And the Oscar Goes To...Kneel Before Zod!

Listening to: John Williams - Greatest Hits 1969-1999 (featuring songs from Star Wars Trilogy, Indiana Jones, Jaws...etc)
Weather: Warm and Windy again...

This has been a long journey travelling through the 80's...a heck of a lot of good laughs as my sister and I rehashed a lot of memories we had together growing up...

I thought I'd end my 80's blogs with one of my favorite topics: the movies.

I remember going to the movies and they cost I think $4.75 in the early 90's?  I'm sure they were in a correct adjustment with the standard of living at the time but still, it just sounds funny compared to the $9-$12 most theaters charge today.  Also, in 1984, the concept of PG-13 is introduced...which made it a lot easier to categorize those movies that were way too crude for a PG rating.

So with a big pizzazz-like hurrah, here is my blog for Top Movies of the 1980's...possibly the hardest list yet for me to come up with...

PS: Please, if you see a movie here that you haven't watched but plan on it and don't like reading summaries (endings included) then please don't read that movie description...you've been warned!
PPS: All quotes from IMDB.com
*Again, in no particular order unless specified*


Twins (1988) - Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito Rated PG
This was possibly one of the most ingenius concepts in modern-day film...no exaggeration intended, really.  I mean how else could you pair these two actors and make it work this hilariously?  I don't care what other people think, this movie was and still is hilarious...
Julian "My name is Julian and I am your twin brother." 
Vincent "Oh obviously!  The moment I sat down I thought I was looking into a mirror."


Ghostbusters 1 & 2 (1984-1989) - Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, and Annie Potts  Rated PG

We all know the concept: four guys run around New York getting rid of ghosts, poltergeists, etc etc...then somehow they discover this other, uh, dimesion?  World?  And a huge massive crisis is going to be hitting their city and only they have the correct back-pack wearing gadgets to stop it.  Though at the time it was a slight bit frightening (I was young after all) it was kind of like finding the Superman (or SuperMEN) to my boogeyman fears.
Janine - "Do you believe in UFOs, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness monster, and the theory of Atlantis?"
Winston on being interviewed for a job - "Ah, if there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say."


Superman II (1980) - Starring Christopher Reeves, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, and the three scary people especially Zod.
Speaking of Superman: Three criminals whom were jailed by Superman's pops, Jor-El, are accidentally freed by a hydrogen bomb that Superman deployed in outerspace to thwart a terrorist plot...the three discover they have incredible powers upon Earth and wreak havoc trying to take down Superman and the Earth.  Meanwhile, Clark Kent and Lois have married and she finds out he's Superman.  But of course at the end of the movie, he is able to magically wipe her memories out so that she doesn't remember that she knows he's Superman.  And of course he saves the day at the end.  But I personally liked number one much better but it was 1978 so I have to choose this one by default...the next two Supermans ended up bombing sadly.  We'll see how all of these new Superman things do.
"Good afternoon, Mr. President.  Sorry I've been away so long.  I won't let you down again." - Superman, duh.


Crocodile Dundee (1986): Starring Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski - Rated PG13
Mick "Crocodile" Dundee is the object of Sue, a reporter, Charlton's next article.  They spend some time together in Australia where of course her big ol' bootie is being admired when she gets attacked by an crocodile who thankfully grabbed her water canteen around her neck instead and Mick kills it for her.  Scene still startles me today.  Then she asks him to come to NY with her where we experience Mick struggling with the modern things (escalators, food carts...) and of course a run-in with that thug kid where the most quotable line from the movie emerges:
Sue - "Mick, he's got a KNIFE."
Mick - "A knife?  That ain't a knife."  He takes out this HUGE knife, "now THIS is a knife."
Two things that bug: she kissed him a few times but she has a boyfriend, when you're a kid that stuff confuses you!  Secondly, when he put his hat in the bathtub, it grossed me out.

Either way, they end up falling in love and he leaves us with a crowd-pleasing moment of him walking on people's heads in a crowded NY subway but...why didn't he just tell her to stay and that he'd be right there when the crowd thinned out?


Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989): Starring Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.
By far my favorite of the trilogy, (I couldn't stand Temple of Doom) this one featured Sean Connery as Prof. Henry Jones, Indiana's father, as they search for the Holy Grail (the cup of Christ) against the Nazis who want it for selfish gain, and an evil American dude who wants it for a more eternal nasty purpose.  The chemistry and humor between Sean Connery and Harrison Ford is really the key here, they are hilarious together. 
Sallah - "Please, what does it always mean...this Junior?"
Prof. Henry Jones - "That's his name" he points to himself, "Henry Jones" points to Indiana, "Junior."
Indiana Jones - "I like Indiana"
Prof. - "We named the DOG Indiana."
Marcus Brody - "May we go home now please?"
Sallah laughing - "The dog?  You are named after the DOG?"  Laughs loudly.
Indiana - "I have fond memories of that dog." Cue theme song.


