“Neighbors” (1981) Movie Review

    Before the Seth Rogen and Zac Efron film “Neighbors” and it’s sequel, there was a little known 1981 film which was also titled “Neighbors”.  It’s hard to imagine why the film isn’t more well known especially considering the history behind the film.

    Comedic legends John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd star in this film about, well, neighbors one year following their successful turn in the comedy classic “The Blues Brothers”.  “Neighbors” was the last film performance of comedic legend John Belushi.  The film had a troubled production.  Belushi and Aykroyd switched roles during pre-production, the pair clashed with director John G. Avildsen and tried to get him removed from the project, and Belushi’s drug use proved to be a problem during production.

    One thing I was extremely curious about was how John G. Avildsen would handle a comedy.  For the most part, I am a fan of Avildsen’s work.  While there were comedic moments in his work like “Rocky” and “The Karate Kid”, they were primarily dramas.  I almost feel like Belushi and Aykroyd might have been right on wanting to remove him from the project.  While I feel like the movie had elements that worked and were funny, I feel like tone was a major problem with the film and has kept it from being remembered as a classic.  The film felt very rushed with most of the events taking place within a day’s time span.  I also feel like it either doesn’t go over the top enough to be silly or doesn’t make it realistic enough to relate to.  All that being said, there were a lot of parts I chuckled or laughed at which is the important part of a comedy.

    Aside from the comedy, I felt the incidental music took away from the film some.  The music cues felt straight out of “Looney Toons” and I personally thought it felt distracting.  Bill Conti, Academy Award winning composer of “The Right Stuff”, typically delivers strong scores but I did not care for his work on this project.  On the positive side, I really liked how the houses in the film felt real and lived in.  I appreciate attention to detail in films like that.

    My late parents had this film on a CED (Capacitance Electronic Disc) years ago.  This particular cover on the retro VHS blu-ray cover was the same cover on the CED so it brought back some fond memories.  I really appreciate the effort Mill Creek Entertainment put into this release.  I am also thankful to Mill Creek Entertainment for providing me a review copy.  They are one of my favorite home video distributors out there now and they are a very kind business.

    As far as the home video release, I adore the retro video cover.  As Heath at the YouTube channel Cereal at Midnight stated, I prefer the retro covers to movies that were actually old enough to have a VHS release over newer movies like the remake of “It” which came out last year.

Grade: C+

Buy “Neighbors” on Blu-ray with Retro VHS Slipcover Here!!!

"The Next Karate Kid" Movie Review

    As a big fan of the Karate Kid films as a kid, I always loved the dynamic of Mr. Miyagi and Daniel.  By the time I got a little older, “The Next Karate Kid” came out with a new lead and I had very little interest in seeing it.  I don’t even recall why, but I just didn’t want to see this movie.  As I grew older, I grew curious about this movie.  I had read a lot of negative reviews about this film but as any of my readers know, I don’t always agree with the critics but I usually make my case for why I like or don’t like a film.

    “The Next Karate Kid” sees Mr. Miyagi agree to watch over Julie, the granddaughter of his former commander and friend during the war.  After seeing Julie do a martial arts style jump, Mr. Miyagi inquires where she learned it to do that.  Upon learning that her grandfather taught her some moves, Mr. Miyagi reveals that he taught her grandfather martial arts and that he would like to train her.  After Julie gets suspended from school, Mr. Miyagi takes her to train with monks.  Upon her return, she goes to a school dance and her date is confronted and beat up by a group of bullies.  Along with Mr. Miyagi, the pair take on the bullies during the climax of the film.

    So, what are my thoughts on this movie?  Well...I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie.  Now, this isn’t the best movie ever, nor is it the best Karate Kid movie, but it was better than I thought it would be.  The film is not without it’s faults but I actually think having Mr. Miyagi train a new student was the best route for a sequel.  This film reminds me a bit of “The Greatest American Heroine”, the failed spin-off of “The Greatest American Hero” which saw a female take over as the lead.  I wish more time had been spent showing Julie training.  Though some may consider training montages to be a bit of cinematic cheating, they are effective and move the plot along while giving you a sense time has went into a character’s training.

    John G. Avildsen, director of the first three Karate Kid movies, sat this entry out.  Christopher Cain (adopted father of former Superman Dean Cain) takes over the director’s chair.  Cain doesn’t have the visual mastery Avildsen had but is passable.

    Hilary Swank makes her big screen debut in this film.  Swank gives a very solid performance especially for her age at the time.  Noriyuki “Pat” Morita gives his final performance as Mr. Miyagi.  Morita’s character is given more of a backstory in this movie which he deserved.  Michael Ironside delivers yet another solid performance as the villain of this movie.  Walton Goggins from “Justified” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp” also has a small role in the film which was fun to see.

