Top Gun Trailer

Check out the Top Gun trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN8ze3S0Uj8

Dangerous Curves

Dangerous Curves stars Tate Donovan (Love Potion #9, Magnum, P.I.) as Chuck Upton, a square dude who is given a chance to demonstrate responsibility by driving a super tubular 1988 Porsche cross country. The only problem is, his irresponsible buddy Wally Wilder (Grant Heslov-License to Drive) is distracted by beautiful women and they lose the car. Later, they find out it is stolen, only to be a cherry prize at a righteous beach beauty pageant.   

This low budget comedy is slow at times. However, if you are in for a late 80’s movie that tries to hold onto the mid decade summer hi jinks genre you might try it.

Dangerous Curves has an 80’s movie soundtrack, but no songs that are familiar. Just the synthesizer and some toe tapping beats.  Look for small appearances by Robert Stack, Leslie Nielsen and Robert Romanus (Mike Damone-Fast Times and Ridgemont High).  

Dangerous Curves is rated PG for adult situations and language.

Plain Clothes

1988’s Plain Clothes is an undercover cop comedy starring Howard Arliss (Full Metal Jacket) as Nick Dunbar. Dunbar is a police officer whose brother is framed for murdering a teacher. After the brother is arrested, Dunbar enrolls in school posing as the son of his sidekick Ed Malmburg (Seymour Cassel of Johnny B. Good, Colors).

Dunbar has a hard time adapting to school. He never fit in as a high school student and came across as too mature. On is first day of school he dresses as a punk rocker but is polite and out of character. His brother gives him some serious high school student perpetrating tips from jail. These excellent pointers transform Dunbar from bogus wannabe to big man on campus. Soon his gnarly company is choice for jocks, princesses, preppies and teachers. He deftly negotiates the relationships around the numerous statutes and bogus policies and laws while on the pursuit of the killer?

Like the movie Clue this chuckle filled mystery has the entire school staff under suspicion. As more murders occur, the suspect list dwindles, but the final twist leaves you with the feeling of “I didn’t see that coming”.

It’s awesome that Plain Clothes offers a great cast of relatively normal actors. 

There are no super popular actors and that makes the movie all the more enjoyable. However, look for tubular performances from George Wendt (Cheers, House), Diane Ladd (Christmas Vacation, Father Dowling’s Mysteries), Suzy Amis, and Max Perlich (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off).

There are no particular songs you might recognize, but the music is definitely of the awesome decade. Catchy songs and accompanying music interact well with the clothing and setting of 1988. Even Dunbar wears the porkpie hat made bodacious by the lead singer of Scritti Politti (Perfect Way).

This movie is rated PG for adult situations. 

Top Gun

1986's Top Gun stars Tom Cruise (Legend, Risky Business, Color of Money, Cocktail) as hot shot pilot, Maverick who gets his chance to go the Navy’s gnarly and super tubular Top Gun school. Only best attend Top Gun and Maverick brings his best weapon's guy, Goose (Anthony Edwards of Gotcha, Revenge of the Nerds) along for the ride.

Maverick and Goose get noticed after chasing off a seriously bogus commie dink bogie. Their commander is totally bummed, but the stoked duo heads to Miramar AFB in California for the next stage in their career. However things aren’t going to be easy. The testosterone filled atmosphere only gets more difficult as two rivals Iceman (Val Kilmer of Real Genius, Top Secret) and Maverick square off for recognition and the affection of instructor Charlie (Kelly McGillis of Witness, The Accused). Add to that Maverick’s reputation as a loner who only cares about himself and the similar reputation of his father and the mystery behind his father’s death.

Big budget, lot’s of action and bodacious dogfights make this movie a definite must see. One guest star is the Kawasaki Ninja 900 / GPz90R, the motorcycle Maverick screams down the highway in. Other actors include, Meg Ryan, Michael Ironside, Tim Robbins and Tom Skerritt.

Great lines include, “I think she lost that loving feeling”, “You can be my wingman anytime”, “The Department of Defense regrets to inform you that your sons died because they were stupid” and the ever re-quoted, “I feel the need, the need for speed.”

Top Gun has a totally awesome soundtrack that helped define the 80’s. Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone, Berlin’s Take My Breath Away, and the Top Gun Anthem.

Top Gun is rated PG

They Live

They Live

I saw John Carpenter’s They Live for the first time while stationed in Wildflecken, Germany. I watched a lot of movies back in the day. It was a good way to blow off steam at the end of a long work day when I wasn’t seeing the sights or otherwise touring the landscapes and scenes of Europe.

