Some of the best movies of all time all take place within the same 24 hours. Sometimes it's about the final day of school, like Dazed and Confused, or sometimes it's about one man's mental breakdown, like Falling Down. These movies have a diverse range of topics, tons, and genres, but they all have one thing in common: they all happen on the same day (or night).

Dazed & Confused

One of the best movies about high school life ever made is the classic Dazed and Confused. It takes place on the last day of school, 1976. It starts in the morning, with the juniors arriving for their last day, and follows them through the day at school, and the parties (and drivin' around and stuff) that happen once school is dismissed. Sure, it technically goes until dawn the next day when Mitch arrives home drunk, and a few of the characters head to Houston to get Aerosmith tickets, but it all fits in a 24-hour timeline.

Dr. Strangelove

Just how much can change in a day? Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove leaves you with 100s of questions, but few satisfying answers, except that humankind is a disaster. One of Kubrick's most approachable movies, it leaves us all wondering just what kind of people (all men in this case) are really holding humanity's fate in the palm of their hand (or the end of their finger).

Falling Down

1993's Falling Down is a movie that not only holds up more than 30 years later, but it feels like something that is even more likely to happen these days. Michael Douglas plays a man who has reached his breaking point with life and society, and he turns to violence and nihilism to get back at the world. It starts on his daily commute to work and ends hours later on a pier over the Pacific Ocean after his crime spree... without giving away the ending...

Escape From New York

When done right, adding a countdown as a plot device raises the stakes of a movie like few others can. Escape From New York definitely does it right. Snake (Kurt Russell) has 22 hours to locate and save the president in a post-apocalyptic New York City that has been turned into a prison. If he doesn't get it done in less than a day, he faces the ultimate consequences.

Do The Right Thing

Even in just one neighborhood in New York City, a lot can happen in a day. In Spike Lee's masterpiece Do the Right Thing, it happens on the hottest day of the year. Things start as a simmer, but soon become a pot boiling over in anger from almost everyone involved. It starts like such a normal day, too.

1917

Some people don't like the "one-shot" style of Sam Mendes' World War I epic 1917, but you can't deny just how frenetic it makes the one day that two soldiers face as they attempt to connect with another company by crossing enemy lines. It's an amazing story, and with some creative editing, the movie shows both day and night, despite happening (mostly) in real time.

Dog Day Afternoon

One of the most famous movies of the 1970s and one of the best of Al Pacino's career, Dog Day Afternoon, as the title implies, takes place (mostly) over one afternoon. The movie is based on a true story of a bank robbery and hostage situation that took 22 hours to come to a violent and tragic end.

The Longest Day

Well, it says it right there in the title. Not only does all of the action in The Longest Day happen in one day, but it all happens on one of the most famous dates in history, June 6th, 1944. D-Day. This blockbuster with a completely stacked cast that includes John Wayne, Richard Burton, Henry Fonda, Sean Connery, and many more, is one of the best war movies of all time.

Magnolia

One of Tom Cruise's best performances over his stellar career comes in 1999's Magnolia, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Cruise is joined by an excellent ensemble cast playing characters whose lives intersect across one day in Los Angeles.

Friday

Friday is a classic example of a comedy that all takes place in one day. It starts when Craig (Ice Cube) wakes up, and ends when he goes to bed at the end of the day. In between, an incredible number of things happen. Smokey (Michael Tucker) spends most of the morning sitting on Craig's porch, introducing all the characters, and by evening, things get scary. It's one of the best movies of the '90s and an all-time cult classic.

The Breakfast Club

Anybody who had to spend a Saturday in detention knows what the crew in The Breakfast Club is dealing with. It's one of the best movies of the '80s, and one of the best teen movies of all time. Of all the John Hughes movies of the 1980s that Gen X loves, this one, which all takes place over about 8 hours, is possibly the most beloved.

Training Day

Director Antoine Fuqua broke big with his second film, 2001's Training Day, starring Denzel Washington as the most corrupt cop you could ever imagine, spending his day training a new recruit, played by Ethan Hawke, for his insane rogue police squad of narcotics officers. It's a crazy day for everyone, to say the least.

Die Hard

Without question, Die Hard is on the Mount Rushmore of '80s action flicks. It's certainly a very long day for John McClane (Bruce Willis). What was supposed to be a quick drop in on a Christmas party after a long cross-country flight from New York to L.A. turns into a long night when he has to take out a crew of thieves led by Hans Gruber, played by Alan Rickman in his first movie role.

