80's MONTH: "THE WRAITH"

"The Wraith" is just plain cool. Everything about it; car chases, the actors, 80's babes, action, science fiction, teenagers who look 25, cool soundtrack, the list goes on. It is a personal favorite of mine and well, should be of anyone who has the honor of watching it. Charlie Sheen plays new guy in town who's beefing with the leader of a racing gang and hitting it off with the town hotty, who the gang leader is enamored with. At the same time a mysterious car appears and wreaks havoc among the racing gang, while they want the special car for their own needs.

I downloaded the soundtrack the other day just because it is THAT awesome. You also have a lot of familiar faces here. Charlie Sheen before he hit it huge with "Platoon" but not before making appearances in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Red Dawn" and "Lucas". Sherilyn Fenn is also extremely young here. You may remember her as the strange beauty of "Twin Peaks" or even the chopped up Helena in Death of the B-Movie reviewed "Boxing Helena". Another B-movie staple, Clint Howard, brother of Ron Howard has a role he was made to play. Rounding out the excellent cast is Randy Quaid and Nick Cassavetes as the lead villain. Who is Nick Cassavetes the actor you ask? Oh, only the man who directed "The Notebook" and "Alpha Dog" if you can believe that. This will probably be my last 80's month review and it also comes along with my highest recommendation of the bunch. See it now!

*3 and 1/2 Lance Approvals*

80's MONTH: "THE HITCHER"

If there is one thing I've learned since my birth in the 80's, it is that Rutger Hauer rules! C. Thomas Howell might be a whiney bitch in this movie, and Jennifer Jason Leigh isn't anything like she was in "Fast Times At Ridgemont High", but Hauer steals the show as the ultimate badass. Really can this guy go wrong? Especially in the 80's; "Blade Runner", "Ladyhawke", and so on. Basically this is one of the best car chase thrillers out there. C. Thomas Howell picks up hitch hiker John Ryder one night where he soon after finds out that Ryder is a lunatic. He eventually ditches Ryder, but only for the time being. Ryder makes his life a living hell, killing everyone around him on his journey to California, even framing him for his murders.

This is another film that was unnecessarily remade, and PLEASE avoid the remake. It doesn't have any of the suspense or originality of this film. There are some great non CGI effects and action, plus a cool 80's soundtrack and atmosphere ala "Near Dark". "The Hitcher" can only be described as exciting. From the beginning you are in it, and there are even some twists that make for it to not be cliche. This may be an 80's classic, but it still works today. Check it out if you haven't already.

*3 and 1/2 Lance Approvals*

80's MONTH: "THE GATE"

Recently re-released on DVD, "The Gate" is some good 80's cheese I wanted to re-live. Another classic of my childhood, "The Gate" defies logic and goes straight for fun instead. A young boy and his friend unleash hell upon earth through a hole in their backyard. The parents leave the kids at home for the weekend and the teenage daughter throws a party. From there, demonic things start to happen, well in a 6th grade kind of demonic way.

Anytime you get claymation mini demons and an 80's metal soundtrack, you will get my approval. Along with the cool 80's suburban setting, this is a fun film to check out if you haven't already. Lost somewhere between a kid's movie and a horror movie, "The Gate" is what you might consider as a part of the nostalgia genre. It might be hard for children not of the 80s/early 90s to fully appreciate this film, but whatever fuck them anyways. If you like fun horror and semi-innocent entertainment, check it out. This is also Stephen Dorff's film debut, you may not recognize him as a little kid, but you may be very well acquainted with his adult career ("Blade", "Cecil B. Demented", and "Public Enemies").

*3 Lance Approvals*

80's MONTH: "SOME GIRLS"

"Some Girls" seems like your typical 80's teen movie at first, but it really isn't. Patrick Dempsey is at college and in love with Jennifer Connelly. He goes back home with her for Christmas break where she breaks up with him and he is stuck to deal with her naked father, religious uptight mother, and 3 crazy sisters. Along for the ride is an aging Grandmother who mistakes him for her lover and thus you have the basic overview of the film. The family and even the house they live in is very unique. You could describe them as intellectuals, but also insane. Young Pat must find a way to fit in and not go bananas at the same time.

