The 80s Club

It’s time to wrap up the Harrison Ford poll. I was hoping to make it to at least 20 votes. Ah, well…

Looks like, as far as you guys are concerned, Ford is safe in his role for a good long while, though a few of us wonder how they’re going to make the new film stand up to the Indiana Jones reputation all these years later. It’ll be interesting to see!

We loved Forest Whitaker as the giggling Pfc. Garlick in Good Morning, Vietnam, and were moved by him as Cuffey in the epic drama, North and South. And now, two decades later, Forest Whitaker is honored with the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in The Last King of Scotland.

Congratulations, Forest! We are so proud and excited for you!

By the way, did you see all the 80’s looking dresses on the red carpet? From the big bows, to the metallic brightly colored dresses, to the short in front/long in back gowns, the 80’s seemed alive and well tonight.

Bald Man and I watched Superman Returns tonight. I’m not usually much of a comic book/sci-fi kinda girl, but this one was fun. I do remember watching a few of the late 70s/early 80s Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve as Superman. It was kinda scary how very much the new Superman (Brandon Routh) looked like Christopher Reeve in a few of the scenes.

And, of course, the special effects have come such a long way in a short 20 years. At one point, when Lois and Superman were flying off into the sunset, Bald Man even commented, “Hey, you can’t even see the strings anymore!” :D

Welcome back to the Best of the Worst of the 80’s. Looks like we’ve got Rick Moranis up again! What it is about him and best of the worst? Do you think he’ll have a movie in when we do a plain old “best of the 80’s” survey?

Anyway, this pick comes from William Lehman who writes for b5media over at Artist Hideout. About Spaceballs , William says, “hmmm I’d classify it under best of the worst or worst of the best, you decide…”

Being that it was a spoof of a sci-fi flick, one of my least favorite genres anyway, I’d stick it in a best of the worst. I do remember it being kind of funny, though.

What do you think? Did you enjoy this one?

Thanks, William, for participating!

Not only did John Hughes quite ably portray the fears, desires, hopes and challenges of the 80’s teenager, he also did a phenomenal job of presenting the worst in the villians of his films. Steve Spears has a great list of Hughes’ villians and all of their awful attributes. Head on over there and join the conversation in the comments section, and let me know who you chose as your best of the worst villians!

As for me? Most definitely Hardy Jenns (played by Craig Sheffer) from Some Kind of Wonderful. He had a way of telling you that you were nothing, and making you believe it was true. Fortunately, Duncan had his own unique way of putting Hardy in his place. :)

via: PopCandy

ht: Arieanna

“The Lost Boys 2?,” you ask. “Yes,” I answer. “Seriously?,” you ask? “Yes,” I answer. “How do you know?” you ask. “Because I read it on the internet, so it must be true.” I answer. “But WHY?” you ask?

And there you have me stumped.

But, it does appear that there is a sequel being made to that crazy 80’s movie filled with the acting talents of Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland (he has a reeaaally long legal name, go check it out), Jami Gertz (really? didn’t remember that myself), Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, and Edward Herrmann.

What in the world were Dianne Wiest and Edward Herrmann doing in that movie? Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I remembered it? May have to put that on my “rewatch” list.

What 80’s movies do you think could be a good inspiration for a sequel now?

So, I was talking to my friend Jackie the other day. She made a snarky comment on one of my posts (soooo unlike her, yeah right), and I said, “Why I oughta…” Partly, I’m sure, because Jonic had said it to me the day before, and it was apparently still stuck in my head. Anyway, (I did have a point here, right?), it immediately made Jackie think of Peggy Sue Got Married. I told her I always thought of The Honeymooners, thinking it was one of Ralph Kramden’s (Jackie Gleason) famous lines. Research has proven me wrong again, though, darn it. Of course, as you probably already know, it was a famous line of Moe (of The Three Stooges). So, I’ve set the record straight, now.

Anyway, Peggy Sue is a fun, goofy movie that I have a blast watching, though I am a sucker for those high school dramas (even if they are in a “back in time” fashion). Kathleen Turner, Nicolas Cage, Helen Hunt, Jim Carrey and many others join to create a fun and dramatic cast for the “blast to the past,” movie.

