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Eightiesseeker
https://news-commentaries.blogspot.com/
I also like retro arcade gaming with the MAME emulator https://ankman.de/ and vintage computers. Kid of the 80s.
Ratings
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Reviews
The A-Team: The Bells of St. Mary's (1984)
Rushed episode
This was a less than mediocre episode.
May be Cannell ran out of idea of fill a large chunk of it with music?
It's full of plot holes.
The A-Team in their van tailing the brother of the singer closely, but he doesn't notices it. While the A-Team's van is tailed by a sedan of the bad guys. Again, the A-Team doesn't notices. Only little later Face spots them after they already left the van.
At the begin Hannibal already senses something is wrong just because of the football player gets into his car and drives off. So they load up weapons. That could had been made better.
This is also one of the few (if not the only) episode they don't get locked up in a warehouse or garage to then build some weapons.
What I liked was that the whole team but Murdoch was "into" the "girls", while Hannibal told Face before "We don't mess with our clients". Even B. A. became weak, while Murdoch worshiped B. A.
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014)
An homage to Carl Sagan
When the "Personal Voyage" with Carl Sagan aired in 1980 I was blown away. The computer animation was cutting edge, the show well written and presented. Besides science and space exploration it was also meant to open the eyes of a broader audience to the subject of taking care of our planet, as it's the only one we have. And shed light on the problems global warming will have in the coming years. Of course Carl Sagan was right.
Neil deGrasse Tyson sort of retells 2014 some of the topics seen in the show from 1980 and expands them. I also liked to hear Carl Sagan talk, especially in the last episode "I'm not afraid". I was a little disappointed in the computer graphics though. Looked ok-ish, but not cutting edge as it could have been in 2014. The 1980 CGI was just awe-ing back in the day.
Until I watched the 2014 show I didn't know Neil had a personal relationship with Carl. Carl made him interested at the age of 17 to become a scientist.
The Expendables 2 (2012)
Best of the franchise
So far, and I doubt the 4th will top it with Stallone being a "supporting actor", this is the best of the Expendables installations for me. While the first warmed up and the third with its PG-13 was kind of too soft in my opinion, this one does almost everything right. The action is okay and not overdone and the plot isn't as bad as one would expect of an 80's style action flic.
There's one thing I'd done differently. When all shoot one of the bad guy in the airport, the character of Stallone says "Rest in pieces". In my opinion Lundgren should had said this, as an homage to his 1989 movie "I Come In Piece", where he used the exact same phrase.
Interceptor (2022)
Back to the 80s
This brought me back to the 80's, when one hero fought alone or with a little help against a group of terrorists or the whole Army of a foreign country.
Sure, today it's hard to bring back this type of cinema (even The Expendables not really got close), but the story was solid in my opinion.
I didn't like the acting though (never heard of any of the actors anyway), and the CGI looked like made in the 80's. Producers today need to understand that when making an 80-ish like movie (even if set today), don't use 80's production technology.
Better acting/actors and CGI would have given it an 8 or even 9 from me.
MacGyver: Quarantine + N95 + Landline + Telescope + Social Distance (2021)
Who wants masks?
Ignoring the pandemic for me it was an average episode. Seen better and worse. There were funny quotes here and there, like Mac saying before the show's environment switched into Social Distancing "I can feel it. 2020 going to be awesome". Glad he had to get down to his feet later, finding himself and others quarantined.
But may viewers don't want to see masks in Hollywood (or Canada in this case where MacGyver is filmed). They see bad news of raising COVID-19 cases on the daily news, might hear of friends and relatives who have to deal with that. Thus Hollywood productions many pay for on streaming services shall be a distraction from what's going on in the real world. When masks and COVID related stories take over Hollywood the last island to clear one's mind has gone.
I am aware though that regulations around the virus also apply for the movie industry. I wished there was another way around this.
Strategic Command (1997)
1980s movie shot in the 1990s
After trying to steal some biological meterial, the bad guys kidnap the Vice President in a Boeing 747. The typical stage set in many 1980s movies. If you like these 1980s movies, pretend this is not from 1997 but mid to late 1980s.
Michael Dudifoff does a nice job, as he did in American Ninja. Action, action, action. Any 1980s action movie lover will love this one too.
Stingray (1986)
Much underrated
When the series first aired I missed it. I thought it's another show with a super-car packed with electronics which can talk or do amazing things. I was thinking about "yet another" Knight Rider or Street Hawk and dismissed it.
Only as I recently saw someone on Youtube showing lots of intros to 1980s shows loved by us kids, Stingray was mentioned too. I was first hooked by the music. That could have been straight out of Miami Vice with Jan Hammer playing the keyboard. But it were the legendary Mike Post, Pete Carpenter, and Walter Murphy.
I got the DVDs and could enjoy the short lived Stingray series. "Ray" as most people called him was untouchable and almost always under full control of any situation. Even when it seemed like he fell for a scam or was betrayed he always comes out on top every time. He vanishes like he appeared. Silently and without a trace.
