Fall is coming and so is cabin fever.

Christanna Rowader2 Comments

It’s nearly been a month now and I don’t think I’ve ever been so hungry to find friends before. It reminds me of my first semester at ASU where I didn’t know anybody and none of my classes ever gave an opportunity to make friends.

I suppose because I have now moved to a different state, where things are brand new, I want more than ever to have a good collection of friends to experience all the new things around me. Somewhere in the back of my head I’m scared that I’ll never have a good group of friends like I did my last year in college. Those kinds of friends a rare and hard to find.

I did, however, manage to make at least one friend, The Terminator. But because he’s an hour away, it makes it hard to enjoy spontaneous night outs.

The days are going by fast here and fall is approaching. It is beautiful out and the leaves are just starting to golden. And I wait patiently for something to happen…

What do people do at four in the morning?

Christanna Rowader6 Comments

I’m up. Not just up, but wide awake. You would think that after a long, exhausting night at work I would have fallen asleep immediately. Instead, I’m tossing and turning, blowing my drippy nose, coughing, going to the bathroom, drinking some water, pushing my annoying cat out of the way of my face, then finally deciding to take a sleeping pill at around 4am.

After that, I went to the kitchen and got a Klondike bar, cookies and cream, and scarfed it down. Though I couldn’t taste it because I’m sick, so that didn’t really satisfy my craving.

Then, while I wait for the sleeping pill to kick in, I started surfing the web, but…there was nothing really interesting to surf through. So, here I am again, falling back on my blog to write another randomly, self-spilling, thoughtless rant that makes this more like a public diary for the whole world to see.

Not that there are that many people reading this particular blog. I know of only a few…

But seriously, I used to be a great sleeper, but now I find that my brain won’t stop spinning in crazy circles about solving THIS, or fixing THAT. And it won’t let me rest one bit.

So I’m gonna spill all the annoying thoughts on here so that maybe writing about it would help me vent out my brain so I can sleep, for the love of GRAPES! Yes, that is a very irritated and heated sentence. I would also like to point out that I’m writing this without my contacts so I’m relying solely on my fingers to not mess up while typing. Fingers lead the way cause I’m blind as a bat!

Hold on to yourself because I am going to write the next paragraph as one big run-on, thought flowing sentence so you can get an idea of how my brain would not SHUT UP! So here we go…

my cat is so cute all snuggly i’m so glad i brought him with me to california but i’d rather him not be in my face all the time when i’m trying to sleep i hate it when he climbs on the pillows while i’m sleeping it makes me think he’s gonna pee on them right on my face man i feel miserable man i hate being sick if my nose drips one more time i’m just gonna let it drip it’ll have to deal with it ugh i hate that feeling do i really have to blow my nose AGAIN yep okay so back to thinking about stuff that can help me fall asleep why hasn’t he called why was he so mean why do i feel this way did i do the right thing nope of course i didn’t i always screw everything up i can never do the right thing i always feel like i cant do the right thing with him i’ve apologized i think more times all together in my life to him than i have to anyone i think could be exaggerating but whatever that’s what it feels like i cant do anything right with him always making mistakes just like i treated chris oh no that’s how i treated chris made him feel like he never did anything right he always felt like he couldn’t do anything right with me which makes it obvious that we weren’t meant to be together but still i feel like i should write him a letter apologize i must be on an apologizing streak no that’s a bad idea let it stay in the past no need to touch it but wouldn’t that be okay wouldn’t it to just say i’m sorry to amend things to make things better yes and no and definitely not right now cause i’m being impulsive which i always am but when i’m impulsive with letters bad things tend to always happen i hate thinking about my ex boy am i lame could i be any lamer sleep sleep cat get off my fucking pillow dammit i hope i’m better tomorrow i wonder if he will call tomorrow i wish i had my best friend i wish i didn’t say anything how did he replace chris i hate saying i love you bad things always happens best to wait until its safe best to not do it thought that would be silly because then i would be a pathetic loser who couldn’t fall in love lame oh well and my period’s started so you would think i could think rationally nope guess not confused as always think i’m gonna close everything off now but still can’t sleep i feel nauseous damn period and stupid tampon i wonder if i’ve got toxic shock syndrome should i ever write chris an apology letter simple i’ve got it all worked out but why so i can be at peace with that but i can be by just letting it go two different states a new beginning a fresh start i can replace everyone and never have to look back again can i do that to him that text was so mean not like him that’s what i do to guys piss them off i really tried hard to focus on what i was saying i’m stupid though go figure leave it to me to say the wrong things i excel at that maybe he meant it as something else maybe he didn’t mean it to be mean always fucking things up over a text go figure i regret everything i shouldn’t have slept with my best friend i shouldn’t have let us get close like that i knew better but as always i think i’m above the norm outside the usual think i can survive it in the end i’m still human that keeps perfecting myself i must perfect myself must make things better with all people except for the ex should let that disappear under all the dust no need to uncover it wouldn’t matter apology wouldn’t matter his reaction would probably piss me off again again and remind me of things i shouldn’t remember holy shit its 4am fuck!

Okay, so there you have. If you were able to read through that entire jumble of pure unadulterated honesty, the window to my brain, then I applaud you. I’m finally feeling the sleeping pill kicking in…and it does feel somewhat better now that I’ve got most of that stuff off my brain. Aw man it’s 530am. You gotta be kidding me!

How do you choose the right vs the wrong?

Christanna Rowader1 Comment

When all is well and good, where I have successfully kept myself out of trouble, staying out of relationships, keeping myself safe from heartbreak, guarding my heart and controlling my feelings, I’ve realized that I let one slip through the gates.

What do you do when you’re faced with a difficult decision, confusing and depressing? Where you can’t make sense of what you’re feeling? When you don’t know what to do anymore, and the answer that once was so clear is now so skewed?

Making decisions can suck
Making decisions can suck

Human feelings can suck and screw with logic. No wonder Vulcans look down upon us so. When we are faced with something we don’t want to do, but know is best in the long run, we delay the inevitable. We hold on to what we know we’ll lose. We run from what we know is coming. All the while, we go on with our daily lives, pretending there’s nothing to choose from.

I’ve found that I am exactly in this annoyingly difficult situation. I always knew it would come some day, where I would have to let go of my best friend, but I don’t think I knew just how hard it would be. Considering I’ve been through a lot of hard “letting go” situations, I thought this one would be easier to deal with.

But of course, it’s not easy, and while I convince myself and my feelings that I don’t know what to do anymore, somewhere in the back of mind the answer is glaring at me. I just don’t like it. So I don’t listen.

I’ve always hated making the big decisions. I never feel like I’ll make the right one. There have been many times where I’ve felt like I made a big mistake. But I suppose that’s how it is in most cases. I seem to always choose the bumpy road versus the smooth one. Maybe it’s my personality. I like the challenge rather than the simple. Who knows?

So I’ll leave it all up to God. Won’t claim any responsibility… Just kidding. 😉

But things like this really are out of our hands, and we should just pray and hope the answer is near.

