XANADU in 4K! Plus CONJURING, HAPPY GILMORE and more of the latest releases in this week's column:

https://andyfilm.com/2025/08/22/8-26-25 ... -4k-magic/

Heh, I have an affection for Xanadu, largely due to the killer soundtrack and the charm of Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly (that big band song and dance scene is a little jewel). Yes, Michael Beck is out of his element, and some scenes are quite tacky. But I liked its generous spirit.

And, I just saw Gung Ho earlier this week. It was kind of middling for me, but Gedde Watanabe did turn in a very good performance, the film itself improved as it went on, and I was having a good time by the end. The soundtrack has a couple good songs too. And it was nice to see it filmed in Western Pennsylvania, not far from where my father lived as a child.

I think that's an excellent summation of XANADU. It is not well directed and the script, from what I learned here, was just an empty vessel that they wrote as the went along. It COULD have been truly excellent had the story and direction been on target, which is where it misfired. As it is, though, the songs are mostly great and it's a lot of fun to sit through, plus doesn't linger too long. Funny enough a lot of fans hate "Suspended in Time" as the big song at the climax but I find it perfectly lovely.

GUNG HO, you're right, is pretty pat and predictable. Ganz and Mandel's scripts often had that going on too, as it nearly feels like a TV movie -- and as I mentioned, it was quickly turned into a sitcom with most of the Japanese-American actors reprising their roles -- but the widescreen lensing and Keaton's energy kind of "lift it up" as we move along. Quite likeable in the end, but a movie most people forgot about. It kind of opened, made money, and then disappeared over the years...something I find is the case with Howard's movies.

Does anyone know NIGHT SHIFT these days? COCOON was one of his biggest hits and never gets any play at all now either. I was watching an interview with Michael Rosenbaum and a female actress recently (I can't even recall who it was), and she had never even seen COCOON despite being in her early 40s. I think if you were born after it opened, there's no connection to that picture today.