Labyrinth — A good old fantasy adventure classic for the family — 7*/10

• Scenario: An imaginative story that takes in parallel universe where goblins rule. Lots of details with many varied characters and settings. A very entertaining movie by the great puppeteer Jim Henson.
• Known actors: David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly.
• Visual & sound: Nice. Some of the visual props aged well, others... not so much. Music, well, it depends if you like the 80s glam pop.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091369/
• Who is it for? For those who like to dream, fantasy lovers and Bowie fans, if you don't mind that dates a little bit and has a some singing and dancing, 80s style.

Le déclin de l'empire américain - Un grand classique à voir - 9*/10

Le déclin de l'empire américain est un classique du cinéma québécois. Il met à nu l'état, à un niveau individuel, de la société québécoise à la fin des années 80. C'est bien sûr à propos de sexe. Solide mélange de comique et de dramatique, on ne peut qu'être accroché par la narrative même au 21è siècle.

Film sans action ou effets spéciaux, mais parfait pour tout adulte pour qui ce n'est pas nécessaire.
9*/10

Top Gun — See what an 80s pop movie looked like without the quirks — 6*/10

Top Gun is a 80s classic.

The good. Interesting academy rivalry. Nice choice of music and score. Great footage of fighter planes. Beautiful San Diego photography. Funny scenes.

The actors. Tom Cruise plays the hothead excellently. Val Kilmer as his ice cool competitor is just perfect. However, the best and smoothest work is done by Meg Ryan. On the other hand, Kelly McGillis is unfortunately performed poorly and wasn't given much to work with. The rest of the cast does a pretty solid job. I'll just mention the better ones: Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt, and Michael Ironside. We can also see a small cameo by Tim Robbins.

The bad. Easy dialogs. Poor romance plot with lots of cliché and a weak female lead. A few continuity problems. Cockpit filming, lighting conditions mainly, doesn't correspond to fighter plane footage.

The ugly. Very awkward stick handling that looks ridiculous.

The result. A classic, mainly for those interested in seeing what really launched Cruise's career.

6*/10

Platoon — War is not just bullets flying, and horror is not just about blood — 10*/10

Platoon is about what it means to be a grunt in the Vietnam War. A masterpiece by Oliver Stone, and definitively the best Vietnam War movie ever made.

The good. This is one of those movie you could list everything here. I'll limit myself to what makes it truly special. An incredible score that leaves an indelible mark. Extremely strong psychology built into the scenario and the characters. You get right there with them, you feel the heat, the ants, the numbness... Perfect realism for the firefights, the ambushes, the battles, the camps, the duality, the interactions, and the dialogs. Superb acting.

The actors. At the time Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe were big names and you can see why by the quality of their work in this piece. However, the real star here is Charlie Sheen for his portrayal of a and ex college boy and disillusioned volunteer. An other great performance, often underrated, is the one by John C. McGinley as the stringy sergeant O'Neil. This production also feature people that would eventually become much bigger in the industry, namely Forest Whitaker, Keith David and a very young Johnny Depp.

The bad. Nothing.

The ugly. Nothing.

The result. Not for the faint of heart, highly recommended for everyone else. A must for those who want to understand the horrors of war.

10*/10

Aliens — Colonial marines locked in firefights with alien bugs, a must see — 9*/10

Aliens is an other incredible sci-fi by James Cameron done in his early days. A thrilling action packed sequel to the original masterpiece, Alien.

The good. Action, lots of it. Well thought out characters. Captivating and thrilling story. Very diversified scenario. Many surprises. Same meticulous setup. Even stronger female lead. Dark human ambitions still manipulating events. Spectacular climactic event.

The actors. Sigourney Weaver gives us an other great performance as the now legendary heroic survivor. Michael Biehn is the mellow corporal Hicks who grounds us and Ripley in a solid fashion. Paul Reiser manages a great performance where you just love to hate him. Lance Henriksen, as Bishop, shares with us his calm demeanor while looking completely innocent. And Bill Paxton gives an amazing performance as the high strung over-confident braggart.

The meh. The power loaders are great, but could have been done just a little better. Some of the special effects are showing a bit of age, but everything taken into consideration, it's barely noticeable.

The bad. Apone's pre-drop rousing orders. Compared to the rest of the dialogs, it's a little weak.

The ugly. Nothing. It's too good for that.

Th result. A horror movie packed with combat action scenes and lots of firepower. It doesn't get any better than that. See it.

9*/10

Ferris Bueller's Day Off — The best way to skip school and have fun in the 80s — 8*/10

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a teen flick by John Hughes which became a cult movie and is now a classic.

Its genius lies in the direct perspective of the teen mind. It's not an exaggerated view in the sense that it is not trashy. It's just a dream day any teen would love to be able to pull off and Ferris the coolest dude everybody wants to know. Great story, well developed characters, and cool dialogs.

The only negative things I can say are that I find that Matthew Broderick's acting is sometime a bit off. While it gives his performance a certain flair and a very distinctive flavor, it can be distracting at time. Mia Sara is also part of the those little negative things. She's just not top notch in this film, unlike Alan Ruck and Jeffrey Jones. She had done better.

If you don't mind a trip back to the 80s, I recommend it.

8*/10

The Money Pit — A funny Tom Hanks classic — 6*/10

The Money Pit will make you laugh, even if it's dating a bit. By now, you could consider it a period piece of the 80s. The main idea is very interesting, and the characters mostly interesting.

The house is fabulous, and each event is a riot. The first time you view it, it's at its funniest, but you'll like to see it again, just to relive the whole catastrophe.

I'd say that the main downside is the construction crew which is exaggerated to a point where it pulls you out of the movie. An other sad point is the final scene, but then it goes with the values of the time.

If you're looking for a classic, especially if you like Tom Hanks, this is for you.

6*/10