1983 Movies
OSCARS Won/Nominated
IMDB Top 250
IMDB Top 250
A Christmas Story
Dir: Bob Clark Stars: Peter Billingsley 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die A holiday classic, and really captures what it is like to be a kid around Christmas. My Christmas Day always has this on for the 24hr loop because its sketch-comedy scene nature is so easy to enjoy. Maybe not a coherent overall film...but scene to scene it is very enjoyable. B Bluray |
Jaws 3-D
Dir: Joe Alves Stars: Dennis Quaid Pun intended...this is where the franchise effectively "Jumped the Shark". After perfection followed by a solid thriller, Jaws is brought into Sea World and filled with 3D gimmicks. It is so stupid but in a fun way. No scares anymore but silly adventure kind of gets by. It is after this when they pretend a shark can follow a specific family that it all REALLY falls apart. C+ |
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actress Best Original Screenplay |
The King of Comedy
Dir: Martin Scorsese Stars: Robert DeNiro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhardt 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die This is the strangest Scorsese movie that I have seen in his career. Gone is the grandiose cinematography and editing converging on an ensemble cast, and in is this focused character piece presenting us with an outstanding performance by DeNiro. Rupert Pupkin is an incredible character, and his journey to get on a late night talk show is spine-tingling. I never knew if what I was seeing was funny, sad, or frightening...never...and it was almost nausea inducing in a way...and it was brilliant. This movie was way ahead of its time. Back in 1983, its denouement was taken as odd and unsatisfying. Today...it is 100% exactly what would happen. Such a strange experience in the best way. Pupkin may be one on my favorite DeNiro performances. It is so different, manic, and creepy. A- |
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Documentary
|
Koyannisqatsi
Dir: Godfrey Reggio 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die It is from the Hopi Indian word meaning "life out of balance", this film is like a abstract dream and nightmare at the same time. With the slow-motion, fast-motion, and otherworldly imagery, coupled with the haunting score by Philip Glass, Koyannisqatsi is one of the most beautiful films I have seen. It doesn't have a plot or even any kind of narrative structure, but watching it is like being hypnotized, and Glass's score seems to mock your own brainwaves and heartbeat. It has a strange beauty that is impossible to ignore. A- |
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
Dir: Terry Jones Stars: Monty Python Probably the weakest of the Monty Python films, as you see they are getting older and they aren't quite into it. But it is still outrageously funny. "Every Sperm is Sacred" really brings the house down, and the French waiter always makes me lose it. B+ DVD |
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Original Song
|
National Lampoon's Vacation
Dir: Harold Ramis Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid What can be said about the inaugural Griswold outing that hasn't already been said a million times? It is so funny, so wacky, and so relatable. Few movies make me laugh more than when Clark loses it when his family decides they should go home. DON'T TOUCH!!! A- DVD |
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Cinematography
|
Scarface
Dir: Brian DePalma Stars: Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, Michelle Pfeifer 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die IMDB #106 This is a pretty intense movie. It is very long and didn't seem to have to be, but Pacino is incredibly entertaining, even if he isn't actually "good". His portrayal of Tony Montana is so over-the-top as to creep pretty close to parody...but it is never boring. The character arc is pretty interesting too, since he is a man that never seems to be happy in anything he has achieved...so what was it all for? Took me a long time to see this one but I was glad I did. B+ |
OSCARS
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Editing
Best Art Direction Best Costume Design Best Visual Effects Best Sound Effects Editing Best Sound Best Original Score |
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Dir: Richard Marquand Stars: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die IMDB #77 I have to admit, upon recently re-watching this film...it is a lot weaker than I used to think it was. Kind of 3 action sequences without much character development. But come on, it's still Star Wars and it brings in Ewoks. B- Bluray |
OSCARS
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Picture
Best Director Best Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Adapted Screenplay |
Terms of Endearment
Dir: James L. Brooks Stars: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die This film is one of the most genuine, slice-of-life movies I have ever seen. It follows a mother and a daughter and how they navigate through their typical lives. Marriage problems, Romance problems, family problems, marriage joys, romance Joys, and family joys...it runs the gambit and just relates everything to the viewer almost effortlessly. A lesser film would come across as sappy and melodramatic...this film feels 100% authentic in its storytelling and it is just wonderful. A |
OSCARS
Best Supporting Actor
|
To Be or Not To Be
Dir: Alan Johnson Stars: Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft Entertaining, but die-hard Brooks fans may find it a bit lacking. One of the only times that he made a movie that he didn't write and direct...so this is more about situational comedy than screwball zaniness. And Nazi performance humor will never be the same after "Springtime for Hitler". B- Bluray |
Twilight Zone: The Movie
Dir: Joe Dante, John Landis, George Miller, Steven Spielberg Stars: Vic Morrow, John Lithgow, Kevin McCarthy Creepy and strange, and inexplicably terrible in the Spielberg segment. The Monster-on-the-Wing sequence is by far the best and Lithgow is exceptional. Overall, it is fun, but it is not much more than 4 mediocre episodes. C+ |
Videodrome
Dir: David Cronenberg Stars: James Woods, Debbie Harry 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die A David Cronenberg film but a David Lynch film in spirit. Pretty gruesome and shocking, but ultimately nonsensical. I get the allegory of the nature of reality in regards to television, but it is just presented so strangely complete with people with vaginas in their chests. When movies get this strange...all sense of allegory, theme, and narrative get completely lost. C |
OSCARS
Best Original Screenplay
Best Cinematography Best Sound |
WarGames
Dir: John Bedham Stars: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy Ridiculously outdated, but the innocence and the Cold War-esque , finger-on-the-button, tension makes this film a classic. When Matthew Broderick shouts "Seattle" as his next target, the blackness of the comedy is so great and so nerve-wracking. B+ |