The eighties

Ah... best decade ever! Or was it?

I thought I'd take a break in the Audrey Hepburn films and rather rewatch some of my favourite films from this period, starting with The Hidden by Jack Sholder. Michael Nouri is a cop and Kyle MacLachlan is a FBI agent. They're chasing a slimy alien creature that passes from human body to human body and that enjoys driving fast cars and listening to loud, crappy rock music. Sounds like an 80s movie to me.

The opening scene is very effective. A surveillance camera in a bank shows a man killing two guards and stealing a bag of money. As he leaves he notices the camera. He smiles, lifts his shotgun, fires, and the screen goes black. This is followed by a car chase, and the film never slows down, speeding towards the climax.

A funny thing happened while I was watching the film. I paused it to see what was on the tv channels, and the image on the screen changed from a close-up of Michael Nouri to a close-up of Michael Nouri twenty years older, on an episode of Without A Trace. What are the odds? It reminded me of the time, many years ago, when I bought the new copy of Hate and a cassette tape with Dean Martin. When I got home I put on the tape and a bit later started to read the comic. On the tape Dean Martin sings Naughty Lady of Shady Lane and in the comic I read a panel where Buddy is humming Naughty Lady of Shady Lane.

Anyway, it's a fun film and MacLachlan is excellent, but I'm not really able to enjoy it that much. Why? Is it because I've seen it too many times? (3, I think) Has it dated? Or... is it because I'm getting older? Should I be worried?

How 80s is it? 7 out of 10, I'd say. There's the cokesnorting scene and Claudia Christian as a stripper couldn't look more 80s if she tried.

Next: Kill me again.