Last movie watched...

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

White House Down is an enjoyable enough piece of fluff. Beyond that, I don't have anything original to add, but neither did this movie.

If we're still talking about classic kids movies from the 80s that still stand up today, I'd like to put a word in for Labyrinth. Henson can do no wrong in my eyes, plus it has David Bowie. And I could see his willy.

Now i'm going to have Magic Dance stuck in my head all day.

[JamesC]

Labyrinth is fun but, as with most of Henson's big screen stuff, the story very much plays second fiddle to the awesome puppet and model work (and David Bowie's haircut).

I also saw this at the ABC in Great Yarmouth. It was the first film I was allowed to go to see at the cinema with a friend instead of being taken by a parent or my older brother. It was also the first day I ever saw the newly opened Great Yarmouth branch of McDonald's which was just opposite.

[willthemightyW]

Granted I'm only 18, but the movies I watched when I was younger round my aunts were mainly from the eighties, due to them being left over from her kids! So I feel I should chip in:

The Goonies (screw y'all, I will always have a soft spot for it)
E.T
Short Circuit
Star Wars (of course! She ended up giving me the old vhs tapes I used to watch round there when I was even tinier, so I dug out the video player, and of course, these AREN'T THE SPECIAL EDITIONS! NO CGI!)

And now into stranger territory, not exactly kids films, but films I watched when I was a kid that were from around the same period!
Dune (I remember not understanding anything, just being in awe of all the cool stuff happening! And then when I was older, I found out one of my favourite films as a child was directed by the same man who directed one of my favourite movies now, which is Eraserhead. To say I was scarred is an understatement.)
Die Hard 3
Rocky 4

Never did see Back to The Future when I was younger, but I got to see an anniversary screening of the restored version at my local odeon. What a way to see it for the first time!

Will

[pictsy]

I have watched Labyrinth a few times as an adult but the better re-acquaintance I had was with Dark Crystal.  It's just astonishing with amazing design work.

I saw Die Hard with a Vengeance at the cinema when I was 12.  Judging by the release date it might have been a birthday treat and I do remember seeing it with my Mum in tow.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's still my favourite Die Hard film (I saw 4.0 which stunk and just can't be bother with the recent pay-cheque-for-Mr-Willis).  Although it wasn't an 80's film, it was released in '95.

I watched all three BttF films a few months back.  Thoroughly enjoyed them, especially the second one.

[JamesC]

In my world there's only one 'Back to the Future' film.

[TordelBack]

In my world there's only one 'Back to the Future' film.

I hope you mean BtF2.  The best of a fun bunch.

[JamesC]

In my world there's only one 'Back to the Future' film.

I hope you mean BtF2.  The best of a fun bunch.

Nope!

The last couple of times I've tried to watch Back to the Future 2 I've actually struggled to make it to the end.
I don't think it stands up nearly as well as the near-perfect first film.
The whole sequence where we see the future McFly family (all played by MJF) seems to go on forever and the whole thing about the almanac gets annoying.
The original is a very focused film but the sequels seem to meander about all over the place.

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

I have watched Labyrinth a few times as an adult but the better re-acquaintance I had was with Dark Crystal.

Fair enough, I just prefer David Bowie to Steve Tyler.

[radiator]

In my world there's only one 'Back to the Future' film.

I hope you mean BtF2.  The best of a fun bunch.

Nope!

The last couple of times I've tried to watch Back to the Future 2 I've actually struggled to make it to the end.
I don't think it stands up nearly as well as the near-perfect first film.
The whole sequence where we see the future McFly family (all played by MJF) seems to go on forever and the whole thing about the almanac gets annoying.
The original is a very focused film but the sequels seem to meander about all over the place.

Agreed. The first is an almost perfectly constructed and executed movie. The sequels, though great and worthwhile, are nowhere near as good imo.

As for The Goonies, I have a lot of affection for it but admit that these days it's a bit of a tough sit - and if you didn't love it as a kid, you'll likely not get along with it now. It certainly doesn't stand up as well as other films of its vintage, such as Ghostbusters or Gremlins. The shoutiness is indeed irritating, and the sound mixing is dreadful - characters talk over each other all the time and while this lends it an air of authenticity, it also makes it a bit hard to hear what is being said at any given moment.

I was in the Pacific Northwest earlier in the year, and of course took the opportunity to visit Astoria where the 'Goonies House' is, and also the nearby Cannon Beach, with its enormous, monolithic rock seen at the beginning and end of the film, and also the Ecola State Park where a lot of filming was done (there's a beach here that also appears in Point Break). Kind of surreal seeing and walking through the often mundane reality of these places that seemed so faraway and exotic when you're a kid.

[JamesC]

All this talk of classic kids films of the 80s got me thinking about classic British children's films.

I can't really think of any from this period. Tarka The Otter was good but I think that was 70s.

[Theblazeuk]

Time Bandits, The Plague Dogs, Dark Crystal (though feels American due to the Muppets I guess), err Way the Wind Blows

[willthemightyW]

Not to break up the conversation, but I just watched michelangelo antonioni's Blow-Up

To say this film is interesting is an under-statement, however, to say I liked it might be jumping the gun. It will require a second watch for sure, after-all Mulholland Drive is now one of my favourite films and I was completely indifferent towards it the first time I saw it (in a few ways these films are similar). One thing I am sure of is that David Hemmings gave a brilliant performance as the photographer. I think I went in expecting a mystery/thriller with tinges of the surreal, and got what is a nicely shot ponderance on the perception of reality. That, of course, is no bad thing, and I have not been put off of the film at all, I think I just need to watch it again to really make my mind up.
What are everyone's thoughts on this film?

Cheers,
Will

[judda fett]

Been a while since I last saw Blow Up but I went into it with no expectations and thoroughly enjoyed it. It really drew me in and as you say David Hemmings puts in a great turn. Got a hankering to rewatch it now.

[radiator]

It's 90s (just) rather than 80s and like the Harry Potter films a British-made production though bankrolled by Warners, but I still love Nic Roeg's The Witches (I recently blew a friend's mind by telling him that the guy who directed Performance and The Man Who Fell To Earth also made The Witches!). Still my favourite Dahl adaptation, and shares the Jim Henson Connection with Labyrinth and Dark Crystal. The Grand High Witch is one of the most fantastic and effective bits of makeup and prosthetics I've ever seen in a movie. A film that rides the line of being 'scary but not too scary for kids' incredibly well and holds up really well 20+ years later.

[shaolin_monkey]

I have watched Labyrinth a few times as an adult but the better re-acquaintance I had was with Dark Crystal.

Fair enough, I just prefer David Bowie to Steve Tyler.

Hahahhahaha!!!  It took me a while to get that!