Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-23 04:57:34

Totally awesome movie

This review is from: Reckless (DVD) This movie is truly a work of art. It is so much better than Hope Floats and the Blind Side. Not only that this movie is the most perfect movie I ever saw. The music was so awesome and it had one of my favorite songs which is "Never Say Never" by Romeo Void and Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah made such a cute couple in this flick. I can only say that I do not regret buying this movie.

2012-05-22 12:33:36

Good main actors but extremely generic plot.

Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah give it their all in "Reckless". Unfortunately, the poor script really works against them.The premise has already been done to death. There are two high school "kids" played by people in their early to mid-20s. The guy is a rebel, trouble making football player. The girl is a popular, well behaved cheerleader. They develop a rocky but passionate relationship. At the end, they ride off into the sunset together. Ho hum.The only reason this gets 2 stars instead of 1 is the good acting by both Quinn and Hannah. This movie was very early in their careers and you can't blame them for taking on these roles. They perform admirably but ultimately become mired in a story that goes nowhere.However, you could certainly do worse as far as '80s movies go. Also of note is the surprising fact that Aidan Quinn performed frontal nudity in this film. It was his big screen debut and certainly must have taken guts to do. All in all, "Reckless" is a mindless movie but has the occasional inspired moment to keep you from getting bored.

caspian1978 2012-05-19 23:18:52

Hot Poolside Scene

Just another typical 80's youth film with two actors in their late twentiesplaying teenagers.Besides all that, you got yourself a sexy poolside scene where you have towait through half the film to see it.You fot Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah doing a dare strip tease at their highschool pool in the middle of the night. It's great.You got to admit it's one of the only reasons why people rent this movie inthe first place.A decent story, decent acting, an overall worth see movie. Check itout!

rrdh 2012-05-19 06:42:06

If it makes a 20 year impression, it must have something..

I saw this movie 20 years ago and have never seen it since, yet I keepwaiting to see it on cable or at the video stores or in discount binsor any place so I can purchase it, and watch it over and over again.This was the first time I ever saw Aidan Quinn, but his acting left adeep impression on me and has ever since. After "Reckless" if I saw hisname on a movie I made a point of seeing it, in my opinion he neverseems to get enough credit even back then. His movie love interest(Darryl Hannah) well I didn't even remember it was her, so I guess thatsays it all for me. I recently have been addicted to Firefly the TVseries ("Serenity" the movie) and was discussing with my spouse that Ibelieved the character Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin) was the same personwho played opposite Aidan in "Reckless" sure enough when searching forthis I found he was, so I would have to say he left an impression aswell.I believe if a movie you've seen only once can stick with you for thislong, it must be good. And hearing many others, who also have seen it20 years earlier, still talking about it, then I think it should becomea classic and re-released.

2012-05-16 21:35:21

Los Desenfrenados

I saw this film a few years ago, when I was a Kid. This film (sorry for my english) represented the maximum way to be a problem and an in love kid. The music also is recommended to get away your most deep feelings. For people from 30 to 35 years it is a must to see it.

drylungvocalmartyr 2012-05-16 12:57:50

A memorable debut for James Foley and Aidan Quinn

I caught Reckless on TCM the other night and it turned out to be apleasant surprise. In the beginning it seemed like the all-too-familiarsmall town college romance thing with the quarterback, the cheerleaderand the outcast but as the story developed I found myself more and moreintrigued. And the reason for this was the inspired acting by AidanQuinn (his first movie ever!) and Darryl Hannah. The chemistry betweenthem was exceptional and as their relationship unfolded the moviereally came alive. Credits must be given to the then first-timedirector James Foley for directing their scenes in a down-to-earth,natural way. Maybe the script is not too original and we've probablyseen these characters before, nevertheless the film manages to graspthe relative pointlessness and hopelessness of the industry town milieureally well. Although our two protagonists come from different familybackgrounds which–under normal circumstances–would produce totallydivergent ways of life, they still find each other and share the commondesire to escape from the lives that are laid out for them in order tostep on a road less traveled. The top-notch performances and theunmistakable 80s atmosphere make it well worth looking out for thisfilm.

