The Last Starfighter

The Last Starfighter
(1984) [Trailer]
Director: Nick Castle (IMDB)

Another gem from my childhood I recently picked up on blu-ray. Like my last review (Tremors), I watched this an awful lot growing. I remember being blown away by the special effects, which were ahead of their time... you're welcome Avatar. Actually, this and Tron were some of the first movies to use CGI, so it's good to have in the collection just for that reason alone.

Some gamer gets in over his head when he beats a video game and later finds out it's a tool used by aliens to recruit new space pilots. He's scooped up and thrown into a galactic war of epic proportions

This movie definitely has it's far share of cheese, but there's some awesomeness in there as well. There's a good deal of Spielbergian notes throughout, especially all the night scenes filmed in and around the trailer park. The score is fantastic and very memorable. Unfortunately the effects don't hold up, especially the explosions. Some of the costumes look pretty bad too, as is the case with the bounty hunter. Even though some of  the costumes and effect didn't necessarily stand the test of time, part of me didn't mind it and I still enjoyed the film. It's not the greatest sci-fi film ever made, but still pretty fun. If you can find it on the cheap or get a download, go for it.

Tremors

Tremors
(1990) [Trailer]
Director: Ron Underwood (IMDB)

I used to watch the shit out of this movie back in the day. Now as an old worthless man, slowly dying, I look back and think of how it used to make me feel. Those warm summer days, lazily sitting on my parents shag carpet, the cool A.C. blasting and a cold coca-cola in hand... with Tremors on in the background, life was good.  Now that the harsh reality of this cruel world is crushing on my soul, I find my only retreat is to revisit the days of old, both in my mind and on the big screen. Life is fucked.

Tremors centers around a small desert town in California. It's inhabitants soon realize that they have some unexpected visitors. Shit gets real.

This movie still holds up very nicely. It looks fantastic on blu-ray and all the practical effects have stood the test of time. It's a real fun horror flick, that dances around gore and comedy nicely. I love Kevin Bacon in it, also Reba and the dad from Family Ties are really great characters too. I wouldn't say it's a perfect movie but it's a real solid ride and I'd recommend you check it out.

North Shore

North Shore
(1987) [Trailer]
Director: William Phelps (IMDB)

Growing up in Virginia Beach I was more then likely at some point going to try out surfing. I actually started getting pretty good at it before I moved up to New York and became a shitty hipster. In my surfer heyday, myself and many of my buddies, would watch North Shore religiously. I know most of the lines in this film by heart, and I've seen it probably over 20 times so get ready for the love fest.

Rick Kane wins a local surf contest at the wave pool in Arizona. He decides to take his hard earned cash and spend the summer surfing the big waves at the North Shore of Hawaii. Seems rad right? Well he gets a wake up call pretty quick when he realizes Hawaii isn't all that he dreamed it'd be.

I consider this to be a perfect movie. I obviously understand that it isn't, but I'm like a mother who looks at her ugly child and thinks it's beautiful. To me, it can do no wrong. I'm not going to tell you why I think it's brilliant, instead I will now take a moment to quote some of my favorite lines.

Occy: "Hey...Alex...come jump in with us."
Alex: "Great I love skin diving."

Kid: "Scrub it kook!"

Local with the shitty stache: "Hey hoale"
Rick: "Hey, hoale to you too"
Local with the shitty stache: "He's so hoale, he doesn't even know he's hoale, beat it hoale these are our waves."

Turtle: "Don't even touch barno, that rhyno-chaser don't need no big howley hand print messin' up its whole trip."

Chandler: "Go ahead...go shred."

There's tons more but I don't want to keep you all day. If you haven't seen this, I suggest you do, It's on Netflix instant.

Step Brothers

Step Brothers
(2008) [Trailer]
Director: Adam McKay (IMDB)

It's been awhile since I've seen this flick. I loved it the first time and have been meaning to pick it up and give it another go around. Yesterday, at my secret blu-ray spot, I got a pretty sweet deal for it  and figured now is as good as a time as any. Bet you'd like to know where that spot is... yeah.... no.

Will Ferrell and John C Reilly are 40 year old man-childs living at home. Will with his mom, John C with his dad. Their parents meet, fall in love, and get married. The two are forced to live together and soon find themselves at each others throats.

This movie is awesome and Will Ferrell's best movie... okay, it may be tied with Anchorman. It's pretty ridiculous and over the top, but in a good way. The comedic chemistry between John C and Will is solid and I love the sense you get of how much a lot of it is just improvised. I also would recommend you check it out with the commentary on, it's just Will and John singing the whole time, and it's pretty funny. There's a couple of parts where it drags a little but overall I always find myself laughing out loud for the most part. If you like funny, watch it.