25 From 83: My Favorite Films Of 1983

  A steel mill welder by day, a sexy dancer by night,
  Alex (short for Alexandra) is on a mission to make her dreams come true.
With a determination that's fierce, a boyfriend who's her boss, and a pit bull that likes to watch, she's out to prove that when it comes to living on a wire between will and what will be, she's a maniac, maniac.
On the dance floor.

 Movies about moving your feet was a craze that was really hitting its stride in the 80's.
 Flashdance is one of those dance flicks.
And most critics considered it a bad one.
 Really bad.
 But, boy,
that Jennifer Beals......



 ...what a feeling.
 She's definitely what you'd call a guilty pleasure.

  After a few awkward starts in cinema, David Bowie begins to settle into the role of lead actor in a career move that could be described as more down to earth for a man whose fame was formally based on that of a stardusty space oddity.  

Even though I acknowledge Mariel Hemingway's beauty, the truth is, she never really did anything for me. With the exception of this movie. In Star 80, she's pretty damn stunning as Dorothy Stratten, a real-life Playboy bunny who eventually is murdered by her estranged husband.
Of a worthy note is the role of the husband, played by Eric Roberts. Roberts is mostly known as two things; being Julia's brother and as a star in many, many B movies. Which is kind of a shame when there are certain films, like this one, that show that given the proper role, Eric can really be an exceptional actor. And thus, the guy could've had as bright a star as his more respected sister if only he had a better agent.
I mean, seriously Eric.... Sharktopus?

A bunch of baby boomers reunite when of their own takes his own life. A reunion that sparks off the realization that the dreams and ambitions of their youth may also have died.
While The Big Chill never became the darling to me that it has to many cinema critics (particularly at the time of it's release) I do enjoy that the film carries the smartness and observations of the story in a manner that doesn't seem to age as time goes by. The characters each come to the conclusions that, no matter what age or stage of maturity an adult may be at, the journey of life will continually show that there's always still room to grow up.

A story of a poor black man trading places with a rich white man, with the lead roles going to Dan Akroyd and Eddie Murphy.
For those of you who haven't yet seen this early 80's classic, based on that information, can you guess who plays which part?
Considering that this was one of those early 80's movies that features Jamie Lee Curtis in her prime, I wouldn't mind trading places with either of those guys, just so I'd be able to star in a film with her insanely perfect and fine ass, yo.

Okay, so here's a movie based on a true story about the mysterious and ultimate fate of a woman who worked at a plutonium factory.
Now think about that for a moment.
There are people out there who make a decision to actually work at a factory that manufactures plutonium.
Well, I guess somebody's gotta make the stuff.
But lemme tell you something, I don't care what kind benefits the company offers, at the end of the day, it's still plutonium.
Personally, I'd rather flip burgers, sweep chimneys or clean toilets. I mean, those might be jobs that don't offer much in terms of health insurance, but the way I see it, no health insurance is still a much safer risk than frikkin' plutonium.
However, don't let my feelings on radioactive isotopes affect your view of this movie. It's still good enough to warrant a place on this list. And even if you don't like the film, watching it is still better than plutonium.

A husband's best friend betrays the friendship by having an affair with his wife. A story that we've all seen before and that we will probably continue to see for many years to come. But rarely will we be able to see the story written with such Pinteresque perfection, played by such accomplished actors and in reverse chronological order.

Money is often credited as the root of all evil. Even if that money is a forgery. And it's evil usually compounds with interest.
A counterfeit bill passes hands from one situation to another and ends up starting a chain reaction of events that spans years. Starting with deceit, the fake cash then leads to theft, incarceration and eventually, to a pretty hefty dose of bloodshed.



Directed by one of France's leading auteurs, L'Argent is that type of art film made for the type of fans who enjoy looking deeper into cinema than just what's on front of the screen. Meaning that if all you look for in movies is the typical color-by-the-numbers kind of story-telling, then this probably is not a flick that you'd want to spend any "reel" money on.

A quiet simple story of how learning to deal with one's past mistakes can begin the process of turning one's life around. And how that turnaround is usually not followed up a big bang of instant life-change, but more a subtle re-evaluation of one's circumstances.

Way before he was ever jumping up and down on sofas, Tom Cruise was dancing around in his underwear.
After being left alone with the responsibilities of the house while his parents are away on trip, teenager Joel Goodson finds that sometimes, life provides in ways one would never think imaginable.
With the coming of age comes important life lessons. Such as,
for every problem, no matter how big, there is always a solution. And sometimes that solution requires some pretty risky business.

