What happened to those great inspirational movies aimed at teens and young adults? Why haven't there been any amazing ones since the early 90s? Those movies that inspired people (especially teens) to think for themselves and figure out what to stand for. Here is a list of those movies:
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Looking For Miracles (1989)
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991)
The Power of One (1992)
School Ties (1992)
Man Without A Face (1993)
Swing Kids (1994)
With Honors (1994)
Now I know that there have been some attempts to do similar movies in the early 00s with movies like "The Emperor's Club" and "Mona Lisa Smile." But these movies failed to capture audiences in the same way. You can say the line "O captain, my captain" and people will either associate it with the poem by Walt Whitman or with Dead Poets Society. Can you quote me a line from either of the two movies I just mentioned? Do you ever hear anyone mention either of those movies? No, and I'll tell you why they both failed. Neither one has heart. That is the core of those inspirational movies. Without heart there is no inspiration.
I think every generation needs these kinds of movies. I'm sad that kids nowadays don't have them. How many teenagers will find these movies unless someone suggests them? They all see Christian Bale as Batman, Robert Sean Leonard as that guy from House, Brendan Fraser as the guy from goofy kids and action movies, and unfortunately I'm not sure how many people under 30 remember Stephen Dorff. Did I miss any? What are your favorite lines from these movies? How did they inspire you?
For your viewing and remembering pleasure:
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
Monster Squad (1987)
Who are you gonna call when Val Helsing blows it? The monster squad.
This movie starts out showing us how Van Helsing tried to open a vortex to suck Dracula and his fellow monsters. They blew it. Fast forward to present day (1987) and Dracula is back. This time he is in no name American city ready to wreak havoc. He brings along some friends: Frankenstein's monster, a mummy, werewolf, and lagoon creature.
Luckily for the world, Sean and his friends have a monster club. Sean ends up with Van Helsing's diary which his mom just happened to find at a garage sale (very convenient). With the help of a neighbor (aka scary, German, guy) they translate the diary and figure out how to open up the vortex to get rid of the monsters. They use their knowledge of monsters, and the instructions from Van Helsing's diary to defeat the monsters.
Some thoughts about the movie. This Dracula is a scary Dracula. He is not the current version of a seductive vampire with a heart of gold. This vampire wants to eat your heart. Liam Neeson was first considered for the role of Dracula. There are some great character actors in this movie including Jon Gries and Tom Noonan. Do yourself a favor and look them up on IMDB. You will realize that you have seen both of these actors in a ton of stuff. Was Pepsi the official sponsor of all 80s movies? Seriously, look back at a few movies and you will realize they drink a lot of Pepsi in them. When Sean figures out that Mr. Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards did it remind you of Scrubs when J.D. makes a movie called Dr. Acula?
Creepy factor
-Dracula has no problem killing children. He tries to kill both Sean and Phoebe. He also likes to use dynamite.
-The scene where the blown up werewolf bits come back together is pretty gross and scary for a kids movie.
-Kids can make bullets in shop class and the teacher is none the wiser.
Lessons learned
-Wolfman's got nards!
-The only way to kill a werewolf is with a silver bullet (dynamite doesn't work).
-When it comes to fighting monsters the police are useless and the army will show up too late.
-This movie was brought to you by Pepsi and Burger King.
-Kids can have their own cards too.
Best lines of the movie brought to you by Horace/Fat kid (RIP Brent Chalem)
-I have three words for you, scary. . .German. . .guy
-Wolfman's got nards.
-My name, (cocks rifle) is Horace!
This movie starts out showing us how Van Helsing tried to open a vortex to suck Dracula and his fellow monsters. They blew it. Fast forward to present day (1987) and Dracula is back. This time he is in no name American city ready to wreak havoc. He brings along some friends: Frankenstein's monster, a mummy, werewolf, and lagoon creature.
