Outtakes Show, 04/19/2010: Intro, fuck-offs and you rules, runners-up for the best movies of the 1980’s.
Music: “Taco Wagon,” Young Fresh Fellows. I am on vacation and didn’t have any of my Hucklebug files with me. Greetings from Disney World!
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There’s a Hard Rock Cafe here in NY – does Bet needone from the Times Square location?
Even the Moonwalk is not a Michael Jackson original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxZcLWAmdco and I agree Pajama Game is not the best movie musical, but the music itself “Hey There,” etc, is to die for.
Terminator is NOT A BOY MOVIE! My ovaries enjoy that movie immensely, as it has a great script and damned good FX for its time.
A few general observations:
Looks like anything with Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner, or Nicholas Cage is irrevocably removed from consideration. That seems a shame. I’m not to keen on any of them now (though Costner’s had a an occasional bright spot in the last few years) but they — or at least the movies they were in — are pretty indispensable to my list.
I’ve never seen Tampopo, but I’ve always wanted to. Now that I’ve finally got the Netflix going, I’ll add it to the Q-E-ooh. My favorite (and often overlooked) food movie is mostly Martha / Bella Martha (which was unnecessarily remade recently as “No Reservations” with Aaron Eckhardt (whom I adore) and Katherine Zeta Jones (whom I tire of easily).
I’ve seen Ran only once, sometime in the late 80s. I don’t remember much of it; I guess I wasn’t able to appreciate it at the time, even though I fancied myself a budding cineaste. Must revisit that.
So here’s my top 10, with bubbling under to follow
10. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
9. Breaker Morant
8. Risky Business
I know: Tom Cruise, right? Still, I think this tends to get unfairly written off as just another 80s teen sex romp when it actually has lots of trenchant observations about coming of age in the 80s (“I don’t want to do anything to mess up my future.”)
7. Bull Durham
6. Raising Arizona
Even if this weren’t my wife’s and my first date, it would still be among my favorites of the decade; it was also my introduction to the Coens.
5. The Princess Bride
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark
3. A Room with a View
2. The Empire Strikes Back
How was this absent from all three of your lists; not even a bubbling under?
1. The Right Stuff
I think it’s fairly well established by now that this is not only my favorite 80s movie, but my favorite movie, period. It’s always amazed and saddened me that this film didn’t / doesn’t get more respect.
And bubbling under . . . (Titles in bold are those that I don’t think any of you mentioned on your lists.)
11. Cinema Paradiso
12. Aliens
13. Moonstruck
14. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
15. A Fish Called Wanda
16. Ghostbusters
17. Better Off Dead – “I want my two dollars!”
18. True Stories – Written and directed by David Byrne, of Talking Heads fame. My wife and I still quote this to each other all the time: “Burt, I’m gonna need ALL your money.”
19. Eight Men Out – For many reasons, not the least of which is the casting of Studs freaking Terkel.
20. Stand by Me
21. The Untouchables
22. Airplane!
23. Blade Runner
24. Manhunter – The (vastly superior IMO) adaptation of “Red Dragon,” the first of the Hannibal Lecter trilogy.
25. Back to the Future
26. Full Metal Jacket
27. The Blues Brothers
28. Das Boot
29. This is Spinal Tap
30. Time Bandits
31. Tootsie
32. Diner
33. Tin Men
34. Roxanne
35. Never Cry Wolf
36. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
37. Henry V – one of the best sequels of all time ;^)
38. Midnight Run
39. The Terminator
40. Robocop
41. The Shining
42. Dead Calm
43. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (the one with the whales)
44. Used Cars
45. Reckless – Total guilty pleasure, on the list for its use of the Romeo Void song Never Say Never and because it’s the source of a great, if humiliating, anecdote about how, confused by the gender-bending names of the lead actors, I emerged from the theatre and declared, “That Aidan Quinn is HOT!” (And that Daryl Hannah’s no slouch . . . ) Ah, youth.
46. The Three Amigos
47. Return of the Jedi – Pretty crappy (though not prequel-level crappy), yet noteworthy because I skipped school and waited in line all day (my pal Fredd and I were 6th and 7th) for the premiere. Even got our picture on the front page of the Des Moines Register.
48. Matewan
49. She’s Having a Baby
50. Broadcast News
I protest.
“Switching Channels” starred Burt Reynolds and Kathleen Turner, right?
Don’t forget the South Carolina governor—he’s the worst and he’s still sitting. Remember the whole “Appalachian Trail” thing? That’s worse than Patterson’s corruption and pressuring a woman to not file sexual harassment charges… kinda…
Is Flo from Progressive more annoying than Aunt Flo(w)? Or maybe she IS Aunt Flo(w)?
I do miss the New Bev and as much as I hate Tarantino (it’s true, I hate him), I do appreciate what he’s done for that theater.
Bet, I remember laughing hard at “SOB” as a kid on cable TV.
I LOVE “REPO MAN”!!!
No stinger! I feel gypped!
But I forgive easy… (and make grammar mistakes)