ShrykeVerse Top Movies of the 80's Countdown

[Ron Burgundy]

26+25


Boosh
Ran
I need to see this, i more than aware...N/A
Labyrinth
Interesting choice, and i fully back it up, i love adventures from the 80s. 6.5/10

Johnerle
The Fabulous Baker Boys
Not seen it, but i will very soon. N/A
When Harry Met Sally
Nice one, nearly had this in my top 30. 7.5/10

six
Crimes and Misdemeanors
I did watch it once after your listing in the top 100, but it didn't suggest 'watch this again' 5.5/10
Vagabond
Something new here, must give thanks. N/A

Starlord
Platoon
Its in my list, so yes, nice one. 9/10
License to Kill
Not bad, not great. Maybe i should watch it again. 6.5.10

Trandog
Lethal Weapon
A classic action through and thru. Hard to dislike. 7.5/10
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Extremely hard to dislike, River Phoenix+Sean Connery make this a 9.5-10/ 9.5/10

[StarLord123]

Sorry guys, I've been out of the loop for a minute due to life, we've also sort of reached the "what hasn't been said already?" phase of my list, and other members have already made fitting remarks about many films on the list. I will admit I cheated just a tad with The Abyss, as I've only ever seen the Special Edition, which was released in 1993. Regardless, despite the problematic and at times dangerous production, the movie still turned out to be a great and exciting sci-fi adventure, which now feels oddly obscure amongst the box office juggernauts in Jim Cameron’s filmography.

Spoiler of sorts: E.T. isn't on my list, it's good but I was never as over the moon about it as so many others.

[numbersix]

Didn't realise there was a Special Edition of The Abyss. The cold war angle actually could make it a better film. Perhaps I'll buy the 4k edition when it comes out next year.

#10

Boosch: It's an endearing film, although when it comes to Spielberg and aliens, Close Encounters is more my thing.

John: I'm pretty sure I vowed to watch this when we did our All Time 100 films, and I'm embarrassed to say I haven't yet watched it fully, despite seeing parts of it. I promise to watch it within the next 15 years.

Ron: A surprisingly intense film that is so different from the ridiculous sequels.

Starlord: See previous comments.

Tranny: Yes, it's definitely fun, cartoonish in places. Though Costner is so bland an actor that I can barely remember him in the film, and instead I can recall Sean Connery's scenes way more. And of course, the iconic Union Station shoot-out that references Battleship Potemkin

[transformers2]

#9 aka the day where something I never expect to happen when we started this endeavor happened
Boosh: The Shining (1980)


John: Airplane! (1980)
Parts of it would seem horribly offensive today, and the character of Johnny sticks out like a sore thumb, but Airplane! was so incredibly influential and distinctive that it still deserves a spot in my top 10.


Ron: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)


six: The Terminator (1984)
Even early in his career James Cameron showed his ability to create tension and structure an exciting, satisfying story. We probably all know the time-travelling-robot-assassin story by now, but even on a recent rewatch I was enraptured by the thrills, and terrified at the prospect of a nearly-unstoppable robot coming for the seemingly innocent Sarah Conor (the scene I’m posting scares me every time). It’s a B-movie that is as A as it gets.


StarLord: The Terminator (1984)


transformers: The Terminator (1984)
James Cameron's roadmap for nearly 40 years and counting of churning out trillion dollar hits that are permanently embedded into the fabric of Hollywood started with this sci-fi action masterwork. The cutting-edge visuals, slick action and rich worldbuilding on display here all turned into hallmarks of Cameron's brand and his trust in the then relatively unheralded Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger to play the lead roles lead to the birth of two of the most iconic characters in movie history.

[numbersix]

Nothing but repeats today, so not much more that I haven't already said, or will say.

Funny 3 of us chose The Terminator. It's no Roadhouse, but then again, what is?

[JohnErle]

Commenting at this point in the countdown is a bit like listening to an Oldies station and trying to find a fresh take on Start Me Up or Red, Red Wine. Fewer movies were made in the 80s than today, and many of them are largely forgotten by younger generations, so its hardly surprising to see so many obvious choices popping up over and over again.

I can't remember if The Terminator showed up already, so I'll just say this: I knew it was a lock for our collective top 10, so that made it a lot easier to drop it from my list. There aren't many flaws in the film, apart from Michael Biehn's less than stellar screen presence, and Linda Hamilton's bad 80s hair. I love the movie, and any film that could be picked by Six and Tranny on the same day must have something going for it. Shryke would have loved that.

[Buscemi2]

Did Shryke ever do a favorite 80's movie list from when we did previous lists in the past? It would be interesting to do a compare and contrast.

