{"id":3930,"date":"2018-04-03T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/?p=3930"},"modified":"2018-04-03T10:34:02","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T14:34:02","slug":"alex-t","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/2018\/04\/03\/alex-t\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex T: 10 80s Flicks You Need to See Before \u201cReady Player One\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s face it: it\u2019s pretty hard to find people who love pop culture more than COM students. So, no matter how much it pains you to admit it, you\u2019re probably going to end up seeing <\/span>Ready Player One<\/span> in a few weeks. And whether you\u2019re just there to hang out with friends, or you\u2019re the kind of person who openly weeps by the end of the film (my deepest apologies to everyone in the theatre with me last Saturday), you\u2019re gonna want to brush up on the films your parents always made you try to watch as a kid.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

1. <\/span>Back to the Future<\/span> (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"download\"Okay, even if you\u2019re not trying to catch Spielberg’s latest blockbuster this weekend, <\/span>Back to the Future <\/span>is still a must if you want to maintain any semblance of geek street cred you think you possess. Marty McFly is a classic 80s protagonist who always seems to be running out of time…until he goes back in time and is tasked with ensuring his parents fall in love so he can continue to exist. This story coupled with killer score and design (his name is Marty <\/span>McFly<\/span>…of course he\u2019s going to rock the freshest outfit known to man) makes for a film that defined a whole generation of nerds.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. <\/span>The Breakfast Club<\/span> (John Hughes, 1985)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"download-1\"<\/span><\/span>For a little change of pace, (or if sci-fi, retro awesomeness isn\u2019t really your jam) <\/span>The Breakfast Club<\/span> is another classic not to be missed. Five strangers, all stuck in Saturday<\/span><\/span> detention, form an unbreakable bond by the end of the day. We\u2019ve all heard the tagline: \u201cThey only met once, but it changed their lives forever.\u201d Not only did it change their lives, it changed the lives of young audiences across the country. If you didn\u2019t fall in love with the brain, the beauty, the jock, the rebel, or the recluse, I have to question whether or not you even have a heart in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. <\/span>Evil Dead II<\/span> (Sam Raimi, 1987)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"download<\/span><\/span>This might seem like a strange choice to those who have never even seen the original <\/span>Evil Dead<\/span>, but you\u2019ve just gotta trust me on this one. While it does rely on a lot of plot points and characters laid out in its predecessor, <\/span>Evil Dead II<\/span> is in a class of horror all its own. Ash and the gang are back at it again, slaying zombies and fighting curses in the same, gory style that\u2019s a hallmark of all of Raimi\u2019s films. However, where <\/span>Evil Dead II<\/span> stands apart is in a very unexpected place: its comedy. Most horror films do have the one off, snarky jokes made by the protagonist to keep the momentum up, but <\/span>Evil Dead II<\/span> makes fun of the form itself; Raimi admits that his story is ridiculous, and takes it a step further by acknowledging that fact in the film. It\u2019s a parody and a love letter to the slasher horror genre, and a love letter we can still learn lessons from today.<\/span>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

4. <\/span>Say Anything<\/span> (Cameron Crowe, 1989)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"download<\/span><\/span>We\u2019ve all been there: a bright eyed, bushy tailed high school student, hopelessly in love with someone who won\u2019t even give us the time of day.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>…well, maybe that\u2019s only me, BUT, this film still holds up, even if that isn\u2019t your truth. John Cusack plays Lloyd, an unassuming recent high school grad who lands (and eventually loses) Diane, the girl of his dreams, played by Ione Skye. Written and directed with aplomb by Cameron Crowe, it\u2019s hard not to fall in love everytime Cusack holds that boombox over his head. Because, at its core, <\/span>Say Anything<\/span> is about risking everything for someone or something we love; now, that\u2019s a story that we can all relate to.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. <\/span>Tron<\/span> (Steven Lisberger, 1982)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"download<\/span><\/span>We\u2019ve all been there: a bright eyed, bushy tailed high school student, hopelessly in love with someone who won\u2019t even give us the time of day.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>…well, maybe that\u2019s only me, BUT, this film still holds up, even if that isn\u2019t your truth. John Cusack plays Lloyd, an unassuming recent high school grad who lands (and eventually loses) Diane, the girl of his dreams, played by Ione Skye. Written and directed with aplomb by Cameron Crowe, it\u2019s hard not to fall in love everytime Cusack holds that boombox over his head. Because, at its core, <\/span>Say Anything<\/span> is about risking everything for someone or something we love; now, that\u2019s a story that we can all relate to.
\n<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