The Menu

2022's The Menu is one of the best comedy horror movies in recent years. If you've never seen it, but you are a fan of shows like Netflix's Chef's Table, it's a must-watch. It all takes place throughout one incredible, crazy, and murderous meal in a pretentious restaurant on a remote island.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

It's an incredible day off for one of Gen X's film heroes, Ferris Bueller. Ferris (Matthew Broderick), along with his girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) and his best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck), packs in a baseball game, a parade, a fancy lunch, and so much more in this amazing "sick" day in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Clue

Murder mysteries used to be a big deal for parties, and it's safe to assume that the cult classic Clue played a big part in the genre taking off. One of the most popular movies around the CinemaBlend office, Clue features some amazing performances from everyone in the cast, including and especially Madeline Kahn as Mrs. White and Tim Curry as the butler.

Con Air

Technically, not all of the action in Con Air takes place in one day, as there is a scene at the beginning explaining how Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) ended up in jail. But the rest of the movie is all set on Poe's last day of incarceration. It starts in the morning as Poe boards the flight full of dangerous convicts and ends when the plane crashes into the Las Vegas strip that night. It's hardly a normal flight.

High Noon

One of the greatest examples of a movie that takes place in real time is the classic western High Noon, starring Gary Cooper as Marshal Will Kane. It's one of the best Westerns of all time, and it all takes place over the course of its 85-minute runtime. Marshall Kane has a showdown with his nemesis, Frank Miller, played by Ian MacDonald, and in the process becomes one of the most famous film LEOs of all time.

Groundhog Day

If you want a movie on this list to argue about, here you go. Does Groundhog Day all take place in one day? It all happens on February 2nd... There are just an endless number of February 2nds. So it's both over hundreds of days and on the same day. It's quite the conundrum, am I right or am I right? Right. Right, Right.

Clerks

Poor Dante, he wasn't even supposed to be at the convenience store that day! Kevin Smith's breakout film, the low-budget but brilliant Clerks, all takes place on one day, pretty much all in one place (save for one field trip to a funeral). It's a day that includes romance, death, anger, and a glorious group of weirdos and outcasts.

Glengarry Glenn Ross

Anyone who has ever worked in sales gets something from Glengarry Glenn Ross. It's not always what writer David Mamet was trying to convey. As it started as play, the events in the movie are limited to one day and only a couple of location and as a result, it is completely riveting from start to finish, The excellent cast that includes Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Jack Lemon, Kevin Spacey, and Alex Baldwin brings a ton of energy to such limited confines.

The Warriors

From Coney Island to the Bronx and back is all that happens to the Warriors in the movie of the same name. Sure, it sounds like an annoying subway ride for anyone, but when the gang is blamed for the murder of Cyrus, things go sideways quickly, and it takes them the rest of the night to get home, bopping their way through every neighborhood along the way in this cult classic.

Adventures In Babysitting

If you grew up in the '80s with parents who went out a lot, you can relate to Adventures in Babysitting. If you were a babysitter in the '80s, this movie is your worst nightmare, rare for a comedy, right? This classic starring Elisabeth Shue as the titular babysitter shows just how bad things can get over the course of only one night.

12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men is often considered one of the best films of all time, and the whole thing takes place in real time. So much happens in just one room over the course of the movie's 96-minute runtime that it's almost astounding. The acting performances and the script keep the movie sizzling, despite the confined time and space.

American Graffiti

George Lucas' American Graffiti is to the 1950s what Dazed and Confused is to the 1970s. Rather than the last day of school, American Graffiti happens on the last day of summer. The movies are like the perfect bookends in that regard. Plus, both movies have a slew of awesome cars.

After Hours

One of Martin Scorsese's most underrated movies, After Hours follows an office worker played by Griffin Dunne trying to simply get home at the end of his work day, and things get wild, and the longer the night gets, the worse things get.

Judgement Night

1993's Judgement Night from director Stephen Hopkins is better remembered (with good reason) for its incredible soundtrack, mashing up hip hop and rock and roll. The movie takes place all in one night, which goes off the rails when the main characters take a wrong turn on the way to a boxing match.

Rope

Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 masterpiece Rope is a dark movie with some groundbreaking cinematography. In the long list of great Hitchcock movies, this one always ranks near the top. It portrays a murder and the attempt to cover it up and create "the perfect murder." The aftermath plays out during the evening after the murder.

