This is me too Pacman!

Title: Colors (1988)

Colors starring Sean Penn and Robert Duval, directed by Dennis Hopper

In the 80's, before "bling" and gangsta became fashionable, Dennis Hopper directed a movie that was deemed controversial at the time. Colors depicted the violent crimes and familial relationships of the LA street gangs. Growing up in the 80's, drive by's and drug busts were constantly on TV, radio, and newspaper. In my hometown, Latino gangs were prevalent and when the movie came out, those who lived in any gangland areas of Southern California attested to its accuracy. It was over-the-top in many ways, but still accurate enough.

The story itself explored many complex relationship among the thug streets of Los Angeles - gangs and gangs, cops and gangs, cop and lady gangbanger, cops and cops, cops and snitches.

The relationship between the main characters Officers Bob Hodges (Robert Duval) and Danny "Pacman" McGavin (Sean Penn) was that of a mentor-newbie. Hodges, who's near retirement, was teaching Danny how to survive the streets as a cop and deal with the gangsters to gain respect. Hodges seemed to have a rapport with Frog (Trinidad Silva), an elder gangbanger who's seen it all and may have dealt with Hodges a few times before. Frog and Hodges were seen chit-chatting a few times. Frog smirking at the end when Hodges died was mildy uncomfortable. I thought those two were friends.

Colors had some of today's prolific actors in small roles: Don Cheadle, Damon Wayans, Forrest Whittaker who starred with Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgement High, and Mario Lopez who went on to star in Saved by the Bell and Dancing with the Stars.

What's a white guy doing in a Latino gang?

I had not seen the movie in over ten years but a couple of scenes still remain in my head. The first was Courtney Gains as Whitey. You can't miss him. He's the red-headed white guy in a Latino gang. I can't help but chuckle in the drive-by scene that Whitey spent propped up against a wall because he was too waisted to move. Courtney Gains still enjoys a cult following from his role as Malachai in Children of the Corn.

Another scene that I'm fond of was when Louisa Gomez (Maria Conchita Alonso) was discovered by Danny in the backroom with a gangbanger during a party that the cops were busting up. "This is me too, Pacman!" was just too funny to forget.

There weren't many quotes that I recall. The one that stuck with me the most was the advice that Hodges gave Danny:

There's two bulls standing on top of a mountain. The younger one says to the older one:
"Hey pop, let's say we run down there and fuck one of them cows". The
older one says: "No son. Lets walk down and fuck 'em all".

Colors is a timeless classic. The Colors soundtrack, provided by various artists such as Ice T and Salt-N-Pepa, still holds up today. Many may find the movie dated since the thug style is so prominent in today's pop culture. But Colors may have started it all.

I'm Leo Getz, and whatever you want, Leo gets

Title: Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

Lethal Weapon 2 starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover

The 80's were good for Mel Gibson. Yes, the 90's were good to him as well, but he became a mega star in the 80's. Who'd a thought that Lethal Weapon would become THE cop buddy franchise. It's a standard that lives today and will be for more movies to come.

The one stark difference to me between Lethal Weapon 2 and the original Lethal Weapon was the slapstick tone of the sequel. It seemed that Martin Riggs, the lethal weapon, had a makeover and now tried to be part of the close circle of cops around him instead of embracing his lone wolf past. He joked around with his colleagues, became attached with Roger Murtaugh's family, and even fell in love with Rika Van De Haas (played by the ever hot Patsy Kensit). Riggs was not the character that was introduced in the first Lethal Weapon.

Patsy Kensit costars in Lethal Weapon 2

Still hot: Patsy Kensit at the 2009 BAFTA TV Award

Still, despite the funnier and more endearing buddy cop relation (bromance by today's standard), Lethal Weapon 2 was memorable for Leo Getz, superbly played by Joe Pesci who went on to star in other unforgettable movies such as My Cousin Vinny and Goodfellas. I thought that Joe Pesci stole pretty much any scene he was in simply because I wanted to hear what's he gonna say next. Joe Pesci had some of his better movie quotes and funniest moments as Leo Getz.

Funny Leo Getz Quotes

• Oh okay, bad cop, bad cop. [after initially meeting Riggs and Murtaugh]
• I'm Leo Getz, and whatever you want, Leo gets.
• Okay, okay, okay, okay, this is the best part okay? You make a tax deduction on interest payments you don't even make! Am I an innovator? Am I a genius? [explaining money laundering to Riggs and Murtaugh]
• They FUCK YOU at the drive-thru!
• Hey hey hey! Listen, if we're going, shouldn't I have a gun?

Get away from her you bitch!

Title: Aliens (1986)

I'm glad I got around to reviewing Aliens. It's one of my favorite movies. It's a simple, yet action pack film -- a group of US Space Marines along with Ripley as a private consultant were dispatched to investigate why a corporate colony stopped communicating with planet Earth. Sigourney Weaver reprises her soon-to-be iconic role as Ellen Ripley, the tough as nail survivor of the exploration ship Nostromo.

Aliens: Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn) shows Ellen Ripley how to use a pulse rifle

It's a sequel to the first movie, Alien (1979), which was shot as a sci-fi horror (tagline: "In space, no one can hear you scream"). This one is sci-fi action. Definitely action. Superbly written and directed by James Cameron also known for Terminator, Titanic, etc.

I particularly like the time period. As a deep space movie, it is set before many elements of space exploration have been perfected. So there is no hyperspace travel, there is no beam-me-up technology, and there are no laser guns.