Two weeks aren’t so bad after all…

Christanna Rowader2 Comments

So I’ve been in California for about two weeks now and have already been having too much fun. I’ve been working a lot at The Restaurant, met some great people (stunt people no less) at the BBQ my roommate hosted, have already been asked out and gone on an all day long date with The Terminator, and have been making some good friends!

Last night, I encouraged a small group of us from work to go out to an English Pub after work. I was happy to find them very willing and excited to go. I felt pretty proud of myself, considering I’m the newbie, but I was the one asking people to come out for a good time. Unfortunately, my roommates are always so busy and gone all the time that I haven’t been able to get close to them yet.

However, The Terminator, who is close with my roommates, had inspired the idea of a game night for tomorrow. I’m very excited for this because I haven’t been able to really hang out with my roommates yet.

I’ve also made a very good friend at work. Her name is Anne (Anne with an E, lol) and she and I clicked right away. In fact, we clicked so easily and fast it was kind of shocking. She wants to take me around the area and show me what’s cool here. Yay! 🙂

What’s funny is that I am not the least bit homesick. I’ve never felt so comfortable in a place before, even though everything is still so new. Last night, a guy was overwhelming me with tons of questions about why I had moved here.

He asked, “Did I come out here alone?”

I said, “Yes.” I keep wondering why that’s such a big deal, moving alone. It seems for some people a strange thing, unless you’re moving for school. I also said that I wanted a change of scenery.

Then, Corey (that’s his name) said, “Now, I have to know and this may sound really personal, but…are you running away from something in Arizona?”

I stared at him for a second, and for the strangest reason—I don’t know if it was the way he said it—but I felt extremely exposed.

Corey smiled because my second of a hesitation gave me away completely. He said, “You running from some crazy ex-boyfriend, family member, or something?”

I laughed this time. Not exactly, I thought.

One of the rules I made for myself before moving out to California was to not mention or talk about “the past” if it was a bad memory.

California is my fresh start, where nothing and no one is related or connected to anything negative. For some reason, it’s a huge comfort to know that I left everything that was bad behind in another state. Feels as if nothing bad ever happened in the first place. And that is a great thing! The chance to have a new beginning is a chance worth taking.

So, all in all, it’s been a great week!

Boys and Girls can’t just be friends…

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Unless the boy is gay of course.

I’ve been very stubborn to admit this statement can be true. I mean, come on! I grew up with boys, felt more comfortable with them, and many times considered myself to be one of them. In fact, many of my closest friends were boys. There were a few years here and there where I actually asked my best “guy friend” if he would be my maid of honor (whenever the day would come I would actually get married). We had a good laugh about it. How it would be unheard of. And how I’d better find a husband who wouldn’t mind my bestest friend in the whole world to be another (straight) guy.

I believed I could pull it off having a sans-sexual-tension best friend relationship with the opposite sex. Of course, I always think I can pull anything off, be above and beyond the norm. I was a very stubborn thinker during my teens and to my early twenties. Now that I am nearing my mid-twenties and have attempted to continue this way of thinking, I’ve realized I made a mistake.

Years ago, I saw the film When Harry Met Sally, which is supposed to be a story about two opposite sexes trying to ignore the ultimate sexual attraction they have for one another. They indulge in relationships with other people and keep their best friend relationship. As the movie continues, their friendship gets more complicated (of course!) and lots of random fighting start to sour everything up. Ultimately something needs to change in their friendship, but I’m not going to say what it was in case you haven’t seen the movie. Don’t wanna spoil the ending. 🙂

It’s funny, these platonic relationships. Because someone always seems to be more attracted to the other and has to learn how to control their feelings in case of ruining the comfortable friendship they have (now when I say friendship, I’m talking about really close friendships; best friend status). In most cases, I’ve found that it’s always the guy who starts to feel the sexual tension for his best “female” friend. Usually, for the girl, it never occurs to her unless someone else says something like, “Hey, you guys look cute together…” and only then does the sex idea pop up into her head. Otherwise, usually the girl is completely clueless about her best friend’s attraction to her. Usually.

Where am I going with this? Well, what happens when those two friends start to explore their sexual attraction for one another, all the while trying to stay “just friends?”

Crap happens. The deeper, romantic and complicated feelings start to come out and if the relationship isn’t defined appropriately, the friendship becomes more troublesome and messy than it should be. Everything you once thought was clear becomes cloudy and confusing. And your best friend becomes the source of your problems, instead of the problem solver. There’s no getting away from it, and there’s no sense in denying it.

So what do you do? Seeing as I really don’t have the answer, I’m gonna have to admit that I don’t know. But what I can tell you is to do this: Take a deep breath, count to ten, and wait for the answer to come. You’ll only see it on a clear day.

Crazy dream #3: Werewolves, aliens, and ex-boyfriends…oh, and did I mention teeth falling out! Ah!

Christanna Rowader2 Comments

Okay, I’m gonna have to say this particular dream gave me the cold sweats. As much as I love exciting dreams involving aliens and werewolves, this one made me more vulnerable that I’m normally used to. Whatever happened to my machine gun I’d always carried with me? It seems in my old age I’ve become more vulnerable in my dreams which sucks!

So I had another random dream about being attacked by aliens (from James Cameron’s Aliens), but honestly, as I write this, I can’t seem to recall the details. All I know is that I was running from them and then found myself in some neighborhood in California. I was with my ex-boyfriend, in his car watching the sunset on this mountain top nearby a high school my dad worked at, and I was vaguely aware of a practicing marching band as well. It was a peaceful moment, but as I lay in his arms listening to him talk, I felt an impending doom approaching. I had to get out somehow. There was somewhere I needed to be. But I didn’t know where.

I rushed out of the car and went inside the high school which evolved into a large dentist’s office. I looked into the mirror and smiled. My teeth felt funny, so I pushed against the front with my tongue, and BAM! A massive chip came off my tooth! My eyes widened in horror and felt with my tongue again, and BAM! Both front teeth tore out, detaching from the permanent retainer I had in. I caught them both with my hands, looked away from the mirror in disgust, and stared in horror at the broken teeth laying in my palms.

I couldn’t believe it! I worked so hard on straightening these teeth, and then they just randomly fell out!

Nonetheless, I felt I was on a mission. I pocketed the teeth, ran outside, my ex was waiting for me in concern, wondering where I’d gone. He started to follow me as I ran towards the west (or east, but it was one of those). But I ran too fast for him and he disappeared from my dream.

I was alone now, but I knew I’d eventually run into my dad. I was looking for him. There was a particular dirt path, surrounded by desert, that I was journeying on. I somehow met up with my old best friend Amy Baker and my mom. We were all following the same path. I was told by some others that I should beware of the wolf people in the next town I’ll be passing.

As soon as I got there, the wolf people came out to hunt. Then it was a full out fight. I somehow ended up with a sword…my only weapon to defend myself. Pretty lame against werewolves, if you ask me.

These things freak me out.
These things freak me out.