Before Sunrise

Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise is one of the great romance movies of the 1990s, and it all takes place in one day, June 16, 1994, on a train, and one night in Vienna shared by the couple who meet on the train and spend one night together in the Austrian capital.

The Purge

If you've never seen The Purge, first, you should, it's so ridiculous that it's awesome and second, the plot can be summed up by one quote from the movie, which come in the form of a public service announcement that explains all crime, up to and including murder, is legal on day of the year for 12 hours.

Three O'Clock High

The underrated Three O'Clock High, starring Casey Siemaszko and Richard Tyson, is the '80s high school comedy equivalent of the great Western High Noon. The movie follows Jerry (Siemaszko) as he tries to avoid a scheduled fight at the end of the school day with the new bully, played by Tyson.

Phone Booth

Another movie on this list that takes place in real-time is the thriller Phone Booth, starring Colin Farrell as a man caught in the middle of a madman's crime. Pretty much the whole movie features Farrell's character in, you guessed it, a phone booth.

There is something so infectious about a dance sequence that, even in movies and TV shows in which they occur pretty much out of nowhere and, in theory, should not work, they still do in most cases. In fact, some of the most iconic and beloved numbers in pop culture history do not even come from titles categorized as musicals. Step back in time and review the following most cherished examples of the like.

Napoleon Has "Canned Heat" (Napoleon Dynamite)

While most of the dialogue is extremely quotable and Jon Heder's title character is a one-of-a-kind instant comedy icon, if you ask me, the moment that 2004's Napoleon Dynamite won audiences over is its centerpiece dance sequence. In a last-ditch effort to help his best friend, Pedro (Efren Ramirez), win class president, the nerd busts out some absolutely ridiculous, yet passionate, dance moves in an impromptu routine set to Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat," which earns a roaring round of applause from his classmates.

Nothing Suits Barney Like A Suit (How I Met Your Mother)

In the 100th episode of the beloved TV sitcom, How I Met Your Mother, Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) contemplates whether or not he should give up his suits forever in order to score with an attractive bartender who hates men in business attire. He then imagines an elaborate song and dance number professing his love for his wardrobe called "Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit," featuring the rest of the snappily dressed cast.

Tom's Dreams Are Coming True ((500) Days Of Summer)

It is moments like this that make 2009's (500) Days of Summer one of the best romantic-comedy movies of its time. Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is so high on cloud nine after starting up a romance with Zooey Deschanel's title role that he imagines the local townspeople are joining him for a brief dance set to Hall & Oates' "You Make My Dreams Come True" during his morning commute.

"The Name Game" (American Horror Story)

Some of the most unsettling moments from American Horror Story masterfully utilize the power of juxtaposition, like in one of the most dazzling moments from Season 2, subtitled Asylum. After receiving shock therapy, Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) hallucinates that she is performing a rendition of Shirley Ellis' 1964 pop hit, "The Name Game," with her fellow patients at Briarcliff Manor.

Gutterballs (The Big Lebowski)

Joel and Ethan Coen's 1998 cult favorite comedy The Big Lebowski is home to two of the most iconic movie dream sequences, with the second one easily taking the cake as the most wonderfully uproarious. Knocked out by Jackie Treehorn, The Dude (Jeff Bridges) imagines he and Maude Lebowski (Julianne Moore) are the stars of an adult film shot in the style of a Busby Berkeley dance number.

Joel Likes That "Old Time Rock And Roll" (Risky Business)

What is the exact moment that Tom Cruise became a movie star? I like to think that occurred in 1983's Risky Business when the future Oscar nominee, as Chicago teen Joel, with the house to himself, celebrates his independence by dancing and lip-synching to Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" in his underwear.

Tina Opens The Movie (Do The Right Thing)

Writer and director Spike Lee prepares you for an unforgettable and subversive cinematic experience with an unforgettable and subversive opening to 1989's Do the Right Thing. The opening credits play over Rosie Perez's character, Tina, dancing solo to Public Enemy's "Fight the Power," making for a certainly unexpected and moving way to start a film with a lot to say about society.

Jim And Pam's Wedding Party Dances Down The Aisle (The Office)

In the episode of the U.S. version of The Office when Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer), the wedding party, instead of the traditional walk down the aisle, dance to Chris Brown's "Forever," which was originally written as a Doublemint Gum commercial. While this act goes against the couple's wishes, it goes down in history as a memorably unique way to start the ceremony.

