The Top 10 Movies Of The 80's

[Y 2 Jake]

What are your top 10 80's movies?

Mine in no particular order:

Ghostbusters: I cant believe they only made two films. I know the second one isn't a classic but it's not that bad. You know a films good when you had to get all the figures.

Gremlins: I heard there doing a remake. I dont know why this is almost perfect. This is a proper 80's film. Try to find the original scrip. Not suitable for kids.

The Goonies: I've never met anybody who doesn't like The Goonies. I could watch this film on a constant loop.

The Terminator: My mother let me watch this film when I was about 4. And it's one of my fave's still. I now pass on that tradition by letting my 4 year old watch it. I feel awkward when the sex scene comes on though.

The Breakfast Club: You will never find another film that is pretty much set in the same place, that is better than The Breakfast Club.

Aliens: The first one's amazing. But I personally prefer this one. Possibly because it's so far removed from the original.

Platoon: Best wVietnam movie ever. FACT. Forget Apocalypse Now. There's only one war film that's better and that's Brotherhood.

Predator: Not as good as Aliens. But Arnie was the man in the 80's. It's irrelevant that he's a shit actor. And Jesse Venturas in it. And he doesn't have time to bleed.

The Lost Boys: The best vampire movie ever. FACT.

Robocop: This film is sick. It really pisses me off that they turned it into a kid's franchise by the end. I also find it strange that figures were released with the original. Despite the fact kid's weren't allowed to see it. Then again I remember having a Toxic Avenger figure. And there's rape and paedophilia in that film.

 

[Kasey]

For my personal list...oh, boy. In no particular order and discounting the Superman movies because I'm a friggin' geek-mark for that. I'm also trying not to duplicate everything Jake did because it's obvious he's been rummaging through my DVD collection. Ass.

1. Monster Squad-
Campy fun that was written by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) and had some seriously funny moments and some solid performances (including a great Wolfman by a younger Jon Gries) still bring a smile to my face upon repeat viewings.

2. Full Metal Jacket
Since Jake covered Best Picture of 1986, I'll get the film that came a year later but still strikes my fancy just as much. I'm not always a complete nut for Kubrick fare, but this film did me just right in that department. Sometimes funny (R. Lee Ermey), sometimes brutal, and sometimes sad, this is probably one of my favorite war films to see.

3. Big Trouble in Little China
To this day I still love quoting this film and I always try to remember what Jack Burton always says "at a time like this when the rain is coming down in sheets thick as lead..." Plus, the fight scenes were pretty cool.

4. The Outsiders
Coppolla's adaption of S.E. Hinton's coming-of-age tale of "greasers" and "socs" in 1960's Oklahoma is a pretty simple story that is kept afloat by the brilliance of its performers. With a veritable all-star cast (before they were stars) it really stands up as one of my favorite bittersweet movies of all time. I love the theme song by Stevie Wonder and I always have my violent funnybone tickled when the greasers whoop ass in the rumble.

5. Road House
Coming in at the very end of the decade is this hollow, but entertaining ass-kicker with solid dialogue in parts and some nifty fight scenes. I especially like when Terry Funk throws a patron out of the bar like a bag of dirt and exclaims: "...and don't come back, peckerhead!"

6. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Definitely one of the more quotable films I've ever watched. At this point, I don't even need to watch it anymore because I've memorized most of the dialogue and act it out on a constant basis. I also used the scheme for faking out the parents once when I "needed" to skip school in the tenth grade. Suckers.

7. Spaceballs
Typically, I'm not an ardent supporter of Mel Brooks' fare, but this film still cracks me up whenever I watch it. My money moment is still the "Combing the Desert" sequence. Gotta love the Ace hairpick.

8. The Karate Kid
This film introduced us to The Zabka. It's a form of bully seen in Southern California frequently during the 1980's. He's a tall, good-looking, condescending jock-type who loves nothing more than picking on the little guy. His favorite meal-of-choice is typically the scrawny Italian kid who just moved to California straight from New Jersey. Generally, The Zabka displays no mercy and enjoys belittling the youngster, forcefully making out with the kid's girlfriend, pushing him down the hill on his Miyagi Turbo, or just beating him...generally displaying...yep, you guessed it...NO MERCY.

9. Conan The Barbarian
If ever there were a perfect vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger, this be it. Very simple in it's intent and not even remotely a fraction as grand in scope and wonder as the original Robert E. Howard novels were (typically due to the budget and technical limitations of the time), it was still an amazing story of lifting weights, learning how to stab, and seeking revenge on a guy when he cuts off your mom's head.

