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The 1980s Movie [Lex]

CloakandDagger.jpg

When conceiving this post, I began broadly. I came up with a slew of titles that I believed represented “a 1980s movie.” My list included Hoosiers (1986), Mr. Mom (1983), Nine to Five (1980), Cloak and Dagger (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), Risky Business (1983), and The Karate Kid (1984).


Why these movies? I deliberately left out blockbusters from the 1980s, such as E.T., Star Wars, and any of the Indiana Jones pictures. Spectacles and blockbusters have been a given since at least the 1920s, so I didn’t feel a high budget movie qualified as representative of any particular decade. Different appetites (sword and sandal, war, sci-fi), yes, but no distinctive aspect that would tie any big-budget series of films to a decade.

I also put Academy Award-style films to the side—for the same reason. Movies seeking Oscar glory are always going to exist and don’t necessarily possess anything unique to a decade. Finally, I did not count the burgeoning independent film scene of the 1980s or foreign films.

What then, in my estimation, made the films on my list “80s” movies, other than the years in which they were produced? These mainstream domestic pictures, in my opinion, were particular to the 1980s because they were mid-budget fare, well-structured, quite clear in their dramatic purpose, and reflective of the more ordered zeitgeist of the Reagan era.

Many films will mirror the times in which they are produced, but I think there was something more distinctive to a middle grade 1980s movie than in other decades. Of course I have to check my bias. I came of age in the 1980s and am more familiar with the movies of that era, but I think I can dismiss these prejudices with a quick review of film history.

After the silent era, Hollywood entered its golden age, and the studio system, though legally dashed in the mid-1940s, managed to hang around through the 1950s and even into the 1960s. By the end of the 1960s, there were new rules, and the 1970s, many say, was the most free-handed decade for mainstream filmmakers as Hollywood reorganized itself.

By the 1980s, order took hold again and corporations edged out the latter-day studio mogul. Thus, you had a decade finally free of old studio rules but somewhat brought to heel by the new, conglomerate powers that be, as well as a Reaganesque social ethos. The result for cinema was the kind of middle tier films on my list.

Did this category of film exist in other eras? Of course, but they were more akin to b-roll or schlocky genre movies than solid, medium budget pictures with clean and compelling metaphors. To me, these are the hallmarks of a 1980s movie.
This type of movie hung around into the 1990s until the internet came along and probably destroyed quality filmmaking at the mainstream level forever.

You’ll never see a movie like Mr. Mom on 3,000 screens again. Blame it on Covid or CGI (now AI) or streaming or the unslakable thirst for prequels, sequels and origin stories, but the simple, effective, and meaningful medium-budget picture of the 1980s is likely not to be produced again—at least for broad consumption in domestic movie theaters.

Circling back, I thought I could discuss most, if not all, of the films on my list. But the more I wrote, I realized it would be too long an essay. So, I decided to dissect one movie I believe is emblematic of what I consider a 1980s movie. That film is Cloak and Dagger.

***

Cloak and Dagger is about a boy and his father (Dabney Coleman) who recently lost their mother/wife and are in the throes of grieving. The father works on an air force base and is frequently absent. The boy, Davey (Henry Thomas), is left to his own devices much of the time and often spins tales about espionage and conspiracies. He’s aided in these fantasies by the fictional character Jack Flack (also played by Coleman), who is a master spy of some kind. He eggs Davey on, much of the time to no good, until of course they stumble upon a real spy ring.

But the plot is incidental to the real power of the movie. Davey and his father are still reeling from their loss. Davey needs his father to help him get over his trauma, but the father is too busy—and too wounded himself—to give Davey the support he needs. Thus, Davey descends into the world of imaginary spies and secret missions to salve his wounds.

Jack Flack can only be seen by Davey, and the dramatic purpose of the movie is similarly shaded by the plot. Cloak and Dagger is not about a tween boy who [SPOILER ALERT] uncovers a conspiracy to encode secret military plans in a video game cassette. It’s a movie about grief and healing.

Cloak and Dagger might seem a little silly to modern eyes, but even its title is an indicator of its deftness. ‘Cloak and dagger’ of course defines the nature of the story, an adventure tale fraught with disguise and menace. At the same time, the title underscores the metaphor of the movie: Davey and his father are themselves caught in a personal caper.

Davey needs his widowered, hard-working father to be there for him. He needs his father to be his hero, and that’s why at the very end of the film [SPOLIER ALERT again] the two figures merge with the real father taking the place of the imaginary Jack Flack, and both father and son realizing they will have to behave differently to get past their grief. This movie is not about spies and secret tapes but a boy who needs his father to be his hero, not a mythical, cartoon version of one.

***

My debut essay on AoS was about the difference between clever and good screenwriting, and Cloak and Dagger epitomizes the style of good writing found in the 1980s, medium-budget range, which is almost a lost art now.

In that essay, I explained that a movie need not be a straight drama with a serious tone (from the 1980s think Ordinary People or Chariots of Fire) to be considered “good.” Offbeat films, even silly ones can fall into the good camp of screenwriting as opposed to the “clever,” which means the movie is more about its plot hook and therefore superficial.

Perhaps it’s no accident, then, that several of the movies on my list are goofy, veering towards hokey—with Cloak and Dagger the goofiest and hokiest of my choices.

Putting aside its playfulness, Cloak and Dagger is a tight, three-act movie with well-rounded characters, effective dialogue, smart pacing, and, above all, a strong dramatic purpose with which viewers can connect. The conclusion, [last SPOILER ALERT], where Jack Flack and the father merge with the father assuming the dominant role is one of the more touching final moments in a movie that I can recall.

Cloak and Dagger was a modest financial success and played on almost 1,200 screens. Had it not been up against the Summer Olympics I believe it would have gone wider and done even better business.

Much of Cloak and Dagger’s success in the 1980s and its impact since then, I believe, is due to its light touch, and, to me, a great deal of what makes an 80s movie just that is an insouciance mixed into the potage.

Saturday Night Fever is a movie that is almost inseparable from the 1970s, but it has many characteristics of an 80s movie—at least according to my definition. Yet there is one key difference which would keep it off my list.

Saturday Night Fever’s final moments leave things open-ended. As the credits roll, we don’t quite know what Tony Manero has achieved or if he has changed, but we know when Bender raises his fist at the conclusion of The Breakfast Club that something significant has shifted within him. The same can be said in the concluding frames of Cloak and Dagger, and that’s what defines an 80s movie—the cleanness and assuredness of its arc as a story.

This is the effect of Reagan’s America, a little bit square but surely a better and more self-confident era for the United States and filmmakers. There are no loose ends or dumb plot holes in my idea of a 1980s movie, and the stories are entirely believable within the context of the world they establish.

It was “morning in America again” or so Reagan said in a political ad in the 1980s. Our movies were also finding themselves again in this decade, and I’m not sure other decades can say the same.

Of course, I expect to be challenged on this theory. It is all a little speculative. Were there smaller, compact, issues-pictures in the 1950s, for example? Undoubtedly; but I’m not sure any of them could be called a “50s” movie. Were Magnificent Obsession or All That Heaven Allows or Imitation of Life (three wonderful Douglas Sirk pictures) unique to the 1950s or just produced then? I can see a case either way, and I expect my conceit to be tested.

In that spirit, what’s a “1980s movie” I’m leaving out? Or what other decade has a type of film particular to that time period? Prove me wrong, in essence, or point out that the type of movie I’m describing falls in other eras and is not unique to the 1980s.

Maybe the 80s will only be remembered for its music or big hair and shoulder pads, but I’m making a case that a certain type of film should also be indelibly written into that decade.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:30 PM




Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 *marches in*

Posted by: The Twonky at June 06, 2026 07:35 PM (vFG9F)

2
omg I not only read the content, I went back to the prior thread and read THAT content.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at June 06, 2026 07:39 PM (n7rxJ)

3 I am proud to announce we are having Election Day Concert in November to celebrate my victory again.

We will have Yoko Ono and Sir Mix Alot in concert to celebrate.

Hope you can join us...........

Posted by: Mayor Bass at June 06, 2026 07:39 PM (xl8DV)

4 We're off to a slow start tonight....

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 06, 2026 07:40 PM (gnNyN)

5 I like the idea of “the 80’s movie”and think it was an era of getting back to optimism. The typical 60’s movie (not all of course) was stupid and nonsensical (which is why so many have been forgotten now) and the 70’s were marked by a dark, dystopian and often nihilistic ethos.

80’s movies went back to being fun! I’ll name one that I think of as a great 80’s movie, although a bit more quirky and less well know than those you name - Cherry 2000.

Posted by: Tom Servo at June 06, 2026 07:40 PM (3mtTi)

6 "Obviously, he’s not Donald Trump. I mean, he is the gateway drug to Trumpism. Let’s put it this way: If he wins and [Texas Senate candidate James] Talarico loses, the cry across the land, in that Democratic consultant class, will be: ‘Find me more Platners. We need more Platners. These are the guys who know how to win.’ And where have I heard this before?" columnist David French said.

They really believe that fake rape is real rape.

