The Movies

It starts so well, until it rushes through movies that need to be talked about, to talk about some random film never heard of. The way they skip back and fourth through years skipping 9 yrs froward then 9 years back seems to damage what that decade did in Cinema and the 2000 taken over promoting the same bad films Oscar's did. If anything shows not much hope for cinema going forward. Tried to please too many people but missed so many movies and including cartoons like Pixard shows the program has no credibility. This could and should include movies in categories, Action, comedy etc. They could then do cartoons if they must. All you see today is directors controlled by studios and political pandering and lots of angry people wishing they re-shoot the failed movies rushed in to cinemas and studios trying to remake movies without a clue as to why the movie was a hit.

I'm a big movie fan so I was looking forward to this series. Episode 1 is a big disappointment. It's nothing more than a collection of films from the 1980s slapped together with some commentary, mostly from the people who made the films. There is no attempt to analyze what was going on in the film industry itself, how economic and political events influenced the films, nor how the 80s represented any trends that occurred earlier. No one squandered a single IQ point making this series. Think of it as a "coming attractions" that goes on and on. Some people will enjoy it. I did. But how much more valuable would this have been had they made an attempt to do more than show us a bunch of films. FWIW - Episode 2 shows the same trend. A great for movie fans but a missed opportunity to really inform.

I'm a cinephile(it's in my reviewer name) so when I heard a few days ago that this series was happening, I was pumped! (This is now my 260th review!) The show simply talks about the great movies of a specific decade. This week, they talked about the 80s.

Such movies they reference include: Raging Bull, Ordinary People, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, Gandhi, The Breakfast Club, Stand By Me(a bit too briefly), Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Die Hard, When Harry Met Sally, Ghost-busters, the list continues on and on. I wished some other movies were mentioned, like The Last Temptation of Christ and Shoah(both are in my top 10)-but I understand that they couldn't discuss every movie that releases within a decade.

Through every segment, celebrities and critics give their input on how these movies impact us today(For example, ET brought long lines of people waiting to see it.) We get interviews from directors like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, film critics like Christy Lemire and Alonso Duralde(who says Die Hard is about as perfect as Casablanca-think about that...), and actors like Tom Hanks say a few words(who is also the co-executive producer of this series.) It's exciting to hear such people in the movie business talk enthusiastically about the medium!

We also get many facts about the movies, many I knew, but are still fun to hear about again. For instance, it showed how animated characters were blended in with live action scenery in Roger Rabbit, and a clip was shown of the Donald and Duffy scene occurring WITHOUT the characters drawn in! Honestly, that was more impressive than the actual scene! Rob Reiner also mentions that he filmed the orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally in front of his own mother(she's the woman who says: "I'll have what she's having.")

Also, there are only about 5 minutes of previews for every 10ish minutes of the show, which was a fair balance.

As you can see, if you love movies as much as I do, this series will be like a kid in a candy store for you! It's a delight from start to finish, and it's a must see for film buffs-yet anyone else should see it as well. (Next week is about the movies of the 90s-by the way.) This is POSSIBLY the best mini-series(or series in general) that I have ever seen. It's that great and feel-good.

PS, CNN-if you are reading this review,I would love for you to release this to DVD for $20-$30, possibly-thank you! :)

Decades worth of movies all talked about in about 80 minutes (either one episode or split into two, depending I reckon where and how you watch it)? Well that isn't an easy task. It is made easier since the focus lies on US movies. So you won't see a lot of international movies that are equally as a amazing or even in some cases better.

But how could you pack all this in, such a short time! Yes 12 episodes that run 40 minutes (or 6 with double the time, again as stated above) sounds like a lot of time, but it isn't. At it goes by like that. Because it is fun to watch. Yes you may know most if not all the movies, depending on your film knowledge. That doesn't mean you won't find some hidden gems or learn something new about a movie or two.

Having said that, of course this can't completely cover the McCarthy era, tell us everything about Citizen Kane or any other movie you deem needs that respect. The MCU is done in a minute or so to give you a more recent example of movies that made quite the impact (no matter what you may think of them).

Also be aware that there may be a spoiler or two (I didn't count so don't quote me on that) ... just in case you were wondering. I might get back to the list this gives me - funnily enough I did watch some of the entries recently. Also do not feel "shamed" if there are movies here that you don't like ... we all have different tastes. So just because a movie made an impact (or two or three ...), doesn't mean you have to think it's the best thing ever ... or one of them.

So sit back, relax and enjoy some of your favorites (to come) ...

The purpose of series seems be to remind. Films, actors, directors. And , nothing more. It is enough, for me. Because it is a resurrection of memories, moments, emotions. Sure, it could be better. But my gratitude for the idea and, at the first sigh, simplistic craft, is round. Because it is a good way to discover reactions , testimonies and impressions of actors and directors . So, just good serie.