The movie business is cut-throat so at sad times like the recent death of Heath Ledger, credit is due to Warner Brothers who have made their Batman: The Dark Knight website a simple tribute to Heath (who plays the Joker). This at a time when the studio would normally be promoting the movie at every opportunity.

Screenshots taken directly from http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/.

Well done Warner Bros and it is nice to see commercial marketing take a back seat.

Last week was the sad news that promising young actor Brad Renfro (The Client, Sleepers, The Bully) had been found dead with many websites highlighting his battles with drink and drugs. Today we get more bad news that Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain, 10 Things I hate about You, Knights Tale) has been found dead. Initial reports on BBC News suggested that drugs could well of been involved here as well.

Both actors had successful careers which would surely have only got better. They both starred in some memorable movie moments - who can forget Heath Ledger singing Cant Take My Eyes Of Off You in 10 Things I Hate About You - and put in some award winning performances in their short lives.

It is also worth remembering Brad Renfro played in a school production for DARE, whose aim is to teach youngsters about the dangers of drugs - unfortunate that Brad himself did not heed these warnings

I remember back in 1993 hearing the news that River Phoenix (one of my all time favourite actors) had died from a drug induced heart attack outside Johnny Depps’ Viper Room nightclub. It seems that today’s young actors haven’t learnt the lessons that drugs don’t work and do kill. It seems that all the fame and fortune that comes from movies may be too much for some.

Here’s hoping that the new generation of actors are more sensible and we can stop seeing senseless wastes of lives like this.

RIP Brad Renfro and Heath Ledger.

When I was growing up I always said I would never ‘get old’ and would be in to the latest gizmos, gadgets, music and films. However as time went by I have stayed firmly an 80’s man. It was the main decade I grew up in and in my opinion was the decade of the best music and some of the best films. It was the era the terchnology started to make its presence felt, but not to the extent now that it is possible to create music or film without a humans touch.

As many who know me will be aware I am a big film fan, and have been collecting films first on video and now DVD for years (I bought my first DVD player in 1998). Luckily many of the movies from my youth are now available on DVD at very cheap prices (£2-£5 per movies), with the movie series also available in box sets. This has allowed me to get movies like Back To The Future trilogy, Gremlins box set and the Lethal Weapon series cheapily to replace the VHS videos I gave away a year ago (when I decided not to replace my worn out video player). Unfortunately there are still some movies and TV shows that I would like to buy which have not (and in some cases are not) been released in the UK - Doogie Howser MD, Home Improvement etc.

Since buying the Gremlins box set a couple of weeks ago I have watched both movies a number of times. They are classic movies with some very ‘un-american’ humour. Parts like the liquidized gremlin, out of control stairlifts, talking gremlins, ‘the Peltzer Pet’ and gizmo on a mission with his black arm band and red bandana have me laughing everytime. This, like many 80’s movies should be required viewing (although I know many of the established movie critics will probably disagree with me)

My favourite movies from the 80’s are

• Back To The Future Trilogy
• Gremlins 1 and 2
• The Breakfast Club
• National Lampoons Vacation Series
• Lethal Weapon Series
• Stand By Me
• Running on Empty

Most of these movies also spawned some of the best music from the 80’s - most being rock ballads. Songs like Power of Love by Heuy Lewis and the News and Don’t You Forget About Me by Simple Minds remain firmly in my mind as classics and are guaranteed to be on my MP3 player all the time.

I wonder what decade everyone else remembers as the best, and what your top movies are?

I am also looking for movie reviewers for a new web site I am creating. The criteria for a reviewer is just an interest in movies. I am after your feelings about the movie and what you liked and disliked about it. If you are interested then let me know.