cult film freak: judd nelson

Showing posts with label judd nelson. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 8/31/2026 / No comments / angel tompkins , body count , cop , eddie bunker , eighties , frank pesce , judd nelson , leo rossi , meg foster , neo noir , robert loggia , william lustig

JUDD NELSON IS 'RELENTLESS' WITH LEO ROSSI & ROBERT LOGGIA

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvkXIJmOu6Ar1krsooooS46LJsy8mrJ1btppf9LhwopkEnAJWlslcKgHQ4jTWdKq3R-olhKY2KF0Y4LqlRQ1IrSojONKVqVBzl_tKYDQaFo8wDYQMOnDgYnRv0JBABZXDh8llID7NNfBcbnBhxR_UHw6Q7dyQP69IRjb2WhCR6yMHmVmOiczFpmmmyJAK9" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvkXIJmOu6Ar1krsooooS46LJsy8mrJ1btppf9LhwopkEnAJWlslcKgHQ4jTWdKq3R-olhKY2KF0Y4LqlRQ1IrSojONKVqVBzl_tKYDQaFo8wDYQMOnDgYnRv0JBABZXDh8llID7NNfBcbnBhxR_UHw6Q7dyQP69IRjb2WhCR6yMHmVmOiczFpmmmyJAK9=s1600"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1989 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the mid-1980's, starting out with famously low-budget Cannon Films in MAKING THE GRADE before breaking into Universal stardom for THE BREAKFAST CLUB, by 1989, Judd Nelson was back in the little leagues...</p><p>Getting first-billed in exploitation drive-in maestro William Lustig's RELENTLESS, a kind of revamp of WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS involving Nelson as a man-child serial killer, motivated by the media's goading perception of his ultra-violent actions based on lonely loser motivations... <br></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

angel tompkins, body count, cop, eddie bunker, eighties, frank pesce, judd nelson, leo rossi, meg foster, neo noir, robert loggia, william lustig

JUDD NELSON IS 'RELENTLESS' WITH LEO ROSSI & ROBERT LOGGIA

Year: 1989 Rating: ***1/2 In the mid-1980's, starting out with famously low-budget Cannon Films in MAKING THE GRADE before breaking into...

JUDD NELSON RULES THE BRAT PACK CLASSIC 'THE BREAKFAST CLUB'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9axfbyFw3ghrUUEM1I-atl_DiE_yzy95PdK6GDNo4iR1Spq6uSdVb7djvuBbpFNn9jM2PaU746meD37uDjQ_ouKfqWqFxnATbJrAOWm0UYJD5qJYvw0ZYQX_cQbKOgK283dxAT-bdFgO7nwCNgjWo_6EhO380cF4aS8oahqPSxftkWa-hzSvB6OBoFeD0/s1600/unnamed.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9axfbyFw3ghrUUEM1I-atl_DiE_yzy95PdK6GDNo4iR1Spq6uSdVb7djvuBbpFNn9jM2PaU746meD37uDjQ_ouKfqWqFxnATbJrAOWm0UYJD5qJYvw0ZYQX_cQbKOgK283dxAT-bdFgO7nwCNgjWo_6EhO380cF4aS8oahqPSxftkWa-hzSvB6OBoFeD0/s1600/unnamed.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1985 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1985, a year after swaggering onto the big screen in the nearly forgotten con-man caper <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2015/05/judd-nelson-MTG.html">MAKING THE GRADE,</a> Judd Nelson played the biggest post-collegiate geek ever for Kevin Costner's indie breakthrough F<a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2024/07/fandango.html">ANDANGO</a>... before ironically poking fun at high school geek Anthony Michael Hall in John Hughes's THE BREAKFAST CLUB...<br><br>As Nelson's criminal character John Bender isn't anything like the typical BLACKBOARD JUNGLE teen rebel... his <i>cause</i> is basically being a demonic Phil Donahue within an 8-hour Saturday detention, also goading pretty popular Molly Ringwald, handsome jock Emilio Estevez, and neurotic pre-goth Ally Sheedy into eventually seeking their true feelings about topics ranging from homelife parentals to high school popularity...</p><p><span></span></p>

ally sheedy, brat pack, comedy, eighties, emilio estevez, john hughes, judd nelson, molly ringwald, paul gleason

JUDD NELSON RULES THE BRAT PACK CLASSIC 'THE BREAKFAST CLUB'

Year: 1985 Rating: ****1/2 In 1985, a year after swaggering onto the big screen in the nearly forgotten con-man caper MAKING THE GRADE, Jud...

