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25 From 86: My Favorite Films Of 1986

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Decade: Rating: List Type:

3075

6.3

6.9

Top Gun (1986)

I first saw this movie a little more than a decade after it was first released (so I missed the whirlwind of hype that surrounded it).
And all I can say is, while it wasn't bad, & overall I found the film enjoyable,
in the end, there were still some parts of the plot that really gave me a feel for a need for speed.
And I'm referring to the amphetamine, not the velocity.

1413

5.9

6.6

Crocodile Dundee (1986)

When I first think of the term "Australian movie", to the dismay of many an Aussie, I, just like many a non-Aussie movie fan, instinctively think of this movie. But then one day, while I was having a conversation with a couple of other cinephiles about favorite films that came from down under, someone mentioned this one.
So then, I began to think to myself, is it worthy enough to be on my list of personal faves?
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the only part that I can remember from this flick is Linda Kozlowski in a thong! So I decided to watch it again, see if maybe there was more to it than just a sexy scene that I could barely recall and the fact that it was a romantic comedy that starred an Australian outbacking he-man with a really big "knoif".
After giving it a proper rewatch, the truth is, while I still don't understand the cultural phenomenon that it became for fifteen minutes in the mid-80's, it's simple big city girl falls for rugged country boy romance told with a laid-back Australian charm did become a little bit more clear to me. Maybe even a little bit more endearing. Maybe not enough to get a higher spot on my list, but still a spot on the list none the less.

1073

6.7

Pretty in Pink (1986)

I don't care what anybody says.
On this site, I'm sure that it's cool for a dude to admit to liking this movie.
Right guys?

uhmnn...

....guys....?

261

6.2

6.7

Back to School (1986)

Rodney Dangerfield stars as an old rich business guy who decides that it's finally time to earn some respect by going back to school.
Which is convenient, considering that that's the title of this movie.

501

6.1

6.3

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

Peggy Sue goes to her high school reunion and experiences a time-traveling faint that takes her back to an era when Jim Carrey was a mild-mannered teenager and before Nicolas Cage had hair that looked like an eagle's nest. Reliving her high school years, she now hopes to defy her destiny and rectify the decisions that led Peggy Sue to getting married.
And honestly speaking, in retrospect, isn't that a "left turn" that many of us at a certain age wish we could have avoided...?

2246

7.3

7.6

The Fly (1986)

In this intellectual remake of the 50's classic, Jeff Goldblum portrays a professor whose experiments metamorphisizes him into a large, hairy, decayed-flesh ridden and just plain gross housefly. And in the process, still gets to score with super-fly 80's beauty, Geena Davis.
*sigh*....only in the movies, I guess.

1182

6.7

7.1

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

What can you consider a Vegan to be a vegan and a carnivore at the same time?
When it's a giant flesh-craving Venus Flytrap from another planet.

A little shop that demonstrates that in order to properly take care of a house plant,
one need simply add water, potting soil, and lots of norishing sunshine.
Not to mention, a carcass or two.
On a side note, Little Shop Of Horrors originally had a completely different ending, which was much more darker than what was officially released. While I think that this original ending doesn't feel aligned to where a viewer thinks the movie is going, especially with Rick Moranis in the lead role as a very "lovable" character, it's quite an amazing piece of cinema to watch. Therefore, if you haven't seen it, I invite to give it a looksee on youtube, where it's pretty easy to find.

175

6.7

6.9

At Close Range (1986)

Two high caliber actors, one known for always "walken" the tightrope of creepiness, the other with a rep for consistently straddling the fence of full-blown enragement, pool their talents into this tale of white-trash crime syndication. Sean Penn and Christopher Walken prove to be a dynamic duo of drama with enough cray-cray chemistry between the two of them, that it helps to provide this backyard crime-drama with the kind brewing tension and uneasiness that makes the sense of backyard danger usually reserved for the trailer park, feel like it's at a closer range.
(Oh, and this comment was posted with all apologies to any of you out there reading this who are trailer-trash.)

165

5.8

6.2

Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)

A wandering bum jumps into a pool of affluence and bounces out as a springboard of influence. With a plot centered around a guttersnipe who enters the world of a well-to-do aristocratic couple thus changing the path of stereotypically unfulfilled lives, Down And Out In Beverly Hills is exactly the kind of heartwarming story that makes the mousy-eared Disney dominion drool for the dollars.....
that is, if it wasn't for all the sharp-edged swearing and unadulterated critical analyses of the borish behavior of bloated bourgeois.
Mickey Mouse's outfit enters into the world of R-Rated films by releasing Down And Out via Touchstone, a film label created so that Disney can distribute more adult-oriented material without any compromise to the purity of their reputation. Thus ensuring that the reach of Uncle Walt's empire will eventually span the farthest reaches of the industry of cinema.

