Considered by some to be the greatest single year of Hollywood releases, here's my list of movies you should watch. My 10 favorites from that year based on quality and cultural impact:
Entertaining but not worthy of the list:
* Megaforce: terrible movie but so bad it's good. If you have bad movie nights with your friends, this is a perfect fit. Think of GI Joe crossed with disco style.
* Beastmaster: a sword and sorcery flick, childhood favorite with Marc Singer from the 'V' TV miniseries, John Amos as a warrior monk, and Tanya Roberts in flimsy ass clothes
* Some Kind of Hero: movie is kind of trippy. Richard Pryor as an ex-Vietnam vet and Margot Kidder (Lois Lane from the Superman movies) as his GF
* Cat People: a trippy movie with Natassja Kinski and Ruby Day; remake of the OG with a David Bowie soundtrack
* The Dark Crystal: a whole puppets driven movie but its not just a kids movie. There's a Netflix reboot I haven't watched.
- E.T. The Extraterrestrial: find the original cut if you can (without the gun-toting feds edited out). Kind of a kids movie but a classic. Classic line; "E.T. phone home"
- Conan the Barbarian: on my overall top 10 list. Goat of the "Sword and Sorcery" genre probably what made Arnold a household name. Great performance by James Earl Jones.
- Poltergeist: horror classic centered around a family. If scary clowns freak you out, you might want to sit this one out. Classic line: "They're hee-ree!"
- The Thing: another horror classic, this one based on an isolated arctic station. Special effects have aged, but still classic scenes. You get to see a young Hollywood vet Keith David (dude looked the same for about 30 years) too
- Tron: pretty clever use of visual effects to create a virtual reality feel
- Bladerunner: the cyber punk original. Harrison Ford and Sean Young. Hard watch the first time; takes a couple viewings to get it for most people.
- 48 Hours: one of the earliest major movies with a black co-lead in Eddie Murphy. A little but a classic.
- Gandhi: with Ben Kingsley
- First Blood: With Sylvester Stallone as a drifter ex-Vietnam vet the cops start fukking with. Just like Rocky, the first one is a Hollywood classic while the sequels weakened the franchise.
- An Officer and a Gentleman: about boot camp for Naval aviators with Richard Gere and Louis Gossett Jr. LGJr didn't really take off after this, but Gere build a whole career as a Mr. Take Your Girl actor Classic line "I got no place to go!"
Entertaining but not worthy of the list:
* Megaforce: terrible movie but so bad it's good. If you have bad movie nights with your friends, this is a perfect fit. Think of GI Joe crossed with disco style.
* Beastmaster: a sword and sorcery flick, childhood favorite with Marc Singer from the 'V' TV miniseries, John Amos as a warrior monk, and Tanya Roberts in flimsy ass clothes
* Some Kind of Hero: movie is kind of trippy. Richard Pryor as an ex-Vietnam vet and Margot Kidder (Lois Lane from the Superman movies) as his GF
* Cat People: a trippy movie with Natassja Kinski and Ruby Day; remake of the OG with a David Bowie soundtrack
* The Dark Crystal: a whole puppets driven movie but its not just a kids movie. There's a Netflix reboot I haven't watched.