Movies of a Misspent Youth

Remember the Betamax? I do. Remember when there were actually lines at the video store? Remember when a movie ticket, popcorn, and a box of Raisinets didn’t require a lien on your home? Or how about early cable TV, where you actually watched what was on, rather than DVRed it — remember that?

What about all those really cool fantasy and scifi movies that came along in the seventies and eighties? If you’re around my age or older, then you definitely remember those.

So, starting tomorrow and every Monday thereafter, I’m going to explore that wonderful era, one film at a time. Movies of a Misspent Youth is a new series of reviews devoted entirely to the stuff I watched, rewatched, memorized, and, occasionally, reenacted with a blunt plastic sword and a candy-induced spike in blood sugar. From the legions of Star Wars and Conan imitations, to the reruns of the dystopian SF of the 70s. From the monster-hits of the decade, to the videostore schlock not nearly as good as its cover art — I’ll cover them all.

Each Movies of a Misspent Youth review will be written through the lens of nostalgia, with one rose-tinted foot in the past and one, slightly more critical one, in the present. I’ll re-examine old favorites and rediscover movies I haven’t seen in twenty-years, and on the way maybe make some small justification for the sheer amount of time I *ahem* invested in front of the flickering screen. So, put on your parachute pants, plop down on Mom’s shag carpet, and clack the dial over to my site every Monday for a heavy slice of nostalgia as I remember the genre films of the pre-internet, pre-cellphone, pre-CGI age.