The Goonies
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Movie Reviews of The Goonies
Movie Review: One of the best DVD releases Warner Bros. has put together!
Summary: 5 Stars
By now, we all know the story of "The Goonies:" A band of young kids are in the final hours of hope as their houses will soon be torn down to make way for a country club owned by the "Richest man in Astoria." Then, as if by divine intervention, Mike(y) Walsh (Sean Astin) finds a treasure map in his parent's attic, and bands together with his friends, his older brother, and two girls, to find the treasure and save the "Goondocks."This DVD release was carefully planned and masterminded by someone rather skillfully. If it hadn't been for those who knew the potential this DVD had for the many loyal fans, we may have been stuck with nothing more than 2 different language subtitles and the theatrical trailer. This DVD delivers in the realm of several interesting areas:
1)Audio/Video commentary by the cast: Probably one of the most innovative ways for comentary, as we see and hear Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Jonathan Ke Quan, and even director Richard Donner give their views. And even with the comentary, Corey Feldman still embodies the spirit of his character "Mouth": the fact is that he seems to never shut up throught the entire commentary. Some interesting articles get covered up in some areas as some people try to say things but give up when someone else intervenes.
2)"The Goonies R Good Enough" music video by Cyndi Lauper. Yep, Cyndi Lauper in all her colored haired glory, this time acting in quite a nutty take as her Mom and Pop's gas station is going to be overtaken by greedy corporate types, until she uncovers a secret cave, where she meets the Goonies, and a number of crazies (pirates, a green-faced witch, etc) all search for an ancient treasure. Steven Spielberg even makes a brief cameo.
3)Making of the Goonies-a 7 minute segment on the film, shot back in 1985, very brief, but does show interesting scenes, such as filming inside a "Snack-shop," and a police car chase shot that was omitted.
4)Outtakes-this title is misleading, as you may think it was the kids flubbing their lines. Actually, it contains 3 scenes, including the deleted snack-shop sequence, a further dissection of One-Eyed Willy's treasure map, and then the gang's encounter with a giant octopus.
5)Page layout: the main screen looks like the caverns, and really captures the movie instead of a static image, any direction you go will cause something on the menu to happen.
Even with 5 stars, there will always be things that we, the fans of the Goonies, will always wish to see. Talked about on the commentary was the possible fact of an extended police chase, and gorillas getting loose in the film. But still, the film holds up much better in today's world of terribly bad PG-rated features.
Movie Review: The Goonies R Still Good Enough
Summary: 5 Stars
Director Richard Donner has gone into his wine cellar, retrieved this vintage flick, and poured it out for today's kids who might enjoy it along with a serving of Spy Kids and Harry Potter.Now, what is a goony, they might ask? Well, in this case, it's one of seven kids who find themselves searching for buried pirate loot, and running from the villainous Fratelli family. It's Saturday-matinee serial redux; SEE the Goonies escape from Steven Spielberg death-traps and Rube Goldberg booby traps! LAUGH at the unforgettable 'Truffle Shuffle!' APPLAUD as our heroes save the day, and WISH they'd made a sequel.Donner's wine has improved with age. The rapid pacing, the unraveling mystery, the over-lapping dialogue...and the incomparable Anne Ramsey as Mama Fratelli. Ahhhh, what a great actress. She scared the lice off of me as a kid, and can still do it, sixteen years later. And Sloth, cousin to the Incredible Hulk. How much can one love a misunderstood movie mutant? And Jeff Cohen as Chunk, possibly the greatest juvenile scene-stealer in motion picture history, (although, unlike most kid actors, you WANT him to do it).OVER 21 ALERT: It's not just a kids' movie! Oh, no! There's plenty for the big kids, really! This DVD has for example, several deleted scenes, including the infamous and mysterious 'octopus' scene, subject of much discussion and speculation. Well, now you can see for yourself why it was cut...We have here also the complete two-part Cyndi Lauper "Goonies R Good Enough" music video, guest-starring the Goonies cast, the Bangles as lady pirates, the hibachi chefs, the professional wrestlers, the plastic cow, Dave and Wendy and...(drum roll)...Andre the Giant! Yes, it's all here...the 12-minute video that was almost long enough (and funny enough) to be Goonies II.But never mind all this. What the grown-ups REALLY want to see is the Director's Commentary. That's right, SEE. This special edition DVD occasionally allows you to see the stars and director chat and reminisce about the picture, and...WOW. ALL SEVEN Goonies are here! Chatting, bickering, laughing, remembering. And I KNOW you all want to see how well the Goonies aged over 16 years. Very well, actually. And it's funny to note that Corey Feldman's character was called "Mouth," as he blabs away, hogging most of the commentary himself, (with Martha Plimpton in second place for the Chatterbox award). Interestingly, Sean Astin simply gets up and walks out halfway through the movie. Why? No one could say. Perhaps that will someday be as big a mystery as the 'octopus' scene...Movie Review: Fun ride
Summary: 5 Stars
The first thing I was thinking when "Goonies" really kicked into gear was: This is the daydream of an adventure-loving preadolescent boy, full of pirates, bloodthirsty villains, and exotic twists and turns in an underground maze full of booby traps. It's sort of "Indiana Jones" for the kids as well as the adults. The Goonies (a band of young boys) are spending their last weekend hanging around their hometown, before it's razed for yuppie developers. Then Mikey Walsh (Sean Astin) uncovers a treasure map hidden in an old painting, and becomes obsessed with finding the lost treasure of the pirate One-Eyed Willie. With that treasure, they could save their town.
