Ghostbusters II (1989) 8/10

Starring : Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, Peter MacNicol
Director : Ivan Reitman
Running Time : 104 mins

The Ghostbusters have been forced into retirement since they saved New York five years earlier, but strange goings on around town, involving pink ooze and a painting of Viggo the Carpathian encourage them to reform and investigate what might be the end of the world as we know it.

In spite of the fact that Reitman’s movies are extremely formulaic, it’s a formula that works every time. The cast are a lot older, but they still play the characters with an enthusiasm that was present in the original. This is a worthy sequel, filled with great special effects and likeable characters that have truly stood the test of time.

The Jerk (1979) 7/10

Starring : Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams, Mabel King
Director : Carl Reiner
Running Time : 94 mins

Navin R Johnson (Martin) has spent most of his life living with his poor black family, until one day he decides to head into the city to make his fortune. When there he stumbles upon a brilliantly simple invention which will revolutionise the glasses industry, but it isn’t long before he finds himself exploited by society as everyone tries to take his money from him.

This is a great example of Steve Martin’s talent, and it’s just a shame he’s begun to slow down as he gets older. This is probably quite an over rated movie, it’s not the best comedy ever written, but it is still a nice silly movie which is just as fresh today as it was almost 30 years ago.

Freeway (1996) 8/10

Starring : Kiefer Sutherland, Reese Witherspoon, Wolfgang Bodison, Dan Hedaya, Amanda Plummer, Brooke Shields
Director : Matthew Bright
Running Time : 96 mins

Vanessa Lutz (Witherspoon) goes off in search of her grandmother in an attempt to avoid getting put into foster care after her mother (Plummer) is arrested for soliciting. On her way she is picked up by a man named Bob Wolverton (Sutherland), who turns out to be a renowned serial killer who tries to murder her. In self defense she shoots him in the face, then finds herself being charged for attempted murder.

This modern day adaptation of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale is actually very entertaining. A young Reese Witherspoon shows just how talented an actress she will become in the lead role, while Sutherland moves from being genuinely frightening to being laugh out loud funny. Definitely one to check out.

Weird Science (1985) 8/10

Starring : Anthony Michael Hall, Kelly LeBrock, Illan Mitchell-Smith, Bill Paxton
Director : John Hughes
Running Time : 90 mins

Two high school geeks, Gary (Hall) and Wyatt (Mitchell-Smith), have no luck with women decide to make one of their own using their home computers, but no sooner have they created Lisa (LeBrock) than she starts trying to orchestrate dangerous and awkward situations for them so that they have to act like men rather than boys in front of their peers.

This movie is great fun, and definitely John Hughes silliest yet most likeable movies. The everyman characters of Gary and Wyatt are both likeable and comical, making this one of the finest examples of 80s teen comedies that I can think of.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999) 7/10

Starring : Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, David Krumholtz, Andrew Keegan
Director : Gil Junger
Running Time : 93 mins

Bianca Stratford (Oleynik) is mortified that her father won’t let her start dating until her sister Kat (Stiles) does the same. When she informs her potential beau Joey (Keegan) of her predicament, he begs new kid Patrick Verona (Ledger) to start dating Kat so that he can take Bianca to the upcoming homecoming dance – the problem is, Kat has a nasty habit of putting guys off with her superior attitude.

Basically this takes the Shakespeare play The Taming Of The Shrew and sets it in a modern high school, with some of the usual teen comedy moments thrown in for good measure. This is one of Heath Ledger’s earliest starring roles, and it’s sad to see that he died this week, but thankfully he’s left behind a short-lived but pretty varied legacy which came to an end with the upcoming Batman instalment, in which he plays the Joker.

Mannequin (1987) 8/10

Starring : Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Estelle Getty, James Spader, G W Bailey
Director : Michael Gottlieb
Running Time : 96 mins

Jonathan Switcher (McCarthy) is an artist who has taken a temporary job in a factory that builds mannequins, but as a perfectionist he’s only made one in all his time there, and he’s fallen in love with it. So, when it becomes possessed by the spirit of a long dead Egyptian called Emmy (Cattrall), Switcher finds himself involved in a very peculiar romance, especially as everyone else sees the dummy as a dummy.

Although the plot is a little silly, this is still a very enjoyable 80s classic. The music alone makes it a cheesy memory which rekindles the youth of all 80s children just by watching it. It’s very difficult not to like this movie, as it’s so energetic and upbeat, so if you haven’t seen it check it out.

Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom (1984) 8/10

Starring : Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri
Director : Steven Spielberg
Running Time : 113 mins

Indiana Jones (Ford) finds himself in India with a lounge singer named Willie (Capshaw) and a little boy who calls himself Short Round (Quan). The village they arrive in has been plagued with disaster as all the children have been kidnapped and taken to work in a mysterious temple, under the control of the maniacal madman Mola Ram (Puri).

This lacks the Nazi intrigue of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and seems to be more aimed at children than adults. Still, it’s a fun packed rollercoaster of a movie, which in many ways paved the way for other classics such as the Goonies with it’s natural feel of being on a ride rather than watching a film.