Film, Generations, Music, TV

Gen X Christmas 2020

by generationxrewind

From now until the 25th, every day we will celebrate Gen X Christmas on all of our social media sites. We will look back at the Christmas related music videos, films, TV episodes, and specials from our youth. There will also be some holiday blogs coming out on this site as well.

Does your family have a special film that you always watched during the holiday season? Do you have a favorite Christmas episode? Is there a favorite album of yours from the Gen X era that is now a Christmas staple in your household?

Let’s kick this off with the 1987 rap classic, Christmas In Hollis by Run DMC. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Film, Generations

31 days of Gen X horror 2020 wrap up

by generationxrewind

Thanks to everyone who took part in our month-long salute to horror of the Gen X era. We will be back next year with an even bigger #31daysofgenxhorror.

When it comes to scary movies, the Gen X era is as important as the Universal horror movies of the 1930s. The biggest names in horror: Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Wolfman, and The Mummy were all introduced to the mainstream audience on a grand scale via those classic movies from Universal.

They stayed the dominant stars of horror until the Gen X era came around and new folks joined the group. Michael Myers, Jason Vorhees, and Freddie Kruger are A-listers when it comes to movie monsters. The era also produced Pinhead, Chucky, and Candyman.

The creatures of the thirties lived on in the monster mashup movies of the forties and remade in the fifties and sixties with a British twist in the Hammer horror films. Our generation’s monsters were in sequels well into the nineties and early 2000s. They also rose again in remakes and reboots.

The classic monsters never really went away, as movies are still being made about them and neither will the ones of our generation. The makeup and special effects will just keep getting better. Nothing will be able to kill them off, not silver bullets or a stake in the heart!

Film, TV

31 Days of Gen X Horror.

by generationxrewind

It’s October 1st, so that means it’s time to kick off #31daysofgenxhorror on our social media sites. All this month we will spotlight some of the best-known horror films and TV shows from the Gen X era. We will also introduce you to some obscure movies and programs that you might have missed out back when they first came out.

On day 1, we felt that we should start with the trailer for the film that set the tone for much of the genre that came out in our generation. That movie is John Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece Halloween. Please follow us on our social media sites for more tributes to the great horror movies and shows of our generation. We would also love to find out what you consider the scariest films or programs that came out in the Gen X era.

Have a great Halloween month!

Film, Music

GREASE 2

by generationxrewind

Grease 2, the sequel to the 1978 blockbuster was released on this day, June 11, back in 1982. The opening of this film however took a back seat to another film released on the same day. A little film that you might have head about that was directed by Steven Spielberg called E.T.

E.T. went on to become the highest-grossing film of the decade and knocked off Star Wars as the all-time box office champ. Grease 2 made a small profit with 15 million at the box office against a 12 million dollar budget. The film also opened to mostly bad reviews.

Grease 2 found a bigger audience on pay cable stations like HBO, Showtime, and The Movie Channel. The film also found a Gen X audience who many were too young to really appreciate the first film when it came out in 1978. Another big impact on Gen X can be summed up in two words: Michelle Pfeiffer.

Many a young Gen Xer fell in love with Pfeiffer who was playing a female version of the John Travolta role in the first film. Her co-star Matthew Caulfield played the clean-cut cousin of Olivia Newton John’s Sandy. Pfeiffer had been in a few movies before Grease 2, but this was her first starring role. She made a bigger splash the following year with her role as Al Pachino’s girlfriend in Scarface. By the end of the decade, she was one of the most in-demand leading ladies in film.

Were you a fan of the movie? Did you have a favorite song or musical sequence from the film?

Film, Generations, TV

May the 4th be with you!

by generationxrewind

It’s May 4th and this is the day that we celebrate Star Wars. The original film released in 1977 is by far the most important film of our generation. From the first film and the two sequels, and for all the toys, t-shirts, lunch boxes, and posters we purchased, there was never another film franchise in the Gen X era that came close to it in terms of profit or influence.

Here’s how some of us first found out about a new movie called Star Wars that would be hitting theaters soon. This is the original TV spot that aired in 1977.

Film, Generations

The top 25 Gen X films.

by generationxrewind

These are the essential 25 Gen X films that we feel every member of our generation should watch at some point in their lives. The list is made up of films that are about us and not just the biggest hits that came out during our era. That’s why you don’t see a Star Wars, Rocky, or Indiana Jones movie on the list. Tell us what you think about our choices and let us know if you think we missed a film.

Reality Bites

The Breakfast Club

Farris Bueller’s Day Off

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Risky Business

Pretty in Pink

16 Candles

The Karate Kid

Back to the Future

Heathers

Singles

Less Than Zero

Boyz n the Hood

Clerks

The Lost Boys

Weird Science

War Games

Red Dawn

Secret Admirer

Some Kind of Wonderful

Breakin

Better Off Dead

Foxes

Lucus

Film, Music, TV

1989

by generationxrewind

As we welcome in 2020, we say goodbye to 2019, the last year of the 2010s. Since this was the last year of the decade, all this month on our social media sites, we looked back at the last year of the eighties, 1989.