6. <\/span>Star Wars, Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back<\/span> (George Lucas, 1980)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"downloadThough it\u2019s technically just on the cusp of the 80s, I would be remiss if I didn\u2019t include what is, objectively, the best Star Wars film in the franchise (I will actually fight anyone who disagrees). The George Lucas train was just picking up steam with the release of <\/span>A New Hope<\/span> in 1977, but he really hit his stride with <\/span>The Empire Strikes Back<\/span>. It marks a deeper dive into the extensive universe he created, and a more meditative look at the characters we all grew to love in the previous film. George Lucas set the precedent for transmedia franchises with Star Wars, and it\u2019s easy to see that Episode V was the beginning of his reign over late 20th century pop culture. Also, Lando Calrissian. Need I say more?
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

7. <\/span>Top Gun<\/span> (Tony Scott, 1986)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"downloadLooking at films today, it tends to become a little difficult to see why, as a whole, we\u2019re so obsessed with Tom Cruise. However, after taking a look at his breakout success in the 80s, we\u2019re reminded of what he used to be and what he represented in a time when actors weren\u2019t just pigeonholed into one type of character. That being said, he really did make a damn good action star, and there\u2019s no better example of that than his performance in <\/span>Top Gun<\/span> supported by an incredible cast (Val Kilmer ftw) and a truly radical soundtrack (also Kenny Loggins ftw), Cruise led this movie to mainstream success and a lasting place in our hearts.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

8. <\/span>Die Hard<\/span> (John McTiernan, 1988)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"download<\/span><\/span>I\u2019m just going to come out and say it: Die Hard is the best Christmas movie of all time. I know it\u2019s not a popular opinion, but I\u2019m okay with that. Facts have rarely been popular opinions. The story is about an off duty cop, played by Bruce Willis, fighting a gang of terrorists that take over a CHRISTMAS EVE party he\u2019s attending. What defines a Christmas movie if not time of year? In all seriousness, though, <\/span>Die Hard <\/span>is a masterclass in storytelling both visually and verbally. Even though it\u2019s obviously not the <\/span>Citizen Kane<\/span> of 80s cinema, it is an all around good time for any occasion, but especially Christmas. Oh,and the definitive list of best Christmas films is:<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>1. Die Hard<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>2. Step Brothers<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>3. Gremlins<\/span><\/p>\n

9. <\/span>The Karate Kid<\/span> (John G. Avildsen, 1984)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"43266c1fe9eb27ef7c08fff88d5420e9\"Oh man, it looks like we\u2019ve reached peak coolness. <\/span>The Karate Kid<\/span> is the template for any quality movie you can remember from the 80s: a lonely underdog (Ralph Macchio) learns karate from his elderly neighbor (Pat Morita) to beat the high school bully (William Zabka) and win the heart of the girl of his dreams (Elizabeth Shue). Throw in sharp dialogue, nuanced performances, and the best featured song in movie history (You\u2019re the best…AROUND!!!), and you\u2019ve got the classic that we all know and love today.<\/span><\/p>\n

10. Goonies (Richard Donner, 1985)<\/p>\n

\"downloadI\u2019m bringing it all full circle with our last film on the list. Based on a story by Steven Spielberg, Goonies tells the story of a group of friends trying to find a hidden treasure so they can keep their houses from being destroyed to make room for an incoming country club. This movie holds a special place in my heart; it\u2019s one of the few that I truly loved as a child. I remember watching it over and over for hours on end (and my parents were surprised that I\u2019m a film major…), and that\u2019s why I think we still love it now. It reminds us of what it was like to grow up. In reality, the Goonies are trying to save their innocence from being lost by losing the only group of friends they\u2019ve ever had to a country club, the EPITOME of adult-ness!!! They\u2019re just a group of outcasts and misfits (not unlike the group of outcasts and misfits most of us were a part of growing up) simply trying to spend what could be their last few hours together going on an adventure. And if that doesn\u2019t break your heart, I don\u2019t know what will.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s face it: it\u2019s pretty hard to find people who love pop culture more than COM students. So, no matter how much it pains you to admit it, you\u2019re probably going to end up seeing Ready Player One in a few weeks. And whether you\u2019re just there to hang out with friends, or you\u2019re the … Continue reading Alex T: 10 80s Flicks You Need to See Before \u201cReady Player One\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2018,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[44483],"tags":[44497,44507,45],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3930"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3930"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3953,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3930\/revisions\/3953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}