The Untouchables (1987)

The untouchables is a classic gangster movie set in the 1930's in Chicago. It's the story of Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) trying to put the famous crime kingpin Al Capone (Robert DeNiro) behind bars. Ness is a federal agent called upon to stop the illegal flow of alcohol in the city. After an attempted raid fails, he almost gives up hope until he gets help from a veteran cop named James Malone (Sean Connery). After teaming up with Malone, they enlist a rookie cop George Stone (Andy Garcia) to help them take Capone down. After raiding a large brewery Ness and his family become wanted by Capone and he sends his wife and his daughter away to safety. His team of untouchables (called so because of their refusal of bribes) then stops a shipment and finds out Capone's business information after capturing his book keeper and making him confess. Capone is taken to court on the charges of tax evasion and is put in jail because of Ness' efforts.
This true story is told amazingly, and keeps the viewer at the edge of their seat. It is very interesting to see how the famous Al Capone was caught and life of Eliot Ness, the man that caught him. The cast makes the story believable and add to the already great plot. The Untouchables is a classic gangster film that can be enjoyed by people that aren't already interested in the story of downfall of Al Capone.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure might be one of the dumbest yet entertaining movies ever made. It marks the beginning of the age of totally pointless stoner flicks geared toward the teenage burn-out. However, with an open mind even the non-stoners can enjoy the film on a very basic level. Much like Jeff Specoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ted Logan (aka Theodore Logan) and Bill S. Preston ‘esquire’ are threatened to fail history if they don’t get an A on their presentation. Their troubles are solved when a mysterious man comes to them with a phone-booth time machine that will bring them into the past to gather information for their presentation. It’s almost like reading rainbow for stoners in that it brings together simple historical concepts into a fun and interesting setting. The movie makes an obvious reference to Fast Times at Ridgemont High with the struggle between teen and authority figure. Once the teens realize that history and learning can actually be fun when it is put into terms they can relate to, they are finally able to respect the teacher’s efforts to teach. Some of the interactions between the historical figures are actually very clever, like some of the more subtle jokes with Freud. Whereas some of them are almost painfully stupid, like Lincoln’s speech to the class in which he tells the class to “party on, dude.” Despite all the work they do to gather all the figures, and the lessons they learn, they still can’t properly pronounce the names of some of the historical figures or understand the concepts. Like many films of the 80’s, this film is best if taken for pure entertainment value. There is apparently a Bill and Ted cult following, which can be found online at www.billandted.org.

Dirty Dancing 1987

Dirty Dancing is the Classic tale of love overcoming class.
BabyHouseman is the daughter of Dr. Houseman and she is obviously a "daddy's girl." the beginning of the movie shows Baby in the car with her sister, mom, and father driving to the summer getaway they've been going to for years. Her voiceover explains how she is still naive and doesn't even care yet that people call her baby.
Shortly after arrivng, Baby watches Johnny Castle, the dancer and dance instructor, and is intrigued. Johnny is from the wrong side of the tracks and it would be a major breech of social contract for Baby to be involved with him.
Baby saves his friend and saves his job by covering for his partner while she gets an "abortion." Of course the two fall in love, but they can never be together. When Baby finally reveals to her father that she's been seeing Johnny, he is extremely disappointed. Johnny gets fired for their relationship, but of course comes back for her in the end. Where they have their finally dancing number at the annual talent show. Dr. Houseman sees that he is a good guy.In a corny and completely unrealistic finish, the poor workers and the rich people who attend all merge to dance together all because Baby and Johnny beat the class system!
Opening Voiceover:
"That was the summer of 1963 - when everybody called me Baby, and it didn't occur to me to mind. That was before President Kennedy was shot, before the Beatles came, when I couldn't wait to join the Peace Corps, and I thought I'd never find a guy as great as my dad. That was the summer we went to Kellerman's."- Baby

The Shining 1980

In 1980 Stanley Kubrick's The Shining was released in theatres. The film, of course, was an adaptation of Stephen King's novel. I had read the book previous to viewing the movie and found the book to hold much more suspense. In my opinion, it is interesting that a text would evoke more fear than a movie seeing as a movie is a multi-track medium and is able to directly influence more senses.
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a recovering alcoholic and english teacher, takes the job as the witner caretaker at the Overlook Hotel. The Hotel is completely isolated during the winter and he takes his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and son, Danny (Danny Lloyd). In the book, it is clear that there is a supernatural power that seems to posess Jack. The reader knows this because of a topiary with moving animals. However, in the film it seems more that Jack has gone mad being isolated with his family. He eventually tries to kill his wife and child, but ends up dieing in the snow himself.
The film utilizes the steady cam during long takes of Danny riding his bicycle through the halls of the hotel. The bicycle runs from wood to carpet and the noise is far louder than it should be, creating suspense.
Famous Quote:
"Here's Johnny!" -Jack Nicholas

The Breakfast Club

I watched The Breakfast Club for my first time over the weekend. I really liked this movie. I tend to like "teen movies" usually, but this movie was more than just a teen movie. Although it had the typical people, the brain, the jock, the outcast, the princess, the bad apple, and the bullying principal adult, the movie was still really different.

