What Movies Are You Watching Lately

[noob in 89]

#39 STATE PARK (1988)

When bronchitis calls, the TV...listens? I don’t know where I was going with this before the Mucinex and elderberry extract (with grain alcohol!) kicked-in, but I think it was something to do with how even when low budget movies are ******, they can still provide an interesting window into what people were really wearing, as most actors provided their own wardrobe. I believe this is such a film...

Beyond that — (if, like my wife, the prospect of Jams shorts, safari beach hats, Toys ‘R’ Us skateboards, and studded bracelets squished across naked breasts doesn’t 100% entice you) — watch it for the opening theme song, a shameless rip-off of Oh Yeah from Ferris Bueller, with the *bow bow*s replaced with *state park*. :-/

80s tropes include toxic waste, evil land developers, inappropriate teen crushes, rapey behavior, punks, preps, nerds and save the rec center state park. Surprise appearance by Ted Nugent.




Early me: ?
Current me: 6.5

 

[ter1413]

I caught this earlier in the week. I didn’t remember that I had seen it before until the very end.

A couple’s daughter is kidnapped by Pierce. He doesn’t initially state his motive. He takes them around Chicago making them follow his instructions in order to keep her alive.

Some twists and turns pop up at the end.

Maria Bello looks great in heels!

2.75/5.

 

[venessian]

I remember seeing that and generally enjoying it, being pleasantly surprised. Very twisty-turny.

2.625/5.0
...but...
4.0/5.0 for Maria Bello being Maria Bello, in heels or not.

 

[Joffrey]

Just saw this. I thought it was decent. Don't get the hate it got.

 

[noob in 89]

#37 UP THE CREEK (1984)

Good 80s movies are like fairy tales. They group their narratives around a series of interchangeable motifs and if you’re lucky, result in magic. This one has all the elements: the sarcastic outcast, the jock ex boyfriend, the fat best friend. (And if you want to get more Russian: the magic animal, deceptive bargains, escape by deception!). The only thing missing here is heart. Six years after Animal House, Tim Matheson is still a college student with a big mouth. To keep his spot at the last university that will take him, he must win a multi-day, intercollegiate raft race with the help of his walking stereotype friends, Pee Wee from Porky’s and Kent Dorfman, also from Animal House. Soon, the 36 year-old Matheson is drinking beer, romancing Scott Baio’s girlfriend from Charles in Charge and narrowly keeping afloat. James Sikking from Doogie Howser and Hill Street Blues makes a good villain, and ******* and shenanigans abound in equal measure. But ultimately, a few missed jokes and an underdeveloped protagonist keep this one from being the minor classic it could have been.

Early Me: 8
Current Me: 7

 

[venessian]

I was looking forward to watching this on Netflix the other night and...

...wow, I have rarely been so thoroughly disappointed, as I normally really enjoy music docs. "Muscle Shoals" (5.0/5.0), etc., this is most definitely not.

The thing comes off as a completely hackneyed, disorganized, undisciplined vanity project (I was very surprised that Jakob Dylan would be this superficial).

Some of the historical footage is OK, but nothing special at all.​

The musical re-creations (studio and live concert) are all much worse than the originals. Why? This is really "leave well enough alone" territory.​

The interviews with other contemporaries (Nash, Browne, M Phillips, etc.) reveal next to nothing.​

The pseudo-intellectual "let's debate this collectively on the couch" sessions with J Dylan, Beck, Fiona Apple (who comes off as having an apple, at most, for a brain), and Cat Power are truly mind-numbingly superficial, entirely useless and unbearable.

And then: If, years ago as a teen you already felt conflicted because you really wanted to punch Ringo Starr, Steve Stills, and especially David Crosby in the mug for being smug...it's going to be very hard to hold back now even though we're supposedly all grown up. What enormous and shallow egos, esp DC.

The only saving graces here are Tom Petty and Eric Clapton, and also Roger McGuinn. Which makes sense, as they are two/three of the most graceful, humble, intelligent, eloquent musicians and spokesmen about music ever.

1.0 (for Petty, Clapton, McGuinn only)/5.0.

 

[beargonefishing]

I heard Fiona Apple on the radio 2 days ago. It took me back to my 20s.

 

[venessian]

I heard Fiona Apple on the radio 2 days ago. It took me back to my 20s.

Yes, but was she just singing or was she "uhhh. what's the word, what the heck is that word? is it 'thinking'? you know, that thing that some smart people do? no, no, wait!!...I got it!!...'opining'!!", though? Gawd....

 

[beargonefishing]

Yes, but was she just singing or was she "uhhh. what's the word, what the heck is that word? is it 'thinking'? you know, that thing that some smart people do? no, no, wait!!...I got it!!...'opining'!!", though? Gawd....

I didn't recognize the song but immediately knew it was her, so yes.

 

[noob in 89]

#34 MOVING TARGET (1988)

This summer is no vacation (lols). Things are looking up for teen heartthrob Toby (Jason Bateman) until his 80s dad (Tom Skerrit) sends him to music camp out of the blue. He returns to find an empty home, his whole family lost without a trace. Can he piece together the mystery of their disappearance with preening cops and the louchely-blazered bad guys closing in? (It’s a TV movie, so yes). 80s signifiers abound, and a young Bateman slouches through his role in billowy oxfords and white army trainers, giving me no ground to stand on when I tease my wife for watching dance movies *just for the dancing*.

Spoiler

 

[venessian]

When you're like most people, you send your daughter off to college and trust that you taught her well. Mainly, you really sort of did.

OTOH: When you're Jason Patric, you did a really crappy job of all that, which somehow instantly translates to your therefore being forced to and able to shoot up a whole mess of people with thousands and thousands of bullets in just about every building type known to man, from decrepit NOLA tin shed to luxe NOLA high-rise....

And, when you're Bruce, John, Curtis, everyone else including the NOLA film board, you're really just there for the paycheck.

0.456/5.0.

 

[noob in 89]

#89 TURK 182 (1985)

When a firefighter is denied benefits following an on-the-job injury, his rebellious kid brother decides to take on the system by lashing out at the mayor. What starts as an act of petty vandalism grows into a celebrity phenomenon as his acts of civil disobedience become more daring and creative, culminating a Bansky-esque showdown on live TV. This is a good film. The plot isn’t run of the mill, and a young Timothy Hutton elevates everything in that young Timothy Hutton way.

Early me: 10
Current me: 8

 

[imatlas]

I remember the finale but I don’t think I’ve seen the entire movie.

 

[venessian]

noob in 89, what do your "Early me" vs "Current me" ratings mean?

 

[ter1413]

noob in 89, what do your "Early me" vs "Current me" ratings mean?

I think he watched the movie back in the day and that is what his rating would have been vs what it is today.

@noob in 89 can confirm.