As I lamented in my last issue (Preview Review on The Lost Boys), I am already sick of all the hype and hysteria over Twilight and the new sequel New Moon. Each generation has their own pop culture lightning rods and mine are obviously from the 80s. I made the statement that I would just assume watch 1987's The Lost Boys instead of this most recent version of a vampire flick. Well, it was pointed out to me that New Moon focuses much more on the werewolf angle, so I have my 80s substitute for that as well. I will have to go with a little cheesy film from 1985 called Teen Wolf.

Teen Wolf starred Michael J. Fox as "Scott Howard" a high school student who discovers he is part werewolf and, after coming to grips with this fact, begins using it to his advantage. Here is the original trailer for Teen Wolf...

The film was released at the height of Fox's popularity. It was a big success with over $33 million at the box office and debuted at #2 only behind Fox's even bigger success, Back to the Future. Teen Wolf was actually filmed before Back to the Future, but was released after that blockbuster which could have partly paved the way for its success. Though quite campy and very much cheesy at times, it is now considered somewhat of a cult classic. Give me the basketball-playing, truck-surfing werewolf from Teen Wolf any day before the angst and love torn werewolf from New Moon.

There is a scene from Teen Wolf which ranks on my popular Best Dancing Scenes from 80s Movie list and another which ranks on my Best Montage Scenes from 80s Movies list (which you should check out if you have not before). There are several things that amuse me about Teen Wolf now that never seemed to stand out when I was a kid watching this film. The first is the nickname of the girl he ultimately ends up with at the end. Her nickname is "Boof" which is strange, yet they never really explain the origination or significance of it. The second is the high school's team name and mascot being the Beavers. The last is the bully from the other school, "Mick" played by Mark Arnold, looks like he is 30 years old but is supposed to be a high school kid. Arnold was actually 28 when the film was released and looked every year of it to me. He ranks on my Best Bullies from 80s Movie list (which is another one worth checking out). It is funny how your perspective changes over the years, though I try to suspend my disbelief and overlook some aspects when it comes to my 80s classics and guilty pleasures.

Teen Wolf was followed by a cartoon spin-off in 1986, and a sequel in 1987 titled, Teen Wolf Too, with Jason Bateman starring as Todd Howard, Scott's cousin. The sequel did not see even close to the success of the original and werewolves seemed to take a backseat for a while. Now, they seem to be making a comeback. First, back in June (2009), MTV announced that they would be adapting Teen Wolf into a television series "with a greater emphasis on romance, horror and werewolf mythology." Then after the huge success of Twilight and New Moon, there is a remake of 1981's The Howling as well as a sequel or relaunch of John Landis' An American Werewolf in London (also 1981) in the works not to mention a Benicio Del Toro film called The Wolfman due in theaters this February. As I said about The Lost Boys, I have to say that I would still be more willing to see Teen Wolf (or the original An American Werewolf in London or The Howling for that matter) than watch Twilight or New Moon. That's still just the 80s kid in me, I guess.

That'll wrap up this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Hope you enjoy the Preview Review issues and please let me know if there are any particular 80s movies that you want to see me cover. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

I don't know about you, but I am sick of all the attention being paid to the new Twilight sequel which opens in theaters this weekend, New Moon. I realize there is a large group of rabid fans for these books and movies, but they do nothing for me. I would just assume watch a vampire movie from the 80s. Lucky for me, there is The Lost Boys which was quite the phenomenon back in 1987 when it was originally released.

The Lost Boys is a movie directed by Joel Schumacher about two kids who move to California and end up fighting a gang of teenage vampires. Those two kids, "Michael and Sam Emerson," are played by Jason Patric and Corey Haim. They are joined by a couple of local vampire killers, one of which is played by Corey Feldman making this one of three movies the "two Coreys" did together in the 80s. Adding to the outstanding teen cast is Kiefer Sutherland who plays the leader of the vampire gang "David" and Jami Gertz as "Star" the love interest. Here is the original trailer for The Lost Boys...

The Lost Boys performed well at the U.S. box office, grossing over $32 million - a strong performance for an R-rated horror movie, especially at that time. I have a fondness for this film due to its pop culture importance in the 80s, but have never been an especially big fan of it beyond that. It is what it is, an action-horror flick featuring several teen heart-throbs. The tagline is "Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire." A little misleading based on what actually happens, but gives you an idea of what direction they were trying to go. If I was not a big fan of The Lost Boys back in the day, you should be able to imagine just how much I could care less about this latest Twilight phenomenon.

After many attempts at a sequel over the years, Lost Boys: The Tribe was released in 2008. This was over 20 years after the original and did include Corey Feldman reprising his "Edgar Frog" role and a short cameo by Corey Haim at the end. I felt I owed it to the 80s to watch this film, so I did see it and would say it was average at best. Earlier this year (2009), it was reported that work had begun on a third installment entitled Lost Boys: The Thirst which would once again feature Corey Feldman not only in the film, but also as executive producer. I have to say that I would be more willing to see that film than watch Twilight or New Moon. That's just the 80s kid in me, I guess.

