THE DANMAN CAN

Wild At Heart  (1990) features probably my favorite young rebellious on-screen couple, Sailor and Lula, two innocents who deal with all the shit that happens to them the only ways they know how. WAH  is a film about true love, passion, crime, dancing, individuality, freedom, good and bad witches, temptation, menacing baddies, weird families, and much more, all filtered through the strange and wonderful mind of David Lynch . You can find my David Lynch Feature Films Ranked  list here .

Basket Case  (1982) is a trash classic, a key Z flick—featuring atrocious acting and terrible f/x but plenty of blood and fun. It was clearly made with passion and heart, and while it's really not a "good" film, it's incredibly rewatchable.

Big Trouble In Little China  (1986) is simply one of the greatest action/adventure/comedies of the 80s and John Carpenter 's most fun film, featuring  Kurt Russell as Jack Burton , his final iconic (new) role for the director. Russell plays Burton  as a caricature of 80s machismo, an all American truck driver quipping laughable one-liners and sporting a furious mullet, who in reality is the most inept character, largely taking a backseat to the action handled by the mostly Asian cast. So just remember what ol' J ack Burton does when he's in the mood for an over-the-top spectacle of ridiculous plot devices and Chinese mysticism, chock-full of fantastic production and costume design, impressive cinematography, incredible practical visual f/x, magical martial arts and a great musical score. He watches Big Trouble In Little China . You can find my John Carpenter Films Ranked  list here .

Tennessee Williams ' work is frequently melodramatic but  Suddenly, Last Summer  (1959) falls into camp territory on more than one occassion. That's part of its charm though and it's entertaining throughout. Watching Elizabeth Taylor  unravel is fun, Hepburn is her usual proud self,  Clift is his usual stiff self, and the ending is total Hollywood nonsense. For fans of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958), What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962) and Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?  (1966).

If you enjoy lead actors who look like the lovechild of Mark Hamill and Michael Biehn  that are shirtless for 90% of a film's running time, who alternately slink around like The Wolfman (but with green face paint) or wave their arms around in a victory dance, 5 minutes of Roddy McDowall  as a doctor, stop-motion aliens that look like slimy dino-turds, at least 7 cars exploding, and (naturally) a gratuitous amount of laserblasting (with literally no explanation for any of the above), then Laserblast  (1978) is your dream come true.

It's a shame that  Michele Soavi   wasn't able to make more horror films. He made a few very atmospheric and interesting ones, and only improved his craft with each film.  Dario Argento ’s stamp is all over  The Sect  (1991) (he did write and produce, and even some of the shots are similar to his style), but it's also reminiscent of  Guillermo del Toro ’s early work. Recommended for fans of  Rosemary’s Baby   (1968) ( review ),  Cronos   (1993),  Phenomena  (1985) ( review ), and dreamy, surreal horror. Michele Soavi Feature Films Ranked

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre  (1967) is a pulpy, bloody and mostly accurate portrayal of the events leading up to the real life massacre . The direction, camerawork, production design and costumes are all impressive, especially considering the budget that Roger Corman  had to work with. The cast are all great, though Jason Robards  is a bit too theatrical as Al Capone . Overall an engaging treat for gangster fans.

If you want a bad time, look no further than Martyrs  (2008). The oppressive nonstop violence and torture had the opposite effect than what the filmmakers were going for (I think?)—I found myself bored and over it. I wasn't quite sure what the point of it all was until the film basically became the torture porn version of  Joan Of Arc  (complete with "artsy" ending to piss most people off). I admire the craft and the f/x are good but this is not a film that I feel I ever need to see again. Transformative? Maybe for some but not for me.