Released in 1982, at a time when Sylvester Stallone was strictly known for playing Rocky Balboa, First Blood was a fresh take on the post-war life of a battle hardened Special Forces soldier.

“People don’t pay to see Reginald Dwight, they pay to see ELTON JOHN.”

A line said during the film’s trailer of an argument between Elton John and his longtime friend Bernie Taupin (and according to them, their ONLY argument), made me think I was getting a completely different film than the one I saw. Sure, I saw the other parts of the trailer, but I was still shocked in hindsight.

We have a double anniversary post here in this Anniversary Edition of Movie Musings. Ghostbusters is 35 years old and Ghostbusters 2 is 30 years old (in hindsight, 1989 was an awesome year for movies). I’d rank the first movie in my top five, right behind Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Aliens, and Raiders of the Lost Ark (who are interchangeable as one, two, and three), and the original Star Wars.

What do you get when you take a first time director, 3 of Hollywood’s hottest leading ladies, the DC Comics Vertigo label and a whole lot of predictability? Simply put… you get the hard-edged but ultimately mediocre cinematic experience known as The Kitchen.