They Shot the Piano Player (2024)
Spanish director Fernando Truaba is one of those [...]
Archive for June, 1983
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
I have seen a lot of Rod Serling’s “Twilight Zone” TV episodes in reruns enough to comment that the series seems to run about half and half. For every two good episodes there is one that kind so-so. Twilight Zone The Movie is sort of the same way – four stories, two of which are […]
Porky’s II: The Next Day (1983)
Critics have justifiably taken the original Porky’s apart for its hateful and abusive attitude toward women. I oughta know, I’ve been one of them. I complained that the film had an attitude toward sex that was disturbing, that sex was not approached with a sense of joy or passion, but with a ill-feeling of hostility. […]
Yellowbeard (1983)
There aren’t enough pronouns in the world to adequately describe how insuffereable “Yellowbeard” really is. It has no laughs. Not one. None. Nada. Bupkis. Zip. Zero. Not even a smile. The best this movie can muster is stone-faced indifference. The movie begins, actors move around, there are sets, there are costumes, things happen and eventually […]
Superman III (1983)
Superman III is an ugly, mean-spirited movie with barely a hint of the grandeur or the humanity that made the other two films special. It not really Superman’s movie; while Christopher Reeve finally gets top billing, the movie shoves him aside for long periods of time in favor of an embarrassing role for Richard Pryor […]
WarGames (1983)
Very early on in WarGames, I became aware that the people behind this movie have little to no confidence either in computers or in our basic military defense. Computers can do nearly anything; they can entertain us, they can enlighten us and they can also be used arms nukes that can wipe the entire population […]
Psycho II (1983)
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was never calling out for a sequel. Let’s face it, few classic films really are. A tightly-packed story doesn’t need a follow-up. That said, it is to wonder if anyone watching Psycho II will go in hoping for something new. I know I did, and really what the movie comes down to […]
The Man With Two Brains (1983)
Here’s my confession of the week: I found Steve Martin to be hysterically funny in his stand-up and on SNL but to this point I never found him funny in a movie. The Jerk was a awful, Pennies from Heaven was baffling, and Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid was a funny gimmick that ran dry […]
