Kevin, 38 years old, lives with his grandmother and sees 3 little creatures: the Boglins coming at his home, determined to make a mess throughout the house, eat everything and drive him crazy.

Directed by Mathieu Caillière, the film is chock-full of nods and homages to eighties pop culture, made with the utmost love for the practical effects that made eighties adventure movies so lively and thrilling.

With its puppets made by Tim Clarke (Muppet Show, Dark Crystal), cheesy jokes and immersive score (by Jupiter-8 and Hugo Clément) drawing straight from the original Gremlins score, Boglins Return is a passion project that will thrill fans of Joe Dante’s grotesque comedy-horror style. One cannot help but smile thinking about how ridiculously fun the cast must’ve had whilst writing and shooting the film and we simply can’t get enough of it!

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Back in 1982, director Ridley Scott dropped the audience into the then-future world of 2019 Los Angeles. It’s a seedy environment of perpetual darkness, rain, and urban sprawl. In this sci-fi noir, the police bring Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) back into work after a self-imposed retirement from blade running. A blade runner is a specialized detective whose job is to track down bio-engineered humanoids called replicants. These are not robots, but society does not consider them fully human due to their synthetic creation and lack of emotional maturity. Will Deckard maintain his humanity during this ruthless pursuit, or has his life in this dystopia already stripped him of it? Furthermore, there are deeper puzzles to solve, especially in the 1992 and 2007 cuts.

1982 was a special year for science fiction films. In addition to Blade Runner, the year saw the release of E.T., The Thing, and Star Trek II; The Wrath of Khan, among others. Likely due to the crowded field and possible audience surprise at the film being not a typical heroic Harrison Ford picture, the film was a box office disappointment. It made just near 1.5 times its production budget, and this not including advertising, one can feel Scott’s and the studio’s hurt. Contemporarily, it’s still not a mainstream hit, but it’s developed such a cult following that the studio released a sequel years later. Moreover, Blade Runner’s aesthetic and mood influenced more popular science fiction films since its release than nearly any other property. This is why it’s good to see what makes Blade Runner still a thing.

Even years later, the visuals are still a wonder to observe. The combination of design and in-camera effects put the viewer in a world that is both tangible and strange. For those who have grown up on a diet of CGI, this is all physical and camera trickery. For the cityscape, the team utilized models and matte paintings, but the world is real enough that you can feel you can just drop in and shuffle amongst the crowded representation of the future. Just think of the time needed for the multipass exposures that helped give the film its unique neon-lit against darkness lighting. It gave the audience a different idea of what science fiction could be from the Star Wars and Star Trek properties.

But who are the characters that we’re following in this update of noir cinema? Deckard is the typical film noir detective: burnt-out, possibly alcoholic, and with no future. Really, he’s not much of a hero. Throughout the film, he barely makes it out of his scraps, and when he does, there’s nothing triumphant. It’s not surprising that audience interest fell off the film; word got out that Ford was not playing another Indiana Jones or Han Solo. However, it’s interesting that Ford risked playing a role different from his previous pulp characters. One could say he was reaching back to his brief role as an army officer in Apocalypse Now. Some say the disinterested attitude was due to his dissatisfaction on the movie set. It worked that it matched the listless character he was supposed to portray.

The star of the film is Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer). Despite being artificial, he’s the most sympathetic character, even after some of his brutal actions. Despite being a type of superman, he displays the most human qualities during his quest with his fellow replicants. He often shows this without words; though, his dialogue is memorable as well. The femme fatale Rachel (Sean Young) is probably the weakest of the main characters. Still, her stilted manner and speaking could be considered to be a positive attribute to add to the mystery of who she is revealed to be. Other acting props are for the weirdness of Gaff, the cold detachment of Tyrell, and the playful quirkiness of Pris.

What is most memorable about Blade Runner is the music. The production could’ve gone with traditional orchestration. Vangelis instead composed a melancholy, jazzy synth score. This perfectly sets the mood for the future setting, while paying tribute to the tropes of film noir. In fact, in addition to the synthesizers, the score utilized a saxophonist for the popular “Love Theme.” In addition, you can hear bits of Asian and Middle-Eastern tinges throughout the film. These showcase the multiethnic atmosphere of 2019 Los Angeles.

Does it date the film from being of the eighties? To a certain extent, yes. However, one should distinguish between quality and mediocre synthesizer work. Quality work brings a sense of wonder, charm, or menace depending on the emotional mood of the film. It gives added texture to remind a person that this film is from a never to be repeated era. Vangelis is one of the masters to bring on that nostalgia.

Some have leveled criticisms of dullness, lethargy, and aimless plotting against Blade Runner. Looking at the film from a certain point of view, these thoughts could have some merit. This is not an action film, at least not in the modern sense. It’s a work that emphasizes mood and atmosphere. Often, other films focus on getting the hero from point a to point b. Some will balk at this type of cinema. That’s their right. There’s a reason why the film has been re-released in multiple cuts over the years beyond the Ridley Scott revisions.

But they shouldn’t discount the impact that the film has. People will never widely love it like many of the blockbusters of the time. Even some more critically and popularly derided fare of the time like The Thing have seemed to rise to more public consciousness than Blade Runner. Still, Blade Runner welcomes at least a first view for the uninitiated. We see bits of the future running before us rather than soaring into space through this type of relatively grounded science fiction.

