola Ram leads the cult, believing they will get the power if they control the stones.

Performances – Harrison Ford is always going to be remembered for the role of Indiana Jones, he bought the character to life with ease being one of the most iconic characters in film. Kate Capshaw does get annoying in her role, with the pure amount of screaming she puts us through, this is more about the script than her though. Ke Huy Quan does bring us the loveable sidekick for Indiana, getting laughs through the film. The villainous side of performances do well, giving us very dark characters that are prepared to do anything for their own cause.

Story – The story here brings us another adventure of Indiana Jones as he finds himself in India trying to stop an evil cult from gaining power, after they start using the local children as slaves. This might well be a much darker tale than the first Indiana, which does make it even more enjoyable, it shows us how Indiana will do the right thing without a monetary incentive being involved, it shows him in a light that history is the most important thing to him. The idea of the secret cult of evil is very dark, it is important to reflect the darkness they are trying to create, which we see through the film. The story does leave us wanting more adventures from the Doctor.

Action/Adventure – The action involved in the film is fights, chases, daring escapes, everything you would expect to see in an adventure, with the bridge sequence being the true highlight of the adventure.

Settings – The film uses the settings excellently, to show us the hidden world of the cult, the trap tunnels an adventure would find himself in and each location is added to the environment of the adventure sequences we follow.


Scene of the Movie – The bridge sequence.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The crocodiles look so out of place.

Final Thoughts – This is an excellent sequel that often gets overlooked compared to the other two in the trilogy.