1980 Movies
OSCARS Won/Nominated
IMDB Top 250
IMDB Top 250
Airplane!
Dir: Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, & Jim Abrahams Stars: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die The absolute quintessential spoof movie, where there is a joke in every line, every scene, and every situation...and somehow, it bats almost 1.000. I have been watching this movie for decades and it never, ever gets less funny or less enjoyable. To quote anything in this blurb is pointless...just trust me...it is arguably the funniest movie ever made. A+ DVD |
OSCARS
Best Cinematography
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The Blue Lagoon
Dir: Randal Kleiser Voices: Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins This movie is pretty simple. Two shipwrecked victorian children make a simple life on their island, only to be thrown for a loop when puberty rears its ugly head. Luckily, these are beautiful people, at a beautiful setting, filmed beautifully...so it is pretty entertaining. I grew up watching the weaker sequel with Milla Jovovich, so I had a bit of built in appreciation. B |
Caddyshack
Dir: Harold Ramis Stars: Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight Caddyshack is undeniably hysterical. The crassness of Dangerfield, the manic frustration of Ted Knight, and the cockiness of Chevy Chase...it all works perfectly in what is certainly the best golf comedy ever made. But...and I think I am in a bit of a minority here...I can't stand Bill Murray and his subplot with the stupid gopher. I know it is iconic, and more iconic than any of the stuff I actually mentioned, but I felt it was trying SO hard to be funny, and therefore ceased to be. It's fine though...I just tune out during those scenes and enjoy the comic brilliance of the rest of the film. A- |
OSCARS
Best Picture
Best Director Best Actor Best Adapted Screenplay Best Editing Best Art Direction Best Costume Design Best Original Score KEVIN'S PICK
Best Adapted Screenplay
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The Elephant Man
Dir: David Lynch Stars: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, John Gielgud, Anne Bancroft 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die IMDB #148 It is amazing what kind of heart David Lynch can bring to a mainstream movie with a narrative. This movie emotionally destroyed me...and it wasn't during the scenes where the titular character, John Merrick, was suffering the evils of society and being tortured. It was only when people showed him compassion, and his innocent, pure reaction to such kindness, that my tears flowed unstoppably. John Hurt is outstanding giving us incredible emotion simply through his eyes and his broken, childlike speech. The stark black & white cinematography sets the perfect tone, giving a surrealistic look to a story about a surrealistic character. With the title and the grotesque makeup, one would think there would be a bit of comedy in the film. There isn't. It gives us a tragic figure and treats him 100% tragically...and it floored me at every turn. A |
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Original Screenplay
|
Fatso
Dir: Anne Bancroft Stars: Dom DeLuise, Anne Bancroft, Ron Carey Dom DeLuise has never acted with so much heart. He has always been hysterically funny...but this movie is almost barely a comedy...even though I laughed a lot. It is a story about a fat man who can't help himself and overeats at every chance he can get. His sister begs him to take care of himself because she doesn't want him to die...and a meet cute is barely enough to spark his self-control. It is very melancholy, but DeLuise and Bancroft are pitch perfect and their story, albeit drastically simple, is enjoyable. B |
Friday the 13th
Dir: Sean S. Cunningham Stars: Betsy Palmer Sure...it is scary and iconic...but the original Friday the 13th never affected me as much as the original Nightmare on Elm Street. To watch this film today, it is chockfull of cliches and tropes...though to be fair, it effectively created those cliches and tropes. It just feels like a million other slasher Films that have come out since. The iconic Jason isn't even there to help us with the big baddie icon. It's fine...but it hasn't aged well. B |
Inferno
Dir: Dario Argento Stars: Leigh McCloskey, Irene Miracle Unbeknownst to me, I had seen the first and third movies of the Three Mothers witchcraft trilogy by Dario Argento. Suspiria was the first in 1977, focusing on the Mother of Sighs, and I wasn't a fan. The third was in 2008 called The Mother of Tears, and I still wasn't a fan. This one is much worse, and apparently focused on the Mother of Darkness, but it really doesn't explain. This isn't a story. It is a series of people, walking around in the silent, oddly lit-by-colors rooms, only to be stalked and killed. Over and over again. I had no idea what the plot or story was. Argento has a definitive visual style, as I have said before, but he really hurts when trying to tell his stories. I said it before...If you are confused or lost...it is hard to be scared. D+ |
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Original Song
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Popeye
Dir: Robert Altman Stars: Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall One of the most enigmatic films I have ever seen...because I feel like it is a disaster...but I can't be floored by how well it works, how perfectly it is cast, how brilliant the production design is, and how effortlessly it all comes across. To have a director like Robert Altman behind this film is the height of absurdity, but his words and vision make...prepare for this...one of the greatest comic book movies ever made. A- DVD |
OSCARS
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Picture
Best Director Best Actor Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Editing Best Cinematography |
Raging Bull
Dir: Martin Scorsese Stars: Robert DeNiro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die IMDB #123 Great things happen when Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, and Joe Pesci get together. This is the 3rd masterpiece movie I have seen with those 3. I can go on and on about how great a directer Scorsese is, and how amazing DeNiro's transformation is throughout the film, but I need to mention the cinematogrpahy. Raging Bull is the most gorgeous Black & White film I have ever seen. There is a scene where DeNiro is sweaty, in the ring, and looking up at the camera. The picture is so beautiful, a snapshot of that scene can easily hang in the MET. PIXAR could work for 10 years on a picture like that and not get the beauty nor the clarity of that single scene. Oh...and the rest of the movie is a masterpiece. A+ DVD |
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Actress
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The Shining
Dir: Stanley Kubrick Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die IMDB #60 Stephen King famously hated this adaptation of his famous horror novel, and actually, the source material is a bit lacking and simple. Put an auteur behind the lens, one of the greatest of all time, and he injects a hypnotic atmosphere that completely unnerves and exposes the viewer to near discomfort. Everything that happens between Jack, Wendy, and Danny feels real, feel dangerous, feels sorrowful, and it all feels so unnatural...in the absolute best way. Kubrick has that ability, like no other, to make audience discomfort and uneasiness feed into the fire that is his masterpieces. A DVD |
Stardust Memories
Dir: Woody Allen Stars: Woody Allen, Charlotte Rampling Here it is. This is by far the worst Woody Allen movie I have ever seen...and I can't imagine it getting worse. I hated every moment of this film. Nothing was funny, nothing was interesting, nothing was romantic. It was almost incredible how pointless it all was. I know he was emulating Fellini's 8 1/2 with this...but the entire thing is grossly pretentious...and whenever he tried to push the envelope with a Holocaust joke or a rape joke? It falled flatter than flat. Every second...I hated. F |
OSCARS
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design Best Visual Effects Best Sound Best Original Score |
Star Wars Episode V:
The Empire Strikes Back Dir: Irvin Kershner Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die IMDB #13 This is the film that IS Star Wars. This shows what the franchise can be at its absolute best and its pinnacle. It has the greatest action sequences (Hoth, Cloud City), it has the romance, Yoda, and the darkness. Kershner came in and took the reigns from Lucas and took it all so seriously and it pays off perfectly. This is the only entry in the entire series where we feel like the best story is being told, in the best way, and they aren't trying to sell toys or pander to young viewers. This is a science-fiction/fantasy masterpiece that has never, and probably will never, be equalled. A+ Bluray |