So here we were, running around like crazy people trying to fight off the strange pirate looking wolf people. Amy and my mom disappeared from the scene. There was a little girl I found and was compelled to pick her up and make a run for it. But the lead wolfman wouldn’t let me go. I used my negotiating skills on him (which turned out to be flirting) and suddenly he wanted to do me. I thought to myself, having sex with a dogman isn’t what I would call fun. He started to mount me, but before he could do his thing, I kicked him off, grabbed the girl and got the hell out of there.

I continued down the path, the little girl disappearing as well, and I was alone again. All I knew was that I needed to meet up with my dad at the train station. After miles of walking and fearing of being found by the wolves, I finally found my dad. By now, we were in the middle of a desert in Arizona, waiting by the train tracks. We were somehow going to jump onto the train and hide in one of the box cars to continue the rest of the 600 miles. The 600 miles were very specific, but I have no idea why. And there was one more wolf lair we’d have to pass by. It was the most dangerous of them all. They were the real vicious wolves that if they found “food” (humans) nearby, they would attack and eat them. Much different from the wolves I had fought earlier.

This worried me because we had to cover our scent and be very quiet in order to not alert the wolves. And, for some reason the 600 miles to the mysterious destination was very depressing to me. I felt I’d already gone so far. But I had 600 more miles to go. Ugh!

The dream ended with the train passing by, and me nearly missing it. My dad disappeared from the scene as well. I didn’t even get to see what the mysterious destination was. Dreams are lame like that.

Dream #2: Zombies, malls, and Alzheimer’s!!!

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So, I had another awesome dream last night about being in a mall with lots of my friends ranging from high school to college. It started out as trying to escape off the planet featured in the movie Aliens, but since we failed to actually get off, the dream evolved into us escaping into a giant mall filled with zombies.

So instead of fighting off aliens, we were fighting off zombies the whole time. Only, I don’t remember us really having any weapons, so we had to use brute strength…and a lot of running. I remember as the zombies kind of chilled out for a second—meaning the calm before the storm sort of thing—we were taking the opportunity to really find a way to get to an escape route and rid our selves of the zombies forever. As we got a head start, journeying towards our destination, we passed a store that was giving out free designer clothes—they were closing because of the zombie infestation—and I couldn’t help myself and walked in. The sales reps were really in a bad mood, but I didn’t care. I was hunting for a very specific dress. I didn’t find it unfortunately, but I did find an equally cute dress. As soon as I grabbed it, another hand reached out and grabbed it too. I looked to see who it was, and it was my old best friend Sara from high school. She claimed she saw it first and had dibs. I claimed that I saw it first and had dibs. There was only one size left and we were fighting over it. She said that it couldn’t fit me because it was too small. I told her I wear a size small! After a little tiff, the zombies we were coming back, so I won the dress and got the hell out of there.

Then, as it seemed I was to be free of the zombie infested mall, I ended up in my grandparents’ old house in Glendale, AZ. I saw my grandma there, and my mom, but I couldn’t find Papa. It turns out we were waiting for my Papa’s return from Wisconsin. He was arriving at night, and I vaguely remember that I was really nervous for him to be traveling by himself because of his Alzheimer’s.

More and more of my family members showed up and I was curious as to why everyone was here. Finally, my Papa arrived. He was standing perfectly straight, smiling brightly, walking fast, and seemed so much more energetic than ever. As if he had gotten younger somehow. I was ecstatic! He had gotten better and was moving like he was young again. I waited to give him a big hug as he approached me. He looked me in the eye, but then bypassed me completely, going straight for my grandma, as if he didn’t recognize me. He scooped up Mana, surprising even her, and took her into the house, laughing all the way. Though, I was happy that my Papa had been cured of his old age, I realized he didn’t know who I was, despite the fact that he brought me up as a child. Knowing the zombies could appear any moment, feeling depressed that my Papa no longer knew who I was, though he knew everyone else, I decided to continue my plan to eradicate the zombies once and for all.

And that was it. I don’t remember anymore.

Two weeks are the toughest, so hold your breath…

Christanna Rowader2 Comments

So it is 2am and I am still awake. I think I successfully watched nearly four different movies all in a row today. I’ve never done that. This is what happens when I get really anxious for things to happen.

I’m waiting on work to get me on the schedule and they are taking their jolly time with it, all the while, I am entirely broke and have only a week and a half to make 850$! Can I do it?!!!

I have too.

So, I opened a new bank account with Chase and also applied for my very first ever credit card with Chase. My plan is to use the card if I am not able to make my October’s rent and then pay it off immediately. Needless to say, I will be working overtime, gritting my teeth all the way.

But no worries. It’s not like I have anything else to do…yet. First order of business is to save money and work lots.

And that’s exactly what I need to do! If only I could do RIGHT NOW!

So, there you have it. I’m sitting here roaming around the house, taking pictures of horses in the yard, watching a sci-fi, a horror flick, part of a horribly cheesy and stupid porno (I just don’t get how it gets people off, it’s laughable), another horror, and historical drama ALL IN ONE DAY!

Then when I’ve run out of interest in watching anymore movies, I sit here and write…very, very numbly, hoping that I can survive these two weeks.

And, I have too.

Because there’s no turning back. Because I know that if I couldn’t, I would fail myself in everything.

Oh, and did I mention that I did 200 crunches just for the fucking hell of it?

Two more weeks and I’ll be able to breathe again.

