1980s – Page 4 – PopCult Reviews

Movie Review – Ernest Goes to Camp

Ernest Goes to Camp (1987)
Written by John R. Cherry III and Coke Sams
Directed by John R. Cherry III

While his first film appearance was a cameo in our previously reviewed film, Ernest made his starring debut in this film. The story goes that in the mid-1980s, Disney took part in a parade held for the Indy 500 in Indianapolis. Studio executives Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg attended and noted that this Ernest person received louder applause than Mickey Mouse. The audience started yelling, “Hey Vern,” while the Disney dudes had no idea what that was about. They contacted John Cherry and Jim Varney and decided they would finance an Ernest feature film. It wasn’t precisely what Cherry had wanted as Disney nixed certain elements, mainly Ernest speaking directly to the camera when he talks to Vern.

Movie Review – Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam

Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam (1985)
Written by John Cherry and Coke Sams
Directed by John Cherry

Jim Varney had made a solid go of it in Los Angeles. He’d been a regular & recurring cast member on multiple nationally broadcast shows by the end of the 1970s. A cast member of Johnny Cash & Friends, a recurring role as a sleazy used car salesman on Norman Lear’s Fernwood2Nite, and even in the cast of the notorious Pink Lady and Jeff. He was married to Jacqui, his first wife, and was helping to raise her two sons. But things weren’t going well in L.A., so Varney returned to his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky. His big dream was to star on Broadway, which was a challenging goal.

Movie Review – Vampire’s Kiss

Vampire’s Kiss (1989)
Written by Joseph Minion
Directed by Robert Bierman

The trailer for Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu was released online a few days ago and it looks to be quite the descent into classic Gothic horror. Vampires have been a part of cinema for over a century and have appeared in all forms. The recent Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person purports to take a modern satirical look at the monster, while another recent release, Abigail, places the vampire in an action-comedy horror scenario. I don’t think any of these takes on the vampire could ever match the frenzy and unhinged energy Nicolas Cage brings to the monster in Vampire’s Kiss. I was shocked in a way no film has made me in a long time watching the actor’s choices.

Movie Review – Santa Sangre

Santa Sangre (1989)
Written by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Roberto Leoni, and Claudio Argento
Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky

The first (and only, until this film) Alejandro Jodorowsky film I ever watched was The Holy Mountain. That was fourteen years ago and took place on a very eventful night. I was staying at a friend’s place. The following day, Ariana would arrive from Puerto Rico. That night before consisted of eating a very poorly made but extremely potent homemade weed cookie my friend had at his place, eating Indian food for the first time while extremely high, and then watching There Will Be Blood high as balls. We returned to his place, still stoned, and he popped in The Holy Mountain. The film certainly left a mark on me based on those circumstances.

Movie Review – A City of Sadness

A City of Sadness (1989)
Written by Chu T’ien-wen and Wu Nien-jen
Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien

I have to admit I do not know as much about Chinese history as I would like to. I’m going to guess that most people reading this, if they live outside of China, probably fall into that category, too. The relationship between mainland China and the island of Chinese Taipei is complex and has not been made any easier due to Western interference. The political group that fled from the mainland to Chinese Taipei was the Kuomintang, a nationalist organization that pushed far right-wing ideology. Hence, they were driven out by the Communists after the still-dominant party attempted to work the Kuomintang. Modeled after many Western fascist parties, Kuomintang brought their particular twisted worldview to Chinese Taipei, which is what this film is about.

Movie Review – The Killer (1989)

The Killer (1989)
Written and directed by John Woo

It felt like the film was over about fifteen minutes into The Killer. The amount of movie crammed into this opening felt like a full meal. I checked the time. 85 minutes to go. John Woo has never been a filmmaker I’ve rushed to see. Of his work, I’ve only watched Hard Boiled and Mission: Impossible 2 before this. I’m not a big action fan, but I enjoy that film genre when it is done well. Part of understanding Woo’s tone and how he approaches filmmaking can be seen in the direct English translation of this film’s title from its Chinese name – “Pair of Blood-Splattering Heroes.” If you’re the kind of person who sees that and says, “Hell yeah,” then you have found your director. My response is not as enthusiastic.

Movie Review – Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989)
Written by Pedro Almodóvar and Yuyi Beringola
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar

As he does in almost all his work, Pedro Almodovar delivered yet another provocative, gorgeous story centered on a woman and complications in her life. It would be easy to denounce this movie as “problematic” if you view art as a surface-level thing without facets and complexity. Almodovar is an exceptionally talented artist who knows this is a film about a profoundly gross relationship. The audience feeling unease throughout is intentional, and the ending is such a perfect note to go out on. The face of our lead shows a sudden realization through the haze of the intense bubble she’s been trapped inside. This is wrong, this is something very dark & twisted she’s trapped within.

Movie Review – The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (1989)
Written and directed by Peter Greenaway

From its abrasive opening moments, you know you are in for a unique experience. English gangster Albert Spica (Michael Gambon) has his lackeys toss someone who has failed him out onto the streets as stray dogs wander over. The scene is flanked by a truck full of fresh seafood on one side and a truck of meat on the other. Spica proceeds to begin what will be an endless monologue, yammering in his Cockney dialect as if he is enchanted by hearing his own voice. He says nothing of import. He proceeds to strip & batter the poor man on the ground and then smear dog shit over his body, leaving him there to rot. Spica and his entourage move on to the restaurant he’s purchased, where the criminal believes he can hold court.

Movie Review – Steel Magnolias

Steel Magnolias (1989)
Written by Robert Harling
Directed by Herbert Ross

The stage play-to-screen adaptation is fascinating to me. Works produced initially in the theater are restricted by money & the physical space. The original stage production of Steel Magnolias took place entirely in Truvy’s beauty salon, but we expect more movement and locations for a film. I’ve never seen a production of the play, but I felt I could still see the seams where new things were sewn on, and that wasn’t bad. It highlights how much more narratively developed the women are in this story than the male characters who don’t appear in the play. The film is much stronger when the story focuses on the relationships between the women. It falters a lot when it shifts focus to their interactions with the men.

Movie Review – Mystery Train

Mystery Train (1989)
Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch

Like Soderbergh, van Sant, and Linklater, Jim Jarmusch is a director who rose to prominence during this period, and I’m not sure how I feel about him. There are Jarmusch films I love (Paterson, Broken Flowers, Ghost Dog), while others I’m a bit more confounded by. I still need to watch his first two films as I hear tremendous things. Like several of his other pictures, Mystery Train is actually a series of short films with wraparound scenes that connect them. It seems to be a structure he’s very comfortable working in, using vignettes about different characters in the same place or moments from the same character’s life. His movies have such a relaxed feeling about them, a mishmash of Laurel & Hardy and David Lynch at times, and are old-fashioned but feel incredibly fresh.