MOFO 80's Teen Movie Hall of Fame

Mojo your way GBG/

I almost picked Cant Buy me Love. I was this close. Can you see my two fingers? This close.

that IS very close

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MovieGal said the deadline was at the end of January...that's ONLY a week away, today is Jan 23rd...how's everyone doing?

@MovieGal you still with us? You haven't posted here lately are you getting any voting list in?

Finished the list. Should be able to offer a few write-ups tomorrow.

thanks ynwtf

Akira is my nomination I felt like this Hall of Fame would feel very small so I wanted to give it something big and different so I went with Akira. I won't pretend to say I understood everything that was going on in it. But what I want to talk about with Akira is the visuals how for the first act the film is grounded in this science fiction dystopia and then as the story progresses it gets crazier where only animation can convey what is happening.


The film also has quite a bit to say about what it means to be a teenager and how the world before you is scary and not everyone is going to make it. They take this idea and push the idea up to 11.

I've seen everything except the two that will get disqualified, so I can pretty much send in a vote for the 10 I've seen.
Should I send them to you, CR or get them to MovieGal?

MovieGal is the host so send your voting list to her. Unless @MovieGal wants me to calculate the points for the movies? which I'm happy to do

whadda guy!

is everyone just about caught up on this? I have Grease 2 to contend with, but that's it. Dont worry citizen. Im going to get sloppy for it so chances are ill love it

ill love is the bestest

Seen the flicks but way behind on writing content. Will be knocking those remaining out here soon.

Watch out for Grease 2. It's slippery.

o.O

i never even seen grease 1 yet///im slackin

My Bodyguard

My Bodyguard has been the ultimate 80’s nostalgia trip for me. Yes, I connect more (and deeper) with several other movies on this list that remind me of states of mind had on first viewing in my younger days, but My Bodyguard was something different. First, I apparently have never seen this movie so there was no seeded memory to trigger romantic notions of a life 30+ years gone. Instead, I felt like I was witnessing moments that were true and not so exaggerated by teenagers trying desperately to mimic slang and trends marketed at the time. I've been through that. Or at least some of that, and it felt genuine.

Everything about this movie felt weighty and heavily grounded in the decade from which it came, though maybe a bit more borrowed from the 70s, before it. Stylistically, this movie truly is from another time. The opening credits sequence offering candid close-ups of young teens talking during home room was a joy to watch, and the backing soundtrack was pleasant enough, if not bordering generic. Still though, it is perfectly acceptable and functional for its purpose. Oddly, I have a strange urge to watch The Paper Chase now.

It was refreshing to pick up a movie that I’ve not seen. My Bodyguard was charming and simple and while it teased slipping into made-for-T.V. after school special quality and showcased Angela Lansbury’s Murder, She Wrote level acting, I never felt that I was forced to finish it. The cast was effective, the dynamics between the average kid and the ever-taunting bullies were believable (especially if you grew up with bullies!), and it was nice to see an added layer applied with the brother’s backstory. Sure. It felt like forced emotions for writing necessity, but I don’t really want to judge this movie with contemporary expectations. It worked, and that’s good enough. I guess that's my take away: It worked, and that's good enough.

I am glad that this movie was included in the countdown. It’s far too easy to allow our decade to be colored by the obvious standards of the Corey boys, the bright neon fashion trends, and the absurd teen comedies that branded the 80s. My Bodyguard was quite gritty (in texture and tone) for the time! My only disappointment was that I expected more humor given the cast. Instead, it took a very dark turn in the final third. I was not expecting that. But again, it was a welcome change of pace.

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Yeah to me too it felt like a 70s movie. That's probably because it was released in 1980 and the 80s weren't the 80s until 1883 I dug the late 70s feel to the movie, it was a nice contrast to the films made later in that decade.

Was that the only film in this HoF you hadn't seen? I hadn't seen a number of them and like you said it's a treat to find a hidden gem you've never set eyes on before.

Had not seen Can't Buy Me Love either, but then again I'm not a fan of Adrien Brody.


(lol)

That reminds me. The idea I first had as I was watching My Bodyguard was to write my review from the perspective that I mixed the cast up with other actors. But kinda enjoyed the movie too much and felt guilty for it. Like I would be disrespecting the list and game.

Maybe for a new thread!

Yes.. just check and not post.. nothing much to post about.

if @Citizen Rules wants to calculate.. Im ok with that..

Crossroads

I was in grade school when I first watched this one on Home Box Office. Most all from this list were seen through HBO growing up, I'm pretty sure. I remember being fascinated with guitar in part because of this movie. I would try to mimic Ralph Macchio's hand movements along the fret board in the final guitar solo unaware that the audio was half-a-second out of sync. At least that was the case with my homemade VHS copy stretched to hell and back from constant rewinds.

I love this movie. Through the ignorant confidence of Macchio's Lightning trailing Willie Brown's no-nonsense lead, I learned the blues. Not musically, but what it meant to have the blues---for what I could comprehend of such a concept at the wise old age of eleven.

Macchio's character knew every technical and historical fact of Willie Brown and his music, but he didn't know life or the pains of heartbreak. Ralph Macchio has always been a red flag cast for me, constantly playing up to his pattern of a gangly "yewts" reluctantly forced to learn some life-changing lesson. This movie is no different in that respect. However, once Joe Seneca fills out his Willie Brown, all preconceptions are out the window. His foul mouth, let the kid fall and figure it out approach compliments what I usually find fault in with Macchio's mannerisms.

Like many of the movies nominated for this list, I cannot remove myself from the original feelings I experienced watching them as a kid. Similar to Stand by Me, Crossroads was another early introduction to more adult themes beyond cartoons and PG level family movies. Frances broke both of our hearts and for maybe the first time in my life I could begin to see the transformative power of setback and loss.

Scratch and oooh, nama' Jack Butla' scared the $#!+ out of me too, so that was fun.

This was my third nomination behind Better Off Dead and then Dream a Little Dream. Crossroads was noticed first from my list, so it got the gig. Great movie and now having watched what's left of all the nominations, I think it fits well as compliment. As does Stand by Me, Lucas, and My Bodyguard.

Am I the only one left that hasn't submitted text for each movie? Holding up the game?