But the hunt for treasure sends the Goonies, Mikey's long-suffering teenage brother (Josh Brolin), and a pair of teenage girls (Kerri Green and Martha Plimpton) into dangerous proximity to the murderous fugitives, the Fratellis. With the Fratellis on their tail, the Goonies are determinedly navigating the underground, booby-trap-infested tunnels that lead to the treasure -- or to a very nasty demise.
The stolidly mature among you may scoff at the improbability of the story, but who cares? This is obviously a fantasy story, harkening back to pirate treasure and childhood adventures, thwarting the evil guys. The classic formulae are what makes it so fun. "Goonies" is like "Indiana Jones" in the sense that it's action-filled, with nasty villains, elaborate booby-traps, and a plotline that is wonderfully improbable. This is just fun. The sets are amazingly complex, full of stone tunnels and enormous waterfalls full of money, thin little bridges and a bone piano that causes the floor to collapse.
Sean Astin (yes, this is THAT Sean Astin, the guy currently starring as Samwise Gamgee in "Lord of the Rings") is endearing and very convincing as Mikey, the gutsy boy that could. Josh Brolin is also good as his overbearing but nice brother; the other Goonies include the incredibly funny Corey Feldman as "Mouth" (the scene where he weirds out the cleaning lady is priceless), comic relief Jeff Cohen as "Chunk" who bumbles from one misadventure to another, and Jonathan Ke Quan (who was also in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom") as gadget-obsessed "Data," a kid riddled all over with homemade inventions that occasionally save the heroes' behinds.
Though this film was made in the 1980s, it's aged extremely well -- now there is affection on top of the original liking for it. It's a funny, entertaining thrillride with pirates, villains, treasure and a band of quirky heroes. Great fun.
Movie Review: Relive the Adventure!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have loved this movie the first time I saw it on television I think maybe on HBO. I can only imagine how fun this would be watching it for the first time in the theater, must have been incredable for those who got the chance to. The movie is great the film is by the amazing Richard Donner. The story and every thing is done by the amazing Steven Spielberg who has a way with children and looking through the eyes of the adventure. The screen play is written by Chris Columbus! I mean what more can you ask for with those great men in Hollywood? How about an amazing cast just staring out you have the youngsters like Corey Feldmen who plays the loud mouth "Mouth," Sean Astin as the kid who leads them on the journey to save their home town, Josh Brolin who plays the older brother and helps keep them out of trouble and other noticable faces. Not only was this movie full of comedy but it leads to a spectacular adventure we can only dream about as kids. With spectacular senery, and great special effects.The DVD is amazing buy, the commentary by the entire cast is worth it to buy from but more on that later. The graphic's of the DVD is outstanding. It leads you through a cave like senery like in the movie with voice over's from the cast. The full length Cindy Lauper video that aired on MTV and was a number one hit "The Goonie's Are Good Enough." Some cut scene's with the octopus scene, and a scene that was cut out where they are in a 7/11 type store and so on. And a short but sweet Making of the Movie with talk from Richard Donner, some of the cast, and a young Steven himself.
As for the commentary that alone is worth the buy. Everyone showed up. However, Sean Astin for reason's unknown walked out in the middle of the commentary and Richard Donner can't remember half of what had happened during the commentary of his own movie. However, a lot of it was saved by Corey Feldman and and Martha P. You'll hear interesting tid bits like maybe the hat from Indiana Jones was taken for the movie from the last Steven picture at the time :), The Jackson's hung out around the set, funny and memerable moments from the rest of the cast. It's truly amazing and I have fun watching it over and over. Even though they seem to be stepping over each other a lot it's just really fun to hear what happened during the making it.
It's great for children maybe over 13 and great for adults to relive the adventure!
Movie Review: Classic movie gets superb treatment on DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
It is hard to predict how this movie will play to somebody who has never seen it, given that it's twenty years old now. Because I grew up watching this movie, I can only see it through those eyes. If you aren't familiar with the movie already, all I can say is at least go rent it. If you are familiar with the movie, I highly recommend this DVD.
I had only seen this movie in the chopped-up Pan-n-Scan format, and seeing the complete film in all its Widescreen glory is great. The picture quality is amazing compared to my VHS copy recorded off HBO! :) Of course the sound is great, too.
The extras list indicates "Outtakes", which are really Deleted Scenes. I wanted to clarify this because sometimes they use the word "outtakes" to refer to Bloopers/Gag Reel. These Deleted Scenes were very interesting to see. There's one that's several minutes long and involves the gang stopping by a convenience store and being harrassed by Troy's bunch. It was also great to finally get to see the octopus scene I had heard so much about. Fun stuff!
I did not remember the Cyndi Lauper music video, but if you remember it I'm sure this will hold some nostalgic value for you. Otherwise, it's probably something you will only watch once.
The "making of" documentary is not new...it was produced around the time of the film's release. There are some slow spots where the plot is explained for people who haven't seen the movie. However, there was quite a bit of behind the scenes footage, and the impromptu interviews with Richard Donner and the cast are fun to watch.
The best of the extras is the VIDEO commentary with Donner and the gang. Corey Feldman is really annoying, but if you can stomach his antics, the commentary is really enjoyable. The group has a good comradery and it's great to hear them reminiscing about the film. Best of all, you get to SEE them doing the commentary. It's great to see what the cast looks like fifteen years later. This is a GREAT feature that I wish more DVDs included.
Donner; the man responsible for "The Omen", "Maverick", "Scrooged", "Conspiracy Theory", "Superman: The Movie", and the "Lethal Weapon" movies; put together a movie here that's great fun to watch, even twenty years later. Again, if you like the movie, I highly recommend the DVD. If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?