Back to the Future: (1985) - Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and of course BIFF Rated PG
Marty McFly travels to the past where his parents are teenagers...which also brings me to one of the WEIRDEST moments in movie history up to that point for me: that was Marty's mom for goodness sake!  But I think Crispin Glover's role is adorable...anywho, so they have to go through all these shenanigans to ensure that Marty and his sibs don't get erased from the future if his mom ends up with BIFF (why don't they just get away from this dude)...and of course rocks out 80's metal style at their Enchanted Prom...btw, their Delorean scene was filmed at our mall!  Another random fact, Angelina and Brad's shoot out scene in Mr. and Mrs. Smith was filmed at our defunct Ikea building.  Was wondering what all those cars were doing there!  Back to, Back to the Future...so it was a great movie, spawned two more pretty good movies and introduced the world to the hope of hovering skateboards!
Marty "Wait a minute Doc...uh, are you telling me that you built a time machine out of a Delorean?"
Doc "The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?"



Batman: 1989 - Starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger Rated PG-13
I don't care what anyone says, Christian Bale is great.  Heath Ledger was insane, Jim Carrey was zany...yada yada yada.  But I don't know, nothing beats this Batman movie for me.  Though Michael Keaton was an odd Bruce Wayne for me because of his unconventional looks, I thought he was the best we've ever seen so far.  Batman 2 became a little too creepy for me with Penguin (Danny DeVito) and I thought Michelle Pfeiffer was terrific as Catwoman (I hope Anne Hathaway will be decent but it's kind of a strange casting choice in my opinion), Batman Forever was Val Kilmer who I thought was decent, Nicole Kidman who was odd, and Jim Carey and Tommy Lee Jone as villains were great.  Then uh Arnold and Clooney take on the next one and I can't even bear to talk about it...I just can't.  I thought Tim Burton's Batmans (the first two) were good cause it had that kooky Gotham city feel to it, though I have to wonder...why didn't the people just get the heck out of that place?  It's like hell on Earth, literally!
Batman is dangling a criminal off the side of a building:
Criminal "Don't kill me x3" desperately.
Batman "I'm not going to kill you.  I want you to do me a favor.  I want you tell all your friends about me."
Criminal "What are you?"
Batman "I'm BATMAN"


Naked Gun: (1988) - Starring Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, and yes...O.J. Simpson
Possibly one of the most overtly slapstick ridiculous comedies out there, this one is special to me because me, my sister, and my cousin would roll on the floor laughing clutching our stomachs until we had tears pouring out of our eyes when we watched this as kids.  It's funny too because I remember a few years later when they started showing this movie on tv, we were at a family party giggling as usual when we heard our uncles gasp and ask us what the heck we were watching.  Later, as I got older and watched it again I said YIKES!  It's sad too cause O.J. was pretty good in the movie...sad to know what he was going to be up to in a few years...
(After beating up a conference full of world leaders, including wiping off Mikhail Gorbachev's birthmark): "I'm Lt. Frank Drebin! Police Squad! And don't ever let me catch you guys in America!"


The Goonies: (1985) - Starring Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin, Chunk and SLOTH! Rated PG
This movie was like every kid's dream come true: find a lost treasure map, go on treasure map adventure, get chased by bad guys, and...yup find the pirate ship...in the meantime, you get your first kiss, help trap criminals, and most importantly: you meet SLOTH - "Hey you guysssssss!"
Mikey: "Goonies never say die!"


Three Men and a Baby: (1987) - Starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson, and possibly the cutest baby I've ever seen.
Three successful bachelors live together in this mega loft-like super cool apartment loft thingie...yea.  I was so jealous of it, and I was a little girl for goodness sake!  Tom Selleck was Peter the successful architect, Steve Guttenberg was Michael the cartoonist, and Ted Danson was Jack the actor, and father of the baby.  It's about watching these three manly men basically learn how to be loving caring dudes that care about something more interesting than just their own success...and of course to make it thrilling, you add some heroin packets in the diaper!  Woah, topic change!  And of course this movie took off on its own when the VHS came out (yes video) and people thought there was a ghost in the window of a scene.  I remember my brother bawling and jumping into my arms when he saw it and I had to rock him to sleep, he was so frightened of it...turned out it was a cardboard cut out of Ted Danson's character in a top hat...go figure!  Uh and yes, the director of this movie was none other than: Leonard Nemoy.  Yes, that  Leonard Nimoy (Spock for any of you sad sad people who missed out on a great show, go watch some Star Trek already!)
Michael opens the door and finds a baby on their doorstep:
Michael -"That's a baby."
Peter - "I know it's a baby.  What's it doing there?"
Michael - "It's sleeping."



