Modern Girls (1986)

I love films of the 80s—the cheesier the better, but Modern Girls is one of the worst films I’ve ever watched. The bad thing is that it has all the potential in the world: hot girls, some good music (Depeche Mode), fast cars, and LA. Margo (Daphne Zuniga, Melrose Place), CeCe (Cynthia Gibb, Fame the series), and Kelly (the extremely talented, Virginia Madsen, Sideways) are twenty-something singles and roommates. This is one of the first 80s films I’ve seen that has three women as the main characters with a male sidekick. Clifford (Clayton Rohner, Just One of the Guys) is a nerdy, nice guy, who falls for Kelly. Cliffy, CeCe, and Margo spend an entire night chasing after Kelly, whose out on the town mourning her two-timing boyfriend. The best parts of the movie are the LA club scenes: the bar décor at Club Voodoo is outrageous and check out those crazy 80s outfits . . . ah, memories. During the course of the night, CeCe meets rock star Bruno X (also played by Clayton Rohner—I know, I know), and they fall crazy in love. Of course, these two lovers lose each other and we follow CeCe running into the streets and every club they pass, screaming for Bruno. Gibb couldn’t have struggled with learning her lines for this film, because she repeats them over and over again. Margo and Clifford hate each other from the start, but that is only a guise for how they truly feel. There are a few sort-of-funny scenes—like the food fight, but very few. As the film title suggests, this is an attempt to show strong, young women who can stand on their own two feet without a man. In the end, CeCe and Bruno X are reunited. Even though, this rich, “sexy,” rock star offers her the world, CeCe decides she likes her life just like it is, nixing the princely rescue for more wild and crazy nights with her friends. The retro clips of MTV are great. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_PPhc55TQU.

Big is about a thirteen year old Josh Baskin (Tom Hanks) who makes a wish to be big on a carnival wizard game, because he was humiliated while trying to impress a girl at the carnival and thinks that growing up will solve his problems. When he wakes up the next morning he finds out that he's grown to about 30 years old. A funny scene is when his mom freaks out at the stranger in her house that is actually her son. Josh has to convince his best friend the he’s who he says he is so that he will accompany him into New York City on a quest to find the carnival machine. Once he finds the machine he will hopefully be able to get his youth back. He finds that it will take a few weeks to track it down so he gets a job at a toy company.

I was very impressed with how well Tom Hanks was able to capture the child like innocence in his character. Everything from the way he carried himself to his facial expressions perfectly exemplified the spirit of a child. I loved watching this movie as a kid because I always thought it would be so cool to be an adult just for a few days. I also like how the film was able to reveal how adults could behave in places like the office if they had a pure heart like the heart of a child’s. I like that Josh has to navigate the adult world with the mind of a child. In doing so he realizes that he is missing the fun and struggles of being a youth and that a great part of his life would be missing if he were to choose to remain an adult.

Big is one of the greatest movies ever simply because of the idea of a kid trying to be an adult and an adult still trying to hang on to being a kid, and all that things that Josh gets to experience while doing that.

Revenge of the Nerds is the ultimate underdog story. The story begins with Louis and his buddy Gilbert leave for there first year in college. The two nerds both are eagerly entering their freshman year of college. As soon as they get there they are categorized as nerds and are kicked out of their rooms and must sleep in the gym with all the other nerds. A few of the boys decide to form their own fraternity, Lambda Lambda Lambda. Through the fraternity the boys create great friendships and get back at the Jocks that have made fun of them all their lives. In the end, the nerd gets the cheerleader and the guys come out on top.

Gross-out jokes, sexual situations, and all sorts of other crazed perversions fuel the entire film. The movie is a success because the cast is highly likeable on both the nerd and the jock side. Naturally the audience roots for the nerds because they are the underdogs but the crazed idiotic football players are also very fun to laugh at. The modern social class system is represented greatly in this film with the jocks being the hierarchy. This movie is appealing to a vast group of people because everyone knows what it feels like to be treated with disrespect just for being themselves. The film is packed with hilarious scenes including my favorite scene where the nerds perform a spectacular song and dance routine using computers and sound effects. This movie is a hilarious underdog story that everyone should see. Stay away from the sequels because nothing compares to the original.

Memorable Quotes:
Lewis: Jocks only think about sports, nerds only think about sex.
Stan Gable: What are you looking at, nerd?
Booger: I thought I was looking at my mother's old douche-bag, but that's in Ohio.
Lamar Latrell, Tri-Lam: Clap your hands everybody, and everybody clap your hands. We're Lambda Lambda Lambda and Omega Mu. We come here on stage tonight to do our show for you. We got a rockin rhythm and a hi-tech sound that'll make you move your body down to the ground. We got Poindexter on the violin, and Lewis and Gilbert will be joining. We got Booger Presley on the mean guitar and a rap by little ol' me Lamar. We got Takashi beating on his gong, the boys and the mu's are clapping along. And just when you thought, ya seen it all, along comes a Lambda four foot tall. So won't ya come on out here on the floor, so we can move our bodies, like never before.

