National Lampoon's Class Reunion (1982) 8/10

Starring : Gerrit Graham, Fred McCarren, Miriam Flynn, Stephen Furst, Shelley Smith, Michael Lerner, Blackie Dammett
Director : Michael Miller
Running Time : 82 mins

It’s the tenth-year school reunion at Lizzie Borden High for the Class of ‘72, and everything is just as boring as it always was, that is until Walter Baylor (Dammett) escapes from a mental home he’s been in since graduation, when he was driven insane by a prank that went horribly wrong, and gatecrashes the party!

This is without a doubt the silliest of the National Lampoon movies, and it makes me chuckle every time I’ve watched it. Very few of the actors in this are still known today, although Stephen Furst will be familiar to fans of The Dream Team or Babylon Five.

Ghostbusters (1984) 10/10

Starring : Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts
Director : Ivan Reitman
Running Time : 102 mins

Three scientists get kicked out of the university where they work when their grants expire. Playing on a theory concocted by Dr Egon Spengler (Ramis) that they can actually trap a ghost, they go into business as Ghostbusters, offering their services to the public for large sums of money. Things start to look bad, however, when paranormal activity begins to rise in New York City, and they realise that an ancient Sumarian God named Gozer may be trying to find its way into the human world, with the aim of taking over and enslaving mankind.

One of my all time favourite films which stands the test of time, Ghostbusters is an 80s classic that was somewhat of a pioneer in the realms of action comedies, and made overnight successes out of Bill Murray and Rick Moranis, who until then had only really been known through Saturday Night Live and a handful of lesser known movie parts.

The Delicate Delinquent (1957) 8/10

Starring : Jerry Lewis, Darren McGavin
Director : Don McGuire
Running Time : 98 mins

Sydney Pythias (Lewis) is a janitor who is mistaken for a juvenile delinquent by the police. Thinking he’s a gang member, Officer Mike Damon makes it his duty to transform Sydney into a model citizen to prove that delinquents aren’t beyond redemption.

This was Jerry Lewis’s first film following the dissolution of his movie partnership with Dean Martin, and it’s clear to see that he works much better without his erstwhile partner disrupting his performance. Following this classic comic flipside version of Rebel Without A Cause, his movies just went from strength to strength.

A Clockwork Orange (1971) 7/10

Starring : Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Adrienne Corri, Miriam Karlin
Director : Stanley Kubrick
Running Time : 131 mins

Alex DeLarge (McDowell) is a juvenile delinquent who gets sent to prison when he accidentally kills a woman. After two years of imprisonment he is asked to take part in an experimental form of rehabilitation, by which his capacity for violent outbursts is suppressed. Unfortunately his notoriety leads him to get involved in potentially dangerous situations.

This film was not at all what I was expecting. Although it did start off very weird, with some extremely disturbing rape and assault scenes, the film eventually meanders into a much more visually acceptable movie which remained intriguing throughout.

The Goonies (1985) 8/10

Starring : Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Quan Director : Richard Donner
Running Time : 115 mins

A group of kids who are having to move from their home town due to it being turned into a golf course find a treasure map in an attic and go off in search of the long lost treasure of renowned pirate One-Eyed Willy. Unfortunately the starting point of their hunt is the hideout of the notorious Fratelli family, one of whom has just broken out of jail!

One of the most famous family movies of the 1980s, and arguably one of the best, The Goonies is also one of my all time favourites. I can’t really put my finger on what is so special about this, but the feeling of being in a teenaged Indiana Jones film has to be high on the list of things that this movie has going for it.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966) 8/10

Starring : Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Michael Crawford
Director : Richard Lester
Running Time : 94 mins

Pseudolus (Mostel) has only one wish in life – to buy his freedom and no longer be a slave. When his young master, Hero (Crawford) falls in love with a virgin from the House Of Lycus, Pseudolus sees his opportunity to interfere and gain his freedom by making a deal with the naïve youth.

This movie, based on the hit Broadway musical, is a classic that no-one should miss. One of only a few films to feature Zero Mostel (who, strangely enough, was laso in The Producers), this movie seems to have been imitated a number of times, most noteably with Up Pompeii and, to a lesser degree, Monty Pyhton’s Life Of Brian. And, like the Producers, I suspect it won’t be long before there’s a remake in the offing!

The Blues Brothers (1980) 9/10

Starring : John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Carrie Fisher
Director : John Landis
Running Time : 126 mins

Jake Blues (Belushi) is let out of prison and, when visiting the orphanage he was brought up in with his brother Elwood (Aykroyd), they discover it’s going to be closed down if the nuns can’t raise $5,000 in the next 11 days! Accepting their "mission from God", the brothers hastily attempt to reform their band to hold a concert in order to raise the money, whilst trying to avoid the police and Jake’s bitter ex (Fisher).

If you haven’t seen this, then you’re probably dead inside. Although not the best comedy ever written, it is definitely one of the silliest! The plot is feeble to say the least, but the set pieces are great and the amount of guest singers they managed to dig up is phenomenal!