Tag Archives: New York City

Still of the Night (1982) | Robert Benton

January 8, 2023Hitchcockian Thrillers by Acclaimed Directorsaffair, art, auction, femme fatale, Hitchcockian, Jessica Tandy, Josef Sommer, Meryl Streep, murder, New York City, psychiatrist, Robert Benton, Roy Scheiderqwipster

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Roy Scheider plays a newly divorced New York psychiatrist named Sam Rice, who discovers that George Bynum (Josef Sommer), one of his prominent patients, has been murdered. Bynum was the curator of antiquities for Crispin’s, a high-scale auction house, who engaged in a sexual affair with Brooke Reynolds (Meryl Streep), a younger woman who worked with him. During his counseling sessions, Bynum told Sam all about Brooke in such vivid detail that Sam thinks he might have fallen for Bynum’s mistress himself. Those feelings get reinforced when Brooke visits Sam’s office to hand him Bynum’s wristwatch he left in her apartment the night of his death. Sam becomes infatuated with Brooke, but as he pursues her romantically, he’s also frightened of her because she might be Bynum’s murderer. As the police press him for evidence, Sam begins following Brooke to learn more, only to feel she might already be stalking him as her potential next kill. Robert Benton writes and directs.

Dressed to Kill (1980) | Brian De Palma

August 8, 2022Brian De Palma thrillersAngie Dickinson, Brian De Palma, David Margulies, Dennis Franz, Hitchcockian, homicide, infidelity, Keith Gordon, Ken Baker, Michael Caine, murder, Nancy Allen, New York City, promiscuity, prostitute, psychiatrist, serial killer, sexual fantasies, transgender, transsexual, transvestiteqwipster

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Angie Dickinson stars as Kate Miller, a housewife so unsatisfied sexually that she often finds herself having vivid and wild sexual fantasies, with violent overtones. She has been seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Elliott (Michael Caine), about her marital problems, and even makes a pass at him, although nothing comes to pass. Unable to resist the temptation, Kate has an afternoon fling with a complete stranger, only to end up the victim of a brutal and senseless slaying at the hands of a mysterious figure with a straight-edge razor. Only one person witnessed the murder, a spunky prostitute named Liz (Nancy Allen), who describes the perpetrator as a blonde woman in sunglasses. Meanwhile, Dr. Elliott begins receiving phone calls from one of his patients, Bobbi, a pre-op transsexual with homicidal tendencies, and Dr. Elliott’s stolen razor.

Ghostbusters II (1989) | Ivan Reitman

February 25, 2021Kooky SpooksAnnie Potts, baby, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, ghost, Harold Ramis, Ivan Reitman, New York City, Peter MacNicol, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver, single mother, slime, spirit, Statue of Liberty, Wilhelm von Homburgqwipster

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Five years after the events of Ghostbusters, the heroes are zeroes again, bankrupt after getting sued by the city for the destructive aftermath of clearing out the city of spooks. There’s also a Federal restraining order prohibiting them from continued ghostbusting. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) is now the host of a cheesy local cable talk show called, “World of the Psychic.” Occult bookstore owner Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) gets side work with Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), cosplaying as Ghostbusters for childrens’ birthday parties. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) is back at Columbia University, investigating how human emotions affect psycho-magnetic energy. Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) is a single mother after leaving Venkman for his inability to commit, having a baby, now eight months old, with another man. Louis Tully (Rick Moranis) applies his knack for accounting to become a tax lawyer.

They reunite after being approached by Peter’s ex, Dana, who reports a strange occurrence involving her baby’s carriage traveling on its own. They discover rivers of mood slime running beneath the city, converging on the Manhattan Museum of Art, where Dana works as an art restorer, including a life-size portrait of Medieval sorcerer warlord, Vigo the Carpathian. Vigo’s spirit lives within his portrait, and to enter into the realm of the living, he needs a baby to be his vessel to come to the mortal realm and continue his reign of terror. He makes a deal with Dana’s boss, Dr. Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol), to secure her baby, Oscar, in exchange for a date with her.

