The Goonies

Director - Richard Donner (Superman, Tales from the Crypt)
Starring - Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Stranger Things), Josh Brolin (Deadpool 2, Avengers: Infinity War), and Jeff Cohen (Amazing Stories, Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School)
Release Date - 1985
Genre - Comedy/Adventure
Tagline - "It's excitement all the way as Steven Spielberg and Richard Donner, the makers of 'Indiana Jones', 'Gremlins' and 'Superman', combine forces to create the Family Adventure of the year!"
Format - 4K Ultra HD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Growing up I had a small stack of tapes that I would often watch over and over again.  My uncle had given me Jason Goes to Hell and Conan the Destroyer and around that time my dad had picked up Fright Night and The Goonies.  The Donner/Spielberg collaboration was a huge part of my childhood.  So much so that when I hit high school I couldn't stand the fucking movie anymore.  I had watch it so many times that the fun was no longer there.  It's pushing 20 years since I last saw the film and with the 4K release I figured I would give it another go to see if the spark has been reignited.  I want to thank WB for sending the film over for me to review.

     The film follows a group of friends looking for one last adventure before they all move away.  The bank is foreclosing on all their homes unless they can find enough money to pay the banks.  They come across an old map in the attic of one of their homes and soon find themselves searching for the buried treasure of One Eyed Willie but soon find themselves fleeing from the notorious Fratelli family.    

     The Goonies is the reason I love a good adventure flick.  Between this and the two Conan movies, I often find older adventure films to be relaxing and highly entertaining.  The Goonies was the movie I thought would be as close to perfect as a movie could get but, as I stated earlier, I burnt myself out with it after so many viewings.  However, after a 16 year break from the film I can safely say it is still as fun now as it was then.  The acting in this one is unmatched.  The child actors in this one show more talent on screen than most of the veteran actors of the time.  The characters, Brolin included, what makes this film so fucking entertaining.  The supporting cast is great but the young leads are what makes this movie so memorable.  It's a shame some of them did not go on to have bigger careers in Hollywood.  The story for this one is, at heart, an adventure film for the family but it has some laughs and horror elements scattered through.  The character of Sloth could have been left out but keeping him in brings in both some laughs and that slight horror feel.  The story really is well written and high enjoyable.  Finally, this is not a blood film for the 2 of you that have never seen it prior to now.  We get some make-up effects and some old school camera tricks but that is the extent of it.  Overall, The Goonies is an important piece of cinema and a huge part of my childhood.  I don't mean to sound negative but this is a movie that I literally watched almost everyday for years.  I loved the VHS I had of it but this 4K release is almost like seeing the movie for the first time.  The darker scenes I remember on tape were crystal clear.  This is the way to watch this classic movie.