The Gate (1987)

****

The latest Night Drop Box selection is this 80's unsees movie, been on my watch list for longer than I care to remember.

For starters I have no idea how this movie remained a 15 rating, it must have been terrifying to watch as a kid. Face melts and all sorts, that phone call early on got me, I thought that was genuinely creepy. You can conly applaud a low budget film in the late 80's that can muster up effects like that, truly old school.

I really did enjoy this one, I can see where Joe Dante got most of his ideas from for The Hole. It borrows elements from certain movies like The Pit while also managing the tough task of coming up with it's own ideas. I really enjoyed this one, a real creepy movie.

Dance Academy (1988)

****

Wow! Another dance movie that I hadn't seen! Could this be true? It is!

I thought I had seen all dance movies the world had to offer but then along comes Dance Academy, a low budget movie based around the Fame, Flashdance and Breakin' scenarios.
This movie is like a wet dream for me, the dance scenes are phenomenal and the soundtrack is incredible. Yeah, so the acting is awful at times but what do you expect? In my opinion it only adds to the awesome feel of the movie.

This is no Heavenly Bodies or Girls Just Wanna Have Fun but it's pretty damn close. Next up on the screening list is War Dancing.

China O'Brien (1990)

***

After my recent craze on all things martial arts I came across the trailer for this movie, I have been unable to think of much else since. The VHS tape was delivered this morning.

I love it when movies decide to abandon all the rules of great filmmaking and go straight for the throat. In this movie you will find no acting skills, it's practically No Retreat No Surrender in that sense. But what it lacks in acting it more than makes up for in action. The fighting is spectacular, rigid as hell but most definitely spectacular nonetheless. I loved the bad guys too, they had me so worked up for a cheesy movie it's unreal, I was almost punching my projector screen they got me so mad.

This film is simply magical. If you like no holds barred all out action with very little sense of direction, this is the movie for you. Cynthia Rothrock is an angel sent down from heaven to entertain and kick some ass. She does both with a huge smile on her face. Seek it out now! I'm on the hunt for the sequel.

Dudes (1987)

***½

This screening is part of the Night Drop Box and was chosen at random by the world of Twitter.

I'm not a massive fan of Jon Cryer let that be said, and I never thought i'd find him slightly charming again since Pretty In Pink but I have to say he sort of won me over in this one. I love my cross-country road trip movies and this is no different. It has a dumb but fun plot and features some ridiculous acting and characters. Elvis singing at a Rodeo? Cowboy and Indian ghosts? Flea in another acting role? Weird to say the least but it oddly comes together to make for a very fun ride.

Like most of the CBS/FOX titles i've rented and purchased over the years this one has not let me down. Thanks for choosing it for me Twitter!

Christine (1983)

****

One of the very few Carpenter movies that passed me by, this and Dark Star were the only two that I missed. You couldn't touch him in the late 70's to early 80's, the guy was on fire.

This movie is fantastic. Following on from the likes of Duel and The Car, Carpenter has made his very own killer car movie but with a twist, there is a face to the car. It's menacing in it's prey and relentless too, I love the fact that as it's speechless it uses the radio by way of warning, playing a tune with you in mind. It's genius!

I also loved the score too, besides the Dreamboats and Petticoats tunes that play throughout, you also get a slice of Carpenter's personal synth touch and it works wonders for the scenes.

It's an amazing piece of work and one which I benefited from holding on to. It's just got me craving for Dark Star now.

The Witches (1990)

****

This movie used to terrify me as a kid yet I would seem to watch it every other weekend.

Thankfully it still holds up marvellously, the acting really is top notch. As soon as the film started the memories came flooding back. The convention scene is key to the plot and I find it quite amusing that they would use bald men instead of women, it's so blatantly obvious that you have to wonder if it was intentional.

The is a family fun movie and one which will always hold a very special place in my heart. Superb stuff!

The Jerk (1979)

*****

Again, it was time to educate my wife and what could be the funniest movie I have ever seen.

Carl Reiner and Steve Martin are a match made in heaven and you'll rarely see a better example of such magic than in The Jerk. It's a one man stand-up show in live action. Martin is hilarious and the lines just keep on coming. The hotel scene where he's in the bath is one of my all-time favourites, followed closely by the 'Cans' scene at the gas station. "And who's my favourite Gal?" - "Woof, woof!" - "That's right."

I hadn't seen this movie in over 8 years or more but it's still as funny now as it was back then, I was in stitches.

I'd find it hard to believe that anyone other than my wife hasn't seen this one so I won't even go there. This is just a timeless classic that in my opinion gets better with age. Perfect comedy.