In 1985, director Joe Dante found himself in an incredible career position. After working up the ranks in the world of producer Roger Corman, Dante found his footing in bigger Hollywood productions, managing to land a minor hit in 1981’s “The Howling,” and a place in 1983’s “Twilight Zone: The Movie,” creating arguably the best segment for the ill-fated anthology picture. And then came “Gremlins,” with the 1984 release managing to survive brutal competition (it opened on the same day as “Ghostbusters”) to reach a huge audience, charming ticket-buyers with Dante’s special sauce of cartoonish humor and love of monster mayhem. “Gremlins” was one of the highlights of the release year, and gave the helmer a bona fide hit (becoming the fourth highest grossing picture of 1984, sandwiched between “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Karate Kid”), putting him in a rare position of desirability with studio executives, and he jumped into another project, emerging just a year later with “Explorers.” The 1985 offering has everything one could want from a production of the era, mixing Spielberg-ian wonder, special effects, young characters, and Dante’s impish sense of humor, returning him to a world of fantasy and discovery. The ingredients are all there for a cinematic home run, yet “Explorers” comes up short as it hopes to provide a satisfying viewing experience. There’s a lot to love in the endeavor, but also a lot to endure, with the effort testing patience once the exploratory elements of the script (by Eric Luke) wear off. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com
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