Babysitting 80's style

Babysitting gets a new look when it comes to this film. Adventures in Babysitting (1987) begins with senior Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue) getting stood up by her "too cool" boyfriend at the last minute. Lucky for her the Andersons need a babysitter at the last minute. A mundane evening becomes a rip roaring adventure through the streets of Chicago.

Parker has to keep an eye of Sara (Maia Brewton), a non-stop pre-teen and her brother, Brad (Keith Coogan), a freshman in love with Parker. Parker's best friend Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller) can't stand her mom, "I wish I could just spike her Tab with Draino" so she runs away from home to the big city only to get stuck at the bus station. On a completely different note, possibly the screenwriters of Heathers got the Draino idea from this film? Brenda calls Parker and begs her to come pick her up. The parents are gone, the kids are ready to go, and the station wagon is warmed up but then Daryll (Ryan Coopersmith) shows up. He is Brad's bestfriend and threatens to tell his parents if he isn't allowed to go.

The movie unfolds like a map of the city itself. The group find themselves with a flat tire and are rescued by a man with a hook for a hand. He towing her car to Dawson's garage when he then finds out his wife is cheating on him and takes them along to his house. They hide out in a Cadillac that is in the process of being stolen, they then end up in a chop shop, and narrowly escape by walking a very thin beam above the mobsters' heads. While being chased, the group ducks into the Silver Dollar Room where blues guitarist, Albert Collins insists, "Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues." The group breaks out into a blues type rap about the babysitting blues.

At this point Parker is desperate to get the car and the kids back home. When a gang fight is about to ensue on the subway Parker is brought to a boiling point when the gang leader says, "Don't f**k with the Lords of Hell." To which Parker replies, "Don't f**k with the babysitter." I have to admit she is pretty savvy for a suburban teen in a really scary situation and she has to have the best hair, hands down, for any babysitter I've ever had! Eventually, Parker and company find themselves back at her car and high tail it home just in time.

One thing that I think is a bit annoying about the film is the horrible cityscapes that look completely fake. I presume this was because the film was supposed to based in Chicago but was shot in Toronto. I also found the fact that a tow truck driver would help her for free, or the car thief would protect them, or that the frat boy would loan her $45 after just meeting her (let alone he even has that kind of money on hand) completely absurd. Possibly the director wanted to show that the people of Chicago aren't all that bad? I'm not sure about that.

My other gripe is the whole Playboy magazine thing. Was Playboy a sponsor of the movie because product placement is everywhere in this film. What I am sure of is that this movie is really fun adventure and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a wholesome laugh. Almost 20 years later this film is still funny and entertaining.

Mirror Maze

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) film by Director Jack Clayton is a great family thriller with a bit of fantasy. This film offers some excitement to a little town called Green Town that is visited by the Autumn Carnival. Unfortunately the Autumn Carnival does more than just provide fun, it provides fantasies, dreams, and much more than one life can afford.

Will Holloway (Vidal Peterson) and Jim Nightshade (Shawn Carson) are two 12 year old adventurous boys, who seem to get away with late night outings without their parents noticing. The quickly jumps into explanation of the boys and their fathers – Jim’s always gone on adventures, and Will’s an older man who is the town’s librarian.

Jim is always talking of the adventures his dad is taking in Egypt, and his mother pines away in bed with depression most of the time. While Will is always timid to play anything too rough for fear his dad will get hurt of “old age”.


A mystery carnival unfolds in Green Town, town folk seem to disappear other change – but Will and Jim both know the secrets behind Mr. Dark. Mr. Dark begins his hunt for the boys, ultimately finding them in the library with Mr. Holloway – unraveling the secrets.

