Jarrah

Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA


Joined February 25th 2008

Number of Posts:
130

Number of Comments:
379

Karma:
8



About Me
I'm an editor for a commercial magazine and write for various other magazines, papers and blogs.

When I was offered a domain blog on Orble I chose the 80s - because its so hot right now ;)

Back To Te Eighties.net
http://www.backtotheeighties.net

Check out my site and don't forget to leave a comment.
Rock On.

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Recent Posts

Weird Science

September 2nd 2009 22:00
wierd science cover

Hot software

On to our next John Hughes film and this one is a bit, well…weird.

Although far-fetched, it starts off in typical 80s teen movie fashion, with Anthony Michael Hall back again for another John Hughes geek role, and together with his best (and only) friend decide to throw together the perfect woman with the help of some state of the art 80s technology.

Straight from the outset, although she seems nice enough, Kelly LeBrock doesn’t come close to being any sort of ultimate woman to me. I was puzzled when the blonde (soon to be Mr Hall’s love interest) was commenting how perfect and beautiful she was, when in fact she probably didn’t hold a candle to her. Anyway, it’s beside the point.

weird science caps
Apparently this screen play was written in record breaking time, and it wouldn’t surprise me either, because it just doesn’t seem up to par with anything else Hughes has done, even though it has actually garnered a huge cult following and realistically, it is one of the first films you think of when you think 80s teens.

Its probably a pretty good idea, but more time needed to be put in because at times it just seems to be out of control and they’ve obviously just thrown it together to continue Hughes’ teen movie hot streak.

If anything though, I’d say Anthony Michael Hall did a bang up job, showing lots of different and quirky sides to himself — especially funny is the great scene in the blues bar.

I still remember they made a TV show about it in the 90s, kinda of a modern day Bewitched/I Dream of Jeannie type thing, as Lisa is kind of just a genie archetype character anyway — it actually made a little more sense than the movie ever did.

Anyway, this is a true blast from the past that doesn’t hold up so well after about the three-quarter mark, but probably never really did anyway.

kelly lebrock nude

“So, what would you little maniacs like to do first?”
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National Lampoon’s Vacation

August 31st 2009 22:00
national lampoons vacation cover


Holiday road

Today we look at our next John Hughes movie and it is his first real success as a writer with the now legendary National Lampoon’s goof-ball comedy Vacation.

Chevy Chase was on a hot streak after his success with Caddyshack (see post) and fit straight into his classic Griswold character, who was actually the complete opposite of Ty Webb from Bushwood Country Club.

truckster
Hughes apparently based it on his own family's horrific adventure to Disneyalnd when he was a boy. It was the first of a series that rarely turned out as good as the original and although Hughes wasn’t onboard for European Vacation, he did return for Christmas…

All the mishaps that could happen do and while Beverly DeAngelo gets her cans out as usual, ‘Sparky’ (as she calls him) can’t get his mind off Christie Brinkley, who plays the classic ‘Girl in Ferrari.’

Anthony Michael Hall makes another appearance in his first of many appearances for John Hughes as Griswold’s son. And although the whole thing is very exaggerated, I think we can all relate to this story in some way, especially those of us who were kids in the 80s and had to endure some kind of ‘family holiday’ or another.

In some way this movie really is a white trash b-grade pile of dirt, but in another way it is a classic 80s comedy that has somehow managed to keep itself relevant more than 25 years later.

Besides – you gotta love Griswold, and it really has got some pretty funny moments.

But can someone explain one thing to me – what is with Americans and those wood-panel wagons? Who the hell thought of that?

griswold


“When I was a boy, just about every summer we'd take a vacation. And you know, in 18 years, we never had fun.”


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Sixteen Candles

August 29th 2009 22:00
sixteen candles poster

Still burning

Now that the hype of 80s film pioneer John Hughes’ death has calmed down, I thought it was time we delved back into some of the films that really helped shaped the era and gave us all those memories. In the following week, we’ll have a look at a bunch of them.

