Plot: In 1978, a boy travels eight years into the future and has an adventure with an intelligent, wisecracking alien ship.
Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Flight of the Navigator starts when David (Cramer) is preparing for a typical 4th of July with his family. However, when he goes to find his younger brother, something unusual happens. While David doesn’t notice anything, he learns he disappeared 8 years ago.
His parents Bill (Young) and Helen (Cartwright) never gave up on finding him. However, scientists want to learn more about what happened. David finds himself going through a string of experiments until he learns why he was taken before and hopefully gets back to a normal life.
Verdict on Flight of the Navigator
Flight of the Navigator is an adventure sci-fi movie following a boy who gets abducted by an alien race. He returns 8 years in the future without ageing a day, but scientists want to make more out of his journey.
This iconic movie showed both the calm of potential alien visitors and the dangers. While they visited in peace, they did cause major disruption to the lives of the people involved. It highlights how scientists would do anything for answers causing greater pain to everyone too. There is a big meaning to what we see, leading to our character’s challenging decisions. It is an interesting idea and offers up a time travel conversation.
Plot: A group of young shopping mall employees stay behind for a late night party in one of the stores. When the mall goes on lock-down before they can get out, the robot security system malfunctions, and goes on a killing spree.
Runtime: 1 Hour 17 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Chopping Mall starts when a shopping mall decides to include robot security. It is meant to make life easier and protect the mall from anyone breaking in. However, a group of young employees at the mall decided to throw a party. Meanwhile, the robots malfunction, giving them a deadlier side.
The teens must figure out how to escape the lockdown mall before becoming the latest victims of the robot’s rampage. However, they must learn the best places to hide and the best times to fight back.
Verdict on Chopping Mall
Recap
The movie follows a group of young people trying to escape a mall. They are hunted by killer robots designed to protect the mall, but now they have turned murderous.
Best Parts
The movie embraces the newer technology talked about during the 80s, which included robot security. We saw it reach the next level a year later with RoboCop, proving that the time was a time of fear of something which could bring change. It has funny horror moments that keep things flowing nicely and fits the pure cult like horror the 80s created.
Worst Parts
While it might well be a cult classic, it does show how the world has changed negatively and how malls have become more outdated.
Final Thoughts –Chopping Mall is a fun little cult classic.
Plot: A French anthropologist specializing in nomadic groups moves to Los Angeles with his wife, and starts following a group of sinister street punks who seem to live and move around in a black van. But they aren’t what they seem.
Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Nomads starts when Dr Eileen Flax (Down) deals with her latest patient Jean Charles Pommier (Brosnan). However, a strange interaction leads to Eileen struggling to cope with reality. She finds herself transported into his life.
Once Eileen starts living out Jean’s life, she starts to learn of the troubles he was dealing with. However, it leaves her colleagues to try to figure out what is going on. Meanwhile, we learn more about the Pommier’s life and the troubles they faced.
Verdict on Nomads
Nomads is a horror mystery following a doctor that finds herself connected to a patient’s former life. It takes them both down a rabbit hole dealing with a street punk game with unusual plans. However, the deeper the mystery the stranger the events both go through.
This is a horror that relies on the idea of paranoia and cults in a more modern day environment. It does an interesting job at mixing together the two worlds that come together in the paranoia Eileen is suffering through. However, the villains end up feeling confusing and everything feels like a lot more is left unexplained by the end of the movie. The performances are strong, but by the end, you might feel like you wanted a little bit more.
Final Thoughts –Nomads has a nice chaotic atmosphere but feels like there was a lot more to come.
Plot: A Chicago detective, seeking to avenge his partner’s death, travels to New Orleans, where he unexpectedly becomes involved in a cat and mouse game of survival.
Runtime: 1 Hour 46 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: No Mercy starts when Chicago detective Eddie Jillette (Gere) heads to New Orleans for his latest case. His partner has been killed and he wants to the people behind it. Eddie clashes with the local authorities in his gung-hu approach searching for answers.
It leads to him locating Michael Duval (Basinger) and using her to get to the people behind the murder. The two must put their differences aside if they are going to solve the case. However, local law enforcement is making things difficult for Eddie to solve the case.
Verdict on No Mercy
No Mercy is a crime thriller following a determined detective who travels across the country to figure out who killed his partner. However, he finds himself in a cat-and-mouse battle to survive against a much deadlier enemy.
This movie does feel like a movie made in the mid-80s as certain parts of it have aged. It follows a typical story of a detective hunting down a criminal, with a few twists and turns along the way. There are a few smart shootout sequences but nothing out of the ordinary. It struggles to stand out from the crowd of many other movies with similar ideas.
