One of my faves from the class of '87:
Posted on 06/16/2012 6:25:40 AM PDT by Saije
Rock of Ages" revels in the big hair and tight leather pants of a very specific place and time: the Sunset Strip in 1987, when bands like Guns N' Roses and Poison got their start. But a lot of great movies came out that year, too. Here are five of them:
"Full Metal Jacket": One of Stanley Kubrick's best — and I really should find a reason to compile that list one of these days — this Vietnam War drama lulls you in with its humor in the first half, then blows you away with its brutality in the second...
"Raising Arizona": Still one of my all-time favorites from the Coen brothers and a great example of the off-kilter vibe that arose from their brief collaboration with then-cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld...
"Moonstruck": I've always enjoyed the balance that director Norman Jewison and Oscar-winning screenwriter John Patrick Shanley strike here. This is a movie that's unabashedly old-fashioned and sweet but with a no-nonsense and slightly shaggy streak...
"Less Than Zero": A lurid depiction of the drugs and decadence of the time. Having grown up in Los Angeles in the 1980s, I can attest that this is not necessarily what it was like — not in my tame little corner of the San Fernando Valley, where sneaking wine coolers felt rebellious...
"Dirty Dancing": This is a nostalgic choice, admittedly. I probably should have picked something artsier and more respected like "The Last Emperor," which won nine Academy Awards including best picture. But looking back, which film left the most enduring mark on the culture, on the era? Of the five listed here, it's "Dirty Dancing," far and away...
(Excerpt) Read more at superiortelegram.com ...
Silly list. What about:
Three Men and a Baby
Lethal Weapon
Good Morning, Vietnam
First half good; second half crap. Why did Matthew Modine speak like he had some sort of brain injury throughout the film?
I REALLY miss 1987, Reagan, Hair Bands, Lots of wine women and song... It was so much simpler back then. No internet and 24/7 connectivity with every other person place and thing on the planet. PC BS was only in it’s infancy. You didn’t have some nanny type chasing after every so-called ‘wrong’ and inventing plenty of their own. Kids these days have no idea how much fun they missed. God I am getting old...
Sure there were problems. Lots of’em. But I’d bet most of us who lived that era prefer it to this one. Anyone got the URL for the time machine the jock in Napoleon Dynamite ordered? ;)
Those were my high school days. Good times. Is it me, is there any normal kids out there? I don’t have any, but every lady I date has jacked up kids..
One of my faves from the class of '87:
The little red X square? I don’t remember that one.
Ugh, I can honestly say I would never care to see any of those films again. My 1987 list:
The Untouchables
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Robocop
The Running Man
The Princess Bride
These are part of the culture, probably to stay:
Ernest Goes to Camp
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Princess Bride
Robo Cop
Wall Street
Sometimes, the films that people are still watching and quoting matter more than the ones the critics loved at the time.
The ONLY time anyone ever heard about Olympia Dukakis was when Michael Dukakis was running for the Presidency. And the media pretended HE had a good chance at winning.
See my post 10
GMTA
Great call on “Untouchables”
I had the internet in 1987. Newsgroups. Email. No WWW.
I honestly don’t know. There must be a few somewhere. I graduated in 83. When I think of ‘us’ back then and compare it to our modern counterparts, it doesn’t even seem like we’re of the same species. Has there ever been such a generational gap? By 16 today, the average kid has had more ‘experiences’ of ALL types than many of our era has had to date. There is no innocence left. Being thoroughly jaded at such an early age leaves little hope for their future.
Just to keep somewhat on topic, look at the movies of the two eras. Even the kid/teen centered fare is nihilistic when it’s not total ecopropaganda. And even then the end result is that doom hangs in the air.
My daughter (22 now) always says she wishes she could have lived back then. Most of her favorite entertainment, clothes etc are from that era. But even though she’s a lot closer to ‘us’ than them’ in her views etc., she’d have been completely lost in 87, having grown up in today’s society.
You and about 5 other people ;)
“The Princess Bride”: Proof that Jewish humor can be really good.
Ugh
But looking back, which film left the most enduring mark on the culture, on the era?
Nobody puts Baby in a corner! :-)
% rn
Weird Science? Ferris Buehller? Sir mix alot? Van Halen? Def leppard? I miss those days.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.