BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR
YEAR BY YEAR
The 1980s
Okay continuing with my series of posts on my favorite movies of each year, we are in the 80s and now we come to 1983 through 1985. As per usual, we will have three picks for each year: a personal favorite, a best sequel, and an acclaimed pick (and I might mention a few other movies along the way that I really liked).
So here we go:
1983
Personal Pick - War Games
It turns out that 1983 wasn't a very strong year for movies so my personal pick for this year is War Games starring Matthew Broderick and I really like this film because it was about a young guy who was into computers and stumbled onto this big war games scenario just as I was a young guy into computers and this movie was just the right time and right place at that time in my life but beyond that it's actually a pretty good movie so it's my pick.
Best Sequel of the Year - Return of the Jedi
Well of course, this one is obvious. We reach the end of the Star Wars saga and it concludes the story of Luke Skywalker in stirring fashion. Yeah,sure some people didn't like the ewoks but at the time I thought they were cute and I understood the message about a primitive society overthrowing a vast technological one, so I have no complaints about the movie and of course, we get the great score by John Williams once again closing out the saga. You don't do much better.
Acclaimed Pick - The Outsiders
This movie may come as somewhat of a shock to some people but this is actually a really great movie directed by none other than Francis Ford Coppola. It starred a who's who of young male Hollywood including C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe and Ralph Macchio. Some people may not be familiar with this film and I would encourage them to check it out because it's a really moving and well done piece and was acclaimed in its time.
1984
So if 1983 was a weak year, 1984 was a positively astonishing year for movies. This is going to be tough but here we go:
Personal Pick - Dune
Now this is a personal favorite and I know that I might be in a minority with this pick but I think this movie is amazing. From director David Lynch comes an epic sci-fi adventure based on the epic sci-fi adventure book. This movie has such style and is a really good adaption of the book. The standout performance of Kyle McLaughlin and a really all-star cast makes this movie just an incredible cinematic experience and it's my personal pick for this year.
Honorable mentions and all the other movies that came out this year:
As I said, 1984 was an incredible year for movies. Some of the movies that I want to mention but can't put on the list are movies like Ghostbusters, a much-beloved comedy, The Karate Kid starring Ralph macchio, a movie perfect for its time telling the story of a young man standing up to his bullies as I myself was a young man who too had to sometimes stand up to his bullies. In that same vein was Footloose with a star-making performance by Kevin Bacon about a young man who wanted to dance in a no-dance town. Again, a movie just right for that time in my life and a good one.
And another sci-fi classic directed by James Cameron and starring a little actor named Arnold Schwarzenegger was The Terminator. Because it was rated R, I didn't see it at the time but later on when I was older I saw it and can appreciate it for the great action film that it is.
And how about a sequel to the worst movie ever made IMO, 2010: The Year We Make Contact was a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and it surpasses the original movie in every way mainly because 2010 makes sense and explains everything that happened in 2001. a really good sci-fi movie IMO.
And how can you leave 1984 without talking about the movie 1984. An adaptation of the book of the same name by George Orwell with outstanding performances from John Hurt and Richard Burton, this dystopian future is brilliantly brought to life on screen. if you haven't seen it you should check it out.
Best Sequel of the Year - tie - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom/Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock
Indiana Jones returns to the screen in a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark so this is actually not a sequel but that's just semantics. The first time I saw this movie I thought it was the most exciting movie I had ever watched in my life. However, I watch it now and it gets a little tiring especially the female lead performance by Kate Capshaw but it's still pure adventure and pure Indiana Jones.
And continuing the Star trek trilogy as the crew hijacks the Enterprise and goes in search for Spock after his death (sorry spoilers) in Star trek 2, Trek 3 may not be entirely successful and may lack the great pacing and action of Star trek 2 but hey, it's still a good movie and you can't go wrong with the Star Trek trilogy.
Acclaimed Pick - tie - The Natural/Amadeus
I just couldn't decide between these two movies.
I'm a sucker for a great sports movie and The Natural is a great sports movie with a quiet but powerful performance by Robert Redford. This movie is just pure inspiration with a great score by Randy Newman that knocks it out of the ballpark (pun intended).
But what can I say about Amadeus that hasn't already been said? It's simply one of the best movies of all time and certainly of this decade. It ranks right up there with Gandhi and other great biopics such as Patton and Lawrence of Arabia with amazing, amazing performances from F Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce and absolutely stunning direction by Milos Foreman. This movie has to be seen and experienced.
1985
Personal Pick - Back to the Future
In his star-making performance, Michael J Fox stars in this incredible Robert Zemeckis directed movie that simply took all of us for a ride in his time traveling DeLorean. Along with a star-making score by Alan Silvestri, and Christopher Lloyd along for the ride, this movie is just a delight to watch over and over again and it never gets old. You might say it's timeless.
