Friday, July 24, 2009

1980s Teen Movie Triple Feature On TCM Friday Night

Turner Classic Movies, best known as the home of films by such icons as Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis, has done an excellent job over the last few years of adding quality movies made post-1980 to its lineup. On Friday July 24th starting at 8 pm EST, TCM screens a trio of teen films from the era when it was practically standard for Kenny Loggins to have a song on a soundtrack and C. Thomas Howell looked to have a promising career.

First up is 1984's The Karate Kid. Even though I've seen this movie countless times, when Daniel LaRusso goes into his "Crane kick" stance in the climactic scene, I can't help but do a fist pump and let out a "hell yeah!"















The 2nd film in the triple feature is the 1983 computer thriller WarGames. I haven't seen this one in years so I'm glad that TCM is showing it. In addition to featuring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy early in their careers, WarGames is also notable because Dabney Coleman is in it and doesn't play a detestable bastard.
















The 1980s teen triple feature closes with the 1986 coming-of-age comedy-drama Stand By Me. My experience has been that most (not all) movies with titles inspired by famous songs suck (something I call "The Pretty Woman Rule"). However, Stand By Me is one of the exceptions. In case you haven't seen it, let me warn you... when Gordie launches into his campfire story, make sure you aren't eating anything.















The air times for the three films (all EST) are as follows:

The Karate Kid- 8:00 PM
WarGames- 10:15 PM
Stand By Me- 12:15 PM

7 comments:

BeckEye said...

I've never been a huge fan of The Karate Kid, but that's a decent lineup. Stand By Me is the best of the bunch, but I have a soft spot for War Games.

emily said...

There is a scene in War Games where (I believe) they're standing in the hallway and there is a TV in the background and the newscaster is talking about "a prophylactic recycling center". Just a little easter egg I always get a kick out of.

Unknown said...

Those are all great movies... thanks for the tip Malcolm!

Mama Pajama said...

War Garmes? come on now....but the other two are in my top 20 favorite movie list. I don't even know if I have TCM anymore. I 'll have to check. :)

PopArtDiva said...

Sorry it's been a while since I've been over! Life is a bit hectic.

Love the new look btw!

I loved Stand By Me - even if it was based on a song. I've found Stephen King's non-horror novels usually translate pretty well to film - especially the ones where the main characters are kids. He really has kids down!

Hope all is well with you!

Malcolm said...

Beckeye: One of my favorite lines from any movie is from WarGames. Matthew Broderick's biology teacher asks the class who first suggested the idea of reproduction without sex and Matthew says, "um, your wife?"

Emily: I'll have to look for that scene when I watch WarGames again.

Jamie: You're welcome

Mama PJ: Don't you be hating on WarGames now, lol. If your cable/satellite provider doesn't carry TCM anymore, that's wrong on so many levels.

Pop Art Diva: I know how it is. I have been slowly getting back into blogging/visiting other blogs.

I'm glad you like the new layout. It looks so much brighter and inviting than the previous one.

Penny said...

Never seen War Games but I love, love, love Stand By me. I equate this film to the standards of The goonies :)

 
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