Clayton did an excellent job representing the strengths and weaknesses of each character. The overall theme is great for kids, teaching kids the important things in life are worked for and things don’t always have to be perfect on the outside – keep in mind this is a Disney film. The setting was done very well! The small town with all the old time shops offers a very peaceful feel, until the midnight train rocks it. I struggled with the dark running scenes through the fields - I tended to lose the characters. I did really enjoy the wind affects for this film. This really played into the scary scenes and help set the mood for what was to come! The best effect used in this film was the mirror maze. This offered foreshadowing earlier in the film, but then was used as an ending point as well. The intention of looking in the mirror to see who you really are was great! Then (SPOILER ALERT) the break of the mirror by Mr. Holloway to save Will captured the theme well. Character development was lacking overall. It only focused on those affected by the carnival and the two boys. Would have liked to seen more of this in the film. Overall, I did enjoy it and I think this thriller would make it again for children of today. Enough of a thriller to be exciting, but not to scary that the family can’t enjoy on a Friday night.

Look out ... here comes Uncle Buck!

Uncle Buck

Directed by John Hughes and released in 1989, Uncle Buck is a comedy that makes you realize that maybe your family isn't so crazy after all. John Candy stars as Uncle Buck, who is asked at the last minute by his brother and sister-in-law to watch the kids for a few days while they go to see her sick father. Although Buck was not their first choice as a baby-sitter, he drives over in the middle of the night to save the day. When the kids wake up in the morning, they are surprised ... not only to see their parents leaving, but also to meet their uncle for the first time.

The two younger children, Miles (Macaulay Caulkin) and Maizy (Gaby Hoffmann), take a quick liking to their uncle's uniqueness, while the 15 year-old Tia (Jean Louisa Kelly) has a somewhat different idea.

Buck and Tia battle back and forth because Tia thinks her uncle is only trying to ruin her life by being his sloppy, loud, lazy, uneducated self. Not only does he try to stop her from seeing her bum boyfriend, Bug, but he also embarrasses her in front of Bug and her friends by dragging her out of a party and picking her up from school in his, let's just say, NOT the nicest car ever. Of course Buck is just trying to look after his niece, as he knwos Bug is just using Tia for the sex. But Tia, in return, starts rumors about Buck cheating on his girlfriend, Chanice, with a neighbor who lives down the road from the Russells and then arranges for Chanice to show up just in time ... right as Marcie puts the moves on Uncle Buck.After quite a few battles, Buck and Tia see each other's points of view and actually start get getting along. Tia finally realizes what Bug is really looking for, so she thanks Buck for getting him out of her life. Because of Buck, Tia also starts getting along better with her mother. In the end, everyone gets along well and they're a big happy family. A little corny? Yes. A typical family film where everything ends up fine? Yes. A great comedy and truly a great film? YES! Definitely something to watch if you haven't seen it before. Uncle Buck and the crew are a riot!

"We have clearance, Clarence." "Roger, Roger."

Airplane!

With a hit cast including Peter Graves, Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty and Leslie Nielson, this film was expected to be funny. It wasn't, however, expected to be rated #6 on Bravo's funniest 100 movies. Years later, this movie remains one of the funniest ever.

When stewardess Elaine (Hagerty) tries to leave her boyfriend Ted (Hays) because it's just not working out, he decides he won't give up. He follows her on to the plane for the first time since he was a war pilot. After everyone gets sick from eating the food on board, including the flight crew, Ted is forced to fly the plane and land it safely so the sick passengers will survive. This brings back bad memories for him, as he was a failure in the war. He knows that Elaine needs him now more than ever, but is he really the best one to fly the plane? Or would the passengers be better off with the autopilot flying?

This film is by far one of the funniest ever, but I was surprised at how blunt everyone is in the film. It's obvious that Abrahams and Zucker are not afraid of telling it like it is. There are so many sarcastic and aggressive remarks throughout this movie that it's almost offensive. There are quite a few times that the characters have miscommunications so they'll end up saying stupid things to answer questions.

