QUICK REVIEWS: 80s on Netflix from three acclaimed directors
[B][SIZE=3]MIDNIGHT RUN [/SIZE][/B](1988)
[I]dir[/I]. Martin Brest
It's very, very 80s; and the tone is oddly erratic. Sometimes a thriller, sometimes a comedy verging on slapstick... which is a very odd line to want to tread. Martin Brest most famously directed [I]Beverly Hills Cop[/I] [SIZE=1](1984)[/SIZE], so it is possible to achieve. I think the success rests on Robert deNiro and Charles Grodin's shoulders; a wonderful duo with great chemistry. A surprise smash hit in the 80s, it's become very ingrained in that time period due to Danny Elfman's score (which is both a blessing and a curse). It's surprisingly rewarding if you stick with it.
★★★☆☆ [SIZE=1][[I]grade[/I]: [B]B-[/B]][/SIZE]
[B][SIZE=3]SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT[/SIZE][/B] (1986)
[I]dir[/I]. Spike Lee
This was Spike Lee's first feature film, a black and white, low-budget modern day version of [I][SIZE=1]the[/SIZE] Philadelphia Story [/I][SIZE=1](1940)[/SIZE]. Exploring the themes of female empowerment through sexuality, it is a very interesting concept, maturely handled. It just isn't enough to sustain a whole film. It's a thesis that waits very late in the game to reach the meat of the idea. And as it's a very sexual movie, I do commend Lee's balanced camera eye when it comes to the nudity, we get a lot of male candy along with female nudity (and for me none of it tips into "CUNF" territory - completely unnecessary nude female). John Canada Terrell is especially gorgeous, by the way. And I found Lee's acting less destructive to the film than in [I]Do the Right Thing[/I] [SIZE=1](1989)[/SIZE].
★★★☆☆ [SIZE=1][[I]grade[/I]: [B]B[/B]][/SIZE]
[B][SIZE=3]VIDEODROME[/SIZE][/B] (1983)
[I]dir[/I]. David Cronenberg
A cult erotic horror classic from the 80s featuring James Woods... ohhhhh boy. On one level I applaud this (very out there) concept; that did actually have a decent amount to say about violence and porn leading to a corrupt society. And the makeup and special effects, for the time period, were excellent. I think if I tried to pinpoint the moment I knew this wasn’t a movie me: when the literal vagina in his chest... [SIZE=1]stay with me[/SIZE]... is penetrated by the guy’s fist, and the vagina turns said fist into a stick of dynamite... [SIZE=1]still there[/SIZE]... and he stumbles back coated in juices and explodes. Metaphorically subtle, it was not. [I]Blondie[/I]’s Debbie Harry was surprisingly good as the femme fatale; and I liked all the performances. It’s just... not a Frost film, shall we say.
★★★☆☆ [SIZE=1][[I]grade[/I]: [B]C+[/B]][/SIZE]