More “Fuckin A!” Moments in Action Movie Music (A Bio-Mechanical Examination of the AMS-80)

Illustration of a DX9 synthesizer against a laser-like blast of yellow, purple, and orange light.

|Matthew Tchepikova-Treon| For the inaugural 1980s Action Extravaganza, three years ago now, I wrote an ode to a few particular moments from action movie soundtracks that, by sheer musical force, can compel moviegoers to exclaim aloud, “Fuckin A!” This year, inspired by… Continue reading

Action With Our Community: Celebrating and Predicting The 80s Action Extravaganza

|Lucille Hanson| Around February or March 2019, I was at an interview for a local filming company and in their lobby, I spotted the Spring program for the Trylon. I flipped through it and was blown away. It was the first time I had ever seen a movie theater run nothing but older movies. Continue reading

The Transformative Power of Girl on Top: Death, Sex, and Agency in The Terminator

Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese have an intimate conversation in the Tiki Motel

|Chelli Riddiough| The Terminator isn’t a very horny film, unless you’re into feathered mullets and homicidal Austrians. But inside this ‘80s action thriller lives a love story, and not one, but two, very weird sex scenes. That’s enough to catapult it into a genre I call “cyberspunk.” When The Terminator begins, our protagonist… Continue reading

The Cult and Culture of VHS and the 1980s Action Flick

|Dan McCabe| If I asked someone to name ten action movies, I wouldn’t be surprised if many of the named films were released in the 1980s. The Terminator (1984), First Blood (1982), Die Hard (1988), Top Gun (1986), Aliens (1986), Red Dawn (1984), Predator (1987), Lethal Weapon (1987)… Continue reading