The Land Before Time

The Land Before Time is one of Don Bluth's early films so it goes without saying that it is wonderful look at and to hear. This story is very straight, and copied apparently by every dinosaur film to come after it, about a group of orphaned dinosaurs trying to find their home. Everyone always seems to name either Bambi's mother or Mustafa's deaths as that moment of complete devestation, for me it always has to be Little Foot's Mother, who we even see exactly when she receives the wounds which take her life. This film goes particularly dark, with Little Foot even having a moment where he seems to give up on life. Again though like the best of em when things it warm again it really seems so earned by what our characters go through. Each of the dinosaurs work and add something to the dynamic of the group, and there is some rather intense terror to be found in the villain Sharptooth. I will say the final third seems slightly rushed, apparently some of Sharptooths scenes were cut, but given what was left in those have to be terrifying. It's made up for climatic scene that should make most thrillers jealous though, which then leads to some well earned heartstring tugging by the end.
4.5/5

Rain Man

Rain Man's a film that's easy enough to be very hard on, as is the common reaction to any film that dares win best picture. Looking at it as just a film though it's just fine as basically a buddy road picture with the gimmick of one of the buddies had autism. However it works well enough largely due to the unrewarded Tom Cruise who carries the film through his depiction of his character's own change of heart through his interactions with Dustin Hoffman's. It has some funny moments, some sweet moments, it works, even if it is not spectacular.
3.5/5

Running On Empty

Running On Empty intertwines the coming of age of a boy along with being a fugitive due to being the son of some 60's radicals. The stories each have their separate place for much of the film as we follow the boy, played by River Phoenix, through becoming acquainted with a new life and enjoying it. This leaves the nagging element of the radical past always ready to strike. Now the coming of age story is just fine though nothing too notable about it. The radical side of things has some good elements, like when the mother meets her father, the final goodbye, but too many repetitive elements as well as Judd Hirsch who goes from being very good to being very terrible. I think the sides of the film end up cohering well enough, but honestly those two scenes I mentioned above are the only ones that stand out in my memory of the film. Not that the rest of the film was bad, but it's mostly adequate with a few stronger scenes in there.
3.5/5