Everything rad, sad and fab about 80s pop culture - movies, music, TV, celebs, reviews and general bodacious goings on. For 80's-come-latelys and those stricken with nostalgia for the best decade in history!
Posted on February 12, 2012 CategoriesVideos, Words
We interrupt 80s Movie Month for a special tribute to Whitney Houston, who died today aged 48.
For anyone who was around in the 80s and early 90s, Whitney Houston was a star beyond compare. There was no one on the scene who could even come close to touching her voice (and I still don’t think anyone has). Her range was amazing, the emotion she put into each song was touching. There will likely be a lot of talk over the coming weeks and months about how she died and the tragic last few years of her life. I choose to let those people talk all they want, while I remember Whitney as she was, back when she reigned as the most talented, popular female musician in the world.
Whitney had 7 number one hits in the 80s, all making the top spot in a row from ’85 to ’88, and today I’m posting my three favorites so you can remember just why it was we all adored her so much. Feel free to leave your own memories of Whitney in the comments or via Twitter.
First, her very first #1 – Saving All My Love For You:
Second, because I’m in tears and need to post something happier, this is How Will I Know:
Finally, the song I consider to be her greatest vocal achievement, the unsurpassed Didn’t We Almost Have It All:
R.I.P. Whitney. I hope wherever you are you’re singing again.
Posted on February 10, 2012 CategoriesVideos, Words
On Monday, I posted about the one movie from the 80s I can’t stand. Mostly though, I have an appreciation for all 80s movies – the good, the bad and the ugly! Today I’m counting down my top 5 movies that were so bad they were actually good. Because sometimes there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a really bad viewing experience!
5. Satisfaction
I am such a big fan of band-centric movies. Any type of band, any type of music, it’s one of my fave movie sub-genres. So, of course I had to check this one out, especially because it stars Justine Bateman, i.e. Mallory from Family Ties! She plays Jennie, leader of a band who needs to travel south for an audition. The whole movie is pretty stupid, but the cast is awesome, with Julia Roberts and also Liam Neeson, who hooks up with Mallory… I mean, Jennie.
4. Look Who’s Talking
I double dare you to pretend you didn’t love this movie in the 80s. EVERYONE loved it! John Travolta was at the height of his fame, and Kirstie Alley was the gorgeous new starlet to make it big. In the movie we could hear what Kirstie’s baby is thinking and it’s 80s-hilarious – partly because baby Mikey is voiced by tough-guy actor Bruce Willis!
3. Xanadu
People talk a lot of trash about Xanadu, but it is a personal favorite of mine. It’s got Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly (tap dancing!) and Michael Beck; lots of dancing; roller skating; singing and awesome 80s hair. So, I ask you, what is NOT to love?
2. The Pirate Movie
I was surprised a few years ago when I canvassed some Internet friends and found out almost no one knew about / remembered this amazing musical. The Pirate Movie is an updated version of Pirates of Penzance, with Kristy McNichol and Christopher Atkins (from Blue Lagoon) in the lead roles and the incredibly dashing Ted Hamilton as the Pirate King, all singing the classic original songs, with some new 80s-style tunes thrown in for good measure. It’s a fun, silly movie that laughs at itself and lets you laugh along with it.
1. Surf Nazis Must Die
This deserves a place on the list on the strength of its title alone! It starred no one you’ve ever heard of, and made no one famous. It is set after an earthquake destroys the California coastline and (for some reason) a bunch of gangs take over the beach, including a neo-Nazi gang. Unlike other gang movies, for example The Warriors, which is an excellent look at futuristic gang life, Surf Nazis Must Die is just stupid. But thoroughly enjoyable!
As 80s Movie Month continues, I’m delving even further into my favorite and the best movie soundtracks from the decade. And there were so many! Film makers really went for broke in the 80s, syncing up their movies with tracks by hot new bands and music superstars alike.
The first soundtrack song today is from the seriously cool Blues Brothers movie. This is Twist It (Shake Your Tail Feather)…just try not dancing to it!
Next, from Cocktail, Addicted to Love by Robert Palmer. I love Cocktail because, amongst other things, it has Gina Gershon in it. And the clip for this song is so so hip!
We all know that our beloved decade is notorious for producing some of the worst additions to culture in history – from dodgy music, to horrendous fashion, to terrible movies. But, isn’t that part of the reason we love it? (And, aren’t people in 30 years going to look back on current fashion as horrendous too?!)
With this in mind, I thought that Movie Month wouldn’t be complete without looking at some of the worst movies of the 80s.
