Tag: 1985

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Movie Review

Chiller (1985) Movie Review

Chiller – Movie Review

Chiller, directed by Wes Craven, tells the story of Miles, revived without a soul after cryogenic freezing, resulting in unexpected terror for his loved ones.

First Reaction – Chiller is a chilling tale of modern tech.

Director: Wes Craven

Writer: J.D Feigelson (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: Corporate exec Miles Creighton dies, and is cryogenically frozen in the hopes that he can be revived. 10 years later, the procedure is a success, and Miles returns–without his soul.

Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Chiller starts when Miles Creighton (Beck) wakes from a cryogenically freezer. He has previously died with plays to treat his illness in the future. However, an accident leads him to return from the dead and try to continue his life.

When Miles begins to restart his life, he shows a much darker side. However, it becomes clear he returned without a soul or any morales. His loved ones must decide what they want to do with him before he spirals out of control.

Verdict on Chiller

Recap

The movie follows a man who was cryogenically frozen in hopes of saving him in the future. However, an accident at the facility brings him back to life, only he doesn’t have a soul anymore. He begins to terrorise the people in his life in ways nobody was expecting.

Best Parts

The movie explores the early exploration of cryogenics to help resolving illness. It shows us how the rich would try anything to continue living in the future. There are creepy moments throughout the movie. The performances are strong too, keeping us engaged with the bigger picture of what is happening to the characters.

Worst Parts

This doesn’t become as scary as you would imagine, leaving us wanting more from the bigger picture. Elsewhere, it keeps things held back from the more bigger morale question about using the technology.

Final Thoughts –Chiller is a solid late-night horror movie.

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Movie Review

House (1985) Movie Review

House – Movie Review

House is a creepy movie about a troubled writer facing his traumas in a haunted house inherited from his aunt, blending humor and horror.

First Reaction – House has a creepy story, and dives into traumas.

Director: Steve Miner

Writer: Fred Dekker, Ethan Wiley (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A troubled writer moves into a haunted house after inheriting it from his aunt.

Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: House starts when troubled writer Roger Cobb (Katt) inherits his Aunt’s home. He moves into begin a new life, focus on his book and relive childhood memories. However, the house has a reputation of being haunted and he quickly faces off against problems they are facing.

Roger must challenge his own sanity of he is going to make it through the nightmares. However, his traumatic nightmares from his time in Vietnam continue to haunt him.

Verdict on House

Recap

The movie follows a troubled writer inheriting a home from his family. He decides to move into the home to focus on his latest book, but the house has bigger secrets. This leads to him needing to face his traumas and understand what is haunting him.

Best Parts

The chaos of the events in the home are interesting, as they portray the trauma Roger has been going through. Elsewhere, the performances are good, and the effects fits the 80s era lovely. This feels like the typical 80s film you can enjoy for a time without being the scariest film you will see.

Worst Parts

This is one which has dated and not everyone will enjoy. It lacks the scares needed for the bigger impact. It also dives too much into the only idea being trauma from the war.

Final Thoughts – House is creepy and solid effects.

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Movie Review

Police Story (1985) Movie Review

Police Story – Movie Review

Read the review of Police Story, an action-packed movie directed by Jackie Chan. Follow the story of a virtuous police officer framed for murder in this thrilling film.

ABC Film Challenge – World Cinema – P

Director: Jackie Chan, Chi-Hwa Chen

Writer: Jackie Chan, Edward Tang (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A virtuous Hong Kong Police Officer must clear his good name when the drug lord he is after frames him for the murder of a dirty cop.

Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Police Story starts when the Hong Kong police look to take down a ruthless drug lord. Chan Ka Kui (Chan) is part of the police force however the mission goes horribly wrong. Chan is left to watch over a witness Seline Fong (Lin) as the force looks to complete their investigation.

However, the gang isn’t going to let their business come crashing down and Chan must fight off enemies. When it comes to the trial, Chan loses the witness and finds himself disgraced in court. Now, he sets out to prove everyone wrong and bring them down himself.

Verdict on Police Story

Police Story is an action comedy following an inspector trying to prove the dangers of a drug lord. However, he faces problems and must take them on alone after he loses the witness.

This movie shows the crime world in Hong Kong and how it is run by corruption. It shows the dedication by one officer to clean up the streets no matter how many people try to stop him. This let Jackie Chan show off his comic time next to his all-out action ability. It launched the franchise which helped make Chan a mega star of the era.

Where to Watch

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Final Thoughts – Police Story is a fun action comedy.

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Movie Review

Ladyhawke (1985) Movie Review

Ladyhawke – Movie Review

Ladyhawke

Director: Richard Donner

Writer: Edward Khmara, Michael Thomas, Tom Mankiewicz (Screenplay)

Writer: Edward Khmara (Story)

Cast

Plot: The thief Gaston escapes the dungeon of medieval Aquila through the latrine. Soldiers are about to kill him when Navarre saves him. Navarre, traveling with his spirited hawk, plans to kill the bishop of Aquila with help from Gaston.

Runtime: 2 Hours 1 Minute

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Ladyhawke starts when Gaston (Broderick) escapes from the medieval dungeon of Aquila. A place known that nobody can ever escape from. Gaston causes a manhunt for him until Navarre (Hauer) saves him. The pair continue on their journey to kill the bishop of Aquila.

However, along the way, Navarre’s hawk gets injured, forcing Gaston to search for help. As he searches for help, he learns more about the truth about the man he is travelling with. This leads him down a path of whether to help change the world for the people.

