MOVING (1988)

Directed By: Alan Metter 
Written By: Andy Breckman 
Cinematography: Donald McAlpine 
Editor: Alan Balsam 


Cast: Richard Pryor, Beverly Todd, Randy Quaid, Dana Carvey, Stacey Dash, Traci Lind, Morris Day, Gordon Jump, Dave Thomas, Lynn Marie Stewart, Alan Oppenheimer, King Kong Bundy, Leslie Jordan 


Arlo accepts what seems to him to be a dream promotion to Idaho. He soon discovers, however, that moving has its own share of problems. The film is more of a situational comedy than a movie. As it just seems like every new scene there is a ridiculous adventure the film gets distracted with and an equal ridiculous solution to it.

CADDYSHACK 2 (1988)

Directed By: Allan Arkush 
Written By: Harold Ramis & Peter Torkovei 
Based On Characters Originally Created By: Brian Doyle Murray, Harold Ramis & Douglas Kenny 
Cinematography: Harry Stradling 
Editor: Bernard Gribble 

Cast: Jackie Mason, Dyan Cannon, Chevy Chase, Robert Stack, Dan Aykroyd, Randy Quaid, Jonathan Silverman, Jessica Lundy, Paul Bartel, Marsha Warfield, Dina Merrill, Brian McNamera, Chynna Phillips, Pepe Serna Jack Hartounian

A self made man is trying to get into Bushwood County Club because his daughter's being asked by her snooty friends. Jack applies but a few things ruins his application, one that he's extremely boorish and because he is building low cost housing in an affluent neighborhood. Jack then turns to Ty Webb who owns the majority share of the club, Jack buys Ty's shares and then takes over the club and makes some changes which the members don't like. That's when the club members attack Jack by stopping his housing project. Eventually they decide to settle it on the golf course but the club president decides to take contingencies.

BIG BUSINESS (1988)

Directed By: Jim Abrahams 
Written By: Dori Pierson & Marc Rubel 
Cinematography By: Dean Cundey 
Editor: Harry Keramidas 


Cast: Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, Fred Ward, Edward Herrmann, Barry Primus, Michael Gross, Mary Gross, Seth Green, Deborah Rush, Joe Grifasi, John Vickery, J.C. Quinn, Patricia Gaul 


In the 1940s in the small town of Jupiter Hollow, two sets of identical twins are born in the same hospital on the same night. One set to a poor local family and the other to a rich family just passing through. The dizzy nurse on duty accidentally mixes the twins unbeknown to the parents. Our story flashes forward to the 1980s where the mismatched sets of twins are about to cross paths following a big business deal to close down the Jupiter Hollow factory.

SATISFACTION (1988)

Directed By: Joan Freeman 
Written By: Charles Purpura 
Cinematography By: Thomas Del Ruth 
Editor: Joel Goodman 


Cast: Justine Bateman, Julia Roberts, Trini Alvarado, Liam Neeson, Debbie Harry, Michael DeLorenzo, Britta Phillips, Chris Nash, Scott Coffey 


A group of teenagers have a band, Mystery, with Jennie as the lead singer. They go to a bar at the coast and play during the summer. Jennie falls in love with the owner of the bar, Martin. They get an offer to play in Europe and perhaps become famous. But are they ready for it?

LICENSE TO DRIVE (1988)

Directed By: Greg Beeman 
Written By: Neil Tolkin 
Cinematography By: Bruce Surtees 
Editor: Wendy Greene Bricmont & Stephen Semel 


Cast: Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Heather Graham, Michael Manasseri, Nina Siemaszko, Carol Kane, Richard Mausr, James Avery, Grant Heslov, M.A. Nickles, Helen Hanft 



A teen decides to go for a night on the town with his friends despite flunking his driver's test.

