What I’ve Seen
1985
Back to the Future
Brazil
1986
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
The Great Mouse Detective
Hoosiers
An American Tail
Three Amigos!
Platoon
Little Shop of Horrors
Castle in the Sky
Aliens
1987
The Chipmunk Adventure
The Untouchables
Full Metal Jacket
Spaceballs
The Brave Little Toaster
The Princess Bride
Wall Street
1988
Bull Durham
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
A Fish Called Wanda
Die Hard
The Land Before Time
Rain Man
Cinema Paradiso
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Talk Radio
The Naked Gun: From the Files of the Police Squad!
1989
The Abyss
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Back to the Future Part II
Glory
34 Total
The Best of What I’ve Seen
5. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Top 100)— After a truly disappointing second installment, Indianapolis returned triumphantly in a fantastic third movie. Featuring Sean Connery as Indy’s dad—a role he was absolutely born to play, even more than Bond (calm down, it's true)—Last Crusade is nearly as fun as the first, if a little bit more nonsensical
4. Die Hard (Top 100)—Very simply the best Christmas movie of all time. Glibness aside, this is exactly how an action movie should be made. It has a charismatic lead, intelligent villains who actually seem like a threat, and some fantastically directed and kickass action scenes. The movie that made Bruce Willis, Die Hard is everything good that came out of the testosterone-addicted 80s movie scene.
3. Cinema Paradiso (Top 100)—I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m a sucker for this kind of film, the long-winded somewhat whimsical life story. This isn’t the best example of the type (See Gump, Forrest and Button, Benjamin), but is close enough that it would have been quite a feat for the movie to lose me. Cinema Paradiso is an involving coming-of-age story combined with a nostalgic ode to classic cinema, with one of the most moving endings to any movie I’ve ever seen. Well worth a watch for those who like this kind of thing.
2. Platoon (Top 100)—Widely regarded as the quintessential anti-war movie, Platoon is about the brutality of conflict and the destruction of innocence that war inevitably brings. While certainly that theme has been played out more than enough since (and arguably before), Platoon may be the best entry into that sub-genre. Oliver Stone uses his considerable skill to engross his audience, which makes the brutality of Vietnam that much worse.
1. Wall Street (Top 100)—Like Platoon, Wall Street was directed by Oliver Stone and stars Charlie Sheen (yes, that Charlie Sheen. Call him Carlos Estevez if it helps), but it’s a far funner experience. Although just like in his previous film Stone had a message—a condemnation of the 80s corporate culture, which is just as relevant today as it ever was—he elects to do so in a much more entertaining fashion. Michael Douglass’ Gordan Gekko helps with this, as a relentlessly charismatic corporate shark, and he has become on of Cinema’s most iconic villains. Greed, for lack of a better term, is good.
What I Haven’t Seen:
Akira
Batman
Beetlejuice
Big
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Born of the Fourth of July
Broadcast News
Cacoon
The Color of Money
Coming to America
Dead Poet’s Society
Empire of the Sun
The Fly
The Goonies
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Jean de Florette
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Labyrinth
Lethal Weapon
Manhunter
Mississippi Burning
My Neighbor Totoro
Out of Africa
Predator
Ran
Talk Radio
Top Gun
The War of the Roses
Weekend at Bernie’s
When Harry Met Sally
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