JUDD NELSON IN THE BRAT PACK MELODRAMA 'ST. ELMO'S FIRE'

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nN79QoycBGnUFvwjkqwRPDRl-bZ6N_C7Y5v8_iQUadkTzgmI9xpz_OSrAjSVKl0GS6u9S-6XNBccL-X9juDjzxX69CrGXjz-w5ZIQFiZjVOpcnxOuY9BIrd8m2k7E6u5yBgtgghEiOTKa9s8RdZp9-ehZyN42EnxX4AtbCgMM9DgsKBCeQ1BEnuMA7PB/s1644/Screen%20Shot%202026-08-31%20at%2012.06.42%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="1644" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nN79QoycBGnUFvwjkqwRPDRl-bZ6N_C7Y5v8_iQUadkTzgmI9xpz_OSrAjSVKl0GS6u9S-6XNBccL-X9juDjzxX69CrGXjz-w5ZIQFiZjVOpcnxOuY9BIrd8m2k7E6u5yBgtgghEiOTKa9s8RdZp9-ehZyN42EnxX4AtbCgMM9DgsKBCeQ1BEnuMA7PB/s1600/Screen%20Shot%202026-08-31%20at%2012.06.42%20AM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1985 Rating; ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A
 group of college graduates, a few months after leaving the cozy nest of
 dorm life, wind up on their own in the big city yet still have each 
other to depend on<span style="font-family: inherit;">... </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thus
 in 1985, when the so-called “Brat Pack” was in full form, ST. 
ELMO’S FIRE was the navel-gazing follow-up to THE BREAKFAST CLUB just as
 CLUB has graduated past SIXTEEN CANDLES (only this has nothing to do 
with John Hughes, amazingly enough)...</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span></span></span></p></div>

ally sheedy, andie macdowell, andrew mccarthy, brat pack, eighties, emilio estevez, joel schumaker, judd nelson, mare winningham, melodrama, romance

JUDD NELSON IN THE BRAT PACK MELODRAMA 'ST. ELMO'S FIRE'

Year: 1985 Rating; ***1/2 A group of college graduates, a few months after leaving the cozy nest of dorm life, wind up on their own in the...

JUDD NELSON, DANA OLSEN AND JONNA LEE IN 'MAKING THE GRADE'

<p>
</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2WcRpkqfKLrPmomPi3eb9DJ57D-kJkhyoqUjyQFYRRQHYevkDiBRpB5q6Qjev8h8B5m8HtrjqxaeF7Qlpa7Gn7-cUqeGhEEUzj9EQ4vVbTLp5tJRsE3-IY63Iku2ak7UGd7PTbK8D2ccGzVirB4ML7iw8-foI7qQ09p6lJ1ndRyCPTePknseUMpCYhPx/s1600/unnamed.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="993" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2WcRpkqfKLrPmomPi3eb9DJ57D-kJkhyoqUjyQFYRRQHYevkDiBRpB5q6Qjev8h8B5m8HtrjqxaeF7Qlpa7Gn7-cUqeGhEEUzj9EQ4vVbTLp5tJRsE3-IY63Iku2ak7UGd7PTbK8D2ccGzVirB4ML7iw8-foI7qQ09p6lJ1ndRyCPTePknseUMpCYhPx/s1600/unnamed.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: MAKING THE GRADE Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>A year before <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2026/08/bclub.html">THE BREAKFAST CLUB</a> made Judd Nelson a star, turning his energetic acting style into a focused study of teenage angst and rebellion, he played a similar character – only his MAKING THE GRADE hero Eddie Keaton break-dances instead of jamming an air guitar Cream riff; in other words, his rebellion is catered strictly for humor. Wild on the streets, he owes a bookie, Dice Man, played by Andrew Clay, and winds up taking the place of a spoiled rich kid: attending a prep school whilst hiding from mobsters. <br>
<br>
That’s the plot in a nutshell, and GRADE, within this framework, packs a lot of hit and miss humor as well as likable or fitfully unlikable side-characters, throwing everything into the pot: from pratfalls to one-liners to stereotypes to action scenes, and beyond... No surprise Nelson plays the part with gusto – though sometimes too much. Yet where Eddie’s urban-hip con artist stuck in the fledgling Preparatory academy tries stealing every scene on board, he’s given an ultimately thankless lead to people like Dana Olsen as, technically, the most important person herein...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