Ghostbusters (1984) | Ivan Reitman

February 11, 2021Kooky SpooksAnnie Potts, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, ghost, Ghostbusters, going into business, Harold Ramis, Ivan Reitman, New York City, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver, William Athertonqwipster

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Ghostbusters centers on three university researchers (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis) of paranormal activity who go into business of their own once they get into trouble for their uncouth antics, and their grant money runs out. They emerge on the scene as the “Ghostbusters”, a trio of exterminators (of sorts), willing to investigate phenomena from anyone in New York City willing to call their number and pay their fees. Though the public is initially skeptical, these men soon become heroes, then celebrities, for their success rate, drawing the attention of the media, as well as the EPA (who are curious about their containment system), as the amount of ghostly appearances seems to be on a major upswing.

Sigourney Weaver co-stars as a cellist named Dana Barrett, who is one of the first in her old building to begin seeing strange things in her refrigerator, causing her to make the call she never thought she’d have to make. Along with her neighbor, Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), she becomes the conduit for the rise of the malevolent Babylonian spirit, whose aims are to bring darkness onto the world. Directed by Ivan Reitman.

Erratum: The artist friend Aykroyd used for conceptual art on Ghost Smashers was John “The Viking” Deveikis, not the cited Thom Enriquez, who made additional conceptual art once Reitman was on board.

The Brother from Another Planet (1984) | John Sayles

September 4, 2020Alien Refugeesalien, assimilation, Bill Cobbs, Caroline Aaron, classism, David Strathairn, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ellis Island, extraterrestrial, Fisher Stevens, Harlem, heal, immigration, Joe Morton, John Sayles, New York City, racism, slavery, Tom Wright, video gamesqwipster

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A mute extraterrestrial resembling a black man (but with feet that have three toes) crash lands his spaceship near New York City. Not understanding where he is or what people are saying, he finds his way to Harlem’s 125th Street. Although derided as either crazy or homeless, others discover his worth when he can heal broken electronics and human injuries with a single touch. A concerned social worker helps him get a job as a repairman. Hobnobbing with patrons at a local bar, the Brother finds a dangerous world outside of junkies, thieves, and thugs. Bounty hunters from his homeworld are after him. After discovering a boy’s heroin overdose, he uncovers a Wall Street drug ring. Joe Morton stars in this John Sayles film.

King Kong (1976) | John Guillermin

May 15, 2020Going Apeape, Beauty and the Beast, Charles Grodin, Dino de Laurentiiis, giant, human sacrifice, island, Jeff Bridges, John Guillermin, King Kong, Lorenzo Semple Jr., monster, native, New York City, oil, World Trade Centerqwipster

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In this remake of the 1933 classic of the same name, Petrox, a gasoline corporation, sends an expedition to an uncharted island near Micronesia obscured by perpetual fog to find out if there’s oil there. Stowing away is Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges), a paleontologist from Princeton University curious if the reports of a giant primate residing on there are true. they pick up another unexpected passenger in Dwan (Jessica Lange), an aspiring American actress adrift in a lifeboat.

What they find instead of useable oil is a gorilla six times the size of a normal ape, who is the god to which the native villagers sacrifice women, of which Dwan becomes the next in line. Kong takes a liking to Dwan but gets captured by the Petrox people who take him back to the United States to gain publicity. Problems arise when the ape escapes and begins destroying the city searching for Dwan. Charles Grodin Costars. John Guillerman directs this Dino De Laurentiis production fro a Lorenzo Semple Jr. Script.

Splash (1984) | Ron Howard

April 6, 2018The Girl of My Dreams1984, comedy, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, John Candy, mermaid, New York City, romance, Ron Howard, Tom Hanksqwipster

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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 mermaid steps…or swims…into his life.

Around the World in 80s Movies Podcast

A concise podcast reviewing the films released in the 1980s, with history, trivia, fun facts, and film critic Vince Leo's personal recollection with the era that defined a generation's taste in movies.

Tag Archives: New York City

Still of the Night (1982) | Robert Benton

Dressed to Kill (1980) | Brian De Palma

Ghostbusters II (1989) | Ivan Reitman

Ghostbusters (1984) | Ivan Reitman

The Brother from Another Planet (1984) | John Sayles

King Kong (1976) | John Guillermin

Splash (1984) | Ron Howard