Best Sequel of the Year - Rambo: First Blood Part 2
Now, I don't think I mentioned First Blood in 1982 starring Sylvester Stallone but along comes the sequel which really birthed the action movie in Hollywood which is why I put it on this list. At the time because of its R rating I didn't see it in the theaters but of course I saw it later on and, whereas the first movie was a drama action movie, this one is just pure action through and through.
Some honorable mentions from this year:
I'm not really a huge fan of comedy movies but this year brought us the adaption of the acclaimed board game, Clue, with an All-Star cast of funny people at their very best. This movie is a riot to watch and actually has three different endings shown as three different movies in the theaters at the time. Watch it, enjoy it, and see if you can solve the mystery of who killed Mr. Body.
Another comedy that I'd like to mention is,in my opinion, the star-making role of Chevy Chase in Fletch. This movie is as intelligent as it is witty and another one that can just be watched over and over again.
And the last movie I want to mention almost made my acclaimed pic and that movie is The Breakfast Club starring a young who's who of Hollywood in a movie about high schoolers at a time when I was in high school but, unfortunately, due to its R rating I actually didn't see this movie until several years later which I regret because I think this would have been a great movie to see when you were in high school but it's still a great examination and revelation of high school kids at the time.
Acclaimed Pick - A Chorus Line
I hope that no one's forgotten my love of musicals and here comes another classic adapted to the screen by Gandhi's director Richard Attenborough that,of course, has the great dance moves associated with that show and is a real joy to watch and see this great play finally come to the screen.
OK, so three more years done. Hopefully, it won't be too long before I can do three more.
The 1980s
Okay continuing with my series of posts on my favorite movies of each year, we are in the 80s and now we come to 1983 through 1985. As per usual, we will have three picks for each year: a personal favorite, a best sequel, and an acclaimed pick (and I might mention a few other movies along the way that I really liked).
So here we go:
1983
So here we go:
1983
Personal Pick - War Games
It turns out that 1983 wasn't a very strong year for movies so my personal pick for this year is War Games starring Matthew Broderick and I really like this film because it was about a young guy who was into computers and stumbled onto this big war games scenario just as I was a young guy into computers and this movie was just the right time and right place at that time in my life but beyond that it's actually a pretty good movie so it's my pick.
Best Sequel of the Year - Return of the Jedi
Well of course, this one is obvious. We reach the end of the Star Wars saga and it concludes the story of Luke Skywalker in stirring fashion. Yeah,sure some people didn't like the ewoks but at the time I thought they were cute and I understood the message about a primitive society overthrowing a vast technological one, so I have no complaints about the movie and of course, we get the great score by John Williams once again closing out the saga. You don't do much better.
Acclaimed Pick - The Outsiders
This movie may come as somewhat of a shock to some people but this is actually a really great movie directed by none other than Francis Ford Coppola. It starred a who's who of young male Hollywood including C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe and Ralph Macchio. Some people may not be familiar with this film and I would encourage them to check it out because it's a really moving and well done piece and was acclaimed in its time.
1984
So if 1983 was a weak year, 1984 was a positively astonishing year for movies. This is going to be tough but here we go:
Personal Pick - Dune
Now this is a personal favorite and I know that I might be in a minority with this pick but I think this movie is amazing. From director David Lynch comes an epic sci-fi adventure based on the epic sci-fi adventure book. This movie has such style and is a really good adaption of the book. The standout performance of Kyle McLaughlin and a really all-star cast makes this movie just an incredible cinematic experience and it's my personal pick for this year.
Honorable mentions and all the other movies that came out this year:
As I said, 1984 was an incredible year for movies. Some of the movies that I want to mention but can't put on the list are movies like Ghostbusters, a much-beloved comedy, The Karate Kid starring Ralph macchio, a movie perfect for its time telling the story of a young man standing up to his bullies as I myself was a young man who too had to sometimes stand up to his bullies. In that same vein was Footloose with a star-making performance by Kevin Bacon about a young man who wanted to dance in a no-dance town. Again, a movie just right for that time in my life and a good one.
And another sci-fi classic directed by James Cameron and starring a little actor named Arnold Schwarzenegger was The Terminator. Because it was rated R, I didn't see it at the time but later on when I was older I saw it and can appreciate it for the great action film that it is.
And how about a sequel to the worst movie ever made IMO, 2010: The Year We Make Contact was a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and it surpasses the original movie in every way mainly because 2010 makes sense and explains everything that happened in 2001. a really good sci-fi movie IMO.
And how can you leave 1984 without talking about the movie 1984. An adaptation of the book of the same name by George Orwell with outstanding performances from John Hurt and Richard Burton, this dystopian future is brilliantly brought to life on screen. if you haven't seen it you should check it out.
Best Sequel of the Year - tie - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom/Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock
Indiana Jones returns to the screen in a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark so this is actually not a sequel but that's just semantics. The first time I saw this movie I thought it was the most exciting movie I had ever watched in my life. However, I watch it now and it gets a little tiring especially the female lead performance by Kate Capshaw but it's still pure adventure and pure Indiana Jones.