That'll do it for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Hope you enjoy the "Preview Review" issues and please let me know if there are any particular 80s movies that you want to see me cover. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Today (November 18, 2009) is the 49^th birthday of British pop singer Kim Wilde. She released her debut single way back in 1981 with "Kids in America" which was a huge success in the UK but only reached #25 on the US charts. Though she would have a bigger hit in the US later on, this is my favorite song by Wilde so this week's first Flashback Video is "Kids in America" by Kim Wilde...

Wilde would continue to achieve success and popularity in the UK, but it would not be until her fifth album, Another Step released in 1986, that Wilde would finally find major success in the United States. It would come with her cover of the Supremes 1966 classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On" which would make it all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of 1987. Wilde's version was a total re-working of the original, completely transforming the Supremes' Motown Sound into a 1980s power pop song which allowed her to become only the fifth UK female solo artist ever to top the U.S. Hot 100 chart. So this week's second Flashback Video is "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by Kim Wilde...

That song was played to death back in the summer of 1987. Wilde's popularity was still primarily in Europe where she actually holds the record for being the most-charted British solo female act of the 1980s, with 17 UK Top 40 hit singles throughout the decade. Since her 80s success, Wilde has still been active in the music industry, but has also achieved success in her second career as a gardener. As recently as this spring (2009) she successfully toured around Europe to almost sold-out venues proving her music still means a lot to her fans. To many fans, especially in the US, she will always be remember for those 80s hits.

That will wrap up another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you want to see the past issues of Flashback Videos, just type that into the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column and it should give you a list of all of them. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use that Google Search Box to find any past issues or topics you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Now I definitely remember Adams first as an 80s rock star, though he did have big hits in the 90s too. What I have read from the guys over at Stuck In the 80s, Adams considers himself much more than an 80s artist. That may be true, but like I said, I will always remember the 80s.

Bryan Adams would really get noticed after his 1983 triple-platinum album Cuts Like a Knife was released. This would begin a string of 5 straight platinum albums for Adams from 1983 through 1996. His next album, 1984's Reckless, is one of the iconic pop albums of the 80s in my opinion. Reckless would go 5x platinum and hit #1 on the Billboard album chart. Six singles were released from the album and all six would reach top 15 or higher on the Billboard Hot 100 which at that time was a feat only previously accomplished by Michael Jackson's Thriller. That is quite impressive and all six of those songs made my personal top 10 which is coming up. 1987's Into the Fire album would be his last of the 80s decade and achieved triple-platinum status.

Here is OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 BRYAN ADAMS SONGS FROM THE 80s:

Honorable Mention. "Christmas Time" (1985) - I like Christmas music quite a bit, but mostly different interpretations of the traditional songs. One of the few non-traditional Christmas songs that I do like is this original single written by Adams and Jim Vallance. I did not find an actual video for the song, but here is a link where you can hear "Christmas Time". I thought it at least deserved an honorable mention.

10. "It's Only Love" with Tina Turner from Reckless (1984) [link to video of live performance]

9. "Cuts Like a Knife" from Cuts Like a Knife (1983)

8. "This Time" from Cuts Like a Knife (1983)

7. "Somebody" from Reckless (1984)

6. "Run to You" from Reckless (1984)

5. "Heat of the Night" from Into the Fire (1987) [link to video]

4. "Straight From the Heart" from Cuts Like a Knife (1983) [link to video]

3. "One Night Love Affair" from Reckless (1984) - Also included on the film soundtrack for one of my favorite 80s comedies Real Genius [link to video with song playing (sorry this was the best I could find)]

2. "Summer of ‘69" from Reckless (1984) - Here is a quote from Adams regarding the song titles meaning, "I think it's timeless because it's about making love in the summertime. There is a slight misconception it's about a year, but it's not. '69' has nothing to do about a year, it has to do with a sexual position." That's not necessarily why I have always liked it (and not sure if I even want to believe him), but thought it might end some controversy. [link to video]

1. "Heaven" from Reckless (1984) - Reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of 1985. Was actually first included on the 1983 soundtrack for the film A Night in Heaven (though the song is much much better than the movie). Adams did an acoustic version for MTV Unplugged which I think I like even more than the original. [link to original video]

There's my list. No big surprises except for maybe the order I put them in. As you hopefully noticed, there are links to videos on several of the songs so you can listen and remember them right now. Adams would go on to have a huge hit in 1991 with "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" from the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves soundtrack which would win him a Grammy. He would stay on the soundtrack kick joining Sting and Rod Stewart to record 1994's "All For Love" for the Three Musketeers movie and then solo for 1995's "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" for the Don Juan De Marco soundtrack. All three songs would be #1 singles though none of them captured the magic of the 80s for me. Happy Birthday Bryan Adams and I hope you come to realize that being remembered for the 80s is not such a bad thing.

That's all I have for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks so much for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you are interested in reading more of my Top 10 lists, please click there for a summary. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also now follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". Have been sending daily 80s tweets out via Twitter, so be sure to follow me there. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: Regular readers will know that I often share with you in this section signs that I find humorous. Here is a No Parking sign that I don't think I would take the chance to find out if the threat is real or a joke. What do you think?

Quote of the day: "Your happiness ultimately comes from the way you work, not where you work." -Russell Simmons