2012-05-13 05:41:28

Slept on classic

I can't believe this film hasn't been issued on dvd yet. This film is one of my favorite films of the 80's. I watched it numerous times when I was in my teens. I believe it was the first time I had seen Daryl Hannah & Aidan Quinn in a film before, and they were both great. The stories the typical upper class girl falls in love with the guy from the wrong side of the tracks story, but it transcends the cliches by being a bit grittier and darker than the average teen film of the time.

normalou 2012-05-12 15:00:05

Erotically Charged Take On the 'Poor Little Rich Girl' Falls For 'Bad Boy From Wrong Side of Tracks' Story

First, how can you hate a film that utilizes both INXS and Romeo Void onitssoundtrack? It's so '80s, but in the best way. That was the New Wave inmusic, and it fits, it fits with the story. The story is an old one, thepoor little rich girl, so intrigued by the bad boy, the one with thetroubled history, the unsettled home life, the one with the intense blueeyes, the boy who is obviously more of a "man" than her own boyfriend.Shehas to know about him, and she gets the chance when they are selected toattend the high school dance as a couple, much to her boyfriend'sdismay.His desire to leave their sleepy steel town, the little depressed,economically, hellhole with nowhere to go but down, is a catalyst for her,along with his seductive charms. He "wants" her, he tells her, and shewants him, but can't bear to let him know, without him forcing it out ofher. He opens her up, sexually, mentally, he challenges her, and therearesome really erotic scenes to show all of this.Don't dismiss this film as fluff, or "plotless", there is a definite plot,it's an old one, used many times, but never quite to this effect, withtheseactors, with people this lovely to look at, this talented, with asoundtrackso perfectly fitting. It's a good movie, and has some really nice,creativecamera work - the high school dance scene, camera swirling around DarrylHannah and Aidan Quinn, is classic. A perfect little moviemoment.I recommend this movie, to anyone who likes erotic romances, or who wantstosee a good example of why Aidan Quinn got so many parts in movies, or whyDarryl Hannah was once so popular. These two light up the screen. Thesoundtrack is pure '80s, the tail end of the New Wave movement in music,andit's well preserved today.

2012-05-10 05:11:02

Reckless Rocks!

This review is from: Reckless (DVD) Its about time they brought this cool 1984 drama with Aidan Quinn(Johnny Rourke) and Daryl Hannah(Tracy) out on DVD since it was a popular movie in the Spring of 1984 about a sexy intelligent cheerleader who dumps her conventional life & boring boyfriend and a sleazy out of control delinquent who breaks the law & breaks girls hearts with equal cool who fall in love with each other and start living life on the edge together all the way until they ride off into the sunset together, yet its quite strange how the smartest most committed women have a tendency to fall for Mr. Wrong just like Valerie Kaprisky did with Richard Gere in BREATHLESS which should've been called RECKLESS not to mention RECKLESS was a tad similar to BREATLESS, but I guess that's why they're movies in order to catch people's attention from start to finish, yet it was kind of hard not to envy or admire the steamy intimacy between Quinn and Hannah in RECKLESS, especially in the astonishing sex scenes and the nude scenes of Quinn in full-frontal nudity which were eyecandy for a lot of gals along with the fact that RECKLESS was the movie that launced both Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah's showbiz career. So if you liked BREATHLESS or AN OFFICER & A GENTLEMAN, you'll definitely like RECKLESS and recommend this flick to you.