Posted by: r hennigantx at June 06, 2026 07:41 PM (/+uur)

7 On a similar theme, were there "representative" Sixties movies and ones for the Seventies? Leaving out the '70s blockbusters like Jaws, Star Wars, and Close Encounters just as TJM leaves aside the blockbusters of the '80s. And please, pretty please, leaving Easy Rider out of the Sixties.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 06, 2026 07:41 PM (wzUl9)

8 I think Breakfast Club is the most overrated film in history. I hate it more as I get older. Its right up there with any of the 70s nihilistic bullshit in this aspect.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 07:41 PM (zZu0s)

9 I never saw Cloak & Daggrr

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at June 06, 2026 07:42 PM (fE6HJ)

10 Heathers. I think that was still in the 80s.

I tended to see the indie movies at the indie theaters. I keep thinking lately of Paris, Texas. I don't remember what it was about, so I don't know why it keeps popping into my head.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 07:43 PM (h7ZuX)

11 I could never buy Dabney Coleman in any role, he always felt like a guy who wandered onto the set and was just reading lines.

I think Breakfast Club is the most overrated film in history. I hate it more as I get older.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is that way to me. Its just awful and the main character is utterly despicable

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at June 06, 2026 07:43 PM (UZCuZ)

12 4 We're off to a slow start tonight....
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 06, 2026 07:40 PM (gnNyN)

We were all trying to remember what movies we saw 40 years ago. It's rough, because we're only 29.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 07:45 PM (h7ZuX)

13 80’s movies went back to being fun! I’ll name one that I think of as a great 80’s movie, although a bit more quirky and less well know than those you name - Cherry 2000.
Posted by: Tom Servo at June 06, 2026

***
Gotcha! from the '80s, with Anthony Edwards as a college student who is a strategic expert and winner at a paintball-like game -- and finds himself caught up in spy intrigues in what was still Communist East Germany. A fun film for sure; and you get Linda Fiorentino (Men in Black) as a sloe-eyed secret agent.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 06, 2026 07:45 PM (wzUl9)

14 Good evening everyone

Posted by: Skip at June 06, 2026 07:45 PM (Ia/+0)

15 Red Dawn ... 1984

Posted by: Howdy at June 06, 2026 07:45 PM (EFkNq)

16 Caddy shack was 4 hours 4 minutes of Harold Ramos in the first cut.
Where are the cut 3 or so hours.

Posted by: r hennigantx at June 06, 2026 07:46 PM (/+uur)

17 I could never buy Dabney Coleman in any role, he always felt like a guy who wandered onto the set and was just reading lines.

***
I have trouble seeing him as a hero, for sure. He has always played the rat and chiseler to perfection.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 06, 2026 07:46 PM (wzUl9)

18 Back to the Future 1985

Posted by: Tuna at June 06, 2026 07:46 PM (lJ0H4)

19 I have never seen Last Picture Show but love the 3 books.

Posted by: r hennigantx at June 06, 2026 07:47 PM (/+uur)

20 11...Coleman, I think, was the only actor in both films on my list. He was the boss in Nine to Five. I also liked him in Tootsie. I don't think he had much range but was good at what he was given and knew not to stretch himself too much.

Posted by: Lex at June 06, 2026 07:47 PM (y4H1r)

21 I’d pick Soylent Green as a typical 70’s movie.

And “The Party” as a typical 60’s movie. If you’re not familiar with “The Party” it’s where a bunch of bored rich people wander around some wealthy persons house drinking and having bland and meaningless conversations for 90 minutes. At some point an elephant shows up. The End.

Posted by: Tom Servo at June 06, 2026 07:47 PM (3mtTi)

22 Watched last couple days
They Were Expendable with John Wayne
Ike, Countdown to D-Day with Tom Selleck

Posted by: Skip at June 06, 2026 07:47 PM (Ia/+0)

23 I just looked through my collection of 300 movies and realized that maybe 10% at most come from the 1980s.

Everything else is from 1990s onwards (with a few from the late 1960s and 1970s).

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 06, 2026 07:47 PM (gnNyN)

24 French no more believes this crap than really enjoys watching his wife get plowed.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 07:48 PM (zZu0s)

25 Caddy shack was 4 hours 4 minutes of Harold Ramos in the first cut.

Apparently it was just random crap they filmed because they thought it was funny, and someone had to try to make it into a movie. Whoever it was, did heroic work to create a sort of narrative and make it actually a story

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at June 06, 2026 07:48 PM (UZCuZ)

26 Watched Red Dawn today as well

Posted by: Skip at June 06, 2026 07:48 PM (Ia/+0)

27 Short Circuit and Flight of the Navigator may not make your 'quintessential 80s movie' list, but they were great as an 80s kid, and they did have that 'there's a story, and a moral, and the plot hook doesn't overwhelm them'... IMO. Although Flight of the Navigator rides the edge on that.

Posted by: RandomDave at June 06, 2026 07:48 PM (aJQbY)

28 Repo Man. Liquid Sky. Eating Raoul. Das Boot. My Dinner with Andre*

*I'll never get those two hours or so back. What a bore.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 07:49 PM (h7ZuX)

29 Late 70s had lots of apocalyptic movies

Posted by: Skip at June 06, 2026 07:49 PM (Ia/+0)

30 I'm currently watching Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

The pod race is about to begin!

Start your engines!

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 06, 2026 07:49 PM (gnNyN)

31 Apparently it was just random crap they filmed because they thought it was funny, and someone had to try to make it into a movie. Whoever it was, did heroic work to create a sort of narrative and make it actually a story
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at June 06, 2026 07:48 PM (UZCuZ)

I would love the see that rap

Posted by: r hennigantx at June 06, 2026 07:50 PM (/+uur)

32 Ferris Bueller's Day Off is that way to me. Its just awful and the main character is utterly despicable
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at June 06, 2026 07:43 PM (UZCuZ)

Agreed. Although not as bad as Breajfast club and rhe rest of Hughes' oeuvre. I do not like any of the characters. Why root for Ferris? He's a shithead.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 07:51 PM (zZu0s)

33 Just watched Jaws for the time in 20 years or so. On Starz. Meh. I knew when every good line would come up. Still fun I guess. I'm sorry it started Spielberg's career.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at June 06, 2026 07:51 PM (l26NL)

34 Interesting choice of movie, Lex. _Cloak and Dagger_ is one of those movies that sort of brushes the edge of memory but is never quite fully recalled. I remember liking it but only saw it at home on either HBO or Cinemax, not in the theater; it was not a cinematic experience for me.

Speaking of '80s movies, I just watched _The Last Starfighter_ this morning. It was another attempt to capitalize on the popularity of _Star Wars_ using the hero's journey in space, except the mentor doesn't exactly die and Catherine Mary Stuart seemed much more approachable (and taller) than Carrie Fisher.

Posted by: SPinRH_F-16 at June 06, 2026 07:51 PM (FDHJL)

35 Late 70s had lots of apocalyptic movies
Posted by: Skip at June 06, 2026 07:49 PM (Ia/+0)

Omega Man.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 07:51 PM (zZu0s)

36 27. Yes! Those two could easily be on the list as well. I also was thinking of adding YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES, TIME BANDITS and THE LAST STARFIGHTER, but they were a little too genrish

Posted by: Lex at June 06, 2026 07:52 PM (y4H1r)

37 I guess not an eighties film but I've been meaning to watch Ferris Bullers Day Of again.

Posted by: Max Power at June 06, 2026 07:52 PM (ZaXN4)

38 Last Starfighter
Explorers

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 07:53 PM (zZu0s)

39 I tended to see the indie movies at the indie theaters. I keep thinking lately of Paris, Texas. I don't remember what it was about, so I don't know why it keeps popping into my head.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 07:43 PM (h7ZuX)

I remember that movie; rated it as “almost good”. There were parts, including the characters, that were very touching and well written. At the same time there were some huge plot holes that annoyed the heck out of me.

Posted by: Tom Servo at June 06, 2026 07:53 PM (3mtTi)

40 Raiders of the Lost Ark was a game changer.

Also a lot of great comedies released to start off the decade in 1980.

Caddy Shack and Hollywood Knights.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 07:53 PM (GseMx)

41 70s was the home of the weedy, pathetic leading "man" like Richard Benjamin and Dustin Hoffman. They were tired of those big manly heroic men, and wanted some metrosexual chinless sunken chests, for once!

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at June 06, 2026 07:53 PM (UZCuZ)

42 Yesterday was some big anniversary for Ferris Bueller and the Cubs game did not disappoint. Many Ferris and Cameron sightings. Even one Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at June 06, 2026 07:53 PM (l26NL)

43 The pod race is about to begin!

Start your engines!
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 06, 2026 07:49 PM (gnNyN)

Saw it in the theater. It was one of the 'wtf, contrived as hell toy inserts'- and that was after having to endure the interminable gungan section.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 07:54 PM (zZu0s)

44 A better "80s" movie with Matthew Broderick was WAR GAMES. That could have made the list too, but it was a little too on the nose for my taste

Posted by: Lex at June 06, 2026 07:55 PM (y4H1r)

45 A Sure Thing was great.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 07:55 PM (GseMx)

46 Just in the 1980s: The Blues Brothers

Good music, guns, cars, and crashes.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 06, 2026 07:55 PM (qx7Zg)

47 I like the idea of “the 80’s movie”and think it was an era of getting back to optimism.

I remain convinced the 80s were like beer. Perceived differently by everyone according to individual pallet. Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool were made in the 80s. So was The Presidio. Not "feel good flicks". I could go on and on.

