Andy B-8 Reviews

Lake Placid (1999)

Not scary - but had its moments

[7/10 · 2 April 2000]

This film is not very scary at all. It was done so much better in Alligator some twenty years ago.

However, it's few saving graces are it's sense of humour and fun. You know who is going to get killed and who won't so it was fairly predictable stuff.

My particular delight was in seeing the wonderful Golden Girl Betty White. Especially because she was playing an unusually foul-mouthed local.

Not high art but I've seen much worse than this.

Christmas Vacation (1989)

Pretty funny

[20 December 1999]

For the type of film this is I must admit it is quite an enjoyable piece of silliness.

Chevy Chase is on the ball for once as the head of the household which quickly falls apart around him.

My favourite bit is where the squirrel jumps out of the tree and Chevy runs upstairs with it on his back.

Very rewatchable especially around Christmas time. Nice to see a young Juliette Lewis as well - even though she doesn't have much do in the movie.

House (1985)

An above-average comedy-horror flick

[5 November 1999]

This certainly isn't one of finest horror films ever made but it does have it's moments but mostly due to its comedy.

The monsters aren't really that scary - especially the big rubbery woman who Kay Lenz turns into - but the monster in the closet was quite effective. I like the bit where he's trying to bury the body in the garden but the monster is still alive and he tries to conceal it as he talks to his neighbour.

No classic - but worth an honourable mention.

The Fog (1980)

Very effective follow up to Halloween

[8/10 · 5 November 1999]

John Carpenter has made a few great horror movies and this has to be one of them.

I watched The Fog again recently and was surprised how well it holds up twenty years on. The idea of ghosts emerging from a thick fog is eerie and the music he created adds to the tension.

John Carpenter movies do tend to have memorable endings, just look at Halloween, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China - and this is no exception.

Rhoda (1974–1978)

A funny show - great characters.

[5 November 1999]

Being British I have never had the pleasure of watching any episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show from which this sitcom spun off from so I didn't know much about Rhoda's character in that show. However, I found this show very funny anyway.

Valerie Harper may be the lead but the show really shines because of the wonderful Julie Kavner as her sister and Nancy Walker as her interferring mother. Characterization is always very important in making a great situation comedy - just look at Cheers, The Golden Girls, Roseanne.

Carlton the Doorman was always good for a laugh even though you never saw what he looked like.

A very funny show.

The Munsters (1964–1966)

A TV treasure

[5 November 1999]

Being only 27 years old I was not around when this series was actually being made but I remember watching this series in the eighties when I was around 9-12 years old. I remember enjoying every minute of it.

The catchy theme tune, the spooky house, the dinosaur under the stairs, Grandpa's experiments and the brilliant central performance from Fred Gwynne all added up to a terrific half hour comedy.

Watching it ten years on it seems a little more cheesy than I first remember it to be - but it is one of those shows I will always fondly remember.

The Golden Palace (1992–1993)

Sadly missing that extra ingredient - but still funny.

[27 October 1999]

It was very sad when The Golden Girls came to an end in 1992 with the departure of Bea Arthur - but it was some consulation when this series followed - if only for one season.

The writing was still sharp and dialogue brilliant and played with the usual excellence of the three remaining cast. Unfortunately Dorothy's absence was seriously noticeable and probably played a big part in it not going past 24 episodes. Don Cheadle and Cheech Marin could not fill the void.

The best episode was of course the two-parter where Dorothy visited the hotel.

Still vintage stuff but sadly a show that will be forgotten in the shadow of it's excellent predecessor.

Perfect Strangers (1986–1993)

Get out of this city!!!

[22 September 1999]

Us Brits have only seen the first few seasons of Perfect Strangers on TV but it was one of the better U.S. imports in the eighties.

Bronson Pinchot and Mark Linn-Baker worked extremely well together.

The Beverly Hillbillies (1993)

Not as bad as some make it out to be.

[7/10 · 12 September 1999]

Derided by almost all critics I have read citing it as a truly awful film - but I thought it was reasonably funny with quite good casting.

I thought Diedrich Bader as the very dumb Jethro (and Jethrine) was the best.