2012-05-09 11:41:16

intense and HOT

I say this movie years ago when i myself was struggling with the same things these teens were. Finding themselves and living in a community that was oppressive with little hope of getting out. the music was fantastic and very fitting for each scene. The passion the main character had was incredible and the relationship with the young woman was intense. The sex was hot!I guess identifying with the main character is why i loved this movie so much. I recomend this movie if you can see the beauty and passion that young people have, along with a desire to make a change.

da_lowdown 2012-05-05 03:31:27

Triumph of style over substance

I was a teenager working at the Cineplex when I saw this movie for thefirst time. It doesn't take much to stir teenage angst, and longing. Iwas an easy target for this movie. You see, at the time, I too was in adoomed relationship with a girl that was all wrong for me (or so itseemed to the myopic teenage eye). She was a drill team princess and Iwas a nobody from the wrong side of the tracks. I had an immediateemotional response to Johnny and Tracey's dilemma. It resonated with mepowerfully at the time. "Reckless" has lingered in my memory along withall the other sweet nostalgia from my youth. Time and distance grant you clarity. So now, twenty four years later, Ithink I can review this movie with a much more critical eye. Afterseeing it again recently on a fairly good VHS copy, some of thestrengths that I remember are still there. The beautiful cinematographythat is reminiscent of "The Dear Hunter" is still there. Many of theshots in the film give the Pennsylvania mill town a bleak and forlornlook that matches Johnny's life. The editing is dead-on and lends thisfilm an urgency that matches the story. The music is used effectivelythroughout. Inxs, Romeo Void, and Kim Wilde, just to name a few, giveeach scene the 'feel' it needs to enhance the story. The home comingdance scene where Johnny punks out to 'Never Say Never' is a greatexample of how bringing together great acting, editing, music, andenergetic camera-work into a scene can get an audience's heart rategoing. The scene still holds up after all these years. Fresh facedearnestness of the performances from Quinn and Hannah also make thismovie very watchable. Despite all of it's strengths, I couldn't ignore the glaringshortcomings. First off, Quinn's character, Johnny, is not really verybelievable. To be more precise, the way girls react to him in the film(with the notable exception of Tracey) is not really believable. Lookat some of the opening scenes where some of Tracey's fellowcheerleaders treat him like a leper and call him a weirdo. Who are wekidding? Let's face it, as far back as James Dean, good looking,brooding guys on motorcycles have been babe magnets. Had I known thisback then, I would have saved my money for a bike instead of blowing iton beer and fast food every weekend. I will pause this review brieflyto kick myself…. Okay, I'm back. On with my review. Johnny'srelationship with the older lady at the bowling alley is neverdeveloped although it seems to hold promise for further developments.Perhaps a love triangle? I dunno, it just seems kinda weird how it isgiven attention, and then dropped. Aside from Quinn's character, allother characters are fairly two dimensional. Tracey feels underwritten.She's a perfect princess that decides to rebel just because her life istoo perfect? Really? Huh. At least that's what a brief two minute scenetries to sell us on for her motivation for ending up with Johnny on herfirst night. Did I miss something? I attribute these anemic charactersto an underdeveloped script that comes across as clichéd and formulaic.In most instances, this would be the death of any film. At least for meit would be. But because of all it's other strengths, it actually turnsout to be a pretty engaging little movie, even after all these years. "Reckless" is a fine example of how style, and shameless pandering tothe teenage psyche, can sometimes triumph over a substandard script.

2012-05-04 20:53:42

A Reckless Spirited Movie That 's GREAT!!!!

I'm still waiting for the movie released on DVD. If you love the eighties, Reckless, is a movie not to miss. Also the soundtrack to this movie is so good, you have songs from Inxs, Romio Void, Kim Wilde and several other artist. I want my DVD! VHS is a gas! Hahaha!! Have a good day.

