Terror on Tour (1983) Review

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(More customer reviews)Before the infamous "Video Nasties" ruling of 1984, in which some of the most graphic and explicit low budget video titles of the preceding years were subjected to censorship and cuts from their pure original form by the powers that be, it almost seemed like anything went in the world of underground movies. 1980 was one of the scene's peak years; you had the notorious "Maniac," "Don't Go in the House," "Eyes of a Stranger," along with such Italian walking dead splatterfests as "Zombie."
One extremely obscure (and in some ways maybe deservedly so) entry of the slasher wave from that year and one that has been largely lost to time is Don Edmonds' "Terror on Tour." Edmonds had already established himself in the world of underground deviant cinema with such low budget schlock fests as the all but banned "Ilsa, She-Wolf of the S.S." (1974). So he was more than well acquainted with the form.
"Terror on Tour" concerns a fictional Kiss-like rock band known as the Clowns, who don costumes and face paint, making them all but indistinguishable from one another, and whose wild stage shows feature such delightful things as mannequins (all female) being chopped up and torn apart in mutilation-style. Unbeknownst to the band, someone is dressing up like one of the the Clowns' members and sadistically murdering their groupies back stage both during and after their concerts.
This film bears the dreaded "Unrated" classification and at times you can see why. There is rampant partying and drug use, such as smoking grass, doing lines, and popping ludes, so much so that one of the victims is identified in the closing credits simply as "freebase chick." And, then there's the stabbings and throat slittings of mostly bare-breasted backstage groupies. Suspicion points to one of the band's roadies, a socially inept loser unable to mingle with women who therefore is obsessed with applying the Clowns' make-up to get a taste of the action. At one point he peeks through a window in envy at one of the drugged-up band members getting it on with one of the groupies.
This film gets three stars from me for the explicitness and general spirit of rock 'n' roll abandon it possesses. That said, all of the groupies are portrayed as brainless and slutty and are indistinguishable from one another, so some more sensitive viewers will not like this platform or all the violence against women depicted here. In addition, all the actors are amateur or one step above it and there are no name players to be found.
Still, I'd love to see a long overdue DVD release of this. If such equally low budget entries as "Pieces" and "Nail Gun Massacre" can get lavish DVD treatment, then why can't this one? I have a 1985 Media Home Entertainment ex-rental VHS copy that I transferred onto DVD-r. I'd love to see this though without such crummy and grainy picture quality.
While not a great movie by any means, if you cherish the bygone days of the early video revolution and like your slasher movies sleazy, low budget and without morals, then "Terror on Tour" should satiate your fixation for a good 90 minutes or so.