And continuing the Star trek trilogy as the crew hijacks the Enterprise and goes in search for Spock after his death (sorry spoilers) in Star trek 2, Trek 3 may not be entirely successful and may lack the great pacing and action of Star trek 2 but hey, it's still a good movie and you can't go wrong with the Star Trek trilogy.
Acclaimed Pick - tie - The Natural/Amadeus
I just couldn't decide between these two movies.
I'm a sucker for a great sports movie and The Natural is a great sports movie with a quiet but powerful performance by Robert Redford. This movie is just pure inspiration with a great score by Randy Newman that knocks it out of the ballpark (pun intended).
But what can I say about Amadeus that hasn't already been said? It's simply one of the best movies of all time and certainly of this decade. It ranks right up there with Gandhi and other great biopics such as Patton and Lawrence of Arabia with amazing, amazing performances from F Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce and absolutely stunning direction by Milos Foreman. This movie has to be seen and experienced.
Personal Pick - Back to the Future
In his star-making performance, Michael J Fox stars in this incredible Robert Zemeckis directed movie that simply took all of us for a ride in his time traveling DeLorean. Along with a star-making score by Alan Silvestri, and Christopher Lloyd along for the ride, this movie is just a delight to watch over and over again and it never gets old. You might say it's timeless.
Best Sequel of the Year - Rambo: First Blood Part 2
Now, I don't think I mentioned First Blood in 1982 starring Sylvester Stallone but along comes the sequel which really birthed the action movie in Hollywood which is why I put it on this list. At the time because of its R rating I didn't see it in the theaters but of course I saw it later on and, whereas the first movie was a drama action movie, this one is just pure action through and through.
Some honorable mentions from this year:
I'm not really a huge fan of comedy movies but this year brought us the adaption of the acclaimed board game, Clue, with an All-Star cast of funny people at their very best. This movie is a riot to watch and actually has three different endings shown as three different movies in the theaters at the time. Watch it, enjoy it, and see if you can solve the mystery of who killed Mr. Body.
Another comedy that I'd like to mention is,in my opinion, the star-making role of Chevy Chase in Fletch. This movie is as intelligent as it is witty and another one that can just be watched over and over again.
But what can I say about Amadeus that hasn't already been said? It's simply one of the best movies of all time and certainly of this decade. It ranks right up there with Gandhi and other great biopics such as Patton and Lawrence of Arabia with amazing, amazing performances from F Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce and absolutely stunning direction by Milos Foreman. This movie has to be seen and experienced.
1985
Personal Pick - Back to the Future
In his star-making performance, Michael J Fox stars in this incredible Robert Zemeckis directed movie that simply took all of us for a ride in his time traveling DeLorean. Along with a star-making score by Alan Silvestri, and Christopher Lloyd along for the ride, this movie is just a delight to watch over and over again and it never gets old. You might say it's timeless.
Best Sequel of the Year - Rambo: First Blood Part 2
Now, I don't think I mentioned First Blood in 1982 starring Sylvester Stallone but along comes the sequel which really birthed the action movie in Hollywood which is why I put it on this list. At the time because of its R rating I didn't see it in the theaters but of course I saw it later on and, whereas the first movie was a drama action movie, this one is just pure action through and through.
Some honorable mentions from this year:
I'm not really a huge fan of comedy movies but this year brought us the adaption of the acclaimed board game, Clue, with an All-Star cast of funny people at their very best. This movie is a riot to watch and actually has three different endings shown as three different movies in the theaters at the time. Watch it, enjoy it, and see if you can solve the mystery of who killed Mr. Body.
Another comedy that I'd like to mention is,in my opinion, the star-making role of Chevy Chase in Fletch. This movie is as intelligent as it is witty and another one that can just be watched over and over again.
And the last movie I want to mention almost made my acclaimed pic and that movie is The Breakfast Club starring a young who's who of Hollywood in a movie about high schoolers at a time when I was in high school but, unfortunately, due to its R rating I actually didn't see this movie until several years later which I regret because I think this would have been a great movie to see when you were in high school but it's still a great examination and revelation of high school kids at the time.
Acclaimed Pick - A Chorus Line
I hope that no one's forgotten my love of musicals and here comes another classic adapted to the screen by Gandhi's director Richard Attenborough that,of course, has the great dance moves associated with that show and is a real joy to watch and see this great play finally come to the screen.
OK, so three more years done. Hopefully, it won't be too long before I can do three more.
I hope that no one's forgotten my love of musicals and here comes another classic adapted to the screen by Gandhi's director Richard Attenborough that,of course, has the great dance moves associated with that show and is a real joy to watch and see this great play finally come to the screen.
OK, so three more years done. Hopefully, it won't be too long before I can do three more.