In this time setting, James Cameron excels in giving sci-fi and action fans brute force military technology modernized for a not-too-distant-future space exploration. Some gadgets are the coolest because of the raw power they project. Dropship instead of parachutes and helicopters. APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) instead of humvee. And twenty three years later, the pulse rifle is still the most badass gun in cinema. It's basically American firepower against aliens.

The best scene is when Ripley and the remaining marines were making their last stand. Everytime I watch this movie, I still flinch whenever an alien breaks through the defenses and pops out of nowhere.

Aliens Video Clip: Hudson's death scene

Also, the best character in Aliens is played by Bill Paxton. He gives a very memorable comic relief as Private Hudson, the cocky and loud-mouthed marine who's not as courageous as he sounds. He has the best lines.

Hudsons quotes in Aliens

Aliens Promo Poster

Just what he said. You figure out when he said it.

• I say we grease this rat-fuck son-of-a-bitch right now.
• What do you mean, "'They' cut the power?" How could they cut the power, man? They're animals!
• Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?
• Is this gonna be a standup fight, sir, or another bughunt?
• We're on an express elevator to hell; going down!
• Let's just bug out and call it even, OK?
• That's it man, game over man, game over!
• Seventeen DAYS? Hey man, I don't wanna rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last seventeen HOURS!
• Why don't you put her in charge?
• Right, right. Somebody said "alien" she thought they said "illegal alien" and signed up!
• They're all around us, man. Jesus!
• We're all gonna die man.
• It wasn't funny, man.

Lastly, I'm fortunate to have seen Aliens in the big screen. If you haven't had the chance, keep an eye out for a theater around you that would show it. It's an experience you won't forget.

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

Title: Ghostbusters (1984)

Whoa! It's the 25 year anniversary of Ghostbusters. I wonder why we're not hearing any celebration of this great supernatural comedy. Or is it science fiction? No matter how you view it, it's a classic 80's films.

Ghostbusters is an awesome movie to watch in the big screen. It's a special effects feast for the eyes. New York at night. Nuclear accelerators vs. Sumerian gods. Giant marshmallow man. Floating ghosts. Pretty much top of the line FX arts that hold even today.

And it balances well with the superb comic acting of Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis. Also excellent is William Atherton as Walter Peck, the arrogant authority figure from the EPA looking to shutdown the Ghost Busters for code violations. Ghostbusters arguably launched Atherton's 80's career portraying arrogant figures we love to hate (Real Genius, Die Hard, Die Hard 2). Sigourney Weaver, who is best known for her tough-as-nail heroine in the Alien saga, is at her best as a soft, vulnerable, and sexy damsel in distress. Of course, the movie makers make no apology showing off her long legs.

And let's not forget that this movie also gave us the Ecto 1. It's one of the more famous pop culture movie cars.

Though not quoted as often as other 80's movies such as Batman or Terminator for instance, Ghost Busters has some of the funniest lines in cinema, delivered by the sardonic carefree scientist, Dr. Peter Venkman (played by Bill Murray).

Ghostbusters Peter Venkman Quotes

• All right! This chick is TOAST!
• Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown...
• Nimble little minx, ain't she?
• Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!
• Someone blows their nose and you want to keep it?
• We've been going about this all wrong. This Mr. Stay Puft's okay! He's a sailor, he's in New York; we get this guy laid, we won't have any trouble!
• So, she's a dog...
• Mother pus bucket!
• We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!
• You're right, no human being would stack books like this.
• He slimed me.
• Back off, man. I'm a scientist.
• If I'm wrong, nothing happens! We go to jail - peacefully, quietly. We'll enjoy it! But if I'm *right*, and we *can* stop this thing... Lenny, you will have saved the lives of millions of registered voters.
• Yes it's true...This man has no dick.
• Maybe now you'll never slime a guy with a positron collider, huh?
• She's not my girlfriend. I find her interesting because she's a client and because she sleeps above her covers... *four feet* above her covers. She barks, she drools, she claws!

I hope that brings back memories of how funny this movie really is.

Unfortunately, I don't find the sequel, Ghost Busters 2, to be as funny. Although the early part of the court scene is hilarious when the Ghost Busters were being represented by Louis Tully (played by Rick Moranis). But that was it.

I've been reading about a Ghostbusters 3 movie. The original cast members are rumored to star. I'm not thrilled over a 3rd movie. I think that Ghostbusters is a classic and should be left alone.

The only problem with kicking the shit out of you is that it would be too easy

Title: Streets of Fire (1984)

This movie is a very underrated and fun movie to watch. It really didn't pick up a cult following and not a lot of people talk about it. But the tongue-in-cheek performances by Rick Moranis, Eric Roberts Michael Pare, and Willem Defoe are amazing. The music is great. I still have my Streets of Fire CD soundtrack. And "Tonight is what it means to be young" is one of the catchiest tunes ever. The movie is also visually stimulating as it transforms a city into an urban fantasy land. By that, I mean that the landscape is not grungy, yet because it's the home of a motorcycle gang, there is still danger.

The storyline is simple. A rising rock singer gets kidnapped by the motorcycle gang during a club concert. The owner of the club calls on her brother, who is also the ex-boyfriend the rock singer, for help because he's in the military and that he might be able to help. The plot is more of a comic book style maybe that's why I liked it so much.

My favorite character is Billy Fish played by Rick Moranis. He's the rock singer's (Ellen Aim played by Diane Lane) manager. He also has a crush on her and would like nothing more than to have his cake and eat it too. By that I mean rescue Ellen and get rid of her ex-boyfriend Tom Cody. Eric Roberts Michael Pare excellently plays the role of the military-mercenary hero. He simply looks the part of a trench coat-wearing gun slinger.