Tagged: 1980’s
Can’t Wait For Machete 2? Check Out “BAD ASS”!
It makes me so very happy that at 68 years old Danny Trejo is finally getting the respect he deserves! He really hit the top thanks to Robert Rodriguez finally casting him in his most iconic role yet “Machete”. Now I also want to take this opportunity to ask Rodriguez what the hell he was thinking when he cast Adrien Brody as the lead in Predators? Think how more awesome that movie would have been had Trejo been cast as the lead instead of a side character that gets disposed of early on in the film. Hell I think it could’ve rivaled Arnold’s role!
So anyway I wanted to recommend a new Trejo film where he takes the front and center. “Bad Ass” was just released to DVD and it’s a helluva lotta fun! Now it’s no where near as epic as Machete but it does play as more of an awesome 1980’s style action flick. The story is very very loosely based on true events. This movie tells the story of a Veitnam vet who stands up for an elderly man (Trejo is considered a senior citizen also, the movie’s tag line is “They just messed with the wrong Senior Citizen” ) on the bus from two nasty foul mouthed neo-nazi’s. By stands up I mean, kicks ASS. Someone records it with their phone and Trejo soon is an internet sensation. This begins a string of events that pushes him, or should I say “Bad Ass”, as he is renamed that sets this vet on a rampage of full on butt kicking for the movies duration.
Yeah this movie is cheezy as hell and it knows it. It’s got a ton of great one liners, a high speed bus chase, Ron Perlman as a crooked mayor and lots of drinkin’ between the action scenes by Trejo. Hell Danny pretty much puts everyone in place in this one. Everything about this one a throwback to films like Commando & Rambo. It’s a bunch of dumb fun and a delight seeing Trejo deliver an ass whooping again and again…
Live action CG ALF Movie…….LAME!!!
Hey everyone it seems word on the net today is about the possible ALF reboot / remake full length feature film! Sounded good to me when I first heard about it, I mean you have to have no soul to not like ALF! I am certain there are some youngsters out there are like who the shit is ALF? But all of us 1980’s kids need no introduction, his name stands for Alien Life Form. He’s a furry smart ass alien who loves to dine on….Cats!
It was also one of best 80’s sitcoms around & Alf was brought to life entirely by puppetry. This version boasts a CG Alf. Uggh…hey Hollywood did you see the latest installment of The Muppets movie? Do you think that would have been any good if Kermit and Co were CG? It’s no wonder that this is the direction the movie is taking as Jordan Kerner the “genius” behind the latest Smurfs movie is Alf’s producer. This movie could be a completely nostalgic & delightful throwback for all of us. Somehow I have a feeling this new version of Alf will be a bunch of watered down Hollywood Schlock. Only Hollywood could ever be accused of something as atrocious as watering down Alf. But they are already en route to doing so. The good news is that original voice of Alf, Paul Fasco is on board at least! Maybe I am being too hard on Hollywood? But hey Alf was never broken, he doesn’t need to be fixed….in the meantime puppet ALF is saying F’ off to CG Alf via this ALF Metal, this isn’t the first time I posted this here because it’s goddamn amazing!!!
Comic Book Cover of the Week! Byrne & The Man of Steel!
Back in 1986 it was a real treat when John Byrne took over Superman starting with the mini series The Man of Steel. He rebooted the series with that limited series and then took over Superman and Action Comics entirely doing the writing and artwork. He gave the people of the 80’s a more adult version of Superman and drastically changed his arch nemesis Lex Luthor into simply an evil billionare instead of an adversary that would often times tangle physically with The Man of Steel.
Byrne was on top of his game artistically as well and here is one of my favorite covers from that era where Superman takes down my personal faves The Teen Titans in Action Comics #584. Damn may have to pull out my Superman back issues later tonight, I have every issue of the Byrne era and it still withstands the test of time…
Check out this rad article that gives you the full story on the John Byrne era Superman stuff, a fun read to say the least!
Sherlock Holmes : The Dufus!
