Wonder Woman 1984

Coming in June 2020, is the anticipated Wonder Woman 1984 starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine




Here are the real movies that came out in 1984, when I was only still a teenager....

Sixteen Candles

Ghostbusters

The Terminator



The Karate Kid

Purple Rain


Each of these movies has something in common:  all were teen friendly, with an hero/heroine you could root for.  Each one was very quotable, because people rewatched good movies back then, even in that pre-VCR day.  They all had future stars that would go on to do big things and multiple movies hence the sequels that are at least as familiar as the originals.

But each of these was original in its own way:  Purple Rain:  a predominately black cast with the best soundtrack ever,   The Terminator:  science fiction where the villian become the hero.  Ghostbusters:  Saturday Night Live alum humour  crosses over into movies.  Karate Kid and Sixteen Candles:  ordinary kids do extraordinary things.

These was not only in the pre -VCR days but also pre- CGI/ FX.  The production values are quaint by modern standards.

Let's see how WW84 stacks up against these 1984 classics.

The Rise of Skywalker

Version 9.0 "completes the saga" is the tag line.  Three different trilogies in 3 different decades makes stitching the stories together a challenge but the good thing is that it was done in a way that should give a little something to everyone.

Explaining the story is probably too much trouble.  Suffice to say, there's Luke and Leia, and all your favorites.   As a friend said of his restaurant, "everything is the same, only better".

See you again in December 2022 for the next version!

I liked it!   * * * * *

Knives Out

It's an old fashioned murder mystery a la Agatha Christi with the quirky investigator Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig).   It's uncertain how he is involved but he does get to participate in all investigation facets with the real police.  He says he got an envelope of cash to be "hired" but that he doesn't know who hired him or why?

Never mind those niceties - it's a star studded cast with Christopher Plummer as Harlan, a sucessful mystery novelist.  In a bit of poetic justice, he commits suicide (maybe?) and therefore there must be in investigation - "I have eliminated no suspects!"

The best part is that there is a act with a will-reading, made for the movies but never happens in real life.  Some interesting legal terms come in to juice it up a bit.

A fun little movie - **** of 5

Brittany Runs a Marathon

Now streaming on Amazon Prime, this Sundance 2019 award winner is part inspirational tale, but also at heart a RomCom with a definite script to follow.

Brittany is nearing 30, living in New York and having a quarter life crisis.  No job, no man or woman, overweight, she is convinced by her doctor to improve her health.  She starts small and finds a local runners group where she meet two misfits just like her.  They train for marathon (hero's quest), have a crisis of confidence (RomCom snafu 30 minutes before the end) and ... well, you can guess the rest.

Along the way to make some money she discovers house and dog sitting which leads her to her romantic interest Jern ( a very Aziz Ansari character).  More classic RomCom tropes emerge.

My guess is that this played so well at Sundance because it looks like an indie film with no-name actors but at heart is a classic studio story with a big name producer behind it (Tobey Maguire).

* * * of 5

Frozen (2013)

Disney's animated story with a lot of familiar ingredients:  the sister rivalry, the dead parents, the banishment, the hero's journey back and true love's kiss.  Add in some snow, and a huge helping of Wicked and you've now Frozen.

It does owe a lot to the Broadway musical that it will be destined to become, and even get the Broadway star Idina Menzel as Elsa and Kristin Bell as Anna (playing the other Kristin Chenowith part).  Also starring Josh Gad's voice as Olaf, the wise cracking snowman sidekick.

A predictable if pleasant Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty/ Beauty and the Beast story.

* * * of 5

National Lampoon's Animal House

A modern classic, still regularly quoted on college campuses everywhere.

Caddyshack (1980)

My latest post was about the first Saturday Night Live movie.  While this was not a skit from SNL, the writing was certainly inspired by that humor. Also starring SNL regulars Chevy Chase and Bill Murray, it's an Upstairs/Downstairs look at a country club inspired by Brian Doyle- Murray's caddying for the Chick Evans Scholarship in Chicago back in the 60s and 70s.

 Done in the pre VHS days it became a staple on HBO and is regularly quoted on every golf course in the world today. Also the subject of an interesting book, again quoting the movie's famous line, A Cinderella Story.

Written by Doug Kenney, also of National Lampoon's Animal House fame, which was also the subject of a movie about this movie, A Futile and Stupid Gesture. Hear it in the Animal House clip.