Deciding on the Top 10 movies of the 80's is an impossible task. The list could also be interchangeable with the Best Movies of All-Time. Growing up an 80's baby, they each have a special sentimental value. If I come across them on cable, I'll stop and watch every single time. Here is my Top 10 in no particular order:
1) The Goonies
: quite possibly the best movie of all time. There is no better kid's adventure movie out! A group of friends face foreclosure from a country club that wants to expand and demolish their homes. They go on an adventure to find One Eyed Willy's buried treasure and encounter booby traps while being chased by the Fratellis (a family of criminals).
: quite possibly the best movie of all time. There is no better kid's adventure movie out! A group of friends face foreclosure from a country club that wants to expand and demolish their homes. They go on an adventure to find One Eyed Willy's buried treasure and encounter booby traps while being chased by the Fratellis (a family of criminals). 2) Coming to America: the funniest movie of all time (Eddie Murphy in his prime). A young African prince comes to the U.S. (Queens, NY) to find his queen. He was looking for love and pretended to be a pauper to find someone who wanted him for him (not status or riches).
3) The Karate Kid: the biggest underdog movie. A high school senior moves with his mom from Newark, NJ to Reseda, CA (how he's not tough enough growing up in Newark, who knows). He meets a girl and endures beating after beating by her ex-boyfriend and friends. His building's handyman teaches him karate by doing everyday errands repetitively: painting, car washing, and sanding the floor.
4) Ferris Bueller's Day Off: how many of us want to do this every day of our professional lives? Call out sick, pick up your friend/girlfriend, borrow a ferrari, go to a Cubs game, pretend to be Abe Froman (sausage King of Chicago), and sing in a parade.
5) Back to the Future
: this movie put time travel on the map. A teenager goes back into time (1955) and disrupts his parents from falling in love. He has to repair their courtship, try not to be erased from existence, and find a way back to 1985.
: this movie put time travel on the map. A teenager goes back into time (1955) and disrupts his parents from falling in love. He has to repair their courtship, try not to be erased from existence, and find a way back to 1985. 6) The Karate Kid II
: After Godfather 2, this is the next sequel that beats the original. Can Daniel LaRusso's life get any worse: his girlfriend dumps him, his mom moves to Fresno for work, and he goes to live with his building's handyman (Miyagi). Miyagi gets news that his father is dying in Japan and Daniel decides to tag along. While in Japan, Miyagi meets his ex-bestfriend (Sato) and his nephew Chozen who harass them about having no honor (Miyagi fled Japan years ago because he didn't want to fight Sato to the death over a woman). Any movie with a typhoon, crane dodging, ice block breaking, a tea ceremony, and a fight to the death deserves to be better than the original.
: After Godfather 2, this is the next sequel that beats the original. Can Daniel LaRusso's life get any worse: his girlfriend dumps him, his mom moves to Fresno for work, and he goes to live with his building's handyman (Miyagi). Miyagi gets news that his father is dying in Japan and Daniel decides to tag along. While in Japan, Miyagi meets his ex-bestfriend (Sato) and his nephew Chozen who harass them about having no honor (Miyagi fled Japan years ago because he didn't want to fight Sato to the death over a woman). Any movie with a typhoon, crane dodging, ice block breaking, a tea ceremony, and a fight to the death deserves to be better than the original. 7) Weird Science: every adolescent/teenage boy's dream - being able to create the girl of your fantasies through a computer.
8) The Shining: after the Exorcist, this might be one of the scariest movies of all time. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
9) Glory: 5 words: Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington. If you're not touched by this movie, there is something wrong with you. There can't always be a happy ending.
10) A Christmas Story: I watch the movie marathon on TBS every year. Red Ryder BB gun....you'll shoot your eye out!
9) Glory: 5 words: Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington. If you're not touched by this movie, there is something wrong with you. There can't always be a happy ending.
10) A Christmas Story: I watch the movie marathon on TBS every year. Red Ryder BB gun....you'll shoot your eye out!
Honorable Mention: Scarface (too clique to make the list), Full Metal Jacket (the boot camp scenes are priceless), Stand by Me (didn't have enough gas to make the list), Indiana Jones series (too hard to pick one because they're all great).
