Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1984 was an exciting year for films giving us a lot of films that would go on to be beloved favorites and cult classics. Imagine a world where This is Spinal Tap and Repo Man hit theaters on the same day. That is the world of 1984.
We’re going to pick and choose which movies we hit, but right now the list stands at nearly three dozen.
Yes, we’re insane, but 1984 was that great of a year for film.
The articles will come out on the same day the films hit theaters in 1984 so that it is their true 40th anniversaries. All films are also watched again for the purposes of these reviews and are not being done from memory.
This time around, it’s November 2, and we’re off to see Blame it on the Night, The Killing Fields, and Lovelines.
Blame it on the Night
There was something about the 1980s that had a lot of stories of adults, especially men, learning how to relate to children. Be it on TV or in movies, it was a recurring themes with shows such as Silver Spoons, and in film we have examples such as The Toy and Blame it on the Night.
Chris Dalton (Nick Mancuso) is a huge rockstar, and when his child’s mother dies, he decides to finally spend some time with his son Job (Byron Thames) whom he has no real relationship with. Job has been in a military school and loves that life, so he has a hard time accepting the unstructured world of a rockstar. As the two spend more time together, they learn more about finding a balance between the two of them that is hopefully building a better relationship for the years to come.
There is nothing horrible about this film, but it spends far too much time focusing on the performances by Chris. We’re here for a story, not the world of a make-believe musician who is singing some of the most “clearly written for a movie so we didn’t have to pay anyone” music I’ve ever heard.
It is about the most middle-of-the-road movie you can imagine, and completely forgettable the moment you turn it off.
The Killing Fields
There are stories in the world that should absolutely be shared so one can always hope that such atrocities will never happen again. With the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia in the 1970s, this is the case. Sadly, The Killing Fields only gets the point somewhat across.
Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) is a journalist with The New York Times who is covering the revolution in Cambodia with the help of a local journalist and translator, Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor). As the situation worsens in the region, both men decide on multiple occasions to forego being evacuated until the situation just gets to be too much. Pran is taken into custody by the Khmer Rouge, while Schanberg makes his way back to New York and then spends years trying to find his friend and rescue him from the country.
The Killing Fields is beautifully shot and acted. The fact Ngor had never acted before is truly astounding, and he more than earned the Academy Award he received for this part. But there is an issue with the film in that a lot of information is never converted within its confines. It assumes you are aware of the situation in Cambodia, who exactly the Khmer Rouge was, and they very much assume you know everything about its leader, Pol Pot.
At the time of its release, the film didn’t have to worry as much about what the audience did or did not know as it was constantly on the news. 40 years on, and even with a working knowledge of the situation, I found myself looking up more than a few things as the story carried on.
Even with that unfortunate slip up by the filmmakers not considering future viewers, it is a powerful film that is worth every moment you spend with it.
Lovelines
If you told me this movie was someone’s attempt at money laundering, I would 100% believe you and say, “Yep. Makes sense.”
In some bizarre version of California, teenagers at multiple high schools all communicate through a company called Lovelines for… reasons. But, don’t worry, J.D. (Michael Winslow) who owns Lovelines is also going to run a battle of the bands, and it just so happens the two top groups in the fight are from the rival high schools of Malibu High School and Coldwater Canyon High. And, oh no, the lead singer for each school’s band fall for one another, and…
Yeah, this is just some weird ‘modern’ take on Romeo & Juliet with a bunch of sophomoric teen humor thrown on top.
Lovelines, top to bottom, is nonsense. Winslow feels like he was called in as an afterthought. The rest of the cast is far too old for their roles. And the how and the why Lovelines even exists is a complete mystery.
Easily one of the worst movies I’ve watched for this year.
1984 Movie Reviews will return on Nov. 9 with A Nightmare on Elm Street, Oh God, You Devil!, and Silent Night, Deadly Night.