1989 looked much different than 1980 did in regards to TV. Most of Generation X can probably remember their family or others they knew who still had antennas on top of their TV or their roofs in the early eighties. Only 17 million homes in America had cable TV in 1980, by 1989, that number was at 50 million.

Another significant change was the fact that if we missed a show on TV, we no longer had to wait for the summer reruns in order to watch it. Video Cassette Recorders were the norm in households by the end of the decade. Not only could you record your favorite show, but you also could rent a movie at the local video store, or at your neighborhood grocery store. The video revolution also included making your own videos. By 1989, some younger Gen Xers had much of their early childhood recorded on the family VHS camcorder.

When it came to recorded music, audio cassettes were at their peak in the mid and late 80s. This was due in part to the popularity of The Walkman and boom boxes. Although Compact Disc came out in 1983, they did not outsell cassettes until the early 90s.

For broadcast TV, sitcoms ruled the small screen. The Cosby Show and Roseanne tied for the #1 show of the year. 8 of the top ten shows for the year were sitcoms.

When it came to movies in 1989, The most anticipated film of the year was Batman. The summer blockbuster earned over $411 million and became the highest-grossing movie in North America for the year. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was the worldwide #1 film of the year and Batman was #2.

Bobby Brown’s Don’t Be Cruel was the #1 albums of the year. Look Away by Chicago was Billboards #1 song of 1989. This is despite the fact that it never hit #1 in 89 but did top the charts in Dec of 88. The debut album of Garth Brooks was released in 1989 and Country Music was never the same again.

What were your fave TV shows, movie or music of 89?

Film

Silver Bullet (1985)

by generationxrewind

During Halloween season folks are often looking for scary movies to watch. When it comes to movies made in the Gen X era, we all know about Jason, Freddie, and Michael. They ushered in the modern era of horror and their names are right up there with Dracula, The Wolfman, and Frankenstein as the greatest characters in the history of the genre.

While the Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween franchises will always reign supreme in Gen X horror, there were plenty of other movies made during the era. With this in mind, for the rest of October, we have decided to introduce, or re-introduce to you some scary movies of our generation that you might have missed or just forgotten about.

Today’s movie is Silver Bullet from 1985. The film starred Corey Haim, Gary Busey, and Everett McGill. The story was based on the Stephen King novella, Cycle of the Werewolf. King actually wrote the screenplay as well. The story is set in a small town in Maine where murders start happening every time there is a full moon. The film is narrated by Jane, who as a teenager along with her paraplegic brother Marty discover that it is a Werewolf who is doing the killing and they also find out the identity of the human who turns into the creature. The adult voice of Jane is provided by Tovah Feldshuh who later went on to play a former congresswoman and leader of Alexandria on The Walking Dead.

When it comes to werewolf movies of the ’80s, An American Werewolf in London and The Howling are probably what comes to mind first. While Silver Bullet is sometimes forgotten in the mix, it was a modest hit that received mixed reviews.

If you are a fan of werewolf movies of 80’s, movies based on Stephen King’s writings and flicks starring Cory Haim, then you definitely need to check out this film.

Film, Music

Dream Warriors

by generationxrewind

Flashback Friday Music Video.

For the month of October, all of our Flashback Friday Music Videos will be horror-themed. Today’s video is Dream Warriors by Dokken.

The song appears on the band’s fourth album, Back for the Attack. It is also featured in the film, A Nightmare on Elm Street #3: Dream Warriors. The song hit # 22 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. The video features a young Patrica Arquette as well as Robert Englund portraying Freddie Kruger.

Film

JENNIFER (1978)

by generationxrewind

During Halloween season folks are often looking for scary movies to watch. When it comes to movies made in the Gen X era, we all know about Jason, Freddie, and Michael. They ushered in the modern era of horror and their names are right up there with Dracula, The Wolfman, and Frankenstein as the greatest characters in the history of the genre.

While the Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween franchises will always reign supreme in Gen X horror, there were plenty of other movies made during the era. With this in mind, for the rest of October, we have decided to introduce, or re-introduce to you some scary movies of our generation that you might have missed or just forgotten about.

The first one up is Jennifer from 1978. This is the story of a snake-handling girl from West Virginia who moves to a big city and gets a scholarship to an elite private school for girls. Of course, the snobs at the school are cruel to her because she is poor and from Appalachia. Jennifer doesn’t just have the ability to handle serpents, she can control them with her mind and she lets loose with that power on her enemies after they go too far one too many times with their cruelty.

The film stars Lisa Pelikan in the title role and also features game show host, Bert Convy as a sympathetic teacher at the school. Jennifer was, of course, compared to Carrie which came out a few years before. While the film is no Carrie, it’s a good effective low budget movie that will be fun to watch for first wave Gen Xers to look back on the time when they were teenagers or the period right before they became high schoolers. It’s definitely worth watching now and should have been a bigger hit when released back in the day.

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