For example, when Dr. Rumack tells Elaine to have the pilot land the plane as soon as possible because a women needs to get to a hospital, Elaine says, "A hospital? What is it?" I'm sure she meant 'what's wrong with the lady?' but instead Rumack answers, "It's a big bulding with patients, but that's not important right now." This type of comedy runs throughout the film. It was funny and made me laugh, but sometimes I wanted to cringe at the things that were said. It's a movie that will make people laugh ... but I wonder if they're laughing WITH the movie or AT it?!

Fun trivia
* The film was made in only 34 days.
* Rumack's last lines, which are repeated three times in the movie (right before they land, during the land, and a few minutes after they land), "I just want to tell you both good luck. We are all counting on you," would later return as his final line in Scary Movie 3, which is also a Zucker film.
* Jim Abrahams in one of the many religious zealot characters seen throughout the film.

Other websites:
www.awesomefilm.com/script/airplane.txt
www. imdb.com/title/tt0080339

Get your aviator sunglasses ready ...

TOP GUN

If you love Tom Cruise, this film is for you. The other members of the cast, including Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards, and Val Kilmer all come together to provide a fun, action-packed film that's almost as easy to fall in love with as Tom Cruise is.

Aver Maverick and Goose are chosen to attend Top Gun, where the finest pilots in the military go to train even more intensely, they set out with their heads held high - maybe a little too high. Maverick is cocky and knows what he wants and knows that he can achieve it. The guys work together to try to accomplish the position of the number one pilot in all of Top Gun. However, this is somewhat difficult for the determined duo because maverick can never seem to listen to instructions. He always wants to do everything his way, including his hot instructor, Charlie. Maverick takes a hard hit when he loses his co-pilot in an accident that wasn't his fault and his girlfriend all in a short amount of time. From here on out, Maverick has to find a way to overcome his sorrow, while trying to get back his girl and keep his name in good standing.

This was the first time I had seen this film and I was not disappointed. I think Top Gun stands the test of time because it proves that action and romance can work well together, even back then, and be quite successful. I would definitely consider this a classic 80s film.

www.starpulse.com/Movies/Top_Gun/Pictures/

www.imdb.com/title/tt0092099

The Enemy of his enemy is his enemy

I have always had a love/hate relationship with comic book films. Most of the time, they are just another action movie looking for an excuse to push the limits on special effects and makeup. Most of the time, this isn't enough to make the movie watchable. Lately, comic book movies have become increasingly bloody. I don't particularly like going to the show to see senseless violence and destruction. I can see enough of that on the 24 hour news networks. However, comic book films' saving grace is the fact that they are almost hyper stylized. This is the case with Dick Tracy.


The plot is forgettable, and the characters are rather one dimensional, but visually, the film is stunning. As a director, Warren Beatty makes you feel as though you've entered the pages of a comic book. The proportions of the world around the characters is off, making them appear larger than life. The colors are much more vivid than anything you would see in the real world, but undoubtedly, it is the makeup that steels the show. Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffmann, Paul Sorvino, and Mandy Patinkin all play mobsters in the film. Under layers of disfiguring makeup, you would never guess it's them.


While I wouldn't call Dick Tracy as a cinematic classic, it was enjoyable. For a film that relies so heavily on visual spectacle, it has held up fairly well to the test of time.

Worth it for the Cheek Chillers!

What a great buddy movie! The cast consists of John Candy as Frank Dooley, a cop framed for a crime he didn't commit. Eugene Levy as the unlikely lawyer, Norman Kane and just for good measure, a very young Meg Ryan as Maggie Cavenaugh. Put these three together and you get a pretty funny film!
This is one of John Candy's earlier films before the likes of Space Balls, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and Uncle Buck. John Candy called on his fellow SCTV buddy who later would become the infamous dad in American Pie, Eugene Levy.

The movie begins with a crime in progress that Dooley happens upon. Turns out the thieves are fellow police officers gone bad! He then gets framed for the theft and eventually fired from his job. Kane is also having a hard time being a defense lawyer and the judge suggest he find another line of work.

