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Splash (1984) | Ron Howard

April 6, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Ron Howard directs this delightful romantic comedy that would score one of the biggest hits of 1984, SPLASH. Tom Hanks, Darryl Hannah and John Candy would all propel to a more secure stardom after their roles in this screwball but tender love story between a man who has trouble finding the right woman until a […]

Mannequin (1987) | Michael Gottlieb

March 30, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall star in this smash hit bubblegum romance about a struggling artist who falls in love with a mannequin possessed by a lovelorn ancient Egyptian spirit who turns his life around. James Spader, Estell Getty, and Meshach Taylor have supporting roles in this quintessential 80s fantasy-romance. Does it hold up?

Xanadu (1980) | Robert Greenwald

March 24, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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The much-maligned 1980 musical gets re-evaluated in this podcast review. Olivia Newton-John plays a muse who is sent to earth to inspire a struggling artist (Michael Beck) fulfill his dream of starting a roller-disco club with a retired construction magnate (Gene Kelly). Newton-John and pop group ELO deliver a powerhouse soundtrack in this visually impressive […]

Legend (1985) | Ridley Scott

March 17, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Following up two sci-fi masterpieces in ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER, Ridley Scott turned his gaze toward the realm of fantasy with LEGEND, starring Tom Cruise and Mia Sara. Critics greeted the film with a shrug upon its initial release, but it has gained a cult following over the years, and the Director’s Cut release has […]

The Last Unicorn (1982) | Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin Jr.

March 10, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Rankin and Bass, the team that brought us Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as well as the ThunderCats, brought this charming animated feature featuring Japanese animation from the team who would go on to form Studio Ghibli, and voiced by stars like Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Alan Arkin, and Christopher Lee. Peter S. Beagle adapts his […]

The Dark Crystal (1982) | Jim Henson & Frank Oz

March 4, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Jim Henson conceived of this elaborate realm of fantasy in which two competing races vie for the destiny of a faraway planet, as the evil Skeksis try to thwart the Gelflings of prophecy from uniting the planet yet again and bringing equilibrium to life there for those enslaved. This imaginative film had been a disappointment […]

Back to the Future Part III (1990) | Robert Zemeckis

February 23, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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The third and final entry in the BACK TO THE FUTURE Trilogy sees Marty and Doc in the Old West of Hill Valley in 1885, where Marty must save Doc from getting gunned down by an ancestor of Biff Tannen. It’s a softer, and more romantic effort, as Doc finds love with the charming schoolteacher, […]

Back to the Future Part II (1989) | Robert Zemeckis

February 15, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Marty and Doc must head 30 years into the future to save Marty’s kids from calamity,l but end up making a mess of the past when Biff Tannen takes over the DeLorean. Will they save themselves, and their pasts, as well as their futures? This ingenious sequel takes the premise of the original film for […]

Back to the Future (1985) | Robert Zemeckis

February 8, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale and Steven Spielberg present the original 1985 class, BACK TO THE FUTURE! Michael J. Fox plays 17-year-old Marty McFly, a spirited teenager who doesn’t seem to quite fit in with his current family, so much so that he spends a great deal of his time helping out an eccentric local scientist, […]

My Science Project (1985) | Jonathan R. Betuel

February 1, 2018April 16, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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John Stockwell, Fisher Stevens and Dennis Hopper appear in this low-budget sci-fi/comedy from 1985, MY SCIENCE PROJECT, where teens find an alien contraption of seemingly unlimited power that opens a portal from which people and things from Earth’s past and future pour into their high school. Now the teens need to pull the plug on […]

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) | Francis Ford Coppola

January 27, 2018April 16, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Francis Ford Coppola directs this fluffy but endearing film that asks the age-old question, “what if we could do it all over again?” An Oscar-nominated performance from Kathleen Turner bolsters this whimsical romantic comedy-drama with a time-travel twist, with a quirky role for Nicolas Cage as her no-good husband.

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) | Stephen Herek

January 20, 2018April 16, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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The breakthrough performance for Keanu Reeves, along with co-star Alex Winter, in this fun time-traveling romp through history, as two California teens pick up verious historical figures in their phone booth through time to pass an oral presentation that will secure Earth’s future — a future in which Bill & Ted are revered as saviors! […]

The Land Before Time (1988) | Don Bluth

January 13, 2018April 16, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Don Bluth collaborates with executive producer Steven Spielberg again, this time also joining forces with George Lucas for THE LAND BEFORE TIME, the film that would kick off a series of ten additional straight-to-video animated features for kids. Dinosaurs were all the rage, and Bluth and co. rode the wave to box office success with […]

An American Tail (1986) | Don Bluth

January 5, 2018April 16, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Don Bluth’s second feature film as director sees him joining forces with producer Steven Spielberg for AN AMERICAN TAIL, which details the immigrant experience for many of American ancestors in their long journey to the land of freedom and opportunity. Drawing from anecdotal material from Spielberg’s own grandfather’s stories, this heartwarming animated feature would go […]

The Secret of NIMH (1982) | Don Bluth

December 30, 2017April 16, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Don Bluth’s first big screen effort under his own name after splitting from Disney, along with several other Disney animators and artists, in order to try to return to the kind of groundbreaking style and commitments to storytelling that their former company had been skimping out on during the 1960s and 1970s. THE SECRET OF […]