The ‘Burbs (1989)
I heard there was a TV remake of The ‘Burbs so I called the kids in and told them they were in for a treat. We watched the 1989 original.
It must have been 25 years since I last saw this, which is long enough for a rewatch to be a new experience. It was even better than I remembered. It’s such a simple, compact film, and perfectly crafted; a breath of fresh air compared to flabby 21st century blockbusters with a hundred actors and a thousand sets and a million cuts.
It’s also a densely well-connected movie. Joe Dante, director of Gremlins and Innerspace. Tom Hanks, A-lister from everything. Darla the dog from Silence of the Lambs. Robert Picardo from old and new Star Trek. Carrie Fisher from The Blues Brothers. Corey Feldman from The Rise and Decline of Twelve Actors Named Corey. And Dick Miller, star of every single Joe Dante movie and hundreds of others. This guy is the Kevin Bacon of acting.
4/5 - enjoyable, memorable, accomplished. A classic VHS movie. We were all hooked.
This is why Hollywood is in crisis. The back catalogue is too good.
Film production pro tip
Begin the name of your movie with an apostrophe so that it alphabetically sorts to the top. Boom! Instant attention from those who get their movies off lists instead of off algorithms. Man that Joe Dante had some foresight.
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Absolutely love this movie and agree that it was better than I remembered when I revisited it. I actually managed to find a DVD copy in a charity shop (thrift store) last year. Found some other classics such as DARYL and Batteries Not Included. I'm not sure how BNI will fare on a rewatch but DARYL was great.
We also watched Batteries Not Included a couple years back. It was charming and old-fashioned and from the “can’t go wrong with Spielberg” era.
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