Return of the Jedi 1983
A New Hope unfolds slowly, revealing as it goes the beginnings of the saga of the Skywalker clan, or at least this generation of it. The Empire Strikes Back is entertaining and well made but ultimately slightly depressing, as evil triumphs and Han is frozen in some really bad crap. Return of the Jedi, the final film of the original Star Wars trilogy, is just a hell of a lot of fun, as the rebels speed through the forest dodging Ewoks while kick-ass Jedi Luke visits daddy on the Death Star and Ian McDiarmid shows us why he’s so much better than we are, lightning bolts from the hands notwithstanding. ROTJ starts hard and fast, with our first glimpse at Luke 2.0, now with extra Ass Kicking. His conversation with Jabba oozes cool, as does his demands and eventual use of his lightsaber aboard Jabba’s ships. Once on Endor the film kicks it into ultra mega high gear, with comic relief provided by Threepio and the Ewoks while Han and Leia try to bust down the Death Star’s defense shield. Luke’s scenes with Palpatine and Vader are dark and suspenseful, contrasting the light fun of the Rebel battle on the surface below, and providing the best scenes of the entire Star Wars saga. Some complain that the third installment of Lucas’s tale becomes to popcorny, with the ish Ewoks and less classic storytelling than the previous two installments. Bollocks, says I. Return of the Jedi is balls out fun, with ass kicking on the ground and in space, cool Jedis doing their thing, and a great celebration to cap off the previous six hours of film, particularly in the Special Edition. Tales of trade embargoes and Clone Wars may be entertaining, but this is the stuff that awesomeness is made of.
The Blues Brothers 1980
In his review of The Blues Brothers, Roger Ebert asks where this film came from, because it’s like none he ever saw before. I quote the man because there’s nothing I can say that better summarizes John Landis’s 1980 classic. This is amazing work, and a feat rarely accomplished: John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were able to take their SNL alter egos Jake and Elwood Blues and successfully translate them over to the silver screen, in the process creating a fun trip through Chicagoland filled with more car crashes than a lifetime of General Motors product testing. Jake’s fresh out of Joliet Penitentiary, and a trip back to the orphanage he and Elwood were raised in reveals that the two have to raise five thousand dollars within a week to pay back taxes or, alas, no more orphanage. The solution? Get the band back together, of course. This inspiration comes to Jake as the Brothers visit a church pastored by James Brown, one of the film’s many tremendous musical numbers. Aretha Franklin’s "Think" is filled with far more energy than the original recording, while Ray Charles’s "Shake Your Tailfeather" has the whole band joining in for a mid-movie cooldown. John Lee Hooker jams on the street outside Ray’s Music Emporium just before that number, one of many scenes that provide the film with much of its urban authenticity. This film could only
Ghostbusters 1984
Oh, how delightfully snarktastic! This is "serious" comedy at its best, with a cast that takes themselves at their word and expects you to believe everything that happens. You should; after all, they’re ready to believe you. Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd’s script originally portrayed the paranormal investigators as garbagemen in outer space, but script revisions sent from the gods resulted in this comic gem where the two writers join Bill Murray as a group of wayward scientists who open up a ghost investigation, trapping and containment system just as an ancient bitch god takes the form of Sheena Easton and decides she wants to asplode Planet Earth, starting with New York City. The three leads are practically unrecognizable; watch The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters back to back and you’ll have a hard time believing that Aykroyd is present for both. Ramis’s head seems to grow taller to compensate for Egon Spengler’s enormous brain, while Murray sinks his teeth into the role of his career, Peter Venkman; he gets almost all the best lines, and this flick has plenty to offer. From Venkman’s battle with the EPA and City Hall to Ray’s explanation accidentally summoning a giant marshmallow, the dialogue is fresh and fun, riding that tightrope between unbelievable comedy (such as Caddyshack) and over-the-top drama. The story’s killer and flows perfectly, the acting is top-notch and the effects are tremendous for 1984. Ghostbusters is just simply stellar filmmaking.