Old Films Reviewed

Many children of the 80s grew up quoting this movie. The fact that people even know the 'truffle shuffle' is proof that this movie was, at least at one time, a major hit. The Goonies is a Steven Spielburg film so even though it was made in the early 80s, the effects are still pretty nice.

Anyway on to the plot and such.

This movie is about a group of loud obnoxious neighborhood kids, whose parents have been hit by the recession and are losing their homes. The icing on the cake is that their homes will be destroyed for a nicer newer country club by the biggest jerk in school's father.

The dreamer of the group Mikey (Sean Astin) has high hopes that they can save their homes by following a treasure map and finding the lost pirate treasure. His cohorts all have fun nicknames: Mouth (Corey Feldman), Data (Jonathan Ke Quan), and Chunk (truffle shuffle extrordinnaire Jeff Cohen). Since they are just kids, Mikey's older brother goes to retrieve them, and ends up joining them on thier adventures. His crush Andy and her friend Stef also join them.

The group follow the treasure map to a "Summer Place" where the Fertelli Gang have a money printing operation and thier hideout. Under the fireplace in a basement room is the entrance to some old caves. The kids, minus Chunk who was distracted by a freezer full of ice cream, go down to the caves and find rooms with pipes going into buildings followed by the bottom of an old wishing well. Chunk is sent to get help but is intercepted by the Fertelli's. After a humerous confession he is tied up with an "it." The it is called Sloth and is the somewhat deformed but really strong younger brother of the Fertelli clan. Chunk and Sloth bond over some chocolate before escaping.

After several close calls with the Fertelli's the kids take a crazy water slide into a large cave with the pirate ship. The ship has lots of treasure, but the Fertelli's are not complete morons and catch up to them making the kids walk the plank and hand over all the gold in thier pockets.

Never fear, 'justice' and Sloth prevail saving the kids, and no one even dies. This is a family film you know.

As a kid I loved the movie, once I got married I was surprised that it was two hours of screaming children. Of course, now that I have a screaming kid of my own the screaming is more tolerable. But, be prepared for lots of screaming.

Overall I rate it four stars, with a special bonus star for the preteen and young teen group. Just be aware, PG ratings in the 80s meant you will hear the occasional 4 letter word (we are talking the s word, and the h word, but not the f bomb).

An environmentally friendly movie for Earth Day!

I gotta love me some Hayao Miyazaki even if his films aren't all that old. Nausicaa Valley of the Wind is one of Miyazaki's earliest works, and was released in 1984 before the formation of Studio Ghibli. Its a sci-fi, environmental film.

Nausicaa is the Princess of the Valley of the Wind, a remote agricultural village located on the sea. The valley is surrounded by desert and beyond that is the jungle where giant insects (including the Ohmu) live. The time is 100 years after the 7 Days of Fire. At that time, a huge war/battle obliterated the ecosystem leaving most of civilization in ruins. The land was covered by plants that release spores toxic to humans, but the Valley is safe due to the wind blowing in from the sea.

One night a large air ship crashes into the valley. Nausicaa tries to steer them clear of the mountain, but it was too late. In the ship is a young princess who warns Nausicaa that the cargo must be destroyed. The cargo turns out to be the heart/fetus thingy of a Giant Warrior. The Giant Warriors were used during the 7 Days of Fire battle, and if you have one, you are the king of the world.

A bigger, and more ruthless kingdom Tolmekia comes for the Giant Warrior fetus, and to kill Nausicaa's father, the King. They leave with several hostages, including Nausicaa. Nausicaa tells Yupa (some random old guy that is her father's friend and her mentor) that the plants in the toxic jungle are not toxic, its the soil. She also reveals a secret lab where she has the plants growing and they are thriving.

While the Tolmekians are returning to thier kingdom, a Pejite airship attacks them. They land to do some repairs, and Nausicaa finds out from the Ohmu that the pilot is still alive. The pilot ends up being the twin brother of the young princess. Nausicaa is taken to Pejite and finds the place destroyed. The people lured the Ohmu there to destryo the land and chase out the Tolmekians, they also plan to do the same to the Valley of the Wind so they can get the Giant Warrior back.

Of course Nausicaa has to save the valley.

Overall the film is exciting and intriguing at the same time. The plot implies that weapons of mass destructions will screw us some day, and it also shows that as a whole the Earth wants to right things. I was also surprised when I looked up some things for the film and found out who the voice actors were. They include: Alison Lohman, Patrick Stewart, Uma Thurman and Shia Lebeuf.

It may not be for the youngest audience, as there aren't any musical numbers or flashy scenes like Disney, but it is a great film and one that I have a copy of and enjoy.

Sorry for the long break in blogging...school started for Danno and we stopped watching movies. What can I say, not enough time. We have watched a few movies since last July (you would think so in 8 months) but having all the details might be hard, so I pulled a 'classic' off our shelf.

The Snowman is a musical illustration of a children's picture book. We watched this movie often enough to wear out the VHS tape as kids. The basic gist is that there is an amazing snowfall one winter and this boy builds a snowman outside. The snowman comes to life using Christmas Eve magic (as that's the only way to explain it) and gets to see some of the sites in the boys house including his toys, dress up in the parent's clothing, and a thrilling motorcycle ride.

After a while, the Snowman has to join the rest of the snow people on their way to the North Pole to party with Santa Claus.

I obviously love this movie, so this is an unashamedly biased review. The movie starts out with an intro by (ok can't remember his name...and the case doesn't say, so its some mildly famous British dude). Then it gets to the good stuff. This is an animation in a strictly sketch style. The music by Howard Blake is awesome. (As it should be considering there is no spoken word, and only a short clip with singing.)

I have to say, I checked my copy and I don't have the British dude on it. This short was first put out as a made for TV.

The Snowman was nominated for the 1982 Academy Award for best animated short film, but lost out to Crac by Frederic Back. Its a short that has music and sound effects, instead of just a musical score that rules the video.

Its nice how you can find these things on places like Google Video. And since, I can't leave a movie review with a different clip and not include the piece that's reviewed here it is:

If you haven't seen the book, check it out. It is a GREAT picture book (as in no words), and the movie is just as great. A nice 27 minute Holiday film. And lets face it, the music is what makes this movie. Without the music you may as well read (or rather look at) the book.

Are we giving ratings? Its been too long to remember, I would give this 5 stars or popcorn's, or small children. Its fascinating and beautiful.