1980s Film Reviews

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1980s Review
As I entered the 80s era, I had come to realize that this was the age of the great science fiction and fantasy films. CGI was just coming into play and the special effects were evolving to blending puppet animatronics and computer simulations, giving life to aliens, fairies, and other out-of-this-world creatures. The writers and filmmakers hadn’t lost touch with the story outline of the films and were not yet distracted by their developing special effects capabilities. Even today, most science fiction films can’t seem to beat the 80s. Back then, they still had crazy imaginations.
1980
-Flash Gordon
Director, Mike Hodges
“Gordon’s alive!“ This is what I call a classic 80s sci-fi film. This movie was a remake of the science fiction cult classic serials of the 1930s. It’s score was mainly performed by Queen with the hit song “Flash, Ahh!” Great movie if you’re looking for cheesy comedy and a great sci-fi goofiness. This movie is not to be taken seriously. Grade C+.
-The Empire Strikes Back
Director, Irvin Kershner
Probably the best Star Wars film ever made, Empire excels in direction and story. This is the darker of the original three and has a more intriguing and anticipating plotline. If you’ve never seen a Star Wars film, this is the one to start with…seeing as the main “spoilers” have already been spoiled. Grade A.
1981
-Escape from New York
Director, John Carpenter; Starring Kurt Russell
John Carpenter returns to sci-fi with this film, which is a much better piece of work than his last sci-fi, Dark Star. It’s funny, exciting, and keeps you on the edge of your seat as you wonder anxiously how Kurt Russell will come out of the futuristic New York island alive. A classic Carpenter style with leather, machine guns, knives and crazy mohawks. This movie is a lot of fun and really reflects the 80s sci-fi era. Grade B.
-Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
Director, George Miller; Starring Mel Gibson
Again, another sequel that happens to be better than the first film. This must have been the trend during the 80s. Somehow the sequels end up being way better than their predecessors. In any case, this is a must see post-apocalyptic film about motorcyclists against cars…generally. The film’s style is almost similar to Conan The Barbarian, which is also a fantastic fantasy film. Mel Gibson plays a great rogue, every man for himself type of dude. Science fiction grade B+.
1982
-Blade Runner
Director, Ridley Scott; Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer
Ridley Scott comes back again to sci-fi after making the horrifically terrifying but popular film Alien. Though this movie has a huge following of fans, I felt a little less interested in the film. The film’s visual effects were less impressive, but relied mostly on artistic features. The storyline is very deep, almost too deep that I felt like I was drowning in confusion. I have seen this movie many times, and by the last time, I finally felt like I understood what was going on. In any case, the film itself moves very slowly with lots of mysterious new information constantly being thrown at you. I give this film a C+.
-E.T. the Extra Terrestrial
Director, Steven Spielberg
Spielberg and Lucas were neck and neck during the 80s when it came to science fiction. Spielberg’s next sci-fi movie, after Close Encounters, would be a rival to the Star Wars franchise. It even featured some cameos from Empire to make Star Wars fans go crazy. E. T. is a fantastic film, well directed, top-notch acting—even from the little alien puppet—the music score emotionally riveting—compliments to John Williams—and the story so touching it’ll make you wanna watch it over and over. Grade A.
-Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn
Director, Nicholas Meyer
Nicholas Meyer brings the Star Trek franchise up to speed with its competitors. This movie should have been the first Star Trek, in fact, The Motion Picture is so lame, there’s no point really to see it—unless you’re a diehard fan, or want something to compare it to. Kahn is phenomenal, entertaining and was known for a long time to be the best Star Trek movie ever made. The acting is superb, the storyline exciting and with all the right adventurous touches, and the directing is smartly done. If you’ve never seen a Star Trek movie, there are only three that I would suggest to see. This movie, First Contact and Star Trek 2009. “Kahn!” Grade A-.
-Tron
Director, Steven Lisberger; Starring Jeff Bridges
This is an interesting movie following the cheesy 80s sci-fi style. If you’re into video games and other science fiction films, then I suggest seeing where it all began. This movie utilizes computer animation for most of the film and was a test, so to speak, to see how far they could go blending the blue screen with the actor. The special effects are rough and are sometimes hard on the eyes. The storyline is decent, the acting a little silly, but so are a lot of science fictions films of the 80s. It’s what makes them loveable. However, this particular film I would like to see remade someday, minding that we get a good writer to work on it. Grade C.
1983
-Return of the Jedi
Director, Richard Marquand
Aw, it’s the little Ewok movie. The last installment to the original three Star Wars films ended with cute little talking teddy bears. Well, not just teddy bears… This film was a decent end to the trilogy and was exciting from start to finish. There were great action sequences, the special effects were so advanced you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from today to then, and the storyline was a perfect conclusion to the popular franchise. Except for the bears… Nonetheless, the actors pulled off their performances just right in response to the cute, fuzzy little creatures, and the audience could walk away contently. Grade A-.
1984
-2010
Director, Peter Hyams; Starring Roy Scheider
This is the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey and could have been a really interesting story except that it didn’t make too much sense in the end. Also, if you watch both movies side by side, you can tell there’s a huge time difference. Where this film is supposed to be nine years in the future, it feels like its twenty years behind. The storyline is slow moving and doesn’t catch your interest too often. Though it’s interesting to note that 2010 is just a few months away, it might be humorous to watch it now and see that we’re nowhere near mining moon. Grade C-.
-Dune
Director, David Lynen; Co-starring Patrick Stewart
Ugh…great book, great story, and not so shabby acting or directing, but please spare me the crazy blue-eyed special effects and other bad CGI attempts. The special effects were so bad and the movie so long that it made it hard to survive through it. I suggest skipping over this one and watching the remake instead. Grade D.
-The Ice Pirates
Director, Stewart Raffill
If there’s one thing I could say about his movie, it would be HILARIOUS!!! I was laughing the whole way. Again, the film isn’t to be taken seriously, and its comedy is almost right up the Mel Brooks alley. If you love sci-fi and comedy, this is a must see. It’s action-packed, but in a ridiculously funny way. Grade B.
-The Last Starfighter
Director, Nick Castle; Co-starring Robert Preston
I watched this movie with a vodka and sprite, but I still ended up loving this adorable film about heroic dreams and space adventures. The concept is really quite interesting and unique. The special effects were a little under par, but because the story was so cute and such a classic 80s, that is was easy to ignore how unrealistic some of the aliens and ships were. I definitely suggest to see this film. It’ll warm your heart and bring hope to your dreams. Grade B.
-Star Trek: The Search for Spock
Director, Leonard Nimoy
This is the third installment to the Star Trek film series. It had an interesting idea, but came off a little less engaging. This is where the movies start to only filter towards the Trekkie, meaning that anyone else would probably be less into it. The special effects are, of course, very upscale, the storyline entertaining but not quite believable, and the actors have acted these roles for so long, they have become the characters. Generally, this movie was a little slow, action-wise, and Star Trek relies on action. So, even though I’m a huge Star Trek fan, I give it an overall sci-fi grade of C.
-Starman
Director, John Carpenter; Starring Jeff Bridges
John Carpenter gravitates away from the biker/rocker, post-apocalyptic and actually does a romantic sci-fi flick. Bridges plays a believable alien from outer space trying to fit in as a human being. The story is a cute adventure and is well directed. It doesn’t reek of sci-fi, per se, and has more of the sense a drama/adventure rather than space action or post-apocalyptic. So if you’re in the mood for a romantic sci-fi, which I have to say there aren’t many, see this one. Grade B.
-The Terminator
Director, James Cameron
Fantastic story. Though the acting can get a little cheesy, it sort of works with the style. It’s almost like a the sci-fi version of Freddy Kruger or Jason in the campy slasher films. The special effects is a little mediocre, but it doesn’t make it a bad movie either. This film is more horror based compared to its action-packed sequel. Still, a great entertainment and you get to see the Governor of California say his famous line for the first time: “I’ll be back.” Grade B.
1985
-Cocoon
Director, Ron Howard
Another cute sci-fi. I’m not sure what it is about the trends of the 80s, but a lot of their movies were really into the sweet and adorable aliens. Despite the title and its original poster, the movie is a drama about old-timers feeling young again. The direction is good, thanks to Ron Howard, and the performances done by the actors is believable. This movie will warm your heart and bring a smile to your face. Grade B.
-Explorers
Director, Joe Dante
This is mainly a kids movie in space. It’s cute and if you have a kid or baby-sit, bring this movie along. It’s fun and family oriented. The special effects are more cartoonish and alien makeup is mainly puppetry, but it’s not so bad if you’re into that kind of film. Grade B-.
-Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Director, George Miller, George Ogilvie; Starring Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson is back in this third installment of the Mad Max series. This movie gets a little kooky with guest star Tina Turner. It’s not as good as its predecessors, but it still gets the entertaining job done and stays true to the motorcycle, gas fighting gangs. Grade C.
1986
-Aliens
Director, James Cameron; Starring Sigourney Weaver
After the success of Terminator, Cameron was asked to direct the sequel to Alien. This movie is topnotch science fiction and action, with a touch of terrifying suspense. The special effects are at its peak in this film and the aliens look just as real as the humans. But don’t get too close, or you’ll end up with an alien in your chest. This movie excels in performance, direction, storyboard, and plotline. You can’t miss this film! Grade A.
-Critters
Director, Stephen Herve
Oh, boy. Well, the one thing I have to say about this film is…a total waste of time. I will admit, there are some cheesy 80s horror films that are entertaining. This one is not one of them. I couldn’t tell if it was a comedy or a horror. The director definitely needed to figure that one out. The sad thing was, it wasn’t funny or scary. Just plain stupid. I still can’t believe it made sequels. Grade F.
-Flight of the Navigator
Director, Randal Kleiser; Co-starring Sarah Jessica Parker
Again, another cute science fiction film with mediocre plot, special effects, and direction. It’s a renter if you’re a babysitter. Grade B-.
-The Fly
Director, David Cronenberg; Starring Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis
A great remake of the original and a lot more disgusting. It’s definitely a good horror flick and will make you hate flies forever…and probably sugar too. The special effects are not too bad for the 80s. There’s a lot of makeup, masks, and puppetry involved in this one, but you really get into the plot that it’s all believable. I suggest seeing this movie just for educational purposes. It’s definitely a different perspective on Star Trek’s transporters. And don’t eat donuts while watching this. Ugh. Grade A-.
-Short Circuit
Director, John Badham
Ah, yet again…another CUTE sci-fi. A little slow moving, but it’s fun to watch if you’re in the teddy bear, cuddly mood. I get the feeling E. T. really inspired all these cutie-patootie films. Only E. T. was actually really good. Grade B-.
-Star Trek: The Voyage Home
Director, Leonard Nimoy
This film is hilarious. Nimoy didn’t put in too much special effects, and I will say, there were some scenes that weren’t too realistic looking. Nonetheless, it was still fun to watch. Not very action-packed like all the others, and relies more on comedy. Shatner and Nimoy are a riot. I suggest seeing this movie just to see how funny they all are. However, the real crisis in the plot is disappointing. It doesn’t make sense and it’s not critical enough to make us worry for the characters. The story is more like a fun, comedic ride to the past. Grade B.
1987
-Cherry 2000
Director, Steve De Jarnatt; Starring Melanie Griffith
I had high hopes when I read the synopsis of this film. A mix between Mad Max and other post-apocalyptic films, this one fails as anything but lame and boring. The story has no depth and moves too quickly for you to get into the characters. The characters are stagnant and pathetic, not to mention unbelievable in their acting. I yawned the whole way… Grade D-.
-Predator
Director, John McTiernan; Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
This movie had potential in being just as good as Alien, and even though I know there is a very loyal fan following to this film, I think it really fell short in delivering something great. Arnold does a decent job in his role and the story is really something unique. However, I couldn’t get over how awful the music was. It really helped distract me from the film itself. I would have probably enjoyed it a lot more without any music at all. It’s mainly all action and lacks any depth of a story. Grade C+.
-Robocop
Director, Paul Verhoeven
This film is great to watch, especially if you have a vengeful side. The good guy definitely gets his chance to beat up the bad guy and it leaves you feeling satisfied. Though, I did feel the film ended too suddenly, all in all it was a fun little piece of action. Grade B.
-The Running Man
Director, Paul Michael Glazer; Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold strikes again in this really interesting sci-fi. The story is actually really different and intriguing. It keeps you into it all the way through. It is your typical sci-fi, though, without mixing any other genre. It’s fun, exciting, adventurous and entertaining. Grade B.
-Spaceballs
Director, Mel Brooks
A classic space spoof. Mel Brooks delivers a great little raunchy comedy starring Star Wars, Aliens, even a little cameo of Planet of the Apes, and all sort of other famous sci-fi flicks. You can’t go on with life without experiencing SPACEBALLS. Grade B-.
1988
-Alien Nation
Director, Graham Baker; Starring James Caan
An interesting and unique movie about aliens from another planet trying to make a living on Earth. The style is more like a cop suspense/mystery rather than a science fiction film. Still, it wasn’t boring to watch, though, again, I felt like the ending came up too short. It did produce a TV show later. Grade B.
-Short Circuit 2
Director, Kenneth Johnson
Much better than the first film and a lot more fast paced and interesting. Still, it remains a cute film about an adorable robot trying to make it in the real world. This one grabs your attention a lot more and really touches your heart. Grade B.
-They Live!
Director, John Carpenter
Oh man. This one is ridiculous. Carpenter keeps pooping out bad to awesome films, but there never seems to be an in-between. This one doesn’t entirely make any sense and the fist fight scene NEVER ENDS! And when I say never ends, I mean it! There’s maybe a whole half hour of the same two guys fighting each other into a bloody pulp. Any normal human being would have been dead by then, but NO…these guys can keep going even when they’re not breathing. It’s very comical and the movie shouldn’t be taken seriously for sure. Grade D.
1989
-Earth Girls Are Easy
Director, Julien Temple; Starring Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum
Kind of a knock off of The Rocky Picture Horror Show, only this one didn’t create a cult fan club. Really weird and the singing isn’t so great. In fact, it’s outright, flat out, incredibly crazy. Not sure where they were trying to take this one. Especially with all the famous actors running amok. Grade F.
-The Abyss
Director, James Cameron
Cameron returns to the science fiction world and inspires a whole new trend of underwater aliens and monsters flicks. This movie is mainly a show-off of special effects, trying out new techniques and that sort of thing. You can see the CGI obsession starting here. The story is intriguing and moving, though incredibly long and doesn’t really go anywhere by the time it ends. Though, it’s not an entire failure. Grade B.
-Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Director, Stephen Herek; Starring Keanu Reeves
Very awesome, dudes! This movie‘s tubular! ‘Nuff said. Grade C+.
-Cyborg
Director, Albert Pyun; Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
Ugh, shoot me in the head because that’s how I felt when watching this film. Though, I will admit, Van Damme is easy on the eyes and was worth watching his muscles in action. However, the story itself died a long time ago and was pretty much a waste of time and effort for these poor actors. There could have been potential, but wait…oh no, there wasn’t. Grade F.
-Deepstar Six
Director, Sean S. Cunningham
It’s Alien but underwater! Go figure. The story is sort of a knock off of The Thing and generally is a waste of time. It doesn’t make any sense and the special effects is incredibly stupid and unrealistic. Grade F.
-Leviathan
Director, George Pan Cosmatos
I can’t believe this came out in the same year, but again, a horrible waste of film. The special effects is just bad and tasteless, the story isn’t worthwhile or even original, and the acting falls flat. There are some entertaining moments that keep the movie rolling, but all in all, I could have been happy to never see it. Grade D-.
-Slipstream
Director, Steven Lisberger; Starring Mark Hamill
AGAIN!! Another horribly made film. This story is at least a little more unique and has some potential, but the direction the movie took was long and boring and action-less. It needed a hell of lot more oomph to get this movie going, and even the famous Mark Hamill, playing a bad guy—can you believe it?!—couldn’t help bring this film up to par. Started out dead, ended dead. Grade D-.
-Star Trek: The Final Frontier
Director, William Shatner
Shatner gets to direct his first Star Trek film, unfortunately the story is really a drag. The idea of the story has promise, but the script didn’t bring it anywhere. The acting was a little lame as well, though they stayed true to their characters. You can tell by now the Star Trek film writers were running out of ideas. Grade C-.
Conclusion:
After watching as many 80s science fiction films, I had come to notice a pattern throughout each year. When one movie comes out and makes it big, other movies copy its story. For instance, E. T. with the loveable, good alien comes out and is a blockbuster hit. Then, other films like Explorers, Flight of the Navigator, and Short Circuit follow immediately with pretty much the same storyline idea. Same thing happened with The Abyss, an alien underwater storyline. Then followed a couple of other movies that were really stupid.
All in all, I have to pick the best science fiction film of the 80s and it’s gonna be hard, because there were a lot of good ones. Aliens, The Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn, and E. T. were all the best sci-fi films of that year. But if I had to pick one out of those films, it would be Empire.
Though Aliens comes in pretty close behind, Empire has all the elements of sci-fi and really was able to pull it off exceptionally. It had the believable story, the special effects, the fantasy, and the acting and directing were much better than in the first film. The Empire Strikes Back wins the 1980s.