I've always been somewhat torn when it comes to this film. Obviously you are going to get some 80's fun with anything involving Patrick Dempsey, but there are some things that annoy me here. The film is extremely quirky, in the sense that a lot of newer "Hollywood Indie" movies are. If you like strange people and artistic weirdos, this film at least did it first before the slew of ridiculous indie movies to come out recently. Also, the point of view strays at points. Obviously Patrick is the focus, but we also get Granny's point of view and a strange shift in the way characters treat each other. This film is somewhat a mess, but an interesting mess at least. This is not one of those movies where you can predict what happens next or what will be said next involving the script. If you want more stereotypical 80's go with Patrick Dempsey's "Can't Buy Me Love", if you want something a little more out of norm, go with the often forgotten "Some Girls".

*2 and 1/2 Lance Approvals*

80's MONTH: "DEADLY FRIEND"

Ever dream of making your own girlfriend robot? "Weird Science" didn't involve enough sci-fi and horror for you? Well "Deadly Friend" is your daydream now a reality. A young teen nerd moves to a new town with his mother and extremely intelligent robot, which he also created. He falls in love with the girl next door and life seems to be going well, but then his robot is destroyed by the crazy neighbor (Anne Ramsey "The Goonies", "Throw Mama From The Train"), and his crush is then killed by her abusive father. The 80's nerd steals her body from the morgue and combines her with the partially destroyed robot, bringing her back to life, but as a murderous robot.

Ridiculous enough premise huh? Especially coming off the success of Wes Craven's extremely original and creative "Nightmare on Elm Street", this "Frankenstein"-esque tale with an 80's twist isn't all fun and camp. They throw in some bloody violence and attempts at sad heart melting moments as well. Personal favorite scene that has always stuck with me since childhood is when the robot throws a basketball so hard at her neighbor's head, she gets decapitated. Lets be honest, this movie is BAD. Like really bad. But maybe because of childhood memories of staying up late and watching this on "Monstervision", "Deadly Friend" holds a special place in my heart. I wouldn't dare give it a bad review. This is 80's sci-fi/horror camp at it's best.

*3 Lance Approvals*

80's MONTH: "THE SURE THING"

"The Sure Thing" is Rob Reiner's teen angst movie following the success of his mocumentary "Spinal Tap" but pre-existing his other famous works such as "When Harry Met Sally", "Misery", and "Stand by Me". The Sure Thing follows a young John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga going to college together and hating each other's guts. They end up taking an unexpected road trip together to California. Cusack is going to meet a babe who his friend describes as a "sure thing" and Zuniga is going to visit her nerdy no fun boyfriend. Along the way they become friends, and yes you guessed it, develop feelings for each other. But it doesn't stop there, you must watch to see what happens next.

Cusack will forever be remembered in the 80's as the boy who stood outside Diane's window with a boom box over his head playing Peter Gabriel. Zuniga is probably more known for her 80s' roles as well, such as "Space Balls", a major stint on "Melrose Place" and even a smaller appearance in earlier posted "Vision Quest". There are some other noteworthy actors here, early in their career such as Anthony Edwards ("Top Gun", "E.R.") and Tim Robbins ("Shawshank Redemption", "Mystic River"). Every performance is good. The direction is spot on, and while cliche, the story develops nicely. This is a good example of solid filmmaking, even if it isn't the most original piece of work. Check it.

*3 Lance Approvals*

80's MONTH: "YOUNGBLOOD"

When most people think hockey movie classics, they don't think about "Youngblood". In fact, most people don't even know Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze star in a movie about hockey. Sure, it isn't the greatest, but for an 80's fan it is definitely entertaining. From a technical aspect, both involving hockey and film making, it isn't the most accurate and well done of films. But where "Youngblood" succeeds is creating that 80's angst and providing quality characters. Patrick Swayze once again plays a badass and Lowe is stuck playing the pretty boy up and coming athlete with a chip on his shoulder. There is also an early performance by a young Keanu Reeves. If you like "The Mighty Ducks" and 80's montage you might want to check out this out.

*2 and 1/2 Lance Approvals*

80's MONTH: "CAN'T BUY ME LOVE"

80's month is already over halfway complete and I've only been able to briefly mention a few golden films. I'm going to try to churn out a decent amount in the coming week or two starting off with "Can't Buy Me Love". "Can't Buy Me Love" is a simple enough premise. The school nerd wants to be popular and is in love with the hot head cheerleader. He has no chance, but comes into a situation where she needs some money, thus he pays her off and she pretends to be his girlfriend resulting in him becoming popular. Along the way he actually does become the coolest guy in school, but loses sight of where he originally stood.

