by Russel Lolacher of Good Film Hunting
Recently, I was looking at Robert Zemeckis’s body of work. I’d just watched Flight and really enjoyed it, so I was curious about what else he’d done. Back to the Future caught my eye because...well...I’m a fan, but I also noticed the year it came out. 1985. That year plays a pretty big part in the story of Marty McFly trying to unite his parents, so you'd think I would have remembered. But, for whatever reason, it clicked for me as a good year for good movies. I did a little digging and holy crap, was I right. This was the year for a whole heaping pile of nostalgia. It was as much about big stars as it was about actors before they were icons. Check this list out and tell me if this doesn’t bring back the memories:
Back
to the Future –
whiney teenager goes back in time to make sure his parents hook up. Challenge:
his mom wants to make out with him.
The
Goonies –
misfit kids have a real pirate adventure, working to solve puzzles and avoid
gangster bullets.
Fletch – The last time Chevy
Chase was enjoyable. He’s an investigative reporter trying to solve a murder,
get the girl and make an idiot out of himself (in a good way).
Better
off Dead –
a kid with the worst luck ever, and a few suicidal tendencies, tries to turn it
around with a skiing contest. The catch is he doesn't ski.
The Breakfast Club – high school stereotypes take time out in detention to show and discover
that they aren’t stereotypical.
Mask – a sweet kid with a
disfiguring disease fights the world’s perception of him.
Pee-Wee’s Big
Adventure – Pee Wee
Herman loses his bike. Fun ensues.
Witness – a big city cop
realizes he’s kind of an jerk, especially in contrast to the Amish, while
trying to catch a killer.
A
View to a Kill –
Roger Moore’s last kick at the James Bond can. Christopher Walken and Grace Jones play the
can.
Rock
IV and Rambo II – Stallone keeps the
franchises that have defined his career going. If you’ve seen one of these
movies, you have an idea what they're about.
The Color
Purple – Steven Spielberg’s tale of slavery, rebellion and
redemption. Probably Whoopi Goldberg’s best performance. And yes, that
is Oprah.
Out
of Africa –
Two of the best actors…ever…in an epic story of a couple that have the worst
timing…ever. Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, ‘nuff said.
Cocoon – Old people feel young
again. Thanks aliens.
Fright
Night –
a kid thinks a vampire lives next door and amazingly, no one believes him. FYI:
he’s a peeping tom and he's right.
LadyHawke – Two cursed lovers
doomed to always be apart, must rely on Ferris Bueller to help them.
Legend – a very young and
pant less Tom Cruise tries to defeat a big evil creep who stole his girlfriend.
Not set in high school.
Silverado – Four gunslingers, each
with their own "I was bullied" story, help each other get some
payback.
Remo Williams: The
Adventure Begins – A “dead” cop is made to look like an idiot until he smartens up and
finds the U.S. President.
Summer Rental – John Candy just wants
a fun, relaxing summer with his family. The world disagrees.
Teen
Wolf – A
teen becomes a werewolf (no false advertising), which is pretty cool for a
while until it's not.
Vision
Quest –
A wrestler gets better at wrestling thanks to multiple training montages and
Madonna music. I remember a lot of jumping rope.
Weird
Science –
A couple of nerds use 1985 computer technology (MS DOS or Pascal...you're
welcome nerds) to create the perfect girl. Not a porno.
Any
great 1985 movies I miss?
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