1980s Review

As I entered the 80s era, I had come to realize that this was the age of the great science fiction and fantasy films. CGI was just coming into play and the special effects were evolving to blending puppet animatronics and computer simulations, giving life to aliens, fairies, and other out-of-this-world creatures. The writers and filmmakers hadn’t lost touch with the story outline of the films and were not yet distracted by their developing special effects capabilities. Even today, most science fiction films can’t seem to beat the 80s. Back then, they still had crazy imaginations.

1980

-Flash Gordon

Director, Mike Hodges

“Gordon’s alive!“ This is what I call a classic 80s sci-fi film. This movie was a remake of the science fiction cult classic serials of the 1930s. It’s score was mainly performed by Queen with the hit song “Flash, Ahh!” Great movie if you’re looking for cheesy comedy and a great sci-fi goofiness. This movie is not to be taken seriously. Grade C+.

-The Empire Strikes Back

Director, Irvin Kershner

Probably the best Star Wars film ever made, Empire excels in direction and story. This is the darker of the original three and has a more intriguing and anticipating plotline. If you’ve never seen a Star Wars film, this is the one to start with…seeing as the main “spoilers” have already been spoiled. Grade A.

1981

-Escape from New York

Director, John Carpenter; Starring Kurt Russell

John Carpenter returns to sci-fi with this film, which is a much better piece of work than his last sci-fi, Dark Star. It’s funny, exciting, and keeps you on the edge of your seat as you wonder anxiously how Kurt Russell will come out of the futuristic New York island alive. A classic Carpenter style with leather, machine guns, knives and crazy mohawks. This movie is a lot of fun and really reflects the 80s sci-fi era. Grade B.

-Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Director, George Miller; Starring Mel Gibson

Again, another sequel that happens to be better than the first film. This must have been the trend during the 80s. Somehow the sequels end up being way better than their predecessors. In any case, this is a must see post-apocalyptic film about motorcyclists against cars…generally. The film’s style is almost similar to Conan The Barbarian, which is also a fantastic fantasy film. Mel Gibson plays a great rogue, every man for himself type of dude. Science fiction grade B+.

1982

-Blade Runner

Director, Ridley Scott; Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer

Ridley Scott comes back again to sci-fi after making the horrifically terrifying but popular film Alien. Though this movie has a huge following of fans, I felt a little less interested in the film. The film’s visual effects were less impressive, but relied mostly on artistic features. The storyline is very deep, almost too deep that I felt like I was drowning in confusion. I have seen this movie many times, and by the last time, I finally felt like I understood what was going on. In any case, the film itself moves very slowly with lots of mysterious new information constantly being thrown at you. I give this film a C+.

-E.T. the Extra Terrestrial

Director, Steven Spielberg

Spielberg and Lucas were neck and neck during the 80s when it came to science fiction. Spielberg’s next sci-fi movie, after Close Encounters, would be a rival to the Star Wars franchise. It even featured some cameos from Empire to make Star Wars fans go crazy. E. T. is a fantastic film, well directed, top-notch acting—even from the little alien puppet—the music score emotionally riveting—compliments to John Williams—and the story so touching it’ll make you wanna watch it over and over. Grade A.

-Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn

Director, Nicholas Meyer

Nicholas Meyer brings the Star Trek franchise up to speed with its competitors. This movie should have been the first Star Trek, in fact, The Motion Picture is so lame, there’s no point really to see it—unless you’re a diehard fan, or want something to compare it to. Kahn is phenomenal, entertaining and was known for a long time to be the best Star Trek movie ever made. The acting is superb, the storyline exciting and with all the right adventurous touches, and the directing is smartly done. If you’ve never seen a Star Trek movie, there are only three that I would suggest to see. This movie, First Contact and Star Trek 2009. “Kahn!” Grade A-.

-Tron

Director, Steven Lisberger; Starring Jeff Bridges

This is an interesting movie following the cheesy 80s sci-fi style. If you’re into video games and other science fiction films, then I suggest seeing where it all began. This movie utilizes computer animation for most of the film and was a test, so to speak, to see how far they could go blending the blue screen with the actor. The special effects are rough and are sometimes hard on the eyes. The storyline is decent, the acting a little silly, but so are a lot of science fictions films of the 80s. It’s what makes them loveable. However, this particular film I would like to see remade someday, minding that we get a good writer to work on it. Grade C.

1983

-Return of the Jedi

Director, Richard Marquand

Aw, it’s the little Ewok movie. The last installment to the original three Star Wars films ended with cute little talking teddy bears. Well, not just teddy bears… This film was a decent end to the trilogy and was exciting from start to finish. There were great action sequences, the special effects were so advanced you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from today to then, and the storyline was a perfect conclusion to the popular franchise. Except for the bears… Nonetheless, the actors pulled off their performances just right in response to the cute, fuzzy little creatures, and the audience could walk away contently. Grade A-.

1984

-2010

Director, Peter Hyams; Starring Roy Scheider

This is the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey and could have been a really interesting story except that it didn’t make too much sense in the end. Also, if you watch both movies side by side, you can tell there’s a huge time difference. Where this film is supposed to be nine years in the future, it feels like its twenty years behind. The storyline is slow moving and doesn’t catch your interest too often. Though it’s interesting to note that 2010 is just a few months away, it might be humorous to watch it now and see that we’re nowhere near mining moon. Grade C-.

-Dune

Director, David Lynen; Co-starring Patrick Stewart

Ugh…great book, great story, and not so shabby acting or directing, but please spare me the crazy blue-eyed special effects and other bad CGI attempts. The special effects were so bad and the movie so long that it made it hard to survive through it. I suggest skipping over this one and watching the remake instead. Grade D.

