User:LancedSoul/sandbox/My classic movies

=Fantastic Voyage=

Fantastic Voyage is a 1966 American submarine science-fiction film directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby. The film is about a submarine crew who are shrunk to microscopic size and venture into the body of an injured scientist to repair damage to his brain.

Plot
The brilliant scientist Jan Benes (Jean Del Val) develops a way to shrink humans, and other objects, for brief periods of time. Benes, who is working in communist Russia, is transported by the CIA to America, but is attacked en route. In order to save the scientist, who has developed a blood clot in his brain, a team of Americans in a nuclear submarine is shrunk and injected into Benes' body. They have a finite period of time to fix the clot and get out before the miniaturization wears off.

Reception
Fantastic Voyage received mostly positive reviews and a few criticisms. The film holds a 91% approval rating at the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from 32 reviews, with the consensus being: "The special effects may be a bit dated today, but Fantastic Voyage still holds up well as an imaginative journey into the human body."

=Explorers=

Explorers is a 1985 American science fantasy film written by Eric Luke and directed by Joe Dante. The film stars Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix, both in their film debuts, and Jason Presson as teenage boys who build a spacecraft to explore outer space. The special effects were produced by Industrial Light & Magic, with make-up effects by Rob Bottin.

Plot
Young Ben Crandall (Ethan Hawke) spends his free time watching sci-fi films, playing video games and reading comic books. Surprisingly, his affinity for all things fantastical yields a real result -- when he has a vivid dream about technology, his science-loving friend Wolfgang Muller (River Phoenix) manages to create a working spacecraft. Joined by their buddy Darren Woods (Jason Presson), the boys take off into outer space and encounter some very odd extraterrestrial life.

Reception
Explorers garnered positive reviews. The film currently holds a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The site's consensus states: "With a terrific young cast (including Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix) and some typically energetic work from director Joe Dante, Explorers soars past its '80s kiddie flick competitors with wit, good-looking effects, and tons of charm.". Metacritic gave the film a score of 58 based on 14 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."

=WarGames=

WarGames is a 1983 American Cold War science fiction techno-thriller film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, and Ally Sheedy. The film follows David Lightman (Broderick), a young hacker who unwittingly accesses United States military supercomputer programmed to predict and execute nuclear war against the Soviet Union. A sequel, WarGames: The Dead Code, was released direct-to-video in 2008.

Plot
High school student David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) unwittingly hacks into a military supercomputer while searching for new video games. After starting a game of Global Thermonuclear War, Lightman leads the supercomputer to activate the nation's nuclear arsenal in response to his simulated threat as the Soviet Union. Once the clueless hacker comes to his senses, Lightman, with help from his girlfriend (Ally Sheedy), must find a way to alert the authorities to stop the onset of World War III.

Reception
WarGames did earned well-received. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, WarGames received an approval rating of 93% based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 7.63/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Part delightfully tense techno-thriller, part refreshingly unpatronizing teen drama, WarGames is one of the more inventive—and genuinely suspenseful—Cold War movies of the 1980s.". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

=Legend=

Legend is a 1985 American epic dark fantasy adventure film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbert, and Annabelle Lanyon. The film revolves around Jack, a pure being who must stop the Lord of Darkness who plots to cover the world with eternal night. It is often described as a dark fairy tale and as a return to more original and sometimes disturbing fables originating from the oral tradition of ancient times before reading and writing were widespread.

Plot
Darkness (Tim Curry) seeks to create eternal night by destroying the last of the unicorns. Jack (Tom Cruise) and his friends do everything possible to save the world and Princess Lili (Mia Sara) from the hands of Darkness. Enter a world of unicorns, magic swamps, dwarfs and rainbows.

Reception
Legend received mixed reviews from critics, however, it was met with mostly positive reception from audiences alike. The film currently holds a 38% "Rotten" approval rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 4.87/10. The consensus reads: "Not even Ridley Scott's gorgeously realized set pieces can save Legend from its own tawdry tale -- though it may be serviceable for those simply looking for fantasy eye candy.".

=Dragonslayer=

Dragonslayer is a 1981 American dark fantasy film directed by Matthew Robbins, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Hal Barwood. It stars Peter MacNicol, Ralph Richardson, John Hallam and Caitlin Clarke. The film is a co-production between Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Productions: Paramount handled North American distribution while Disney's Buena Vista International handled international distribution. The story, set in a fictional medieval kingdom, follows a young wizard who experiences danger and opposition as he attempts to defeat a dragon.