Cast: Cassandra Delaney, Peter Ford, David Sandford, Garry Who, Don barker, Carmel Young
Plot: A young woman running an animal sanctuary in the outback takes her revenge on a trio of kangaroo hunters who terrorized her.
Runtime: 1 Hour 26 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Fair Game starts as Jessica (Delaney) searches her nature reserve. The one she protects the kangaroos in, seeing the latest victims of hunters. Clashing with Sunny (Ford), Ringo (Sandford) and Sparks (Who). Three poachers collecting kangaroos.
When the two sides clash, Jessica is left outnumbered. Needing to use her knowledge of the outback to survive and fight back.
Thoughts on Fair Game
Characters & Performances
Jessica is an animal loving woman, caring about a nature reserve. Dedicating her own life to this, making sure every animal is cared for. Never afraid to stand up against anyone who threatens the animals. She will find herself targeted by the ruthless poachers. Not willing to give up her land, she fights back against the odds.
Sunny is the leader of the poachers. He tends to be more in control, only the other two cause him problems. Despite being the leader, he never seems to be as menacing as he could be. Ringo and Sparks tend to cause the problems in this world we are in. They are more twisted in what they put Jessica through. Always wanting to do more to make her suffer.
Cassandra Delaney is excellent in the leading role of the movie. She brings the physical side need for the role, showing how her character will never back down. When it comes to the three hunters, none of the performances really stand out.
Story
The story follows an animal reserve protecting woman, who comes up against ruthless poachers. In what becomes a twisted game or torturous mind games. She must fight back to survive and save the animals, against the guys that don’t blink.
In typical 80s fashion, this Ozploitation story will see an innocent person needing to fight back against twisted figures. It will show the odds she needs to overcome, after being put through an horrific ordeal. Along with the traps used to get one back over them, to end anyone else going through the same pain.
Themes
Fair Game is an Ozploitation horror movie. One that will bring the typical concept, even if it holds back on the violence. It will bring the torture side for what Jessica goes through. Aswell as the traps she uses to get her own back. The outback is an excellent setting, because it shows how away from the world Jessica is. It can be used to her advantage though, when she looks to escape or hide.
Final Thoughts – Fair Game is everything you expect an Ozploitation movie to be, without going too far.
Writer: Michael S Murphey, Joel Soisson, Rhet Topham (Screenplay) Rhet Topham (Story)
Starring: Marc Price, Tony Fields, Lisa Orgolini, Doug Savant, Elanie Joyce, Glen Morgan, Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne
Plot: A bullied teenage boy is devastated after the death of his heavy metal idol, Sammi Curr. But as Hallowe’en night approaches, he discovers that he may be the only one who can stop Sammi from making a Satanic comeback from beyond the grave.
Tagline – A deadly obsession turns into a spine tingling horror!
Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Trick or Treat starts as we meet bullied high school rock music fan Eddie (Price) that has an obsession with heavy metal star Sammi Curr (Fields), who dies suddenly in a fire. Eddie not wanting to believe he is dead, finds himself getting messages from his records, messages that will lead to his enemies suffering, as Eddie starts getting his revenge on the people that have bullied him in the past.
Thoughts on Trick or Treat
Thoughts – Trick or Treat is a horror movie that will dive into the 1980s fear of rock music creating evil upon the world, with a heavy metal star reacting from beyond the grave to get revenge for a tormented high school bully victim. This will bring to life the idea of evil being transferred between music, which in the modern era of music, just wouldn’t be a thing. When it comes to the horror side of things, we get to see how an unknown evil with start to possess people, becoming part of the problem within the world, striking fear in the neighbourhood and the bullies. This is one of the films that does seem to have dated in the levels we would imagine it to have, without needing to be one that needed to stand the test of time. We dp get to see a couple of unique kill moments, that we haven’t seen since and fit this film perfectly.
Final Thoughts – Trick or Treat is a wacky horror that feels like the perfect 1980s horror.
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Charles Dance, J.L. Reate, Charlotte Lewis, Victor Wong, Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb, James Hong
Plot: A private detective specializing in missing children is charged with the task of finding a special child whom dark forces want to eliminate.
Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Fun 80’s Movie
Story: The Golden Child starts when a mysterious powerful Golden Child (Reate) is taken by Sardo Numspa (Dance) a powerful wizard who wants him for his own power, Kee Nang (Lewis) goes in search for looking for someone to help locate the child, with private detective Chandler Jarrell (Murphy) being the man asked to help, a man that has dedicated his career to finding missing children.
Chandler learns that he is getting involved in a case which does include the supernatural, one he will have to take more seriously than anything before, one that will see him travel to world to try and save the Golden Child’s life.