-The Ice Pirates

Director, Stewart Raffill

If there’s one thing I could say about his movie, it would be HILARIOUS!!! I was laughing the whole way. Again, the film isn’t to be taken seriously, and its comedy is almost right up the Mel Brooks alley. If you love sci-fi and comedy, this is a must see. It’s action-packed, but in a ridiculously funny way. Grade B.

-The Last Starfighter

Director, Nick Castle; Co-starring Robert Preston

I watched this movie with a vodka and sprite, but I still ended up loving this adorable film about heroic dreams and space adventures. The concept is really quite interesting and unique. The special effects were a little under par, but because the story was so cute and such a classic 80s, that is was easy to ignore how unrealistic some of the aliens and ships were. I definitely suggest to see this film. It’ll warm your heart and bring hope to your dreams. Grade B.

-Star Trek: The Search for Spock

Director, Leonard Nimoy

This is the third installment to the Star Trek film series. It had an interesting idea, but came off a little less engaging. This is where the movies start to only filter towards the Trekkie, meaning that anyone else would probably be less into it. The special effects are, of course, very upscale, the storyline entertaining but not quite believable, and the actors have acted these roles for so long, they have become the characters. Generally, this movie was a little slow, action-wise, and Star Trek relies on action. So, even though I’m a huge Star Trek fan, I give it an overall sci-fi grade of C.

-Starman

Director, John Carpenter; Starring Jeff Bridges

John Carpenter gravitates away from the biker/rocker, post-apocalyptic and actually does a romantic sci-fi flick. Bridges plays a believable alien from outer space trying to fit in as a human being. The story is a cute adventure and is well directed. It doesn’t reek of sci-fi, per se, and has more of the sense a drama/adventure rather than space action or post-apocalyptic. So if you’re in the mood for a romantic sci-fi, which I have to say there aren’t many, see this one. Grade B.

-The Terminator

Director, James Cameron

Fantastic story. Though the acting can get a little cheesy, it sort of works with the style. It’s almost like a the sci-fi version of Freddy Kruger or Jason in the campy slasher films. The special effects is a little mediocre, but it doesn’t make it a bad movie either. This film is more horror based compared to its action-packed sequel. Still, a great entertainment and you get to see the Governor of California say his famous line for the first time: “I’ll be back.” Grade B.

1985

-Cocoon

Director, Ron Howard

Another cute sci-fi. I’m not sure what it is about the trends of the 80s, but a lot of their movies were really into the sweet and adorable aliens. Despite the title and its original poster, the movie is a drama about old-timers feeling young again. The direction is good, thanks to Ron Howard, and the performances done by the actors is believable. This movie will warm your heart and bring a smile to your face. Grade B.

-Explorers

Director, Joe Dante

This is mainly a kids movie in space. It’s cute and if you have a kid or baby-sit, bring this movie along. It’s fun and family oriented. The special effects are more cartoonish and alien makeup is mainly puppetry, but it’s not so bad if you’re into that kind of film. Grade B-.

-Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

Director, George Miller, George Ogilvie; Starring Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson is back in this third installment of the Mad Max series. This movie gets a little kooky with guest star Tina Turner. It’s not as good as its predecessors, but it still gets the entertaining job done and stays true to the motorcycle, gas fighting gangs. Grade C.

1986

-Aliens

Director, James Cameron; Starring Sigourney Weaver

After the success of Terminator, Cameron was asked to direct the sequel to Alien. This movie is topnotch science fiction and action, with a touch of terrifying suspense. The special effects are at its peak in this film and the aliens look just as real as the humans. But don’t get too close, or you’ll end up with an alien in your chest. This movie excels in performance, direction, storyboard, and plotline. You can’t miss this film! Grade A.

-Critters

Director, Stephen Herve

Oh, boy. Well, the one thing I have to say about this film is…a total waste of time. I will admit, there are some cheesy 80s horror films that are entertaining. This one is not one of them. I couldn’t tell if it was a comedy or a horror. The director definitely needed to figure that one out. The sad thing was, it wasn’t funny or scary. Just plain stupid. I still can’t believe it made sequels. Grade F.

-Flight of the Navigator

Director, Randal Kleiser; Co-starring Sarah Jessica Parker

Again, another cute science fiction film with mediocre plot, special effects, and direction. It’s a renter if you’re a babysitter. Grade B-.

-The Fly

Director, David Cronenberg; Starring Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis

A great remake of the original and a lot more disgusting. It’s definitely a good horror flick and will make you hate flies forever…and probably sugar too. The special effects are not too bad for the 80s. There’s a lot of makeup, masks, and puppetry involved in this one, but you really get into the plot that it’s all believable. I suggest seeing this movie just for educational purposes. It’s definitely a different perspective on Star Trek’s transporters. And don’t eat donuts while watching this. Ugh. Grade A-.

-Short Circuit

Director, John Badham

Ah, yet again…another CUTE sci-fi. A little slow moving, but it’s fun to watch if you’re in the teddy bear, cuddly mood. I get the feeling E. T. really inspired all these cutie-patootie films. Only E. T. was actually really good. Grade B-.

-Star Trek: The Voyage Home

Director, Leonard Nimoy

This film is hilarious. Nimoy didn’t put in too much special effects, and I will say, there were some scenes that weren’t too realistic looking. Nonetheless, it was still fun to watch. Not very action-packed like all the others, and relies more on comedy. Shatner and Nimoy are a riot. I suggest seeing this movie just to see how funny they all are. However, the real crisis in the plot is disappointing. It doesn’t make sense and it’s not critical enough to make us worry for the characters. The story is more like a fun, comedic ride to the past. Grade B.

1987

-Cherry 2000

Director, Steve De Jarnatt; Starring Melanie Griffith

I had high hopes when I read the synopsis of this film. A mix between Mad Max and other post-apocalyptic films, this one fails as anything but lame and boring. The story has no depth and moves too quickly for you to get into the characters. The characters are stagnant and pathetic, not to mention unbelievable in their acting. I yawned the whole way… Grade D-.

-Predator

Director, John McTiernan; Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger

This movie had potential in being just as good as Alien, and even though I know there is a very loyal fan following to this film, I think it really fell short in delivering something great. Arnold does a decent job in his role and the story is really something unique. However, I couldn’t get over how awful the music was. It really helped distract me from the film itself. I would have probably enjoyed it a lot more without any music at all. It’s mainly all action and lacks any depth of a story. Grade C+.

-Robocop

Director, Paul Verhoeven

This film is great to watch, especially if you have a vengeful side. The good guy definitely gets his chance to beat up the bad guy and it leaves you feeling satisfied. Though, I did feel the film ended too suddenly, all in all it was a fun little piece of action. Grade B.

-The Running Man

Director, Paul Michael Glazer; Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold strikes again in this really interesting sci-fi. The story is actually really different and intriguing. It keeps you into it all the way through. It is your typical sci-fi, though, without mixing any other genre. It’s fun, exciting, adventurous and entertaining. Grade B.

