Valley Girl: A Retrospective Look at an 80s classic
This ’80s coming-of-age tale, while thoroughly entertaining, is a movie of somewhat lost or unrealized opportunities. Unlike other 80s teen movies, this one lacks substance or really any admirable characters. Julie’s (the female protagonist) ex-hippie parents are the closest thing to ‘role models’ because they want their daughter to make her own decisions uninfluenced by …
The Breakfast Club: A Retro Review
What do athletes and prom queens have to do with geeks and stoners? The Breakfast Club suggests the answer is this: a lot more than you might think. It’s Saturday, March 24, 1984 at Shermer High School in Chicago. At a little before 7:00 a.m., five high school students arrive to serve a day of …
St. Elmo’s Fire: A Review of a Classic
St Elmo’s Fire is an angsty post-college drama about 7 close college friends, and their forays into the adult world with varying degrees of success. This film is co-written and directed by the late Joel Schumacher and is a great one to put into a time capsule – it’s held up very well. Centered around …
Keith Moon: The Man Beyond the Madness
Born Keith John Moon, he was the explosive, eclectic, and highly entertaining drummer for the band The Who. He was often noted for his unique style and even more so for his eccentric, and often self-destructive behavior. He was also described by friends as “the man who took sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll to raging new …
Somewhere Over the Rainbow: The Rainbow Bar & Grill Retrospective
If only the building at 9015 Sunset Blvd on the Hollywood Strip could talk … oh, the stories it could tell. The Rainbow Bar & Grill, owned at that time by Elmer Valentine, Lou Adler, and Mario Maglieri, opened in April 1972 with a party for Elton John. The location was the former Villa Nova …
Woodstock Redux
It’s Woodstock, fifty years later—the convergence of 60, 70 and some 80-year-olds onto an iconic bowl-shaped venue as they try to buck themselves out of skin that’s liver spotted and crepey in order to make the wry prick of time not feel so poignant or so permanent. It rains. Cold rain and hot earth create …
How Some of the Iconic 80s Sitcom Families Got it Right
Many a Gen Xer grew up on a steady diet of heavily laugh-tracked sitcoms. Flashback to 1987, I am in my room surrounded by pinups torn from sundry teen magazines featuring the likes of Michael J. Fox and Kirk Cameron. How could you not fall for the devilish and still kind-hearted Mike Seaver. The Seavers, …
Peter Frampton: Do You Feel Like We Do?
Peter Frampton knew he wanted to be a musician very early on in life. At the young age of 7, discovered his grandmother’s banjolele in the attic, and taught himself to play it. Not satisfied with just that, he also taught himself to play guitar, piano, and organ as well. By the time he was …
The Carpenters: For All We Know
Karen and Richard Carpenter, also known as The Carpenters, were the soundtrack of most of our lives throughout the ‘70s. They produced a distinctive, soft musical style, combining Karen’s beautiful alto vocals with Richard’s harmonizing, arranging and composition skills. During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded ten albums, along with numerous singles and several television …
Batman (1989): Retro Review
“Millionaire Bruce Wayne by day, avenging Batman by night, the caped crusader encounters a grinning face from his past when a madman known as the Joker threatens Gotham city.” This is the best description I’ve ever seen of this movie. We all know the story. Bruce Wayne’s parents were killed in front of him as …