Free Enterprise (1998)

For some people turning thirty is a worrying prospect. It's certainly the case for writer Mark (Eric McCormack), who equates his fast-approaching three decades milestone with some kind of cut-off point, à la Logan's Run (1976). He and fellow film fan Robert (Rafer Weigel), who learned most of what he knows about life and love from watching Captain Kirk on Star Trek TOS, struggle with the ups and downs of romance amid a midlife crisis situation.
Knowledge of Trek and film culture in general will increase your enjoyment of the story, which, when stripped of its fandom appeal, is a pretty standard tale of two men getting a timely kick up the ass, with added Shatner.

2½ human adventures out of 5

Streets of Fire (1984)

Walter Hill's self-proclaimed 'Rock and Roll Fable' is like a pulp novel brought to life. It kicks off with a music performance that encapsulates the 1980s perfectly, but outside of the live venue it's like the 1950s never ended and somehow the two things don't ever seem to be at loggerheads.
The antihero is Tom Cody (Michael Paré), a guy who responds to his feelings but refuses to be ruled completely by them. When it comes to conflict, even if he loses he'll win because of his uncompromisingly independent spirit. When his old flame is kidnapped by a gang led by Willem Dafoe in fetish dungarees, Cody and a couple of hangers-on cross town to take her back.
It's a charming flick with a devoted fan base. I enjoy it, but personally feel that Hill's other famous work, The Warriors (1979), is a lot better.

3 screen wipes out of 5

The Warriors (1979)

When you’re far from home and the shit gets real it’s best to have friends you can trust, but there’s always one guy that has to ruin things for everyone else and more often than not someone else has to pay the price.
It's a B-Movie that resembles a John Carpenter film at times, but if you can laugh at its many flaws it has a great deal of fun waiting to be discovered.
The Director’s Cut adds some unnecessary cartoon styled intertitles and an intro that was supposed to have Orson Welles but sadly doesn't.
See it before the inevitable soulless remake comes along.

4 rumbles on the way back to Coney out of 5