Caddyshack is a 1980 U.S. comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe and Bill Murray.

Danny Noonan is a young caddy at Bushwood Country Club who has no idea about where his future will lead. His best chance at getting his life on track is to earn a caddy scholarship from Judge Elihu Smails, the owner of the Country Club. Al Czervik is a rude and eccentric millionaire who has interests in purchasing Bushwood. Judge Smails shows a quick disliking towards Al and soon there is a conflict between the Judge and Al, the Judge and Danny, and even between the Judge and Ty Webb the charming golfer who is slowly helping Danny figure out his real goals. Another less serious conflict in the movie is between Carl, the golf course grounds keeper, and an annoying gopher who chews up holes throughout the course. Rodney Dangerfield is definitely my favorite actor in the movie. His character is so outrageous and he keeps the audience guessing what he will do next.

This movie really tested the limits with many raunchy aspects. One of the great scenes is when the candy bar is put in the pool and everyone freaks out because they think it is feces! I love the snobs against the slobs aspect of the movie. All of the slobs are such eccentric characters and the snob members are so aggravating that its fun to watch the rebellious acts of the slobs. The film has a very antagonistic spirit, which appeals to all of the typical rebellious teenagers. Overall the movie is great because it provides the viewers with non-stop laughter and its mischievous feel appeals to a vast audience.

Back to the Future is a 1985 science fiction–comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg. It stars Michael J. Fox as teenager Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as mad scientist Doctor Emmett L. Brown. Marty is Sent thirty years back in time in a De Lorean time machine and accidentally interferes with his parents' relationship which forces him to make them fall in love, or he will never be born.


Back To The Future is such a creative and exciting film that it is impossible to forget about. I saw the movie when I was very young and even when I am flipping through the channels and its on I will watch it every time because I never get sick of this movie. The casting of every character involved was totally perfect, and the performances were fantastic. I really enjoy movies that make you think and any movie with time travel will definitely challenge the mind. After I saw this movie I began watching many other films that include time travel, one of them being Donnie Darko, which is one of my favorite movies. I have had long in-depth conversations about this film mainly because of the time travel aspect. Time travel is simply fascinating no matter what angle you look at it. The story is awesome, it is delivered cleverly and entertainingly, and the movie as a whole is just really fun to watch. I really love all the stereotypes that are represented by the characters. Naturally everyone loves to see the nerd knock the crap out of the big bully to save the girl he loves. That was always my favorite part because the film does such a great job of forcing the audience to absolutely hate the bully, especially when he is being sexually forceful with Lorraine.

The only complaint that I might have is that the film starts a little slow, but it gradually accelerates as it progresses. There are also a few aspects of the film that don’t add up but there always tends to be some unexplained holes in time travel movies. These are very small negatives that don’t take away from the overall impact of the film. Overall it will always be one of my favorite movies and I feel deeply sorry for anyone who has not had the privilege of watching this classic 80’s film.

Party on

License To Kill

License to Kill is a Bond movie made in 1989, starring Timothy Dalton as 007. Immediately this movie is different because we see James, not as 007, but as the best man at his friend, Leiter’s wedding, in Florida. When Leiter is badly wounded by being fed to a shark, and his wife is murdered, James decides to take the case, against the will of the American authorities and Her Majesty’s Government. His license to kill is actually revoked when he resigned from the government in order to take his friend’s case, his resolve is only strengthened when his other friend, Sharky, is also murdered by Sanchez’s people. For once Bond is not working for the greater good, he is working for his own personal vendetta. A recurring theme through this movie is Bond insisting on working on his own, and trying to push his friends away.

This time the bad guys are not Russian communists, this time Bond is dealing with drug dealers, while Sanchez is possibly Columbian he was working in Cuba so communism as evil is still a theme. Again with time the chase scenes and effects get better and more creative (although the computer was still laughable). One really interesting part of the plot was the way the drug lord, Sanchez, had so much power that what seemed to be a charity telethon on public TV in the Latin American city of Isthmus actually involved people buying drugs from him.

Of course just because he technically isn’t working with the British government, it doesn’t stop his friends, Moneypenny and Q, from coming to help him out. Q as usual provides a more lighthearted scene as he shows off the gadgets he brought for 007’s ‘vacation’. This time Q actually works in the field, rather than just providing gadgets for Bond. Unlike the first Timothy Dalton as Bond movie, this one has a strong female character, Pam Bouvier, and there is a somewhat weaker female character, Lupe (the girlfriend of Sanchez). In the end, not my favorite Bond movie, but still Bond can never be bad.