Soon they both find themselves enrolled in security guard training at the to become security guards with Guard Dog Security. Training is administered by the lovely Maggie, "Just remember, when you pull the trigger, the bullets come out going very, very fast. So make sure to keep the weapon pointing away from you. Now that's about it. You are now armed... Guards. God help us all." During a nightshift Kane happens upon a theft occurring right under their noses. Kane and Dooley put two and two together and realize that Maggie's dad and the security guard union reps are in on the theft as well. It is now up to Dooley and Kane to take down the bad guys.

Armed and Dangerous is a pretty run of the mill buddy/action film. There is lots of gunfire, car chases, things blowing up, and really bad jokes. One thing that stands out though is Eugene Levy and his character Kane. He has heart and is uncure of himself in the begining. But by the end of the film with the help of Dooley, he is not afraid to be a tough guy. A bonus of the film is seeing John Candy dressed in full drag and Eugene Levy wearing some very revealing chaps!

Spaceballs

I can say, with some certainty, that I am one of the few Americans my age who did not grow up watching Star Wars. My family did not have the collectors' edition of the trilogy. We never watched it together when it was on television. In fact, the first and only time that I ever saw more than clips of the movies was in middle school when some of my friends dragged me to the re-release. While I enjoyed the films, I didn't get as obsessed as everyone around me. Ultimately, I just wasn't interested in the genre.

For this reason, I failed to get much of the humor in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs. While some of the jokes were classic Mel Brooks silliness, the majority of them depended on the fact that the audience was already aware of science fiction classics such as the Star Wars trilogy and the Star Trek series.

For me, he high point of the film was Mel Brooks' Yogurt. While I never got into the science fiction craze, it was impossible to ignore the incessant marketing. Strangely enough, I know people who would love to have their own Spaceballs t-shirt or talking Yogurt doll.

While I didn't necessarily understand all the jokes in the film, the beautiful thing about parodies like this is the fact that they're virtually ageless. As long as science fiction films are popular, especially classics such as Star Wars, there will always be an audience for Spaceballs. However, next time I'm in the mood for a silly Mel Brooks film, I'll pick up Blazing Saddles instead.

Give me my two dollars!

Better Off Dead is the perfect quirky comedy for everyone who loves John Cusack. The plot is typical for a classic 80s teen comedy... boy gets dumped and wants to win girl back. While this itself is rather cliche and shallow, the side characters and subplots make the movie memorable.

Early in the film, Lane Meyer (Cusack) gets dumped by the "love of his life," Beth, because she believes that she can date someone more popular than him, namely Roy Stalin, the captain of the ski team. Lane spends the remainder of the movie attempting to ski the K-12, the most dangerous ski slope in the area.

Lane's family is comedically quirky. Any time his mother (Kim Darby) is on camera, especially if she is concocting something in the kitchen, she steels the scene. The same can be said for Lane's brother, Badger (Scooter Stevens). He spends the entire movie collecting proof of purchases from half eaten cereal boxes to send away for novelty items such as books on how to pick up women and a kit that will make a household vacuum cleaner into a space ship. Oddly enough, all these gadgets work.


Like most 80s films, the main character learns a valuable lesson. He rises to the challenge, takes responsibility for himself, stands up to the bully, dumps the superficial bimbo, and falls in love with the girl next door. If you're looking for any deep meaning or complex plot twists, this is not the movie for you. However, it is just perfect for those days that you want laugh and lose yourself in something mindless.

Love for Dummies

Mannequin (1987) directed by Michael Gottlieb may offer some corny comedy, but not much else.
Jonathan Switcher (Andrew McCarthy) is an average guy who can’t maintain a job because he spends too much time “creating”. He hits a stroke of luck and is given a job as a night stock boy in a deserted department store. One night he stumbles upon a female mannequin he created at an old job. Magically this mannequin, Emma Hesire (Kim Cotrell) becomes human, but only when she is with him. The two spend their night’s gallivanting the store and decorating the storefront windows.

Roxie Shield (Carole Davis) brings action to this film as she leads the pack with her stomping, childish march to destroy all of the female mannequins. I am still not sure how she stormed off with such a tight dress on.