375

7.6

7.5

A Better Tomorrow (1986)

Here is a tale of two brothers, one a reformed criminal, the other an aspiring police officer, and the obvious conflicts that can result from such a compromising situation.

Released at a time when the average Hong Kong action flick was festering in it's own overly recycled plot elements, this is the movie that redefined the formula of flying fists and shell-spewing gunfights, and put the then-burnt-out genre on a path for a better tomorrow. It's a film that's also famous for being the one that put the already experienced John Woo onto the directorial map and made Chow Yun-Fat an international star. Therefore, driving the "better tomorrow" metaphor into the better part of next week.

849

6.7

Sid & Nancy (1986)

Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs.
That does not include however, most of the people in the punk rock movement.
But that doesn't mean that despite their hard-hitting, grungy, spit-spewing image, these vociferously raw rebel rockers don't have a few old skool lovey-dovey moments in between slam dances. Yet, despite the genuineness of their love, early punkers Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen show that for a power rock couple, their relationship can have as much jagged edge and sharp bite as the music that they love.

214

6.7

6.9

Something Wild (1986)

On the surface, Charles Driggs may seem like a just a boring banker, but there are signs that, underneath, he is a closeted rebel. All he needs is something wild to bring out his adventurous side. And that something comes in the person of a pixiesh wild thing named Lulu. But after a quick short car-ride adventure, he soon comes to realize that the deeper he gets into Lulu's life, that something wild that he was yearning for turns out to be something even more wilder than he can handle.

A quaint little comedy thriller with great early acting efforts from Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith & Ray Liotta.

712

7.3

7.2

Manhunter (1986)

While it wasn't until 1991, in the film The Silence Of The Lambs, that Hannibal Lector came into the public conscience of the mainstream movie-going public, it was actually five years earlier, in 1986's Manhunter that "The Cannibal" made his cinematic debut. In an investigation that was CSIing before CSI became a popular depiction of onscreen crime stories, Hannibal follows his signature theme of using his multi-murdering expertise, while behind bars, to advise the FBI in order to help track down a fellow theme-named serial killer.

While not up to the level of The Lambs, written and stylistically directed by Michael Mann, Manhunter is a very worthy entry into the franchise & still better than any of the sequels that followed Silence.

253

6.9

River's Edge (1986) (1986)

Before Kids, Bully & Welcome To The Dollhouse, there was River's Edge.
A film that showed just how far into the dark side kids are willing to go, steered on by a mindset that is based off a lifetime of neglect, derived of emotional support and lack of direction.
Starring a very young d00d by the name of Keanu Reeves,
and that always creepy George Mcfly guy from the first Back To The Future movie.

209

6.9

Lucas (1986)

Lucas is a typical scrawny, nerdy kid who typically gets picked on all time by the school jocks.
During one summer break, the new girl in town, not knowing anyone else, begins a friendship with him. Not being used to being friends with a pretty girl, he quickly fall in love.
Then when the new school semester begins, Lucas discovers that most painful of things which all unrequited lovers must bear.... the friend zone.

We all had a "Lucas" in our high schools.
And no, in my case,
despite my nerdy posts, it wasn't me.
I wuz wunna da cool kidz.

No, seriously.

I wuz.

Although, as a child actor, Corey Haim had played roles in a couple of movies before this one, Lucas was the first where he moved up to the lead role. Meanwhile, during this same year, after appearing in two previous high profile films, Gremlins and Goonies, Corey Feldman was reaching an apex in his career during this year with a major role in Stand By Me.
And by the next year, both kid actors would star in Lost Boys, thus beginning the era of the Two Coreys. And the world of cinema would never be the same again.

735

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Before the it became the caricature that audiences were assimilated to with the advent of slasher pics, the idea of the serial killer was usually enough to carry the horror of any scare flick based on the premise.
Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer reintroduced this bare bones approach to this type of multi-murdering movie mayhem.
Portraying the killer as the type of person that you could easily run into the local corner pub or in the next pump at the gas station, Henry is a portrait that reminds us that the true fear lies in that this type cold-hearted culprit could be living just a few houses down.

155

6.8

7.1

Crossroads (1986)

Crossroads is kinda like the movie version of the song The Devil Went Down To Georgia, except, instead of some kid named "Johnny", it's the kid from The Karate Kid. And instead of a duel of fiddle playin', it's a duel of hard guitar jamming. And instead of a golden fiddle, it's Steve Vai.
But the devil is still the devil.
And challenging the Prince Of Lies to any kind of musical stand-off always requires playing your instrument with enough "soul" to keep your soul.