Nathan And Kyoko Tear Up The Dance Floor (Ex Machina)

Alex Garland is a writer and director who never fails to dazzle his audience, either with thought-provoking sci-fi concepts, brutally honest societal commentary, or epic dance sequences. All three of which are used to perfection in his 2015 technophobic classic, Ex Machina, when Oscar Isaac's shady, eccentric tech billionaire, Nathan, and his companion, Kyoko (Sonoya Mizuno), shift the tone in a rousing way by interrupting Caleb's (Domhnall Gleeson) interrogation by getting busy to “Get Down Saturday Night” by Oliver Cheatham.

"I'm Just Ken" (Barbie)

There had been a dance sequence earlier in 2023's Barbie when Margot Robbie's title hero hosts a party, but that was nothing out of the ordinary, even for a movie taking place in an alternate dimension where dolls are sentient. The film suddenly incorporates an elaborate, traditional Hollywood dance sequence when Ryan Gosling's Ken expresses his frustration with feeling undervalued by Barbie in the Academy Award-nominated track, "I'm Just Ken."

Jenna Thrills Her Colleagues (13 Going On 30)

One of the most iconic scenes from the hit fantasy rom-com, 13 Going On 30, sees Jennifer Garner's Jenna (an '80s teen trapped in the body of her future, adult self) try to liven things up at her company party by getting everyone to recreate the dance from Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

Rue's Relapse (Euphoria)

After giving in to her addictive urges, Zendaya's Rue imagines that she is in a music video for the actor's haunting single, "All For Us," which illustrates the complicated relationship she has with her family as a result of her habits. The sequence culminates in her being carried outside of her house by a sea of dancers in matching outfits, who also serve as her choir, at night, before a marching band joins in. It marks an invigorating, but also tragic, end to the first season of the provocative coming-of-age drama, Euphoria.

The Deetzes Do The Calypso (Beetlejuice)

One of the all-time greatest and funniest musical moments from a horror movie comes from 1988's Beetlejuice. Hoping to scare the Deetzes (Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O'Hara) and their dinner party guests out of the house, the lingering spirits of Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) use bodily possession to manipulate them into dancing and singing to Harry Belafonte's "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)." Much to their surprise, they enjoy the experience.

Wally, Charley, And Rhonda Channel Bowie (School Spirits)

School Spirits is a TV show told from the perspective of ghosts who have passed away on a midwestern high school campus, where they struggle to cope with the parameters of their afterlife. Wally (Milo Manheim), who was a star athlete in the 1980s, lets off steam by putting on a vinyl copy of David Bowie's "Let's Dance" and leading his fellow ghostly friends in a wonderfully choreographed groove through almost the entire school.

Jamal And Latika Are Victorious (Slumdog Millionaire)

Director Danny Boyle's Best Picture Oscar winner, 2008's Slumdog Millionaire, ends with an upbeat dance number set to the Academy Award-winning original song, "Jai Ho" and led by Dev Patel and Freida Pinto as Jamal and Latika. It might have been surprising to some audiences to see this production suddenly include such a sequence, but it honors a longstanding tradition in Indian cinema.

The Kids Rock The Library (The Breakfast Club)

Many have argued that 1985's The Breakfast Club is the greatest high school movie ever made, despite never taking place during school, but a Saturday detention shared by five teens who each represent a different rung of the teen social hierarchy. The unlikely friends attempt to break up the monotony with an impromptu dance to "We Are Not Alone" by Karla Devito.

"Tequila!" (Pee-wee's Big Adventure)

One reason 1985's Pee-wee's Big Adventure remains a cherished classic is how Paul Reubens' eponymous man-child wins over the hearts of nearly everyone he meets. For instance, he earns the respect of a bar full of bikers with his signature dance to The Champs' rendition of the saxy tune, "Tequila."

Don Dreams Of Bert Cooper Dancing (Mad Men)

AMC's Mad Men had its fair share of off-kilter moments, none more perplexing than when Don Draper (Jon Hamm) suddenly has a vision of the recently passed advertising veteran Bertram "Bert" Cooper (Robert Morse) singing and dancing a performance of "The Best Things in Life Are Free."

Andy Lets The Sunshine In (The 40-Year-Old Virgin)

Judd Apatow's heartfelt, raunchy comedy, 2005's The 40-Year-Old Virgin, ends with Steve Carell's Andy finally losing his "innocence" and expressing his relief through song. The song in particular is The 5th Dimension's "Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In," which transitions into a dance in a wide-open field that the rest of the cast joins him for.