I finally got around to check out the latest Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr. and it was exactly what I thought it was going to be,a dumb fun romp of a movie. No surprises really there I enjoyed it quite a bit like the first installment however this Guy Ritchie Sherlock was COMPLETELY different than any Sherlock that we’ve ever seen or known of. This confused some and made others angry as Holmes was never an all out crazed brawler in the past. This didn’t bother me too much, sure it didn’t really feel like I was watching a real Sherlock adventure but I don’t mind a different take on classic characters every now and then. That’s why I urge any of you people out there looking for a great different Sherlock Holmes movie to check out “Without a Clue” from 1988.
This is definitely a different take on our beloved hero. In this movie Holmes played brilliantly by Michael Caine is actually a boozing unemployed dufus actor who couldn’t find his way out of a public restroom. The brains behind the operation is secretly Watson played by Ben Kingsley, who creates the persona of Sherlock Holmes so he can solve crimes secretly while trying to secure a position at a highly respectable medical practice. This is quite an interesting take on the legend and it’s a helluva good time.
It’s a treat seeing the bumbling Holmes taking orders from Watson, watching Sherlock hog the spotlight with out a clue as to what the hell he is talking about as he fools Scotland Yard into thinking he’s a superhuman crime solving super hero. It’s a perfect anti-buddy comedy as soon Sherlock’s got everyone fooled and is soon chosen to solve the movies mystery on his own as Watson is suddenly “killed” in a plot by the evil Moriaty and suddenly he has to try and play the part of the legend on his own for real.
I love the period of Sherlock Holmes that’s part of the charm for me with these movies but this one is just a splendid 1980’s movie that’s a perfect watch alongside “Murder by Decree” & “Young Sherlock Holmes” which is hands down my favorite Sherlock flick ever. Though the movie back in the 80’s received relatively poor reviews I think it’s charming little adventure. If you get the craving for more mysterious adventure make sure to check out this often overlooked lil’ gem!
Friday the 13th Meets The Karate Kid: 1985’s The New Kids!
This last Friday night I had myself a little movie night by myself, real exciting beginning to a weekend huh? Well that’s the life of a dork sometimes I guess. But honestly it could have been a total bust as I have learned many times as I am constantly taking chances on movies trying to find the hidden gems of yesteryear. Usually I end up with some total crap ass movies-the kind that aren’t even good in a bad way, but this time little did I know I was in for a treat!
Well my double feature started out pretty good with 1994’s Brainscan, starring Edward Furlong. This one turned out to be a pretty fun little movie where Furlong orders a new state of the art interactive “video game” from Fangoria magazine and it ends up subliminally turning him into a vicious killer. It also introduces one of the lameest movie monster villains I’ve seen in quite some time, the amazingly not scary at all “Trickster”.
This jerk off is about on par with The Wishmaster if you get my drift. Still it was a decent movie despite some really shitty 1994 CG.
The next movie however was the real deal, Sean “Friday the 13th” Cunningham’s movie “The New Kids” was a real treat all the way back from 1985.
Christmas With Good Ol’ Skeletor!
Do any of you remember the He-man & She-ra : The Masters of the Universe Christmas special?! Yes even on Eternia they somehow find a way to celebrate Christmas! This was a great holiday cartoon that many people have forgotten about, however it is now available on dvd, Hulu and on youtube!
Ah the wonders of the modern age…anyway this is a great clip where Skeletor is bringing two captive earth children to Hordak, along the way however Skeletor begins to be taken over by the Christmas spirit-check him out as he inquires about Christmas and we begin to realize Skele ain’t such a bad dude afterall….
But folks that’s not all check out this rad little video that shows Skeletor once again being taken over by the spirit of Christmas-pretty awesome..
Well if any of you are starving for more here is the entire Christmas special in all it’s glory…
Arena: The Greatest Movie Ever?!
Ok, probably not the greatest movie ever but seriously check out this trailer for this sci fi monster movie from 1989 and tell me it doesn’t look AWESOME! It sometimes amazes me that there are movies out there like this that I have never seen. I can’t be certain of how rad or awesomely BAD it might be but the whole man vs. monster in a cheezy sci fi version of the Karate Kid sounds like a winner to me! It seems like Peter Manoogian who directed this movie was a huge fan of the Chalmun Cantina scene in Star Wars movie and that’s just fine by me as this one pretty much looks like it takes place there.