andrew dice clay, cannon, comedy, dana olsen, eighties, gordon jump, jonna lee, judd nelson, ronald lacey, teen, walter olkewicz

JUDD NELSON, DANA OLSEN AND JONNA LEE IN 'MAKING THE GRADE'

Title: MAKING THE GRADE Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2 A year before THE BREAKFAST CLUB made Judd Nelson a star, turning his energetic acting s...

JUDD NELSON BEING DRIVEN BY KEVIN COSTNER IN 'FANDANGO'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxmKpqZkFu4L7hw9_qCG0892H62n83aRtdcSLwgznrh6LoTCWndFUZ2eXWviJalJodmgpbRW2fU6QvGr4VsQmg7DlQk8vcBWrRIe0K8h66aa15-eWVZ1_T8TODBkJ3b425gYJ37PIEXuytEEL5BgTzjmXgSDDEg0AuXYvbE8KJv8htOYqLAL99jfnY4kT/s2282/Screen%20Shot%202026-08-30%20at%2011.45.27%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1358" data-original-width="2282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxmKpqZkFu4L7hw9_qCG0892H62n83aRtdcSLwgznrh6LoTCWndFUZ2eXWviJalJodmgpbRW2fU6QvGr4VsQmg7DlQk8vcBWrRIe0K8h66aa15-eWVZ1_T8TODBkJ3b425gYJ37PIEXuytEEL5BgTzjmXgSDDEg0AuXYvbE8KJv8htOYqLAL99jfnY4kT/s1600/Screen%20Shot%202026-08-30%20at%2011.45.27%20AM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1985 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Director Kevin Reynolds didn't know who was in the room when his student film PROOF screened... and it was none other than Steven Spielberg, who'd later hire him to enhance the story about a group of early-1970's Vietnam War-era college students, one a coward forced to prove his worth by parachuting in a rural Texas stopover where the instructor's a burnout hippie, played by scene-stealing Marvin J. McIntyre...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Who's the only actor returning for the feature-length version FANDANGO starring newcomer Kevin Costner (in the kind of zesty youthfulness liken to SILVERADO) as the best looking and most confident instigating leader while Judd Nelson... the same year he'd portray an extremely cool high-school student in THE BREAKFAST CLUB... proves his versatility here as the complete opposite...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

eighties, elizabeth daily, judd nelson, kevin costner, kevin reynolds, marvin j. mcintyre, road movie, sam robards, steven spielberg, suzy amis

JUDD NELSON BEING DRIVEN BY KEVIN COSTNER IN 'FANDANGO'

Year: 1985 Rating: **** Director Kevin Reynolds didn't know who was in the room when his student film PROOF screened... and it was none ...

JUDD NELSON & ALLY SHEEDY IN THE BRAT PACK NOIR 'BLUE CITY'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDbAPERKVEZzhNEVzh-2CtuEF1TYM-YWsbudtjdLIH4pFXH2Wfz8vC2AlWkkrQULSHcOzsOZMGjknUJ6spVjSXqGTPXRDwL3Dx3IUCJ_Q4q-qwnYiTeKb4UyH0_YabbOcfrTUyk0lbUK1BAGNTzq47g_z8JBzFOr8dT3oiv8a4LyySr3xEcx86kbYlM_7/s1162/image1788044637.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDbAPERKVEZzhNEVzh-2CtuEF1TYM-YWsbudtjdLIH4pFXH2Wfz8vC2AlWkkrQULSHcOzsOZMGjknUJ6spVjSXqGTPXRDwL3Dx3IUCJ_Q4q-qwnYiTeKb4UyH0_YabbOcfrTUyk0lbUK1BAGNTzq47g_z8JBzFOr8dT3oiv8a4LyySr3xEcx86kbYlM_7/s1600/image1788044637.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1986 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>This dark horse Brat Pack outing was up for a few Razzie Awards, but 
for what exactly? BLUE CITY is actually a decent action/thriller about 
the son of a beloved slain mayor returning to a Florida town, Blue City,
 now run (from inside a roadhouse bar) by seedy Scott Wilson...<br>
<br>
Seeking
 clues, Nelson gets back in touch with his old drinking buddy David 
Caruso, who is sober, paranoid, and running a fishing boat. And what 
makes this Brat a Pack in our love interest: Caruso's pretty sister, 
Ally Sheedy, who becomes smitten with Judd... a former crush resurfaced.
 She works at the local jail he was thrown into after a brawling bar 
fight...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

