- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
THE LAST STARFIGHTER (1984). Maybe the only thing really dated about this '80s minor classic is that kids might not understand why you have to stand up somewhere not in your house and insert quarters to play video games! Other than that, boys especially - I'd say eight or nine and up, will groove to this modern fantasy where a young lad scores so well on an arcade game - sort of an Atari sword in the stone - that he is recruited into outer space to help save the good galaxies of the universe from some advancing meanies. Some terrific characters, including a gentle intergalactic conman played by the late, great Robert Preston. This was one of the first films to use C.G.I. for the space ships and such, and while the grown ups especially will notice how basic that element is the wish-fulfillment adventure of it all is timeless. And probably just as good as the intergalactic starwars going on is the situational havoc caused by the boy's doppelgänger robot double back on Earth interacting with his would-be girlfriend and family.
THE ROCKETEER (1991). Too often lost in the shuffle, this Disney-produced adaptation of the '80s cult comic book that so lovingly paid homage to the serials and pulps of the '30s and '40s, it's probably a little too kiddie-friendly by design to ever soar into the stratosphere of masterpiece, but it also makes it ideal for the pre-teen set looking for a good action movie that doesn't even have the level of bloodshed and frightening mayhem found in Raimi's SPIDER-MAN franchise. The period setting and fun with gangsters and international spies vying for the rocketpack found by a humble yet stalwart hero-to-be (Bill Campbell) who has to save the would-be love of his life (Jennifer Connelly) while learning how to operate the flying device should keep them entertained and make the adults smile throughout. A top-notch supporting cast led by Alan Arkin, Paul Sorvino and Timothy Dalton as the Errol Flynn-type Hollywood baddie raises the enjoyment level of the whole flick.
NATE & HAYES (1983). No, it doesn't have the unlimited budget, effects spectaculars or over-the-top pacing and plain visual denseness of the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN mega-blockbusters, but this PG-rated pirate adventure with the dashing thirtysomething Tommy Lee Jones as Captain Bully Hayes is still a lot of fun. Even with the pirating, kidnapping, swordplay and ships it probably has more in common with RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK than the classic Hollywood swashbucklers (CAPTAIN BLOOD, THE SEA HAWK, THE CRIMSON PIRATE). A good time to be had by all. If they're old enough to see those Johnny Depp theme park-inspired pirate flicks they can certainly take this one.