The humor in this film can be found in the corny scenes of Jonathan swooning a “piece of wood” or even driving around town with a mannequin on his motorcycle. We are exposed to a young G.W. Bailey in this film as a neurotic night guard with a dog named Rambo – these scenes will offer a lot of laughter.

This blog would not be complete without the mention of Mr. Hollywood Montrose (Meshach Taylor) and Mrs. Claire Prince Timkin (Estelle Getty). Hollywood was a wild, flaming black man has a comment for everything. The budget must have been blown with his crazy outfits and sunglasses – he had a different set for each scene. Ms. Prince really wasn’t utilized much, but her few lines were comical.

There wasn’t much to the scenery in this film as it was all inside a department store. The use of various departments though offered a little variety. Gottlieb tried to provide a variety in characters appearances, but variety in races were not covered well. Don’t think this film faired well through time. Kim Cotrell has a sexy appeal, but her 80’s outfits and swimsuit scene just don’t work now.

My thoughts after seeing this again many years later … I would probably leave this film on the shelf and move on to something else!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093493/

Major Input!

Major Input
Short Circuit 2 (1988) directed by Kenneth Johnson
Ben Jahrvi (Fisher Stevens) trying to make his way in a metropolis city has landed in a predicament. Jahrvi has a sneaky “business partner Fred Ritter (Michael McKean) who has borrowed money from a bookie, hired homeless people as employers all to make 1,000 robots in 30 days for a department store. Jahrvi and Ritter find themselves in luck with “Johnny 5” comes to visit Jahrvi in the city, ultimately helping them produce the toy robots.
The Sci-Fi side of this film is what will keep you watching. Short Circuit 2 is a sequel to Short Circuit – the creation of robots as defense weapons. “Johnny 5 is alive” and becomes the major character for the sequel.

The side stories of business scheming, romance and “making it in the US” seem to get lost in the film. The criminal storyline and how Johnny 5 is the hero will take over – but the kids will love it. Johnny 5 is exciting to watch and listen too as he offers a definition to everything! His speed reading and constant request for “input” is hilarious – no one can handle that much in one day!

Director Kenneth Johnson does an excellent job offering a variety of characters in this film as well as covering all spectrums of race and classes. He presents some taboo topics of sexuality and the self help books epidemic that took over in the 80’s. Johnson’s approach to the affects television had on viewers is interesting. He displayed Mr. Rogers and some Western flicks – but then had Johnny repeating lines later in the movie. At one point a transformation takes place and Johnny 5 becomes Rambo 5.

The abuse towards Johnny 5 will tug at heartstrings, but the use of a robot as the heroic figure is new and exciting. Not sure the flick will carry viewers through time, and I would rate the first Short Circuit much better – but this will be one’s that kids will love and can watch with little concern from parents.

A great link: Johnny-Five.com

With all the lights on

Before Mr. & Mrs. Smith, there was Prizzi's Honor. The premise is basically the same... Boy meets girl, boy marries girl, boy and girl find out that they married hitmen, boy and girl are hired to kill each other. It's a reasonable dark twist to the modern romantic comedy. While both Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner do a decent job as the film's star-crossed lovers, Angelica Huston steels every scene she's in as Maerose Prizzi, the disowned granddaughter of mob boss Don Corrado Prizzi.

As a young woman, Maerose lived a fantasy lifestyle. Her family was rich and powerful. She never had to go without anything. Naturally, she fell in love with Charley Partanna(Nicholson), a childhood friend and current hit man for her family. Unfortunately, jealousy not only destroyed the couple, but destroyed Maerose's relationship with her family. Years later, when she discovers that Charley has fallen in love with another woman, she has the opportunity to take her revenge. Maerose sets the wheels in motion that makes Charley have to choose between his family and the family, culminating in a tragic end for everyone but Maerose.