I’ve heard, too, that Cage showed up for the role with the (initially poorly received) odd voice, without the knowledge of the rest of the cast (I don’t remember if it mentioned whether or not the director, his uncle Francis Ford Coppola, knew beforehand).

One of my favorite bits from the movie is when Peggy Sue laughs at her dad when he buys an Edsel. Another is when she warns her little sister (played by Sophia Coppola) not to eat the red m&ms because they would make her sick. At the time the movie was released (1986), there were no red m&ms, and it was weird to think of them in the mix with our greens, tans, yellows, etc. I wonder if kids seeing the movie now are confused with that line and worry about the current red m&ms! I do miss those tan ones, though.

Okay, I must have my finger on the pulse of the American culture, or something like that. I’d just written the title of this post when Terry Moran (I really like him) came on Nightline talking about action heroes coming back to relive their roles of decades past. Weird.

I’ve already mentioned that Sylvester Stallone is currently in theatres reprising his role as Rocky Balboa, and that Harrison Ford is filming another Indiana Jones (did you vote in that poll in the pink sidebar on the right? :D ). Apparently, Stallone will also return to the big screen as Rambo next year.

Really, didn’t we think that we’d seen the last of these characters? At least, with their original actors portraying them? I did. I wonder what pulls them in. The memories? The “last chance” to play their characters? The money? What do you think?

According to Nightline, Bruce Willisis filming a new Die Hard (Live Free or Die Hard). Never did get into those.

The word out is that Indiana JonesPart 4, will begin filming in 2007. And you’re wondering, aren’t you, who will play the lead role? None other than……Harrison Ford!

Yep, Harrison Ford will reprise the role he last played in the 1980’s. It’ll be interesting to see the plot of the new film, and whether or not it is catered to an older, more mature Ford. The working title, according to IMDb, is Indiana Jones and the Ravages of Time, and it is also rumored that Sean Connery and Natalie Portman will be appearing in the film.

A bit of info from the Pantagraph:

The fourth chapter of the “Indiana Jones” saga, which will hit theaters in May 2008, has been in development for over a decade with several screenwriters taking a crack at the script, but it only recently gained momentum.

Lucas kept mum about the plot, but said that the latest action flick will be a “character piece” that will include “very interesting mysteries.”

“I think it’s going to be really cool,” Lucas said.

I really had no desire to watch any of them when I was younger. Then I worked with a guy who thought they were the best films ever recorded, and he lent them all to me so that I would watch them. And I did. And I liked them. And I don’t think I ever got his copy of the third one back to him. That was about 15 years ago.

A tip just for you: Don’t ever lend me anything. I’ll break it, or lose it, or just forget that I have it…..or where I put it. Yeah, just don’t.

So, I’m gonna use this little bit of news to inspire my first poll here at The 80’s Club. So, Please Please Please vote over in the pink sidebar on the right! I hate to beg, but…..oh yeah right. I’m begging! Please join me in a vote. Thanks!

ht: My friend Jackie who needs a blog so that I can link to her.

We were visiting at my mom’s tonight and Annie (1982) came on the TV. I remember seeing it in the movie theater with my mom, my friend, and her mom. I loved it and sang, “Tomorrow” probably for a week straight. Man, that must’ve been annoying to everyone else in the house. Hmmm…

Anyway, my oldest is just slightly younger now than I was when I first saw it, and I think she’s seen it at grandma’s before, so I thought it would be fun to sit and watch a bit of it with her. Wow, it is so completely different what you catch in a movie with a few decades of life’s observations behind you!

We couldn’t stay long enough to finish the whole thing, but the parts that I saw were as fun as I remembered. Carol Burnett was great, and I remember her character, Miss Hannigan, being as mean as I’d recalled, but who knew she was so risque. Yowza. And I didn’t remember Annie saying the word, “crap” when singing to poor, abused Sandy.

Of all the things money can buy these days, too bad a little of our childhood innocence isn’t one of them! I’m hoping that, since I didn’t pick up on those things when I was a kid, neither will my daughter. /me keeps my fingers crossed