I'm not sure experiences across the spectrum were more divergent than the 80s.

Posted by: Howdy at June 06, 2026 07:55 PM (EFkNq)

48 Her Alibi (1989) was a lot of fun.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 07:56 PM (zZu0s)

49 Top Secret!

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 07:56 PM (zZu0s)

50 The best movie to come out of the 80s was "UHF"

Posted by: The Twonky at June 06, 2026 07:57 PM (vFG9F)

51 And Uncle Buck was 1989.

My most watched movie. I think it should have won an Oscar.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 07:57 PM (GseMx)

52 C'mon. First Blood. Plus you have Brian Dennehy who wants to kick the drifter's ass.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at June 06, 2026 07:57 PM (x/s3z)

53 The best movie to come out of the 80s was "UHF"
Posted by: The Twonky

I can't really argue with that.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at June 06, 2026 07:58 PM (l26NL)

54 Saw it in the theater. It was one of the 'wtf, contrived as hell toy inserts'- and that was after having to endure the interminable gungan section.

That and the factory sequence where it is revealed that R2D2 can fly (???). Felt so much like a video game level it was painful

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at June 06, 2026 07:58 PM (UZCuZ)

55 Top Secret!
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 07:56 PM (zZu0s)

I'd add Spies Like Us, with Donna Dixon and two male comedians.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 06, 2026 07:59 PM (qx7Zg)

56 Seems like Chuck Norris movies were getting big in the 80s.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 07:59 PM (h7ZuX)

57 Apparently it was just random crap they filmed because they thought it was funny, and someone had to try to make it into a movie. Whoever it was, did heroic work to create a sort of narrative and make it actually a story
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at June 06, 2026 07:48 PM (UZCuZ)

If I remember the stories about the making of, they looked at the first cut and realized it was a steaming pile of crap. Chevy Chase was supposed to be the comic lead, and he just stood around like a wooden cigar store Indian. The stuff about the caddy’s (much more in the first version) was boring and no one cared.

So the genius move was to bring in Dangerfield and Bill Murray and tell them to ad lib their way through a new set of scenes. And of course, they turned a disaster into a triumph.

Posted by: Tom Servo at June 06, 2026 07:59 PM (3mtTi)

58 Amadeus was released in I think 1984. Prime has a new multi episode treatment of it and it's pretty good. Salieri is far more dark. I thought both Mozart and Constanze were miscast. But that's just me. No one can beat F Murray Abraham. Too many notes.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at June 06, 2026 08:00 PM (l26NL)

59 Ghostbusters, Labyrinth, Wargames, The Neverending Story, The Goonies, The Last Starfighter, Big Trouble In Little China, Weird Science, Tron..... it was a good decade to be a kid/teen who liked sci-fi and fantasy stuff.

Posted by: mikeski at June 06, 2026 08:00 PM (VHUov)

60 Oh man. Been watching a few movies lately. All of them horror of various kinds.

"Backrooms", "Obsession", "It Follows", and presently "Barbarian" which is kind of two half-movies. Also "Island of Lost Souls" which remains the best of the "Moreau" movies (not that this is high praise).
Of these "Obsession" is the best. It's nuts. I'm half obsessed with this myself.
"It Follows" has some pacing issues, seems more of a mood piece about decaying suburbs of Detroit ("Barbarian" also has this).
"Backrooms" is an existential horror.

Posted by: gKWVE at June 06, 2026 08:01 PM (gKWVE)

61 So the genius move was to bring in Dangerfield and Bill Murray and tell them to ad lib their way through a new set of scenes. And of course, they turned a disaster into a triumph.
Posted by: Tom Servo at June 06, 2026 07:59 PM (3mtTi)

The Murray's were crucial because they had actual caddy experience .

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:01 PM (GseMx)

62 Fatal Attraction - 1987.

A real knee slapper.

Posted by: Howdy at June 06, 2026 08:01 PM (EFkNq)

63 Posted by: gKWVE at June 06, 2026 08:01 PM (gKWVE

Haven't seen it but sounds similar to the Cube movies.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:02 PM (GseMx)

64 I'd add Spies Like Us, with Donna Dixon and two male comedians.
Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 06, 2026 07:59 PM (qx7Zg)

And Vanessa Angel's breasts.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:03 PM (zZu0s)

65 I watched a really bad movie last weekend. Sure, I watched it with RiffTrax commentary, so it being bad was sort of a given, but this wad in a very special way...

The movie was 'In Pursuit,' and it starred Billy Baldwin as a lawyer of dubious ability. The movie begins with Baldwin being arrested for the murder of some rich jerk. Baldwin was full of righteous indignation at this; he is clearly being framed! The corrupt prosecutor has it out for him! Everything is so unfair, and he has no choice but to break the law to clear his name! ...But, then it was revealed that Baldwin was not only banging the dead guy's wife, but was also in the process of blackmailing the guy for 10 million dollars. Not exactly murder, but it's hard to feel sorry for a crook like Baldwin being blamed for other crimes...The movie then tried to justify Baldwin's actions but...eh. The movie tried to more big twists and reveals, but after that first one flopped, the rest just felt like cheap manipulation...

Posted by: Castle Guy at June 06, 2026 08:04 PM (3v7ra)

66 I like any movie Clint Eastwood was the main character....

Posted by: Jackson K. at June 06, 2026 08:04 PM (FrBdv)

67 The pod race is about to begin!
Start your engines!
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel

Saw it in the theater. It was one of the 'wtf, contrived as hell toy inserts'- and that was after having to endure the interminable gungan section.
Posted by: Aetius451AD

After they made bank on a video game of the original Death Star trench run, every SW movie had to have an "and this part will be the multi-million-dollar video game" sequence.

Posted by: mikeski at June 06, 2026 08:04 PM (VHUov)

68 John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever was HUGE in the whole disco phenomenon, and then did Urban Cowboy, and C&W bars with mechanical bulls bloomed across the land.
Weird that he was so instrumental in two massive musical, societal trends.

Posted by: proudvastrightwingguy at June 06, 2026 08:04 PM (MNCvZ)

69 I'd add Spies Like Us, with Donna Dixon and two male comedians.
Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 06, 2026 07:59 PM (qx7Zg)

And Vanessa Angel's breasts.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:03 PM (zZu0s)

In their breakout role.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 06, 2026 08:06 PM (qx7Zg)

70 After they made bank on a video game of the original Death Star trench run, every SW movie had to have an "and this part will be the multi-million-dollar video game" sequence.
Posted by: mikeski at June 06, 2026 08:04 PM (VHUov)
----
Part of the genius of George Lucas was to cash in on all the tie-in merchandise.

Then Disney came along and destroyed it.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 06, 2026 08:06 PM (gnNyN)

71 There was a lot of cool sci-fi movies made in the 80's. I think 80's movies were pretty black and white, no middle ground. There were heroes, and scumbags, and the scumbags got ruthlessly crushed.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:07 PM (snZF9)

72 Gotcha! from the '80s, with Anthony Edwards as a college student who is a strategic expert and winner at a paintball-like game -- and finds himself caught up in spy intrigues in what was still Communist East Germany. A fun film for sure; and you get Linda Fiorentino (Men in Black) as a sloe-eyed secret agent.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 06, 2026 07:45 PM (wzUl9)

A fun movie, made better by the fact that when I saw it, I had been to West/East Berlin the year before.

Posted by: Cow Demon at June 06, 2026 08:07 PM (T6aVk)

73 Looks like it's going to be all John Wick, all night, at my house. I can watch one, but not all four in the same night. I'll go to bed and read.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 08:07 PM (h7ZuX)

74 Ghostbusters, Labyrinth, Wargames, The Neverending Story, The Goonies, The Last Starfighter, Big Trouble In Little China, Weird Science, Tron..... it was a good decade to be a kid/teen who liked sci-fi and fantasy stuff.

Posted by: mikeski at June 06, 2026 08:00 PM (VHUov)

Absolutely.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:08 PM (snZF9)

75 Backrooms" is an existential horror.
Posted by: gKWVE at June 06, 2026 08:01 PM (gKWVE)

I have not seen it (not my type of film) but my 13 year old grandson and his social group swear it’s the best movie they’ve ever seen and are all playing online video game expansions of it.

This doesn’t mean it’s “good”, but it’s definitely going to make a lot of money and be a model for Indy films in the future.

Posted by: Tom Servo at June 06, 2026 08:09 PM (3mtTi)

76 Heathers was the anti-80s movie. It was a takedown of Hughes' stuff. A "deconstruction" as the 1990s would call it.
GenX was somewhat primed for this. "Return To Oz" took down the 1939 classic.
"The Wounded Land" trashes the Thomas Covenant series; and if you actually read the whole "Neverending Story" then... yeah. And then there was this music video, sucks for you if you liked the video it closes out.
youtu.be/a3ir9HC9vYg

Posted by: gKWVE's childhood was about watching childhoods be ruined at June 06, 2026 08:09 PM (gKWVE)

77 Looks like it's going to be all John Wick, all night, at my house. I can watch one, but not all four in the same night. I'll go to bed and read.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 08:07 PM (h7ZuX)
----
Consider it as prepping for tomorrow's Sunday Morning Book Thread.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 06, 2026 08:09 PM (gnNyN)

78 -
The typical 60’s movie (not all of course) was stupid and nonsensical (which is why so many have been forgotten now) and the 70’s were marked by a dark, dystopian and often nihilistic ethos.
---------

I really HATED most big movies in the 70's. Depressing CRAP. But they paved the way for Star Wars, which was the opposite.