I found this film rather schizophrenic. It encompassed many genres, but never really fully committed to any of them. It was too slow to be a dark comedy and unplausable as a romance. However, it was too satirical and romantic to be considered a mob film either.

What did you expect...It's a movie about morons

Morons From Outer Space

The joke behind Morons From Outer Space is not the idiotic nature of the four aliens(Joanne Pearce, Jimmy Nail, Paul Brown, and Mel Smith) that crash their rented space ship in England, but the fact that the Earthlings who discover them are just as moronic. The aliens look human and even speak English. They have no profound intelligence, no secret message, actually they act and speak as if they were bearly educated. And yet they are treated like a species of higher intelligence simply because they are from another planet. What the film does is show the differences in the behavior of The United States and England during the Cold War.
The ship crashes in England and right as the British Commander Grenville Matterson (Dinsdale Landon) and his people come on the scene quietly, the United States army, headed by a CIA Colonel Raymond Laribee (James B. Sikking) comes in with guns blazing. The Americans are aggressive and the British take a wait and see attitude, while the aliens become instantly famous media darlings.
Beatleesque alienmania ensues and soon the aliens are brought to America to star in a concert at Madison Square Gardens. Decked out in glam rock apparel(in the spirit of David Bowie and Kiss) Their lack of talent and intelligence is completely ignored, because they fit the right image for the right time. Of course, as soon as they reach the pinnacle of fame, it's time to leave. Their fifteen minutes is up, and they must return to their average lives on their home planet.
Written by Mel Smith (The Princess Bride) and Griff Rhys Jones, Morons From Outer Space attempts the dry humor we expect from the British, but ultimately fails through lack of purpose. The film does show how idiotic we humans can be when we idolize images, and make assumptions about people who are different.

"Why don't you make like a tree......and get outta here!"

Back to the Future II(1989)

Back to the Future Part II is my favorite in the series. The film is the most vital to the series because it is the one that connects the third with the first through storyline. It definitely stands up overtime. It has action, adventure, comedy, and it is overall just a fun film to watch. It is totally an 80’s film for a couple of reasons, the first part of the film takes place in they year 2015, and includes, flying cars, spandex, tight jeans, and hover boards. We are still not anywhere close to getting fly cars yet, but this is fun to watch because of what they thought might happen.Judgment Day according to the Terminator was going to happen in 1996. Back to the Future II recreates the entire town from the original “Back to the Future” but with a futuristic spin, and then recreates the entire town back the way it originally was when Marty first goes back in time. It also has lots of other pokes back at the 80’s, such as with “Café 80’s” where Marty eats , the floor is checkerboard, and they are playing Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” So I would recommend this film to everyone, you should definitely see the first film before you see this one though. It is best if you go “back”and watch all three in one sitting or over the course of two days, because you will notice a lot of connections with people in Back to the Future, II and III.

Goonies never say die!!!!!!!

The Goonies 1985

The Goonies is an immortal classic, and it is one of my personal favorite movies. The Goonies is a prime example of blending genres well. It is a family film that combines adventure and comedy. The Goonies is basically a story about good versus evil and the roles are played by a principal cast. The “good” is a group of young boys who refer to themselves as “The Goonies.” The Goonies gang consists of two brothers Mikey Walsh (Sean Astin), Brand Walsh (Josh Brolin), a chubby boy named Chunk (Jeff Cohen) that creates most of the comedy, Mouth (Corey Feldman), and Data (Jonathan Ke Quan). The conflict is that an “evil” corporate developer has bought out the neighborhood the Goonies live in and is planning to demolish their homes. Luckily, the boys stumble upon “One Eyed Willie’s” treasure map that could lead them to a treasure big enough to buy their houses back.
The film follows the Goonies through their treasure quest. Along the way some of the boys have romances with friends Stef Steinbrenner (Martha Plimpton) and Andy Carmichael (Kerri Green). They have to stop the other villains the Fratelli brothers and the Fratelli brother’s mother from capturing the treasure before them. In the end the Goonies capture the treasure, save the neighborhood, and become unexpected heroes. The boys also grew up a lot on their “Indiana Jones like” treasure hunt because they had to face some of their greatest fears that included booby traps, pirates, puzzles, the Fratellis, and many other unimaginable things. The film is packed full of catchy eighties music, and beautiful scenery of Astoria, Oregon. Suspension of disbelief is not an issue in the film, and the mild use of special effects does not overpower the acting or the great story of goodness triumphing over evil.