On Friday I’ll be counting down the top 5 “So Bad They’re Good” movies, of which there were a lot! But what about the Just. Plain. Bad? It’s hard to pick what I think is the worst, given I have a genuine appreciation for B, C and D grade movies. However, one stands out as being my most hated of the decade, and it’s one I know a lot won’t agree with.
That movie is Blue Velvet. Often hailed as one of the BEST of the 80s, I found this David Lynch film almost unbearable, and had to force myself to sit through until the end.
It’s a pretentious, try-hard arty film, which tries to be weird for weird’s sake, and then fails at being anything at all. I still don’t really know what the plot was about, what the characters were doing, and what the point of the whole disaster was. I only borrowed it out in the first place because I really like the song Blue Velvet (which the film has kind of ruined for me now!).
I’m not opposed to strange, experimental film, but there has to be some point to it, and there still has to be a story, or else it’s not a real movie. I think Lynch tried to make it more captivating by putting in some sexual fetishist stuff, but that only made it all worse. Added to all this, there is some serious talent wasting away on the screen, like Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern.
What is your pick of worst movie of the 80s? And do you have an opinion on Blue Velvet? Hit me up in the comments below or on Twitter to let me know!
Posted on February 3, 2012 CategoriesVideos, Words
I have always been a massive sci-fi fan. After all, I’m named after a character from a sci-fi show (Jenna from Blake’s 7 – do yourself a favor and hire it out if you haven’t seen it. Easily one of the best SF shows of all time). Today I’m counting down the top 5 best sci-fi that the 80s had to offer! What would make your list? Also – you can win some cool prizes related to today’s post – go to the competitions page to enter!
5. The Abyss
This James Cameron film, starring Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, is seriously claustrophobic. It’s about a Navy SEAL team who head deep underwater in an experimental new oil platform, to try to rescue a submarine in peril. What they encounter is far more than normal marine life – they discover a life form that’s completely out of this world.
4. Blade Runner
By all rights, this should be higher on the list, but it faced some amazing competition in a decade full of amazing SF. The film is set in 2019, where robots called Replicants, who look just like humans, have been created. They are banned on Earth and only allowed to be used on Earth colonies – and if they break this rule they are hunted down by Blade Runners and decommissioned. Harrison Ford plays a burnt out Blade Runner who takes on one last job of hunting down a particularly dangerous group of Replicants hiding out in LA. It’s a brilliant dystopian film which is considered a classic for a very good reason.
3. Aliens
Alien (from the 70s) and the sequel Aliens are the rare type of SF that has easily stood the test of time. They don’t look outdated, the stories are still relevant, the acting strong. Aliens sees space pilot Ripley (played by the AMAZING Sigourney Weaver), return to the planet from the first movie where her crew were killed by vicious aliens and she was the only survivor. The aliens are back, as terrifying as ever, and Ripley is as kick-ass as ever. This movie will never, ever go out of style!
2. Terminator
This is the movie that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a household name. Arnie plays a scary cyborg sent back in time from 2029 to to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, the woman who will give birth to John Connor, future leader of the rebels who will fight back against the killer cyborgs. Though his acting skills are questionable, in this James Cameron film Arnie is perfect as the Terminator. And, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor gave Sigourney a run for her money as the top kick-ass sci-fi chick of the decade!
1. The Empire Strikes Back
I hate to be obvious in my countdowns, but the original Star Wars trilogy was such a game changer that this movie needed to be at the top. Star Wars ushered in a new era of SF when it was released in the ’70s, and this legacy continued on with the sequels. The Empire Strikes Back is arguably the best of the lot, with lots of Han, Leia and Luke, much use of the force and light sabres, and of course one of the biggest twists in movie history – “Luke, I am your father”! Sci-Fi perfection!
Even though this month is all about the movies, don’t worry – the music isn’t going to stop! You’ll still get your weekly music double play… with a film theme! On Monday I posted about some of my very fave films from the decade. Today, I’m posting 2 songs that appeared on the soundtracks to a couple of those films.
First, this very, VERY 80s song appeared in She’s Out Of Control. This is Oh Yeah by Yello. (Chica chica!)
Next, here is a clip by the best fake band of all time, Spinal Tap. This is the incredibly hilarious Stonehenge:
Jenna Cosgrove's Blog - Everything rad, sad and fab about 80s pop culture - movies, music, TV, celebs, reviews and general bodacious goings on. For 80's-come-latelys and those stricken with nostalgia for the best decade in history!
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Posted on February 12, 2012 
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Jenna Cosgrove's Blog - Everything rad, sad and fab about 80s pop culture - movies, music, TV, celebs, reviews and general bodacious goings on. For 80's-come-latelys and those stricken with nostalgia for the best decade in history!
