Movie Reviews6.9/10
Near Dark: Bigelow’s Vampire Western, 39 Years On
Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark: a vampire Western that flopped at the box office and became a cult classic. Review, cast, and why it still works.
CLAY TRIBUNE / THE ARCHIVE
Category: Movie Reviews
Every film we have scored, from 1980s horror to what is in cinemas now.
Movie Reviews7.8/10
Ghostbusters Holds Up Because It Never Winks at Its Own Ghosts
A review of Ghostbusters (1984), the Ivan Reitman comedy about three fired parapsychologists who save New York with proton packs and a firehouse.
Movie Reviews8.2/10
Kubrick Trained Real Marines to Play the Drill Instructor’s Targets
Full Metal Jacket at 8.2/10: how R. Lee Ermey improvised Hartman, why Vincent D'Onofrio gained 70 pounds, and why the boot camp half still cuts deepest.
Movie Reviews7.9/10
Do the Right Thing: One Block, One Hot Day, and a Film That Refuses to Settle the Argument
Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989) review: a Brooklyn block on its hottest day, comedy turning to tragedy, and an ending still argued over.
Movie Reviews8.2/10
Die Hard Remains the High Mark of the Action Genre
An officer with no shoes battles a dozen armed men within one building on a night meant for holiday cheer, in a tale that endures.
Movie Reviews7.1/10
Day of the Dead at 41: The Bunker Where Humanity Argues Itself to Death
George A. Romero's Day of the Dead (1985) is the bleakest of his zombie films: trapped humans argue while the undead wait outside and Bub waits inside.
Movie Reviews7.8/10
Brazil at 41: Terry Gilliam’s Bureaucratic Dystopia, Reviewed
Terry Gilliam's Brazil (1985), explained: Sam Lowry, the teleprinter bug that kills a cobbler, De Niro's Tuttle, and why the satire still lands.
Movie Reviews7.7/10
Blue Velvet at 40: David Lynch’s Divided, Durable Neo-Noir
David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986) reviewed: Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper and the severed ear that split critics and became a cult classic.
Movie Reviews8.1/10
Blade Runner at 44: Ridley Scott’s Dystopian Masterpiece Still Haunts
Blade Runner opened in 1982 to a divided room. A look at Ridley Scott's dystopian classic, its casting, its themes, and why it endures.
Movie Reviews8.5/10
Back to the Future: A Machine That Runs Clean
A review of Robert Zemeckis's 1985 time-travel comedy Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox, and why its clockwork script still holds up.
Movie Reviews8.4/10
Aliens: James Cameron’s Sequel Swaps Horror for Action, and It Still Runs
Aliens review: James Cameron swaps horror for action, Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, and the 1986 sequel still runs like a hard, loud machine.
Movie Reviews8/10
Akira at 38: A Landmark of Anime That Still Holds
Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira (1988) review: Neo-Tokyo, Kaneda and Tetsuo, gamelan score, and why the landmark anime still holds up at 8/10.