Luckily for the world, Sean and his friends have a monster club. Sean ends up with Van Helsing's diary which his mom just happened to find at a garage sale (very convenient). With the help of a neighbor (aka scary, German, guy) they translate the diary and figure out how to open up the vortex to get rid of the monsters. They use their knowledge of monsters, and the instructions from Van Helsing's diary to defeat the monsters.Some thoughts about the movie. This Dracula is a scary Dracula. He is not the current version of a seductive vampire with a heart of gold. This vampire wants to eat your heart. Liam Neeson was first considered for the role of Dracula. There are some great character actors in this movie including Jon Gries and Tom Noonan. Do yourself a favor and look them up on IMDB. You will realize that you have seen both of these actors in a ton of stuff. Was Pepsi the official sponsor of all 80s movies? Seriously, look back at a few movies and you will realize they drink a lot of Pepsi in them. When Sean figures out that Mr. Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards did it remind you of Scrubs when J.D. makes a movie called Dr. Acula?
Creepy factor
-Dracula has no problem killing children. He tries to kill both Sean and Phoebe. He also likes to use dynamite.
-The scene where the blown up werewolf bits come back together is pretty gross and scary for a kids movie.
-Kids can make bullets in shop class and the teacher is none the wiser.
Lessons learned
-Wolfman's got nards!
-The only way to kill a werewolf is with a silver bullet (dynamite doesn't work).
-When it comes to fighting monsters the police are useless and the army will show up too late.
-This movie was brought to you by Pepsi and Burger King.
-Kids can have their own cards too.
Best lines of the movie brought to you by Horace/Fat kid (RIP Brent Chalem)
-I have three words for you, scary. . .German. . .guy
-Wolfman's got nards.
-My name, (cocks rifle) is Horace!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Labyrinth (1986)
Beware of the Goblin King
This is the story of a bratty teenage girl Sarah (played by Jennifer Connolly), who loves to dress up like a medieval maiden and read from books about goblin kings. One night while she is stuck babysitting her brother (who she is incredible jealous of) she says outloud the words from a book she was reading. She inadvertently wishes that the goblin king will take her baby brother away. A few minutes later David Bowie arrives as Jareth, the goblin king, and takes the baby to his castle that is surrounded by a labyrinth.
In order to save her brother she must make her way through the labyrinth and to the castle within thirteen hours. If not, her brother stays there and becomes a goblin. With the help of some friends she meets along the way Ludo, Hoggle, and Sir Dydimus (all Jim Henson puppets), Sarah makes it in time to the center of the labyrinth. When she arrives Jareth tries to seduce her into staying, but she fights his advances and he loses all power over her.
This movie was another Jim Henson and George Lucas collaborative effort. Their first effort was The Dark Crystal. This movie was not as dark in tone as the Dark Crystal. The puppets aren't scary, most of them are funny and some are even cute. I love that David Bowie is in this movie. I would pretty much watch him in anything because he is awesome. He sings a couple of songs in the movie.
Creepy factor
-David Bowie trying to seduce a teenage girl. I find all pedophiles incredibly disturbing.
-Kidnapping, always a scary thing.
-David Bowie's oh so tight pants (see below).
Lessons learned
- Be careful what books you read aloud. Maybe a poem or incantation is real and you end up going to a magical land where David Bowie tries to seduce you with his tight pants. Really, those pants are so tight that is all you look at when you watch it. You can't look away.
-Don't be jealous of your baby brother when you are the child of a wealthy family and you pretty much have everything you could ever want.
This is the story of a bratty teenage girl Sarah (played by Jennifer Connolly), who loves to dress up like a medieval maiden and read from books about goblin kings. One night while she is stuck babysitting her brother (who she is incredible jealous of) she says outloud the words from a book she was reading. She inadvertently wishes that the goblin king will take her baby brother away. A few minutes later David Bowie arrives as Jareth, the goblin king, and takes the baby to his castle that is surrounded by a labyrinth.
