9 - 5 - 1980 ***

I've always got the impression that Dolly Parton was very annoying, and after seeing her in '9 to 5' I think my opinion is justified. Not as annoying however as Jane Fonda, whose whimpish, no backbone spouse portrayal had me fuming at the nostrils.
The three women meet at work, and become close, especially when they find out that they all despise their boss for different reasons, but mainly because he is an egotistical, chauvinistic pig who uses each woman to his advantage in his power game at 'the top'. When they decide to pay him back for his behaviour you can see all women watching the film jumping up in their chairs.
I started off not having much respect for any of these women who let themselves get trampled on by a man, but by midway I was warming up to them, and by the end I really liked them.
The theme tune is a belter, so you can't really stop yourself singing along. As one of the 'standout' comedies of the 80s, I think this film could be a lot worse.

(HORROR) Motel Hell - 1980 *

'Motel Hell' is a cult classic. I would assume from those 2 words that it would mean it's a good film. But it's not. It's pitifully done, poorly acted, and really very bad in all aspects. Even the 'hilarious' play on words of 'Motel Hello' turning into Motel Hell doesn't raise a smile with me. It's just not funny. And the tone of the cinematography is that of low budget rubbish.
Literally all you need is the quote on the poster and you know the whole film ('It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent Fritters').

(HORROR) Friday the 13th - 1980 ** 1/2

Having never watched any of this franchise it was rather exciting for me to get to see the first in the series the other day.
However, my excitement disappeared rapidly when I realised how awfully dated and cheesy the whole thing was. I can't actually see what all the fuss is about. Rather like 'Sleepaway Camp' (which spawned plenty of sequels but was utterly stupid to watch) this was a typical slasher from the 1980s, although it really can't compare to anything like Halloween or Texas Chainsaw.
Jason, the main 'star' of these films, is only viewed for about 3 seconds near the end of the film, so I would imagine that I will end up seeing the next one just to see if he makes a more lengthy appearance (a rather clever marketing ploy I think).

(HORROR) The Hearse - 1980 *

Another awful film. I was hoping to see one of my old silver screen favourites Joseph Cotten in an intelligent and dramatic part, but he just came across as an old fuddy duddy. The film itself is laughable. A woman named Jane moves to her aunt's house that was left to her for the summer. She begins to experience weird feelings in the house, and is troubled by sightings of a herse at night time on the road.
The locals brush her off and disregard her as crazy, but are still hesitant to talk about the house.
Sounds good, but really isn't. Give it a miss.

Loulou - 1980 ****

One topic the French seem to do very well is relationships. And here we see the relationship between Depardieu and Huppert and all the good and bad parts of it, like reality. I think films that show perfect relationships are completely pointless, what do they prove and why are we being shown something that doesn't exist?!

Huppert meets Depardieu when she is out with her current boyfriend and finds herself infatuated by him, to the extent that she leaves her boyfriend almost immediately for this man. Her ex goes from being violent and angry over the situation to completely mellow and wanting to hang out with the pair as friends etc.

It's awkward to watch, but sometimes this sort of thing happens in the real world. People who are rejected sometimes can't accept what has happened.

Huppert's character is very raw, and not particularly likeable, after all, throughout the film she seems to flit from one man to the other without feeling or regret. But then again Depardieu's character is not exactly squeaky clean either, and Huppert's ex-boyfriend was fairly abusive in the relationship anyway. So who knows who is right and who is wrong. It's just gritty real life. Excellent film. (Huppert looked so young that I barely recognised her!)