Thoughts on The Golden Child
Characters – Chandler Jarrell is a streetwise private detective who specializes in solving missing children’s cases, he doesn’t care about reputation, he just wants to do the right thing for saving innocent children. He is bought in on this latest case, one that will see him need to question everything he knows about the supernatural world and questions whether it is even real when he comes face to face with the latest case. Sardo Numspa is a shapeshifting wizard that has taken the Golden Child and will exchange him for a knife that would give him more power. Kee Nang is assigned to find someone who could help save the Golden Child, with her choice being Chandler, she is left to question her beliefs as she falls for Chandler. The Golden Child is worshipped, with his power being able to bring people back to life, considered special, while also being dangerous to anyone that tries to hurt him.
Performances – Eddie Murphy is the star of the show here, he gets laughs and handles the action with ease, proving he was one the most impressive forces of the 1980s. Charles Dance makes for a wonderful villain, always showing the evil about his character through the film. Charlotte Lewis is great too, even if the character is more just for filling in gaps and love interest, we could have gotten a lot more laughs out of her character, with how certain things play out.
Story – The story here follows a detective that gets hired to help search for a mysterious child who possess great powers, only he isn’t ready for the supernatural side to the investigation, where he is the only one that could save the world. This is a good story to follow, it does show us a detective that will always get the job done and just how important saving children is to him, despite his cocky streetwise ways. The idea of a special being in child form showing the goodness needed in the world is nice contrast to the evil coming from the shapeshifter looking to destroy the world. Everything does have a true 1980s feel to it, with how the story unfolds like you would imagine, but you can have a lot of fun along the way.
Action/Comedy – The action is an easy watch, with certain parts adding to the comedy in the film too, while Eddie Murphy controls the rest of the comedy with ease.
Settings – The film takes the streetwise American detective to Tibet, a place he is constantly complaining about being too cold, it does show the different beliefs of the people on both sides of the world.
Scene of the Movie – Getting the knife.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Kee Nang seems like a more important character than the film lets her to be.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun 80s movie, it has Eddie Murphy at the highest point of his career and fun with idea of good versus evil.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Lori Loughlin, Keifer Sutherland, Joe Spano, Darren Dalton, Evan Mirand, Don Michael Paul, Billy Zane
Plot: A group of high school students, led by a rich boy Derek, is sick of school violence and decides to become underground vigilantes named “Brotherhood of Justice”. It starts with the idea of “watching people”, but things quickly get out of control. “Brotherhood of Justice” turns out to be another gang of violence. Derek wants to stop it but it is too late, so he takes responsibility for it and gives himself to the law.
Tagline – They were the best kids in the neighborhood … until they decided it was time to fight back.
Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: 80s Gang Warfare
Story: The Brotherhood of Justice starts as we meet the students are the school, we have wealthy Derek (Reeves) who people look up to mostly because of his wealth, his girlfriend Christie (Loughlin) who must work when not around school and the quiet Victor (Sutherland), the school has suffered a night of vandalism which has seen the increasing tension believe it has come from the minorities within the area.
Deciding to fight back Derek joins a gang known as the Brotherhood of Justice after his teacher Bob (Spano) pushes the students to stand up for themselves against the people that are causing problems who want to use their new gang to fightback causing their own havoc against what they see as the problem within the area.
Thoughts on The Brotherhood of Justice
Characters – Derek comes from a rich family, he has always been given anything he wants, never having to earn a thing in his life, seeing his brother fall victim of the drugs in town, he joins a local gang that want to mess and get revenge on people they believe are creating problems for the local community, which sees him pushing his girlfriend away as he tries to remain in control of the gang and their actions. Christie is the girlfriend of Derek’s she must work hard to get her a chance at college, she has less time to spend with Derek and notice the change coming from within him becoming closer to a classmate. Victor is the loner from school, he works hard in and out of school and will stand up for anybody who is in trouble, including the local gang. Bob is the teacher that pushes the students into trying to stand up for the problems happening at the school, he ends up cause the Brotherhood’s action without saying doing it.
Performances – Keanu Reeves in the leading role does show us that he can have the leadership appeal as an actor, while he doesn’t do everything we know he is capable of now, it is nice to see where he has come from, Kiefer Sutherland does play the loner character well, one that is older than his character in the mindset. Lori Loughlin doesn’t get enough screen time for which character should be getting more time.
Story – The story here follows a group of school student that decide to start their own gang in an attempt to get back at the people causing troubles in the school, only for their actions to be everything they are trying to stop. This is an interesting look at how student might try to stop the problems in their own school and how the power it gives can turn somebody into a violent person, seeing how the gang is getting gout of control. This is a story that could never happen now, though it could help if people start dealing with the problems without violence in the first place.
Action/Crime – The action side of the film revolves around the action of the gang, which is weak fights and a random car chase. This does also show how the crime side of the story that is unfolding.