THE DECLINE OF THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION: PART II - THE METAL YEARS (1988)

Directed by: Penelope Spheeris 
Cinematography By: Jeff Zimmerman 
Editor: Earl Ghaffari 

Featuring: Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Ozzy Obourne, Alice Cooper, Gene Simmons, Lemmy, Paul Stanley, Brett Michaels, Rikki Rockett, Dave Mustane, Riki Rachtman

THE BLOB (1988)

Directed By: Chuck Russell 
Written By: Chuck Russell & Frank Darabont 
Story By: Irvine H. Miligate 
Based On The Original Screenplay by: Kay Linkaker & Theodore Simonson 
Cinematography By: Mark Irwin 
Editor: Tod Feuerman & Teddy Stokes 

 Cast: Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn, Candy Clark, Del Close, Joe Seneca, Paul McRane, Art LaFleur, Ricky Paull Goldin, Robert Axelrod, Bill Moseley, Jack Nance, Julie McCullough, Erika Eleniak

I'M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA (1988)

Written &Directed By: Keenan Ivory Wayans
Cinematography By: Tom Richmond
Editor: Michael R. Miller

Cast: Keenan Ivory Wayans, Dawnn Lewis, Bernie Casey, Antonio Fargas, Steve James, Jim Brown, Issac Hayes, Ja’net Dubois, Damon Wayans, Kadeem Hardison, Anne-Marie Johnson, Gary Owens, Eve Plumb, John Witherspoon, David Alan Grier, Hawthorne James, Ariana Richards, Clu Gulager, John Vernon, Clarence Williams III, Kim Wayans, Robin Harris, Tony Cox, Chris Rock

PUMPKINHEAD (1988)

Directed By: Stan Winston
Written By: Mark Patrick Carducci & Gary Gerani
Story By: Stan Winston, Richard Weiman & Mark Patrick Carducci
Based On A Poem By: Ed Justin
Cinematography By: Bojan Bazelli
Editor: Marcus Manton

Cast: Lance Henriksen, Jeff East, George Flower, Kimberly Ross, Mayam Balik, Devon Odessa

PLAIN CLOTHES (1988)

Directed By: Martha Coolidge
Written By: Scott Frank
Story By: Scott Frank & Dan Vining
Cinematography By: Daniel Hainey
Editor: Patrick Kennedy & Edward M. Abroms

Cast: Arliss Howard, Suzy Amis, Diane Ladd, Seymour Cassel, Larry Pine, Jackie Gayle, Robert Stack, Abe Vigoda, Peter Dobson, Loren Dean, Harry Shearer, Max Perelich, Reginald Vel Johnson. George Wendt,

THE NAKED GUN: FROM THE FILES OF POLICE SQUAD (1988)

Directed By: David Zucker
Written By: David Zucker, Jim Abrahms, David Zucker & Pat Proft
Cinematography By: Robert M. Stevens
Editor: Michael Jablow


CAST: Leslie Nielsen, Pricilla Presley, Ricardo MontaLban, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, Nancy Marchand, Weird Al Yankovich, Lawrence Tierney, Reggie Jackson, John Houseman

BEETLEJUICE (1988)

Starring: Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O’Hara, Glen Shadix, Robert Goulet, Sylvia Sidney, Dick Cavett

Directed By: Tim Burton
Story By: Tim Burton
Written By: Larry Wilson, Michael McDowell & Warren Skaaren
Director Of Photography: Thomas Ackerman
Original Score: Danny Elfman
Production Design By: Bo Welch
Edited by: Jane Kurson

Dated a little but still brilliant. This film is truly a person’s imagination run amuck like his brain threw up on the screen and this is what came out. This is true creativity at work. can you honestly say that you could have come up with this film?

A couple build there dream house die then comeback as ghosts haunting the place. when a new family moves in and wants to not only redesign the house but demolish it. So when the two ghosts can’t do it on there own and the supernatural case worker they have been assigned isn’t really any help. They call a ecto-plasmic human exterminator named (You Guessed it) beetlejuice who is gross, crude and perverted. but then they form a bond with the family’s daughter. Who beetlejuice lusts after. It all ends with a confrontation at a exorcism/wedding with scary huge sandworms. Exactly I didn’t think you could.

Michael keaton is in perfect form he has never been as good as this again. A young alec baldwin and winona ryder are humorous. If you haven’t seen it yet. I am shocked. it’s been around awhile unless of course your parents are ultra religious and if they are why are you on here reading this.

From all the visual gags alone. You realize that mr. burton has a wildly inventive visual style and somewhat grace. It comes as no surprise he started as an animator. As this film is a live action cartoon filled with impressive special effects for the time period. This film is filled with dark comedy as it not only satirizes suburbia, nouveau riche and the art crowd. The affluence it portrays and appears to have the first three dimensional goth character in a film. This film is like a fairy tale or fable I love it.

