Rewinding The 80s

Some of my favorite 80s teen movies. 

The only Sean Penn movie I've ever seen.

Remo Williams

tags: action, comedy, rewinding the 80s 

Synopsis from Amazon.com

When a street-smart NYPD cop (Fred Ward) regains consciousness after a bizarre mugging, he has a new face and a new identity! Now he's Remo Williams, the Number 1 recruit of a top-secret organization, and he's toppling evil at every turn, even atop the Statue of Liberty, in this "spectacular and funny adventure film" (Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune)! Trained by a quirky Korean martial arts master (Joel Grey) to dodge bullets, brave terrifying heights and thwart attackers with his bare hands, Remo becomes the ultimate criminal exterminator. But when he faces off against a corrupt millionaire and his army of henchmen, the real adventure begins!

I've never heard of this movie nor the books it's based on. I watched it because I liked Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann, starring Fred Ward. Remo Williams is my kind of 80s movie - kinda cheesy, full of action and laughs, satiric, and politically incorrect. The "Korean" martial arts master, Chiun, is played brilliantly by Joel Grey (Jennifer Grey's dad, I learned). His hilarious one-liners and great delivery steal the entire movie. Fred Ward, although not matinee idol with regards to looks, is believable and does great in his action scenes. Kate Mulgrew is very good playing an army Major; looks pretty too.

Highly recommended. Currently streaming on Netflix.

I also downloaded for free from Amazon the first book - Created, The Destroyer and a short 67-page book The Day Remo Died.

BMX Bandits

tags: Australian, comedy, rewinding the 80s

Product Description from Amazon

The future Academy Award® winner made her movie debut at 16 years old as the pouffy-haired star of this action/comedy about a cache of stolen walkie-talkies, three BMX-riding friends, and the ruthless bank robbers who will pursue them through every graveyard, shopping mall, construction site and waterpark in New South Wales, Australia. It's a high-flying ride to adventure filled with wild stunts, cool BMX outfits, creepy innuendo, cheezy synth music, an obnoxious fat kid, and gobs of fast & furious fun. John Ley (Mad Max), David Argue (Razorback) and Bryan Marshall (The Long Good Friday) co-star with thrilling cinematography from future Oscar® winner John Seale (The English Patient) in this Down Under 80s cult classic from Ozsploitation master Brian Trenchard-Smith, the legendary director of Turkey Shoot, Dead End Drive-In and Stunt Rock! 

16 year old Nicole Kidman and her wild pouffy hair

I have never been a fan of Nicole Kidman and have seen just a handful of her earlier movies [I honestly can't recall which ones] but not this way back when she was just 16, prebotox and ice queen persona. 

It's not a bad movie at all. It's kinda cheesy and there are none of the amazing Travis Pastrana stunts but I enjoyed it a lot. Nicole's stunt double is obviously a man which distracts a bit but over-all the movie is better and more watchable than what is being produced lately by Hollywood.

Currently streaming on Netflix and Amazon

Highly recommended 

Somewhere In Time

tags: romance, sci-fi fantasy, time travel

from Amazon.com

Somewhere in Time is the story of a young writer who sacrifices his life in the present to find happiness in the past, where true love awaits him. Young Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) is approached by an elderly woman who gives him an antique gold watch and who pleads with him to return in time with her. Years later, Richard Collier is overwhelmed by a photograph of a beautiful young woman (Jane Seymour). Another picture of this woman in her later years reveals to him that she is the same woman who had given him the gold watch. Collier then becomes obsessed with returning to 1912 and the beautiful young woman who awaits him there.

I don't watch [nor read] romance, being a fan of thrillers, sci-fi, adventure, mystery, vampires and zombies, and perhaps a little horror "cabin-in-the-woods" slasher type movies. Somewhere In Time, along with a handful, maybe 3, love story movies are the exception. I've seen it several times when it was available to stream on Netflix.

Somewhere In Time is almost perfect: the actors, cinematography, music, and location are absolutely beautiful and captivating, specially Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.

Highly recommended.
Currently streaming on Amazon.

Romancing The Stone

tags: action-comedy-romance(ish) movie, rewinding the 80s

Synopsis

• Joan Wilder is a mousey writer of romance novels. She finds a package from her sister mailed from Colombia in her mailbox. A call from her sister tells her that she has been kidnapped and that bringing the package to Colombia is necessary for her safety and release. Being fairly clueless, she leaves for Colombia to rescue her sister. She is lost within hours of her arrival. She is nearly murdered by one of the men searching for the package when Jack Colton, a fairly low life American rescues her. They begin a journey through the jungle with bullets flying nearby. Is Joan up to all of this? What a way to find out.
  - Written by John Vogel 

This 1984 action-comedy movie is a lot of fun to see again reminding me that once upon a time Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas used to be sooo hot. Who could ever forget the mudslide scene and Juan and his Little Mule, Pepe. Good times. Good movie.

The movie is now streaming on Netflix and in HD on Amazon.

The Running Man

1987 Sci-fi thriller LOOSELY based on a 1982 story by Stephen King published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.

Los Angeles in the year 2017 has become a police state in the wake of the global economy's total collapse. The Running Man is the top-rated TV show, where condemned criminals are given a chance for freedom by running through a gauntlet of heavily armed killers known as "Stalkers". Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Ben Richards, an ex-cop wrongly convicted of the massacre of unarmed civilians. He's joined in the deadly game by fellow prisoners Yaphet Kotto and Maria Conchita Alonso as they try to survive Stalkers Subzero (Toru Tanaka), Buzzsaw (Gus Rethwisch), Dynamo (Erland Van Lidth De Jeude), Fireball (Jim Brown), and Captain Freedom (Jesse Ventura). The all-star cast includes rockers Mick Fleetwood and Dweezil Zappa as revolutionaries, and Richard Dawson of The Family Feud as the show's smarmy host. Directed by TV's Starsky, Paul Michael Glaser.

Before THE HUNGER GAMES and BATTLE ROYALE, there was THE RUNNING MAN. I like all three but specially THE RUNNING MAN; whether you prefer cheesecake or beefcake, no problemo, because you'll get both in this movie. And lots of laugh. And gore. And Arnold's thick accent and arms. And the dancers. And Dweezil Zappa.

 Dweezil Zappa                                   The dancers

I have several 80s movies on my Netflix and Amazon streaming lists. I just love the 80s. The music, the movies, the food, the hair, the clothes. OK, not clothes and hair. Heheh. Anyway, here's to Rewinding The 80s!