Something Wild

Something Wild (1986), is a romantic thriller about sex, love, and taking chances. This is one of those films that had success in its day, yet often slips through the cracks when people call to mind 80's films. The film features early performances from Jeff Daniels and Ray Liotta, two very respected actors from the 80's.

The plot centers upon Charles', (Jeff Daniels), essential abduction from the streets of New York while on his lunch break. The abductor, Audrey (Melanie Griffith), is a "wild" and crazy girl that seems to act on every impulse yet crafty enough to get away with it. Her actions and overall outlook on life are in stark contrast to those of Charles, a vice president business yuppie from Long Island. However, once he meets Audrey his inner rebellious nature comes forth. The two end up impersonating a married couple and seem to be enjoying the idea, until Audrey's felonious ex-husband shows up and wants her back.

The film is definitely 80's; made most apparent by the styles, soundtrack, and the obvious absence of cell phones. However, the film's themes of social disregard and self-discovery are still featured in modern films, which make Something Wild stand up over time. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of thrillers such as Fatal Attraction or Unfaithful. The film will keep you guessing and is surprisingly entertaining.

Theatrical Trailer

Rainman

Rainman is a really great touching film. Tom Hanks does a great job playing the self-centered Charley Babitt. Dustin Hoffman does an excellent job at portraying his autistic brother Raymond. I really like this movie because even though it’s funny at some part, it’s not directly making fun of autistic people. And it does an excellent job of portraying how heartbreaking it is to love someone with autism. I have a cousin who is autistic, and it’s very hard for all of us sometimes. There are days when you feel like he’s making progress and that one day he will remember who you are and we will love you in return and he will live somewhat of a normal life. But then there are some days when it seems like he will never get any better, he will never even remember your name much less love you, and that he will never live a normal life. It’s easy to give up on somewhat like that, after all the frustration and heartache. But I believe that there is hope for autistic people, there is hope for my cousin, and my family and I are not going to give up on him. This film helps show people how hard it is for families of autistic people, and maybe if more people know they will be more willing to help.

Nightmare on Elm Street is definitely a classic, one of the first to begin the slasher genre in the 80’s. I thought it was really interesting to see how hard it was to do things before computer animation and what not. They had to make it really happen on film. And yeah there were some parts that were obviously fake looking and even laughable, like when the mom gets pulled in through the window at the very end. It’s so obviously a doll, the legs even stay stiff as she’s being pulled in. But I really admire Wes Craven (the director) for sticking to what he wanted. If I was directing and a scene would be really hard to pull off like that, I’d probably just switch up the script a little bit. But he knew what he wanted and stuck with it. There is a predominant childhood fear about what’s under the bed. But twice in this film people get pulled into their bed while they’re laying on it. Which means you’re not even safe on top of your bed anymore… or in your dreams. Even though it was a little cheesy at time, if you allow yourself to play along and get into the film it can still be pretty creepy. The new film looks much more frightening and I can’t wait to see it!