Movie Reviews

Iron Man – 5/5 Loved It
This movie has renewed my faith in comic-based movies. Well, this and the new Batman franchise. Robert Downy Jr. was incredible. I so want to buy this movie now. Really hoping The Dark Knight can top the bar now set this Summer.

The Martian Child – 4/5 Really Liked It
John Cusack continues to put out some really good movies. I love the story of this movie. If you’re at all interested in adoption or foster care or kids in general I think you will too.

Lost In Translation – 3/5 Liked It
Interesting and artsy, and kinda slow. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson both were great, but it just didn’t hold my attention tremendously. Could have been the timing, but I thought it was just alright.

War Games – 4/5 Really Liked It
To my amazement I had only seen bits and pieces of this movie and never the whole thing. I thought it was really well done. Wonder how much Burger King paid to have that machine named WOPR.

Munich – 4/5 Really Liked It
This was like a much slower paced, and more serious James Bond movie. And it was roughly based on true events. My appreciation with this movie came especially with the internal struggle with the main character.

Highlander – 3/5 Liked It
Not bad for an 80′s classic. I’d be interested in seeing the next in the series, but it wouldn’t really hurt my feelings if I didn’t get around to it.

This Is England – 3/5 Liked It
Not a bad little flick. I felt bad for the little guy.

Rendition – 4/5 Really Liked It
Saw this on recommendation of Shaun and Portorikan, but knew nothing about it going in. I really liked the story and the internal conflict the characters played. The practice of rendition is real, and it is also real stupid.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – 2/5 Didn’t Like It
Wow. I’m starting to question the whole Indy franchise at this point. Hopefully when I watch Raiders again my faith will be redeemed, but Crystal Skull was just bad all around. I laughed out loud a few times, but I suspect they weren’t intended as laughing points.

Next 3 in the Que:
The Constant Gardener, What Would Jesus Buy, Walk Hard

Filed under: 80's, Adoption, Comics, Culture, Eighties, England, Indiana Jones, Iron Man, Movies, Rendition, Reviews, Robert Downy Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Shia LaBeouf, War

I Need A Battery For My Swatch Watch

So this time last year I declared my war on pop culture movies that I had sadly never seen. I’ve made a pretty serious dent in the list thanks to Netflix and a new schedule that allows it. Since the beginning of last year I’ve been able to watch just shy of 200 movies. (Click here and here for detailed lists, or click here for brief reviews.)

In addition to watching some Indiana Jones on Saturday, last week I added a few 80′s classics to my Que that, to my own amazement, I have never watched before. I’ve seen most of the classics, but I’ve never seen the following…

• St. Elmo’s Fire
• Pretty In Pink
• Sixteen Candles
• The Pick-up Artist
• Highlander

What other 80′s classics are a must see?

Filed under: 80's, Culture, Eighties, Movies, Netflix, Recommendations, Swatch

Temple of Dumb

Saturday night a few of us watched 2/3 of the Indiana Jones trilogy in preparation for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull coming out this weekend (Much love to Tonia for buying me the box set last week just because she’s so awesome). I must say I honestly can’t remember the last time I watched any of these from start to finish. It has been at least 15 years, which is just crazy when I think about it.

That said, I really found that I don’t care for The Temple of Doom. After watching a nice classically cheesy 80′s flick in Raiders of the Lost Ark, I found myself confused and bored with Temple of Doom. Am I the only one that feels this way?

Here are some facts I didn’t know going in about Temple of Doom…

•  It was meant as a prequel. This second edition of Indiana Jones took place in 1935, whereas Raiders (the first movie) took place in 1936. This really confused me the entire time because I had never known that before, and the story-line seemed to ignore the first movie. Now I know why.

• It is credited with creating the PG-13 rating. The entire time I was watching this movie I was wondering how this was rated PG with all it’s heart ripping out goodness. Apparently after this movie there was an outcry from the public and Steven Speilberg suggested the MPAA create a new rating. On July 1, 1984 they introduced PG-13. (The first widely distributed PG-13 movie was Red Dawn).

Here’s hoping that the Last Crusade is all I remember it to be, and Crystal Skull exceeds my expectations.

Is Shia LaBeouf the new Indy?

Filed under: 80's, Culture, Eighties, Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones, Movies, MPAA, Shia LaBeouf, Steven Speilberg

PoP! Goes My Heart

Pretty much can’t get this song/video out of my head.

Filed under: 80's, Drew Barrymore, Eighties, Hugh Grant, Movies, Music, Music & Lyrics

Pure Energy

Driving home last night I was flipping through the radio stations and What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) by Information Society came on. My mood instantly switched from tired with a headache, to extremely upbeat and couldn’t sleep if I tried.