    Much like “The Karate Kid Part III”, this movie doesn’t feel super necessary, but overall this film is more enjoyable than the third part.  “The Next Karate Kid” isn’t perfect but is about on par with most 90s action films.

Grade: C+

Now...I would like to note that the kind folks at Mill Creek Entertainment provided me a review copy of this film (which is now available in stores).  The picture quality and audio are both very good.  The release has a simple to navigate menu in which you just pick which movie you want to watch (the film was released with “The Karate Kid Part III” as well) and it starts right up.  Thank you again Mills Creek Entertainment!

Buy The Karate Kid Part III and The Next Karate Kid Double Feature Blu-ray Here!!!

“The Karate Kid Part III” Movie Review

    Growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, one of my favorite films was the original and iconic “The Karate Kid” film.  I remember watching that film several times and I loved it.  The funny thing is, I remembered very little of it and was eager to revisit the franchise as an adult.  I had bought the first two films that Sony released in a two pack as well as the Jaden Smith remake which was surprisingly good.  I wanted to finish my collection but “The Karate Kid Part III” and “The Next Karate Kid” blu-ray editions released through Sony were a little too expensive for my taste.  When Mill Creek Entertainment announced they were going to release a blu-ray copy containing both films, I was extremely happy.  Mill Creek Entertainment offers their releases at reasonable prices while still providing excellent quality.  In the interest of full disclosure, Mill Creek Entertainment was kind enough to offer me a review copy of this film.  So here it goes...

  “The Karate Kid Part III” sees Daniel being bullied and forced into defending his title against Cobra Kai student Mike Barnes by mentors John Kreese and Terry Silver.  Daniel’s mentor Mr. Miyagi refuses to train Daniel at first which leads the young man to seek guidance from Terry Silver.  Little does Daniel know, Silver has been manipulating Daniel the whole time.  It has an interesting premise, with Mr. Miyagi and villain Terry Silver essentially fighting for Daniel’s soul.  The film fails to completely capitalize on the premise however by focusing too much on the filler.

   That isn’t to say the movie is bad.  Oscar winning director John G. Avildsen returns for the third film but it feels a bit like Avildsen is running on fumes by this outing.  There are some beautiful shots in this film, for instance the training sequences and the location of the bonsai tree.  I also really liked the use of the opening credits to recap what had happened previously.  It may sound silly, but a little refresher isn’t always a bad thing for a general audience.

    As for the performances, you have to start with the Karate Kid himself, Ralph Macchio.  Macchio is so accustomed to the role by this point that it’s hard to deny his presence even at such a young age.  It’s just sort of a shame he isn’t given more to work with.  Thomas Ian Griffith makes his big screen debut in this film.  Griffith gives an over the top and borderline cartoony performance that took me out of the film everytime he appeared.  On the bright side, Noriyuki “Pat” Morita remains the bright part of the franchise.  Morita’s subtle performance brings so much heart and warmth to the film that it definitely makes up for some of the more over the top performances.

  The finale of the film feels rushed and the movie ends rather abruptly.  I would have liked to see what happened to any of the characters after the tornament ended but we are left to imagine and guess.  Maybe it was just me, but given the fact that Kreese and Silver wanted revenge so badly, it’s hard to imagine they were so passive by the end.

  The biggest problem with this film was that it felt unnecessary and nothing in the film made it feel necessary.  The film is pure fluff but it doesn’t tarnish the franchise either, unlike Avildsen’s “Rocky V”.  It’s not a bad film but it is hard to top the original.

Grade: C

Now...onto the Blu-ray release itself.  I absolutely loved it!  The picture is crisp and the audio is great!  While “The Karate Kid Part III” is admittedly not my favorite film in the series, I also have to have it since I am a completionist.  I love the fact that Mills Creek Entertainment releases films such as this so I can finish my collection of Karate Kid movies.  They are also so amazing to their customers that I honestly can’t say enough good things about them.  The Blu-ray release also comes with “The Next Karate Kid” as well!  (A review for that film is coming soon as well).  I also should note that this film brought me back to a simpler time and while the movie may not have held up as well as I remembered it, it brought back some great memories of my childhood.  “The Karate Kid Part III” and “The Next Karate Kid” double feature blu-ray hits store shelves this Tuesday!  Be sure to pick up a copy and share your opinions.  Thank you!

Buy The Karate Kid Part III and The Next Karate Kid Double Feature Blu-ray Here!!!