Of course you guessed it this movie was produced by Charles Band! Never has the idea of intergallactic monster boxing sounded so awesome! I am on the hunt ofr this one but of course it’s nowhere to be found on Ebay or Amazon. I am sure you can find some downloads online but another cool place to get crazy rare movies on dvd is Ioffer.com check that out too!
Don’t Mess With Weng Weng….Seriously!!
After viewing the incredibly entertaining Machete Maidens Unleashed last night I can say I have a much greater understanding on the whole Grindhouse phenomenon of the late 60’s, 70’s & early 80’s. What the movie focuses on is the American film making that took place in the Philippines during this time which featured tons of B movies, ridiculous monsters, naked women & my favorite part of the documentary, the introduction to Weng Weng the world smallest action star!
Real name Ernesto de la Cruz, better known as Weng Weng, stood only 2 feet 9 inches tall and was a master in Jeet Kune Do and was a marvel to behold. His most famous roles were in “For Y’ur Height Only” and “The Impossible Kid” where he played Secret Agent 00. Apparently there’s a documentary out there about him called “The Search for Weng Weng” which I am sure would be quite an interesting film. Sadly though he passed away at the age of 34 from a heart attack. But I do look forward to seeing as many of his films as possible as they look simply amazing…check this incredible action martial arts scene out for yourself!
How Could it Be? I Just Now Saw “My Science Project”?!
Yes it’s true I just saw 1985’s “My Science Project” for the first time last week! What?! Maybe you have never seen it either? Well if that’s the case get your booty onto Netflix or wherever you get your movies and rent it now! If you are like me and love 80’s teen comedies packed with a bunch of cool sci-fi and dinosaurs then this is your movie! The basic premise is that Mega Gearhead Michael needs to come up with a science project so he can graduate, only problem all he does with his time is work on cars. So much that his bitchy girlfriend dumps him and he ends up hanging out with the even hotter (yet supposed to be nerdy) Ellie by default. They end up running around in an old military junk yard and stumble up a strange device which Michael decides is going to be what he passes off as his science project. He takes it home and starts messing around with it and it seems to transport things and people to other dimensions.
Madness ensues and without spoiling the whole movie I will say this, it’s got some great goofy 80’s adventure along the lines of Weird Science or the Goonies. It’s got Dennis Hopper playing the washed out hippie science teacher, crazy neanderthals and an over the top annoying side kick teenage buddy along the lines of Evil Ed from Fright Night. It’s also got cute nerd girls and lots of great 80’s electricity that I love so much. So if you’re a dork for the 80’s check out this one it’s about as perfect as they come, as long as you don’t take it too seriously…..
The 8 Other Movies “Super 8” Owes it’s Success to…
So I’m here to tell tell you a few things today, as you guessed “Super 8” is the movie to see this summer, I loved it. Secondly it’s very obvious that JJ Abrams was a fan of The Goonies and E.T. and was trying his best (he succeeded) in replicating the nostalgic vibe of those movies for the big screen this year. He gave us that feeling we all have missed for so many years in our summer movies. But most of all it was a formula that had been used many times throughout the 80’s not only in E.T. and The Goonies but many more that have been all but forgotten.
It was a formula that seemed to put kids on dangerous adventures, most often supernatural ones, usually in small towns or the suburbs and most often trying to prove to their parents some crazy story to be true with often times unlucky results. These stories were filled with wonder and most of all they were so undeniably fun to watch that to see a movie like “Super 8” or even Joe Dante’s latest movie “The Hole” in this day and age is a breath of fresh air. So here today in response to Super 8 I’d like to honor 8 more movies Abrams was likely heavily influenced by when he made his latest
1. The Gate (1986) To say JJ wasn’t influenced by this movie when making Super 8 would be a crime!! Continue reading
Universal Dork 