Plot
A terrible dragon is terrorizing the medieval land of Urland in the 6th century. Representatives from the kingdom seek the assistance of the wizard Ulrich (Ralph Richardson) to defeat the dragon immediately -- Urland has been delivering virgins to appease the dragon, and their princess (Chloe Salaman) has rigged the lottery system they use in order to sacrifice herself next. But when Ulrich is killed, the task to confront the dragon falls to the wizard's apprentice, Galen (Peter MacNicol).

Reception
Dragonslayer gets a positive reviews. At the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 84% score based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "An atypically dark Disney adventure, Dragonslayer puts a realistic spin — and some impressive special effects — on a familiar tale.". At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

=Labyrinth=

Labyrinth is a 1986 musical fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, with George Lucas as executive producer, based upon conceptual designs by Brian Froud. It revolves around 16-year-old Sarah's (Jennifer Connelly) quest to reach the center of an enormous otherworldly maze to rescue her infant brother Toby, whom Sarah wished away to Jareth, the Goblin King (David Bowie). Most of the film's significant characters, apart from Bowie and Connelly, are played by puppets produced by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Plot
Living in an alluring dream-world of fantasy and enchantment, the plucky and petulant adolescent, Sarah, finds it hard to swallow that she is, once again, left to babysit for her baby stepbrother, Toby. So, in a fit of rage, Sarah wishes that goblins would take him far away. But, now that her horrible wish is granted, young Sarah must embark on a dangerous rescue mission to confront Goblin King Jareth's impenetrable maze, nestled deep within an ethereal realm of sneaky creatures and eerie mystique. Can Sarah alone save innocent Toby before she loses him forever in Jareth's tangled Labyrinth?

Reception
Labyrinth received mixed to positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film averages a 72% positive rating from 46 reviews; the general consensus states: "While it's arguably more interesting on a visual level, Labyrinth provides further proof of director Jim Henson's boundless imagination.". On Metacritic, which uses a "weighted average" of all the critics' scores, Labyrinth scores 50 out of 100 meaning “mixed or average reviews”.

=Friday Night Lights=

Friday Night Lights is a 2004 American sports drama film co-written and directed by Peter Berg. The film follows the coach and players of a high school football team in the Texas city of Odessa, which supported the team and was obsessed with them. The book on which it is based, Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream (1990) by H. G. Bissinger, followed the story of the 1988 Permian High School Panthers football team as they made a run towards the state championship.

Plot
A small, turbulent town in Texas obsesses over their high school football team to an unhealthy degree. When the star tailback, Boobie Miles (Derek Luke), is seriously injured during the first game of the season, all hope is lost, and the town's dormant social problems begin to flare up. It is left to the inspiring abilities of new coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) to instill in the other team members -- and, by proxy, the town itself -- a sense of self-respect and honor.

Reception
Friday Night Lights were highly positive reviews. The film received an 81% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 172 reviews, with an average rating of 7.13/10. The consensus reads: "An acute survey of the football-obsessed heartland that succeeds as both a stirring drama and a rousing sports movie.". The film also has a score of 70/100 on Metacritic, based on 35 reviews.

=Road to Perdition=

Road to Perdition is a 2002 American crime film directed by Sam Mendes. The screenplay was adapted by David Self from the graphic novel of the same name written by Max Allan Collins and illustrated by Richard Piers Rayner. The film stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Daniel Craig. The plot takes place in 1931, during the Great Depression, following a mob enforcer and his son as they seek vengeance against a mobster who murdered the rest of their family.

The film was released on July 12, 2002.

Plot
Mike Sullivan (Tom Hanks) is an enforcer for powerful Depression-era Midwestern mobster John Rooney (Paul Newman). Rooney's son, Connor (Daniel Craig), is jealous of the close bond they share, and when Mike's eldest son, Michael (Tyler Hoechlin), witnesses a hit, Connor uses the incident as an excuse to murder Sullivan's wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and youngest son. Forced to flee, Sullivan and Michael set out on a journey of revenge and self-discovery.

Critical response
Road to Perdition received positive reviews, with Conrad L. Hall's cinematography, the production design, and the lead performances of Hanks and Newman being praised. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 81% based on 216 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Somber, stately, and beautifully mounted, Sam Mendes' Road to Perdition is a well-crafted mob movie that explores the ties between fathers and sons.". Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Box office
Road to Perdition performed better at the box office, grossed over $181 million worldwide.

Accolades
Road to Perdition earned six Academy Awards nominations with Best Supporting Actor for Paul Newman, Best Cinematography for Conrad L. Hall where it won the awards, Best Art Direction for Dennis Gassner and Nancy Haigh, Best Original Score for Thomas Newman, Best Sound for Scott Millan, Bob Beemer and John Pritchett and Best Sound Editing for Scott Hecker.