Castro Theater's August 2016 Calendar

This blog is really limping along.  I'm not posting at all and I'm watching fewer films than at any time in the last decade.  I don't know what I'm going to do with this blog.  My life is still in transition since my father's death last year.

Wednesday nights at the Castro in August were I Wake Up Dreaming by Elliot Lavine - allegedly his final noir series program.  I had seen several of the films on the program but still it was unfortunate I couldn't catch any of the programs.

I only saw two films at the Castro in August.  It was a double bill on August 12 that looked a lot a Midnites for Maniacs program but it wasn't.  Speaking of which, Midnites for Maniacs launched a new website in July.  It also appears that the Maniac's new home base is at the Roxie.  They haven't held an event at the Castro since May.

The Goonies starring Sean Astin & Corey Feldman; with Josh Brolin, Robert Davi & Joe Pantoliano; directed by Richard Donner; (1985)
The Lost Boys starring Jason Patric & Corey Haim; with Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman & Dianne Wiest; directed by Joel Schumacher; (1987)

I had never seen The Goonies.  It's a cult classic but I'm about 5 to 10 years too old to have appreciated it as a child.  I've seen portions of it on television many times but I never really got into it.  I decided to watch it once through on the big screen to see if I could appreciate the film.  The short answer is no.  I always thought Steven Spielberg directed the film but to my surprise Richard Donner helmed the film.  Donner would make Lethal Weapon (a film I still admire) two years after The Goonies.  Goonies is filled with too much slapstick and silliness for my taste.  It's difficult for this 40something year old to embrace his inner child via The Goonies.

I saw The Lost Boys when it came out in the theaters in 1987.  The film was directed by Joel Schumacher who would go on to make some of the less admired Batman films of the Tim Burton era.  Scanning Schumacher's filmography, I think The Lost Boys ranks among his best.

Jason Patric plays the new kid in town who falls for the beautiful motorcycle chick (Jami Gertz).  What he doesn't know is that the gang she rides with aren't just Goth bikers but vampires.  Led by the charismatic David (Kiefer Sutherland in a flashy performance), the gang initiates Michael into their gang/coven. 

Fortunately for Michael the initiation is a two step process:  first he gets bitten by a vampire and second he must feast on the blood a victim.  Michael steadfastly resists the second part.  Serendipitously, Michael's younger brother Sam (Corey Haim) has become acquainted with the Frog brothers - two comic book store workers who are vampire hunters as a side gig.  These two are memorably portrayed by Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander. 

Patric & Sutherland provide the angst & menace (which works equally wells as teenage rebellion or vampiric tendencies).  Feldman & Newlander provide the comedy.  Haim provides the most outlandish 80s fashion.  If you throw in memorable rock-n-roll soundtrack & a particularly effective climax battle, The Lost Boys ranks as one of the 80s classics; it was as enjoyable as I recalled.  I think I enjoyed it more in my forties than my late teens.

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Castro Theater Calendar - August 2016