Yea, it isn't as famous as the brat pack films, and it isn't even as moving as the "deeper" films of the genre, but stuck somewhere in between, "Can't Buy Me Love" is a pretty solid 80's teen movie. You may or may not have heard of it, but everyone has at least somewhat positive insight when it comes to this film. It has the cliches and the sappy moments, but as the film progresses it goes from fun to actually somewhat decent. If you like 80's teen films, this is no doubt for you. Anything Patrick Dempsey in the 80's was a sign of B level teen fun.

*3 Lance Approvals*

80's MONTH: "MY BLOODY VALENTINE"

The slasher genre was in full swing during the early 80's and a string of copycats replicating "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" were released quickly by studios to cash in on the scene. "My Bloody Valentine" was one of these low budget copies, but many fans can agree, it was undoubtably better than most, even compared to a lot of the sequels to the above mentioned movies. The story follows the violent times of a small mining town in the midst of a psycho killer wearing a mining outfit. No one is sure if it is the return of a man from the past, or a new killer out on the loose.

Sadly, it is most known for it's battle with the MPAA instead of the actual movie product. Many scenes were cut to give it an R rating, and if we could get everything intact, it'd probably be an even bigger cult classic today. An unrated DVD is available, but even then it doesn't contain everything. But if you want some cool creepy atmospheric qualities as well as some brutal bloody deaths, "My Bloody Valentine" is for you. Side note, AVOID THE REMAKE AT ALL COSTS. If you go back to December you will see the 3D remake is on the top 10 worst of 2009 list. So get your random holiday horror violence on with this classic of slash.

*3 Lance Approvals*

80's MONTH: "THIEF OF HEARTS"

"Thief of Hearts" embodies the term, "only in the 80s". It might fall under the category of a chick flick, but they truly don't make them like this anymore. This is one of the strangest movies in the romance/drama genre that producers would never allow in this day and age. This film follows a woman in desperate need of something new. Her marriage is stale and she has no fulfillment in life. Around this time she begins to have an affair with a young stud who seems to know everything about her. Little does she know this man broke into her house and stole her diaries; over time reading it and plotting to take advantage of her inner desires.

Despite the somewhat disturbing plot this film actually offers a lot of good qualities. I was really into this film. I'm not even sure how I stumbled upon it because this is far outside my usual genre choices, but this 80's romantic thriller gets the B-movie approval seal. The leading creep is played by Steven Bauer, Al Pacino's second hand man in "Scarface". The wife's husband is played by none other than creepy boss and ex lover of Gina Davis in "The Fly", and we even get an entertaining early role from David Caruso who you may know as the overly dramatic ginger detective on "CSI". Hot 80's babe, great 80's soundtrack, unique thriller and suspense, decent acting, good direction - this film is an unknown gem worth checking out.

*3 Lance Approvals*

80's MONTH: "VISION QUEST"

I've personally declared February the ultimate 80's month here at Death of the B-Movie. Only 80's gems all month, and boy are we starting off with a gem. 1985's high schoool wrestling tour de force titled "Vision Quest" stars Matthew Modine ("Full Metal Jacket") as a pervy teenager who is trying to make his mark in wrestling before he graduates. The story follows his training, but also deals with his feelings for a young woman named Carla ("Dogma") while dealing with other teenage issues. This film is full of trivia and noteworthy moments. With guest appearances including the film debut of Madonna, the guy who's head becomes a monster in "The Thing", the father played by the lead villain in "Robocop", along with Jake Ryan himself from "Sixteen Candles" as a fake Native American, this film has no shortage of 80's stars. You even get an early small appearance by the man himself, Forrest Whitaker. Not only is the movie filled with a lot of recognizable faces; you get one of the best 80's soundtracks out there. From Journey's "Only The Young", to Red Rider's ghostly anthem "Lunatic Fringe", this will give you plenty of inspirational montage moments and thoughts of a better time, the 1980's!

*3 Lance Approvals*

"The best movie out there about REAL wrestling"