Posted by: irright at June 06, 2026 08:10 PM (0jU3V)

79 Craig Wasson was asked to house sit for a friend. He watched a woman writhe through a telescope. It was all a set up. Body Double, I think. Weird, but good for the 80's.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at June 06, 2026 08:10 PM (l26NL)

80 27 Short Circuit and Flight of the Navigator may not make your 'quintessential 80s movie' list, but they were great as an 80s kid, and they did have that 'there's a story, and a moral, and the plot hook doesn't overwhelm them'... IMO. Although Flight of the Navigator rides the edge on that.
Posted by: RandomDave at June 06, 2026 07:48 PM (aJQbY)

I watched Flight of the Navigator a couple times as a kid. It was right at the edge of 'disturbing.'

So was Secret of NIMH, for that matter. Didn't have detailed memories of that one until I re-discovered it in the late 90s....but the slightly-unnerving feel of mouse-inventor's-working from the opening of the movie...that mood really stuck with me.

Posted by: Castle Guy at June 06, 2026 08:10 PM (3v7ra)

81 Amusingly enough, the wife and I watched Dreamscape. The story is good but I'll concede my wife's point that the acting is a bit wooden.

Posted by: NR Pax at June 06, 2026 08:11 PM (/k3in)

82 John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever was HUGE in the whole disco phenomenon, and then did Urban Cowboy, and C&W bars with mechanical bulls bloomed across the land.
Weird that he was so instrumental in two massive musical, societal trends.
Posted by: proudvastrightwingguy at June 06, 2026 08:04 PM (MNCvZ)

Prior to the movie, a high school buddy and I drove to Pasadena when we were 16 and attempted to get into Gilley's. I'm glad they turned us away because we were out of our league. I'm just glad we got out of the parking lot.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:11 PM (GseMx)

83 The historian in me believes to an extent that if western civilization continues on a good trajectory that 500 years from now the 1980s and 1990s will have been pivotal; American cultural confidence really seized hold of the globe at this point and the mass culture produced better-than-average artifacts across the board. The sporting '80s started with the Miracle on Ice, the world became accustomed to seeing musical artists perform their work without having to attend a concert (MTV), ample decent-quality movies abounded, pro-Western techno-thriller literature was popular, etc.

If western civilization declines, the 1980s might have been the last of the golden ages for a millennium or two.

Posted by: SPinRH_F-16 at June 06, 2026 08:12 PM (FDHJL)

84 Amusingly enough, the wife and I watched Dreamscape. The story is good but I'll concede my wife's point that the acting is a bit wooden.
Posted by: NR Pax at June 06, 2026 08:11 PM (/k3in)

I remember liking it a lot. I think the girl was wooden. The villain psychic was good.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:13 PM (GseMx)

85 68...I hope Travolta didn't make heroin cool after Pulp Fiction

And since I've brought up Tarantino, I re-watched True Romance for the first time in a long, long time. It had some isolated, tense scenes (much like Inglorious Basterds) and the style was no holds barred, but I thought it was mainly stupid, writing-wise.

Posted by: Lex at June 06, 2026 08:13 PM (y4H1r)

86 I almost forgot Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. Shatner and Montalban were incredible in that movie. I also enjoyed Kirk's explanation of his solution to the Kobayashi Maru.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 06, 2026 08:14 PM (qx7Zg)

87 Looks like it's going to be all John Wick, all night, at my house. I can watch one, but not all four in the same night. I'll go to bed and read.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 08:07 PM (h7ZuX)

Mix in Black 47 for an 1847 Irish John Wick.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:15 PM (GseMx)

88 I watched Flight of the Navigator a couple times as a kid. It was right at the edge of 'disturbing.'

That was nothing to The Explorers. Prepubescent body gets molested by an alien. WTF?

Posted by: gKWVE at June 06, 2026 08:15 PM (gKWVE)

89 Now the sequel staying alive was cringe even with finola hughes

In part because badham went over to political thrillers like blue thunder and wargames

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:16 PM (bXbFr)

90 Flashdance
Purple Rain
Buckaroo Banzai

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 08:16 PM (xX2oA)

91 I almost forgot Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. Shatner and Montalban were incredible in that movie. I also enjoyed Kirk's explanation of his solution to the Kobayashi Maru.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 06, 2026 08:14 PM (qx7Zg)

Yup, and uh...Kirsty Alley was nice to watch.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:17 PM (snZF9)

92
I think Eastwood films have mostly aged badly, especially since the Mandalorian films have ripped off his voice for Pedro Pascal.

Posted by: Auspex at June 06, 2026 08:17 PM (Y8DZL)

93 Chariots of Fire may be the most boring movie I ever watched part of. I also hated the music. It's overblown and mawkish, thus, perfect for the movie.

Posted by: huerfano at June 06, 2026 08:17 PM (VJX5o)

94 I don't know that Wrath Of Khan counts as an 80s movie unless you count the Botany Bay crew's ridiculous hairmetal 'dos.
BALLS TO THE WALL YOUTU.BE/B_3TlrZLpQ0

Posted by: gKWVE at June 06, 2026 08:17 PM (gKWVE)

95 Don't forget 80s fantasies. Like The Breastmaster. Princess Bride. Conan movies. A whole lot. I think fantasy kind of peaked for number and quality in the 80s. There must be something about the genre that captured the decade.

I was going to add Big Trouble in Little China in the general category but I don't know if it was an 80s movie, I think it is kind of timeless.

Posted by: banana Dream at June 06, 2026 08:17 PM (3uBP9)

96 Rocky Horror Picture Show
Lost Boys

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 08:18 PM (xX2oA)

97 I almost forgot Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. Shatner and Montalban were incredible in that movie. I also enjoyed Kirk's explanation of his solution to the Kobayashi Maru.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 06, 2026 08:14 PM (qx7Zg)

Yup, and uh...Kirsty Alley was nice to watch.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:17 PM (snZF9)

I had to see if Bulg was around.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 06, 2026 08:18 PM (qx7Zg)

98 Yss wrath of khan was first rate

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:18 PM (bXbFr)

99 Innerspace is one i liked. Might be early 90s.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:18 PM (zZu0s)

100 Judson scott off thar cult series the phoenix

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:19 PM (bXbFr)

101 There was is also a stark qualitative difference between now and the 80's, 90s and early aughts.

Pick any year and there will be at least 2 dozen eminently good films in any given year.

I was scrounging around to liberate some new films to watch and I came up with 5 from 2025 and 3 from 2026.

That's 8 films across 1.5 years that are worth a view.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:19 PM (XV/Pl)

102 Mad Max 2 and 3- or Beyond Thunderdome.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:19 PM (zZu0s)

103 Posted by: Lex at June 06, 2026 08:13 PM (y4H1r)

What did you think was stupid? It's my favorite Tarantino written movie. It's not that I would disagree but just can't think of anything that made me think that's just too stupid. Lot of suspensions of disbelief which is normal in movies but nothing that took me out of it.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:19 PM (GseMx)

104 Real Genius (1985) was the first film I saw Val Kilmer in.

The popcorn is unforgettable

Posted by: SMOD at June 06, 2026 08:19 PM (O7XEN)

105 >59 ..... it was a good decade to be a kid/teen who liked sci-fi and fantasy stuff.

>71 I think 80's movies were pretty black and white, no middle ground.

Amen to those comments, mikeski, and Berserker.

Posted by: SPinRH_F-16 at June 06, 2026 08:19 PM (FDHJL)

106 Thx Lex.
Two movies from 1984 : Night of the Comet and Repo Man. Small fun movies that showed interesting sides of the eighties

Posted by: Smell the Glove at June 06, 2026 08:20 PM (5y7pw)

107 96 Rocky Horror Picture Show
Lost Boys
Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 08:18 PM (xX2oA)

Rocky Horror was 1975.

Posted by: Cow Demon at June 06, 2026 08:20 PM (T6aVk)

108 Metal Storm-The destruction of Jared-Syn
Cherry 2000
Galaxina

All somewhat cheesy, but sooo 1980s.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:20 PM (snZF9)

109 You can pretty much pick any year of the 80s and come up with a dozen films.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:21 PM (XV/Pl)

110 I have fond memories of Night Shift, (1982--Shelley Long, Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton).

Posted by: irright at June 06, 2026 08:22 PM (0jU3V)

111 That was nothing to The Explorers. Prepubescent body gets molested by an alien. WTF?
Posted by: gKWVE at June 06, 2026 08:15 PM (gKWVE)

As a kid I liked it for the part before they actually went exploring. When it was about making a spacecraft out of garbage cans. It was captivating for 8-10 year old me.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:22 PM (zZu0s)

112 So many good movies from the 1980s I don’t know where to begin.

Posted by: Cow Demon at June 06, 2026 08:22 PM (T6aVk)

113 have fond memories of Night Shift, (1982--Shelley Long, Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton).
Posted by: irright at June 06, 2026 08:22 PM (0jU3V)

Another great comedy of the 80's.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:22 PM (GseMx)

114 Eastwood films have mostly aged badly

You don't have to worry, Kid. I ain't gonna kill you.

