What To Watch: Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)

Jumpin' Jack Flash proved to be an important moment in the careers of two women, setting star Whoopi Goldberg and director Penny Marshall on a course that would make both Hollywood legends.

The sight of Whoopi Goldberg dressed head to toe in thermals to blunt a particularly cold New York winter and, it is assumed, some dodgy plumbing, reminds me of growing up at home with a flaky boiler leaving us with a single working radiator. Just like Whoopi in Jumpin’ Jack Flash, I’d snuggle down in thick pyjamas under the duvet; a hot water bottle beneath my feet, a mountain of blankets piled on top.

It’s little wonder her domestic plight rang true with me; a familiar situation to hang an over-the-top adventure, where espionage, murder and red herring collide with eighties new-age technology and unconventional romance. It’s a potpourri of disparate cliches that, thankfully, never grow tiresome thanks to the comic energy of the film’s luminous star. 

Full review here.

What To Watch: Tremors (1990)

A film which manages to get the balance between horror and comedy spot on, Tremors is a terrific ensemble movie about subterranean monsters tormenting the inhabitants of Perfection, Nevada. Kevin Bacon leads the cast in one of the actor’s most endearing movies as down-on-his-luck handyman, Val McKee. With his best friend Earl Bassett (Fred Ward), the pair become the town’s saviours as the heroic duo lead the group’s survival against underground creatures who hunt by sound.

What To Watch: 25th Hour (2002)

The spectre of the fallen Twin Towers is a ubiquitous presence throughout Spike Lee’s poignant and powerful drama, 25th Hour. Indeed, we’re introduced to New York City at night, a wide shot showcasing the illuminated skyline, the Tribute in Light piercing the dark like Excalibur held aloft; a fixed, ethereal moment of defiance.

Adapted from his own novel by David Benioff, it was conceived prior to the 2001 terrorist attacks. However, Lee, preparing the film that year, made the wise decision to subtly integrate the destruction of that day into this absorbing story about one man’s final hours before a seven-year stretch in prison.

Read the full review at Top 10 Films. 

What To Watch: Clash Of The Titans (1981)

 

Much of the real cruelty in Clash of the Titans is, like the giant Kraken, concealed from plain sight. It lies behind a veneer made up of fantastical beasts, heroic adventure, and dark magic; visceral stimuli that impress the impressionable. It’s why the film remains such an exciting spectacle for young and old; a truly frightening piece of fantasy on one hand and a camp, cartoonish display of special-effects on the other. [Read full article at Top 10 Films]

What To Watch: The Conspiracy (2012)

Christopher MacBride won’t have had any clue how prescient his 2012 film The Conspiracy would become. It arrived before the presidency of Donald Trump, and the POTUS’s relentless attack on mainstream media, by design diverting attention to fringe political commentators and sociopaths pushing nefarious theories. And it arrived well in advance of a post-COVID-19 world riddled be fear, mistrust and uncertainty. Where conspiracies peddled by Trump acolytes have displaced so-called “fake news” with an insidious credibility fuelled by social media memes.

[Read the full review at Top 10 Films]

What To Watch: Romper Stomper (1992)

Romper Stomper is an aesthetic tour de force. Fronted by a shaven-headed Russell Crowe prior to the Gladiator superstardom, his white supremacist is a disenfranchised Melbournian sweating rage from every pore. It’s admirable that Crowe’s glassy-eyed fury could be a moment away from tears as he teeters on an edge between frenzied animosity and a deep-rooted sadness. It’s a mark of the New Zealand born actor’s talent, revealing a subtle intimacy in a character that is otherwise underwritten.

[Read the full review at Top 10 Films]