'84 nyara

A fifteen-year-old metalhead in a leather jacket with button pins and a Bad Religion t-shirt walks past the Reagan/Bush sign, a walkie-talkie at his waist and a walkman with headphones around his neck. All while synth music is playing in the background. The four boyhood friends dash around the suburbs on small BMX bikes, which they dismount at a bowling alley, where they ogle not only sexy cheerleaders while playing arcade machines, but especially a scantily clad beautiful DJ under a disco ball who plays music off vinyl and used to babysit the hero when he was smaller. The protagonist's father watches TV and complains that the Cold War will probably never end, and when his wife hands him posters for the town festival he complains that some synth-rock band will be playing. Etc etc etc. My God, it's not a movie, it's a mausoleum. I could go on for an hour listing the obligatory 80s props of this boyhood adventure, but with the underdeveloped relationship between the characters (who are exactly what they appear to be from the first scene, i.e. glasses and shirt = nerd, metalhead clothes = tough guy covering up problems at home with his seeming coolness, fat guy = anxious chum with his heart in the right place) I can call it good. Summer of 84 is just as uncritically fanboyish a spectacle as the directors' previous effort, Turbo Kid – a movie for those who are just looking to see their favorite artefacts. Indeed, the vast majority of them the film just shows them and moves on, they have nothing to do with the plot, and since they’re so horribly violently shoved in front of the camera, they don't even help create a period atmosphere. I'm bumping it up a star for the ending, which somewhat relieved the film of its previous toothlessness. (2018.08.31)

Made as kind of an Amblin movie, which is (apart from obvious sources) inspired mainly by Fright Night or Disturbia. For a long time, rather 80s average retro movie “when Stranger Things / It can do it, we can also do it", which, in addition to a solid pace, keeps the nice cast of adolescent roles above water. Redemption from the mediocrity brings an uncompromising conclusion, which, moreover, does not seem to be forced as in the recent (in many ways similar) Super Dark Times. (2018.09.01)

Stranger Things in movie form and a big surprise! A serial killer is on the loose in the town and he is targeting young boys in particular. Four teen friends decide to spend their summer vacation investigating and collecting evidence on their suspicious neighbor, who also happens to be a cop. The more they poke around, the more dangerous the whole thing gets. An incredibly nicely shot period retro with a likeable young cast – the main character in particular is excellent, I was fascinated by his detective zeal. The villain is great too, the tension works, the atmosphere is pretty thick at the end, and there are some unexpectedly grittier scenes. A very entertaining affair and definitely a nice addition this year. 75% (2018.08.27)

The era of 80’s summer adventures with your childhood gang behind your back and some good synthwave soundtracks shall never end. This movie has exactly the same vibe that we’ve recently seen in It or the show Stranger Things. It’s a remarkable mysterious story, with an atmosphere that bursts at seams with the 80’s and music that is more popular now than ever. I had so much fun. A childhood adventure that begins almost as a family movie and ends with quite the massacre. (2018.09.04)