185

7.3

Mona Lisa (1986)

Back in the first year of the 80's decade, Bob Hoskins did an excellent job playing a high-level mob boss in the British crime drama The Long Good Friday. Six years later, in Mona Lisa, he does an even more excellent job in the role of a low-level mob underling.

Recently released from prison, George (Hoskins) is assigned by his mob boss to chauffeur the outrageously beautiful and even more outrageously expensive lady of the night, Simone. And thus begins a relationship that will evolve into a friendship that's deeper than either one can expect and into a dangerous situation that's deeper than either one could have imagined.

791

6.8

The Color of Money (1986)

Green.
The answer to the title of this movie is green.

2378

7.8

7.7

Blue Velvet (1986)

Local college student Jeffrey Beaumont stumbles across a human ear (that has been cut off from its owner) in a vacant field, and in the process of investigating the mystery surrounding it, finds himself unlocking the seedy side and corrupted corners of the small town that is his home.

After brief derailment of his talents by selling out his directorial duties to the disasterous sci-fi epic Dune, David Lynch comes back down to Earth and refocuses his energies onto the surrealistic and eccentrically dark film noir that has defined the uniqueness of his signature.
As a murder mystery with an unsettling air of mysticism, Blue Velvet comes off almost as the blue print of two of my favorites of Lynch's later work, the Twin Peaks TV series and 2001's Mulholland Drive.

3136

7.6

7.8

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

While the rest of the world believes that beloved student and neighbor, Ferris Bueller is on his death bed, the truth is, that he's just taking a moment from this fast moving thing called life, to stop and look around. So that, well, y'know.....
He doesn't miss it.

A baseball game, a song and dance performance in the middle of a parade, wrecking your best friends expensive sports car and then, chillin' out by the pool.
That's one heck of a sick day from school. Shoot, I couldn't get that much "done" even when I'm not under the weather.

Matthew Broderick stars as the titular (heh.... I said "tit") character who has a name which will probably end up forever carved on the actor's tombstone.

740

7.2

7.3

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Late in the future 23rd century, some super-powerful alien force is looking for the now extinct whales, and the approach of this force towards Earth is likely to destroy the entire planet.
Kirk and his "enterprise" kick into action, and use the technoloy of an enemy starship to jump back through time to the mid 1980's and fetch a humpback, with the hope that utilizing it's whale lingo, it can persuade the gigantic "whatever-it-is" to back the eff off.
In short, the time-traveling Trekkers must save the whales in order to save the whole future of the galaxy.

I found the fourth installment into the original Star Trek motion picture series to be a much better story that I would have expected, especially as a non-fan of the franchise (when it comes to space operas, I'm much more a fan of Star Wars, particularly the original Trilogy). From beginning to end, it's script is brimming with a fun energy, full of an elevated wit and sense of humor that doesn't sacrifice the sense of danger that is required to keep the science fiction premise from escaping into the stratosphere of plausibility. In the end, this is a voyage that, for my money, is the best of the lot. By this point in the history of the Final Frontier, the accumulated experience between the TV episodes and the first three movies seems to make the interaction between the crew members in this chapter the most integrated of all the "old" generation flicks. You can really get a sense of family that this group of people (whom we've come to know after so many years) have grown into.
By far, my favorite movie of the entire franchise,
new, old or rebooted.

2691

7.8

8.1

Stand by Me (1986)

You guys wanna see a dead body?

2638

7.7

8.1

Platoon (1986)

In 1979, Francis Ford Coppola came out with Apocalypse Now, the definitive Vietnam War movie on an artistic level.
In 1986, Oliver Stone came out with Platoon, the definitive Vietnam War movie on a more realistic level.

The perception of war is a funny thing. Whether one is a "hawk" or a "dove", the use of military combat is still a subject that seems to be very subjective to many people, whether they're a brigadier general or an average citizen watching reports of it on the TV.
Oliver Stone was said that the main reason he decides to make Platoon was to counter John Wayne's pro-militarism portrayal in The Green Berets.
Which, at first, I thought was kinda strange, since Berets was made back in 1968. Between that movie and this one, there have been other films which glimpsed into the reality of the Vietnam War. Movies such as The Deer Hunter, Coming Home and the aforementioned Apocalypse Now. And yet, despite those movies, he still felt the need to release one that would be so forthright in its approach, that while the overall pragmatism of war may still in be question, the atrocities, from both sides, would leave little room for debate. Although the story in Platoon is based on fiction, it is a personal effort that held back no punches and took a much more comprehensive look into what really happened deep within the bushes and jungles of the "little war" that left such big scars.

