80s Movies: Weird Science (1985)

If you watch just one 1985 teen sci-fi movie this year, make it Back to the Future. But if you've had enough of paradoxes and jigowatts and you'd much rather see Kelly LeBrock in her prime, watch Weird Science. She pretty much single-handedly carries this movie in the way that, for example, Liz Hurley doesn't quite manage to do in 2000's Bedazzled.

So much happens in Weird Science that it's hard to know quite what to say about it. This might be one of those movies that you just have to watch - otherwise it's like saying Ferris Bueller's Day Off is about him 'not going to school'. It just doesn't quite encapsulate the full story, does it?

Also, just the briefest of mentions here for Bill Paxton - a muchly undervalued actor who pops up in quite a few of my favourite movies (Twister, in particular) but is often given fairly one-dimensional characters. As Chet in Weird Science, he doesn't exactly buck that trend, but it's still fun to see him playing that numbskull role for which he's become so well known.

80s Movies: Week 2

We're through Week 2 of our 80s movies series now, so here's the second of our round-ups, giving you a spinny, visual representation of some of the greatest movies ever made (in the 80s). Go on, give it a spin - you know you want to. It'll feel good, I promise.

80s Movies: Back To The Future (1985)

Wonderful characters, endearing performances, super-cool technology, and a highly quotable script. A gripping storyline, nail-biting action sequences, a touch of romance, and some genuinely funny comic moments. Awesome soundtrack, good special effects, Libyan terrorists, and a dog called Einstein.

Okay, I ran out of stuff a bit at the end there, but Back To The Future has just about everything that you could want from a big Hollywood blockbuster. It isn't just one of the best movies of the 80s, it's one of the greatest movies ever made. I won't brook any argument on that fact.

Advent Calendar - Dec 8th - Back to the Future game trailer

Your treat for today really is a good one - it's the trailer for the Back to the Future five-part game series from Telltale Games. It looks pretty good, and it features Back in Time by Huey Lewis and the News. Not sure if there's a massive three-dimensional holographic shark in there though, but you never know your luck.

By the way - if you're looking for more about the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Re-release on DVD and Blu-ray, check out our review of the boxed sets available here.


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Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Re-release

It's been a busy year for Back to the Future. Of course it's 25 years since the original 1985 release of the movie - and it's a little strange to think how close we now are to the dates used in 1989's Back to the Future Part II. We might not have hoverboards, but we're getting closer to massive holographic sharks, so that's good.

As any of you who use Twitter to an obsessive extent will no doubt no, the anniversary festivities really got underway on July 5th when Totalfilm got it a bit wrong and thought JUL 05 2010 had ever appeared on the top row of the DeLorean's time circuits... and then did some ill-advised Photoshopping to go alongside their apology.

But now it's October - just like in the movie - and the 25th anniversary DVD and Blu-ray versions of the original film are being released to mark the proper milestone. What's more, they've only gone and put it back on the big screen, too. Great Scott!