12. Psycho II
13. Valley Girl
14. Risky Business
15. Vacation
16. Sans Soleil
17. Meantime
18. Eureka
19. The Outsiders
20. Zu The Warriors From Magic Mountain
1983 Movie Round-Up
Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain
Tsui Hark directs Adam Cheng, Brigitte Lin and Damian Lau in this Hong Kong fantasy where a deserting soldier finds himself on a quest in a supernatural dimension.
Every physical FX, stunt works trick and Chinese mythical wonder is thrown at the wall all at once. Rarely makes a lick of sense but one foot follows another on an insane journey of visual totality. Sammo Hung has a cheeky cameo.
7
Superman III (1983)
Richard Lester directs Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor and Annette O’Toole in this superhero sequel where the Man of Steel takes on a hacker being manipulated by a sociopathic tycoon.
The naff comedy overwhelms this entry which lacks Hackman and sidelines Margot Kidder. Pryor is good value but his business seems so separate from Supes. Reeves does battle himself and a supercomputer. There’s just enough physics bending adventure to temper the clowning. Sloppy but still contains enough baseline summer blockbuster wonderment.
6
Curtains (1983)
Richard Ciupka directs John Vernon, Samantha Eggar and Linda Thorson in this American giallo where six actresses audition for a dream role in a secluded house with a killer on the loose.
Moribund and choppy. There’s a solid mystery hook and a visually memorable killer servicing something completely up its own arse with not enough money to call for a proctologist.
4
Easy Money (1983)
James Signorelli directs Rodney Dangerfield, Joe Pesci and Jennifer Jason Leigh in this comedy where a lazy, gambling, boozin’ photographer must straighten his life out to inherit a fortune.
A vehicle that forgets the plot to try and crowbar in all of Rodney’s stand-up standards as if they were skits. The story should fill a decent comedy movie but it only takes up 20% of the runtime. There’s a fantastic cast floundering in brash roles. Jennifer Jason Leigh feels hopelessly miscast as the ‘good girl, better chest’ totty. Everyone is better than this… even Dangerfield. The Billy Joel theme song absolutely slaps.
4
Local Hero (1983)
Bill Forsyth directs Peter Riegert, Denis Lawson and Burt Lancaster in this Scottish magical realist drama where a corporate suit for an oil company heads to Scotland to buy up a remote coastal town.
Mark Knopler’s transcendent score and some breathtaking scenery lend this a mythic air. Forsyth’s most famous work is a riff on Ealing Comedies, Powell & Pressburger and even The Wicker Man. Ahead of its time in terms of the holistic attitude to the environment. What makes Local Hero gently soar is the constant subversion of formula. All potential conflicts flutter away into bonhomie, while all victories are smothered by everyday reality. A hopeful serving of slow cinema, anti-genre with slithers of fantasy. Lancaster is overqualified for his extended cameo but Denis Lawson makes an impact as the little village’s canniest brain. All pretty wispy but it lingers in the memory.
7
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