AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Much that comes from ALL decades gets maligned or marginalized. Sturgeon’s Law, y’know? As such things go, the 80s sure as hell is beating out any of the decades that have followed it for enduring cultural output.
Ha! You didn’t even see the part where he’s shirtless. Imagine the world’s fittest grub and you’re close. With a sledgehammer.
H.
Dead Heat with the zombified detective.
Evilspeak with a early pc calling for human sacrifice.
Electric Dreams with the lovesick pc and Georgio Moroder score.
OMG right! Loved that flick!
God damn I loved Streets of Fire. Good to see other people remember it fondly. It’s right up there with Blade Runner for its production design. Another obscure but excellent Walter Hill from the '80s is Southern Comfort.
Southern Comfort is a fantastic movie.
Now Tank on the other hand…
Who thinks up these screeplays?
" Sergeant Major Zak Carey is serving what is his final tour of duty at an Army base somewhere in the South. Zak doesn’t like the way the Army keeps the base and the bar is not what he’s accustomed to. So he goes off base to get a beer. When he goes to the bar one of the local prostitutes tries to come on to Zak but Zak turns her down. That’s when the deputy who appears to be her pimp beating her up. That’s when Zak strikes him. Later he learns that the Sheriff is corrupt and takes what happened to the Deputy as an attack on him and tries to get Zak but the Army backs him and Zak is not intimidated. That’s when they arrest his son on trumped up drug charges. Before Zak can fix it, his wife tries to get a lawyer for their son but this only pushes the Sheriff to send their son to a prison farm. With no other recourse Zak gets into his own vintage Sherman Tank and busts his son out and they try to make it to the state line so that they can expose the Sheriff."
Aahh Tank, reminded me of Iron Eagle, but with a tank…
A movie I wish I could forget:
Meet the Feebles
One of my 80s favorites: Slamdance. Bought it on VHS and watched it countless times when there was nuthin’ else on. Tom Hulce, Virginia Madsen (who I fell madly in love with as a result of this movie), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and even a reasonably well done performance by Adam Ant.
Dude you just reminded me - how about Of Unknown Origin, where Peter Weller trashes his home while dueling a malevolent rat?
Probably my favorite forgotten classic that hasn’t been mentioned is Gymkata, which made the rounds as a Saturday night movie on broadcast TV within about a year of its release.
From IMDB: Johnathan Cabot is a champion gymnast. In the tiny, yet savage, country of Parmistan, there is a perfect spot for a “star wars” site. For the US to get this site, they must compete in the brutal “Game”. The government calls on Cabot, the son of a former operative, to win the game. Cabot must combine his gymnastics skills of the west with fighting secrets of the east and form GYMKATA!
What’s not to love about a fighting gymnast?
The market scene really encapsulates all that is wrong with that movie. The word’s least intimidating action hero, who makes anyone who fights him wait around while he does a couple unneeded flips between kicks.
Yet, I can’t help but watch every time it comes on. Especially for the crazy village scene, with the rock pommel horse crowd fight.
For those who just can’t wait for the Netflix DVD to arrive, the pommel horse scene is available on the intarweb
I’ll see your pulse and raise you Shocker, the electric horror movie!
H.
Ooh, and that reminds me of a true, mainstream, bizarre, forgotten movie!
Freaky spacegun hijinks! Albert Finney being crotchety at a youngish age! Superior mustaches!
H.
I loved that movie!
Speaking of mustaches, has anyone mentioned Runaway with Tom Sellick?
You buried the lead, Brian; the best part of Runaway was Gene Simmons as the bad guy.