action, ally sheedy, anita morris, brat pack, david caruso, eighties, judd nelson, neo noir, scott wilson, walter hill

JUDD NELSON & ALLY SHEEDY IN THE BRAT PACK NOIR 'BLUE CITY'

Year: 1986 Rating: ***1/2 This dark horse Brat Pack outing was up for a few Razzie Awards, but for what exactly? BLUE CITY is actually a d...

REGENERATING THROUGHOUT 'THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhf-QUzXSTmd3egCt2tDL9JN6GQRPdo3FLWH0HH7gDO0n7PBxrqFDoOET1DTUfAcgDh6DS1BvJ1dmE5CMjG159A6k0bUh7nMDJkzViAL5yAl2Lt6aa6TkQA6cZRRD9P-x_MBYHpHFS9-YfCQsMz03YBbpo7SeoWVuqXwkvbgfmbnbK2B9xXOV_ZDYeQjR/s1620/Screen%20Shot%202024-09-27%20at%204.47.27%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhf-QUzXSTmd3egCt2tDL9JN6GQRPdo3FLWH0HH7gDO0n7PBxrqFDoOET1DTUfAcgDh6DS1BvJ1dmE5CMjG159A6k0bUh7nMDJkzViAL5yAl2Lt6aa6TkQA6cZRRD9P-x_MBYHpHFS9-YfCQsMz03YBbpo7SeoWVuqXwkvbgfmbnbK2B9xXOV_ZDYeQjR/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-09-27%20at%204.47.27%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Orson Welles heads THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE Year: 1986 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Critics unfairly blasted THE TRANSFORMERS MOVIE as nothing but a prolonged toy commercial while it's really a collected hybrid of brisk, adult-oriented, ultra-violent HEAVY METAL-inspired animation; stylized Japanese anime; 1970's expository-filled Marvel sci-fi comics; Roger Dean's proggy planets inhabited by those titular robots that turn into motor-vehicles and spaceships or are already (in the best scenes) metallic dinosaurs, lizards and sharks... while a planet-engulfing planet derived from George Lucas's STAR WARS weapon <i>The Death Star</i> and <i>V'Ger</i> from <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2022/07/STMP.html">STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE</a> is the truly formidable antagonist... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>In the budding-hero lead, Judd Nelson turns in a kind of deliberately cornball 1950's throwback, befitting the equally cheesy wall-to-wall 1980's stadium-rock/arcade-jukebox soundtrack... while Orson Welles provided his last professional job, voicing that immense world-engulfing villain, splendidly named Unicron...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, cartoon, david mendenhall, eighties, eric idle, fantasy, judd nelson, leonard nimoy, orson welles, robert stack, science-fiction

REGENERATING THROUGHOUT 'THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE'

Orson Welles heads THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE Year: 1986 Rating: **** Critics unfairly blasted THE TRANSFORMERS MOVIE as nothing but a prol...

