Take Me Back to the 80's

Directed by Stanley Kubrick Released June 13, 1980 Novel Written by Stephen King  Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future." After a much needed break, I am back again with more 80s movie blogs! This new list of movies is a mix of movies that I have seen and some that I haven't. Since these are not my top 80s movies, chances are I am going to be critiquing them harder. So let's get started. This is only my second time viewing The Shining. Part of this is because I normally am not a fan of horror/thriller movies. While I have gotten more accustom to thrillers, especially psychological thrillers, they are normally not my go to movie. Now, on IMDB, this movie is listed as a drama and horror movie, but to m...

Directed by John Hughes Released August 18, 1989 Written by John Hughes Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "Bachelor and all round slob, Buck, babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her cute younger brother and sister." What is there is say about this movie? I guess the best thing to say is it is clearly a character based movie. It is not the story, the sets, the action, or anything like that. This movie was clearly made based on a character and his life.  Uncle Buck is the uncle that we all wish we had and that we wish we didn't have. Played by the genius John Candy (I already praised him in my Spaceballs  blog), he is a special kind of person. He is clearly a mess, both as a person and his life in general. He doesn't have a real job, his relationship is well awkward, and his own brother doesn't really trust him. Buck seems like the slacker kid in school who some how found a way to con his way through life without being b...

Directed by Barry Levinson Released December 16, 1988 Written by Barry Morrow Screenplay by Ronald Bass & Barry Morrow Movie Synopsis Courtesy by IMDB "Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt's father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country." It is no secret that Tom Cruise is one of the staples of the 80's, so it was only a matter of time before I got to one of his movies. With that said, though, I don't think this is a Tom Cruise movie. I think this movie is all about Dustin Hoffman.  Making a movie like this can be very challenging. When playing a character who has a disability/impairment/mental problem/etc. you never want to offend anyone or get information wrong. It is important that you try to act and stay true to a character without making them into a joke. There is a very fine line when making a movie like this and I think that Dustin Hoffman executed his role professionally an...

Directed by Rob Reiner Released October 9, 1987 Written by William Goldman Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "While home sick in bed, a young boy's grandfather reads him a story called The Princess Bride." Fighting, schemes, love, magic, war, royalties, jokes, henchmen, death, this movie really does have it all. No wonder it is a classic that people still rave about even to this day. The Princess Bride is one of those movies that your girlfriend wants to watch and you men don't mind because it actually is more than a love story. You find the jokes entertaining and the fighting scenes aren't too bad either. The funny thing is that idea is exactly how the boy at the beginning was looking at it, that it is "a kissing book." But by the end, both Grandpa and the boy show that it is more than just that. Speaking of that, I actually really enjoy that aspect of the movie, having this be a real story that is being read. It is different than...

Directed by Penny Marshall Released June 3, 1988 Written by Gary Ross & Anne Spielberg Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "After wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult." It was as I was prepping this blog, by watching movie clips, that I remember how great this movie is. Not because of the cinematography, or the production quality, or the storyline, largely the acting, but the big (no pun intended) reason is because it just makes me happy. Big is one of those movies that reminds you what it was like to be a kid and it shows you what kind of adult you want to be. It is a movie that allows you to see a lot of yourself in the characters both good and bad.  The main point I am talking about with this is the idea that if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. That is the kind of philosophy I am trying to live my life with, as a second semester senior trying t...

Directed by Emile Ardolino Released August 21, 1987 Written by Eleanor Bergstein Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "Spending the summer as a Catskills resort with her family, Frances 'Baby' Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle." I would say that Dirty Dancing is another classic in terms of movies as a whole. It is one of those movies where even if you haven't seen it (which is crazy to think about) you at least have heard of it and know about the iconic dance scene. But we will discuss that scene later. Something interesting to think about is the fact that this movie was suppose to take place in 1963, but was filmed in the late 80s. I never knew that, that was the time period for the movie! Thinking about it now, it makes sense, but that is not the initial vibe I get. I think that is in part to the hair styles and the clothes seeming very 80s. Just look at the workout/dance clothes that Baby wears, it is...

Directed by Mel Brooks Released June 24, 1987 Written by Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan, & Ronny Graham Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "Planet Spaceballs' President Skroob sends Lord Dark Helmet to steal plant Druidia's abundant supply of air to replenish their own, and only Lone Starr can stop them." I remember the reason I first watched this movie was because of a recommendation from a friend. I had seen Mel Brooks' film Robin Hood Men in Tights ( which is easily one of my favorite films) so I figured this movie might not be so bad. The only thing that I was worried about was the fact that I had never seen Star Wars before (I still haven't). Sci-Fi movies just aren't my thing, except when it comes to Spaceballs. Spaceballs is the exception to the rule because it doesn't feel like a Sci-Fi movie, it just feels like a comedy where everyone is making fun of movies, Star Wars,  and cracking jokes about each other. The whole goal ...