John Hughes was at his popularity’s apex when he wrote and directed this 1986 teen comedy. Most of his teen-centered work focuses on the angst and anxiety of modern youth life. This film focuses primarily on the free-spirited joy one has before adult responsibilities encroach. That doesn’t mean this is just some vacuous self-centered expression. Through the day’s journey, from suburb to Chicago and back, the characters either affirm or reconfirm their self-actualization.

We’re introduced to the lovable scamp Ferris (Matthew Broderick) as he feigns illness to skip school. He drags along his nervous and slightly neurotic best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) and entices his devoted girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara). Fooling Dean Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), they journey to see the best of mid-eighties Chicago. This includes the Sears Tower, The Exchange, the Chicago Cubs, the Art Institute, and a thrilling parade that seems to unites all in downtown Chicago. Will Ferris make it home before his parents return from work, keeping his “playing hooky” secret? You’d have to see the end to find out. However, since the film is generally a romp, you can guess easily how’s it’s going to end.

As mentioned above, some like to be too critical of Ferris. He’s ego-driven. He seems to always get what he wants. It’s like he’s able to scam his way through life. I don’t believe that Hughes was suggesting that his specific actions were worthy of imitation. I also don’t think Ferris was acting in singular selfishness.  The charm of Broderick lets the audience know that Ferris is not malicious. It’s his love of life that leads him past where thought may have halted. His antics allow his friends to enjoy a day off from the humdrum monotony of the classroom. In a way, Ferris is more of a force that causes those around him, Cameron, Sloane, Rooney, and his put-upon sister Jeanie, realize the truth about themselves.

This brings us to the character that the audience most likely identifies with: Cameron. This is because the average person is not likely to disengage from a daily routine without a push. Most of us need an external source to help move us out of our comfort zones. And as with Cameron and his relationship with his father, a person may have legitimate reasons preventing emotional growth. This is why Cameron has a cheering moment when he takes a stand for his own identity against the presence of a father whose emotional absence has harmed the son.

What caught my attention, outside of character development, is the relationship with technology. Even though it’s an eighties film, a decade where tech exploded, one doesn’t think that technology would have a significant role in a non-science fiction picture. Outside of Weird Science, it’s the most prominent in this Hughes’s work. Ferris uses eighties’ staples such as the synthesizer, the phone voice modulator, and the early PC. Through these, he’s able to feign his illness and facilitate the retrieval of his girlfriend. These devices continue to help by “pulling the wool over the eyes” of those that could stop him.

There are two interesting aspects of the technology use. The first is that though Ferris is technically astute, the film doesn’t portray him as a nerd. This is something unheard of in media of the time. The second is that Ferris is controlling the technology, not vice versa. He uses the tech in accord with his motto: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane enjoy each other’s company and the various sights and experience. Technology is just a means to get them there. How refreshing!

Carefully watch the Art Institute visit, parade celebration, and final scene between Cameron and Ferris. There are themes of the power of art, how music and traditions can unite people across varied backgrounds, and the priority of friends and family over material things. Ferris intermittently breaks the fourth wall to provide commentary. Through this, Hughes invites the viewer to join the physical and emotional journey. I admit that I never stop getting a feeling of melancholy and wonder during the museum visit scene. The Dream Academy’s cover of “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” further highlights the emotions and satisfies.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off represents both the national and the universal at its best. Ferris’s trip across the Chicago area shows snippets of what makes the USA the USA. This is in contrast to the purposely dull classroom scenes. The institutions, traditions, places, and people are not something dead within a textbook. They are living in the present, and something not be overlooked. However, the film has universal appeal as well, as the search for freedom can be a human ideal. Ultimately, these can be serious topics. Hughes is able give his thoughts, as always, with a smile.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters
An actual justified purchase of a movie ticket. It looks pretty good with some really gnarly shots and set pieces. The monsters get much more screen time than in the previous film and the humans are put in their place as just serving to give the audience exposition and some comic relief. All in all a pretty cool GODZILLA film and that’s all everyone wanted.
COMPLAINTS: Too many scenes set in the dark or dark and snowy and dark and rainy. Too many cut away edits from the monster action. One scene especially was infuriating when the action is cockblocked by the obnoxious rear end of the whatever hellacarrier the humans were using to monitor the creatures.

X-Men:Dark Phoenix
This was my facebook post immediately after seeing the movie –

Saw Dark Phoenix. It was meh. It was okay. The actors were okay and some of the set pieces were cool. But, it could’ve went darker, could’ve been R rated, the drama would have been effective if the the things that just happen in the film were developed in previous films instead of just being thrown together in two hours. Overall Nice try but too little n too late. I still found some enjoyment but it’s forgettable. One of the better films in the FOX studio X-Men franchise that has been majority pieces of horseshit; so the bar was set low. I liked Sophie Turner as Jean Grey and McAvoy & Fassbender are always great. It just felt like it was all too late. You can sense Jennifer Lawrence’s loathing being on set in this film n frankly who cared if she died. You started the movie not invested save for a $14 bucket of buttered popcorn between your legs just hoping for it to be passable. The writers couldn’t even remember how the last movie ended (remember the Phoenix scene). And that’s been the problem with Fox n a lot of Hollywood supe movies; a bunch of producers paying actors to pretend to be fans of the books that the film’s loosely adapt just to get your money. That’s life. So what? It’s done. It’s over. Goodbye.

And that’s that. Rewind me and throw me to the authorities.