The movie follows a group of students, all from different scoail groups in their high school, to detention on a saturday mornning. It is a really strange group of kids to all have, and they more than likely would never have hung out together if it haden;t been for their all getting detention at the same time. The movie shows how they dont get along in the beginning, and they dont really give eachother a chance, but as the movie goes on, and they start to really talk to eachother and get to know eachother, but see through the sterio types they held of eachother, and see that they all have alot of the same problems.

It made fun of othe teen movies in the sense that it was so obnoxious about making a point of who each kid in detention was. They really went out of their way to say stero-type all the kids to fit into a catagory.

Emilio Estevez is really quite handsom in this movie. He is obviously much younger, but this is one of the only movies he has actually looked pretty good in. It is funny to see all those actors in this movie, like Judd Nelson, who looks COMPLETELY different, and Molly Ringwald, who looked very different in her movie before this, Sixteen Candles. They all look much older now, and it is funny to see them from when they were so young.

Overall I think this is a really good film. At times it is a bit cliche, but it still holds a slightly different look and feel than most other teen movies.

The Jerk 1979

"I think next week I'll be able to send some more money as I may have extra work. My friend Patty promised me a blow job." --Navin Johnson in a letter home to his family.

I know what you're thinking: "This isn't an eighties film--it was made in 79!" Please, calm down, take a seat, we can make this work.

Although The Jerk isn't technically a film of the 80's, it does contain subject matter similar to the other eighties films we've studied. Navin Johnson, played by a hilarious and naive Steve Martin, realys his rags-to-riches then back-to-rags but then lifted-up-again-into-riches story. A pasty white man born into a black family, Martin has to venture out of his rural Mississippi household and discover his place among white Americans.

Navin drifts around from job to job, living a simple and happy life and wooing the girl of his dreams. But, once someone takes off with his invention, the "Optigrab," a handle for eye-glasses, and sends him millions of dollars as ten million people buy the product, Navin becomes the exact opposite kind of person he was in Mississippi. He begins to love material things, and the relationship between he and his love Marie falls apart.

Navin hits rock bottom when the product makes people go cross-eyed and he is sued for all of his money. Leaving his wife, he says, "All I need is this ashtray, this paddle game, this remote control, these matches, this lamp, this magazine, and this chair!" as he walks out the door. He has been drivend to ruin by his materialism. But soon, his rural black family comes to his rescue as the father smartly invested the checks Navin sent in a conservative money market account--proving again that the most valuable things in life are not possessions, but things like security, family, love, and contentment.

There is really no reason for you to read the script of The Jerk, but here it is anyway

Steve Martin Homepage

The Toy 1982

"I'm writing a book. That is a job!"

Jack Brown has trouble finding the money to keep his house and support his wife. Because there are no jobs available for black people in the city, especially at the newspaper where Jack dearly wants a job, Jack becomes a cleaning lady.

Throughout The Toy, Richard Pryor's character Jack Brown is a journalist and author struggling to find work and sustain himself in a white-dominated world. Now, that sounds like a pretty grave and serious movie, doesn't it? It's not. The spoiled son of the richest man in the city gets to visit every week and pick out something from the giant toy store. But, the kid is bored with all his toys and, to upset his father, his chooses Jack Brown.

The kid's name is Master Bates.

Richard Pryor displays some of his comedic genius here, but it's not really legendary stuff. However, there are a lot of racial and social issues that play into the plot and understanding of the film. Jack Brown appears to be nothing more than a modern-day slave, as, for one week, he can't go home to his wife and is stuck being a plaything for Master Bates.

In the end, Jack teaches Master Bates how to be a journalist and they print a small newspaper condemning the father and his immoral practices. The father, at final party, is revealed to have ties to the KKK. So, in a moment of kindness, he gives Jack a job at the newspaper.

Oh, did I give away the ending? Sorry--but it's more about the comedy than the racial undertones, anyway.