Considered by many film critics as a spanish version of Grapes Of Wrath, this film tells the story of Enrique and Rosa, a brother and sister pair who are forced to flee the civil war torn country of Guatemala after the rest of their family have been either killed or captured by soldiers. Deciding that the only place where a couple of Mayan Indians may stand a chance of a fruitful future is the U.S. they begin a trek that takes them through the equally troubled land of Mexico. But as they transpire north, they find that as harrowing as the journey "up" was, their struggles don't end when they finally reach the "promised land".
Just as people of peasant stock were looked upon only as "strong arms" for cheap labor in their native land, they quickly realize that this a view that is still the same in "el Norte".

There are apocalyptic movies that depict the event as a catalyst for a setting of rubble-worn, bad-ass warriors battling radioactive two-headed mutants.
Then there are those films that depict what would actually transpire in the real world if a nuclear war broke out. A depiction that, while much more horrifying, is none-the-less, equally compelling (if not more so).
Testament is one of those movies.
No big special effects. No big bangs, no mushroom clouds.
Just the story of a small town community trying its best to survive the aftermath of the end.

Okay, let's get this part out of the way;
"Say 'ello tu my lil-oh frenn!"
Now, with that most over-used movie-line over and done with,
I'm free to say that Scarface is the in-your-face, over-the-top character that will always iconically follow the career of Al Pacino.
One of those rare times for an actor where its over-the-top performance is considered so perfect for what the role requires, that it's almost impossible to imagine it done in any other fashion.
Pacino is brutal, heartless and violent, not just in the way he handles the character, but also with the way he manhandles the Cuban accent of the character (something he does again with the Puerto Rican dialect, but not with as much of an iconic effect, in 1997's Carlito's Way).



 But even such a flaw in delivery is not enough to distract the viewer from following the pyrrhic journey of a drug kingpin who literally started out literally as nothing and yet ends up with everything the excess-ridden and violent drug-world has to offer. In other words, this film is the story of a bad guy. The kind of bad guy that people need so that they can point their f#$kin' fingers and say, "That's the bad guy".
 As the movie tagline says: "He loved the American Dream. With a Vengeance."

The Griswold clan jump into the station wagon and embark on a cross-country journey that will hopefully lead them to wondrous world of Walley. However, on their way, they encounter a few detours, some within and some without their tribe, that's puts in jeapordy their intended family vacation.
And speaking of vacation,
I'm long due for one.
The last time I took one,
John Candy was still alive, Beverly D'Angelo was thin and Chevy Chase was actually pretty funny.



I'm sure that to some in the younger generation,
parts of this movie may seem a bit dated,
but back in the day,
there was no one who didn't think this movie was just some hilarious ass sh#t.

Young big oil executive "Mac" MacIntyre has a name that is not Scottish but is close enough to land him an assignment in which he must travel to a small beach town in Scotland in order to set up a new refinery for the company.
Local Hero is a quaint little story of how modern progress, despite its often deservedly bad guy reputation, doesn't always have to have a bad ending when it comes head to head with small town values.



Oh, and don't worry, that's not hinting to any kind of a spoiler to this film.

Christopher Walken with a superpower other than his mad acting skillz, yo.
Or his mad dancing skillz.

It's the early years of the second World War and the bombs are raining their blitzkreig onto the city of London. Yet despite the crumbling concrete on the streets, when it comes to a touring performance of King Lear, the show must go on.



Based on the award-winning stage play of the same name, The Dresser is an equally award-winning big screen adaptation which tells the tale of Norman, a personal assistant to an aging tyrannical Shakespearean actor.
Riding an emotional rollercoaster, Norman, whose official title is the dresser, is charged to meet the demands of the stubborn, strongheaded star of the show, and for the sake of the entire traveling troupe, must find a way to keep his deteriorating boss's act together.

As some one who grew up as an early teenager during the beginning of the 80's, I was really into the hip-hop scene at the time (this was way before it all became strictly gangsta). Therefore, I found this film, Style Wars, as a really exciting and informative documentary that features the origins and history of the that particular part of street culture.
Featuring an in-depth view and interviews with the early pioneers of rap, DJ spinning and break-dancing, along with the first stages of evolution of urban street graffiti ("tagging" as I knew it back then) as an art-form.

  Matthew Broderick debuts as a computer hacking wunderkind who likes to impress a pre-brat packing teen queen (Ally Sheedy) by making sure they both make the grade. And by showing her how to play games online, like Tic Tac Toe. Or Global Thermonuclear War. Back when such things were enough to get a girlfriend. Or start World War III. 