2012-05-02 12:24:40

Mixing James Dean with THE DEER HUNTER - Reckless Recovered

Reckless RecoveredIn 1983 a beginning Hollywood director, James Foley, called me up. He wanted to make a film in the spirit of "The Deer Hunter." He wanted to find a cemetery near a steel plant, and he did find such a location in Weirton. The film was shot in Weirton, Wheeling, Steubenville, and a few other local places. He came to town with an unknown actor by the name of Aidan Quinn. His co-star was Daryl Hannah who had been in "Blade Runner" (1982) and a handful of other lesser-known films. Foley had a screenplay by a then-unknown writer, Chris Columbus (director of Harry Potter films and "Home Alone 2"), a German transplant cinematographer, Michael Ballhaus, who had shot John Sayles' film, "Baby, It's You"(1983) after a career in Germany shooting Fassbinder's films. The last credit in the film is to moi. Unfortunately, the film died, and even the Weirton Public Library refused to show our 16 mm print of the film since it has a torrid love scene in the high school pool between the stars. For almost two decades I have been showing it at libraries and film festivals around the state - and just when I read that Edgar Scherick, the famous independent film producer, has died, I also discovered that the film is available for sale in VHS from Amazon.com. So now YOU can check out this early film by some of our current superstars.

2012-05-02 04:36:43

An intense and sexy film!--Made me Want to Run Through My High School in My Underwear!!

I still remember watching this movie as a small child--I think it was one of the first R-rated films I ever saw. And I still love it as much now as I did then. First, there's the scenery....I love that whole run-down, industrial, working-class feel to the film. Reminds me a lot of my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. In fact, the film locations--areas around Weirton and Stubenville, from what I recall-- are pretty closeby to where I live in PA.Okay, the story is pretty generic--your stereotypical kids-from-the-opposite-sides-of-the-tracks fall in love---but the soundtrack is slammin'--early-80's new wave mixed in with classic rock---a lot of good choices for the scenes, everything from Kim Wilde's "Kids in America" during the oh-so-perfect "break in and trash the high school before stripping down to their skivvies and jumping in the pool and making out before retiring to the boiler room and getting busy" scene to the grande finale with Bob Segar's "Roll Me Away" playing in the background. More on that high school scene.... I still remember sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night whenever this movie was shown as a late night feature on TV, just to see that one sequence, and being pissed off because they always went to commercial before the love scenes, or else just cut them out altogether......but I know why they did that now. After searching for many years and finally finding a video store that carried this film and watching it untinterrupted and uncut, I was surprised by how explicit the scenes were. But it had--and still has--some of the hottest, most intense love scenes ever committed to celluloid. Aidan Quinn looked hotter than hot (naked AND clothed!!), and his portrayal of Johhny had an intensity and sincerety that made you both sympathize and fear him a little at the same time. (And so many guys I know wonder why us "good girls" always go for the "bad boys!!!!!") Daryl Hannah (who still looks exactly the same now as she did then--Good heavens, does that girl ever age?? Or eat, for that matter??) also gives a stellar performance, although her character got on my nerves sometimes--that girl really needed her own voice and a backbone. I couldn't believe the way she let her boyfriend treat her. I would have loved to see a scene where she just slapped the hell outta that guy. I also loved the supporting who's who of cast members...Haviland Morris (aka Jake Ryan's perfect-looking girlfriend Caroline in "Sixteen Candles") to Jennifer Grey ("Dirty Dancing"--yet another perennial favorite) to Adam Baldwin (who was in "My Bodyguard," which also starred a young and gorgeous Matt Dillon...anyone remember that film??).All in all, still a great 80's film that at times gets swept under the rug by all of those people who worship John Hughes movies. Well, I think this film is just as good as any of those ones, if not better.

2012-04-30 19:22:40

As great as I remembered!!

This review is from: Reckless (DVD) I think I went to see this movie 3 or 4 times in 1984. I have looked for it over the years and never found it. I couldn't believe it when I recently found it on Amazon. When it arrived I couldn't get it into the DVD player quick enough - it was as great as I remember. As another customer said "very under-rated"........it's a great movie.

2012-04-30 12:39:20

Reckless Rocks!

