E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial

One line review: The classic film may be impressive to children back in the 1980s, but it doesn’t hold up when an adult views it in modern times.

Movie Title: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

Actors: Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, K.C. Martel, Sean Frye, C. Thomas Howell

Director: Steven Spielberg

Year: 1982

Genre: Adventure

Method of Viewing: DVD

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes: 98% – It’s a simple beautiful story about loneliness, friendship, and the bittersweet pangs of childhood.

My rating: **

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): I just could not enjoy this film. Anything that is considering a childhood classic usually has trouble holding up for me. Further add in that a large portion of the excitement for this movie stems from Speilberg’s special effects. Even though the special effects stand the test of time, they are no longer something wonderful enough to carry the movie. What’s left is a harmless, innocent tale, but nothing that interests me in anyway. I really think the majority of the fun from this movie has to come form a child’s view, and I can’t appreciate it for any thing else.

Rambo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One line review: An entertaining action series that seems to hit all the cliches, but somehow doesn’t abuse them.

Movie Title: First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rambo III

Actors: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy, Bill McKinney, Jack Starrett, Michael Talbott, Chris Mulkey, John McLiam, Alf Humphreys, David Caruso, Charles Napier, Steven Berkoff, Julia Nickson, Martin Kove, George Cheung, Andy Wood, William Ghent, Voyo Goric, Dana Lee, Baoan Coleman, Steve Williams, Kurtwood Smith, Spiros Focás, Sasson Gabai, Doudi Shoua, Randy Raney, Marcus Gilbert, Alon Aboutboul, Mahmoud Assadollahi

Director: Ted Kotcheff, George P. Cosmatos, Peter MacDonald

Year: 1982, 1985, 1988

Genre: Action / Adventure

Method of Viewing: DVD

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes: 86% – The film that introduced John Rambo is a gripping survival adventure with an emotional ending that’s downright moving. Jerry Goldsmith contributes an excellent musical score.

29% – Far from credible, but a terrific, cheer-out-loud action film nevertheless. Immediately and deservedly made Stallone’s John Rambo a great individualistic screen hero to rival Eastwood’s Dirty Harry.

36% – Always at ground zero in the chaos is Rambo — gloriously, inhumanly impervious to fear and danger — whose character is inhabited by Stallone with messianic intensity.

My rating: **

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): What a strange jump from movie to movie for a trilogy. Despite the fact that the critics rate Rambo so high and it’s sequels so low, I found myself liking all of the movies about equally, although always for different reasons. However, overall I’m not terribly impressed by the series. First Blood starts with an impressive plot, but I don’t enjoy the nearly silent Rambo who ends up giving a dramatic yet completely impossible to understand final speech at the end. Rambo II and III have some decent action, but are ultimately forgettable. There’s some decent action, but not much else.

Star Trek I – IV

One line review: The first four Star Trek movies are a fantastic representation of Star Trek, combining the exploration, the action, and the cheesiness of the series.

Movie Title: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Majel Barrett, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Persis Khambatta, Stephen Collins, Grace Lee Whitney, Bibi Besch, Merritt Butrick, Jeff McBride, Paul Winfield, Kirstie Alley, Ricardo Montalban, Phil Morris, Scott McGinnis, Robin Curtis, Robert Hooks, Jane Wyatt, Catherine Hicks, Mark Lenard

Director: Robert Wise, Nicholas Meyer, Leonard Nimoy, Gene Roddenberry

Year: 1979 / 1982 / 1984 / 1986

Genre: Action / SciFi

Method of Viewing: DVD

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes:

Star Wars: 50% – More of an event than a movie…more flash than content.
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan: 90% – Considered by many fans to be the best of the Star Trek movies, Khan features a strong plot, increased tension, and a sharp supporting performance from Ricardo Montalban.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock: 76% – TThough it may be short on dazzling special effects, The Search for Spock is still a strong Star Trek installment, thanks to affecting performances by its iconic cast.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: 84% - Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is perhaps the lightest and most purely enjoyable entry of the long-running series, emphasizing the eccentricities of the Enterprise‘s crew.

My rating: ***

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): I decided to stop at the first four Star Trek movie, partially because the Angry Video Game Nerd reflected on Star Trek II, III, and IV as the closest thing that the Star Trek series has to a trilogy. It certainly does a fantastic job of representing the Star Trek series. The first movie capturing exploration, the second and third representing more of the action side, and the fourth representing the cheesy and silly plots. I believe Wrath of Khan is my favorite of the movies, mostly because the entire film seems better written, better acted, and an absolutely fantastic film.

Tron

One line review: What once was a technological marvel has little to offer to the modern viewer.

Movie Title: Tron

Actors: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes, Dan Shor, Peter Jurasik, Tony Stephano

Director: Steven Lisberger

Year: 1982

Genre: Action / Adventure

Method of Viewing: DVD

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes: 68% – Although Tron’s state-of-the-art, computer-generated visuals look primitive by current standards, it’s intelligently conceived (on a visual level, at any rate) and largely good fun.

My rating: **

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): This is definitely a movie that has not stood the test of time. It feels as though it’s completely reliant on visuals to entertain the viewers when the plot isn’t moving forward. Even when you simply focus on the plot, it’s a very simplistic one that doesn’t seem to live up to the hype that has surrounded it. To top that off, being a programmer does not help me appreciate the world that surrounds this film. While I was able to understand the cult following the Star Wars film had, I simply can’t understand why this film was considered a classic.