Wheels on Meals (1984)

Sammo Kam-Bo Hung directs Jackie Chan, Biao Yuen and himself in this Hong Kong action comedy where a pair of food van owners, an inept detective and a beautiful thief cross paths in Barcelona.

The first half feels like unrelated slapstick skits in Spain. Once the good guys are together and storming a castle, it becomes a bit more overtly action orientated.

7

The Natural (1984)

Barry Levinson directs Robert Redford, Robert Duvall and Glenn Close in this period baseball drama about a brilliant player who only gets his chance to play professionally as he enters middle age.

Strange film this. Outwardly quite trad. But then there’s the constant magical realism and the unpredictable plot swerves. Major incidents come out of left of field. Looks beautiful (Caleb Deschanel), amazing score (Randy Newman). Redford is probably too old for this role but he is an established enough star that you never question his messianic goodness. The third act goes off the boil a little but there is a wonderful movie here if it would have just tightened up a little.

7

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

Michael Radford directs John Hurt, Richard Burton and Suzanna Hamilton in this British dystopian sci-fi based upon George Orwell’s 1949 novel.

About as grindingly bleak and futile as I can stomach. Clearly a labour of love. Burton refinds his mojo after years of phoning it in. Always a difficult rewatch but for me this is most cinematic adaptation of the text.

8

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Rob Reiner directs Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and himself in this cult comedy rockumentary spoof.

Never really dug Spinal Tap when I was younger. Felt like something embraced by people a decade older than me. I laughed a fair bit more on this revisit.

6

Angel (1984)

Robert Vincent O’Neil directs Donna Wilkes, Cliff Gorman and Dick Shawn in this high school good girl moonlights as a prostitute on Hollywood Boulevard thriller.

Mish mash of hard hitting serial killer exploitation flick, and a TV sitcom about a sweet teenage hooker and her kooky misfit community of freaks and geeks. Switching from ghoulish lurid details to overly sincere melodrama, Angel never finds its rhythm. John Diehl is excellent as the silent predator who suckles eggs raw out of their shell and weight lifts concrete blocks in his bedsit. The gaggle of Hollywood also rans who protect Angel / Molly add personality. Wilkes is glaringly too old and too vanilla for her protagonist to work. The final 10 minutes go hard. An apartment trashing fight between a cross dresser and a fake Hare Krishna followed by a running shoot-out through the sleazy streets. The pumping neon madness comes a little too late though.

4