1986: Movies Sorted By Tier
Submitted by jim on Tue, 09/14/2004 - 04:46
Tags:
Loved
Aliens
The Fly
Hoosiers
... A great sports movie, and Hackman's coaching style reminds me quite a bit of my high school basketball days, so it has sentimental value as well.Jean De Florette
Manon Of The Spring
The Mission
... I have to see this again.Platoon
Really Liked
Children Of A Lesser God
Crocodile Dundee
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
She's Gotta Have It
Something Wild
... Straight-and-narrow Jeff Daniels (who I constantly mistake for Bill Pullman) gets picked up by wild-child Melanie Griffith (looking occasionally like Sigourney Weaver). She somehow identifies a hint of rebellion in him, drags him to Pennsylvania, and quickly starts placing him in sexually exciting and/or socially awkward situations. We have a hard time forgiving Daniels for just skipping out on his wife and kids, but then the twists start coming. I don't think I'm going to give anything away by discussing Ray Liotta, since he's in the credits n' all, but the guy is a master of subtle menace. He comes on screen and you just want to lean back, like he's invading your personal space. Even when he's being outwardly friendly there's something about the set of his shoulders or intensity of his gaze that belies his clean-cut good looks and smile. Reptilian. A two-for-the-price-of-one film where both work, and as a result you just don't know how on earth it's all going to end.Stand By Me
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Glad I Saw
The Color Of Money
Hannah and Her Sisters
... While I significantly prefer Annie Hall or Manhattan, Woody Allen does manage to mirror several of my own "what's the meaning of life" thoughts here, and I particularly enjoyed his character's brief interaction with his father. I should probably give this one another shot someday, as I couldn't stop thinking of Michael Caine doing a Strongbad impersonation: "Hannah... Hannah's seeester... Hannah... Hannah's seeester...."Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Manhunter
Guilty Pleasures
Big Trouble In Little China
F/X
The Golden Child
The Highlander
... Any movie with Christopher Lambert has to induce guilt. But this is a pretty good modern fantasy, and my best friend and I watched and quoted extensively as kids. I can't help but notice the correlation between guilt-inducing movies and Queen soundtracks.House
The Money Pit
Running Scared
Top Gun
Youngblood
Could Have Missed
Ruthless People
... Does anything have a shorter shelf life than comedy? Or is it just 80s comedies that date faster than you can watch 'em? Or maybe it's just me, and my sense of humor is withering with age, but I swear I would have liked this movie quite a bit 10 years ago, but today it did little for me. Judge Reinhold did have a very funny bit with a spider though, and there was some amusement to be had with the big circle of misunderstanding around the videotape.Should Have Missed
- None Yet
El Sucko Grande
Cobra
Maximum Overdrive
Unranked
Blue Velvet
... A straight story told strangely. Sorry I don't have more to say, but I'd have to see this one again to form a real opinion. I liked the perversity lurking beneath suburbia, the loss of innocence, the direction and the sense of surreal menace even when filming sunlit scenes. And there's no denying it's creepy. But I'm not convinced (yet) that it added up to enough.The Delta Force
The Karate Kid Part II
Labyrinth
The Mosquito Coast
The Name Of The Rose
Poltergeist 2
Pretty in Pink
Quicksilver
Raw Deal
Soul Man
Short Circuit
Cloned From:
Man, I hated Highlander. Critics be damned, that movie's awful. :-)
Oh come on, there is nothing more fun to say with a put-on Connery accent than, "You have the manners of a goat. And you smell like a dung-heap! And you have no knowledge whatsoever of your potential!"
If you didn't see it when you were 16, you're almost certain to hate it, and even that's not a safe bet. Hence the guilt.
Re: Ruthless People. Not all comedies date so quickly, but you're right, many 80s comedies seem to. Also, look for the Shrek films to be outdated... two weeks ago.
Lots of late 20s to late 40s comedies still make ME laugh, how 'bout you?
I still haven't seen all that many of them, but yes, there are some classic comedies that still work great for me. The observation about the shelf life of comedies is a generalization, for sure.
I did have GREAT fun with the Short Circuit films as a kid. I can't imagine I'd enjoy them these days. I'm guessing it's 'unranked' because you can't remember it well enough to rank it?
Correct.
Ah, sorry I steered you wrong on Ruthless People. Or at least steered you averagely. I dunno. I guess it's more of a personal favorite than a movie to pass on to others. Alas...
Not to worry, I factored in a few folks opinions (including yours) before queueing that one. I think I'm in the minority in not really going for it. In the interest of full disclosure, as much as I like a couple of their movies, I think I like EVERY Zucker Bros. movie less that most viewers.
I'm glad you liked Something Wild. I saw it in '86, when Ray Liotta, Melanie Griffith, and Jeff Daniels were all still new to me. I couldn't get past that movie for a long time, whenever I saw them in other things.
