In honour of the release of "300" on DVD, we take a look back our favourite "oh-so-bad," from-the-'80s mythology-ish movies that we hate to love.
Long before Peter Jackson and his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy legitimized the genre, these movies dwelt somewhere between the A minus and B-movie grades and have since earned themselves cult status among a certain Gen-X cohort.
Let's be clear, we're not talking the overwrought sword and sandal variety such as "Gladiator" or "Troy," or those with long talkative sequences and fits and spurts of action, but those of the only decade in history in which they could have been produced - the over-the-top excessive 1980s.
While they do contain moments of mild winking-at-the audience-humour, generally the creators (big names like Wolfgang Peterson, Ron Howard and Terry Gilliam) of these movies took themselves so seriously, the results were a misplaced earnestness that we just can't help but laugh at. And, needless to say, time has not served them well.
Nestled in the years between the "Star Wars" effects advancements and the landmark Jurassic Park CGI achievements, their hokey heroes were surrounded by a medley of stop-motion animation, Henson-style puppetry and awkward costuming.
What follows is the best of the worst, those that made no attempt at tongue in cheek, or irony - just plain old fantasy flicks that were all filmic faux pas to the very last frame. Semi-mythological, semi-serious, fully pulped.
Clash of the Titans (1981) 
Plot: To save his young bride, Perseus must battle indomitable gods and the towering kraken.
Why we still hate (love) it: The last of stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen's trimuphs.
Cheese quotient: 7
Dragonslayer (1981)
Plot: When the king's daughter is chosen as the next sacrifice to the dragon, he enlists the aid of a young apprentice to slay the fire-breathing meanie.
Why we still hate (love) it: Despite the years and the earnestness of the plot, the dragon still looks pretty cool and the feel of the medieval ages is just as we imagine it - filthy and harsh.
Cheese quotient: 6
Time Bandits (1981)
Plot: A young child with a energetic imagination embarks on a timetravelling adventure with a band of dwarves who have stolen a map to the universe
Why we still hate (love) it: It's an enthusiastic time-traveling yarn from Terry Gilliam. Full of exotic locations and breathless action, as conceptualized by the mast behind "Brazil" and "12 Monkeys," what's not to love?
Cheese quotient: 8
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Plot: A child slave evolves into a muscle-bound hero who is committed to avenging the massacre of his people.
Why we still hate (love) it: Critic Roger Ebert has argued it's a metaphor for every child's adolescence - we just love it for the sword fights.
Cheese quotient: 4
Beastmaster (1982)
Plot: Backed up with both an army of mammals and some special powers a pre-"V" Marc Singer, as the Beastmaster, sets out to, you guessed it, avenge his people.
Why we still hate (love) it: The ferrets are cute.
Cheese quotient: 8
Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)
Plot: A hired sword helps a princess foil the designs of an evil tyrant and his sorcerer sidekick.
Why we still hate (love) it: Lee Horsley (of "Matt Houston" fame) is the mustachioed hero, and with a sword with three blades, to boot. Best, though, is the cheese of the fight scenes, in which swords snap like dried branches from a sun drenched tree in August.
Cheese quotient: 7
Krull (1983)
Plot: A prince and his band of compatriots march off to rescue his new bride from a fortress of alien invaders.
Why we still hate (love) it: Sure, it's a blatant rip off of the sci-fi fantasy genre reinvigorated by "Star Wars" a few years prior, but there's still something undeniable and indefinably cool about this. Liam Neeson rocks an early role.
Cheese quotient: 9
The Neverending Story (1984)
Plot: To save the kingdom of Fantasia young Atreyu must battle the bleak "nothingness."
Why we still hate (love) it: Simply put, the characters. Each possesses its own unique quality and personality, plus Luck dragons are awesome.
Cheese quotient: 7
Legend (1985)
Plot: A special-effects extravaganza in its day, this Ridley Scott film stars Tom Cruise as a young adventurer must thwart the Lord of Darkness' plans to destroy daylight.
Why we still hate (love) it: Tom Cruise in tights. Every woman's pre-"Oprah" meltdown dream.
Cheese quotient: 8
Willow (1988)
Plot: An unwilling dwarf protects a baby from an evil queen
Why we still hate (love) it: Val Kilmer's tooootally amazing ability to twirl a broadsword 360. Classical fencing look out.
Cheese quotient: 7
What Do you think? Agree/disagree? Glaring omissions?