There’s just something about the music of the Eighties that pump me up! And there may be no other song that more completely wraps up my love for the 80′s than this one does. Funky beats and synthesizers galore. My body wants to do crazy things when that guitar starts playing.

What’s On Your Mind – Information Society

Here are some others from that decade that stop me in my tracks.

Take On Me – A-ha
Forever Young – Alphaville
Word Up – Cameo
Lean On Me – Club Nouveau
Rock Me Amadeus – Falco
Rock It – Herbie Hancock
Walking Away – Information Society
Rocket 2 U – The Jets
Just Got Paid – Johnny Kemp
Freakazoid – Midnight Star
Blue Monday – New Order
Bizarre Love Triangle – New Order
I Can’t Wait – Nu Shooz
Jam On It – Old Skool Professors of Funk
If You Leave – OMD
The Rain – Orange “Juice” Jones
Always On My Mind – Pet Shop Boys
Let’s Go All The Way – Sly Fox
Rumors – Timex Social Club
Wishing Well – Terance Trent D’arby
The Promise – When In Rome
Situation – Yaz

It’s going to be an all 80′s day today. The sun is already brighter!

What’s on your list?

**UPDATE**
» More Mud Puppy posts on the 80′s.
» Jason has the 90′s covered.

Filed under: 80's, Eighties, Energy, Information Society, Music

Recommendations?

I’ve mentioned before that I’m trying to catch up on culture missed through movies, and to date you guys are 2-for-2 on your recommendations. So I’m thinking that taking your advice isn’t such a bad idea.

Yesterday Conner from Worship City recommended Better Off Dead, and that will be the next on my list.

What are your recommendations of must see movies?

Filed under: 80's, Culture, Eighties, John Cusack, Movies

Movie Reviews

Sentinel — Forgettable to be sure. I took the bait and thought this might be a decent 24-ish movie starring Kiefer Sutherland, and I was wrong. I mean, it wasn’t Firewall bad, but it’s not something I intend on watching again. I put it on par with a made-for-TV action movie. Had it not had the brand name actors in it, that’s exactly what it would have been.

Inside Man — Starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, and Jodi Foster. I really wanted to like this movie. It started off decent and had some big name stars, but in the end I was left wanting. The plot was good and the hook at the end was above par. It just seems like they took a couple corners knowing that the big names would bring in the money. I think they could have made a couple of changes and really had something with this one. Major step up from Sentinel, but not top shelf.

Say Anything — Based on a strong recommendation from Aaron, as well as him lending me the DVD, I threw in this 80′s flashback that I had never before seen. I have to say, this was really good. Of course, I’m a sucker for the Eighties, but this had a good story line and was inspirational. I even want to go back and watch it again to catch some things I’m sure I missed, as well as to write down some good lines. I might have to add this to my collection.

The Pursuit of Happyness — I have honestly avoided watching this one for awhile because I’m such a baby. I cry at Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for crying out loud. Well, I sucked it up and watched it, and was better off for having done so. Dads, this is what we should all be like. Completely dedicated and sold out to our kids. Will Smith completely understands what it takes to be a good dad. And it was really cool to find out that his son was played by his son.

Invincible — Man do I love true stories like that. I can watch this movie quite often and not get tired of it. I love that this guy didn’t give up, and I love that he remembered his friends despite his success. Even though I finished this movie at midnight, I had to watch the extras with Vince Papale himself. That guy has such a contagious smile and zeal for life. It’s no wonder he succeeded.

Facing The Giants — OK. I never had intentions on watching this movie, but I kept hearing from everybody around me that it was unbelievably good. So Sunday night Tonia and I sat down and gave it a shot. Holy cow. Words cannot express my disappointment. I understand the circumstances with which this was done, and their reason for the project. I just think it was cheesier than a Meximelt, and the theology was in such bad taste I wanted to puke. I read a review online yesterday that summed it up brilliantly. If you don’t have time for the whole thing, the last three paragraphs will do.

The Lost Boys — Another 80′s flick that I had never seen. And another strong recommendation and DVD lend from a friend. I’ll tell you what, I had a GREAT time watching this movie. How can you go wrong when The Corey’s are involved? It was a great combination of thriller and comedy. This will be added to the Eighties collection that I am building without a doubt. My only regret is that I was watching it alone (well, Pluto was with me, but still). I hate that there are so many movies like this that I have missed out on. That’s why I am so dedicated to making up for lost time.

Filed under: 80's, Clive Owen, Eighties, Kiefer Sutherland, Movies, Reviews, The Corey's, Will Smith