The Dead Zone (1983)

Today, Anthony Michael Hall plays in the hit TV series based on this 1983 psychological thriller starring the great Christopher Walken (Wedding Crashers). THE DEAD ZONE opens with schoolteacher Johnny Smith (Walken) driving home at night in the rain and fog and crashing into a tractor-trailer carrying milk.
In a coma for 5 years, Johnny awakens with the “power of second sight”. Whenever he touches people’s hands, he is able to see into their future. If he touches the hand of the deceased, he can see what happened to them. There are some really freaky scenes where he actually becomes a part of those visions—he is present while someone is murdered and sees the murderer’s face. People are afraid of him, and they think he is crazy. Johnny feels that his power is a curse, until he realizes how it can be a blessing in changing the results of the future. There are some visions that he sees but can feel something missing—that’s the dead zone. As his Doctor, Sam, explains it to him, “Not only can you see the future but you can change it.” That’s where Martin Sheen appears as a sleazy, dirty politician, Greg Stillson. (A total contrast to the moralistic Carl Fox of Wallstreet.) As Stillson shakes Johnny’s hand, his true political platform comes to light: Stillson is the next Hitler. Johnny decides that his power is a blessing after all, and sets out to change the future. At the heart of the story is the romance between Johnny and his ex-fiancée, who marries while he is in the coma. Both of them are still in love with each other, but unlike his ability to alter the future, he is powerless to change the past. Based on a Stephen King novel, The Dead Zone was directed by David Cronenberg (The Fly). Check out the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYHsEK_oTI8.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

This is the ultimate quintessential 80’s teen, high school movie. You get to see the stereotypes come into play, the raised sexual awareness of the generation, and the constant struggle between kids and authority figures. What more do you need in a film?

The film centers around a year in high school year focusing on the characters Spicoli, Stacy, her brother Brad, Rat, Mike, and Linda. During one of the first scenes we discover that Stacy, who is 15, is a virgin which is a shock to her older friend Linda. Linda then takes it upon herself to help set Stacy up with a cute guy who comes into the pizza shop they work in at the mall. The guy takes Stacy out, we learn that he is 26, and they have sex. This shows the promiscuity of the girls at Ridgemont High. We are next introduced to Rat, who is Stacy’s age and who has a crush on her. His friend Mike thinks himself an expert on the subject of women and helps him get a date with her, which ends up awkwardly. Rat is also a virgin and won’t sleep with Stacy which confuses her. Frustrated that Rat won’t sleep with her she ends up having sex with his friend Mike. Stacy gets pregnant and gets an abortion with the help of her brother, and none from Mike. When Rat finds out what has happened he and Mike get into a fight over her. They stop being friends, but since this is a great 80’s teen movie we know everything’s going to end well. Mike and Rat reconcile and Rat ends up with Stacy, with her realizing they don’t have to rush into anything.

The most famous character from this movie is Sean Penn’s Spicoli. His character is the stereotypic stoned surfer who couldn’t care less for school. He lives for the waves and doesn’t put effort into his schoolwork. Some of his best scenes are those in which he faces off against Mr. Hand, the history teacher who is convinced that all of his students are stoners, which in Spicoli’s case is true. There is also the memorable scene in which he totals Charles Jefferson’s (played by a young Forrest Whitaker) car, and to hide this fact from him he covers it in graffiti framing their rival school for the damages.

This movie is a lot of fun and while it may seem over the top and ridiculous it makes it all the better to watch. It’s a must see for anyone who enjoys 80’s teen movies, and if you don’t like them maybe watching this one will change your mind. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was exciting seeing actors who have gone on to win Academy Awards for serious roles in such a carefree movie.

The Living Daylights

The Living Daylighs is a Bond movie from 1987, starring Timothy Dalton making his debut as James Bond. As with the previous Bond movies, Russia is the enemy and international security rests on the shoulders of Agent 007. Unlike For Your Eyes Only, I was not at all fond of the female character in this movie. Her character was basically there so that there would be some clues to go on in the beginning of the movie, and the rest of the time (when she is working with Bond) half her lines seem to be along the lines of ‘Oh! I thought I’d never see you again’ and then she’d run dramatically into this arms. And unlike Melina, from For Your Eyes Only, she can barely hold a gun, and when she gets mad at James she chooses to attack him with a pillow (okay she beat up one guy towards the end, it still doesn’t count that much since she was wailing for James three seconds later). Although my annoyance may also stem from her throwing James Bond out of an airplane and then almost flying that same airplane into a mountain . . . how do you not see a mountain? While that aspect made the movie a bit less interesting, the effects were admittedly better than the pervious movies (obviously since it had been six years). This time Q provided 007 with an interesting key chain that could not only provide stun gas, but could also cause an explosion large enough to blow open a safe; the key chain also came with a nice little key that could apparently open approximately 90% of the world’s locks, handy for when one ends up in handcuffs. This movie also had a fully equipped Bond car, complete with tires that can shoot lasers. Along with the typical explosions and chase scenes, quite a bit of this movie took places outside of the usual upper class areas where Bond normally works, so the movie had a bit of a different feel to it, even with all the typical bombs that come along with a Bond movie.