  You know how we all have certain movies that hold a special place in our heart because we connect certain memories of nolstagia with 'em?
  Yeah, well, this one of those films for me.
See, I remember as a kid, the school year had just ended, and one lazy afternoon, I had nuthin' better to do, and decided to go hang out at the mall, which was located right next to the local movie theater. When I got off the bus, which dropped passengers of in the parking between the two buildings, I instantly saw the named WarGames on the marquee. Rather than throwing my money away on a slice of mall pizza and at the arcade within, I threw an audible and decide to invest on a movie ticket and a bucket of popcorn.
  Truthfully speaking, I didn't expect all that much from this flick other than a way to kill some time. But when I walked out of the theater a couple of hours later, I felt very thoroughly entertained and satisfied with the way the day turned out.
It wasn't the kind of experience that shook my world when it comes to cinema, but Wargames became a solid entry into my favorites when it comes to escapist entertainment from the first half of the decade of decadence.

It's funny, because, for the longest time, I thought that the title of this film was referring to the words or phrases that a person may use in order to address a loved one. In other words, the literal definition of the phrase.
But as I began thinking about the story of this film, and how it centers on the various twists and turns that can happen during a 30 year tumultuous relationship between a mother and daughter, then I realized that it could also be referring to the kinds of terms that people may place upon a relationship in order to define its borders and how it is to be handled.
Which, if that is the case, makes it quite a clever title indeed for a film. And only adds to a movie that is already over-running its brim with well deserved accolades and fancy shmancy film awards.

For my money, The King Of Comedy features a really cool mixed mini-cast of Robert Deniro, Sandra Bernhard and comedy living legend (well, at least, in France he is) Jerry Lewis. Directed by DeNiro's then partner in crime when it came to film-making, Martin Scorcese, it's a celebrity stalker's fairy tale which shows that, according to the psychology of those who obsess over the fame of others, it's "better to be king for a night, than schmuck for a lifetime".

A juvenile delinquent is sentenced to juvey and in an effort to remain on the good behavior list, soon finds himself in a struggle of survival as he tries to keep his sentence from becoming longer and his young life from becoming shorter.



To be completely honest here, one of the major reasons this bad boy is on my list of 80's era film faves is because I had a friend from high school who played one of the gang-members in this flick. And on that whole six degrees of separation thing, that puts me about only one degree away from that one dude from La Bamba.
Hell, the way I figure it, we practically know each other.

Years ago, at a sci-fi convention in Kansas City, some friends and I not only got to meet Gordon Cooper (one of the astronauts portrayed in this film), but also got to have dinner with him and share a limo ride to the airport. So the way I figure it, on that whole six degrees of separation thing, that puts me only one degree away from outer space.

Here's a story of Christmas that has become such a staple on the television during the Yuletide season, that I wonder if I really should waste any time to describe it. Everybody by now (and when I say everybody, that includes you.... yeah, you.... the person reading this) knows the story of Ralphie and his journey towards becoming the surest sure-shot and deadliest deadshot that ever sent Black Bart and any other forms of insensate evil towards pushin' up daisies.



Lemme tell you guys something, if Santa were to leave an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle/BB gun under my tree this year, even at my current age, I'd still end up beating my chest and proclaiming to the whole world that it's a wonderful life.
And before anyone says anything,
lemme just say
"F#ck* my eye. I don't care."



*( ...and when I said that, it didn't come out as "fudge".)

It's father vs. son vs. the Emperor as the first franchise to go under the simple term of "The Trilogy" by it's fans reaches it's long awaited climax. Luke has become a full Jedi, Han has become decarbonized and Princess Leia is completely ignoring the fact that she made out with her brother in the first episode, A Brave New Hope.
Yeah, I know that this is considered the weakest of the original series, but at the time of it's initial release, for me, there was was nothing more important than the Force Fever that was sweeping all of society back then.
I don't care that the Ewoks were corny, stupid and had a hit song at the time (if anyone out there has the 12-inch extended dance mix to this, contact me & you will have a new very best friend ... ),
for my sci-fi geeked-out @ss, this sh#t wuz fo sho', yo.
And besides, no matter how much ROTJ gets the stigma as the lesser of the groundbreaking blockbuster franchise trio , it still kicks the butt of any of the prequels (yeah, that's right.... I sed it).
Plus, let's not forget, this was the chapter in which Princess Leia wore the famous outfit that influenced many a Star Wars nerd to engage in bouts of the self-member role-playing game mockingly known as "Hands Solo".