THE DANMAN CAN

"Crowbars up." John Hughes Penned Feature Films Ranked

Much like the other film in my double feature tonight (both from stories by  Steven Spielberg ), I didn't grow up with Richard Donner 's  The Goonies  (1985). Just like  Tobe Hooper 's  Poltergeist  (1982) ( review ), I only saw The Goonies  for the first time in my twenties (whereupon I thought it was merely " good enough "). I'm sure that if I had seen the film in the '80s, it would mean a whole lot more to me. I've seen it three times now, I believe, and I just can't get too into it. It's weird, because I'm from the generation that loves this film, but I didn't see it at the right age. As it is, there's some laughs and fun to be had, but The  Goonies is honestly a pretty haphazard, noisy film. I get that it was aimed at a young audience (and, man , does it feel like it was geared toward those with short attention spans), but it's such a sloppy film (and goofy as hell). While there are a few touching moments, I mostly find the...

As a youngster, I, like many, loved Joe Dante 's Gremlins (1984). I still like the film a great deal, but at some point I realized that I like its sequel ( review ) more. Gremlins is still a very entertaining film, but whenever I revisit it I always find my attention dwindling at a certain point and then my interest level goes in and out. What I do love about the original film is its darkly humorous tone, its horror leanings, the catchy Jerry Goldsmith theme , and the wildly mischievous destruction at the hands of the titular creatures. You can find my  Joe Dante Feature Films Ranked  list  here .