I am also thrilled you dug Something Wild, Jim. In fact, I am so happy, I will forgive you for your positive review of Hercules (which I notoriously did not like).
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
:-) Whew, dodged a bullet there! Actually, I don't think you can be too notorious for not liking Hercules, as I seem to recall it got pretty poor reviews. If anything, perhaps I'll be notorious for liking it (although it will probably be a pittance of noteriety compared to what I earned for not caring for The French Connection).
Thank you and RosieCotton for the Something Wild recommendation - it paid off handsomely, and has grown on me with the passage of time.
I'm glad you and stooky thought The Fly was great. I just saw it, and was completely surprised. It's now my favorite Cronenberg movie (and not just because it's one of his most accessible).
There are so many great things about this movie it's a shame to have it brought down a bit by the silly execution of its science fiction. But honestly, the science fiction is usually the worst part of the really good sci-fi flicks.
The exception is something like Star Wars which exists in its own universe, has its own, massive history, and can be pretty much anything and I'll buy it. And it helps to have an investment in cultures and history nearly on par with Lord of the Rings.
But back to The Fly. The computer that runs the... can I call it a 'transmogrifier' for fun? Okay, then. The computer that runs the transmogrifier is a clunky beast of monochrome ASCII text, but it's fast enough to perform voice recognition, artificially intelligent conversation, and - most unbelievably - nearly instantaneous analysis and reproduction of gazillions of molecules and DNA segments.
Moreover, it does something impossible: it does what it was not programmed to do. Now, a computer can give errors or perform strangely due to programming errors, but a few programming errors cannot make it perfect at doing something completely different (fusion of DNA from two COMPLETELY different species into a working, living creature with intact memories).
When you've got such a ridiculous science fiction tool to kickstart your story, it's best not to try to explain it at all, because you can only fail. This is the wisdom of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, for example.
Thankfully, everything else in the movie was awesome. The story was engrossing every second of its running time, the characters were well developed, and here's my favorite part:
The hero becomes the villain, and the villain becomes the hero. How great is that?
What's more, this movie is ruthless with its premise. It holds no punches. In my opinion, it took itself very seriously - which is extremely dangerous for this kind of story, but if you pull it off like Cronenberg (excepting the 'hard science'), you've got something much more effective and powerful than a purposely 'campy' film (may Susan Sontag rest in peace, but I never bought into the appeal of 'camp').
The ending with the... thing holding the shotgun to its own head is predictable and cliche at this point, but I imagine it was less so in 1986.
Finally, the story remains much smaller than it would logically be so that it can focus on the elements it cares about: a very few characters.
Those are my thoughts, spilled out with no editing or forethought. Do you have some?
The computer that runs the transmogrifier is a clunky beast of monochrome ASCII text, but it's fast enough to perform voice recognition, artificially intelligent conversation, and - most unbelievably - nearly instantaneous analysis and reproduction of gazillions of molecules and DNA segments.
I don't know: without all that bloated Windows code anything's possible. :-)
I loved the movie, but I'd have to watch it again to comment more extensively. Also, I was pre-19 when I loved it, and I'm very suspicious of my younger self. Your villain/hero observation and your point that the movie takes a risk in taking itself seriously struck chords though.
The Fly.
I watched The Fly for the first time on my birthday (I think it was lucky 13 but I'm not sure) after partaking of "chicken weiners" (the single grossest food known to man) and almost puked when that guys wrist broke. Talk about pointlessly gross ways of showing a character's ever growing strength. It was awesome, cool violence, great effects and a guy gets his hand vomited on and melted; what else could a 13 year old want.
Second time when I was 18 and appreciated the love story far more than the first viewing. Geena Davis had nice legs, the story made a lot more sense and the science seemed a bit fishy. Overall I was entertained for the exact opposite reasons, the discussion of what makes a man and all that deeply tortured man and his adoring woman stuff struck a chord.
I watched it again 4 years ago and just enjoyed the escalating pace, interesting changes in lighting as his character changes and the excellent acting. The Fly has held up well over the years maintaining it's disgusting qualities while seriously pondering the intricacies of humanity. Only great sci-fi can get away with that kind of straight-faced absurdity.
I, in the most boring of ways, agree with everything you've said.
:?)
One of my favourite film, The Green Ray (aka Summer) by Rohmer won the Venice Golden Lion that year. Some find the young woman too sensitive + forlorn, but i really like her idealism, and the ending is fantastic.
Melanie Griffiths looks better in that dark wig in Something Wild.
Worth seeing: The Sacrifice, Betty Blue, Labyrinth, Horse Thief (right year?).
Cool. Labyrinth should have been there, but I really have to see it again. The main (only?) thing I remember is loving Michael Moschen's work as David Bowie's hands. Got to see him live a couple times, and he's just amazing.