Posted by: gKWVE at June 06, 2026 08:23 PM (gKWVE)

115 Never got the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at June 06, 2026 08:23 PM (4ZxBh)

116 The best Christmas film EVAH … Die Hard

Posted by: SMOD at June 06, 2026 08:23 PM (O7XEN)

117 Random film from January of 1987, Alan Quartermain and the lost city of gold.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:24 PM (XV/Pl)

118 Enemy Mine, Space hunter, Ice Pirates, Krull, My step mother is an alien, E.T., My science project, etc etc.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:24 PM (snZF9)

119 Considering uma thurman got the overdose who knows

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:24 PM (bXbFr)

120 >106 Night of the Comet

Another movie featuring Catherine Mary Stuart (IIRC).

Posted by: SPinRH_F-16 at June 06, 2026 08:24 PM (FDHJL)

121 Berserker did you like Spinal Tap?

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:24 PM (GseMx)

122
Is this the prelude to an Andy Sidaris retrospective?

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at June 06, 2026 08:25 PM (O0L8i)

123 Tony Montana: Say hello to my little friend!

Scarface

Posted by: SMOD at June 06, 2026 08:25 PM (O7XEN)

124 Berserker did you like Spinal Tap?

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:24 PM (GseMx)

Yup. Seeing I lived 75% of the shit that went on in that movie, I can relate.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:25 PM (snZF9)

125 I saw athertons firsr role in hindenberg hes been insufferable for nearly 50 years

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:25 PM (bXbFr)

126 Eastwood films have mostly aged badly..


I'm not understanding this comment at all.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:25 PM (GseMx)

127 Rocky Horror was 1975.
Posted by: Cow Demon

Sorry. I didn’t discover it until college in 1986. And it played every Friday night at The Neptune.

It was fun. And odd.

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 08:26 PM (xX2oA)

128 Random film from February of 1987, The Quick and the dead.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:26 PM (XV/Pl)

129 @120 yup, an extremely cute Canuck

Posted by: Smell the Glove at June 06, 2026 08:26 PM (5y7pw)

130 80s?

Saw Cloak & Dagger and liked it well enough, but not enough to buy a dvd and probably won't revisit. (Early Dabney Coleman? - a third season, I think, episode of the Fugitive called "Nicest Fella You'd Ever Want to Meet" which was stolen by Pat Hingle, and you almost don't recognized Coleman without the mustache). Probably won't revisit any of the John Hughes stuff either.

Carpenter's The Thing. Aliens. The Princess Bride (though I prefer Goldman's book to the movie). The Color of Money. Kubrick's The Shining (though I preferred King's book to the flick). Stand by Me. Deathtrap. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Movie viewing this week? Battleground & The Young Lions on Memorial Day. Saved The Longest Day for this afternoon. Revisited The Haunting (1963 of course), The Time Machine (1960), the original Thing, and It! The Terror from Beyond Space.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at June 06, 2026 08:26 PM (q3u5l)

131 103...comic store clerk becomes fearless drug dealer who never stumbles on a word. Leave it to QT to write a scene so he can have a white actor say the N-word. James Gandolfini throws Arquette around a motel room and she'd be dead ten times over but somehow finds the power to get through it and kill him. I found none of it believable. It's obviously supposed to be over the top, but I didn't buy in at the beginning and when you can't get a reader/viewer to buy in early on you'll likely never get them.

Posted by: Lex at June 06, 2026 08:26 PM (y4H1r)

132 Random film from January of 1987, Alan Quartermain and the lost city of gold.
Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:24 PM (XV/Pl)
----
Not a good movie.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 06, 2026 08:27 PM (gnNyN)

133 Random Film from October of 87, The Princess Bride.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:27 PM (XV/Pl)

134 I was pleasantly surprised by Cherry 2000. A 1987 cashin of the Mad Max / Road Warrior phenom that turned out maybe 6/10.

Posted by: gKWVE at June 06, 2026 08:27 PM (gKWVE)

135 William Atherton was in the Godfather II. It's uncredited but he plays an army officer who's putting Frankie Pentangeli into the car. He gives this weird look into the camera as if it's a real dramatic moment for him

Posted by: Smell the Glove at June 06, 2026 08:29 PM (5y7pw)

136 Dont get me started on scarface

It is disrespectful to my people not only with murray abrahams robert loggia and oacinos terrible accent oliver stones screenwriting and the overall depiction of miami

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:29 PM (bXbFr)

137 Random Film from October of 87, The Princess Bride.
Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:27 PM (XV/Pl)
---
OK. That one's a classic.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 06, 2026 08:29 PM (gnNyN)

138 @132

>>Not a good movie.

What are you taking about, good movie?

It's good b movie starring Richard Chamberland and Kate Capshaw.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:29 PM (XV/Pl)

139 One obscure 1980s SF/horror (that I found too late) was "The Stuff".

Posted by: gKWVE at June 06, 2026 08:29 PM (gKWVE)

140 Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at June 06, 2026 08:29 PM (4ZxBh)

141 I stand corrected he was also in centennial

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:30 PM (bXbFr)

142 An American Werewolf in London.

I saw that in the theater. Scared the crap out of me.

Snuck into Purple Rain because. Rated R. Not old enough.

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 08:30 PM (xX2oA)

143 I would put Blade Runner on the list of 80's movie, and I don't think it fails any of your extra rules. Was not a block buster. Not Academy bait. Not big budget.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at June 06, 2026 08:30 PM (syz1S)

144 Its very cringey with aharon stone cringing up a storm john rhys davis as the worse villain evarr

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:31 PM (bXbFr)

145 Random movie from November of 87, The Running Man.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:31 PM (XV/Pl)

146 @142 Griffin Dunne falling apart piecemeal in An American Werewolf in London is hysterical

Posted by: Smell the Glove at June 06, 2026 08:31 PM (5y7pw)

147 I think Dudes is one of the forgetten gems from the 80's.

Posted by: Reforger at June 06, 2026 08:32 PM (ZxzYs)

148 I think the movie _The Right Stuff_ was released in the 1980s.

Obviously the book was a decade or so earlier, and the historical material was from the late 1950s and early 1960s. It did well setting the cultural ground for the sense of expectation of American technological superiority versus the rest of the world.

I was mostly satisfied with the adaptation, although on rewatch a decade or so ago I felt compelled to find the imagery inserted during the breaking of the sound barrier to be completely hokey.

To be fair, the first time I watched it I hadn't flown past Mach 1 yet.

Posted by: SPinRH_F-16 at June 06, 2026 08:32 PM (FDHJL)

149 Another random film from November of 87, Planes Trains and Automobiles.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:32 PM (XV/Pl)

150 A lot of boobies in 80s movies.

Posted by: davidt at June 06, 2026 08:32 PM (Q+gd/)

151 Night of the Comet is worth a watch just for the closing scene. See what happens if you cross against the lights?

Saw Return of the Jedi in the theater and almost fell asleep.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at June 06, 2026 08:32 PM (q3u5l)

152 Snuck into Purple Rain because. Rated R. Not old enough.
Posted by: nurse ratched

Did that for Raw.
The good old emergency door trick.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at June 06, 2026 08:33 PM (4ZxBh)

153 Also the howling on a double bill

With some comedy twists

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:33 PM (bXbFr)

154 Two random films from December of 87, Wall Street and Moonstruck.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:33 PM (XV/Pl)

155 Posted by: Lex at June 06, 2026 08:26 PM (y4H1r)

None of that was any different than any other Tarantino movie or most any other action movie imo. But I understand there are somethings in movies that can take someone completely out of it while others can just overlook it as a one off possibility.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:34 PM (GseMx)

156 150 A lot of boobies in 80s movies.
Posted by: davidt at June 06, 2026 08:32 PM (Q+gd/)

"Just One Of The Guys" was good.

Posted by: how could she ever have passed for male at June 06, 2026 08:34 PM (gKWVE)

157 I just looked through 87 and counted 32 A and B movies worth watching.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:35 PM (XV/Pl)

158 Phillip ksuffman did a decent rendition of wolfes work

He couldnt full capture the first chapter

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:35 PM (bXbFr)

159 lot of boobies in 80s movies.
Posted by: davidt at June 06, 2026 08:32 PM (Q+gd/)

Best boobs reveal

Just One of the Guys.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:36 PM (GseMx)

160 Berserker did you like Spinal Tap?

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:24 PM (GseMx)

Yup. Seeing I lived 75% of the shit that went on in that movie, I can relate.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:25 PM (snZF9)

Heh. Alice Cooper quipped that he swears the writers followed his tour., taking notes.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Rock 'n' Roll Martian at June 06, 2026 08:36 PM (0aYVJ)

161 Although the imagery is a little jarring

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:36 PM (bXbFr)

162 157 I just looked through 87 and counted 32 A and B movies worth watching.
Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:35 PM (XV/Pl)

It's crazy, isn't it? I'm not aware of a single movie I've wanted to see in the last several years. I was always going to the movies in the 80s.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 08:37 PM (h7ZuX)

163 Just One Of The Guys" was good.
Posted by: how could she ever have passed for male at June 06, 2026 08:34 PM (gKWVE)

Holy crap. Best horde mind ever.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:37 PM (GseMx)

164 "Just One Of The Guys" was good.
Posted by: how could she ever have passed for male at June 06, 2026 08:34 PM (gKWVE)

One of the best surprise nudity and 'where the hell was she hiding those?!' Ever.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:38 PM (zZu0s)

165 Just One Of The Guys should have been 3D.

Posted by: gKWVE at June 06, 2026 08:38 PM (gKWVE)

166 The villain psychic was good.
Posted by: polynikes

Between Dreamscape, The Warriors and The Crow, that man played a really good villain.