Yes, it could have been alot better, but some scenes and dialogue were good enough to raise a smile.

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992)

A decent thriller

[9/10 · 12 September 1999]

I remember watching quite a few thrillers around the time this was released - Unlawful Entry, Single White Female, Deadbolt - all were fairly similar in theme. This film I enjoyed the most though mainly due to menacing performance of Rebecca de Mornay. Man, she's a nasty piece of work.

The greenhouse bit is particularly tense especially when you know what's coming.

A decent, top-notch thriller. 9/10.

Coupe de Ville (1990)

Excellent

[10/10 · 12 September 1999]

This is one of those films that slipped by virtually unnoticed. It's a shame because this film is one of best comedies I have seen.

Stern, Dempsey and Gross are excellent as the squabbling brothers who drive a Cadillac Coupe de Ville from Motor City to Miami for their mother's birthday.

They get into lots of scrapes along the way, most on the actual car. Their fight about the Louie Louie song is a classic.

Funny and poignant. 10/10.

Parenthood (1989)

Excellent

[10/10 · 12 September 1999]

This is the film that made me start going back to cinema more regularly - it was the first film I had seen at the pictures in seven years.

It has an excellent, funny and very perceptive script with exceptional performances from everyone. Dianne Wiest is a marvellous actress - her scenes were the best.

Overboard (1987)

One of Goldie's better efforts

[12 September 1999]

This is one Goldie Hawn's better films that she made during the 1980's. There is obviously good chemistry between her and Kurt.

There is great satisfaction in watching a rich-bitch getting her comeuppance by making her do chores and look after four kids when she temporarily forgets who she is.

Some great comic moments with a sweet, if somewhat predictable, ending.

Ruthless People (1986)

A funny film from those Airplane guys

[10/10 · 12 September 1999]

This is one of those 80's comedies that was miles better than some of the other dross that was released around the same time.

Danny de Vito is brilliant as the guy who deliberately doesn't pay the ransom when he doesn't want Bette Midler back after she is kidnapped.

Great comic performances, funny dialogue and a very satisfying conclusion.

Black Sheep (1996)

Chris Farley falling over alot.

[8/10 · 27 August 1999]

Reviews of this film were less than favourable but since I enjoyed the Farley/Spade partnership so much in Tommy Boy I thought I would check this one out as well.

Farley does alot of falling over and generally self abuse in this one, for instance when he tumbles down a mountain side and then gets up and says "What was that all about?".

The bit where the bunk bed collapses on top of Spade during the hail storm and the "Power to the People" speech at the rock concert are hilarious.

Most viewed this film as inane and childish - one reviewer I distinctly remember said that he would rather have Des O'Connor sing him the phone book than watch this again - but I found myself laughing many times.

Tommy Boy (1995)

A personal favourite.

[10/10 · 27 August 1999]

This is one of my favourite comedy films. Chris Farley is hilarious as the accident prone moron and David Spade is perfect playing the straight-man to Farley.

The dialogue between the two of them is brilliant. The scene where the two of them are in the car singing along to Superstar by The Carpenters is a classic.

Chris Farley was a great comic actor who had amazing potential - he will be sadly missed.

Fatal Instinct (1993)

A funny spoof of erotic thrillers.

[8/10 · 27 August 1999]

Armand Assante wasn't the type of actor you would have expected to be good at this type of comedy - but I think he is brilliant as the straight-faced Ned Ravine. Sean Young fares even better as the femme fatale. Not all the jokes hit the mark but most of them are funny enough to win you over.

My favourite line comes from the judge played by Tony Randall. "You will refer to 'Angel Tits' as Mrs Ravine!"

I'd give it 8/10.

Darkman (1990)

A stylish film from the Evil Dead bloke

[25 August 1999]

The visual style of Darkman is extremely good - helped along by excellent direction from Evil Dead bloke Sam Raimi. At certain points the city landscape reminds you of Gotham from the Batman films.

The idea of being able to change your face to look like somebody elses, only for 99 minutes, is a great idea. The bit where Larry Drake's character comes face to face with himself at the revolving doors is execellent.

