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Choke Canyon (1986) An environmental scientist who can transform sound waves into energy runs afoul with the nuclear power company he's renting land from.

Published September 10, 2013February 20, 2022by Stunt Rock in If They Push That Button

The Gambler Volume One (1980) Kenny Rogers cashes-in on a hit song in ways that have yet to ever be duplicated by anyone ever.

Published June 16, 2013February 20, 2022by Stunt Rock in Extremely Dated Musical Entertainment

Wham!: The Video (1988) 12-year-old girls and unhappily married women around the world demanded more Wham! media.

Published June 8, 2013February 20, 2022by Stunt Rock in Extremely Dated Musical Entertainment

Your Alcohol I.Q. (1988) In the 80s Anheuser-Busch got a bunch of celebrities and made them all take a bullshit quiz.

Published June 1, 2013February 20, 2022by Stunt Rock in Awkward 80s Instructional Tapes, Drugs

It’s Okay To Say No To Drugs! (1988) Yet another corporate-based, celebrity-starring anti-drug video from the 80s.

Published May 24, 2013February 20, 2022by Stunt Rock in Awkward 80s Instructional Tapes

Don’t Tell Her It’s Me (1990) Steve Guttenberg stars in a romantic comedy aimed at teenage girls who are into Steve Guttenberg.

Published May 19, 2013February 20, 2022by Stunt Rock in Unrealistic People Falling In Love

The Vindicator (1986) A scientist named Carl is killed and reborn as a boring cyborg named C.A.R.L. who can't control his emotions.

Published May 11, 2013February 20, 2022by Stunt Rock in High Concept - Poor Execution, Movies for Paranoid Liberals

Born American (1986) A trio of college dudes on vacation wind up trapped in the Russian prison system.

Published May 4, 2013February 20, 2022by Stunt Rock in Dangerous Kids, Prison

End of The Line (1987) Levon Helm and Wilford Brimley travel to Chicago to get their jobs back.

Published April 27, 2013February 20, 2022by Stunt Rock in Blue-Collar Heroics, Early-Buddy Erotica

Terror At Tenkiller (1986) A group of filmmakers exclusively from Oklahoma give the shot-on-video/direct-to-video/mid-80s slasher cash-in a try.

Published April 19, 2013February 20, 2022by Stunt Rock in Instructional Films For Killing Teens

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About

The Betamax Rundown was started by failed musician and artist Stunt Rock in October of 2006, with the intent being to review and analyze a personal library of over 2100 Betamax tapes.

When not watching movies, he enjoys making artistic horseshit no one cares about.

Steve Bullyhuff is the ever-loyal proofreader and fact-checker. When not fixing drunken typos, he enjoys playing rock music.

The Betamax Rundown is updated sporadically.

Marathon (1980) This movie is written by men, from the perspective of men, and for consumption by men. Longing for extramarital affairs, fixation on younger women, unhappiness with a spouse, disappointment with kids - it’s all here. Independence Day (1983) Trigger warning if your grandfather ever made you high like a tree. Independence Day (1983) Beret-clad photographer Mary Ann (Kathleen Quinlan) has lived in the same town her entire life yet still finds the energy to run around snapping photos of townspeople as she awaits an acceptance letter from a San Franciso art school, while also helping her cancer-stricken mother convalesce. We’re supposed to ignore that she’s clearly 30 and still trying to get into art school. Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1983) Extra Ellen Barkin appreciation post. Her performance in the first segment was described as "bruised, tough and sexy" by Janet Maslin in the NYT. Accurate. Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1983) Kevin Bacon, playing a young cabbie looking for love in the third story of this anthology film, sings a song, but it sound like it might be overdubbed. Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1983) Uneven New York anthology full of progressive themes and likable performances. Mid-Knight Rider aka Hard Knocks (1979) Some select clips: Mid-Knight Rider aka Hard Knocks (1979) HARD RECOMMEND! This movie is insane. Somewhere there has to be a proper cut where it all works perfectly, but this seventy-seven-minute cut released on home video is wild. It’s Midnight Cowboy but quickly turns into homesteading Western before dropping into First Blood territory. Foolin' Around (1980) A young Bill Macy in his first screen role! Foolin' Around was filmed in 1978 so I'm comfortable saying this even though it was released after Somewhere In Time (1980) which is technically the first appearance of W. H. Macy.

The World Sucks Now.