Beverly Hills Cop 1984 * * * 1/2 Stars

Director: Martin Brest

Year: 1984
Rated: R
Rating: * * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, Ronny Cox

As a Detroit police officer gone rouge trying to avenge the death of his best friend (he does this by venturing out to Beverly Hills, CA), Beverly Hills Cop is by far, the best film to utilize Eddie Murphy's skills as a gifted comedic actor. In a role once rumored to helm Sylvester Stallone in the lead, Murphy as wisecracking detective Axel Foley gives his best performance in what I consider his best movie to date.

Expertly plotted and directed with controlled craftsmanship by Martin Brest (director of Scent of a Woman), this was a monster box office hit and it spawned 2 more sequels ("Cop" II is pretty solid but "Cop III" is the one you should skip). Watch for the scene where Foley makes a sort of off-duty arrest in a strip club. This is one of the more memorable moments in 80's cinema.

Written by Jesse Burleson

The Natural 1984 * * * 1/2 Stars

Director: Barry Levinson
Year: 1984
Rated PG
Rating: * * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall

The Natural is one of my favorite sports movies of all time not to mention one of the most uplifting films you'll ever see in general. After a quiet sort of mute opening credits sequence, it becomes a poignant, heavenly joy with Randy Newman's hair-raising score pouncing in at all the right moments. As aging baseball legend Roy Hobbs, Robert Redford seems a bit miscast at first, but the movie manages to make you forget about it by surrounding him with a strong assembly of renowned actors (especially Robert Duvall as driven-by-the-truth sports writer Max Mercy and Oscar nominee Glenn Close as a woman from Roy's past). The story takes Redford's character and portrays him as a sort of glorified, baseball messiah (he was out of the game for 16 years because of a gun shot wound) who played outfielder for the New York Knights (for one MLB season mind you). There is a mythical sort of fantasy element present here in which Hobbs has the ability to both pitch and hit like an all-star (unprecedented in today's modern game). Also, the fact that he kinda came out of nowhere and carried a checkered past, draws the viewer in with every well lit scene.

Director Barry Levinson effectively displays a knack for sentimental heroics and although The Natural tries to manipulate the viewer into thinking it's Citizen Kane (considered by many as the greatest film ever made), it still manages to give you goosebumps (the home run sequences are a little outlandish but go with what I'm saying) and does what the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 tried, but might have failed to do.

As a great family film and essential viewing for any sports fan, The Natural will make you stand up and cheer, even if you're the only person in the room.

Written by Jesse Burleson

The Cotton Club 1984 * * * Stars

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Year: 1984
Rated R
Rating: * * * Stars
Cast: Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Gregory Hines

Francis Ford Coppola is quoted as saying, "I have genius but no talent." Honestly, I think he has both. But with his December 1984 release The Cotton Club, he unfortunately loses a little of this talent by failing to format a somewhat cohesive storyline.  If you ignore that sort of minor flaw, you still get a splashy mob flick that is highly stylized, highly energized, and done with mounds of real panache.

Taking place in 1930's Harlem (ah the good old days) and projecting itself as a movie that tries to cram in 2-3 stories in a 2 hr. period, "Club" tells the tale (or tales) of musician Dixie Dwyer, (played by Richard Gere who has amazing screen presence here) his uncontrollable resistance to move up the mob chain, and the resorting-to-murder brother he has to look out for (played with gusto by Nicolas Cage). The film also examines the life of a racially discriminated tap dancer (Gregory Hines) who struts his stuff at where else, The Cotton Club.

Projecting itself as a sped up version of Coppola's masterpiece The Godfather (there's a sequence toward the end that pays complete homage to the baptism murder scene in said movie), this torrid vehicle has a fantastic look (very accurate for the time period and not too overdone), brilliant acting by Richard Gere ( Dwyer) and Nicolas Cage ( Dwyer's brother Vincent), and well choreographed, exhilarating tap dance sequences.

Coppola, who is in total command of the camera (and his craft) wants to make sure the viewer is worn out by the time the credits roll. He is accurate, doesn't give an inch (he's a perfectionist. All you gotta do is watch the Heart of Darkness documentary), but seems too busy filling the screen with an overload of indelible images. I guess he insists on doing this instead of keeping the viewer focused on exactly what's going on with this talented cast (boy do they give it their all). Try as I might though, I can't fault him. Entertaining and never boring, The Cotton Club excels at making the audience feel unsafe (just like the actual characters in the movie) and it's at least in my mind, a moderate success. This veritable gangster movie is the equivalent of a sugar rush ( in a good way of course). It's one "club" you might want to check out.

Written by Jesse Burleson

Country 1984 * * * 1/2 Stars

Director: Richard Pearce
Year: 1984
Rated PG
Rating: * * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard, Wilfred Brimley

1984's Country is a powerful, building, and earthy drama. As something that chronicles a family whose farm ownership is being threatened by the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), Country is extremely well-acted, old-worded, Reagan Era-ed, and authentic (you can hear the tractors rumbling, the real-life farmers grumbling, and the sheep saying "baa").

Granted, Country ends on a sort of unresolved note and it's almost forgotten amongst the viewers who watched it relentlessly on HBO circa 1985 (the only way I could view it again was by purchasing the darn thing on Amazon DVD).

Still, Country begets real conflict. It gets raw performances from its cast (Sam Shepard, Jessica Lange, Wilford Brimley) and for the most part, hits realistically close to home (my mother's side of the family were proud farmers in rural Indiana).

Look for the greatest acting ever by a two-year-old (Lange's character's little daughter), some solid acting from someone who has never done it before (milieu resident Levi L. Knebel), and some echt locales courtesy of small-town Readlyn, Iowa. "In a big country dreams stay with you". They almost do in small "country" land as well. Rating: 3 and a half stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson