The Life and Times of a Midwestern Movie Addict

In the early 90s, Universal had a slew of projects that were released to moderately good reviews but low box office success.  Later, when the films hit video, they would make a killing in rentals and tape sales (that was what we watched before DVD and Bluray to you younguns...we even had Laserdiscs) because the films were quality crowd-pleasers, well made and unfortunately victims of bad advertising (explaining why no one showed up when they were in the theaters).  This group of under-appreciated gems included such fan favorites as Sneakers and Heart and Souls , as well as 'the little monster movie that could'.  It has spawned 3 sequels and several imitators, itself an imitation of the monster movies from the 1950s, and has given the film world several memorable leading characters.  Lets examine where this franchise began and dig into Tremors . Perfection, Nevada is a small town in the middle of a desert valley and has a maximum population of 11 people.  It...

Well friends, its finally come to it...I'm moving out of my place for 5 weeks to go to Athens and take some courses.  It should be fun, and yes I'll be driving home often to check on my place so no need to worry about me and my things.  The folks who run the apartments are checking in on the place while I'm away as well, so everything should be right as rain.  While I'm away I'm hoping to find Athens well and populated with at least a few friends of mine so that I'm not bored.  Of course, I shouldn't wish for no boredom...as I will have to do work for class and I don't relish having a lot of homework.  I've got a lot to figure out while I'm there too, like what kind of program I'm going to complete to get my full Theater certification and where I'm gonna go to do it.  I also need to get to the amusement parks (but I'm filing that under 'frivolity').  I feel like I've been so busy this week, I don't feel like I did anyt...

Well the 80s party was a success. We watched a lot of fun movies, listened to music that made us dance, and made fun of just about everything that came on screen until we got too tired to make jokes.  Oh, and Nick had TWO slices of DQ cake...who knew?  I've still got three slices left, and one is calling my name already.  Oh, and I've got a bowlful of kettle chips left over too.  If there's one thing I always do, it's that I always buy too much food.  As for our marathon, we got through 4 movies between Saturday night and Sunday morning (as well as one episode of "Inspector Gadget") and I'm sure you're dying to know what we managed to get through.  Here we go! To start, we popped in one which was a favorite of us all and which brought back fond memories of our childhoods, Adventures in Babysitting .  Aside from being amazed that all of us seemed to see this for the first time while we were being babysat, we also remarked on how well made the film w...

Today is going to be a fun day.  Why you ask?  Because me and some friends are getting together this evening and having our Big 80s Slumber Party (if it sounds a little gay, that's because it is).  We're gonna eat junk food, listen to Madonna, and watch 80s movies all while decked out on sleeping bags in the middle of the floor.  I'm sure there will be some playing of classic games like Mall Madness as well.  Its not very grown-up, but then none of us were at that time.  I even got a DQ cake (cause I remember those being all the rage in town in the 80s....or maybe it was just at our house...it all runs together for me).  I dunno how some people would look at reverting to childhood for a night, but I think its healthy and fun...and way better than just getting wasted in a bar.  Of course, we'll probably be drinking too...so never mind that comparison.  So, since this is mainly a movie blog and I said we'd be watching 80s movies so I'm sure you...

Well, I'm back...and its only been a few day delay.  You'll excuse my laxness in getting this newest post out on the net, but I've been very very lazy this week and I haven't been watching a lot of action lately...I've been more into watching comedy and horror, so after today I'm gonna go back to writing about whatever strikes my fancy.  I think writing towards a theme is nice for a week, especially when you're dealing with a series or something, but I'd much rather just go wherever my mind takes me.  That said, I still like to keep a certain amount of regulation about my posts.  I never write about anything I haven't recently watched, or about things that haven't really happened.  I mean, I could write about daydreams I have and fantasies I entertain...but that's a little more than I want to put on the internet.  After all, my mother reads this...so I need to keep it clean (I think she's gonna get a kick out of that by the way).  Anyway,...

My look into action continues after another slight delay, as we look at a picture that's not only a thrill-a-minute but its also a laugh-a-minute, but first lets talk about life.  I'm officially on summer break now, and I'm enjoying it...but it is a little boring.  I won't lie.  Of course, I'd probably be a lot happier if all was well with my new home theater set up.  Oh don't worry, there's nothing wrong with the new tv, it arrived in perfect condition and works great...its the audio receiver.  When we plugged it in, the fan was making a clicking noise and it sounded like something was loose inside and hitting the fan.  I probably could have fixed it, but I didn't want to open it up and void my warranty.  So I had to return the receiver today and they won't exchange it, because its out of stock now...also, I had to pay my own return charges which stank.  And I can't buy a new receiver until next week when I have the refund money back in my accou...

I'm back with another look at another action flick for you...I know, its been forever.  I have no excuses, I just haven't felt like writing.  Yeah, I did write on Monday...but that wasn't really about movies.  It was more about life...and I try not to write too much about my life because it always sounds frivolous and whiny.  I mean, if something really awesome happens...you can bet I'm gonna write about it.  However, mostly nothing happens to me.  See?  I'm already sounding whiny. Anyway, today I'm talking about one of the genre's classics from the 1980s that was written by a fresh out of school writer and designed as a vehicle for its two stars.  It also is responsible for the rash of buddy/cop flicks that were released in its wake (much like how Scream was responsible for all of its clones in the mid-late 90s).  To this day it is still a raw and unrelenting picture that is laced with great comic moments and has a darkside that is unlike ...