Although when in my opinion the quality went down a little when shooting moved to Canada for the second season it should had deserved a third.
I miss shows like that today.
Lucifer: Boo Normal (2018)
Show jumped the shark
Lucifer wasn't my favorite show but I kind of liked watching it. So I was sad to learn that the show was canceled in May of 2018. And happy again that the two bonus episodes were just aired a little later.
But what is this? Now Ella Lopez gets her personal angel too? I was afraid to think that the supporting character might now become one of the main cast (Lucifer and Chloe) and much of possible future episodes would deal with her and her "ghost".
Then Mazikeen saved the day showing up in a flashy sports car. Blatant product placement. That was not necessary for the plot.
For Lucifer revealing his devil face in the last episode of the previous season. I can not agree with others that Chloe stating "I've seen crazy things recently too" resulting in a massive cliffhanger indicates this episode comes after the cliffhanger. I don't buy that. She just goes along too well with Lucifer here, as nothing happened. This episode could as well has been aired before the last season's finale.
So I am glad now that the series was canceled. It just jumped the shark.
Booker: High Rise (1989)
In the footsteps of Bruce Willis
At a board meeting the senior staff has to stay into the evening hours in the Teshima building. Some bad guys know that somewhere in there a big amount of cash is stashed. They land on the roof and after infiltrating the building all staff but Booker and Eleane are taken hostage. Now it's up to Booker to save the day.
Well it's 1989 and it was only a year that Die Hard was on the big screen. Cannot help to think this is a homage to this blockbuster.
For me the most entertaining Booker episode of all.
MacGyver: Friends (1987)
Clip Show
Macguyver was on an assignment to "steal" back an item, but that is not shown in this episode. Arriving at his apartment he mentions he was almost killed three time, and it was just sheer luck he is still alive.
Suddenly a person enters his apartment and says he wants the item back. Macgyver says it would be located at the Phoenix Foundation and thus they drive there.
When he enters a dark room suddenly the light go on and he sees all his friends, throwing a surprise birthday party for him.
He uses this opportunity to reflect on his past assignments and because of his close death in the past assignment ponders to resign.
Well this is a clip show. The frame events is the birthday party, but apart from this clips of previous shows are shown.
Usually a clip show is made when the production company tries to save money by re-using material from previous episodes. But in this episode about all actors are there whom he had to deal with before.
Well I don't like clip shows. But because it was well made and show Mac thinking about the dangers he is always involved I give it more than the usual 1/10.
A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)
Liam Neeson does what he does best
Is a nice and entertaining crime thriller. Is dark, has suspense and action, even some compassion. Liam Neeson does a nice acting, so did others.
What I didn't quite understand, besides the fact the novel says so, that it mainly takes place in 1999 (or 1991 in a flashback). The Y2K bug was not really exploited, although mentioned. I couldn't see any reasons of why it didn't take place in the year of the release (2014). Thus among other things the crew had to take care that cars were not newer than from 1999 (there is a goof where a modern (model year after 2010) white Mazda or Hyundai can be seen parked under a bridge). They had to put some old traffic lights for pedestrians in place (WALK - DON'T WALK), and other things.
Aliens in the Attic (2009)
For kids only
It's hard to rate it from the view of an adult. And although Ashley Tisdale is hot in this movie I don't give point for hotness.
As others already noted kids seem to love that movie. Even if adults might find it dull, lacking story, actors could perform better. Robert Hoffman did well though in my opinion. The CGI was okay but not overwhelming.
I would like to compare this with the 1986 movie Critters. There were Alien monsters too, possibly trying to take the world over. And some teenagers tried to defeat them. An adult back then might have found it boring and nothing special. But (we) kids sure did love it.
Quantum of Solace (2008)
Nice action movie
Though considered as a reboot of the James Bond franchise, it misses about all flair what Bond made famous. The gadgets (though the MI6's computer is impressive, but not directly used by Bond), the straight, simple forward story, where Bond came for the bad guy at the end, a lot of Bond Girls etc. Q, and the introduction of the latest gadgets are also absent.
Quantum Of Solace is, like Casino Royale, a dark movie, which I actually like. But here it's more like it is a coincidence that the main character is called James Bond.
For a plain action movie I'd gave it 6 or 7. But this is not worth a Bond movie, so just 4 (because of the impressive computer, got a 3 otherwise).
Hitman (2007)
Product placement
If you like product placements (for AUDI) in movies, like already seen in Transporter II, go for it.
Otherwise I found it not worth the money renting the DVD. It looked more like a B-Movie for me. Not like a movie made for the big screen. May be it would have fit for a production made for the TV only.
The actors were average or below, the sword fight looked "artificial", the rest not to mention.
The best scene in my opinion when the Russian helicopter shot the tower of the church to kill Agent-47.
Save your money, or spend it for another movie instead.