80s Movie Review - After Hours

Director: Martin Scorsese
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 97 minutes
Year: 1985
Starring: Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom, Tommy Chong, Cheech Marin, Teri Garr, John Heard, Catherine O’Hara, Linda Fiorentino, Will Patton, Dick Miller, Bronson Pinchot

Description: Ordinary word processor Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) experiences the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit Marcy (Rosanna Arquette), a Soho resident that he met that evening at a coffee shop.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 7: A MOVIE FROM 1985
 
Review: Ironclad black comedy, one of Martine Scorsese’s lesser know films. We meet Paul, an office clerk, who rolls from one bizarre adventure into another, when he decides to drive to Soho to visit a girl he just met at a coffee shop.

“After Hours” is a rather atypical Scorsese, in which you are drawn into an alienating and at times even surreal nightmare. Laced with dark humor and a kind of hilarious absurdity, which really makes it a unique mix, especially compared to the rest of Scorsese’s oeuvre.

One crazy character and absurd situation follows another, and the night increasingly degenerates into a nightmare you can’t wake up from. I didn’t know this film before I watched it, but I’m glad I did. I had a good time.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

80s Movie Review - The 'Burbs

Director: Joe Dante
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 1989
Starring: Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Bruce Dern, Wendy Schaal, Henry Gibson, Brother Theodore, Courtney Gains, Gale Gordon, Dick miller, Robert Picardo, Cory Danzinger, Franklyn Ajaye, Rance Howard

Description: An overstressed suburbanite (Tom Hanks) and his paramilitaric neighbor (Bruce Dern) struggle to prove their paranoid theory that the new family in town is a front for a cannibalistic cult.

Review: Before Tom Hanks got his fame and showed his acting talent in movies like “Saving Private Ryan”, “Forrest Gump” and “The Green Mile”, he was known for his comedies. “The ‘Burbs” is a typical example. It’s a light somewhat dark comedy, with themes like xenophobia, suburbia and neighborly fights. The movie is set in the American suburbs. It’s a quiet street, almost idyllic. But that peace is disturbed when the mysterious Klopek family moves in. Some of the neighbors don’t trust the Klopeks and decide to investigate it.
The story is simple and not spectacular. But the movie has more to offer than meets the eye. The power is in the lively characters. They all look like ordinary people, living their life in the suburbs. The arrival of the Klopeks, who have a different way of life, show us the true colors of the other neighbors. It all starts with the always hungry Art Weingartner and the eccentric and patriotic soldier Mark Rumsfeld. They drag Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks), the most sceptic of the three, into this too. Soon they don’t only see the Klopeks as strange and eccentric, but also as devil worshippers and killers who bury people in their yard. The fun thing is that as a viewer you’re constantly shifting between two thoughts: Are the Klopeks really murderers or are they just a little different from the rest and need their privacy.
The humor is hilarious and sometimes even in the category slapstick. But thanks to Tom Hanks it’s never absurd.
“The ‘Burbs” is a fun and very good comedy, that I can enjoy over and over again. It’s an underestimated movie and probably also overlooked. Definitely the funniest movie Tom Hanks has been in.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 161: Twilight Zone: The Movie

Director: John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, George Miller
Genre: Horror/ Thriller/ Comedy/ Fantasy
Runtime: 101 minutes
Year: 1983
Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Doug McGrath, Charles Hallahan, Rainer Peets, Kai Wulff, Sue Dugan, Debby Porter, Steven Williams, Annette Claudier, Joseph Hieu, Al Leong, Stephen Bishop, Thomas Byrd, Scatman Crothers, Bill Quinn, Martin Garner, Selma Diamond, Helen Shaw, Murray Matheson, Peter Brocco, Priscilla Pointer, Scott Nemes, Tanya Fenmore, Evan Richards, Laura Mooney, Christopher Eisenmann, Richard Swingler, Alan Haufrect, Cheryl Sochler, Elsa Raven, Kathleen Quinlan, Jeremy Licht, Kevin McCarthy, Patricia Barry, William Schallert, Nancy Cartwright, Dick Miller, Cherie Currie, Bill Mumy, Jeffrey Bannister, John Lithgow, Abbe Lane, Donna Dixon, John Dennis Johnston, Larry Cedar, Charles Knapp, Byron McFarland, Christina Nigra, Lana Schwabb

Description: Four horror/sci-fi segments directed by four famous directors, each of them being a new version of a classic story from Rod Serling's landmark television series The Twilight Zone (1959).

Review: “Twilight Zone: The Movie” is based on the television series “The Twilight Zone”. It starts of with a prologue and then tells us four different stories, directed by four different directors. Two men are driving a card in the night and start reminiscing about old TV shows, like “The Twilight Zone”. It’s the set up for the film.

Segment # 1:
Bill Connor missed out on a promotion and spills his guts while having a drink in a bar with some friends. His words don’t come easy and bothers some other customers, because he is pretty racist. When Bill leaves the bar, he himself is the victim of racism and hatred. John Landis directs this part and it has a dark atmosphere. It’s somber and intense, but doesn’t really develop.

Segment # 2:
Mister Bloom arrives at the Sunnyvale Rest Home, as a new citizen. Bloom befriends many of the people living there and convinces them that you are as old as you feel. Steven Spielberg directed this second segment. The idea is good and it does have some good moments, but the story gets a bit too sentimental.

Segment # 3:
Teacher Helen Foley accidentaly hits the young Anthony with her car. She brings him home and meets his family. Anthony’s family acts strange, but so does Anthony. And this all happens because they are afraid of Anthony. Joe Dante directs and adds more humor to his story. It has a light horror undertone. Dante was definitely influences by cartoons and it is sometimes funny, especially because of the overacting of the actors. But the ending is again a bit too sweet.

Segment # 4:
John Valentine is afraid of flying, but he has to go by plane. He has to do everything to keep his fear under controle. But when he thinks he is calm, he sees a strange creature on one of the wings of the plane. He sees its trying to break one of the engines and off course no one believes John. The director for this story is George Miller and this is the only story that I liked completely. It gives you a claustrophobic feel and it has some scary moments. John Lithgow plays his role as Valentine very well. It’s the best story in this film.

I expected a bit more quality from those four amazing directors. It’s and entertaining flick, but only the last story really nailed it.

Rating: 2,5/ 5