IMDB

A Funny Richard Pryor Site

Annie By Elyse Lightner

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Firstly, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Annie is a typical play of the 80s because of the standard happy ending. There are many obstacles that little Annie overcomes but ultimately finds a family who she loves and is who is willing to adopt the troubled child. Annie is about a girl whose parents leave her in an orphanage but promise to come back to her after a while. The owner of the children center, Mrs. Hannigan, makes the girls do work around the house, serve her, and rarely allow the girls to play outside; basically the only reason she has the job is to pay bills not because she cares for the kids. After many hard nights spent in the home, a wealthy man, Daddy Warbucks, finally comes to take Annie into his house and rescue Annie. The saved orphan celebrates her happiness thorough song. While the staff treat Annie very well, Daddy Warbucks has never had children before and doesn’t know how to act around kids; Annie’s charming personality makes Daddy warm up to her and treats her like his own. After many tribulations and arguments over the legality of adopting Annie, Daddy Warbucks finally prevails and gets as he wishes, to adopt Annie into his family and refer to her as his own.
This tell tale happy story tells of Annie going from being an orphan slaving at the hands of Ms. Hannigan to having people work for her; the staff at the Warbuck mansion bring an entire new wardrobe to Annie and wait on her hand and foot. Annie does not forget where she came from though, she convinces Daddy Warbucks to buy the orphanage and revamp it so the house is enjoyable for the other children to live in and on top of that has Ms. Hannigan removed from ownership.

http://www.orphans.com/info_intro.html
this is a site to see how to help American Orphans and how the houses are run in the present.

Lethal Weapon

Starring:

Danny Glover
Mel Gibson
Gary Busey




The tagline pretty much says it all: “Two cops. Glover carries a weapon. Gibson is one.” Lethal Weapon follows in a long line of buddy cop films like 48 Hours and Beverly Hills Cop. Danny “I’m too old for this shit” Glover plays Roger Murtaugh, a veteran detective who is forced to partner with Martin Riggs (played by Gibson), an edgy cop with a death wish. Together they discover a widespread drug-smuggling operation and team up to take it down.

This movie follows the standard Hollywood formula. The odd-couple flung together under strange circumstances can’t stand each other at first, but as the movie progresses their bond grows and, eventually, they overcome their differences to defeat a common enemy who, in this movie, is the mercenary Mr. Joshua (played by Gary “My middle name is DUI” Busey) and the ringleader, General Peter McAllister. Throw in the obligatory racially awkward scene—the family dinner where the audience is subjected to Murtaugh’s prepubescent children beat-boxing and rapping, and Murtaugh good-naturedly joining in—and we have a complete buddy cop movie.

What makes the movie enjoyable for me, someone who is watching it for the first time when it is nearly twenty years old, is admiring the collection of future whack-jobs work on screen together: After the movie, Mel Gibson goes on to issue a barely-coherent anti-Semitic rant while drinking and driving, Gary Busey goes on to be a drunk who has no business riding a motorcycle and Danny Glover goes the way of Harry Belafonte, becoming a Castro-loving, Chavez-worshipping, America-hating political nutjob who gives Hollywood lib-labs a bad name.

Aside from the fun cast, Lethal Weapon is a plotline everyone has seen a hundred times before. A good movie with a committable cast.

View Trailer Here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093409/trailers

Overboard by Elyse Lightner

This film is about a snooty woman who sails around on her yacht with her husband and is forced to stop in a country port because of overdue maintenance. While in port, Goldie Hawn hires a carpenter, Kurt Russell, to build shelves in her closet for more show space. When Kurt doesn’t build the shelves to her expectations, she throws him “overboard” literally and figuratively, without pay. Late the next night after the ship has set sail once again, Goldie Hawn walks on deck to retrieve her wedding ring, which she left there earlier. Fatefully, she too, falls overboard. In the cold water, she catches amnesia and forgets her name. The Psyche ward posts signs asking who the woman is and as revenge Kurt Russell takes her back to his shack of a house with four rowdy boys. She doesn’t adjust at first but eventually falls into a routine of disciplining the boys and ultimately ends up falling for the carpenter. However, she eventually comes to and puts the pieces together of where she came from. She leaves the slums and sets sail with her husband once again. She realizes though that she is not as happy doing nothing and being spoiled. She ends up turning around and going back to Kurt in the end. These two real life lovers live happily ever after. The moral of the story here is that love can withstand anything. Unlike most 80s films, this one argues that money isn’t everything, contrary to the 80s mentality which is work hard and earn lots. Family values play a major part in this film.

visit:
www.yachtworld.com
and shop for your future home