The
Goonies (PG)
ASIN: 6303212379
From Amazon:
You may be surprised to discover that the director of the Lethal
Weapon movies and scary horror flick The Omen, Richard Donner,
also produced and directed this classic children's adventure (which, by
the way, was written by Donner's screen-wizard friend Steven Spielberg).
Then again you may not. The Goonies, like Donner's other movies,
is the same story of good versus evil. It has its share of bad guys (the
Fratelli brothers and their villainous mother), reluctant-hero good guys
(the Walsh bothers and their gang of friends), and lots of corny
one-liners. Like in an old-fashioned Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew plot, the
Goonies need to solve a problem: a corrupt corporate developer has
bought out their neighborhood and plans to flatten all their homes.
Luckily, the beloved gang stumbles on a treasure map. In the hopes of
finding the treasure to buy back their houses, the Goonies embark on
their quest through underground passages, aboard pirate ships, and
behind waterfalls. This swashbuckling and rollicking ride was also a
great breeding ground for a couple of child actors who went on to enjoy
numerous successes in adulthood: Sean Astin (Rudy, Encino Man)
and Martha Plimpton (Pecker, 200 Cigarettes). --Samantha
Allen Storey
This is a great story
about a bunch of kids who discover monsters are invading their
community, so they start "the monster squad" to defeat the
monsters and save their town!! Its a lot of fun!
The
Princess Bride (PG)
ASIN: 6304718551
From Amazon: Screenwriter
William Goldman's novel The Princess Bride earned its own loyal
audience on the strength of its narrative voice and its gently
satirical, hyperbolic spin on swashbuckled adventure that seemed almost
purely literary. For all its derring-do and vivid over-the-top
characters, the book's joy was dictated as much by the deadpan tone of
its narrator and a winking acknowledgement of the clichés being sent
up. Miraculously, director Rob Reiner and Goldman himself managed to
visualize this romantic fable while keeping that external voice largely
intact: using a storytelling framework, avuncular Grandpa (Peter Falk)
gradually seduces his skeptical grandson (Fred Savage) into the absurd,
irresistible melodrama of the title story.
And what a story: a lowly
stable boy, Westley (Cary Elwes), pledges his love to the beautiful
Buttercup (Robin Wright), only to be abducted and reportedly killed by
pirates while Buttercup is betrothed to the evil Prince Humperdinck.
Even as Buttercup herself is kidnapped by a giant, a scheming criminal
mastermind, and a master Spanish swordsman, a mysterious masked pirate
(could it be Westley?) follows in pursuit. As they sail toward the
Cliffs of Insanity...
The wild and woolly arcs
of the story, the sudden twists of fate, and, above all, the
cartoon-scaled characters all work because of Goldman's very funny
script, Reiner's confident direction, and a terrific cast. Elwes and
Wright, both sporting their best English accents, juggle romantic fervor
and physical slapstick effortlessly, while supporting roles boast Mandy
Patinkin (the swordsman Inigo Montoya), Wallace Shawn (the incredulous
schemer Vizzini), and Christopher Guest (evil Count Rugen) with brief
but funny cameos from Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, and Peter Cook. --Sam
Sutherland
Adventures
in Babysitting (PG-13) ASIN: 6301008944
From Amazon: Way before she grabbed an Oscar nomination for her searing
performance as a world-weary prostitute in Leaving Las Vegas,
Elisabeth Shue was known as one of the squeaky-clean actresses of the
'80s. Having made a splash in The Karate Kid and the
'60s-nostalgia TV series Call to Glory, Shue cemented her
good-girl reputation with the charming but badly titled Adventures in
Babysitting. Set in the John Hughes-style suburbs of Chicago, the
titular adventures follow babysitter Chris (Shue), who agrees to watch
the Anderson kids (Keith Coogan and Maia Brewton) when her boyfriend
cancels their anniversary date. All is quiet on the home front until
Chris is called upon to rescue her best friend (Penelope Ann Miller,
also doing good-girl duty) from the seedy downtown bus station. She
can't leave the kids, and she can't leave her friend alone in the big
bad city, so she packs everyone in the station wagon and heads into
Chicago. Screwball craziness begins as they encounter car thieves,
knife-wielding gangs, gun-toting truck drivers, and, worst of all,
Chris's duplicitous boyfriend. It's hardly mature entertainment, but
Shue makes it work; when she wins over the audience at a blues club with
her improv singing, you'll be won over, too. In his directorial debut,
Chris Columbus (who later when on to helm the sap-fests Mrs.