I though what better movie to start with than his first real coming-of-age teen film that helped define all his later works – Sixteen Candles.

molly ringwald sixteen candles
Hot off his recent success with National Lampoons Vacation, Hughes finally got to write the kind of film that he’d been wanting to.
It was also his first (and hers) role with Molly Ringwald, which helped her jump into the teen spotlight and right bang in the middle of the Brat Pack.

On recent re-watch, I really thought this movie held up so much better than I remembered – the first half is still a really great film and Ringwald is truly likable.
While the first two acts have stood the test of time, the final isn’t so hot and the ending is barely stomachable...

There are a few things that stand out, like Anthony Michael Hall’s great performance as ‘The Geek’ which has stereotyped his whole career since, or the bizarre Long Duk Dong that is pretty funny, but borders on the edge of offensive and racist. It is obvious that characters like that were definite inspirations for later teen movies, such as the character Harold and Kumar from their roles in American Pie and Van Wilder. Her little brother is also an absolute gem.

The whole movie really was beginning of the genre and while some bits have dated, I think it’s relevant for anyone who is, was or will be a teenager in any decade.

sixteen candles caps


"When you don't have anything, you don't have anything to lose. Right?"


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MacGyver

August 28th 2009 09:24
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Crocodile Dundee

August 27th 2009 09:28
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Fraggle Rock

August 1st 2009 06:36
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Transformers: The Movie

July 31st 2009 10:11
transfromers 1986 poster


More than meets the eye
[ Click here to read more ]
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War of the Roses

July 6th 2009 08:17
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Michael Jackson Tribute

June 26th 2009 02:00
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Cocktail

June 22nd 2009 08:36
cocktail poster


In truth, this probably isn’t one of the best movies ever made, but it is an 80s classic


[ Click here to read more ]
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Recent Comments

Comment by Jarrah
on SLOW loading

September 28th 2009 08:36
Yeah, I've had about enough myself, I only have a very sparse amount of free time as it is...this aint 1998.

Comment by Jarrah
on Weird Science

September 4th 2009 09:33
Yeah, Paxton was the crazy-ass brother

Comment by Jarrah
on SLOW loading

September 3rd 2009 08:55
I agree and concur with all you just said Joyce.

There's obviously something thats not up to scratch.

Comment by Jarrah
on SLOW loading

September 2nd 2009 09:42
I didn't say it wasn't hosted in the US, most sites are hosted off-shore, I'm saying it doesn't make a difference to speeds. 90% of the servers in North America and faster than anything we have anyway, a US server would be preferable.

Like I said, I have a site hosted in Canada and its 100 times faster than this, global positioning makes little difference unless you're on a dial-up network.

It looks like the majority here are saying its slower.

I've tried different browsers and different connections, it certainly looks like most are experiencing it.

I'm in Melbourne if that adds another stat, though it shouldn't matter...

Comment by Jarrah
on Rambo's back! ...again

September 1st 2009 09:05
Sweet.
The last one was great.

The first one really is underated also, and the third is absolute naff.
Bring it on...

Comment by Jarrah
on SLOW loading

August 28th 2009 09:30
Yes I agree 100%

If you don't notice, then you probably don't use the web much or you're just patient.

I have ADSL2 here and at work and I've used it on many different PC's and Mac's and this is one of the slowest sites on the web!

It has nothing to do with hosting in the US, as 2 of my sites and half of the world is hosted in the US!

If anything, it is hosted here in Oz and its a crap server.

Time to upgrade HOSTS or SERVERS because this site is becoming a freakin nightmare to use, especially uploading.

It was alweays slow, but now its worse than ever.

Comment by Jarrah
on Crocodile Dundee

August 28th 2009 09:03
Thanks Marc.
Had to move towns and change job roles etc...but we're back on board now.

Comment by Jarrah
on Awesome Dudes Awesome Kebab Tour

July 18th 2009 05:42
I don't know how I missed this one...good to see you're still alive

Comment by Jarrah
on Awesome Dudes Awesome Chilli Prawn Spaghetti

June 11th 2009 11:34
Yeah, he would have got smashed in a fight I reckon I'm with Manny.

Comment by Jarrah
on Legend

June 4th 2009 11:54
Yes, it is kinda bizarre, and yes, you should subscribe!