"Come On, Little Sister, Let’s Dance” (The Life Of Chuck)

There are not many Stephen King movies with scenes that leave you feeling invigorated and hopeful, but that is the general response to the centerpiece dance sequence in 2025's The Life of Chuck, from writer and director Mike Flanagan. Tom Hiddleston's title character crosses paths with drumming street performer, Taylor (Taylor Gordon), and spontaneously lets the music drive him, even inviting a random young woman named Janice (played by Annalise Basso) to join him, giving a crowd of bystanders the show of their lives.

Will Shows How They Dance In Gelderland (A Knight's Tale)

A Knight's Tale may take place in 14th-century Europe, but it boasts many modern sensibilities in everything from its dialogue to its soundtrack. For instance, in a scene when William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) is forced to come up with a dance to impress the royalty, he receives some help from his "foxy lady," Jocelyn (Shannon Sossamon), and soon the entire dance floor is rocking out to what we hear as David Bowie's "Golden Years."

Raj's Romantic Fantasy (The Big Bang Theory)

In one episode of The Big Bang Theory, Raj (Kunal Nayyar) finds himself attracted to Bernadette (Melissa Rauch), leading him to have multiple daydreams about her, including one reminiscent of an Indian Cinema dance sequence.

Donkey's Swamp Dance Party (Shrek)

At the end of the Oscar-winning, acclaimed kids movie, Shrek, Smash Mouth's cover of The Monkees' "I'm a Believer" plays during Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona's (Cameron Diaz) nuptials before Eddie Murphy's Donkey takes over the vocals, leading the wedding guests in a breathless celebration of the event.

Terry And Holt "Push It" (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

In one of the best episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) goes into labor in the police station during a city-wide blackout. In a hilarious effort to keep her calm and distracted, Lieutenant Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) and Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) try dancing to Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It."

Dance Of The Dead (The X-Files)

In a Season 7 episode of The X-Files called "Hollywood A.D.," Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigate a murder on a movie set, where, at the end of the episode, corpses resting underneath are reanimated and indulge in a passionate ballroom dance with one another.

Harry's Dream (3rd Rock From The Sun)

In an essential and bewilderingly surreal episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun, the Solomons experience their first-ever dreams. This proves to be a startling experience for the extra-terrestrial visitors, except for Harry (French Stewart), who imagines he is in an upbeat, urban Broadway production.

Ed Livens Things Up At The Mental Hospital (Good Burger)

In Good Burger, Ed (Kel Mitchell), Dexter (Kenan Thompson), and Otis (Abe Vigoda) are wrongfully committed to a mental hospital, where Ed responds to the request of a patient played by George Clinton himself to change to the music to something funkier, and tunes it to Funkadelic's "(Not Just) Knee Deep." He then leads most of the other patients in an impressively choreographed dance routine, which Dexter uses as an opportunity to knock out the guards and escape.

The Siblings Are Alone Now (The Umbrella Academy)

Netflix's series adaptation of the hit comic book The Umbrella Academy has a clever way of introducing its superpowered main characters early on in the premiere episode. The adoptive siblings are seen grooving to Tiffany's cover of "I Think We're Alone Now," each in a different location and boasting a different style of dance.

Backstreet's Back In Heaven (This Is The End)

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's 2014 apocalyptic meta comedy This is the End ends with most of the main characters (actors portraying uproarious versions of themselves) meeting up in the afterlife, where they celebrate their ascent into Heaven with the Backstreet Boys, who also appear as themselves to perform “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).”

The Study Group Is Gonna Finally Be Fine (Community)

Community Season 3 begins with Jeff (Joel McHale) daydreaming about a dance number, featuring the entire cast of characters, with a hopeful outlook on the next year at Greendale.

David's Three-Way Dance Battle (Legion)

In the Season 2 opener of FX's unconventional Marvel Comics adaptation, Legion, one of David's (Dan Stevens) memories of the past year shows him at a club where the mutant engages in an intense dance battle with Lenny (Aubrey Plaza) and Oliver (Jemaine Clement).

Lucifer Is Alright (Lucifer)

The series finale of Lucifer opens with the Devil Incarnate (played by Tom Ellis) leading an upbeat ensemble dance sequence set to Kenny Loggins' "I'm Alright," which starts at a bar before transitioning to the police station, where Lucifer and Detective Dan (Kevin Alejandro) reenact an iconic moment from Dirty Dancing.