They Live has no famous 80’s background music. Filmed during what I call the black hole of music in 1988, I doubt if the sound track would be as good as that of Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, or Footloose. Instead this move was tracked with the electronic sounds of old Carpenter himself. The only real pop culture was probably just the same ol’ LA scene as in most movies of the time; palm trees, cityscape and flannel shirts.

Rowdy Roddy Piper plays George Playa, a homeless man who wonders into LA looking for work. He sports a great mullet and is busting out of his cloths, wrastlin’ style. The writers ensured his first job is on a construction site where he gets a few shirtless scenes to keep the movie campy. While on the site he meets Frank a character well played by Keith David.

George and Frank don’t trust each other, but it’s clear that they should definitely resolve their issues and save the world. As the tension mounts between them, an unholy mystery is forming at the nearby church. The homeless wonderers join others at an outdoor homeless gypsy camp and become aware of the strange late night events at the church. Meanwhile, a weird hacking of the television channel is warning observers that someone is controlling them.

Out of nowhere the police come and destroy the camp, church and some suspicious characters from the church.  However in an even more campy twist, we find the parishioners are smuggling …wait for it…SUNGLASSES. After the police raid the church George goes back in and discovers a magic box of Ray Ban or Vuarnet Wayfarer knockoffs. Don those catch me kiss me shades and not only will the ladies be hunting you down, but you can actually see the aliens who are enslaving us. Oh yea, the subliminal “OBEY”, “NO INDEPENDENT THOUGHT” and “MARRY AND REPRODUCE” message are revealed in magazines, bill boards and signs.

Only after a lengthy knockdown, drag out, butt kickin’ scene do George and Keith begin to see eye to eye. In fact, George practically knocks Frank out before forcing glasses on his face to see things from his point of view.  After that the tension is gone and they can get down to a good old fashioned friendship while they save the world.

This movie is rated R and rightly so as swearing is peppered throughout. It actually makes it through 92 of 93 minutes before the first and only nude scene arrives and pretty much unexpected. Fun movie, good times, see They Live.

C.H.U.D. Special Edition

After some Facebook buzz about the movie C.H.U.D., I decided to rent it from Netflix. You see, I belong to a Facebook group called HHC 3ID 1985 to 1990. It's for veterans of the famous US Army unit originally stationed in Leighton Barracks overlooking Wurzburg, Germany.

I remember seeing C.H.U.D. as a soldier back in the barracks room. I believe my friends had rented it back in 1985 (originally aired in 1984). However, after viewing it 26 years later, I don't remember any of the scenes. Actually, I do remember the opening credits and first victim.

The movie tries to be witty, but I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a cheesy 80's comedy or an actual thriller. I'm pretty sure it was scary and state of the art back in the day, but now it's kind of hokey. The scenes were gory, but not scary. Mostly they were disturbing. There's a little blood, body parts and etc. But the disturbing parts were because of the other low budget effects.

The movie is kind of a pre-reunion of the hit movie Home Alone arriving 5 years later and a launch for a host of new actors. Daniel Stern and John Heard have starring roles. Also making appearances are a young John Goodman, Patricia Richardson and Jay Thomas.

C.H.U.D. is an 80's movie as far as being made in the 1980s. Because of the New York City setting, there isn't much 80's pop culture identity. Definitely no 80's sound track, 80's songs or anything profoundly identifiable from that era. However, it is fun to see some of the brandy from Downy, Budweiser Beer, U Haul, Izod polo shirts and other products. Telephones with cords, old television sets, answering machines and archaic technology abounded.

C.H.U.D stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller, or so we are led to think. However, there is an alternate meaning to the acronym. The story begins with the disappearance of a police captain's wife. After weeks of homeless people going mission, hers is the most visible missing person's report. Add in a criminal turned minister to the homeless (Stern), a photographer (Heard) and his model wife, a bad collection of government and city employees and you've got a classic horror movie.

The motley crew discover that the EPA has spilled radioactive material which has led to a nasty symptom. The city's homeless are mutating into monsters. These aren't zombies by any sense of the meaning. They are downright monsters with no hair, scaly skin and glowing eyes.

I'm not sure why this movie has an R rating. Probably because of the times. Slight gore and swearing probably were the concerns. If you enjoy low budget horror, get C.H.U.D.