memories of the ’70s – Sooner or Later

At the end of the 1970s, young girls found a new heartthrob in Rex Smith. Although he made his Broadway debut in Grease in 1978, and had been a regular feature in 16 and Tiger Beat Magazine when he starred in television film Sooner or Later in 1979, Smith became a household world for teens [...]

Read Full Post »

memories of the ’80s – Sixteen Candles

The directorial debut of John Hughes, Sixteen Candles set the stage for his beloved series of teen movies of the mid-1980s, dealing with the humour, angst, ridiculousness and the complexity that is teenage life.
Hughes had been a writer at National Lampoon Magazine and had penned the very successful National Lampoon Vacation which cemented his love within the [...]

Read Full Post »

memories of the ’80s – Flashdance

Did you want to sweat your way to a dance scholarship? Did leg warmers mean more than fashion to you? For many, Flashdance was a fashion icon of the 1980s, but for some it was the hard path of a dancer from the wrong side of the tracks.
Debuting in 1983, Flashdance was the first film [...]

Read Full Post »

memories of the ’70s – Bruce Lee

Even though most teen boys of the 1970s had their rock posters, their Farrah poster, they also made room for a poster of martial arts king – Bruce Lee.
Born in 1940 in San Francisco as Jun Fan, with the addition of a Christian name Bruce, he moved to Hong Kong, where he grew up. His [...]

Read Full Post »

memories of the ’70s – Smokey and the Bandit

I was recently travelling with a group and one of my colleagues spotted a Black Trans Am and proclaimed it as  the Smokey and the Bandit car. A movie that was certainly not highbrow nor culturally significant. But that film epitomized that free-wheelin’ spirit that the 1970s always celebrated.
The number two movie of 1977, starring movie [...]

Read Full Post »

memories of the ’70s – All the President’s Men

When I decided to attend journalism school, I started to research my new found industry. I read books and rented movies. One of the first ones I looked for was All the President’s Men.
 
The first thing that struck me was that it was released in April 1976, a few years after the actual Watergate scandal. [...]

Read Full Post »

My view of Toronto – Bloor & Dundas St. W. (part 2)

As I discovered the range of grafitti found in this neighbourhood, I came across this section dedicated to film. The artist chose a stark black and white theme, distinct in the colourful world of grafitti.
Mr. Hitchcock:

King Kong:

Read Full Post »

memories of the ’70s – Jaws

Summer and movies go hand and hand. During the 1970s, it seemed to be a lot about disaster. Big buildings on fire, massive ships sinking, and airplane disasters were the favourite themes. But one shark created the blockbuster –a new way to celebrate summer.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Jaws is credited as the first summer blockbuster, [...]

Read Full Post »

memories of the ’70s – National Lampoon’s Animal House

I’m sure my parents weren’t thrilled when they found out I had seen National Lampoon’s Animal House. To me it was an extreme version of university, but there was a part of me that wanted to believe that you could experience that kind of free-wheelin’, no holds barred self-indulgent and almost dangerous life at college.
 This [...]

Read Full Post »