Appreciating the 80s: least favorite Decade

For some reasons, 80s has always been my least favorite decade. I am not sure if it is because I don't like the movies made in 80s that much or I just haven't seen enough movies. I will be the first one to admit that I haven't seen a lot of movies from 80s. I haven't seen likes of Back to the Future(1985), Tootsie(1982) or those typical high school movies from 80s. But even those I have seen, I do not like them so much. I am not a big fan of either Star Wars or Indiana Jones. Also, I don't go crazy behind everything Kubrick or Woody Allen has made. So, not a big fan of Full Metal Jacket(1987) or Stardust Memories(1980). Maybe, I like Hannah and Her Sisters(1986). Likes of The Shining(1982), Stand By Me(1986) and Scarface(1983) are nice but are not exceptionally brilliant.

So, now that few days ago, Sam Frogoso reached to 80s in his History of Film segment, I decided to give some of the 80s movies in my watch list a try in an attempt to make a list of 10 Best Films of 80s. You know why I call 80s my least favorite decade? Because I did not have the same problem for 90s or 2000s and am pretty sure that I won't have it for 70s or 60s either. I hope at least some of these movies will help me change that.

Following are the movies I watched during this week. And I chose them because they appeared most frequently on everyone's list and I have heard lot about all of them.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986): LOVE IT !! Typical High School stuff. And I know that film isn't perfect. It is little overdone. But you know what? I do not give a damn !! It is such a fun movie to watch and characters are so fresh (look at the picture above. Isn't she a Vision?) and likable that I will watch it any day with 100 more flaws in it. The fact that I am watching it now for the first time and can still enjoy it that much should speak volumes.

The Fly(1986): My First Cronenberg Experience. So, maybe I wasn't prepared for it, But it is extremely graphic and disgusting. I probably won't be able to eat anything to next couple of days. And on top of that, I thought Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum were pretty shoddy, at least in the first half. So, pretty much, it did not work for me. But I shall admit that I think it was good story.

Sex, Lies and Videotape(1989): It is a ****ing masterpiece. I had heard a lot about it and it's really gratifying to see it go beyond the expectations. Very first scene where Anna is in her therapy got me into the film and some brilliant acting kept me in it till the end, especially Laura San Giacomo. She was brilliant as Cynthia.Also I like that it delivers the message in very subtle way. It respects the fact that an audience has its own reservations about this very 'under the covers' topic. It is gonna go way up in my list.

Back to the Future(1985): Its a nice Fun watch. Really good for 1985. But I am watching it in 2011. Still, I wasn't disappointed. Maybe its because I usually have very low expectations from 80's movies but it does stand up to it. It even stands up to its reputation for sure. Nice simple story, focuses more on characters than scientific stuff. But it works well. So, I am intrigued for the next two parts but maybe, not good enough for my top 10 of the decade.

Blade Runner(1982): Major problem I have with this movie is Ridley Scott could have easily done without a sci-fi background. Just replace Nexus-6 with someone on the death row and you have pretty much have the same story in the normal world. And I bet, same story will not be that interesting without its sci-fi element.So, pretty much just another average 80s movie.

So, this is how my list looks like,

                      Before                                                                                                           After

10. Crimes and Misdemeanors(1989)                                                   Prince of the City (1981)        
9.   The Thing(1983)                                                                                  Platoon(1986)
8.   Prince of the City(1981)                                                                    The Verdict(1982)
7.   Platoon(1986)                                                                                     Terms of Endearment(1983)
6.   The Verdict(1982)                                                                              Hannah and Her Sisters(1986)
5.   Terms of Endearment(1983)                                                            Raging Bull(1980)
4.   Hannah and Her Sisters(1986)                                                        Ferris Bueller's Day Off(1986)
3.   Raging Bull(1980)                                                                               Fanny and Alexander(1982)
2.   Fanny and Alexander(1982)                                                            Sex, Lies and Videotape(1989)

1.   Grave of the Fireflies(1988)                                                             Grave of the Fireflies(1988)  

So, Finally I have atleast five 80s movies to gloat about. It is still less for a decade but now, that I found 2 gems here, at least I have a hope that that are few more good movies around that I haven't gotten to. Any suggestions??