3464

7.9

8.4

Aliens (1986)

There was a time when James Cameron was my favorite director of all time. While I definitely consider myself someone who watches all kinds of movies, no matter what the language or genre, science fiction and horror are my two of my faves. My favorite aspect of cinema is when those involved are able to create the kinds of things that we aren't able to see in real life. Like spaceships, aliens and monsters. And for such a long time, since these things were incredibly difficult to create as visually acceptable material on the screen, often times, many horror and sci-fi films hadda go the comedic, cheeky, cheesy or just plain B-level movie route.

By the time of the late 70's, and all through the 80's and 90's, horror and science fiction cinema had gone two opposite directions. For my own personal tastes, horror had gone on down slide from which it took some time to recover. However, starting with films such as Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, sci-fi had begun to really take off, daring to shoot way past the stars that were visible in the night sky. Swept up in the momentum of that tide was James Cameron. Although he had started in B-level horror such as the Piranha flicks, it was quality science fiction fare such as Terminator and The Abyss that got him onto the track of creating some of the best quality sci-fi action movies ever made. Which obviously leads me to this one, 1986's Aliens.

Taking the concept that Ridley Scott started in the first movie, this plurally named sequel ups the ante of the acid-blooded xenomorph life form and introduces a whole nest of 'em. We learn a little bit more about the logistics to their existence, with the writer/director taking care of not straying too far away from what little was established in its predecessor.
The lone survivor of the first encounter, Ellen Ripley, is back in this installment and is also part of the extension of the lore of the franchise as now the story expands from just one creature attacking a small crew, to now having hives of xenomorphs go mano a clawed mano against the bravest and the best that humans have to offer (at least, on a military level, that is).

Again, this is based simply on my own personal tastes when it comes to cinema, but when it comes to Cameron, this movie represents the pinnacle of his creative achievements. For me, all of his strengths in the various stages of filmmaking are at their height in this movie.

Now, of course, I'm not saying that this movie is perfect (I am aware of the flaws in its story), but I do believe that it is perfect for me. So far, up to this point in time, it has everything I look for in a science fiction adventure thriller, all laid out in manner that I find best satisfying and entertaining. And it all starts with a story that doesn't dumb itself down in order to make room for very cool humans vs xenomorph action. It's a popcorn movie that won't necessarily make you think, but more importantly, it does not require that you leave your brain at the door. Which is cool for someone such as myself whose brain enjoys popcorn just as much as the rest of me.
I could get into way more details of what makes this movie so good, but then this entry would become much longer than it already is. Because, truthfully speaking, I could go on and on and on when it comes to Aliens.

But I'll end it by just saying that, on an overall, general level, this is also one of those rarified sequels that is considered by many as superior to its predecessor (although that's still an objective call since the two different approaches by two different directors make the two films practically two different genres). And that is yet just one more reason why I have it listed not only as my favorite film from 1986, but also as one of my favorites of all time.

Continuing my lists of fave films by year, here's 1986, y'all.

Updated Entry:

- Shy People

Other Fave Movies Lists By Year:
1970
www.listal.com/list/10-70-my-fave-films
1971
www.listal.com/list/15-71-my-favorite-movies
1972
www.listal.com/list/15-72-my-favorite-films
1973
www.listal.com/list/20-73-my-favorite-films
1974
www.listal.com/list/films-of-1974
1975
www.listal.com/list/20-75-my-favorite-films
1976
www.listal.com/list/20-76-my-favorite-films
1977
www.listal.com/list/20-77-my-favorite-films
1978
www.listal.com/list/20-1978-my-favorite-films
1979
www.listal.com/list/20-79-my-favorite-films
1981
www.listal.com/list/25-81-my-favorite-films
1982
www.listal.com/list/25-82-my-favorite-films
1983
www.listal.com/list/25-83-my-favorite-films
1984
www.listal.com/list/25-84-my-favorite-films
1985
www.listal.com/list/25-85-my-favorite-films
1987
www.listal.com/list/25-87-my-favorite-films
1988
www.listal.com/list/25-88-my-favorite-films
1989
www.listal.com/list/25-89-my-favorite-films
1990
www.listal.com/list/30-90-my-favorite-films
1991
www.listal.com/list/30-91-my-favorite-films
1992
www.listal.com/list/30-92-my-favorite-films
1993
www.listal.com/list/30-93-my-favorite-films
1994
www.listal.com/list/30-94-my-favorite-films
1995
www.listal.com/list/30-95-my-favorite-films
1996
www.listal.com/list/30-96-my-favorite-films
1997
www.listal.com/list/30-97-my-favorite-films
1998
www.listal.com/list/30-98-my-favorite-films
1999
www.listal.com/list/30-99-my-favorite-films
2000
www.listal.com/list/35-00-my-favorite-films
2001
www.listal.com/list/35-1-my-favorite-films
2002
www.listal.com/list/35-2-my-favorite-films
2003
www.listal.com/list/35-3-my-favorite-films