Doubtfire and Home Alone) gently skewers the suburbia
white-bread mindset of the main characters, and plays up the comedy over
the schmaltz with a subtlety of which he now seems incapable; the near
romance between Shue and Coogan is played lightly and adorably. Look for
brief appearances by art-house faves Lolita Davidovich as a college
party girl and Vincent D'Onofrio as an unlikely savior. -- Mark
Englehart -- This text refers to the DVD edition.
Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (PG)
ASIN: B00003CXI0
From Amazon: Here's an event
movie that holds up to being an event. This filmed version of Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, adapted from the wildly popular
book by J.K. Rowling, stunningly brings to life Harry Potter's world of
Hogwarts, the school for young witches and wizards. The greatest
strength of the film comes from its faithfulness to the novel, and this
new cinematic world is filled with all the details of Rowling's
imagination, thanks to exuberant sets, elaborate costumes, clever makeup
and visual effects, and a crème de la crème cast, including Maggie
Smith, Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, and more. Especially fine is the
interplay between Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his schoolmates Ron
(Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), as well as his protector, the
looming Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane). The second-half adventure--involving
the titular sorcerer's stone--doesn't translate perfectly from page to
screen, ultimately because of the film's fidelity to the novel; this is
a case of making a movie for the book's fans, as opposed to a
transcending film. Writer Steve Kloves and director Chris Columbus keep
the spooks in check, making this a true family film, and with its
resourceful hero wide-eyed and ready, one can't wait for Harry's return.
Ages 8 and up. --Doug Thomas -- This text refers to the Theatrical
Release edition.
Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (PG)
ASIN: B00008DDXB
From Amazon: First sequels are
the true test of an enduring movie franchise, and Harry Potter and
the Chamber of Secrets passes with flying colors. Expanding upon the
lavish sets, special effects, and grand adventure of Harry Potter and
the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry involves a darker, more malevolent tale (parents
with younger children beware), beginning with the petrified bodies of
several Hogwarts students and magical clues leading Harry (Daniel
Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) to a
50-year-old mystery in the monster-laden Chamber of Secrets. House
elves, squealing mandrakes, giant spiders, and venomous serpents
populate this loyal adaptation (by Sorcerer's Stone director
Chris Columbus and screenwriter Steve Kloves), and Kenneth Branagh
delightfully tops the supreme supporting cast as the vainglorious
charlatan Gilderoy Lockhart (be sure to view past the credits for a
visual punchline at Lockhart's expense). At 161 minutes, the film
suffers from lack of depth and uneven pacing, and John Williams' score
mostly reprises established themes. The young, fast-growing cast offers
ample compensation, however, as does the late Richard Harris in his
final screen appearance as Professor Albus Dumbledore. Brimming with
cleverness, wonderment, and big-budget splendor, Chamber honors
the legacy of J.K. Rowling's novels. --Jeff Shannon -- This text
refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
Young
Sherlock Holmes (PG-13)
ASIN: 6300214508
From Amazon:
This 1985 adventure
directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man) and written by Chris
Columbus (Gremlins) may not have much to do with the Sherlock
Holmes of Arthur Conan Doyle's invention. But it is a delightful and
somewhat unexpected combination of exciting elements: Victorian-era,
foggy-London mystique, Gothic horror, and Indiana Jones-like exotica.
Nicholas Rowe plays Holmes as a schoolboy at a boarding academy for
young men. Paired with the owlish, reticent young Watson (Alan Cox),
Holmes embarks on the solution of a mystery that involves a
hallucinatory and lethal drug, and a religious cult celebrating ancient
Egyptian rites of mummification. Levinson makes handsome and crisp work
of this Steven Spielberg production, without a trace of the treacle that
often found its way into other Spielbergian projects at the time (The
Goonies). Rowe is wonderfully convincing as a teen incarnation of
the Great Detective, and while Cox mostly maintains Hollywood's
traditionally unflattering idea of Watson, he does bring warmth and
comedy to the role. The cast includes Freddie Jones as an eccentric
inventor, Anthony Higgins as the villain, and Sophie Ward as Holmes's
love interest. -- Tom Keogh.
The
Adventures of Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark/The Temple of
Doom/The Last Crusade) - DVD Widescreen (2003) ASIN: B00003CXC5
Hocus
Pocus (1993)ASIN: 6305428042 (PG) Walt Disney Home Video
The three leads, Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker,
play three resurrected witches who wreak havoc on Salem, Massachusetts,
300 hundred years after they were hung. Fun movie and full of
humor. Great for Halloween! Kids and adults of all ages will
love this movie.
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