David Fincher delivers a dark and in-depth exploration of the Zodiac Killer investigation, and he does it with his usual style and powerhouse actors. Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo star as a reporter, a cartoonist, and a cop, respectively, all of whom were involved in the investigation. Fincher recreates the horrific killings…
Tag: 1983
National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – Harold Ramis
Harold Ramis directs, John Hughes wrote the original script, and Chevy Chase (despite his off-screen persona) is comedy gold in this 1983 classic. It’s been forever since I watched it, and while I remembered bits and pieces, a lot passed me by, and it was amazing to see it all over again. And oh man,…
Never Cry Wolf (1983) – Carroll Ballard
Charles Martin Smith plays Farley Mowat, in Carroll Ballard’s adaptation of Mowat’s classic novel, Never Cry Wolf. A book that actually changed the way we viewed wolves. Mowat is a government researcher, and he’s got his assignment. Head north, like way north, and dig into the ahem menace that wolves pose to the environment, particularly…
Night Shift (1982) – Ron Howard
Ron Howard wanted to move away from acting and settle into directing, but because of his commitments to Happy Days production houses were reticent to let him take the center seat on for a big feature film despite his success directing and starring in Grand Theft Auto for Roger Corman. An agreement was reached if…
Gorky Park (1983) – Michael Apted
I remember seeing the book cover for Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith everywhere in the early 80s. I suppose had I wanted to I could have read it then. My parents were pretty liberal with letting me read whatever I wanted, and I had just started delving into mysteries, I read a couple of…
Mr. Mom (1983) – Stan Dragoti
A screenplay by John Hughes and a starring comedic role for Michael Keaton? What’s not to love? Sure some of the film hasn’t aged well and sadly in the end things go back to the way they were, though both characters have a better understanding of the other’s world. Jack (Keaton) is an automotive engineer,…
WarGames (1983) – John Badham
I hadn’t seen Wargames since we watched it on SuperChoice one weekend when I was a kid. I remember thinking it was okay, and fun, and man I wished I had a computer (did you see the size of those floppy discs?) and I figured it was definitely time to check this one out again….
Lone Wolf McQuade (1983) – Steve Carver
With a musical score by Francesco De Masi and an opening credits sequence that feels very much in line with a Sergio Leone western, expectations surrounding Lone Wolf McQuade on my initial viewing went up a little. Despite the fact that I know Chuck Norris isn’t a very good actor. Norris plays the titular McQuade,…
Family Ties (1987/1988) – Anniversary Waltz, Miracle in Columbus, and The Play’s the Thing
Hot on the trail of last week’s clip show comes an episode that was produced in 1983 for the second season. For some reason it sat on the shelf until 1987. Written by Alan Uger, this episode was finally broadcast on 16 December, 1987. It’s Steven (Michael Gross) and Elyse’s (Meredith Baxter) 20th Anniversary. While…
Deathstalker (1983) – James Sbardellati
Deathstalker is pure 80s sword and sorcery, and while I’m all for gratuitous nudity, there is a lot of it, I don’t need all the rape, I don’t care what the thought process is behind it. It’s repugnant and doesn’t serve to tell us anything about the characters we didn’t already know. Setting that aside,…
The Mind Reels 