[JohnErle]

I think all we have is the top 100 of all time we did ages ago. When I first suggested this list I proposed pulling his picks from that countdown so he could be with us in spirit, but then I forgot about that. If anyone wanted to copy and paste from that list he had at least 30 there, but none in his top 10, surprisingly.

[transformers2]

How about I go through that countdown, put together Shryke's picks and then reveal it after we're done posting our #1's. Sound good to everyone?

[Buscemi2]

Sounds good.

[transformers2]

#8

Boosh: The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)


John: Eight Men Out (1988)
The late 80s were a golden age for baseball movies, and not all of them starred Kevin Costner! This wonderful film, written and directed by John Sayles, tells the story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, who conspired with gamblers to throw the World Series. This clip, in addition to showcasing the huge, impressive cast, reveals the tension among the players, some of whom are all in, some of whom know about the fix and want no part of it, and some of whom remain completely ignorant, all while pitcher Eddie Seacott remains on the fence. He's supposed to hit the first batter of the game to signal that the fix is on, but instead he tempts fate by throwing a strike. Then, with the next pitch, he hits the batter and the game is afoot.

Interestingly, this movie about a scandal that rocked the baseball world, and America at large, was released at the same time that Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, and others were brewing up a scandal of their own.


Ron: The Thin Blue Line (1988)


six: The King of Comedy (1982)
I’m pretty sure I said the same thing all those years ago when we did a Top 100 Favourite Films list, but it nevertheless remains true: Scorsese does not get enough praise or accolade for this film. Even after Joker ripped it off. Intended to be a quick, modestly-budget comedy, it instead predates the awkward style of comedy which emerged in the 90s and dominated this century. Its tale of a celebrity-obsessed wannabe-comedian is an opportunity for De Niro to be at his most awkward, deranged and creepiest.


StarLord: Lethal Weapon (1987)


transformers: The Killer (1989)
As an action movie fan, the emergence of John Wick did two great things. 1: It inspired a revolution where more films in the genre decided to utilize its cleanly-edited, long take-driven approach to staging fights and shootouts. 2: It got me to seek out some of the projects John Woo-whose movies were a huge inspiration to Chad Stahelski and David Leitch-made in Hong Kong. While 1992's Hard Boiled is the best known of Woo's early fillmography before he made the leap to English language cinema with the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle Hard Target, it was a film that he made 3 years prior that really stood out to me. The Killer has many of the same strengths as Hard Boiled with its graceful shootouts, wild stunts and a magnetic badass lead performance from Chow Yun-fat, just in a more compact narrative and with even higher highs on the action front (the final massive shootout in a church is particularly impressive).Without The Killer, there would be no Matrix, John Wick or many of the other brilliant action movies that have come out over the past 3 decades. I can not thank Mr. Woo enough for the tremendous work he's done and monumental influence he's had on this genre that I care so deeply about.

[numbersix]

#8

Boosch: An impressive choice. The film Scorsese spent most of the decade trying to make. It's certainly a singular piece of film-making, and arguably a more honest and sincere depiction than any of the devout relgious claptrap that came before or after.

John. Haven't seen it. The cast is impressive, and Sayles is a respectable film-maker, but it's hard to engage witha film about baseball.

Ron: Excellent choice. Glad I'm not the only one.

Starlord: Another appearance of the over-rated franchise-starter

Tranny: Haven't seen it. The ridiculousness of that scene doesn't quite sell me, but perhaps when I'm in the mood for something fun, I might consider watching it.


Also, having a list of Shryke's favourite 80s films would be a great way to include him and honor him.

[transformers2]

Alright cool. It'll be great to give his picks their time to shine as the cherry on top of this whole affair.

[transformers2]

#9
All great repeat picks. John, I have to say that I completely agree that Patrick would've loved that six and I had an overlapping pick. It's not often that people of such high and low tastes can come together and agree on the greatness of something.

#8
Boosh: Haven't seen it and after finally watching Silence a couple weeks back, it's going to be a little bit before I jump into another Scorsese religious epic.

John: You promised some out-of-the-box picks in the top 10 and you've already delivered my friend. I love baseball movies and the Black Sox story is fascinating, but I've yet to see this. Will definitely a top priority among the films featured here that I haven't seen.

Ron: Haven't seen it.

six: I actually watched this for the first time about a month before Joker was released and was deeply amused by just how much Todd Philips tried (and failed) to mimic it. Anyways, it's a pretty great movie that I agree hasn't quite the amount of love it deserves in Scorsese's filmography.

StarLord: Made my list. One of the greatest buddy action comedies ever made.

[Buscemi2]

I'm guessing you'll never see Kundun then, Tran.