As I sit here in my humble abode poring over Amazon's entertainment-friendly Prime Day deals, I am surrounded by Funko Pop figures that represent a vast swath of pop culture interests. For all my current obsessions, it's safe to say that quite a bit of shelf space honors my favorite movie and TV characters from the 1980s and 1990s. My greedy inner child cannot be silenced sometimes. (Most times.)

So you can bet that I've been keeping an eye on all the Funko discounts noted so far during Prime Day, and even though I don't NEED any additional figures to bolster my collection, it seems silly not to at least LOOK at what's available, knowing that Amazon already has my payment information for quick purchases. I'm just looking, though... At least at first.

Check out the best Prime Day entertainment deals for Funko Pop figures from '80s movies and TV shows, and then head to the best Prime Day streaming deals to land a subscription or two to rewatch the properties reflected below.

Prime Day Deals On '80s Movie & TV Funko Pops

• Rocky - Ivan Drago ($11.49, was $14.99)
• Rocky - Clubber Lang ($9.99, was $11.93)
• The Breakfast Club - Brian Johnson ($7.99, was $14.99)
• The Breakfast Club - Andrew Clark ($9.99, was $14.99)
• Sixteen Candles - Jake Ryan ($10.49, was $14.99)
• Sixteen Candles - Samantha Baker ($10.49, was $14.99)
• Pretty in Pink - Andie Walsh ($9.99, was $14.99)
• Beetlejuice - Lydia Deetz ($8.49, was $14.99)
• Beetlejuice - Delia Deetz ($9.99, was $14.99)
• Leprechaun - Leprechaun Bloody ($11.49, was $13.99)
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off - Cameron Frye ($10.99, was $14.99)

Lots of classic John Hughes comedies represented above, and those alone are enough to fill up my shopping cart. And it's not exactly easy to repress the urge to add to my growing assortment of Beetlejuice figures. (My favorite is from the under-remembered animated series, but that's not so relevant to Prime Day.)

Even more horror-comedy vibes are present when it comes to Funko's deals for '80s TV shows.

• The Real Ghostbusters - Winston Zeddemore ($10.49, was $14.99)
• The Real Ghostbusters - Ray Stantz ($6.99, was $14.99)
• Jem and The Holograms - Jem ($9.99, was $14.99)
• Jem and The Holograms - Synergy ($9.99, was $14.99)
• Jem and The Holograms - Aja Leith ($9.99, was $14.99)

I'm sure there were some kids in the '80s who played with Ghostbusters and Jem figures at the same time. This is your time, people!

Now let's shower some love on '90s pop culture with these Prime Day deals.

Prime Day Deals On '90s Movie & TV Funko Pops

• Alien 3 - The Runner Funko Pop Super ($14.27, was $24.99)
• Mars Attacks - Martian Spy Girl ($8.99, was $11.00)
• The Nightmare Before Christmas - Mayor [Blacklight Special Edition Chase White Glitter] ($27.28, was $38.98)
• Ghost Face Funko Pop Jumbo ($33.99, was $39.99)
• Star Trek First Contact - Locutus of Borg ($9.99, was $14.99)
• The Aristocats - Duchess Funko Pop VHS Cover ($12.99, was $19.99)
• Bride of Chucky - Chucky with Protector Case ($9.56, was $16.99)

Can we all agree that The Muppet Christmas Carol's "Marley and Marley" is one of the all-time greatest Muppet-related songs? It's not "Rainbow Connection," sure, but it's also not as over-used as that track, either. Statler and Waldorf sadly aren't around for Prime Day deals, which they'd certainly have something to say about, but even Scrooge would think the duo of Bob and Tiiny Tim is a steal.

Amusingly enough, children's movies and sci-fi/horror fare are the most prominent genres offerings for Prime Day deals on '90s Funko Pops. Which was 100% up my alley at the time, so no complaints here.

On the '90s TV side of things, SNL and Matt Groening's creations are represented well, as seen below.

• Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary - Mary Katherine Gallagher ($6.49, was $14.99)
• Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary - Gilly ($6.49, was $14.99)
• Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary - Debbie Downer ($6.99, was $14.99)
• Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary - Stuart [Californians] ($4.99, was $7.79)
• The Simpsons - Martin Prince as Calliope ($6.99, was $14.99)
• The Simpsons - Sideshow Bob ($8.49, was $14.99)
• Futurama - Fry ($8.99, was $14.99)
• Futurama - Turanga Leela ($6.99, was $14.99)

Hopefully even more Funko Pop figures will make their respective ways into Amazon's Prime Day entertainment deals. But I'll still just be looking, and definitely not buying...too much.