-Spaceballs

Director, Mel Brooks

A classic space spoof. Mel Brooks delivers a great little raunchy comedy starring Star Wars, Aliens, even a little cameo of Planet of the Apes, and all sort of other famous sci-fi flicks. You can’t go on with life without experiencing SPACEBALLS. Grade B-.

1988

-Alien Nation

Director, Graham Baker; Starring James Caan

An interesting and unique movie about aliens from another planet trying to make a living on Earth. The style is more like a cop suspense/mystery rather than a science fiction film. Still, it wasn’t boring to watch, though, again, I felt like the ending came up too short. It did produce a TV show later. Grade B.

-Short Circuit 2

Director, Kenneth Johnson

Much better than the first film and a lot more fast paced and interesting. Still, it remains a cute film about an adorable robot trying to make it in the real world. This one grabs your attention a lot more and really touches your heart. Grade B.

-They Live!

Director, John Carpenter

Oh man. This one is ridiculous. Carpenter keeps pooping out bad to awesome films, but there never seems to be an in-between. This one doesn’t entirely make any sense and the fist fight scene NEVER ENDS! And when I say never ends, I mean it! There’s maybe a whole half hour of the same two guys fighting each other into a bloody pulp. Any normal human being would have been dead by then, but NO…these guys can keep going even when they’re not breathing. It’s very comical and the movie shouldn’t be taken seriously for sure. Grade D.

1989

-Earth Girls Are Easy

Director, Julien Temple; Starring Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum

Kind of a knock off of The Rocky Picture Horror Show, only this one didn’t create a cult fan club. Really weird and the singing isn’t so great. In fact, it’s outright, flat out, incredibly crazy. Not sure where they were trying to take this one. Especially with all the famous actors running amok. Grade F.

-The Abyss

Director, James Cameron

Cameron returns to the science fiction world and inspires a whole new trend of underwater aliens and monsters flicks. This movie is mainly a show-off of special effects, trying out new techniques and that sort of thing. You can see the CGI obsession starting here. The story is intriguing and moving, though incredibly long and doesn’t really go anywhere by the time it ends. Though, it’s not an entire failure. Grade B.

-Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Director, Stephen Herek; Starring Keanu Reeves

Very awesome, dudes! This movie‘s tubular! ‘Nuff said. Grade C+.

-Cyborg

Director, Albert Pyun; Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme

Ugh, shoot me in the head because that’s how I felt when watching this film. Though, I will admit, Van Damme is easy on the eyes and was worth watching his muscles in action. However, the story itself died a long time ago and was pretty much a waste of time and effort for these poor actors. There could have been potential, but wait…oh no, there wasn’t. Grade F.

-Deepstar Six

Director, Sean S. Cunningham

It’s Alien but underwater! Go figure. The story is sort of a knock off of The Thing and generally is a waste of time. It doesn’t make any sense and the special effects is incredibly stupid and unrealistic. Grade F.

-Leviathan

Director, George Pan Cosmatos

I can’t believe this came out in the same year, but again, a horrible waste of film. The special effects is just bad and tasteless, the story isn’t worthwhile or even original, and the acting falls flat. There are some entertaining moments that keep the movie rolling, but all in all, I could have been happy to never see it. Grade D-.

-Slipstream

Director, Steven Lisberger; Starring Mark Hamill

AGAIN!! Another horribly made film. This story is at least a little more unique and has some potential, but the direction the movie took was long and boring and action-less. It needed a hell of lot more oomph to get this movie going, and even the famous Mark Hamill, playing a bad guy—can you believe it?!—couldn’t help bring this film up to par. Started out dead, ended dead. Grade D-.

-Star Trek: The Final Frontier

Director, William Shatner

Shatner gets to direct his first Star Trek film, unfortunately the story is really a drag. The idea of the story has promise, but the script didn’t bring it anywhere. The acting was a little lame as well, though they stayed true to their characters. You can tell by now the Star Trek film writers were running out of ideas. Grade C-.

Conclusion:

After watching as many 80s science fiction films, I had come to notice a pattern throughout each year. When one movie comes out and makes it big, other movies copy its story. For instance, E. T. with the loveable, good alien comes out and is a blockbuster hit. Then, other films like Explorers, Flight of the Navigator, and Short Circuit follow immediately with pretty much the same storyline idea. Same thing happened with The Abyss, an alien underwater storyline. Then followed a couple of other movies that were really stupid.

All in all, I have to pick the best science fiction film of the 80s and it’s gonna be hard, because there were a lot of good ones. Aliens, The Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn, and E. T. were all the best sci-fi films of that year. But if I had to pick one out of those films, it would be Empire.

Though Aliens comes in pretty close behind, Empire has all the elements of sci-fi and really was able to pull it off exceptionally. It had the believable story, the special effects, the fantasy, and the acting and directing were much better than in the first film. The Empire Strikes Back wins the 1980s.

Crazy dream #1: Dracula

Christanna RowaderLeave a comment

So as of late I haven’t been able to really remember my dreams too well because I haven’t been sleeping so well in the past couple of days, considering I’ve been moving between states.

But when I woke up this morning—more like afternoon—I forced myself to remember this one.

It was about Bram Stokers’ Dracula, the movie that was made in 1992, I think. I was the Mina character running from Dracula. In the movie, Mina is kind of stupid and falls for Dracula even though she’s engaged to Jonathan. Poor Jonathan is locked up in Dracula’s castle being sucked on by some pretty slutty but sexy female vampires. By sucking, I mean blood. 😉

Kind of like Draculas castle in my dream...kind of
Kind of like Dracula's castle in my dream...kind of

In any case, as I played the Mina character in my dream, I was much smarter and knew exactly what Dracula was…a demon of the night, ooohhh… I remember that I was trying to rescue Jonathan from the castle, all the while pretending to be on Dracula’s good side. (This Dracula, by the way, is not attractive whatsoever, and he’s pretty nasty) So, as I was doing my rescue mission, which kind of ended up failing, I believe, though I don’t really know what happened to that part of the dream, it got to the point where I had to rescue myself. So here I was running around, trying to escape out of windows and all that stuff because Dracula was pissed that I had betrayed him…or wasn’t falling for his love spell, or whatever. I do think that he bit me at one point, but I’m not sure. I was covered in blood while trying to escape to the nearby village. For some reason, the village seemed to be a safe point.

So I got did escape out of the castle through some crazy torrential moat where I nearly drowned. I could hear him flying like a bat in the air trying to scope me out, so I had to hide in the shadows the whole time. I finally got out of the crazy river and ended up in some Roman-like stone courtyard with lots of statues. Anyway, this is where I saw who Dracula was before he turned into a vampire. I felt pity for him for like a second, until I heard him closing in on me, hunting me. And then, somehow I blacked out and ended up back in the village with my family members (from the movie, not my real ones) and everyone was eating different cakes. I bit into one and scarfed it down. The whole time, I was paranoid that Dracula would find me here.

And that was it. I can’t remember if anything else happened. My dream then switched over to some random thing about me being at an actors’ workshop with all my old high school and college drama buddies, it was pretty lame. I really didn’t want to be there. Oh yeah! People from my old work were there too including Richard! He kissed me in my dream…huh. Random as always.