TheRetroCritic

Here's the video version of my Flight Of The Navigator review.

Here's the video version of my Blazing Saddles review.

Here's the video version of my Silver Streak review.

Here's the video version of my Stir Crazy review.

From executive producers J.J. Abrams and Jon Favreau, Revolution was a post-apocalyptic sci-fi series from 2012 set after the power inexplicably goes out in the world leaving it in a permanent blackout as America's leadership is completely reshuffled and a resistance grows. Revolution presents a big concept with a lot of potential and the previews for this show looked like a lot of fun. With the involvement of Abrams and the usually reliable Billy Burke, this certainly ticked all right boxes. The Pilot episode, directed by Favreau himself, introduces us to the main characters and this new post-power world rather well as America finds itself divided with the North-Eastern coast being run by intimidating dictator Monroe (David Lyons). When scientist Ben Matheson (Tim Guinee), who was involved in the mess that led to the power being turned off, is killed by the Monroe Republic militia and his son Danny (Graham Rogers) is kidnapped, his headstrong daughter Charlie (Tracy Spiridak

In 2015, Billy Crystal and Josh Gad co-starred in The Comedians , a mockumentary series following the collaboration of two mismatched actors in a TV sketch comedy show and their love/hate relationship off-camera. Like a cross between Curb Your Enthusiasm , The Larry Sanders Show and Extras , The Comedians is instantly derivative in that it's your typical improv-heavy behind-the-scenes type of show where you see the two leads clash and deal with various awkward situations then talk to the camera about it. This is intercut with silly sketches from the show being portrayed in the series. Crystal and Gad may not be the obvious choice for a team, which might explain the low ratings, yet they quickly prove that they are a worthy comedy duo and the show is surprisingly effective. It's refreshing to see Billy Crystal enjoying himself playing a purposely more flawed character and Gad adds another level to his usual schtick by showing a lot of improvisational talent, great timing a

Written and directed by Woody Allen, The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion is an old-fashioned comedy thriller about an insurance investigator who is hypnotized into stealing priceless jewels and then unknowingly investigates his own thefts. Released in 2001, the crime comedy was originally a flop with the 1940's setting making it the most expensive of Allen's films at that point. Since then, however, the film has gained some cult recognition from fans of the director's work. This really feels like a project which would have made more sense had it been released around the same time as Broadway Danny Rose and Shadows And Fog with its dated look and sense of humour because it's not exactly the kind of genre that was in vogue back in 2001. The plot is based on a clever premise with a lot of potential: two people who hate each other are revealed to, in fact, be in love deep down but are then manipulated into committing crimes by a creepy hypnotist. Reminiscent of The Purpl

After the first season of Comic Book Men opened the doors of the Secret Stash comic-book store to television for all to see, AMC soon went ahead with a second season with Kevin Smith, Walt Flanagan, Mike Zapcic, Ming Chen and Bryan Johnson all returning. This time, the show would be spread out over 16 episodes instead of just 6, each of them half the length of what they were in the last season. And although this meant a more rushed pace and less time with the Stash gang, Season 2 did well to manage this new format by not over-crowding and overloading the episodes. In terms of guest appearances, there are thankfully not too many with Jason Mewes popping up in a couple of episodes and the season ending with Walt meeting some veteran Jersey Devils hockey players. The highlight guests-wise has to be Stan Lee who shows up at the Stash for a photo-shoot and answers some of the cast's geekiest questions. It's a fun tribute to Lee and comic-book fans should really enjoy the few t

As if the 80's weren't already 80's enough, in 1986 we got the most patriotic, corniest blockbuster imaginable: Top Gun . Directed by Tony Scott, the film starred Tom Cruise in his then most bankable role and followed cocky fighter jet pilot Maverick as he starts training with the best of the best. If you ever wondered why Michael Bay sets all his films at sunset, the answer is Top Gun as pretty much every scene in Scott's movie takes place in front of a golden sky. We first meet Maverick (Cruise) and his friend Goose (Anthony Edwards) as they show off their bold yet reckless flying and manage to save a panicking pilot who would have otherwise crashed. Because apparently mixed messages are an old navy favourite, they are told off then promoted and sent to the Top Gun school of awesome pilot douchebags where their confident, playful attitude is quickly rejected and criticised before Maverick proves himself worthy. There, they meet alpha-douche Iceman (Val Kilmer), w

Partly a project started by Adam Nimoy and his father focused on the Spock character's conception and cinematic journey, partly a crowdfunded homage to the late actor, For The Love Of Spock is a new documentary tribute with a lot to say and a lot of heart. Chronicling the impact of Star Trek , the birth of Spock and the ups and downs of Leonard Nimoy's career, the film takes great care to touch upon different aspects of the actor's journey from his films to his family life, other interests like directing, theatre or photography and what he and his iconic character means to the fans. A lot of emphasis is put into showing how all kinds of fans have gravitated towards the stoic Vulcan from the 60's to today as we get interviews from cosplayers, celebrities (Neil deGrasse Tyson, Jason Alexander) and NASA employees who all explain what the character means to them. Of course, the key members from the Original Series' cast are all there to talk about on and off-set s