It goes without saying that almost any conversation about the best '80s movies should involve the Brat Pack, The Breakfast Club and filmmaker John Hughes. That movie has become a seminal piece of work and is still highly regarded today. The legendary director had a long streak of hits up his sleeve post-TBC and, in turn, the stars of those films became highly recognizable talents. Interestingly, a producer on the aforementioned 1985 film, Andrew Meyer, revealed how Hughes was very intentional in orchestrating the Brat Pack's rise to stardom.

Andrew Meyer recently chatted with People about his new book, Walking in the Fast Lane: Stories of a Lifetime, and discussed John Hughes’ legacy. The author sang Hughes' praises for the way in which he worked. Upon discussing the Saturday detention dramedy film (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription), Meyer revealed how Hughes effectively sought to plot out his follow-up films:

I'm equally as impressed with how shrewd the Weird Science director was in terms of putting everything together. To have three (eventually beloved) films already in various stages of production is impressive. Of course, there was no way of telling that the films would be bonafide hits off the back. However, John Hughes' movies would eventually be lauded for their storylines, humor (involving funny minor characters), exploration of the teenage experience and more. Considering how strong his work proved to be, we really do owe the director for the emergences of stars like Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson and Demi Moore.

Andrew Meyer went on to say the Sixteen Candles helmer also deserves credit for setting a new standard in regard to work schedules. Based on the way that Meyer puts it, Hughes was quite meticulous when it came to plotting out his next professional moves:

This certainly is cool and eye-opening insight into John Hughes' mindset. I already had respect for much of his work, but I now have even more, considering the efforts he made to produce films and make stars of his actors. Like Meyer, many continue to praise the late iconic director, who died at 59 in 2009. Just earlier this year, Anthony Michael Hall discussed Hughes' legacy and reflected on the "gifts" he picked up while working with him.

A person could certainly say that John Hughes’ plan worked out the way he envisioned it. Although there were some bumps for some members of the Brat Pack (of whom they are misconceptions), many found their way eventually and remain famous for their work.

Times change, and so do values and sensibilities. That means that things we found funny in decades past, we are rightfully offended by today. That doesn't mean that all movies, and all the jokes in those movies, should be dismissed completely, but it does mean we should probably not revisit those jokes in new movies, be they remakes or otherwise.

This list is all about those movies that were hits at the time, movies beloved by an older generation, but would never be made today. This is sure to be a controversial list, but there are good reasons we don't need to go back to the days of light racism and assault jokes so common in many of these.

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club isn't the most egregious example on this list, but it's awfully edgy, in a real-world way, as compared to comedies today. It takes on some very adult-oriented themes that simply aren't addressed in modern movies in the same way. There is an argument to be made that there should be, but here we are.

Can't Buy Me Love

It turns out, you really shouldn't make movies that are literally about buying a high school girl's affection to gain popularity. A movie with a plot line like Can't Buy Me Love wouldn't even get read past the intro these days, much less financed and produced. It's still a classic, though. Sort of, anyway.

Cruel Intentions

Oh boy, where to start here. First off, Cruel Intentions is a great movie, even for all its ridiculousness. It's that insanity that makes it so fun. But with the drug use, incest, and the rest, it's amazing it ever got made in any era. It wouldn't stand a chance today. At least it will live in our hearts forever.

Just One Of The Guys

This one is easy to identify why it would never be made today. Just One Of The Guys, about a girl who dresses as a boy to be taken more seriously, is a political minefield from every direction. It was making a decent point in the '80s that girls should be taken more seriously, but today, it would undoubtedly be taken completely differently. It simply couldn't be made again.

American Pie

As funny as American Pie is, there is no way on earth they could ever make a movie making comedy out of a scene where a girl is recorded without her knowledge or consent, taking her clothes off. Frankly, while some may not have realized it at the time, it really shouldn't have been a scene in the '90s, either. It's not like the world was all that different. Of course, we do know a lot more now, 25 years into the internet age, just how awful that kind of action is. It's not high school shenanigans anymore, and it never should have been.

Heathers

While Heathers has had enduring popularity, it's hard to imagine a movie today making light of high school murder and suicide. We live in a very different world when it comes to violence in high schools in this post-Columbine world, and it's not something we can joke about anymore. It's not something we should joke about anymore.