WALTER HILL PRESENTS THE BRAT PACK NOIR OF 'BLUE CITY'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFOO205wjhee-SdaPFp5vqtO7e7_E9bIqj5bL5LvAzJ2jgfE_lTSMHKmNUcl4g588cWZCxtn831kIObXd9V-ruDokJq0eu1iJd6hbJiszakF32D03z-0bZ6IYmz3iuMJF1O2-nQEBBHmU/s1600/title00_024232384-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFOO205wjhee-SdaPFp5vqtO7e7_E9bIqj5bL5LvAzJ2jgfE_lTSMHKmNUcl4g588cWZCxtn831kIObXd9V-ruDokJq0eu1iJd6hbJiszakF32D03z-0bZ6IYmz3iuMJF1O2-nQEBBHmU/s1600/title00_024232384-2.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><u>year: 1986 rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This dark horse Brat Pack outing was up for a few Razzie Awards, but for what exactly? BLUE CITY is actually a decent action/thriller about the son of a beloved slain mayor returning to a Florida town, Blue City, now run (from inside a roadhouse bar) by seedy Scott Wilson...<br />
<br />
Seeking clues, Nelson gets back in touch with his old drinking buddy David Caruso, who is sober, paranoid, and running a fishing boat. And what makes this Brat a Pack in our love interest: Caruso's pretty sister, Ally Sheedy, who becomes smitten with Judd... a former crush resurfaced. She works at the local jail he was thrown into after a brawling bar fight.    <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfricZ6JBtRMlwk5JeWT20NpM1HvCA0iBUceg164pALiLWrn8T5IApXviOIdWO-_GaZldzVrF4IMqH0z9Wna23Bs1J9YFiOC-AySt7T4qgGYw99j87z7I7Cl3IlxrJmSPHVkbxht96Lvo/s1600/blue-city-6.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfricZ6JBtRMlwk5JeWT20NpM1HvCA0iBUceg164pALiLWrn8T5IApXviOIdWO-_GaZldzVrF4IMqH0z9Wna23Bs1J9YFiOC-AySt7T4qgGYw99j87z7I7Cl3IlxrJmSPHVkbxht96Lvo/s1600/blue-city-6.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Straight Shooter</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The best scenes are his gun-toting revenge against a bevy of Wilson's thugs. In the usual action flick fashion, the underdog is in over his head, and yet his lack of experience makes him cocky, reckless and assertive. "I'm new at this," Judd quips after kicking in the door of a racetrack office during a heist. And he soon learns how to get around, eventually finding out who killed his father... which isn't such a shocker... but there's always a cost.<br />
<br />
BLUE CITY is colorful action Neo Noir directed by Michelle Manning, who makes this a Brat Pack trifecta being she produced both THE BREAKFAST CLUB and PRETTY IN PINK for John Hughes. And in this departure from teen melodrama are plenty of old school cinema stuff to keep you entertained like fist fights, gun fights, explosions, and a nifty side cast including sexy Anita Morris as his lush stepmother and the always watchable Paul Winfield. But it's Scott Wilson's grimacing villain who really stands out like bad guys often do in Walter Hill films, this one produced and co-written, not directed by, and in many ways,  CITY feels like his project, although more STREETS OF FIRE than 48 HRS. Even his stock musician Ry Cooder provides a beach-breezy score with more synth than slide.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Blue City starring Jude Nelson, Ally Sheedy, David Caruso & Scott Wilson</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Wide-eyed heavy Scott Wilson</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ally Sheedy in BLUE CITY</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Judd with gun</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A Modern Western, but aren't they all?</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>David Caruso in BLUE CITY</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Judd Nelson ends the game</u></td></tr>
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action, ally sheedy, anita morris, brat pack, david caruso, eighties, judd nelson, neo noir, scott wilson, walter hill

WALTER HILL PRESENTS THE BRAT PACK NOIR OF 'BLUE CITY'

year: 1986 rating: ***1/2 This dark horse Brat Pack outing was up for a few Razzie Awards, but for what exactly? BLUE CITY is actually a...