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Hook (1991) Review

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(More customer reviews)The subtitle to the play "Peter Pan" is "The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up". Spielberg's sequel could well be called "The Man Who Grew Up Too Much". The story of Peter Pan is reversed, as are many roles.Robin Williams has the easy task of playing the thoughtless parent, the moderate task of playing the grownup Peter Pan, and the incredibly difficult task of making the transition between the two believable.
Dustin's Hoffman's Capt. Hook knows, as do all of us who remember his soliloquy, that no little children love him. His concern with how he will be remembered, and with Good Form, ring quite true to the original. The character is suave, urbane, vicious, captivating, and ultimately tragic.
At first I was annoyed at the modern elements in Never-Never-Land, but I soon realized that they had to be there, as Never-Never-Land was always a compilation of everything Lost Boys found exciting. In the twenties, that included Red Indians, but if they were lost in the 1980s, well then, baseball and skateboards should be included. The original play was Edwardian, but the movie makes no sense unless it's updated.
The role-reversal and eventual re-reversal is fascinating. In the play, the same actor always plays both Hook and the thoughtless and cruel father, Mr. Darling. But here, Peter is the uncaring father and a corporate pirate, while Hook takes the children to Never-Never-Land. The lost boys are, at first, quarrelsome and threatening, while the pirates are a happy adventuresome lot, even sentimental in the lullaby sequence. But while the Lost Boys help Peter recover himself (and to recover their own innocence), Hook's attempt to win over Peter's kids is, in the end, a failure, and we are brought full circle. The final scene of the helpless Hook surrounded by Peter and his boys parallels the earlier scene of the helpless Peter Banning surrounded by Hook and his pirates. ("Somebody lend me a hand." "I already have.")
The movie has one major flaw - most people don't know the Peter Pan legend well enough to really understand it. Seeing the play "Peter Pan" won't help much, either, because there's a lot in the storybook "Peter and Wendy", and in the play's stage directions, that enhances the understanding of the movie Hook. In a scene usually cut from the play, Peter sacrifices himself for Wendy, and thinks he is about to drown. His line is "To die will be an awfully big adventure." Later, when Wendy and the Lost Boys are leaving Never-Land, Peter is left alone, slumped in his chair. The stage directions state that at this point, if Peter only understood a little more, he would say, "To live would be an awfully big adventure." Hook is the story of how Peter finally learns that to live is, indeed, an awfully big adventure. Along the way, he must also discover what a Happy Thought for a grown-up is, and that a man with no childhood is as incomplete as a boy who would not grow up.
The pretend-food that was always Peter's favorite kind of meal is used to excellent effect. I found the first moment when Peter's adult façade started to break down surprisingly believable. He is in an insult contest, and losing badly, until he finds the intersection between his grownup life and the childish contest. He wins with the biggest, most impressive insult, ending with "... don't mess with me, man, I'm a lawyer."
Maggie Smith's Wendy fills in the roles of both Wendy and Mrs. Darling from the play. Her concern with the night-lights is especially fulfilling. We are also re-introduced to Tootles, who was the Lost Boy who always missed the adventure, and so he does again. Several times in the movie, the first time I saw it, I mouthed the dialogue along with the actors, because I knew that after Hook said, "Prepare to die", Peter had to reply, "Dark and sinister man, have at thee." There's a brief appearance of Michael's bear and John's top hat, which they took with them to Never-Never-Land so many years ago. Lisa and Nana return (Nana IX, really), and many other details make it a wonderful reunion. Bob Hoskins's Smee and Julia Roberts's Tinkerbell are true to the original, and yes, she says The Line She Had to Say.
Yes, Peter Pan grew up. But he didn't do it when he became a lawyer; he did it in Hook.

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Where the Boys Are '84 Review

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(More customer reviews)Not nearly as substantial as the original. This film has little more to offer than a mindless romp in the Florida sun in the early 1980's.
Here I go again. I am prejudiced. I am both a Florida fiend and hopelessly nostalgic for the 1980's. That's all there is in this movie. It is otherwise totally forgettable. Nevertheless, it is fun. Not every movie tries or even should be a literary work of art.
Fort Lauderdale of 1983, a few years before I got there for the first time myself! I can watch this movie over and over. It is another time capsule I love to open. There is the music, lots of early 80's rockabilly and synthesizer pop; the beautiful Fort Lauderdale locations, lots more than the original movie; and, of course, the boys! Oh, how I want the 80's back again! If you don't, then don't bother with this movie. Otherwise, just turn it on and enjoy a trip down memory lane, with a beachfront view.

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Ghostbusters 2 (1989) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Ghostbusters II" recieved a fair amount of bad press when it was first released, but it is a charming, well produced and yes, funny sequel to the first blockbuster. The film picks up five years after the original. We find the Ghostbusters out of business and broke, Bill Murray is hosting a bizarre cable access show called "World of the Psychic" and Ackroyd and Ernie Hudson are performing at children's parties. Aren't the parents nervous about the GB's wielding their proton packs around thier youngsters??
The story speeds up when the Ghostbusters reunite and discover the soul of an ancient tyrant resides in a portrait in a museum. The tyrant, named Vigo has decided to take possession of Sigourney Weaver's child so he can live again to rule the world. This plot seems more disturbing than the plot in the first film, but director Ivan Reitman gives us plenty of humor to counter balance.
While not as funny as the first film, "Ghostbusters II" proves to be an entertaining follow up to the first classic film. After years of viewing, "Ghostbusters II" reveals itself to be a classic in it's own right.

