Coming some thirty-six years after the release of the first film, Top Gun: Maverick reminded film-lovers why we love going to the movies. It was a spectacle of the highest order as viewers joined actors in the actual cockpit of jets and planes to film a sequel that pays homage to its origins while pushing…
Tag: 1986
Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) – Brian Gibson
A number of cast and crew (including composer Jerry Goldsmith and visual effects artist Richard Edlund) return for Poltergeist II: The Other Side and while Julian Beck seems truly terrifying as Kane, the film doesn’t have the Spielberg or Hooper magic that made the first film such a hit. The Freeling family, Diane (JoBeth Williams),…
Flight of the Navigator (1986) – Randal Kleiser
Disney delivers a staple of 80s childhood with a revisit to Flight of the Navigator. Watching it now, I find myself more interested in the mysteries going on at the edges of the story than the main thrust of the narrative following young David Freeman (Joey Cramer), his abduction and subsequent return eight years later,…
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) – John Hughes
My journey through some classic John Hughes continues with this 1986 classic that, like so many of his films, came along at just the right time for me. Matthew Broderick is the titular Ferris Bueller, and despite already hitting his quota of sick days for the year, he’s taking a day off to show his…
Highlander (1986) – Russell Mulcahy
Highlander. Man I love this movie. I remember the first time I saw it. I had barely heard of it when I went to hang out with some new/old friends (story there for another time) and they put this movie on to wile away an afternoon. I was completely swept up in it, how cool…
“Crocodile” Dundee Trilogy Blu-Ray Review
I remember when “Crocodile” Dundee first hit theatres, I remember seeing it at the American base in Bermuda while we were living there in the 80s. But things really took off for me and Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan) when it hit video. It was the first VHS cassette I ever bought (on a family trip…
Star Trek: The Original 4 Movie Collection – 4K Review
Star Trek has been a part of my life since I was a young boy in Borden, Ontario. It was the late 70s when I first discovered the series on Saturday mornings, my first episode was a rerun of Miri, and I loved the show every time I found it on one of the three…
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) – Tom McLoughlin
Jason (C.J. Graham) is back for another go around, as he gets resurrected and is now a truly unstoppable killer. Tommy Jarvis (Thom Matthews – the third actor to play the role, another problem that causes a lack of empathy and continuity with the character) is no longer in a mental institution, but he’s still…
Heartbreak Ridge (1986) – Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood stars, produces and directs this love letter to the United States Marine Corps. and while fairly engaging, the film embraces stereotypes almost to the extreme at both ends, consequently the characters and tone of the film isn’t as balanced as it could be. Eastwood plays the career marine, Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway. He’s…
F/X (1986) – Robert Mandel
Bryan Brown plays Roland Tyler, one of the top special effects people working in the business. He’s built a name for himself as well as a brand, but he’s just been approached for a special kind of gig in Robert Mandel’s F/X. He’s approached by a member of the Justice Department to help out on…
The Mind Reels 