This review is from: Reckless (1984) (DVD) Its about time they brought this cool 1984 drama with Aidan Quinn(Johnny Rourke) and Daryl Hannah(Tracy) out on DVD since it was a popular movie in the Spring of 1984 about a sexy intelligent cheerleader who dumps her conventional life & boring boyfriend and a sleazy out of control delinquent who breaks the law & breaks girls hearts with equal cool who fall in love with each other and start living life on the edge together all the way until they ride off into the sunset together, yet its quite strange how the smartest most committed women have a tendency to fall for Mr. Wrong just like Valerie Kaprisky did with Richard Gere in BREATHLESS which should've been called RECKLESS not to mention RECKLESS was a tad similar to BREATLESS, but I guess that's why they're movies in order to catch people's attention from start to finish, yet it was kind of hard not to envy or admire the steamy intimacy between Quinn and Hannah in RECKLESS, especially in the astonishing sex scenes and the nude scenes of Quinn in full-frontal nudity which were eyecandy for a lot of gals along with the fact that RECKLESS was the movie that launced both Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah's showbiz career. So if you liked BREATHLESS or AN OFFICER & A GENTLEMAN, you'll definitely like RECKLESS and recommend this flick to you.

2012-04-28 09:45:49

Great 80's Movie!

This review is from: Reckless (DVD) This movie was a classic in the 80's! For anyone from western Pennsylvania/eastern Ohio you can relate to the steel mill scenes. The dance scene as well as the soundtrack are fantastic. I'm glad I finally broke down and bought this.

2012-04-27 21:47:51

Iron City hot

This review is from: Reckless (DVD) I also hesitated about buying this teen steam classic in the DVD-R format, but so far, so good. I watched the movie last night and the quality was fine. Actually, it was better than I expected. Clean and clear and none of that photo of a photo murkiness I've seen in other recently exhumed films. If you are a newcomer to this movie, or it's been a couple of decades since you've seen it, rest assured that Reckless stands out from other post-Risky Business teen movies of the 80s and beyond. The chemistry between Aidan Quinn's Johnny Rourke (the poor rebel outsider) and Daryl Hannah's Tracey Prescott (the popular, rich cheerleader)renders any plot line cookie cutterness totally obsolete, and Reckless rides on their heat. Beyond that, Reckless also is well served by the strength of another main character -- the setting. No soundstage, or Vancouver street corner, this. Much of the movie was shot in Mingo Junction, Ohio, a town that couldn't be more rust belt if it tried. The opening shots of steel mill smoke stacks belching pollution into a heavy, gray sky, followed by a close up of Quinn's dreamy intense blue eyed stare, say it all. The desperation felt by Johnny, Tracy, and the other high school seniors feels real -- job prospects, outside of the dying mill, are scarce. "Are we dead?" Asks one of Tracey's cheerleader friends when they almost get into a car crash. "No," replies another girlfriend, her voice a sigh of disappointment. The only hope for life is to break out of this dead end town. And go where?Good question. After a turn on the dance floor in the high school gym -- in an unforgettable scene given extra oomph by a Romeo Void song ("I might like you better if we slept together," indeed) and a camera that doesn't stop circling the pogo-ing lovers -- the main characters go and have rust belt teen steam sex. Sex that is actually sexy. That chemistry thing again ... Meanwhile, Aidan Quinn channels Brando. Hannah channels, well, that lips parted, insecure, almost vacuous, legs that go on forever thing. The end of the movie is a bit of an open road fantasy, but 25 years later, it also invites the question ... whatever happened to Johnny and Tracey?