Settings – The film does show us the school and the local hangouts for the students, showing how they are using everyday position to fight back.
Scene of the Movie – Dealing with the dealer.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The attacks on people for no reason.
Final Thoughts – This is an interesting look at the minds of students that want a change if they can be pushed into stopping problems in their world and just how far they might end up going.
Writer: James Cameron (Screenplay) Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett (Characters) James Cameron, David Giler, Walter Hill (Story)
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, William Hope, Jenette Goldstein, Al Matthews
Plot: The planet from Alien (1979) has been colonized, but contact is lost. This time, the rescue team has impressive firepower, but will it be enough?
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Still Stands the Test of Time
Story: Aliens starts when Ripley (Weaver) is finally rescued from her hyper sleep, only to find out that she has been sleeping for centuries, questioned for her action on the spacecraft she learns that the same planet LV-426 has been colonised with no problems from any alien species. We get to see how the colony is building on the planet which includes us watching Newt (Henn) and her family being the ones to find the alien ship.
The company representative Burke (Reiser) looks to recruit Ripley into helping them once the company loses connect with the colony, this time armed with marines led by Lieutenant Gorman (Hope). The elite unit including Corporal Hicks (Biehn), Private Hudson (Paxton), Private Vasquez (Goldstein) and Private Drake (Rolston) to mention a few is armed to the teeth ready for any combat needed, but it is the android Bishop (Henriksen) that cause Ripley the worries especially after what happened last time she was on a mission with one.
Once at the colony the soldiers find the place abandoned at first until they find Newt only to learn the truth about what happened at the base. The unit find themselves under attack from multiply xenomorphs and only Ripley knows how to fight them off.
Aliens is the sequel to one of the greatest horror movies that actually takes the film in a different direction by adding action element. This doesn’t take away anything because if the sequel had just been on one ship with limited weapons it simply would have been a remake feeling, this story feels fresh because we already know the basics of what our heroes are up against we just needed to learn how they will deal with them this time. When it comes to the story it once again is simple soldiers versus aliens in a battle to survive which all works perfectly for this classic 30 years later.
Actor Review
Sigourney Weaver: Ripley is the lone survivor from the events of the first film, she has been in hyper sleep for years. She is charged for her actions as no evidence of any alien life form is discovered in the wreck, dealing with all the side effects we get to see how she is getting on with her life again. All this changes when the company that blamed her turned to her for help on the same planet that we first met a xenomorph. When things go wrong she takes charge of the situation while trying to protect a little girl. Sigourney was nominated for an Oscar for this performance and it would hard not to praise her brilliant performance.
Carrie Henn: Newt is the little girl that was living on the colony before the attack, she is also the lone survivor once the soldiers turn up to deal with the situation. She has survived by hiding and offers the soldiers much needed advice on where to survive. Carrie is great in this role for such a young actress at the time.
Michael Biehn: Corporal Hicks has to take charge of the soldiers once his seniors become incapacitated. He will listen to Ripley and make the right decisions when it comes to fighting the xenomorphs. Michael is great in this role where he actually plays the sensible soldier.
Lance Henriksen: Bishop is the android on the mission, he is instantly disliked by Ripley but this time we only see good from the android who is willing to risk his own life to save the humans. Lance is great as this android keeping the emotionless expression throughout.
Support Cast: Aliens has a supporting cast that is mostly the soldiers who are generic in their own way along with the company man that also works for this film very well.
Director Review: James Cameron – James is a director that always makes classics and this could well be his best.
Action: Aliens is filled with combat driven action which comes off very nicely in the confined spaces.
Horror: Aliens is still filled with horror of isolation on the planet being hunted down by an alien enemy.
Sci-Fi: Aliens puts our characters in space and a new planet ticking off all of the sci-fi elements to make this an action sci-fi film.
Settings: Aliens creates a larger isolation idea with the characters being trapped on a base rather than a ship with no escape from the enemy.
Special Effects: Aliens has stunning effects that still stand the test of time.
Suggestion: Aliens is one I do feel everyone should have watched at least once in a lifetime.(Watch)
Best Part: First meeting the aliens.
Worst Part: Depends which cut you watch, the shorter cut takes away a lot of back story.
Action Scene Of The Film: Final fight.
Favourite Quote: Ripley ‘Get away from her you bitch’
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: Yes
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: Won Two Oscars for Best Sound Effects and Visual Effects.
Box Office: $85 Million
Budget: $ 18.5 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 34 Minutes
Tagline: There are some places in the universe you don’t go alone.
Trivia: The knife trick scene was not in the original shooting script. According to Lance Henriksen, the adding of Hudson’s hand to the knife trick was discussed with almost everyone, except Bill Paxton.
Overall: Stunning sci-fi action horror that really comes off as the true classic