Posted by: NR Pax at June 06, 2026 08:39 PM (/k3in)

167 Yup. Seeing I lived 75% of the shit that went on in that movie, I can relate.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:25 PM (snZF9)

Elploding drummers?

Posted by: Reforger at June 06, 2026 08:40 PM (ZxzYs)

168 Heh. Alice Cooper quipped that he swears the writers followed his tour., taking notes.
Posted by: Pug Mahon, Rock 'n' Roll Martian

I've heard that a few bands found it more a documentary than a comedy.

Posted by: NR Pax at June 06, 2026 08:40 PM (/k3in)

169 I don't visit the movie thread often but tonight I'm seeing mentions of the 80s and boobies - both of which are among my favorite things. Looks like I picked the right night to be here!

Posted by: Doof at June 06, 2026 08:41 PM (QMAsf)

170 I watch more rifftrax than I do recent movies.

Posted by: banana Dream at June 06, 2026 08:41 PM (3uBP9)

171 Predator. 1987. $15 million Budget. Two future governors.

Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at June 06, 2026 08:41 PM (TR4+2)

172 Better of Dead and Real Genius. Very 80s.

Posted by: Darth Randall at June 06, 2026 08:42 PM (mseD3)

173 Crushed by stone henge

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:42 PM (bXbFr)

174 115 Never got the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at June 06, 2026 08:23 PM (4ZxBh)

I got dragged to a midnight showing in a good old fashioned theater way back when and it was a hoot. Most of the audience was in on the show, so it made it fun.

Years later, I tried to watch it on home video. Waste of time. Without the antics of the audience, there isn't much to the movie.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at June 06, 2026 08:43 PM (syz1S)

175 >>> I don't visit the movie thread often but tonight I'm seeing mentions of the 80s and boobies - both of which are among my favorite things. Looks like I picked the right night to be here!
Posted by: Doof at June 06, 2026 08:41 PM (QMAsf)


Well, you can't have 80085 with out 80.

Posted by: banana Dream at June 06, 2026 08:43 PM (3uBP9)

176 155...the kids who stole Marcellus Wallace's briefcase in Pulp Fiction, who have no idea what they are doing and get lit up easily, they are the heroes of True Romance and thus totally non believable for me.

QT always has stylized dialogue, I'll give you that, but the gangsters of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs were very good and experienced at what they did. I didn't believe Cristian Slater for one second

Posted by: Lex at June 06, 2026 08:43 PM (y4H1r)

177 A lot of boobies in 80s movies.

Posted by: davidt at June 06, 2026 08:32 PM (Q+gd/)

Yup, the invention of the tank top titties. For it is written- All sci-fi space movies will have bra-less chicks in tank tops.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:43 PM (snZF9)

178 Shane blsck was oart of the cast

He forgot everything he knew for the predator

Thats true of ridley scott as well

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:44 PM (bXbFr)

179 This far, and no one's mentioned Clue?

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 06, 2026 08:44 PM (qx7Zg)

180 For it is written- All sci-fi space movies will have bra-less chicks in tank tops.

Posted by: Berserker


Star Wars was ahead of its time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an7I7PJtEQ4

Posted by: davidt at June 06, 2026 08:46 PM (Q+gd/)

181 The House movies were very 80s. The second is my favorite.

Posted by: banana Dream at June 06, 2026 08:46 PM (3uBP9)

182 I am apparently the only person alive who has never seen Pulp Fiction. I am very happy about this, and have no intention of changing. My loathing for Hollywood has had me deliberately avoiding their shit products for a long, long time.

I also despise Quentin Tarantino, and will not watch anything he's directed.

Posted by: Sam Adams at June 06, 2026 08:47 PM (X+xvk)

183 Ok, a 'star' of the 80's i never got: Audrey Moore. Liza Manelli. Wtf?

I guess I was too young to get the 'he's drunk all the time' bit.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:47 PM (DR/Xu)

184 Yup, the invention of the tank top titties. For it is written- All sci-fi space movies will have bra-less chicks in tank tops.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:43 PM (snZF9)

According to Carrie Fisher, George Lucas explained to her that there are no bras in space.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at June 06, 2026 08:47 PM (syz1S)

185 The House movies were very 80s. The second is my favorite.
Posted by: banana Dream at June 06, 2026 08:46 PM (3uBP9)

Was the William Katz and the guy from Night Court?

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:47 PM (DR/Xu)

186 Dudley Moore?

Posted by: Sam Adams at June 06, 2026 08:48 PM (X+xvk)

187 Dudley Moore?
Posted by: Sam Adams at June 06, 2026 08:48 PM (X+xvk)

My phone evidently did not like him either. Not even going to bother to add his name.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:49 PM (DR/Xu)

188 John Carpenter had a pretty good run in the 80s, I thought. Ditto David Cronenberg.


And if you want a nice little 1980s horror movie B picture, Night of the Creeps is worth a look.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at June 06, 2026 08:49 PM (q3u5l)

189 >>> The House movies were very 80s. The second is my favorite.
Posted by: banana Dream at June 06, 2026 08:46 PM (3uBP9)

Was the William Katz and the guy from Night Court?
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:47 PM (DR/Xu)


The first one yes. And the movies have had multiple Cheers cast members too.

Posted by: banana Dream at June 06, 2026 08:50 PM (3uBP9)

190 22 Watched last couple days
They Were Expendable with John Wayne
Ike, Countdown to D-Day with Tom Selleck
Posted by: Skip
---

John Wayne jumps in the jeep, 'ye haw!'.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at June 06, 2026 08:50 PM (0kM66)

191 Liza Minnelli is easy to explain. Nepo baby. Judy Garland's daughter, so she was in.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at June 06, 2026 08:51 PM (syz1S)

192 167 Yup. Seeing I lived 75% of the shit that went on in that movie, I can relate.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:25 PM (snZF9)

It’s a movie like Slap Shot - every minor league hockey player said that was the most true to life hockey movie ever made.
I think my favorite scene was the fight breaking out during the national anthem. (Yeah, 70’s movie)

Posted by: Tom Servo at June 06, 2026 08:51 PM (3mtTi)

193 I am apparently the only person alive who has never seen Pulp Fiction. I am very happy about this, and have no intention of changing. My loathing for Hollywood has had me deliberately avoiding their shit products for a long, long time.

I also despise Quentin Tarantino, and will not watch anything he's directed.
Posted by: Sam Adams at June 06, 2026 08:47 PM (X+xvk)

You aren't alone. I haven't seen it either.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 06, 2026 08:52 PM (qx7Zg)

194 Those chesticles are going to be mighty distracting for a fella in microgravity.

Posted by: gKWVE at June 06, 2026 08:52 PM (gKWVE)

195 I hate Pulp Fiction. Hated Resevoir Dogs. Like Jackie Brown and the first Kill Bill (parts of it.)

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:53 PM (DR/Xu)

196 Yup. Seeing I lived 75% of the shit that went on in that movie, I can relate.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:25 PM (snZF9)

Elploding drummers?

Posted by: Reforger at June 06, 2026 08:40 PM (ZxzYs)

In our case it was a vanishing drummer. Poof, without a trace, as if he was never on earth, gone, never heard from again, or found. Other similarities-
Primitive wireless systems. We didn't pickup air traffic though, instead we got frigging truck drivers on CB Radios
Getting lost back stage in the theater. Yes and no. It was an ancient theater, we decided to do some back hallway and stairs exploring. We got a little turned around, opened a door and found ou selves on a catwalk waaaay up above the stage. We also pulled too much power with the amps and PA, a fire started in the wall and kinda burned down the attached building next to it. Ooops
The controlling girlfriend who couldn't shut her frigging mouth and thought her opinion was worth a shit.
Nigel- My brother from a different mother. Frigging goofball, but was serious as a heart attack when it came to the shows. We both have rooms of guitars, some unplayed. He hated the girlfriend too.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:53 PM (snZF9)

197 Posted by: Tom Servo at June 06, 2026 08:51 PM (3mt

Wool by the pool.

That said I think I liked Goon better.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:53 PM (GseMx)

198 Clues grown on me, its kinds silly

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:53 PM (bXbFr)

199 CLUE is awesome. Tim Curry at his best.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:55 PM (DR/Xu)

200 The House movies were very 80s. The second is my favorite.
Posted by: banana Dream

The first was hilarious. It was a kind of teen horror that only took off with VHS sales.