10. Poltergeist
I still love this film today because it is one of the first original ghost movies of it's ilk, and despite it's simplicity at the core, it still moves well and is a definite rollercoaster with visual effects that still stand up to the best of today in instances. It's also good because we finally got to see what it's like when a horror master like Tobe Hooper can do when someone gives him the tools to tell a solid story without the limitations of money and location that he had on Chainsaw Massacre.

Being that I'm a 1980's geek, I'll have to think of another list of ten films I like from that era. And by "thinking" of another list, I mean walking over to my DVD shelf and looking at my nerd stash.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I really should have made this a 1000 best films of the 80's. Fuck the Coppella, Scorsese and De Palma stuff of the 70's. Cheese is what rocks the world of cinema.

 

[Shocky]

Ah Damn, only 10. So after going through probably the 1000's of movies in my collection here i go.

Raiders of the Lost Arc. Quite simply, the greatest action movie ever made bar none. It has a smart plot, kick ass action scenes, and probably the biggest action hero of all time next to James Bond. Indiana Jones is just the complete bad ass, and I have a degree in archaeology and gone to cool places in South America because of this guy.

Spaceballs: I'll take a lot of shit for this, but this is Mel Brooks best movie. It didn't rely on nudity or excessive amounts of language to be funny. This movie rips off all of the sci-fi movies perfectly. "Get back here you fat bearded bitch." I honestly quote the hell out of this movie.

Empire Strikes Back: I'll probably get a lot of shit for this, but this is the greatest sequel ever.. This movie had the greatest movie twist of all time with Vader being Lukes father. This movie has stood the test of time, and in my opinion, is the greatest science fiction/fantasy movie ever made. (Ducks from LOTR's fans.)

Aliens: This movie scared the shit out of me when it came out, but terrified the hell out of my little brother. He would wake up in sweats in the middle of the night holding onto his chest. It was horrible. It took the horror of the first Alien, which is easily top 5 movie of the 70's, and turned it into an action packed horror flick.

The Terminator: Damn, damn damn. This movie was amazing. Arnold was a stone cold killer in this one. You genuinley thought that the damn robot was never going to stop until Connor was dead.

The Predator: Sci-Fi junky, yes I am. I don't like sappy shit, and a movie with Arnold and Ventura in it is far from sappy. This movie and Aliens spawned a decade long obsession with Alien vs. Predator for me, culminating in a shitty movie.

Conan The Barbarian: God Bless Arnold and his horrible one liners. The perfect guy movie. Killing people is good, because it will get you laid, simple enough.

Gremlins: I literally watched this movie over and over again that i broke the tape, yup, it was that bad. I could quote the whole movie from beginning to end, and to this day, I still want a damn Mogwi.

The Goonies: Honestly, how in the hell is this movie not on everyones' list. I'm so pathetic that I watched it last week. It has everything that you would ever need in a movie.

Batman: My dad took me to see this movie in the theatres 3 times, my parents bought me 3 copies of it on VHS when it came out, because they knew this movie was going to get destroyed. It took the Batman from comedic cartoony character, and brought him back to its roots. Jack is the fucking man. This series should never have died, but thanks to Joel Shitmaker, he effectively buried the series, thank you Chris Nolan.

Shit I could go on and on with this one. I'm pissed I didn't get E.T. into this. Lets' go 90's.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The Goonies: Honestly, how in the hell is this movie not on everyones' list. I'm so pathetic that I watched it last week. It has everything that you would ever need in a movie.



Shit I could go on and on with this one. I'm pissed I didn't get E.T. into this. Lets' go 90's.

Cough, cough. The Goonies is on my list son. I dont think there will be a top 10 films of the 90's thread. Nobody could be bothered to post in this one.

 

[Shocky]

Speaking in general terms there Jake. Every person that was alive in the 80's should have that movie in their top ten, EVERY. arrrrrrr.

 

[Kasey]

^Regarding E.T., if it's any consolation, I have the deluxe collector's edition of E.T. My wife bought it for me two Christmases ago and it has the soundtrack and a making of book, too. I love that movie. Especially when E.T. and Elliot get shitfaced together. My wife had never even seen the movie until I drug her ass to the theater to watch the re-release. Her parents raised her on a steady diet of shitty Disney movies. I've had to spend the last seven years educating her on everything cool she missed because she was raised as a tool.