In order to save her brother she must make her way through the labyrinth and to the castle within thirteen hours. If not, her brother stays there and becomes a goblin. With the help of some friends she meets along the way Ludo, Hoggle, and Sir Dydimus (all Jim Henson puppets), Sarah makes it in time to the center of the labyrinth. When she arrives Jareth tries to seduce her into staying, but she fights his advances and he loses all power over her.This movie was another Jim Henson and George Lucas collaborative effort. Their first effort was The Dark Crystal. This movie was not as dark in tone as the Dark Crystal. The puppets aren't scary, most of them are funny and some are even cute. I love that David Bowie is in this movie. I would pretty much watch him in anything because he is awesome. He sings a couple of songs in the movie.
Creepy factor
-David Bowie trying to seduce a teenage girl. I find all pedophiles incredibly disturbing.
-Kidnapping, always a scary thing.
-David Bowie's oh so tight pants (see below).
 |
| Beware of my tight pants!! |
Lessons learned
- Be careful what books you read aloud. Maybe a poem or incantation is real and you end up going to a magical land where David Bowie tries to seduce you with his tight pants. Really, those pants are so tight that is all you look at when you watch it. You can't look away.
-Don't be jealous of your baby brother when you are the child of a wealthy family and you pretty much have everything you could ever want.
Monday, June 4, 2012
The Dark Crystal (1982)
I have to admit that I just watched this movie for the first time last week. I don't know how I lived through the 80s without seeing it as a child, but I never did. So my review is based on a one time viewing as an adult. This will color how I feel about this movie. All of the other creepy 80s movies I've written about I saw as I child.
Another World, Another Time... In the Age of Wonder.
There are three kinds of beings in the movie the Skeksis (vulture looking evil creatures), Mystics (weird looking hunchback wizards) and gelfling (elf type creature). The dark crystal is a large, power-giving crystal that is used by the Skeksis to regenerate themselves.
Jen is a gelfling that was raised by the Mystics after all of the gelflings were killed. One day he is told that he needs to find a crystal shard that had broken off of the dark crystal and return it to its rightful place therefore returning balance to the universe. He is successful in finding the shard and finds another gelfling, a girl named Kira. Together they fight huge crab like creatures sent out by the Skeksis. They return the shard but Kira dies helping Jen. When the crystal is restored the Mystics and Skeksis merge into a new kind of creature. They revive Kira and balance is restored in the universe.
Creepy factor
All of the creatures are super creepy looking. I don't know why they thought this would be okay in a kids movie. It's not what I was expecting from a Jim Henson movie. These are not the muppets. I think the Skeksis look an awful lot like the creatures from "The Village." Do you think M. Night Shyamalan's was inspired by Skeksis?
At one point in the movie the Skeksis try to suck the life out of Kira and some other creatures. Again, not quite appropriate for children.
Lessons learned
-Stay away from crystals. No good can come from them. They either turn you evil or you get hurt trying to fix them.
-Vulture are evil whether in real life or fiction.
Another World, Another Time... In the Age of Wonder.
There are three kinds of beings in the movie the Skeksis (vulture looking evil creatures), Mystics (weird looking hunchback wizards) and gelfling (elf type creature). The dark crystal is a large, power-giving crystal that is used by the Skeksis to regenerate themselves.
Jen is a gelfling that was raised by the Mystics after all of the gelflings were killed. One day he is told that he needs to find a crystal shard that had broken off of the dark crystal and return it to its rightful place therefore returning balance to the universe. He is successful in finding the shard and finds another gelfling, a girl named Kira. Together they fight huge crab like creatures sent out by the Skeksis. They return the shard but Kira dies helping Jen. When the crystal is restored the Mystics and Skeksis merge into a new kind of creature. They revive Kira and balance is restored in the universe.
Creepy factor
All of the creatures are super creepy looking. I don't know why they thought this would be okay in a kids movie. It's not what I was expecting from a Jim Henson movie. These are not the muppets. I think the Skeksis look an awful lot like the creatures from "The Village." Do you think M. Night Shyamalan's was inspired by Skeksis?
Lessons learned
-Stay away from crystals. No good can come from them. They either turn you evil or you get hurt trying to fix them.
-Vulture are evil whether in real life or fiction.
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