The Terminator (1984)

The special effects in James Cameron’s “The Terminator” have aged terribly. Stop motion jitters. Robo Arnold Schwarzenegger head during the self-operation vibes snickering fake. But we can only blame (thank) James Cameron for the huge leap in special effects since then, including his remarkable “Abyss” (1989) and “Terminator 2” (1991). But this is still a crazy daring film that rest sci-fi standards. In grimy Los Angeles, two men –- Schwarzenegger and Michael Biehn -– appear naked inside a blue-like orb, lightning pops and crackles. Silent types, they quickly find or steel weapons and hunt after one woman, a waitress (Linda Hamilton) destined for greatness. Schwarzenegger to kill. Biehn to protect. Watching this recently, I thought back to the first time I saw “Terminator” how I had no idea what was happening, who was good, what Schwarzenegger was, and how the action would end, and I loved the VFX. Thirty-one years ago, wow. Cameron made his own career and christened Schwarzenegger a star, and that’s with a scene where he massacres several dozen LEOs. (Made today? Not a chance.) Cameron sells it. You know near every frame was fought over and after, beat into perfection of the time. Exhilarating. A

Ghostbusters (1984)

I love “Ghostbusters” more now than when I was 10 and bowled over by special effects, action, and dirty jokes meant for adults. Sure, this is still a kid’s flick, but it’s brilliantly written and peppered with wicked satire. The plot relies on digs at the EPA and IRBs! Name another Hollywood movie that trusting of the audience to get the jokes? Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Bill Murray are the heroes, fired academics who take to hunting the ghosts that plague New York City. And why not, it’s New York. Heaven for hell. And if they get laid along the way, go for it. Their proton pack arrival is perfectly timed as a Manhattan apartment high-rise with Sigourney Weaver as a tenant has just popped open a portal to a demonic realm. From the start in a library with book cards tossed all crazy right up to the finale with a white puffy giant ghoul with a grin, “Ghostbusters” rocks with never-better New York “F” the system eternal cool. Those days are gone. Conformity reigns now. Dig Murray riffing strong improve on the street, or Rick Moranis’ apartment geek king, and that dangling cigarette trick Aykroyd beautifully pulls… Classic! A+

The Natural (1984)

Not just a classic baseball movie, “The Natural” is an American fable as fantastical as Paul Bunyan or Superman. Quintessential American actor Robert Redford plays Roy Hobbs, a middle-aged (35!) man who finally climbs to the majors to become the “best that ever came or will be” on the diamond. He can pitch like a tank, and hits balls -– with his own bat carved from a tree stuck by lightening –- like Ruth. Years earlier Hobbs was on his way to young stardom when a woman shot him out of spite, before committing suicide. Hobbs has buried the past, but is not ashamed of it, for it does not define him. Yes, Roy is waylaid and deceived, and Homer’s “Odyssey” is name-dropped and shadows the story, complete with a Cyclops (Darren McGavin plays a crooked investor with a glass eye). Directed by Barry Levinson, shot by Caleb Deschanel, and scored by Randy Newman, this is a superhero film for guys who think a baseball cap is just as good as a red cape. Corny? Sentimental? Obvious? Absolutely. But I recently re-watched it to the outside sounds of fireworks and thunder. I felt as if a child, peaking at God. A

Footloose (2011)

It’s been too long since I watched the 1984 Kevin Bacon-starring “Footloose” to compare it side-by-side to this 2011 remake. Both follow the same concept: A big-city high school guy named Ren McCormack (here Kenny Wormald) arrives in a small town that has gone all 700 Club following the fatal DUI wreck of several students: Dancing is banned. Loud music banned. Church mandatory. The plot is set in stone: Ren loves to dance, and he will dance, bringing a wild child (Julianne Hough) and a geeky country seed (Miles Teller) along the way. It’s a goofy movie with lines such as: “It’s our time now!,” but it’s a fun fight-the-power trip for teens bored of living at home. This version is more sexual and violent. Director Craig Brewer (“Hustle & Flow”) for the most doesn’t belittle small town people, and his camera happily follows the feet and hips of youths dancing until adulthood arrives. Wormald scores bonus points over Bacon: He does his own dancing, and does it spectacularly well. Diverse helpings of music abound. B+

Supergirl (1984)

Red cape and blue tights. A newcomer actor as the hero. A veteran pro as the villain. A godlike actor as the father figure. “Supergirl” – the 1984 attempt to give girls the fantasy series that thrilled boys such as myself with the “Superman” films – breaks little new ground, and it’s terribly cheesy. But it’s a lark, full of unintended laughs. That’s the somewhat positive side. The negative? Precious little of the plot makes sense, the special effects seem cheap even for 1984, and there’s no heart or bravado. “Supergirl” opens in inner-space, a universe inside the Earth that serves as a distant cousin world to Krypton. You know the one, Superman’s home planet. The story: Teenage Kara (Helen Slater) leaves her world for Chicago in an egg ship to find a missing power ball thingy and has to battle a megalomaniac evil woman (Faye Dunaway, the veteran pro) bent on world rule. Whew. Peter O’Toole is the father figure. The real hero is Dunaway (“Network”), who chews scenery and drops one-liners like she could take over Earth. C+

The Karate Kid (2010)

“The Karate Kid” is a remake in name and theme of the 1984 Ralph Macchio flick about a picked-upon teen who takes up karate to defend himself. Here, the sport is kung-fu, and the hero’s age is dropped, the races changed, and the location taken halfway around the world. Jaden Smith (son of Will) gets dragged to China by his mother because of her job. By the end of his first day, Trey has made a friend, met a girl, and made some serious enemies. When Trey is quite nearly killed, the local handyman saves him. That’s Jackie Chan, never-better. You know the rest… Yeah, it’s simple plotting, and many characters are flat, but there’s plenty of heart here, and lovely details. Early on, the camera pans up a corner wall in Trey’s Detroit bedroom. Marked on the drywall are highlights of his young life: Kindergarten, lost teeth, his daddy dying, and he marks off – with a pencil – “Moved to China.” Smith – his eyes always testing, watching, studying, absorbing – will be a bigger star than his father. At the climax, I became as jolted at 37 as I did at 10 back in 1984. B+