ShrykeVerse Top Movies of the 80's Countdown

[Chienfantome]

#17

Boosh: Evil Dead II (1987)
Pretty sure I've only seen the first one.

JohnErle: Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Never seen it.

Ron: Platoon (1986)
Haven't seen it in a long time but I loved it, one of Stone's best.

six: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
When you open the movie dictionary looking for the term "adventure", this is the film illustrating it.

StarLord: Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
Good sequel. Loved it when I was a teen.

transformers: Road House (1989)
Tranny, I've never seen Road House. But your words definitely make me want to finally catch it. I shall do something about it.

[numbersix]

Two surprisingly mainstream films from you, Chien

[transformers2]

#17

Boosh: Evil Dead II (1987)
Pretty sure I've only seen the first one.

JohnErle: Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Never seen it.

Ron: Platoon (1986)
Haven't seen it in a long time but I loved it, one of Stone's best.

six: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
When you open the movie dictionary looking for the term "adventure", this is the film illustrating it.

StarLord: Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
Good sequel. Loved it when I was a teen.

transformers: Road House (1989)
Tranny, I've never seen Road House. But your words definitely make me want to finally catch it. I shall do something about it.

I'm truly flattered. Best of luck with all of Patrick Swayze's throat-ripping, small town bar-defending hijinks.

[Chienfantome]

Two surprisingly mainstream films from you, Chien

The 1980's is the most mainstream decade of my film tastes. Any other decade is more arthouse.
Half of my Top 10 will be mainstream I think.

[Chienfantome]

I'm truly flattered. Best of luck with all of Patrick Swayze's throat-ripping, small town bar-defending hijinks.

Sounds like a fun program.

[Chienfantome]

16. Tandem (1987)
Patrice Leconte is one of the most prolific French directors. You may have seen or heard of The Hairdresser’s Husband, Ridicule or The Girl on the Bridge, just to name a few of his most beloved films. But Leconte was identified as a comedy director (some excellent, some forgettable) until he made Tandem. Now we all know Leconte can make comedy or drama just as well. And this is probably the film that really put him on the map of a more “serious” French cinema. A road-movie about a radio–show host touring the country with his technician, each day hosting a quiz show in a different French smalltown. The technician has learned the radio is about to cancel the show, but he doesn’t know how to announce it to the host. It’s simple, it’s delicate, it’s touching, it’s funny, it’s melancholic, and it almost feels like a classic Italian comedy more than a French dramedy from the 80’s. Jean Rochefort, another favorite of mine, and Gérard Jugnot are playing the host and the tech, and they are both marvelous.

[Chienfantome]

15. The Killing Fields (1984)
One of the first films I cited in this countdown was Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun. I wrote how I love those old-school Hollywood epic stories about survival in the face of danger. The Killing Fields is one of the greatest films made in the genre. A poignant story about the Cambodian genocide, and the struggle of a journalist to find and save the man who saved his own life. It’s a film about courage, a film so powerful it is hard not to get emotional about.

[Chienfantome]

Sorry, last few days have been a been difficult, I'm getting back to it.

14. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Woody Allen has one of the most prolific and fascinating careers. Some of his films are forgettable, but many are thrilling, or riveting, or charming. The Purple Rose of Cairo is one of those, a declaration of love to cinema that offers romance, adventure, mystery, and that sense of magic that Allen can pull off like few other directors. A wonderful piece of cinema with a fantastic pair of Jeff Daniels and Mia Farrow.

[numbersix]

Snap!

[Chienfantome]

#16

Boosh: Aliens (1986)
Very efficient sequel, even though it's far behind the original for me.

John: The Living Daylights (1987)
Never expected the Dalton 007 films to be so popular in this countdown.

Ron: Das Boot (1981)
Never seen it unfortunately.

six: This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Never seen it either !

StarLord: The Abyss (1989)
I saw it, but such a long time ago. I remember it to be a bit more ambitious than the usual Cameron, screenwriting speaking.

transformers: Raising Arizona (1987)
I hated it when I saw it. I should give it another try.

[Chienfantome]

#15

Boosh: Brazil (1985)
Too long since I last saw it, but great film.

John: The Thing (1982)
Featured in my list, a classic.

Ron: The Verdict (1982)
I know I saw it, I remember a very clasical film, but it's been a while, I may remember wrong.

six: Akira (1988)
Here's another one I've been meaning to rewatch for ages. I don't think I've seen it in my adulthood.

StarLord: Batman (1989)
I like the Batmans by Burton, although I prefer the sequel.

transformers: This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Still haven't seen it.

[Chienfantome]

#14

Boosh: Die Hard (1988)
Often copied, never matched.

John: An American Werewolf in London (1981)
I haven't seen it since I was 14 or something, I liked it in my teens.

Ron: Mississippi Burning (1988)
A film with a strong subject, well-made, with great actors. I like it.

six: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Who doesn't love Empire here ?

StarLord: Scarface (1983)
I hate Scarface. Well, I haven't given it a shot in a very long time, but I really hated it.

transformers: Return of the Jedi (1983)
The lesser of the three, but still damn fine.

[Chienfantome]

13. The Shining (1980)
Kubrick made two films in the 1980’s, and the two of them are here. Probably the most accessible film by Kubrick, but it’s a filmmaking masterclass I’ve been enjoying watching for the last 25 years.

[Chienfantome]

12. The Untouchables (1987)
Funny how sometimes, a director makes a film for a studio, and it has everything on the paper to be flat and conventional, but it never is. De Palma isn’t a fan of his Untouchables, and yet rarely has a period crime film looked so good, featured so many classic sequences, and set standards for the genre that have almost never been achieved after it. With a Morricone score for the ages.

[Chienfantome]

11. Le Père Noël est une Ordure / Santa claus is a Stinker (1982)
They often say comedies don’t travel well. It’s the one genre where you can have an absolute classic in a country that’s barely been heard of internationally. None of you have probably ever seen this French comedy which is an absolute classic here, that is on TV every single Christmas, and that most French watch almost every year. It’s about the people running an association answering calls of depressed people, on Christmas Eve. And nothing goes as you would expect. Funnily, I think there’s been an American remake in the 80’s or 90’s with Steve Martin, that no one saw here in France, but maybe you’ve heard about it.
Here’s the very weird original trailer with English subs. The whole cast is doing the voice over for the trailer.