 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| Reviewed by: Chris Burton 08 Aug 2008 I Love the 80's
| |  TOP GUN
Its quite strange to see Tom Cruise as he once was. Its odd to think of anybody as they once were, especially if they've taken a turn toward unbridled eccentricity or mere insanity or possibly douchebaggery. When Top Gun, came out, he was an up and coming star. He was successful in it for the same reason he was always successful. Tom Cruise seemed like a genuinely nice guy. A guy you wouldn't mind having a beer with. But we've unfortunately come to learn something recently. It was all an act. Tom Cruise is kind of a dickhead.
Its hard to figure out when something like this happened, or if it even happened at all. Maybe he has always been a prick, wanting to yell at Matt Lauer like a child and jump all over Oprah's couch like some majorette who just came in third place in the baton-twirling regionals. His handlers were good about keeping down the crazy though. But when Dave Muscavige (the douchebag who heads the Church of Scientology), got a tighter grip on Cruise, he made him an offer few could refuse. Cruise was about to go from a rank and file Scientologist to one of the most powerful figures in the "church". People who have worked there for thirty years, who actually were on the boat with that nutjob L. Ron Hubbard, these dedicated folks now have to refer to Tom Cruise as sir. If they don't, they have to jump into a lake on the property or possibly be beaten by Mr. Muscavige. I guess Cruise saw something in that kind of power. The kind of power that lets you hold an audition with church officials to decide on your new wife (poor Katie).
Whatever the reasons, there is the simple fact that Tom Cruise isn't lovable anymore. And I find that sad. Oh yeah, and also- Top Gun is really bad. I don't care what anybody says. I can't just sit back and enjoy it as a wonderfully bad piece of cheese or whatever. Its just awful. That's why I talked about Scientology for the whole review. That's a subject that interests me. Top Gun is not.
PRETTY IN PINK
Pretty in Pink is the 80's teen film written by John Hughes. It stars Molly Ringwald as Andie Walsh, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks looking for love. She lives with her father Jack (Harry Dean Stanton), and she's her daddy's best friend. So sweet. Jon Cryer plays Duckie, her lovable sidekick thats madly in love with her.
Then one fine day comes and one of the cool kids asks her out. Blane (Andrew McCarthy) is the preppy. His swagger projects that of a rich kid who knows all the right people. His friends all say "no way man- her?". But they still go out. In a twist, the date is of course a disaster. Blane takes her to a cool kids party where everyone gives her the cold shoulder. Its humiliating for Andie. She has to let Blane see the poor people house she lives in. Its so heart-wrenching. But, unfortunately Andie has now fallen in love and decides to brave it out in pursuit of her dream.
John Hughes is the grand wizard of the teen film. And unlike many of his colleagues, his screenplays reflect a wit not often seen in teen flicks. Andie is the creative innocent teen. She changes her look constantly. The first time wee see her she's dressed in leather and chains, but the next time she's wearing a beehive hairdo. She's a sweet young girl looking for love, and the trials and tribulations she faces throw her for a loop.
Pretty in Pink is a heartwarming and mostly truthful movie, with a few touches of comedy thrown in. Ringwald does a fine job portraying Andie. We root for her the entire course of the picture. It is true to the way adolescence really is.
BETTER OFF DEAD
Lane Meyer is a depressed teen who looses his girlfriend Beth. This is her reason for the split; "Lane, I think it'd be in my best interest if I dated somebody more popular. Better looking. Drived a nicer car." Anyway, poor Lane is left alone and thinks up treacherous ways of killing himself. He finally meets a French beauty called Monique and falls for her. Simultaneously, he must endure his mothers terrible cooking which literally slides off the table, his disgusting next door neighbour Ricky (and his mum) and he must prepare for the skiing race of his life - to get his old girlfriend back!
MAJOR LEAGUE
Major League lacks the subtlety of Bull Durham or the drama of Eight Men Out, but for sheer crowd-pleasing fun it belts one high into the left-field bleachers. Writer-director David S. Ward creates an adult version of The Bad News Bears in this R-rated baseball comedy about a squad of misfits who rally together to bring the pennant back to Cleveland.
Though the plot turns are mostly predictable, they are executed with wit and style. There's a lot of rooting interest for the audience in the sad sacks cynically assembled by new Indians owner Margaret Whitton with the secret hope that they'll draw so poorly that she'll be able to break the stadium lease and head for Miami.
Naturally, when the guys get wind of this maneuver, they recover their lost pride and bring off the pennant miracle. The cast is a fine ensemble, leading off with Tom Berenger as the battered, world-weary catcher and Charlie Sheen as the juve delinquent pitcher with punk hair-do who fully merits his nickname of 'Wild Thing'.
As long as it sticks to the field and the clubhouse, the script doesn't falter, but there's time to go out for popcorn during the cliched love scenes of Berenger trying to jumpstart his broken-down romance with yuppie librarian Rene Russo. |
|
|
|
 |
|
Copyright (c) 2007 Rock Star Media Works, Inc. All rights reserved.
Admin Options |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
