Top Gun - 1986
If you’re looking for THE 80’s action film, then look no further! This flying-school based Tom Cruise film is definitely up there with the classic 80’s bunch.
Maverick (Cruise) is a dangerously skilled aviator. He and his personal navigator – and best friend – Goose (Anthony Edwards) are off to flying-school where tough competition in the form of Iceman (a very young Val Kilmer) awaits them. Maverick is a cocky, competitive pilot whose skills and confidence are put to the test as an unfortunate event strikes him unexpectedly. To add to this plot comes an unlikely romance between Maverick and flight teacher Charlie Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). This cheesy 80’s film is a battle between other pilots as well as ones self.
Directed by Tony Scott, ‘Top Gun’ is very typical 80’s – from thick leather pilot jackets to Kelly McGillis’s and Val Kilmers hair due. From the United States flag flapping in the summers breeze to Berlins fantastically corny ‘Take My Breath Away’. It’s that bad that it’s good, one that should’t be missed simply for the sheer cringes and squints that you draw to the screen. A smiling and enjoyable watch none-the-less.
To summarize the acting in one word, it would have to be standard. Young Cruise, Kilmer and McGillis steal the show with their charms however Anthony Edwards plays an energetic and amusing Goose.
The setting of course fills the screen with heat-waves flowing from U.S aircrafts exhausts, seeing helmets so polished you could do your make-up in them, and the waxed panther black motorbike that glides down the palm-tree decorated road into the gorgeous sunset. HA! Brilliant.
The costumes also must have a mention for they are well presented. The aviator leather jackets go well with those wearing them and who can forget the charming white pilot uniforms that are just irresistible.
The music is just fabulous, with Kenny Loggins's 'Danger Zone' and of course the cherry ontop of the cheesecake, Berlins 'Take My Breath Away'.
So all in all this is an 80’s film, a classic that really should be watched, especially if you’re a film buff.
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi603455769/
The Shining - 1980
Imagine your worst nightmare. Your father, that loving hard working man who only looked at you with love, is now looking at you with madness penetrating his eyes and an axe in his hands, and he ain’t wanting to chop wood. He chases you with a smile on his face, calling your name, wanting you to scream and squeal… Now imagine that nightmare on the big screen.
Jack Torrance is a man with a simple ambition; writing. When an opportunity to caretake for the Overlook Hotel through winter arises, he jumps at the chance to get piece and quiet to write a new book and spend time with his family. He has a wife Wendy and a young son Danny, who travel along with him. Now, Jack was warned by the owners of the hotel about the previous caretaker and his horrifying ordeal. How a Mr. Delbert Grady got so isolated that he killed his whole family then took his own life. Knowing this, Jack goes ahead with the plan and moves in.
Meanwhile, small Danny has a secret, a secret so great that it actually scares him. He has the gift of telepathy and the ability to sense supernatural forces. I know that this sounds a little unrealistic but stay with me. This gift is called ‘The Shining’. With his imaginary friend Tony telling him the harsh realities of his father, this little boy is in terrible danger and worse still, he knows it. The exciting winter slowly turns to hell as Jack slowly but surely turns against his family. Poor Danny goes to his mother as a single word is tweeted out of his entranced mouth… REDRUM. Now spell it backwards.
As the days roll by, Jack gets more and more agitated and aggressive, and begins to see and trust in a certain Mr. D. Grady. As cabin fever and severe isolation sets in, Jack snaps, picks up an axe and chases his horrified family. Will Wendy and Danny make it out? Or will they become the second family to fall victim to The Overlook Hotel?
This horrifying experience may just be the best horror film of all time. Fantastically shot, perfectly cast and from shock to shock, you’ll be hiding behind the sofa and looking at your dad in a different light!
Danny Lloyd plays a very scared and fragile boy – Danny Torrance. His performance is captivating and even a little creepy. Totally believable and you find yourself rooting for the boy.
Shelly Duvall plays a worried mum and a terrified wife – Wendy Torrance. With a very convincing and entrancing performance, it’s no wonder that she was exhausted through the duration of the shoot. Look out for the bathroom scene, and especially when she discovers Jacks little ‘story’, her performance is nothing short of brilliant.
The wonderful Jack Nicholson plays the psychotic and mad Jack Torrance. His legendary smile will haunt you and the fact that he has an axe in his hands does NOT help you sleep at night. His mannerisms and complete loss in character is disturbingly scary, and with his signature lines such as:
“Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in….”
“You WERE the caretaker here, Mr.Grady”
And of course:
“Heeeeeeres JOHNNY!”
- this remarkable and disturbing performance will be one that you won’t forget.
The film of course wouldn’t have been possible without the direction of the legendary Stanley Kurbick. With scary images of the severed twins, blood pouring towards Wendy and the dreaded Room 237, Kurbicks betrayal of Stephen Kings classic is unforgettable.
With films behind his belt such as ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, ‘The Shining’ serves its place as one of his greats.
The soundtrack must also be mentioned, for its piercing tone sets the breath-holding atmosphere, and even scenes where silence IS the soundtrack, it highlights the isolation and shear terror of the situation.
So, sit back and enjoy this fantAXtic ride, it won’t be one that you will forget!
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1660224281/
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1660224281/
