CLOAK & DAGGER (1984)

Remember little Henry Thomas from E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial? He was Elliot, the boy that found ET first. Who can forget that iconic scene with him and ET flying on his bike across the moon?

In Cloak & Dagger he plays eleven year old Davey who recently lost his mother and does not see much of his dad who is in the US Air Force. Fortunately for him he has a great imagination and finds solace in that. Unfortunately, it is this same imagination that lands him in hot water when he witnessed a murder and nobody wants to believe him. However, when the baddies come after him seeking his blood, his imaginary friend comes to his rescue...

This 1984 movie might seem a little bit outdated with its rudimentary references to computer technology and video games of its time (who can still even remember Atari?). But if you are prepared to look beyond that, this is quite enjoyable as a good old fashioned action adventure. Watching Dabney Coleman playing the dual role of the boy's father and imaginary friend is especially entertaining.

I can really recommend this movie and gave it 3 out of 5 stars. 

Trailer link:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tCeKZjsy8s

   Henry Thomas and Dabney Coleman

THE MOSQUITO COAST (1986)

An inventor father takes his wife and children to go and settle in the Amazon jungle. He plans on establishing a new Utopian society with the aid of some locals. What ensues is an adventure which resembles something like Robinson Crusoe meets The Swiss Family Robinson; main difference is that it does not take place on an island.

The story is a bit one dimensional but the stellar cast more than makes up for it. It is especially Harrison Ford's portrayal of the father, who is a bit of a mad scientist, that carries the movie. But so do the acting of River Phoenix and Jadrien Steele that play the parts of the two eldest sons.

This 1986 movie is based on the bestseller novel by Robin Waterfield and Paul Theroux and directed by Peter Weir who was also responsible for, among others, The Dead Poet's Society (1989) and The Truman Show (1998). However, although it starts off slow and very talkative, in the end I still liked it and gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC2eC_pN7ZE

    The cast

THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN

This is another coming of age movie set against the background of the Great Depression of the 1930's. The title character (wonderfully played by Meredith Salenger) goes in search of her father who is off working in another state. The story tells of her trials and tribulations along her journey. It is also very typical Disney in that everything works out well in the end.

However, in my humble opinion, there are better movies out there set against the same background during this period in history. One that springs to mind immediately is the 1993 movie King Of The Hill with Jesse Bradford. Maybe it is not quite fair to compare the two as The Journey Of Natty Gann came out almost a decade earlier in 1985 and nor was the former made by the Walt Disney Company.

On its own though, I thought that it was good enough to earn 3 out of 5 stars anyway.

Trailer link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leaqKfAB12o

   John Cusack and Meredith Salenger

NEVERLAND

I read some reviews of this movie before I bought the DVD and it seems as if most critics either loved it or hated it. I count myself among the former as I thought it was great.

This is a fresh take on the whole Peter Pan story. Most of the film productions (animated or otherwise) based on JM Barrie's work in this regard are derivatives of basicaly the same story and characters. This movie is different in that it seeks to tell the story of where it is that Peter (Charlie Rowe) and the Lost Boys are coming from; a prequel to all the others, so to speak.

An interesting tit-bit is that Bob Hoskins plays the same character, Smee, in this movie as he appeared as in the 1991 Disney movie Hook. This 2011 version of the Peter Pan story however, is not a Disney but British-European co-production. It was actually made as a two part mini-series for television.

Like I said, I enjoyed this film very much and gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjvPVRuvnjE

    Charlie Rowe (middle) with the "Lost Boys"