I'd say much of the phenomenon of the '80s movies was because the middle-brow, middle budget movies soared because of the VHS rental era. Those films stuck only on people showing up at Wherehouse/Blockbuster on Friday and saying,"Ok, just get something so we can eat dinner."

Posted by: weft cut-loop at June 06, 2026 08:55 PM (diia5)

201 Little Shop of Horrors, 1986

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at June 06, 2026 08:55 PM (0kM66)

202 Random film from February of 83, The King of Comedy.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:55 PM (XV/Pl)

203 Clues grown on me, its kinds silly
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:53 PM (bXbFr)

That's why I like it. I watch it when I need silly.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 06, 2026 08:56 PM (qx7Zg)

204 Ladyhawke. Loved that movie. And bunch of other Rutger Hauer movies.

Posted by: farquad at June 06, 2026 08:56 PM (CFMhl)

205 CLUE is awesome. Tim Curry at his best.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 08:55 PM (DR/Xu)
---
If we're going with Tim Curry movies of the 1980s, then we have to include Legend on that list...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 06, 2026 08:56 PM (gnNyN)

206 Thats why she had the slave girl outfit in jabbas palace

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:56 PM (bXbFr)

207 Random film from April of 83, Lone Wolf McQuade.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:56 PM (XV/Pl)

208 David St. Hubbins: I do not, for one, think that the problem was that the band was down. I think that the problem *may* have been, that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being *crushed* by a *dwarf*. Alright? That tended to understate the hugeness of the object.
Ian Faith: I really think you're just making much too big a thing out of it.
Derek Smalls: Making a big thing out of it would have been a good idea.

Posted by: Tom Servo at June 06, 2026 08:56 PM (3mtTi)

209 Surprised no comments about The Lost Boys.

Awesome soundtrack. Good story. An iconic line.

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 08:57 PM (3bWKb)

210 The four different endings

Yes but you couldnt recognize him in legend

Genuinely creepy dude

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:57 PM (bXbFr)

211 Slap Shot was easily the best hockey movie ever. And I like hockey movies.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Rock 'n' Roll Martian at June 06, 2026 08:58 PM (0aYVJ)

212 201 Little Shop of Horrors, 1986

Posted by: Braenyard


Omg. Rick Moranis and Steve Martin. Hilarious.

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 08:58 PM (3bWKb)

213 Random film from February of 83, The King of Comedy.
Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:55 PM (XV/Pl)

De Niro's best acting role .

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:58 PM (GseMx)

214 Random film from November of 83, A Christmas Story.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 08:58 PM (XV/Pl)

215 Ladyhawke. Loved that movie. And bunch of other Rutger Hauer movies.

Posted by: farquad at June 06, 2026 08:56 PM (CFMhl)

The Hitcher.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at June 06, 2026 08:58 PM (dK+Kv)

216 Was that shearer or reiners writing

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 08:59 PM (bXbFr)

217 Yup. Seeing I lived 75% of the shit that went on in that movie, I can relate.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:25 PM (snZF9)

It’s a movie like Slap Shot - every minor league hockey player said that was the most true to life hockey movie ever made.
I think my favorite scene was the fight breaking out during the national anthem. (Yeah, 70’s movie)

Posted by: Tom Servo at June 06, 2026 08:51 PM (3mtTi)

Yeah I was pretty convinced they interviewed a shit ton of musicians and took notes, and then used the most common of the screw ups. My list is long.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 08:59 PM (snZF9)

218 Posted by: Pug Mahon, Rock 'n' Roll Martian at June 06, 2026 08:58 PM (0aYVJ)

Goon has to be your second favorite right?

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 08:59 PM (GseMx)

219 Some oddball movies like Timebandits, Buckaroo Banzai, Brazil, I think they were to weird to escape the 80s.

Posted by: banana Dream at June 06, 2026 09:00 PM (3uBP9)

220
Steve Martin is only palatable in small doses. Which is still better than Chevy Chase, who's not palatable at all.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at June 06, 2026 09:00 PM (O0L8i)

221 213. King of Comedy...yes. Great call!

Posted by: Lex at June 06, 2026 09:00 PM (y4H1r)

222 The Three Amigos

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 09:00 PM (3bWKb)

223
I don't get the Ferris Bueller's Day Off hate.

But, y'all do y'all.

I thought the movie was hilarious and a great time at the flex.

Posted by: naturalfake at June 06, 2026 09:01 PM (iJfKG)

224 Random movie from April 1984

The Gods Must Be Crazy

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 09:01 PM (h7ZuX)

225 Banxai initially a flop waa just a year before back to the future

But the screenwriter wd richter was weird

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:02 PM (bXbFr)

226 Welp. Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace is over.

Time to move on to the next phase of this project...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 06, 2026 09:02 PM (gnNyN)

227 I thought the movie was hilarious and a great time at the flex.

Posted by: naturalfake at June 06, 2026 09:01 PM (iJfKG)

It hit with a particular demo. High school kids.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at June 06, 2026 09:02 PM (dK+Kv)

228 Random Film from February of 89, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 09:02 PM (XV/Pl)

229 224 Random movie from April 1984

The Gods Must Be Crazy
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June

Oh yes! That was a great low budget movie. I wonder how it holds up.

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 09:02 PM (3bWKb)

230 Random movie from April 1984

The Gods Must Be Crazy

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 09:01 PM (h7ZuX)

That movie was frigging great.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 09:03 PM (snZF9)

231 And from 1981 -- Nighthawks. Rutger Hauer a terrific bad guy, and I don't think Stallone's ever been better than in this one.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at June 06, 2026 09:03 PM (q3u5l)

232 Random Film from September of 89, Black Rain.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 09:03 PM (XV/Pl)

233 Steve Martin is only palatable in small doses. Which is still better than Chevy Chase, who's not palatable at all.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at June 06, 2026 09:00 PM (O0L8i)

Roxanne

Oddest cyrano de Bergerac interpretation ever.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 09:03 PM (zZu0s)

234 Then theres another rutger hauer film

Wanted dead or alive with gene simmons as the villain, around the same time as runaway

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:04 PM (bXbFr)

235 Beverly Hills Cop. That franchise made bank.

Notable mention; To Live and Die in L.A.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at June 06, 2026 09:04 PM (x/s3z)

236 Big Trouble in Little China.

Romancing the Stone.

The Thing.

They Live.

Posted by: Sam Adams at June 06, 2026 09:04 PM (X+xvk)

237 Ok, here is a quintessential 80s movie Electric Dreams.

Posted by: banana Dream at June 06, 2026 09:04 PM (3uBP9)

238 Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Posted by: Sam Adams at June 06, 2026 09:04 PM (X+xvk)

239 Then theres another rutger hauer film

Wanted dead or alive with gene simmons as the villain, around the same time as runaway

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:04 PM (bXbFr)

Fuck the bonus. lol

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 09:04 PM (snZF9)

240 Random film from December of 89, Tango and Cash.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 09:05 PM (XV/Pl)

241 Escape from New york!

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 09:05 PM (snZF9)

242 I need to rewatch Tango and Cash.

Runaway was disappointing.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 09:05 PM (zZu0s)

243 @238

>>Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

That came out in 77.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 09:06 PM (XV/Pl)

244 I wonder how it holds up.
Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 09:02 PM (3bWKb)

Probably not well. LOL

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 09:06 PM (h7ZuX)

245 Notable mention; To Live and Die in L.A.
Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at June 06, 2026 09:04 PM (x/s3

I don't like shitty endings. I don't need edgy.

Otherwise a good movie.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 09:06 PM (GseMx)

246 Hmm, anybody mention Terminator?

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 09:06 PM (snZF9)

247 Overboard.

Posted by: Sam Adams at June 06, 2026 09:06 PM (X+xvk)

248 William Defoe is one weird looking guy.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 09:06 PM (GseMx)

249 I wonder how it holds up.
Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 09:02 PM (3bWKb)

Probably not well. LOL

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 09:06 PM (h7ZuX)

I saw it not long ago. Yeah its still funny as all hell.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 09:07 PM (snZF9)

250 The gimmick was interesting (a programmablr bullet) but the execution was muddled

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:07 PM (bXbFr)

251 Netflix has all the Rocky movies streaming currently.

Saw the original and Rocky 2 over the last couple of nights.

"Rocky" is a stone-cold classic. Very well-written, well-acted, great directing, clean linear story, and probably it didn't cost all that much to make.

In that way, I was sort of reminded of "Obsession" not that they're similar but they both have a very clean understanding of plot and movie making.

"Rocky II" is a slight step down in quality because you can see the wheels turning and little personal sidetracks the characters take to keep the length of the movie movie-length.

It doesn't have the clean, organic, feel of "Rocky".
That said. It's great fun and a very good movie.

Posted by: naturalfake at June 06, 2026 09:07 PM (iJfKG)

252 Stripes.

Posted by: Sam Adams at June 06, 2026 09:08 PM (X+xvk)

253 @246

>>Hmm, anybody mention Terminator?

The Terminator came out in October of 1984, and wasn't even in the top 20 of films that came out that year.

1984 is the greatest year in the movies, it's the greatest year in music and might be the greatest year across all of the cultural zeitgeist.