The Dark Crystal

~Another world, another time, in the age of wonder. A thousand years ago, this land was green and good, until the crystal cracked~


One of Jim Henson's most amazing creations, I found myself longing to revisit the world of the Dark Crystal. A classic take of good and evil, it tells the tale of Jen, the last of the Gelfling race. There are two ruling races in the world - the Skeksies and the Mystics. They were formed when the Dark Crystal cracked. The Mystics are good and wise, and large (they reminded me of old men with bad hair and poor posture). The Skekses are also large, but have sharp, pointed faces - much like vultures. The story follows Jen on his adventure to find the missing shard of the dark crystal and to heal it - as the prophecy foretold (when isn't there a prophecy in a fantasy movie). He ventures off, hotly persued by the minions of the Skekses, manages to find a love interest in Kira (the other last gelfing), falls in love, gets the shard, meets Aghra(the keeper of the Shard), runs around, meets the banished skekses, goes to the castle where the Dark crystal is held - drama, drama, drama..and tada! At the last moment before certain doom, he jams that crystal shard in the dark crystal and makes the world right again. Lots of pretty lights shine and you are left feeling good about the world.

Far and away, the best thing about this movie is the voice acting. If you turned off the video and just listened, the story would work just as well. Not to discount all of the work by the puppeteers, but the voice actors (to include the writer and the director of the film) made the characters dance. The depth of character in sound reminded me of old time radio, when stories were told with your ear and imagination, not fed to you by a television.

There were moments with the music when I felt like I was watching an 80’s movie, but music is usually the unfortunate part about a creation that dates it (that and hair, but the haircut of the gelflings was sufficiently crap, so it was universal for any age).

My experience seeing this as an adult doesn’t differ much from when I first watched it as a kid. I still think that Aghra is scary as hell but funny (and she’s not wearing a bra - something the adult in me notices), and I still want a Fizzgig of my own. He is Kira’s little companion and protector. This is a film that holds up, with a message of the power of good and leaves you with a feeling of hope. If that doesn’t tantalize you - just watch the movie for the puppet work, which will knock your socks off.

High School is so dramatic

Breakfast Club is a John Hughes film about teen-age kids who sit around on Saturday whining about their lives in detention at their high school library.

Actually, this movie has a deeper meaning.

Each one of the teens come from different family situations and fit into a specific click in school, so none of them really know each other in the beginning. The teacher assigns them to write a “who am I?” one thousand word essay.


The bad boy of the group, John begins to start trouble and teases the others. The five eventually open up due to his obnoxiousness and share all of their anxieties and pressure in life and end up becoming friends.

It seems as though in one afternoon, clicks in school are united and they all realize how much more alike they are than previously thought. They all have the same issues with their parents that bring out emotions; as Allison says, “My home life is very unsatisfying.”

In the end, tears are dried and they all have the geeky kid write one essay that explains the moral of the story: teenagers are misunderstood by adults and they feel pressure to fit into a certain mold at school, but really they all want the same things out of life.

Hormones also fly between a few of the characters and there is an overly dramatic kissing scene in the end. This movie is great; it has a good message and is done really well to get the message across.

I did think at times, it was kind of boring and the ending was cheesy, but if I was watching this as a high schooler in the 80’s I think I would feel differently. I will say this, had I of known in one day of detention I could have the chance to get a diamond, makeover, boyfriend, pot and the smart guy to do my homework while my teacher sits in the basement with the custodian drinking Pabst…I would have gone out of my way to be bad in high school.