James Hitchcock 2012-04-23 04:58:23

You know life is cruel, life is never kind

In the 1980s the youth market was becoming increasingly important tofilm-makers, and the decade saw a growth in the number of films aimedat, and about, teenagers. "Reckless" is a good example of the sort ofhigh school romance in which the main characters are both in theirmid-twenties. Or rather, the two characters are supposed to beteenagers, but the actors who play them are in their mid-twenties. Thisis something of a convention in American films of this type, therationale presumably being that story lines about underage sex becomemore acceptable to the censors (and possibly to the viewing public aswell) if the roles are played by adults. Adherence to this conventionwas particularly important in the case of "Reckless", which is a gooddeal more sexually explicit than most high school romance dramas.Director James Foley makes quite deliberate reference to a number ofearlier movies about youthful rebelliousness, such as "The Wild One","Rebel without a Cause" and "The Graduate". The film is set in aMid-Western industrial town where the main industry is steel making.During the Reagan years America's traditional heavy industries were indecline, and towns like the one shown here were often badly hit byunemployment. (Something similar also happened in Britain at the sametime).The main character, Johnny Rourke, is a boy from a working-classbackground. His parents are divorced, and he lives with hishard-drinking, foul-mouthed father, a worker at the local steel mill.Although Johnny is supposedly from a poor family, it is notable that hedrives a powerful motorbike, which struck me as improbable. As theirrelationship is, to say the least, a difficult one, it is unlikely thathis father would have bought him such an expensive present, even if hecould have afforded it, and there is no way that Johnny could havepurchased it himself while still at school. Ever since Brando in "TheWild One", however, motorbikes have been a powerful symbol ofrebellion, and this is clearly a case where symbolism was felt to bemore important than verisimilitude.Like Jim Stark in the film of that name, Johnny can be classed as a"rebel without a cause", although he seems to have even more anger thanJames Dean's character. During this period many young men in hisposition would have been fearful of the prospect of unemployment, butJohnny seems to be more worried about the prospect of employment, or atleast of being employed, like his father, in a dead-end job in adead-end town. Johnny has seen what his home town has to offer, anddoesn't want it. The problem is, he doesn't know what he does want,with one exception.Johnny is a star player in the school football team (although he latergets thrown off the team for insubordination), and the one thing hedoes want is Tracey, a glamorous blonde cheerleader from a wealthyfamily. Although Tracey already has a boyfriend, Randy, she findsherself attracted to Johnny, largely because of what he represents-rejection of her family's snobbish middle-class values. (They, needlessto say, disapprove strongly of Johnny).There are some good things about the film. There is some effectivephotography of the industrial landscapes, similar to those in"Flashdance" which had come out the previous year. Contrary to theimpression sometimes given by Hollywood, not everyone in America livesin affluent white-collar suburbia. The film also makes good use of thepop music of the period, such as Kim Wilde's "Kids in America", to thestrains of which Johnny and Tracey make love.On the whole, however, I found the film disappointing. Aidan Quinn andDaryl Hannah were two attractive young people, but neither seemedconvincing as a teenager. James Dean, of course, was also in histwenties when he made "Rebel….", but he seemed completely believable asa confused, vulnerable adolescent. Quinn and Hannah, however, are lesscredible. Quinn in particular comes across as too adult, too confidentand self-assured. There are also some very strange scenes, such as theone where Johnny and Tracey, as a prelude to making love, belabour eachother with what look like gigantic sausages.Wilde sang in "Kids in America" that "You know life is cruel, life isnever kind". Foley, however, evidently felt that his intended teenageaudience would not be mature enough to appreciate this stark truth, sohe provided the film with a contrived happy ending, presumably basedupon the one in "The Graduate", as Tracey jumps onto Johnny's motorbikeand they go roaring off down the highway together. At least, this waspresumably intended to be a happy ending, although I was left with theawkward feeling that these two characters made a very ill-matched pair.Tracey, after all, is committing herself to a man with no job, no home(after his father's death in an industrial accident, Johnny has setfire to the family home) and no prospects, except possibly the prospectof serving a jail sentence if the police ever find out who wasresponsible for the fire. If Tracey had stopped to think more clearly,she might have wondered (as I did) whether Johnny is really in lovewith her, or whether seducing a virginal middle-class cheerleader issimply his way of expressing his anger and resentment against thesystem. This was a film which really needed a more downbeat ending.5/10

2012-04-22 15:40:43

A well done motion picture with an awesome soundtrack!

A good movie in it's time, and great dialogue and sex scenes by Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah. A definite movie of the 80's! Even if this movie mainly focuses on the two of them there's good supporting roles by Adam Baldwin, Cliff DeYoung, Jennifer Grey, and Pamela Springsteen(The younger sister of rocker Bruce). Well acted and very convincing!