Verdict on Ladyhawke

Ladyhawke is a fantasy adventure following a young thief that joins forces with a mysterious warrior. He finds himself caught up in a battle to bring down an evil ruler and learn more about the world. This sends him on a path of redemption after years of committing crimes.

The movie ends up feeling like a true 80s fantasy movie. It has a journey that sees a young man thrown into a bigger battle than he could expect. We get the mythical transformations and the battle for love driving a character forward. There is also an evil ruler, but deep down, this one struggles to stand out above the rest in the genre.

Final Thoughts –Ladyhawke is a typical 80s fantasy movie.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – 80’s Movies – P – Pale Rider (1985) Movie Review

Director: Clint Eastwood

Writer: Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack (Screenplay)

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress, Chris Penn, Richard Dysart, Sydney Penny, Richard Kiel

Plot: A mysterious preacher (Clint Eastwood) protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.


Tagline – .. and hell followed with him.

Runtime: 1 Hour 55 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Gritty Western

Story: Pale Rider starts as we see how Hull Barret (Moriarty) is leading a prospector village that is getting terrorised by the LaHood mining company, owner Coy (Dysart) and his son Josh (Penn) are trying to run them off the land with the raids. Hull who is starting to mount up the debts finds himself being protected by a mysterious Preacher (Eastwood) who gives the village more hope than ever.

The Preacher proves that the men could fight back giving the village a reason to fight, but without him around the LaHood’s look to take advantage of the situation.

Thoughts on Pale Rider

Characters – The Preacher witnesses the attack on Hull, he shows how to win a fight in non-lethal combat, he stays with Hull’s family showing the whole village that they could have somebody to protect them, he doesn’t want any part of a war, just to support a hard-working village. Hull is the one member of the village everybody looks up to, he will continue to go against anything that the LaHood’s want and has been trying to keep the village together. Sarah is the woman Hull lives with, she has seen her husband pass away and wants the best for her daughter, even if that might end up being Hull, she only ever puts her daughter’s safety out first. Josh LaHood is the son of the owner of the mining company running the operations, he will use the dirty tactics to try and push Hull and his people out.

Performances – Clint Eastwood plays into his strengths through the film, not giving himself too many lines and playing the mysterious figure that has a past. Michael Moriarty and Carrie Snodgress bring the more serious longer sequences as the characters who seem to have more to lose if things don’t come out in their favour. Chris Penn does make his villainous figure stand out as somebody truly evil not just greedy.

Story – The story here follows a prospector village that is being raided by a mining company that find an unlikely savoir in a mysterious preacher that brings them hope to defeat the rich company who is trying to push them out. The story does play out like nearly every western you have seen, a dangerous gang trying to use the numbers to put a small group under pressure before a stranger comes to their rescue. The pace plays out like normal to with the small incident slowly gathering steam before the two sides come to a full blown war towards each other. It might not be original, but it does the basics right with each moment feeling like it does make a big impact on the characters involved.

Western – The western side of the film shows us just how the themes are being used to show what happens to the characters, with the sets and the story.

Settings – The film does create the village you would expect to see for the time, the town and the backdrop looking beautiful through the film.


Scene of the Movie – Town showdown.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Way too much time spent deciding whether a 14/15-year-old should love an adult.

Final Thoughts – This is a gritty by the book western, it does everything right without being anything we haven’t seen before.

Overall: By the Book Western.

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Movie Review

Legend (1985) Movie Review

Director: Ridley Scott

Writer: William Hjortsberg (Screenplay)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbert

Plot: A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from both destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.


Tagline – “No Good without Evil. No Love without Hate. No Innocence without Lust. I am Darkness.” 

Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Typical 80s Fantasy Film

Story: Legend starts when a young beautiful princess Lili (Sara) spends her time into woods with the handsome Jack (Cruise) she gets too close to the unicorns, touching them, breaking the rules of the land. Lili is taken by the lord of darkness to become his bride, while Jack must go on an adventure in a land that has changed because of the events to save his love Lili.

Thoughts on Legend

Characters – Jack is the handsome young man that thrives in the woods, he knows every creature and how to communicate to them, he has been teaching Lili, only he won’t give up every secret. When we see what happens he will do everything he can to try and save her from the darkness that is looking to consume her. Lili is a princess who doesn’t want to be part of the royal life, she enjoys the woodland area only her curiosity only gets her in trouble when she touches a unicorn bringing darkness to the land, being taken by the dark lord to be his wife, she is torn between being seduced by this new world and escape to the world she enjoys being part of. Darkness has been waiting for somebody to make the mistake, now he has a chance to rule by marrying Lili bringing the darkness to the world forever.

Performances – Tom Cruise does show the world that he was going to be as an actor with this role that showed his skills to the world. Mia Sara does show us that she was one of the best actresses of the 80s. Tim Curry does add the class to the role as the villain.

Story – The story here follows a young man that must travel across a mystical land in hopes of saving his love from the darkness which has taken her. This is typical fantasy styled story that does show us how the different levels of status within the people and creatures and how the legends of the area, must be obeyed or it could affect everyone. We see how one will put a group together to risk everything to get what they want from life, with most being escape from a different situation before a showdown with the big evil.

Adventure/Fantasy/Romance – The adventure side of the film takes Jack and other creatures on the journey to save Lili, overcoming the difficulties coming their way, in this full-blown fantasy world, showing what will be done for love.

Settings – The film uses the settings to show the different challenges that face Jack along the way, each one will become an obstacle for him to overcome.


Scene of the Movie – Final showdown.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does feel to 80s.

Final Thoughts – This is an 80s filled adventure that does everything it can to fit the era of release, showing just how much somebody will do for love.

Overall: Pure 80s adventure.