Written by James M. Tate / 12/08/2013 / No comments / action , ally sheedy , brat pack , judd nelson , scott wilson

ACTION BRAT PACKED: THE HIDDEN CULT OF 'BLUE CITY'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Scott Wilson fights the good guys YEAR: 1986</u></td></tr>
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It's simple, really: In most cases, a Cult Film takes itself more seriously than the audience... And... After many years... The Melodrama becomes what's known as Camp, described by Webster's as: 'Something so outrageously artificial, affected, inappropriate, or out-of-date as to be considered amusing'...<br />
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Well okay, fine: There's some of that going on in BLUE CITY, directed by THE BREAKFAST CLUB producer Michelle Manning, but not as much as you'd expect — this being one of the most maligned films from the 1980's, which is only partially true: it's nowhere near popular enough to be remembered as anything beyond the main two stars, Manning's former young actors and most importantly, Brat Packers Judd Nelson as the prodigal son of an adored mayor of BLUE CITY that has, since dad's death nine months earlier, morphed into a kind of roadhouse-rowdy, dockyard-gritty cesspool. Nelson's character is shocked and deeply saddened by the news, even though he probably returned home to sustain his rebellious ways. But death has turned this life-distracted slacker into a pointed Neo Noir anti-hero, aided by a gimpy boatsman and that fella's grown-hot little sis, played by none other than Ali Sheedy making this, in pop culture retrospect, the very worst of the Brat Pack filmography. And to the public... even die-hard 80's Kids... it's one of those films that <i>got away</i>...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Blu Ray of Blue City by Olive Films</u></td></tr>
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Early the next year, following BLUE CITY's anemic box office, it didn't sweep the Razzies by wins but it sure did with nominations, which is only really understandable for an actor who goes over-the-top so damn fast you'd think he was a raving mad thug instead of the businessman heavy in charge: Yet some things you have to wait for and, by the end, IN COLD BLOOD actor Scott Wilson's frantic Perry Kerch is revealed as being someone <i>much less</i> than he was supposed to be, and his hammy performance becomes more clear: No great actor like Wilson gets himself too deep in schlock without a reason, and he has a pretty good one here...<br />
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Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Judd Nelson is almost completely stripped from the energetic persona that gave THE BREAKFAST CLUB the epitome of a movie-stealing, tour de force performance. That same year, in a young Kevin Coster and future WATERWORLD director Kevin Reynolds' Texas road romp, FANDANGO, Nelson's an unapologetic nerd who perpetually argues, "I'm <i>not</i> a weenie!" These two polar opposite roles proved, from the start,  he was a versatile actor (though it took a while before one picture gained a following through video store rentals). And BLUE CITY proved that his stint as a bonafide action hero would be short-lived. He displayed no interesting traits to keep the viewer tightly locked in, or to genuinely chuckle at his devil-may-care one-liners. With a decent-enough action script co-written by producer Walter Hill, it's a neat 90-minute programmer despite the fact our hero has very little motivation to go around blowing up the bad guy's Cadillac and destroying his casino, other than fulfilling the basic, primal description: The Returning Son of a Slain Florida Mayor Seeks Revenge for his Father's Mysterious Death...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE0dK_oEaf9zu92_8YFw5ygDpnSuS6l3GDvIhAGAxYrJ9W6Axg6FzWd52Vr1DvVb71Tq0oyv2S3XNLT17pWiR7N3btIsqFsF1EqdMOQQawnaS-cUad3XYoxds9WNCjWM6XvfqD4TfXluPB/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-12-05+at+8.46.34+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE0dK_oEaf9zu92_8YFw5ygDpnSuS6l3GDvIhAGAxYrJ9W6Axg6FzWd52Vr1DvVb71Tq0oyv2S3XNLT17pWiR7N3btIsqFsF1EqdMOQQawnaS-cUad3XYoxds9WNCjWM6XvfqD4TfXluPB/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-12-05+at+8.46.34+PM.jpg" width="353" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Judd Nelson makes like a gunslinger and blows</u></td></tr>
