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1980s

Watch It: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai…

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth DimensionThe Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (1984) has perhaps the longest name of any movie I've seen—so long, in fact, that I had to truncate it for use in the title.

Anyway, the titular character, played by a very young Peter Weller (Robocop was still three years away), is a Japanese/American race car driver…and a neurosurgeon…and a rock star…and a comic book hero. He also dabbles in scientific invention, and has created an oscillation overthruster that allows him to travel into and out of the eighth dimension. Confused yet? Try watching the trailer. It actually won't help your confusion any, but it gives you a good taste of what the movie is like.

The movie waivers between a satire of sci-fi movies and a rollicking good sci-fi adventure movie. You may have to watch the movie a couple times to begin to have an understanding of what you've just seen. But that's not a bad thing, because the cast here is full of great actors, many in their early- or even pre-fame days. You'll see Jeff Goldblum, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Christopher Lloyd, and a few other faces that may be familiar, even if the names are not. (Keep an eye out for Vincent Schiavelli, the ghost from Ghost, for instance.)

The story is convoluted, some (ok, most) of the special effects are cheesy and cheap looking, and you're never sure whether to take the movie seriously or not. But it all moves at a good pace, and there are numerous funny bits to keep you wondering what's going to happen next. And hey, you'll probably never see another movie whose lead character is a neurosurgeon, race car driver, and a rock star, right?

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Watch It: A Fish Called Wanda

A Fish Called Wanda Blu-rayA Fish Called Wanda (1988) is an entertaining movie (wonderfully written by John Cleese) with an all-star cast (Cleese, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Palin). The movie starts with the gang pulling off a jewel heist, and from there, it quickly evolves into a tale of double-crossing and trickery as each member of the gang tries to outwit the other to steal the loot.

I won't go into the plot more than the above; it's more fun to watch when you don't have any idea what happens. I will add that the scene in the barrister's house involving the necklace is 15 minutes of pure comic mayhem. The cast all do a great job, but Kevin Kline really steals the show with his performance as, well, you'll have to watch.

One minor note: the humor here is clearly adult, so send the kiddies off to bed before starting the show.

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Watch It: The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride Blu-rayThe Princess Bride (1987) tells the tale of a stable-boy-turned-pirate's journey to rescue the love of his life; it's based on the 1973 book of the same name.

The film touches on almost every subject imaginable, including pirates, princesses, sword fighting, adventure travel, large evil creatures, good guys and bad guys, true love, death, giants, and even logic-based drinking games. In short, this is not your average kids' fairy tale—and because it's not your average fairy tale, it's a very fun and interesting movie.

There are many wonderfully quotable lines and short tidbits of dialog (You may have heard the most-oft-repeated one: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." … but there are many others. I suggest you not visit that link until after you've seen the movie, though; there are many spoilers in that collection.)

The cast includes a number of faces you'll recognize, even if you don't recall their names—I found Mandy Patinkin, as the aforementioned Inigo Montoya, particularly entertaining. Cary Elwes, Chris Sarandon and even the late great André the Giant also do a fine job with their roles. Peter Falk narrates (I could listen to that voice all day), in his role as a grandfather telling this tale to his grandson, played by 11-year-old Fred Savage.

It's hard to describe everything you'll experience in this movie, but it's worth experiencing. So if you've been avoiding it (thinking perhaps it was just another kids' film), stop doing so, and give it a look. If you have seen it, but not lately, perhaps it's time to renew your acquaintance? That's what I did over the weekend, in fact.

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Watch It: Real Genius

Real Genius [DVD]I cannot recall the first time I saw Real Genius (1985), but it wasn't in the theater.

Whenever it was, the movie made enough of an impression that it became one of my fave comedies—something that's still true today. I owned it on VHS, I own it on DVD, and if it comes out on Blu-ray, I'll probably buy that, too. (I noticed while writing this that the iTunes version is listed as HD, so I may have to invest in that one.)

The cast is a bunch of names you've never heard of, except for a very young Val Kilmer. The plot centers on two geniuses at a college, working together on a laser project that just happens to have military applications.

There are any number of hilarious mini sub-plots running through the movie, and Val Kilmer is very funny as the older genius at the college. Toss in a guy living in the basement below the closet, a lottery fix, a sexy woman on a mission, ice skating in a dorm hallway, and a slew of one-liners, and you've got a recipe for a very entertaining 108 minutes of movie fun. Thought provoking? No. Well-developed plot? Not so much. But fun? Yea, it's got that to spare.

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Watch It: Fletch

[The first in a series of recommendations for older perhaps not-so-popular movies that I found enjoyable, and that you may as well.]

Fletch blu rayDuring his long career, Chevy Chase has been in lots of movies…including lots of really bad movies.

Fletch (1985), however, is not one of the bad ones.

It may not be his greatest movie, or even his second greatest movie, but I think it's got a solid hold on third place.

Many of you reading this probably weren't born when it came out in 1985, or were way too young to have seen it at the time. If so, and if you haven't seen it since, well, you're missing out on what has to be the funniest "newspaper reporter as undercover druggie selected for murder-for-hire scheme which turns into something much bigger" movies ever made. OK, so it may be the only entrant in that category; it's still funny.

Chevy Chase plays Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher, who writes an anonymous column on various subjects for a Los Angeles paper. While undercover investigating drug dealing on the beach, he's offered $50,000 to kill an apparently-healthy, and very wealthy, man.

Suspicions aroused, Fletch starts digging, and what he finds takes him to an upscale country club, to police headquarters and prison, and to and from Utah (a couple of times). The plot line is tenuous (at best), but Chevy Chase carries the movie (yes, I said that) through a series of funny scenarios, improbable disguises, and seemingly ad-libbed dialog. Be warned that if you don't like deadpan, sardonic humor (i.e. Chevy Chase), you probably won't like this movie.

The movie is filled with great one-liners, visual gags, and the cast includes George Wendt (then just three years into Cheers) and Geena Davis (in only her second movie role). There's also a brief but fun cameo from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, recreating his most-famous movie role.

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