It holds a special place in my heart. i used to watch it all the time as a kid. I loved it when it came on wpix channel 11. Which was like once a month. And everytime it came on I always watched it even though I already had it on video. It also launched me on one of my first crushes. Winona Ryder for a span of three years she was my dreamgirl. Now I just wait for her comeback. Hopefully tim burton makes another film as manic and magical as this

Everything about this film is magical it an play for kids as much as it does for adults plus it is darker then anyone who watches it realizes. As you watch it it is playful and fun but the more you watch you see the subtlety of subjects it challenges. All the office workers in the office seem to be suicides. it makes fun of suburbia as usual in tim burton films. There is the strange Dark character his alter ego. who in one scene keeps proofreading her suicide note to make it more dramatic.

This is the tim burton i miss who had artistic senesabilites but still had a toe in what it took to tell a mainstream story. this film is like a big screen carnival for him which is also reflected in the amazing score by Danny Elfman. this film could almost be a silent film for some scenes with the score taking over the dialogue for the scenes and they would still be as good.

Tim Burton is one of my favorite directors and his classic films like these seem more original and come from his imagination more then the studio films he has been making recently.

GRADE: A

FRIDAY THE 13TH: PART 7 - THE NEW BLOOD

Cast: Lar Park-lincoln, Kane Hodder, Terry Kisey, Susan Jennifer Sullivan, Heidi Kozak

Directed By: John Carl Buechler
Written By: Manuel Fidello & Daryl Haney
Cinematography By: Paul Elloit
Editor: Barry Zetin & Mary O’Connell & Martin Jay Sadoff

The premise of this movie is that we all know Jason is practically a non-stop killing machine but this time he may have meet his match in a girl who has telekinesis. She having been brought there by her therapist who seems intent on exploiting her powers for his own gain.

It seems years ago she got mad at her dad after arguing with her father and toppling his boat and causing him to drown. So she was so angry she caused the accident she has been afraid of using her powers but then she gets angry again after her psychiatrist argues with her and her mother she accidentally resurrects Jason again by electrocution. Then pretty soon Jason is doing his usual by now I have to consider Jason Voorhies a zombie who is never hungry.

It seems like with each new film the directors have set the bar and thrown down a challenge to each other to top each other as far as effects and kills go. Here director is luckily he has a premise that allows him to go a little over the top then a regular horror film sequel.

While this is not the best film or my favorite I remember being jazzed to go see it. Now having said that I have never seen any of these movies in the theater I’m sure it enhances the experience. Half the fun of watching these films is seeing the bad 80’s fashions and the same clichés played out over and over almost like in a bond film where you already know what’s going to happen you just go to see how they are going to dress it up and try and make it look different. You still have the teenagers doing drugs having unprotected pre-marital sex. Which instantly stamps there death certificates this one surprisingly has a lot less nudity then usual but at this point maybe the filmmakers realized it was redundant. But they forget that there main audience for these films are teenagers even though they shouldn’t be allowed to see it since it is rated R but by this point Jason voorhies is an icon so if they want to see it just like porn they will find a way. It doesn’t help that at the time most television networks show the Friday the 13th films on a regular basis edited but still anyone watching it would get the point of the films.

I think parents actually like the films they are sort of like a worst case scenario version of rules. You se what happens when you mess with drugs and have pre marital sex and leave your parents to hand out with those bad apples. More meant to scare kids then actual teenagers who watch these films and are amazed by its violence but laugh at the stupidness of the characters.

This film was supposed to be the original Freddy Vs. Jason but when the two studios couldn’t agree behind the scenes the decision was made for Jason to meet his match by going up against a psychic. One of the things cut was a alternate ending with Jason rising from the water at the end to kill a fisherman that had just caught and killed a bass. I guess a kind of PETA ad waiting to happen. It as deemed to similar to the endings of Friday the 13th part 1 and 3. as usual the MPAA made them cut a particularly graphic scene that was near the end and involved a woman getting a axe to the face we see the carnage of her split face and her eyes still moving and wiggling then throwing her to the side. It also let’s us see jason’s face for the first few times in the recent films. He is in full zombie mode here.

This is worth a rental if you are into the series but not the best one to start with.

GRADE: C+