The Karate Kid: (1984) Starring Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, and those karate guys in black.  Rated PG
As I've mentioned before, Ralph Macchio was my first ever love.  First EVER.  Creepy that I found out just now that he was 23 at the time...23!  He looks like he's 12, someone make sense of this please.  Maybe he has that Justin Bieber gene, cause that Bieber kid looks like he's 10 not 16 or 17 or however he is.  Anyway, possibly one of the most beloved movies of all time, this movie introduced such classic quotes as "Wax On, Wax Off" and of course the infamous Crane move at the end...oh and btw, Mr. Miyagi was nominated for an OSCAR for this movie!
Mr. Miyagi - "Karate come from China, sixteenth century, called te = "hand".  Hundred year later, Miyagi ancestor bring to Okinawa called *kara* te = "empty hand"
Daniel-San - "I thought it came from Buddhist temples and stuff like that."
Mr. Miyagi - "You too much TV."


Honey I Shrunk the Kids: (1989) - Starring Rick Moranis, a wife, two neighbors, four shrunken kids, and of course the dog that saves the day.  Rated PG
I went to the theatre to watch this and I thought my life had changed...it was literally that amazing of a movie to me back in the day...I still actually think it's pretty ingenious and hilarious...I also specifically remember that for the rest of that year, I would check my cereal bowl for little floating kids screaming for help, I was nicer to ants, and craved oatmeal-creme filled cookies everyday...sigh, talk about an easily influenced kid!
Diane (the mom): "Are you saying it works...the machine works?"
Wayne nods.
Diane: "Do the kids know?"
Wayne: "Well, yeah, the kids know."
Diane: "That's great!"
Wayne: "No, it's not that great."
Diane: "Why?"
Wayne: "I shrunk the kids"


The Little Mermaid: (1989) Starring Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Rene Auberjonois, Pat Carroll, Buddy Hackett Rated G
A singing mermaid princess wishes to be human, and even chooses to deal with an evil sea witch to achieve that goal, in exchange for one thing: her voice.  Her father, the buxom (yes I used this word) King Triton eventually has to save the day, with the love of her life, Eric saving the day as well...this is officially my dad's most hated movie (after 10,000 bc though, now that I think about it) because he thinks Ariel is selfish and caused grief on the poor father...any relations to me?  I sure hope not!  Also...this movie led to many fantastic moments in the pool where us girls would try to do that emerging out of the water gasping for breath pose she does when she gets her human lungs...never came out right like her Kool-Aid red hair did...this movie started the Disney-return where they focused on remaking old classics...love this movie!
Sebastian: "Ariel, listen to me.  The human world is a mess. Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there."


Sixteen Candles: (1984) Starring Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, and of course I HEART JAKE.  Rated PG
Samantha, Sam, Baker is sixteen.  She has a big crush on popular boy, Jake Ryan.  Nerd boy has crush on Samantha.  Her crazy sister is getting married, all these grandparents are arriving...and of course one of the craziest most absurd Asian characters ever to hit the screen: the Donger, appears.  And on top of everything: everyone forgets it's her birthday.  Don't forget: Lumberjack, panties, and a drunk prom queen plus of course the raving bride.  This movie resonated with me because of the way her family was, the way her grandparents would just grab her and say ridiculous comments was much of my life growing up...now if only I could find a Jake Ryan to share a cake with!
Samantha: Donger's been here for five hours and he's got somebody.  I live here my whole life and I'm like a disease.


Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer: (1982 & 1984) Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, and the coolest sidekicks ever...RATED R of course.
Personally I watched the Destroyer more than the Barbarian, just cause it seemed to be on tv more, but they were both equally great...I really actually thought Arnold was super-human and his sidekicks were great!  That horned demon monster scared the living daylights out of me, and probably scared the daylights out of Wilt as he thankfully never made another movie again.
Conan's Father: "For no one-no one in this world you can trust.  Not men, not women, not beasts.  This you can trust (hands him the sword)


Glory: (1989) Starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman, Andre Braugher and the 54th..sniff...RATED R
I'm a history lover, and this was a really great movie...also one of the most heart-wrenching movies watching racism of all things take over a country as free as America...definitely a most disgusting era in our short history.  It's about a Colonel (Broderick) who takes on the task of leading one of the first all-Black regiments which had formed quickly when Lincoln had called for it.  And the cast was incredibly incredibly stellar, Morgan Freeman as the kind of older brother figure, Andre Braugher as the intellectual softie, and Denzel had his breakout role as he was nominated for an Oscar for his great role as the rebel soldier...apparently during the scene where he is getting whipped for breaking the rules, the guy actually whipped him and the tear he cries is out of pain...but he kept on filming, what a guy!  What a movie!  My eyes are welling up as we speak...oh but randomly, the main song in this movie is the same song for Iron Chef (the original, superbly better Japanese version) how random is that?
Union soldiers - "Give 'em hell 54!"

*And of course don't forget, Clash of the Titans, Can't Buy Me Love, Adventures in Baby-sitting, Big, Amadeus...and so many more I'd go dizzy trying to write em all down and you'd go dizzy trying to read them...thanks for sticking through my reminiscent 80's blogs...until next time!