1982 Capsule Reviews

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
rating: ****
review: A lot of Star Trek fans adhere to this one as the high-water mark in franchise film history, incapable of being surpassed and the source of a lot of later franchise-own rip-offs.  Needless to say I don't completely agree with that assessment.  Memorable, certainly, and worthy of a lot of praise.  But it continues to age, and timeless cinema...doesn't do that.

Blade Runner
rating: ****
review: This is perhaps the exact opposite of the above, a film that seemed forgettable at first, but just keeps aging better and better.  With Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott as the headlining talent, that's really no surprise.

Gandhi
rating: ****
review: When they talk about Oscar-bait, this is exactly the kind of movie they're talking about.  But it's probably a better way to discover Ben Kingsley than Lawrence of Arabia is Peter O'Toole.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
rating: ****
review: E.T. himself is timeless.  The rest of the movie?  That's more debatable.

Rocky III
rating: ****
review: This third entry in the franchise proves that the formula is incredibly durable, even as its reputation remains as much of an underdog as Rocky himself.  The clever thing these films do is keep the narrative going rather than discard it each new one.

The Road Warrior
rating: ***
review: Everyone realized how big Mad Max could be, so this one ramps everything up, but the jury's still out as to whether he's yet worth the hype.

First Blood
rating: ***
review: The incredible irony of the Rambo movies is that they start incredibly low-key.

Annie
rating: ***
review: The surprisingly durable fable of the little orphan is always watchable.

Trail of the Pink Panther
rating: ***
review: If you had no idea that Peter Sellers was in fact dead before this production began, you probably wouldn't obsess over that fact while watching this final Sellers appearance in the series.

The Secret of NIMH
rating: **
review: A beloved children's book becomes an animated film.  I don't really remember this one, and have never felt particularly compelled to watch it again.