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Item Name: Ghostbusters 2 (Widescreen Edition); Studio:Sony Pictures

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The Last Starfighter (Widescreen Collector's Edition) (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)Has it really been 25 years since this movie was released?
That was my first thought when I heard this movie was being released on Blu-ray. My second thought was that my ever burgeoning Blu-ray collection would be increasing by at least one more movie in August.
I will discuss the plot later in this review but I am suspecting that most customers checking this Blu-ray catalog item out on Amazon are perhaps more interested in the Picture and Audio and the special features.
I have never seen the HD-DVD but have read that the HD-DVD transfer was simply horrible and was bracing myself to be disappointed with the quality of the Blu-ray release.
While the transfer is a far cry from anything that anyone would cite as reference quality with a lot of the scenes suffering a smoky look at times, the colors are OK with some distinct black and white levels, but on other occasions muted too much. Still it is an improvment over the previous DVD release, though it''s questionable if this should be enough to double-dip.
The audio has some nice surround and great bass but again is also somewhat average, so if you are expecting an audio track to rival more recent movies you will likely be disappointed.
The highlight of rhe special features is the audio commentary between director Nick Castle and production designer Ron Cobb. This is evidently an old audio track but the two seem to have an enjoyable time. There is also a Making of featurette called "Crossing the Frontier" and, as one would expect with a movie touring itself as a 25th Anniversary Edition, a new featurette that includes cast and crew looking back on the movie and their roles as mentors.
The movie follows the adventures of Alex Rogan (played by Lance Guest). Living in a trailer park and with a beautiful girlfriend Alex spends his time mastering a video arcade game in between doing oddjobs for his neighbors. However, after a particularly successful game at the controls, he is visited by a mysterious character. It turns out that the video game is used as a recruiting tool of sorts to locate those who would be great intergalactic fighter pilots.
Before Alex knows what has hit him the bewildered teen is whisked off across the galaxy and discovers that what was once just a video game is now all too real.
Yes, it's good old 1980s cheese and the early CGI effects are much less impressive now than they were 25 years ago, but for a pure fun movie that does not take itself too seriously you can do much worse :)

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At the time of its original release in 1984, this modestly budgeted sci-fi excursion had the distinction of offering some of the first examples of purely computer-generated animation, an apt (and frugal) special-effects solution for a movie with a plot line rooted in computer games. Both the computer-generated visuals and the arcade game now look quaint, but writer-director Nick Castle's affable, good- hearted adventure holds up nicely, thanks to a clever premise--the title game is actually a test for prospective starship pilots, planted by embattled aliens under siege from an evil invader. When a restless teenager (Lance Guest) racks up an impressive score, he finds himself spirited away to the besieged planet and thrust into the midst of an intergalactic war. Apart from Castle's skill at contrasting his extraterrestrial settings with the mundane details of his hero's earthbound life, the movie gets lift-off from two thorough pros, Robert Preston, who makes the alien recruiter, Centauri, a planet-hopping cousin to "The Music Man"'s Harold Hill, and Dan O'Herlihy, the alien copilot, who suggests a scaly Walter Brennan. Older fans will snicker, but kids and young teens will find this rite of passage absorbing, while their folks will savor Preston's brash charm. "--Sam Sutherland"

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Teen Witch (1989) / The Heavenly Kid (1985) (Totally Awesome 80s Double Feature) (1985) Review

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(More customer reviews)This Totally Awesome 80s Double Feature contains the teen flicks Teen Witch (1989) and the Heavenly Kid (1985). It is a two disc set (so each movie comes on its own disc).
Possible Spoilers:
Teen Witch--starring Robyn Lively and Zelda Rubinstein. Louise (Lively) has a huge crush on the most popular boy in school; of course, he doesn't even know she exists. On her 16th birthday she gets the surprise of her life--she is told by a local witch (Rubinstein) that she is actually a descendent of the Salem witches and will now receive her powers. Can she get her crush to love the real her, or will he, like every other guy, just fall under her spell? This double sided disc contains both full screen and widescreen presentations of the film. Extras: Theatrical Trailer.
The Heavenly Kid--starring Jason Gedrick, Lewis Smith, and Jane Kaczmarek. Lenny Barnes (Gedrick) is a nerdy high school kid. Out of nowhere, a foul-mouthed angel Bobby Fantana (Smith) shows up to make Lenny the most popular kid in school. Lenny learns the hard way that popularity is not all it seems and Bobby has some things to learn as well. Widescreen. Extras: none.
I have fond memories of both of the movies in this set. Teen Witch was a constant rental at my house and I probably watched The Heavenly Kid a dozen times on T.V. over the years. Definitely recommended.


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