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Which leads to a good number of gunfights and fistfights, as every bit of action is explained previously so there's always something to continue looking forward to. But Nelson's Billy Turner is an ambiguously misunderstood, conceited rebel who's more a punk than a flawed gutsy grownup hero. During the film we learn, mostly from dialogue spouted by Paul Winfield as an idyllic (and mysterious) Chief of Police, that dad would have to constantly get his son out of trouble: So Billy's rushed and heated fervor is all too much, too soon while his blind determination becomes confusing since he eventually leaves town after realizing his mission is useless: Which was beyond-obvious long beforehand...<br />
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But the tables turn, again, and for the last time, when boatyard buddy David Caruso's Joey Rayfold, who's frankly too dumb to live, violently buys the farm after aiding in the destruction of the casino. Following his arrest, he stupidly returns to the docks like it's just another day. Then again, for one of the most obvious Doomed Sidekicks, his reasoning does make sense... for the story: Caruso, who played small roles as usually meek, passive characters, like in FIRST BLOOD and AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN before becoming a tough guy on television, is this film's beloved shaggy dog...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Xe-ob7UPzZfT1B9KGlY6KVHgps8luyqojXOaRwhEdFXNvmq2KiX-5-WjU-gB7RJYQ7pJNYJSlod1UxvolGhb-C4F_k1OaX7MTEGnEG5T4sFdZ4G0XFSQCwwGIqiHJ592Hz1gY7bTkZXh/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-12-06+at+12.25.25+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Xe-ob7UPzZfT1B9KGlY6KVHgps8luyqojXOaRwhEdFXNvmq2KiX-5-WjU-gB7RJYQ7pJNYJSlod1UxvolGhb-C4F_k1OaX7MTEGnEG5T4sFdZ4G0XFSQCwwGIqiHJ592Hz1gY7bTkZXh/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-06+at+12.25.25+AM.png" width="185" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>BlueCityScore: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
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Like when, after the antagonist's beloved pet gets killed, there's that 11th hour momentum to take care of business, once and for all, using the death as a springboard. But Caruso's more important for who he <i>isn't</i>: His little sis is our token ingenue and, surprisingly enough, Ally Sheedy and Judd Nelson's chemistry is pretty weak. Having played two different types of scruffy rogues in THE BREAKFAST CLUB, they were an intentionally mismatched, engaged yuppie couple in the second most important vehicle in the Brat Canon, ST. ELMO'S FIRE. And it's got to be said: No matter how despised BLUE CITY is... in the opinion of this 1980's Kid, it beats the pants off the contrived, idiotic perfection of ELMO'S, the horribly overrated, class envy embarrassment of PRETTY IN PINK and even WEIRD SCIENCE, which, for some of us, only Bill Paxton's Chet stands the true test of time...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dMhNjzkF2w4GwEaotE8l8u-GH4X67JvqFpdaS2KnHH2zm4APajTSYRy91cAMpJ8v54epCdnK483pT5VkfASlZR8_kTCvoJYhGNoTEG9ChODaRB-dj4r6Sg2Lki4lGmy-WWCBcA-oaldJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-12-05+at+8.46.23+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dMhNjzkF2w4GwEaotE8l8u-GH4X67JvqFpdaS2KnHH2zm4APajTSYRy91cAMpJ8v54epCdnK483pT5VkfASlZR8_kTCvoJYhGNoTEG9ChODaRB-dj4r6Sg2Lki4lGmy-WWCBcA-oaldJ/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-12-05+at+8.46.23+PM.jpg" width="325" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ally Sheedy's usual dirty glare doesn't last long</u></td></tr>
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BLUE CITY, with it's Ry Cooder score, light on his usual slide guitar, replaced mostly by synthesizers and 48 HRS style steel drums smoothly backs a nifty little yarn, loosely based on a novel written by one of the all-time classic Pulp authors, Ross Macdonald, and narrowed into a Neon Neo Noir by Walter Hill, under a tight and simple (if straight-to-video style) direction by Michelle Manning...<br />
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It's hard to <i>not</i> enjoy a great actor playing a reckless villain who, at this time and despite going overboard within the first five minutes of his introductory scene, would have never been cast in anything other than a b-movie that strived for A-list status...<br />
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An attempted springboard for Judd Nelson, who, despite being described by one critic as a "law-breaking Jughead to David Caruso's far more intriguing and fleshed-out Archie," unlike BREAKFAST CLUB, plays a rebel that's difficult to entirely root for. And who knows, maybe<i> all</i> critics didn't expect a passable time-filler to follow a teenage melodrama/comedy blockbuster. What seems to be the most panned thing about BLUE CITY, even over the movie itself, is the failure for its star to have gained anything from it.

action, ally sheedy, brat pack, judd nelson, scott wilson