Fifth Element (1997)

★★★1/2

In Luc Besson’s wild, strange, taxi-filled vision of the future we find Korben Dallas… a New York taxi driver who unwillingly becomes a part of a dangerous hunt to find the Fifth Element who happens to be a beautiful red-haired woman. Now he must help an ancient society of priests protect the Fifth Element from the evil Mr. Zorg and protect the world from total destruction. I found this movie to be a jolting ride though the future with some of the most bizarre cinematic and production elements I’ve seen on film. The casting was spot on and the film is pure eye candy but the only thing that I had wrong with it was that the story and the direction seemed very sporadic and easily distracted. I wanted to see more of the Fifth Element since the story is based around her. Still, it’s a worthwhile action movie.

City of the Living Dead (1980)

★★★☆☆

Also known as The Gates of Hell. I’m not sure where to being with this one but it’s part of a unique group of movies called The Unholy Trinity. This 80s, Italian zombie flick is about a group of people who discover that the gates of Hell have been opened and that they have to close it before All Saints Day otherwise the world would end. Directed by the Italian gore master himself, Lucio Fulci, this visually arresting movie doesn’t make a lick of sense and has one of the most convoluted plotlines I ever saw… but is still pretty good. I found myself enjoying the mood and the gore but struggling to try to make any sense of it. It’s a must for any zombie fan or horror genre appreciator.

The Expendables (2010)

★★★★☆

This 80s action throwback brings together some of the greatest action heroes from the past and present. The cast includes Stallone, Willis, Li, Lundgren and more as a pack of hardboiled mercenaries sent to a small island country to wipe out a military dictator. However, while scouting out their plan of action their mission turns from being just another job to something else… something worth fighting for. I saw this back in the theater and re-visited it again and I still love it. Sure, it’s a dumb and simple plot but to see all the action stars in one movie made me geek out. The brutality, violence and explosions make this thrill ride a must for any action fan. My only problem with it was that it wasn’t long enough.

The Burbs (1988)

★★★★1/2

After a group of strange, mysterious and rather frightening residents move into a creepy old house, three neighborly suburbanites become suspicious of their new neighbors. After witnessing them dragging out strange bags of stuff to the garbage, strange lights coming from their basement and seeing them digging graves in their backyards they become under the impression that the new neighbors might be a family of murderers. Directed by horror/comedy director Joe Dante; this film is a dark but funny satire of suburban living and how everybody can easily get stirred up. Mixed with some slapstick comedy, frightening moments and a great cast… I found myself laughing more than I expected. I saw this movie once and liked it then but I wanted to see if it fared up after all these years and it does. It’s a perfect movie for me since I hate the suburbs. It was as if Dante read my mind. Highly recommended.

Crocodile Dundee (1986)

★★★★☆

Mick “Crocodile” Dundee is known for braving the harshest, most hostile terrain that is the Australian Outback. Then, when a young female reporter visits to ask him after a near fatal crocodile encounter his life takes an unexpected turn. Now, he must brave the new, ferocious and wild jungle that is New York City so that he could be the next big thing in journalism. I love movies where people are taken out of their element and put into a new one and this movie is not exception. Great humor, a compelling story and an excellent parody on city life makes this movie still fun to watch after all these years.

Brazil (1985)

★★★★☆

Terry Gilliam's bizarre and nightmarish vision of the future ruled by technology and bureaucrats. This is the story about a man who is content with being a bureaucrat for the Ministry of Information. Well, due to a administration error he has been forced to find a person who is believed to be a very dangerous man and in the process he falls in love with a mysterious women that appears in his dreams. Oh, and during his quest he unwillingly becomes an enemy of the Ministry as well. Retro-futurism, slapstick comedy, bureaucratic satire and stunning art direction add to this movie's charm and intelligence but warrants a second or third viewing.

The Tallyteers

This blog has been inactive for a little over two years now but I decided to give it a revamping, and redesign it into something else. Before today, Tropical Republics was a personal blog that I used for general musings, rants and movie reviews but I was invited by Trevor Schoenfeld to become a Tallyteer. What is a Tallyteer you ask? A Tallyteer is someone who just keeps track of all the movies they saw so essentially it’s what the name suggests; tallying up your films. There are several other Tallyteeers out there and I hope to meet every one of them. So without further ado… I present to you the first post of the newly made Tropical Republics: A Tallyteer Blog. Below is a list of movies that I will be adding in the next few hours.

Brazil (1985)

Crocodile Dundee (1986)

Rabid Grannies (1989)

The Burbs (1988)