The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)

I'll be the first to admit this sword and sorcery flick isn't the best, yet it has enough budget and imagination to capture a young child's heart. Plus, enough tits to make a grown man bust at the seams. Despite the promise of the title and that gorgeous poster art, it doesn't quite fulfill its potential. Exceedingly dull at spots, it plods along through all the tropes of the fantasy genre, to a somewhat rousing conclusion. It's a mixed bag of sorts, distilled through the lens of '80s filmmaking, but has been heralded as a cult classic all the same.

2-bladed sword out of 5

Fort Apache, the Bronx (1981)

A police drama that’s based on the lives of real policemen but is nevertheless set in a fictionalised version of the South Bronx.
Paul Newman is Murphy, a straight-talking cop who knows that in order to get through the day you sometimes have to let the rules bend, but only so far as they don’t break. A sound judgement is as important as a steady hand.
It’s a standard character-driven film about cops and their daily trials that includes bag-snatchings, drug pushers pushing their trade and their luck, and even a pimp in a fur coat. It’s nothing special, but nor is it any slouch.

3 neighbourhood sights out of 5