Ultimate 80's Blogathon

Originally posted on Tranquil Dreams and Drew's Movie Reviews:

The wonderful Kim at Tranquil Dreams and Drew at Drew’s Movie Reviews have teamed up for this amazing Blothathon all about our favourite movies from the 80’s! Thanks for hosting, guys!

I myself was born in the 80’s, but just about, and as a result, I’ve never felt I’ve belonged to a certain decade.My mind likes to think I was more of a 90’s girl, but in terms of movies, all of my childhood favourites are from the 80’s. That’s my saving grace. That said, I love to talk to death about my childhood favourites, so if Kim and Drew will allow it, I want to pick 2 movies for this post.

Since starting a movie blog, I’ve deliberately gone back through the years and watched ‘classics’ and ‘must watch movies’ recommended by friends, family, and other bloggers. Because of this, I have a slew of new favourite 80’s movies! So what I’d like to do is write about my favourite childhood 80’s movie, and my favourite more recently watched 80’s movie.

Childhood Favourite: National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

Funnily enough, last year on a Bank Holiday my family all got together and re-watched National Lampoon’s Vacation. When we did, we were a little horrified that I was allowed to watch it as such a small child! Behind all the rude jokes though, is a hilarious movie about a family’s vacation that anyone can relate to. 

Long car-rides, fighting siblings, grumpy grandparents, wrong turns, and family members you just love to hate, these are all essential ingredients to a trip away. This is also the time when Chevy Chase was in his prime, he is hilarious in this, as the hard working Dad who will do anything to make sure his family has a good time.

The jokes are also timeless. Over 30 years later, anyone who has ever rented a car will have had a situation similar to the Griswolds. Who knew there was so much difference between a Citroen Xsara and a Citroen Xsara Picasso? A lot, we found out on a family vacation of our own!

Recent Favourite: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Last year, just a few weeks before the release of The Force Awakens, I started the mammoth journey of watching all of the previous Star Wars movies. Not re-watching, literally watching for the first time. I’d managed to avoid Star Wars all my life, but the whole world was excited for Episode VII and I wanted to know what was going on.

I watched them in Episode order (which I’ve been told countless times was wrong) and by the time I got to the originals, my Dad asked if he could join in on my quest, too. His favourite movie of all time Is Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, and well, being told that gave me such high expectations!

Safe to say it lived up to every one of them. There’s no one out there anymore who doesn’t know that Darth Vader is Luke’s father (NoooOOOoooO!), and trust me, if time travel was a thing, going back to watch this moment un-spoilt would be the first thing I would do. Despite that, it’s still the most iconic scene in the movie, perhaps the entire series. It’ll also stand out from all the other movies for me as by the end, it feels like the bad guys actually won. Of course, that just made Return of the Jedi that much more awesome!