I've always been ambivalent about Babes In Toyland. I know it exists in several forms, including the charming 1961 movie starring Annette Funicello and Tommy Sands and the original 1934 movie of the same title, which was based on a 1903 operetta. Then there's the 1986 Babes In Toyland, starring Drew Barrymore, Keanu Reeves, Eileen Brennan, Richard … Continue reading Keanu Reeves Sings
Hacking Is Fun
We all know there was a plethora of sci-fi films in the late seventies and early eighties or so, many of them more or less trying their hardest to rip off Star Wars. Among the throng was 1980's Saturn 3, which went a bit more ham than its counterparts as well as copying other sci-fi films. Just a bit. … Continue reading Hacking Is Fun
Unicorns, Red Bull, and Well-Endowed Trees
Everyone is celebrating the fortieth anniversary of Back To the Future and I'm right there with them, but I stumbled on Rankin-Bass's The Last Unicorn the other day while puttering around Tubi and a light went on. I haven't seen this movie in almost forty years. It would have been on TV or VHS, either … Continue reading Unicorns, Red Bull, and Well-Endowed Trees
Contractual Obligations Are So Romantic
Are we back? We seemed to get a slew of adventurous romcoms in the early 1980s, probably because a lot of people wanted to ride the Indiana Jones wave, and one of the most famous of that time was 1984's Romancing the Stone, a fiery and funny send-up of romance novels. Those who have seen that … Continue reading Contractual Obligations Are So Romantic
So-Bad-It’s Bad Shakespeare
Happy birthday to the Bard! It seems odd to say, but not every Shakespeare adaptation is wonderful and worthy of attention, even when it features topflight talent and suitably melodious classical delivery. Sometimes they just stink. The 1980 BBC TV movie of The Tempest is unfortunately one of those. It mostly sticks to the plot, and the … Continue reading So-Bad-It’s Bad Shakespeare
I’ve Never Been To San Bernadino
Eeeep. So-bad-they're-good movies and food seem synonymous, reluctantly so, with food used for various nefarious and unthinkable purposes. For the very first So Bad It's Good Blogathon, if anyone remembers, I reviewed Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, an hilariously terrible cautionary tale that ended on a really weird note. This year we're plunging into the strangely … Continue reading I’ve Never Been To San Bernadino
Where’s Your Bim Mark?
Some movies have it all. They really do. 1980's The Apple does. *Insert sheepish chortle here* We're just going to jump in, folks. The movie opens in 1994 with a battle of the bands, where literally everyone is wearing lamé, spangles, and garish makeup and surrounded by cardboard triangles covered in tinfoil. It's like Tron had a head-on … Continue reading Where’s Your Bim Mark?
I Have the Power…Kinda
Here come the B's... What Gen Xer doesn't remember the original He-Man cartoon? And the toy line? Everyone I knew at school, including me, were huge fans and would play He-Man at recess all the time. And of course, we all remember the 1987 live action film, Masters of the Universe. The question is, though, do we really … Continue reading I Have the Power…Kinda
Are You Ready To Go Back To Titanic?
Time for more badness... Yep, we're going back to Titanic again, only this time she's not sinking. The 1980 film, Raise the Titanic, which is loosely based on the highly successful Clive Cussler novel of the same name, is a tale of Cold War-era derring-do, a guy named Dirk Pitt, and firm suspension of disbelief. The … Continue reading Are You Ready To Go Back To Titanic?
Chomp, Chomp, Chomp
Nice to see Mr. Johnson again... I'm starting to see a pattern in my reviews lately, kind of, and that is American actors starring in foreign-to-them films. We all know how this goes. They speak English while everyone around them utters their lines in their native languages, which only get dubbed into English in post-production. … Continue reading Chomp, Chomp, Chomp
Wax On, Wax Off
The 1984 Karate Kid is one of my absolute favorite back-to-school movies, well, it and the Harry Potter series. Every year we watch these at my house sometime around the first weeks of the new school year. While Kid is a classic anyway, anyone who lived through the nineteen eighties will remember how much Gen-Xers would quote … Continue reading Wax On, Wax Off
We’re On Our Way To France
I'm so glad travel is basically back to normal, those stupid inflated fuel prices notwithstanding. This summer we're staying pretty close to home because the cheapest gas in my part of Placer County is currently around seven dollars a gallon, and any traveling we do will have to be creative. Among other things we'll be … Continue reading We’re On Our Way To France
Stage To Screen: On Golden Pond
Every family has its problems. We all know this. We also all know that whether or not a family deals with its problems is another matter, and Ernest Thompson's On Golden Pond is a rather gorgeous and slightly tempestuous look at aging and reconciliation. Yeah, we've had a lot of family movies and dysfunction type stories … Continue reading Stage To Screen: On Golden Pond
It’s A Movie…Sort Of
Happy Valentine's Day! I've got a day off of work today. Don't know why, but I'll take it. As we all know, randomness can a beautiful thing. Or not. When the 1988 rom-com, Vibes came up in my Amazon Prime suggested viewing list, I was instantly curious. Who wouldn't be? This movie teams Jeff Goldblum with … Continue reading It’s A Movie…Sort Of
Five Musically Important Scenes In “Raiders Of the Lost Ark”
Here we are... One of John Williams's best-known works is 1981's Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was the first time George Lucas's iconic character was seen by the public, and as anyone who has watched the film can attest, it's something special. Directed by Steven Spielberg, it hits all the right … Continue reading Five Musically Important Scenes In “Raiders Of the Lost Ark”
Page To Screen: The NeverEnding Story
I don't know about anyone else, but one of my favorite movies as a tween was 1984's The NeverEnding Story. Jolly pink Luckdragons. Racing snails. Cute young warriors. A geeky kid who loses himself in a book. And we can't forget that cool earworm of a theme song by Limahl and Beth Anderson, the latter of … Continue reading Page To Screen: The NeverEnding Story
Page To Screen: Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday
Who's been to Cannery Row? For those who haven't, it was a group of fish canneries, flophouses and dive bars on Ocean View Avenue in Monterey, California. It was a tough, wild, colorful place, and its king was marine biologist Ed Ricketts, best friend of John Steinbeck and collector of strange scientific samples. Of course, … Continue reading Page To Screen: Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday
Taking Up Room 