Regan won a landslide in 84.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 09:09 PM (XV/Pl)

254 The gimmick was interesting (a programmablr bullet) but the execution was muddled
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:07 PM (bXbFr)

The tech and effects just weren't where they needed to be.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 09:10 PM (zZu0s)

255 Ladyhawke, I mostly remember Michelle Pfeiffer.

Posted by: Puddleglum, chillin' in Amish Country at June 06, 2026 09:10 PM (bfy6w)

256 Repo Man. Liquid Sky. Eating Raoul. Das Boot. My Dinner with Andre*

*I'll never get those two hours or so back. What a bore.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 06, 2026 07:49 PM (h7ZuX)
---

Exactly! These are the kind of 80's movies I enjoy (yes, even "My Dinner With Andre").

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at June 06, 2026 09:11 PM (kpS4V)

257
Rocky (con't)

Just finished seeing "Rocky 3".

My opinion of that movie went up after this watching.

The plotting was clean and psychologically on point. Good acting. Good Directing. Good script.

I was surprised by it's quality because it hadn't thought so much of it when it first saw it decades ago.

Anyway as a movie, I think I'd now rank it above Rocky 2.

Posted by: naturalfake at June 06, 2026 09:12 PM (iJfKG)

258 Regan won a landslide in 84.
Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 06, 2026 09:09 PM (XV/Pl)

One of the last times they used blue for GOP?

Also Dennis Miller's line:

'Walter Mondale, huh? What an ass kicking that was. All I know is when I went to bed motherfucker only had three more electoral votes than I had- and I didnt even run!'

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 09:12 PM (zZu0s)

259 Hmm, anybody mention Terminator?
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division
--------
I went to the theater back-to-back nights to see that film.

Posted by: scampydog at June 06, 2026 09:12 PM (41CYW)

260 The Revenge of the Nerds movie. It is very 80s.

Also Porky's but just barely, and seems out of place in the 80s.

Posted by: banana Dream at June 06, 2026 09:12 PM (3uBP9)

261 Michele Pfeiffer? The Fabulous Baker Boys from 1989.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at June 06, 2026 09:12 PM (q3u5l)

262 Oh michelle pfeiffers performance in scarface was also terrible

Brian de palma didnt really consult anyone in our community and it shows

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:13 PM (bXbFr)

263 The Natural is one of my most watched movies.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 09:13 PM (GseMx)

264 Heavy Metal! Came out in '81, I think. An animated music video full of short stories. Also some prime nudity, but it was drawn so it's art. Probably. An absolute banger of a soundtrack!

Posted by: Puddleglum, chillin' in Amish Country at June 06, 2026 09:13 PM (bfy6w)

265 Do we wanna mention Basic Instinct or Fatal Attraction?

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 09:14 PM (zZu0s)

266 You picked one of my favorite minor treasures. This movie and The Last Starfighter are two my kids loved nearly as much as I did.
Sometimes, you just want to be entertained with a story that might be absurd, but the characters are not. If they are real, I can really get lost in a film. Adventures in Babysitting is another one. Don't tell my wife about my crush on Elizabeth Shue.

Posted by: Manitoba and Gobi at June 06, 2026 09:14 PM (o3x7F)

267 Posted by: naturalfake at June 06, 2026 09:12 PM (iJfKG

Balboa was a great wrap up of the series

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 09:14 PM (GseMx)

268
Currently, watching "Wild at Heart'

It's streaming on Criterion.

Posted by: naturalfake at June 06, 2026 09:15 PM (iJfKG)

269 Don't tell my wife about my crush on Elizabeth Shue.
Posted by: Manitoba and Gobi at June 06, 2026 09:14 PM (o3x7F)

She can play a babysitter or a call girl.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 09:18 PM (GseMx)

270 Youre not the only one but it goes back to karate kid

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:19 PM (bXbFr)

271 The original rocky was more an 80s film it was a heroes journey when much of the 70 was all about failure and loss

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:21 PM (bXbFr)

272 Don't tell my wife about my crush on Elizabeth Shue.
Posted by: Manitoba and Gobi at June 06, 2026 09:14 PM (o3x7F)

She can play a babysitter or a call girl.

Posted by: polynikes at June 06, 2026 09:18 PM (GseMx)

She got-em some a nice-a gagas.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at June 06, 2026 09:22 PM (snZF9)

273 >>> Heavy Metal! Came out in '81, I think. An animated music video full of short stories. Also some prime nudity, but it was drawn so it's art. Probably. An absolute banger of a soundtrack!
Posted by: Puddleglum, chillin' in Amish Country at June 06, 2026 09:13 PM (bfy6w)


A good bit of the Taarna used rotoscoping so there were some boobs there in some form and then drawn over.

Posted by: banana Dream at June 06, 2026 09:22 PM (3uBP9)

274 If blue thunder had been done in the 70s macdowell would have killed scheider in the last act

Kind of hackmans downer ending in the conversation

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:24 PM (bXbFr)

275 She can play a babysitter or a call girl.
Posted by: polynikes

Or a sheriff during a piranha outbreak in an American lakeside town. Either way, hubba hubba.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at June 06, 2026 09:25 PM (l26NL)

276 The Bakshi LotR.

Oh, hell. I almost forgot the traumatizing event for all boys of a certain age: The Transformers Movie.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 06, 2026 09:26 PM (zZu0s)

277 Ghostbusters!
When Harry Met Sally

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 09:29 PM (jAs5p)

278 She was even in a sèries of episodes on csi classic

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:29 PM (bXbFr)

279 What is interesting about Lucas is that he had been a young experimental director who chafed against cookie-cutter narratives and studio control, but "Star Wars" was one of the movies that brought back solid storytelling and brisk pacing.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at June 06, 2026 09:29 PM (kpS4V)

280 "First Blood." A country coming to grips with how it treated Vietnam Vets and embracing them in the Reagan years.

Posted by: JHP2 at June 06, 2026 09:29 PM (UIvnv)

281 Robocop

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 09:30 PM (jAs5p)

282 Found a list of 500 80s movies.
On page two...

"The Big Red One"
"The Big Chill"
"The Big Easy"
"The Big Trouble in Little China"

I may have tweaked the name of the last.

Further down...

"Blue Out"
"Blue Iguana"
"Blue Lagoon"
"Blue Brothers"
"Blue Velvet"

I may have tweaked a or two.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at June 06, 2026 09:31 PM (/lPRQ)

283 Everybody loved "Out of Africa", right?

Posted by: Ben Had at June 06, 2026 09:32 PM (5P5DO)

284 First date movie: Footloose.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at June 06, 2026 09:32 PM (dK+Kv)

285 Robocop
Posted by: nurse ratched

I wanna say I say Robocop and Full Metal Jacket within a week. Maybe I misremember. What is my major malfunction!

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at June 06, 2026 09:32 PM (l26NL)

286 I “get” First Blood now. I did not when it came out.

Not at all.

I do now.

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 09:33 PM (rQIkv)

287 Currently, watching "Wild at Heart'

It's streaming on Criterion.

Posted by: naturalfake at June 06, 2026 09:15 PM (iJfKG)
----
Possibly my least favorite Lynch after the "slow Dougie" segments of the new Twin Peaks series.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at June 06, 2026 09:33 PM (kpS4V)

288 284 First date movie: Footloose.
Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at June 06, 2026

Such a fun soundtrack!

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 06, 2026 09:34 PM (rQIkv)

289 The polidouros score really sold it

And it was pretty graphic for its day

The sequels were progressively worse

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:35 PM (bXbFr)

290 Another Peter Weller that doesn't get much notice - Of Unknown Origin from 1983. Nice little horror flick, and Weller's terrific in it.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at June 06, 2026 09:35 PM (q3u5l)

291 Soylent Green
Rollerball
Saturn 3
Logan's Run

Posted by: San Franpsycho at June 06, 2026 09:35 PM (RIvkX)

292 Notable mention; To Live and Die in L.A.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at June 06, 2026 09:04 PM (x/s3z)

Falcon and the Snowman: Penn "plays" a whiny weasel.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at June 06, 2026 09:36 PM (dK+Kv)

293 Because deer hunter coming home even black sunday did vietnam vets dirty

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:36 PM (bXbFr)

294 Oddest date movie: saw Ralph Bakshi's "Wizards" At a drive-in.

Eh, we still made out.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at June 06, 2026 09:36 PM (kpS4V)

295 So penn plays himself

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at June 06, 2026 09:37 PM (bXbFr)

296 Lots of talk about FRIST BLOOD. I never read the novel until recently. A much different vibe than the movie. The sheriff is not a dick for no reason like he is in the movie.

Posted by: Lex at June 06, 2026 09:37 PM (y4H1r)

297 Taking of Pelham 1-2-3
Dog Day Afternoon
Freebie and the Bean
Serpico

Posted by: San Franpsycho at June 06, 2026 09:37 PM (RIvkX)

298 Oh, 80s movies? Not my decade.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at June 06, 2026 09:38 PM (RIvkX)

299 280 "First Blood." A country coming to grips with how it treated Vietnam Vets and embracing them in the Reagan years.
Posted by: JHP2
................................
Magnum PI helped in that. Three of the main characters were Vietnam vets and they were just normal, messy, human beings.

Posted by: Puddleglum, chillin' in Amish Country at June 06, 2026 09:38 PM (bfy6w)

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