@slug:ac.1.16.videopicks
@head:Video Picks
@deck:Excitement, Adventure … Bowie, ’80s fantasy flicks have it all
@by:Angie Kincheloe
@email:angiek@vg.pdx.edu
@body:The preteen years can be tough, but thankfully for those of us who went through those hard times in the 1980s, there were a bunch of fantasy movies to ease the pain. In times of woe, sometimes you just need a little escape from the reality of puberty. I have to wonder about the psyche of the kids who haven’t seen the following flicks.
The first time I ever kissed a boy was during the movie “Willow” starring Val Kilmer. For this reason it is one of my all time favorites. It isn’t necessarily the best movie in the world but it will always hold a special place in my heart. The title character “Willow” is a dwarf played by Warwick Davis. Willow finds a baby at the side of the river near his village and adopts her. He soon realizes that this child is supposed to put an end to the rule of the evil Queen Bavmorda. He enlists the help of Madmartigan (Kilmer) and off they go to rid the world of evil. At this point I am sure that I wasn’t really paying attention to the movie any more, but I loved it just the same.
“Legend” starring Tom Cruise, Tim Curry and Mia Sara tells the story of an evil demon named Darkness (Curry) who wants to rid the world of all light. In order to do this he must kill all the unicorns. Someone has to stop this monster! Jack (Cruise) and his band of friends are sent to the rescue. This group must not only stop the unicorn massacre but also save the princess Lili (Sara), who is going to have to … gasp, marry Darkness. This is a real edge-of-the-seat situation, rent it and find out what happens.
As a preteen, David Bowie scared me to death. He was weird and freaky and he played Jareth the Goblin King in “Labyrinth.” Jennifer Connelly plays a girl named Sarah who is mighty pissed off because she has to babysit her brother. I feel your pain sister. Sarah makes the mistake of wishing the little bugger to the goblins, and like all cool wishes, it comes true. Jareth is going to turn this kid into something really horrible by nightfall if Sarah can’t make it through the “Labyrinth,” or maze, to save him.
The ultimate fantasy movie is “The Neverending Story.” Nothing can top this movie in the cool department. Bastian is a nerd at school and nobody likes him. One day as he tries to escape from some hooligans by ducking into a bookstore he comes across a magic book. After “borrowing” the book and hiding in the school attic to read it he is swept into the story of Atreyu. Atreyu is a boy on a mission to save the Empress of Fantasia. As Bastian gets to the end of the book he realizes that he has to save the day. This helps improve his self-esteem and he doesn’t feel like a total wimp any more. He also gets to ride the really cool flying dog.
There are many more cool movies that fit into this category, including “The Secret of Nyhm” and “The Princess Bride.” I would recommend all of these lovely films to take the edge off, even though college is nothing compared to the puberty palace called middle school.