Band Name of the Day

09/11/04’s illustrious band:

Second Showing

Brought to you by the cinematic pearls of the 1980s.

Here’s part 2 of my list of movie memories from the Me Decade.

Highlander. It’s a movie about immortal warriors who survive into the present day to wage flashy sword battles as they try to behead each other. Spawned a TV series and more fanfic than you can shake a battleaxe at.
Dangerous Liaisons. We loved this movie because, since it involved French people, we were allowed to watch it in French class in place of our regular lessons for a week or so.
A Fish Called Wanda. John Cleese + Kevin Kline (who won a 1989 Best Supporting Actor award for it) = fabulous!
Real Genius. Ranking ahead of Revenge of the Nerds, RG is my all-time favorite nerd-power movie ever. Val Kilmer, in one of his first starring roles, proves that it’s possible to be both smart and fun. He was a role model for us all.
Ladyhawke. Magic, swords, a love story, and a pretty horsie. What’s not to like?
Coming to America. This one starred Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall back when they were still funny.
Mr. Mom. Remember when the idea of a man caring for his own children was so laughable you could make a blockbuster comedy out of it?
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Dude! This is like the only movie in which I ever enjoyed Keanu Reeves’s “acting,” dude. And 15 years later, I still say “dude” way too much . . . dude.
Dirty Dancing. Patrick Swayze’s finest hour: lots of shirtless gyrating, which he’s good at, and not a lot of talking, which he ain’t so good at.
The World According to Garp. Mork (Robin Williams) in a serious dramatic role? No way!
Flashdance. While I’ve never actually watched this movie, I did fall victim to some the many fashion trends it spawned, most notably headbands and legwarmers. All I can say now is . . . ugh!
Tron. The first movie/video game crossover!
Johnny Dangerously. Most famous for teaching us such nerf curses as “farging” and “bastige,” much to our parents’ dismay.
Short Circuit. This is the movie our gang went to see the first night one of our number played host to a Japanese foreign exchange student. The poor girl, no doubt jetlagged out of her mind, had been packed halfway across the world and dumped on a sheep ranch in the middle of nowhere, only to be crammed into a car with half a dozen other teenagers and sent to this dumbass flick. What a terrible first impression of America that day must have made. Madoka, we apologize.
Dune. I saw this sci-fi epic -- the David Lynch version, no less -- without having first read the novel. Bad idea. But the book has since become one of my favorites.
A Nightmare on Elm Street. I didn’t see this horror classic until 2003, but it made a huge impression on me nonetheless. Johnny Depp in a half-shirt? I had nightmares for weeks!
Blame it on Rio. The first R-rated movie I ever saw. I was 14 and snuck into it with my 17-year-old boyfriend, the rednecked and pungent Darron. All I remember about the movie is being terrified that I’d be carded and caught and that the theater manager would call my parents. I kind of which that had happened; maybe it would have dissuaded me from dating Darron for as long as I did.
The January Man. A seriously odd, but interesting, murder mystery starring the marvelous (and very tall) Kevin Kline.