Despite being an avid movie watcher and with an early love for scifi and fantasy, there's some films from my earlier days that I never really watched, so I've starting picking some of them up.
One was "Willow" which I need to finish after watching half of it about two months back or more. (I'm kind of indifferent to it, honestly. It's just too Disney / goofy, rather than feeling real to me. Like, someone's idea of how a fantasy tale should unfold, down to the cutesy little quirky people. Madmartigan is the most interesting character so far.)
One I started last night and will definitely finish today is "The Neverending Story." Obviously i know the title track really well, it was all over the radio at the time and will show up on 80's compilations albums, but I had no actual idea of the film except for the flying dog creature in the promo materials (who now I have learned is a "dragon" of sorts). Somehow I have dodged spoilers for a few decades as well. I was expecting myself to be bored and it was more of a checklist item for me -- but despite the 80's sensibilities artistically and story-wise of the film, I actually have found it a bit more powerfully done than expected. I mean, it should be cheesier than it is, but the way it is acted and shot, it does set up its own particular tone, and it's a sincere movie that believes in itself. So even the cheesy effects early in the film don't bother me.
I did see the one actor (the guy riding the snail) and I'm like, "Holy, crap, that's the oompa loompa guy in the remake of Chocolate Factory..." and I was correct. And Gerald McRainey was the dad -- I didn't even recognize him, he was so young. But boy that was a terrible "speech/talk" that opens the movie. Reminds me of the connection between the father/son in "Inception." It's obvious he cared about his kid, but he also had no idea how to talk to a boy about loss.
I'm interested in seeing where the film ends up.
The bully motif shows up in a lot of movies. Bullying exists. Did any of us ever get thrown into dumpsters, though? I don't know about that, usually the films take it further than real life or at least provide these extreme clear-cut examples. Usually (in my experience) it's about getting your books knocked on the floor in the fall or shoved up against lockers, or having an audible whisper campaign by your classmates, or items stolen and circulated around so you cannot get a hold of them again, or being excluded from the circle. I don't remember being chased or many physical fights -- although you might get punched hard in the arm in the chaos of the hall or other one-offs. I remember only two actual physical altercations - and one was when I was standing up for someone else being bullied so I became a target, and the other, I stood up to the bully and they quickly chose to leave after a few punches were leveled.
Anyway, my head is trying to figure out where the film is going, and I'm not sure. It's giving definite vibes of "A Monster Calls" though.