Johnny be good? No, Johnny be bad. I liked this movie one late night as a kid, but hated it just now as an adult. Anthony Michael Hall is pretty obnoxious as a star high school quarterback who is recruited by every shady college coach in the book - including the college that is making a dirty deal with his high school coach, who is a right bastard.
Robert Downey Jr. is better, for whatever good that does, as the best friend. And this is the first movie (!) for Uma Thurman, who is very fresh-faced and has a lot of charisma here. But the writing is terrible and the movie is a real dud from start to finish. I hated it - strongly recommend anyone would avoid this bomb.
On the other hand, I loved Footloose. I hadn't seen this is in MANY years, but it all came right back with that Kenny Loggins music and young, fresh Kevin Bacon who really steals the show. The plot, for any first-timers, is that Kevin Bacon is transplanted from Chicago to a small town in ... I think Utah?
I wasn't clear on where he was supposed to be, but the idea is: extremely small rural Bible-belt town. This town is SO conservative they have banned dancing and modern music. They burn books at the local library! And Kevin Bacon storms into town and says No Way. He is a one man Reformation, and starts seeing the preacher's daughter (uh oh)... but, in a real genius casting move, the preacher is John Lithgow, and he's magnificent as the thoughtful, sensitive preacher.
It would have been really easy for him to ham it up with fire and brimstone, but instead you really feel for the emotional journey the preacher is on, and understand his reasoning for banning dancing - even if he is wrong. And he's willing to consider he's wrong! A nuanced character for sure, thanks to Lithgow. And also thanks to the preacher's wife, played wonderfully by Diane Wiest.
This might be teen fluff (as it was considered back in 1984), but it's good fluff. Worth seeing.
Damn, do I love this movie. I rented this in Aspen Hill, MD from Errol's Video in 1989 or 1990, with my dad... and immediately worshiped Christian Slater, the Bad Boy Skater Kid With a Heart of Gold. He is very glib in this movie, always has a pithy thing to say.
He has an adopted brother from Vietnam who gets in a lot of trouble early in the movie, and the majority of the film is Slater trying to figure things out and put them right ... using only his attitude, his skateboard, and his unshakable sense of right and wrong.
For the record, the title doesn't really mean anything, it's uttered like once by a skater out of a magazine in the movie. Speaking of skaters, this movie offers a good look at some very young big names, including Tony Hawk, who is impossible to miss. Worth seeing, despite being rather corny to our modern eyes.
Another of the classic '80s Schwarzenegger films, this one I never loved, only liked. Based on the Stephen King novel, Ben Richardson (Arnie) refuses to kill innocent people. is framed for the crime, and sent to compete on a to-the-death television show where "runners" are hunted and killed brutally by "stalkers."
There are a lot of big names in this one - Yaphet Kotto! Jesse Ventura! Jim Brown! Maria Conchita Alonso! - but really it's Arnold all the way. The real scene-stealer is the greasy corrupt MC of the game show, played incredibly well by Richard Dawson. This is campy '80s action, but if you're in the mood...
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