American Flyers

In 198...something, Kevin Costner wasn't KEVIN COSTNER. Kevin Costner was an actor on his way up (actually only two years away from the lead role in The Untouchables), mainly because that's the way you go when you can't get much lower. That being said, he made this film. It's all about the Tour de France...sorry, sorry, I mean whatever the equivalent in America may be.

Plot: Two brothers (one terminally ill) go on a bicycle ride through the Colorado Rocky mountains and race against a whole load of other riders too.

This film's one of my guilty pleasures...read into that what you will.

Fun Fact: Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing) has a bit part and Alexandra Paul's in it too (the average looking one from Baywatch).

Bubba Ho-tep

One of the more recent cult films to be reviewed on this blog, Bubba Ho-tep is a delight from beginning to middle to end.

Starring Bruce 'the chin' Campbell (see earlier Evil Dead review) as The King (that's Elvis to you non believers), retired from the limelight, having swapped places as the height of his success with a doppelganger and ended up in a shady retirement home for the clearly, mentally deranged. I say this only because Bruce happens to share accommodation with JFK, played by Ossie Davis (Ossie happens to be a man of colour, JFK, if I remember rightly, wasn't, although Ossie explains this away masterfully).

So, The King and JFK hang out and one day, on its tour of the south lands of the US of A, a truck, carrying a container with a rather dried out old Egyptian Mummy inside, bucks a road and it's set loose. Cue the greatest of all slow-mo scenes, involving an aged rock star with a zimmer frame, an aged president in a motorized wheelchair and an even more aged mummy. Let battle commence.

Wonderful! 


Budget: $1,000,000

Fun Fact: Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires is due for release soon...ish.

The Terminator

I can't see it being very popular really. I mean, come on?!

Plot: Bloke pops back from the future in a blue spherical light, naked, then goes around beating people up, stealing clothes and developing what can only be seen as a real reason for a restraining order, when he begins stalking an array of permed, 1980's ladies, who all happen to be named Sarah Connor.
As obsessions go, you'd think one lady, one stalker'd be enough...wrong! Another bloke pops back, this fella happens to just be interested in one of the Sarah's in the LA phone book, the one with a moped and a pet Lizard.

Did I mention that the first bloke is a robot, with skin and he's Arnold Schwarzenegger? Sorry, must have forgotten that bit.

So, you've all seen it, so what, watch it again!

Below is one of my favourite 1980's film posters, wonderful mainly in the cheap and nasty aspect of it.

Budget: $6,500,000
Gross: $78,371,200

Fun Fact: Number one in the cinema charts until it's third week, when the "classic" Oh, God! You Devil (Starring the cigar aficionado, George Burns) took it's place.

  

The Straight Story

In as far an opposite direction as this blog is capable, I here by present a David Lynch/Walt Disney production (based on a true story) about a bloke on a lawn mower, traveling half the continental United States to see his brother.

Alvin (Richard Farnsworth), an elderly WWII veteran, living at home with his mentally handicapped daughter (Sissy 'i love to bathe in blood' Spacek), hears that his equally elderly and estranged brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton) has suffered a stroke. Realizing that this may very well be his last opportunity to put past quarrels to bed, Alvin (not having a drivers license and/or car) sets out to fix up his trusty John Dere lawnmower and pop over two rather larger states (Iowa and Wisconsin-approx 240 miles) and say good by.

David Lynch isn't renowned for this kind of feel good film, but his talent lends itself perfectly. Richard Farnsworths' performance as Alvin is flawless, not least for the fact the actor was terminally ill with bone cancer all through production and had even lost the power of his legs.

Fun Fact: Richard Farnsworth was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar at the age of 80, for his portrayal of this role...the oldest actor ever. The film was also nominated for Best Feature at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Exorcist

I damn near wet myself when I first saw this film...I still often feel the need to relieve myself when viewing it even now...at 31 yrs.

Max Von Sydow (Ming the Merciless) is one of them religious sorts...Priests I think they're called. So, Max hears about this girl, she's about ten ish, seems to have a tendency to swivel her head (all the way around-odd really), is clearly not a fan of pea green soup (given her capacity for regurgitation) and is able to contort her body to the point she can descend stairs backwards and inverted...bravo!

I kid you not, this is a wonderfully...scary film!

Standing, even now as the most profitable horror film of all time, a budget of $12-15,000,000 can easily be justified when the studio reaps returns of over half a billion dollars. There are numerous sequels, as you might imagine...I urge you to give 'em a miss, really not worth it. Stick to the cult classic.

Fun Fact: Mike Oldfield did the music. The cinemas also provided 'barf bags' for viewers...just in case.

An American Werewolf in London

Fresh off the back of The Blues Brothers, director John Landis created this charming story of wildlife on the Yorkshire Moors. Sadly, the wildlife in this feature is really rather wild.

Two American tourists pop over to Britain and take a wander through the countryside. Unbeknownst to them, there happens to be a little case of Lycanthropy in the nations largest county and unfortunately for them, it's contagious through nibbling...on them. So, eventually, the surviving Yank ends up in London and there's the title for ya.

To give you a clue as to how phenomenal the Special effects/Make up are in this film, the Academy Awards committee created the 'Outstanding Achievement in Makeup' award, especially for effects guru Rick Baker in 1981.

Budget: $10,000,000
Gross: $30,565,292

The Evil Dead

In 1981, a horror film emerged from the woods with the power to scare all who viewed it. It was dark, mysterious, spooky and ominous...but that wasn't what scared the public, No! The most terrifying element of this feature was the lead actors chin!!!!

Plot: The Evil Dead tells the story of a fella ( the cult legend that is Bruce 'the chin' Cambpell ) and his four mates, who head off to a rickety old cabin, somewhere deep in the woods. Once they arrive they find an evil book (not the same one in the Care Bears movie, but I imagine pretty close) and a tape recording of the spells inside said book. Game for a laugh, someone presses PLAY...then there's all this Demon stuff that happens...

Fun Fact: The film took the better part of a year and a half to finish, what with it being low budget and all. All the actors quit long before the end, with stand-ins being used for completion...all except Bruce Campbell (now there's a dedicated bloke). Assistant editing was by Joel Coen.

There's even a Musical version! Check out this link; http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en&v=NeLUi_20Nrg&gl=US