Aliens landed on Home Video today in 1987, after a July 18, 1986 theatrical release. James (The Terminator) Cameron sure as hell wasn’t going to just make an “Alien II”. In true 1980’s fashion, the methodical slow-paced suspenseful approach of the 70’s was out, big muscly militarised action spectacle was in – and all out … Read more
But this isn’t about Commando Squad. Or is it? There was a certain ritual to it. You’d walk into your local video store with the leftover change you pocketed after buying a pack of smokes for your dad, and you’d get hit by that distinctive hope that something interesting had been put back on the … Read more
Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi finally arrived on home video today in 1986, after a May 23, 1983 theatrical release. Yes, Return of the Jedi finally hit video store shelves, thus bringing the Star Wars saga to a satisfying and definitive conclusion. Right? Luke redeems his dad, Ewoks overthrow an empire, and everyone goes … Read more
National Lampoon’s European Vacation arrived on Home Video today in 1986, after a July 26th, 1985 theatrical release. Sure, there’s a familiarity about European Vacation. The way Clark Griswold perpetually tries to wring meaning out of every moment of the trip, the kids constantly rolling their eyes, Ellen humouring him and trying to keep the … Read more
The Muppets Take Manhattan took Home Video Today in 1985, after a July 13th, 1984 theatrical release. But this is all about the Muppet Babies. The film did fairly ok with both critics and audiences, but I’ve always been fascinated with its legacy, which stepped far beyond the movie itself. If you were the right … Read more
Cool World arrived on home video this week in 1993, after a June 19th, 1992 theatrical release. Ralph Bakshi’s always been the guy who revelled in showing us the dirty side of the animation cell. Fritz The Cat, Coonskin, Hey Good Lookin’… he gave us the gritty biographical stuff that made Disney spin in his … Read more
When is an Eddie Murphy movie not an Eddie Murphy movie? When it’s a Dudley Moore movie trying to pass itself off as another Eddie Murphy buddy movie. After poor test audience reactions, Paramount apparently offered Eddie a big fat cheque (more than Trading Places and 48 Hrs. combined) for what is essentially a few … Read more
By 1987, the slasher genre was starting to eat itself alive with derivative copycats and endless sequels, and while this manic canibalistic phase produced some true classics, it also burped up Slaughterhouse Rock. This is a movie that desperately wanted to be on the same shelf as A Nightmare on Elm Street. It invested in … Read more
Directed by Robert Mandel (F/X, School Ties), produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Joe Eszterhas (yes, the Joe Eszterhas who went on to write Basic Instinct and Showgirls), Big Shots (1987) is a yet another movie that’s mostly lost to time. It doesn’t have much of a cult following, it hasn’t had an ironic … Read more
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre part 2 arrived on Home Video this week in 1987, after an August 22, 1986 theatrical release. Tobe Hooper’s deal with Cannon Films was a Hollywood handshake that smelled like barbecue but left Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus holding the bill. Fresh off Poltergeist, and likely still smarting from accusations that … Read more