Looking back on this film from nearly a decade ago it still surprises me that Liam Neeson is in the lead role. He has rarely done anything other than straight dramas so it is refreshing to see him in the film such as this.

The Blob (1988)

A remake that's better

[8/10 · 25 August 1999]

This, along with The Thing, is probably one of the few remakes that is better than the original film.

This is all mainly due to those yucky special-effects. The scene where the guy is pulled head-first down the sink plug-hole is a stand out. There are also characters that you would have thought wouldn't get "blobbed" - but do.

It's a movie that started out as fifties B-movie and I suppose this version had no aspirations to be anything but the same - but it pulls off some great action sequences and some witty dialogue - "Great, we killed the strawberry jam.".

The Breakfast Club (1985)

One of John Hughes' best

[10/10 · 25 August 1999]

I have liked most of the films that have come from John Hughes but The Breakfast Club is one of his best.

It stands out because the premise is so simplistic and the entertainment relies heavily on just the dialogue between the kids in detention (unlike say, Home Alone). There are lots of memorable quotes from it (is this where Bart Simpson picked up the phrase "Eat My Shorts"?). Out of all of them Judd Nelson comes off best as the student with the big mouth but with a soft heart by the end of the movie.

It's the quintessential 80's teen movie that still holds up quite well as good entertainment almost a decade and a half later.

Leviathan (1989)

Seen it all before - but still quite good!

[7/10 · 24 August 1999]

Leviathan is one of those films that has "rip-off" written all over it.

Alot of it you've seen before in better films. The most obvious comparisons being Alien ( several isolated crew members, the dubious doctor, the suits etc.) and of course The Thing (a gooey monster spawned from human beings, it getting to the blood supply). I've viewed this one a few times and although it is an inferior movie it does have some pretty neat special effects, a recognizable cast and a decent music score by Jerry Goldsmith.

Not a total wet squib - it certainly has its moments. I'd give it 7/10.

Pet Sematary (1989)

One of Stephen King's best.

[10/10 · 23 August 1999]

I am a fairly big fan of most of the films that have been based on Stephen King's books - this one rates as one of the scariest and most memorable.

I have just finished rewatching it for about the tenth time and I still find it heart-wrenching as well as scary.

The scene where Gage is on a sure collision course with the monster truck is one which stands out. And the "No fair" uttered by little Miko Hughes near the end is a touch of brilliance.

Moonlighting (1985–1989)

A true "one-in-a-million" show

[22 August 1999]

Moonlighting was one of those shows that I didn't watch at first but once I caught an episode I was hooked. The constant sparring of Maddie and David was excellent with a lot of acknowledgement to the camera. I even enjoyed the episodes where Agnes Dipesto and Herbert Viola were given more screen-time.

My favourite episodes include the feature length first episode, "The Lady in the Iron Mask", "Atomic Shakespeare", "The Straight Poop", "It's a Wonderful Job" and "Poltergeist III Dipesto Nothing".

It's currently airing on a cable channel in the U.K. and although not all episodes were good the majority were very well written with many memorable scenes.

The Golden Girls (1985–1992)

One of the very best sitcoms.

[22 August 1999]

I have loved this show since it first appeared on our Channel 4 here in the U.K. in 1986. I have re-watched all 178 episodes many times and they still feel as fresh as when I first watched them. The characterization and excellent one-liners from these four very talented actresses makes it a joy to watch. Susan Harris, who also created the equally fantastic "Soap" is, in my opinion, one of the best comedy creators of all time. It's a shame - as with most shows - that it all had to end.

Class Reunion (1982)

Not as bad as the critics make it out to be.

[10/10 · 15 August 1999]

I first saw this film around ten years ago and I thought it was very funny indeed. It was not as bad as some critics were making it out to be. The fact that it was written by the usually dependable John Hughes shows that you can at least expect some funny dialogue. (By the way, I also think Weird Science is quite good which was also penned in lightning speed by Hughes).

The film has a very garish look to it using all the primary colours - reds, yellows etc - which makes it look quite unique. The cast are also quite good. The prudish Bunny Packard and the devil-possessed Delores Salk are a stand out.

The film has certainly dated a little but I personally prefer it to all the other 'Lampoon' series.