The Wizard (1989)
By James Porter For kids who grew up in the 80s, one incredibly popular pastime was playing Nintendo. Having revitalized the US gaming market in 1985 with the NES, Nintendo had cemented itself as the new face of gaming with titles like Super Mario Bros., Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania, and The Legend of Zelda. Such enormous popularity of course resulted in LOADS of merchandise – action figures, masks, bed sheets, even breakfast cereal....
Interview with Nadine Loren
May 27, 2011 Nadine Loren has joined up with producer Peter Asher to create a new album celebrating the music of the 80s. To be released on May 31, 2011, “The Naked ‘80s” features 11 covers of 80s songs and two original songs. The covers represent a wide range of music from the early 80s art/alternative rock of Nik Kershaw (“Wouldn’t It Be Good” off the “Pretty in Pink” soundtrack), Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music and Alison Moyet to...
Dungeons and Dragons
By Julie Anderson It’s 1984. A little girl eavesdrops outside her older brother’s bedroom. Inside, he and three of his teenage friends are clustered around a card table littered with exotic dice, tiny metal figurines and complicated hand-drawn papers. She listens. They talk about “hit points” and “melee rounds” and the all-powerful “Dungeon Master.” They visit the “elemental plane.” They encounter a “water weird” and a “gray slime.”...
Dirty Dancing, 1987
Want to make a grown woman melt? Mention this movie. It works on so many levels: as an allegory about growing up, as a song and dance movie, as a love story. And Patrick Swayze as Johnny? All muscle and sparkling eyes and tough-but-tender sneer? Say it with me: “Nobody puts Baby in a corner!” This 1987 film follows Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) during a pivotal summer in the 1960s. Baby and her family go to the Catskills for...
Top Gun (1986)
Tom Cruise in top form. There’s really no other way to say it. This 1986 movie is a bright, beautifully shot story about Maverick (Cruise), a pilot whose father’s legacy weighs heavily on him. Maverick’s father, also a pilot, was killed in combat along with other men. Many of his fellow pilots still think it was his fault. Once Maverick is recruited to join the Top Gun Naval Flying School, his fellow pilots won’t let his father’s past...
