Back to school provides exactly what you’d except from an 80s Rodney Dangerfield movie with Rodney being his likeable rough around the edges and clashing with the powers that be. Dangerfield rightfully steals the show in every scene he is in, but be sure to check out Robert Downey Jr as a sidekick character in one of his earliest film roles, and Ned Beatty who does a superb job as the dean caught between the rock and a hard place.
80s-o-meter: 92%
Total: 88%
A provocative talk radio host starts to question it all on the brink of nation wide syndication in Oliver Stone’s intense thriller.
Taking place mostly inside one scene in radio studio in downtown Dallas, Talk Radio dives deep into the cess pool of the humankind in a mixed up world where the radio hosts, company business men and the audience come don’t fear to show their contempt to one another, but live in a strange kind of symbiotic relationship where they need to feed off one another.
As exhausting experience experience as it might be, it’s still a much recommendable one.
80s-o-meter: 82%
Total: 93%
After a somewhat silly initial plot Child’s Play makes sure to shake off any traces of being just a silly comedy by offering plenty of thrilling suspense, action and all those little things the nightmares are made of. The co-operation between the director and the dolls’ animators is flawless, making Chucky feel like an actual, demented character on the screen.
Child’s Play and Chucky became, and still remain, synonymous to 80s horror milestones – and deservedly so as the movie hands down fulfils its premise: An animated doll has never managed to be more scary.
80’s-o-meter: 95%
Total: 92%
Quite possibly the most visually stunning movie of the 80s, Legend’s vision and craftsmanship is easily 20 years ahead of its time with movies made in the early 2000s reaching the same visual finesse. Tom Cruise carries the role of the forest dwelling Link-like adventurer with affection, and generally the whole cast comes out with flying colors in their portrayals.
Story-wise the movie wanders far too deep in the fantasy land, and it’s ultimately only the stunning visuals that manage to keep up my interest up until the end credits roll.
80’s-o-meter: 45%
Total: 65%
An exploitation movie depicting the difficult mother-daughter relationship of Joan Crawford and her step daughter suffers from being much more irrelevant now, 40 after the death of its prota/antagonist.
Although Faye Dunaway’s portrayal of Crawford is extremely intensive, and she manages to steal every scene she’s in – like a real diva should – Mommie Dearest just does not hold interest to anyone unfamiliar with her character.
80’s-o-meter: 12%
Total: 38%
The Couch Trip is much like many other Dan Aykroyd movies of the time where he plays a somewhat eccentric, obnoxious character that everyone in the movie seems to love for some inexplicable reason. The real star of the show is once again Charles Grodin who portrays his Beverly Hill shrink on the verge of a mental breakdown in a hilarious fashion.
All in all The Couch Trip ends up much too trite and trivial experience that is forgotten as soon as it finishes: I watched the movie yesterday and had to watch the last 15 minutes of the movie again today to remember how it actually ended.
80s-o-meter: 90%
Total: 63%