Happy Thanksgiving... and 1985 Randomness

by Nathaniel R

Dear readers, thank you for the private messages and public comments welcoming me back after my long hiatus. I’m thankful for you. And Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate. I’m still in the warm-up mindset in terms of my ‘comeback’ and I'm never going to be daily multiple articles a day again -- it's not 2014 and the world has changed -- but I do have a couple plans for 2025 brewing which will and won’t be like past Film Experience shenanigans.

Anyway, back on topic. We hope you’ve enjoyed this 80s party. We’re doing it for about one to two more weeks interspersed with current Oscar discussions of course. There’s still a few more years of top tens to share and two seminal 80s features to discuss – one from 1987 that I promised a write up of for a reader a long long time ago (forgive me!) and one from 1989 that I have personally felt a strong urge to reconsider because it's been a million years since I saw it and I wonder how it's aged. But for this Thanksgiving Weekend intermission ~ let’s talk 1985…

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Streaming Nostalgia: The Breakfast Club

by Baby Clyde

From Rydell to Ridgemont and The High School of Performing Arts nothing seemed more exciting to a British tween in the 80’s than going to school in America. They had jocks and cafeterias and grade point averages. We had cricket and Spam Fritters and mock exams. There were no proms in the UK. No leather jacketed bad boys or Homecoming Queens. Nobody drove their own cars to school (Their own CARS!!!). It was blazers, morning prayers and the occasional coach rip to Hever Castle if you were lucky. We had Grange Hill. They had The Breakfast Club.

It's hard to explain just how cool the American education system seemed to us as kids back then. We thought that all US teens lived in their own John Hughes movie the same way the rest of the world thinks that we Brits attended Hogwarts. For that you can mostly blame The Brain, The Athlete, The Basketcase, The Princess and The Criminal...

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Almost There: Cher in "Mask"

by Cláudio Alves

To commemorate Cher's 75th birthday, I'm dedicating this week's "Almost There" to a celebration of the superstar. For someone who gained fame as a singer and TV personality, Cher's an acting powerhouse. Over the years, she has amassed a small but impressive filmography. In 1985, after proving her dramatic abilities in supporting roles, directed by Robert Altman and Mike Nichols, Cher got her first leading part in Peter Bogdanovich's Mask. She wowed critics, filmgoers, and festival juries worldwide, and many predicted her for a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Even Cher herself seemed to believe she deserved the honor. Unfortunately, AMPAS disagreed…

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Showbiz History: Hamlet vs Johnny Belinda and A Beautiful Mind vs. four brilliant films

Today, March 24th, in Oscar history only. Four ceremonies have held on this day.

1949 The 21st Academy Awards are held honoring the films of 1948. We discussed this race a handful of years ago on the Smackdown.  Johnny Belinda led the nominations with 12 but it was Laurence Olivier's Hamlet that emerged as the Best Picture winner and took home 3 other Oscars as well. It's actually a fairly interesting Oscar year given the variety of genres in the Best Picture shortlist...

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Almost There: Norma Aleandro in "The Official Story"

by Cláudio Alves

One of the nominees from this Thursday's Supporting Actress Smackdown likely got her nomination due to thee Oscar buzz she had earned from a previous performance. While it was Gaby: A True Story that made Norma Aleandro an Academy Award nominee in 1987, it was her performance in 1985's The Official Story that put her name on Hollywood's lips. That Best Foreign Language Film winnere remains the crown jewel in the Argentinian actress' hallowed career...

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