Stripes (1981) – Ivan Reitman

Bill Murray is charming and goofy in Stripes, but as has been pointed out the film is just a little too long, or, the last half hour could have been something different. The first two thirds of the film are fun and solid, though some of it is a little dated, and some of it…

If Looks Could Kill (1991) – William Dear

Richard Grieco takes on the super-spy genre in this teen action comedy. There are nods to the established tropes of the genre, filled with lots of teen humor. Grieco is Michael Corben. An almost high school graduate. He’s receives an incomplete. The only impossible way for him to get the missing credits… join the French…

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) – Stephen Hopkins

Stephen Hopkins slips into the director’s chair for the fifth installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Despite having vanquished him in the previous film, Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) is back and Alice (Lisa Wilcox) doesn’t know how to stop because she doesn’t understand how he can be back. The viewer puts it together…

Fame (1980) – Alan Parker

The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Grease is the iconic 1980 film Fame. The movie proved so popular that it inspired a television series, as well as a remake, but there is nothing like the classic. The film follows a group of students at…

Star Wars: Lost Stars (2015) – Claudia Gray

  Another step towards Star Wars: The Force Awakens… Claudia Gray’s novel, positioned as a Young Adult title, is highly enjoyable book, and a welcome addition to the new canon of the Star Wars universe. Starting just before the beginning of the original trilogy, and ending shortly after it, at the much rumored about Battle…