Radioactive Dreams (1985)

1980s VHS were a wasteland of ‘wasteland’ post-apocalyptic movies, particularly after the success of the Mad Max movies. Actors stumbling around desert locations, lonely roads and abandoned factories in countries near and far, standing in for the Year 3000 or whenever. Radioactive Dreams (1985) is a post-apocalyptic flick but straddling several other genres, namely film […]

Heartbreakers (1984)

With its Tangerine Dream synth-wave score and gliding Michael Ballhaus cinematography, Heartbreakers (1984) exudes considerable neon-noir energy. Yet the movie has nothing to do with the crime or thriller genre. Instead, all that neon and energy is just the palpable aesthetic for a drama about male friendships. The film’s title card frames the two men […]

The Lair Of The White Worm (1988)

Ever since I read about a scout’s unfortunate end – his own ‘end’ separated in a bathtub by the fangs of Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) – in a copy of Empire magazine as a wee slip of lad (I think as part of a weird section on unfortunate ends to male genitalia in the […]

The Aviator’s Wife (1981)

It’s a testament to the directing and writing of Eric Rohmer, and the performances of the actors, that the characters in The Aviator’s Wife (1981) come off as understandable and empathetic, even as they’re wrapped up in their own emotional problems and romantic overthinking. Then again, Rohmer’s talky, French serio-comic catalogue is not for everyone […]

Blastfighter (1984)

One golden rule about Italian genre flicks if you can’t get Franco Nero as the lead, then get a guy who looks him. Maurizio Merli was busy, so for the motion picture titled Blastfighter (1984) Michael Sopkiw steps in with an effective moustache, playing the role of “Tiger” Sharp, an ex-cop released from prison for […]