Risky Business

A movie about a high school kid who teams up with a girl to make a little money the "old-fashioned way" before his parents get back from a long vacation was hilarious in 1983. But try making a movie with the plot of Risky Business these days. It's never happening. It does seem like high school kids are treated less like adults these days than they were in the '80s, for better or worse.

Clueless

Step-siblings hooking up has a totally different meaning today than it did in the '90s, thanks to the dirtier parts of the internet. What was once charming and cute has turned, honestly, disturbing because of it. Clueless isn't the most offensive movie on the list by a long shot, but that bit of plot would have to be rewritten.

Weird Science

Two nerds creating a woman using their computer so she can be their plaything just isn't the kind of movie that would be greenlit today. Sure, the woman in Weird Science takes charge, but still, the whole "building a girl" thing is pretty creepy.

She's All That

She's All That is a '90s classic that, like the other movies on this list, hasn't really stood the test of time. Sure, there are still a lot of funny moments, but come on, the idea that a girl can only be popular because she is pretty is obnoxious. This is something that, while we haven't completely evolved past, we're getting there, and we don't need to reinforce it on the big screen.

Porky's

The romp that is Porky's is truly a relic of the past. Not only the 1980s when it was made, but also the 1950s when it was set. There is way too much gratuitous nudity to be made today, and that's for the best. And that's just for starters.

Jawbreaker

Rose McGowan and Rebecca Gayheart were the original "mean girls" on the big screen at the turn of the century. There isn't time to get into all the problematic stuff in this movie, but for starters, there isn't any way a movie today would portray the hazing like this one does. No way.

Sixteen Candles

Now we're getting into the classic "this won't ever be made this way again" movies. Sixteen Candles has all sorts of problematic stuff going on. Starting with the racism around "Long Duk Dong." There is also the fact that one character "gives" his girlfriend to another character without her knowledge, as if that were ever okay. It was a classic for a generation, and it kind of always will be, but some of the content simply needs to be left in the past.

10 Things I Hate About You

Before people get all up in arms about "canceling" Shakespeare, relax. 10 Things I Hate About You and, for that matter the Bard's play it's based on, The Taming Of The Shrew tell classic stories, but it's not like the sensibilities of both are just a little old fashioned, you'd agree, right?

Never Been Kissed

Sure, Never Been Kissed succeeds in getting the viewer to forget that Drew Barrymore is playing an adult going undercover in high school. That doesn't mean that she's an adult reporter undercover. The teacher she falls for still believes she's a student, yet the relationship still has some sketchy moments. It's just the kind of movie we don't need to make light of issues like this.

Dirty Dancing

Johnny (Patrick Swayze) is 25. Baby (Jennifer Grey) is 17 in Dirty Dancing. Their love story was unquestioned in 1987 (or 1963 for that matter), but the age difference certainly wouldn't be ignored these days. It would be lambasted and ridiculed. The movie will always be a classic, it's just not the kind of story that would be told today.

Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead

Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead is another borderline case on this list. It's not the worst example of movies from the '90s, but it's not exactly totally wholesome, either. Christina Applegate may be proud of the movie today for its enduring popularity, but some of the content is questionable at best.

Hiding Out

Like a few other movies on this list, Hiding Out features an adult masquerading as a high school student who still manages to get into a romantic relationship with an actual student. Why this was common is hard to understand, because the world wasn't all that different then, was it?

Eight Days a Week

In the '90s, according to 1999's Eight Days A Week, a kid camping out on his neighbor's lawn for an entire summer was seen as endearing. Today we would call that "stalking." Come to think of it, it was stalking then, too.

Wild Things

Two promiscuous teens hooking up with a teacher? Yeah, that doesn't really fly these days. It was shocking in 1998 when Wild Things was released, it's downright taboo now. Kevin Dillon, Denise Richards, and Neve Campbell made for a steamy throuple in the nineties, but that would not be seen the same way today.

Pump Up the Volume

Christian Slater's character, Happy Harry, would be just too divisive and controversial today to be seen as a hero. High schools that are worried about school shooters simply wouldn't cope with that well today. He doesn't directly call for violence, but the rhetoric is still too much for today.

Can't Hardly Wait

Another one of the more innocent movies on this list, there still isn't much respect for the female characters in this teen classic. There are too many examples of the girls having no real agency in Can't Hardly Wait. It's sad, but true.

Ladybugs

A boy dressing up like a girl to cheat on a soccer team, which is the plot of Ladybugs, just wouldn't get made today. It's not, like, the worst offender on this list in most ways, but there's no way a writer gets past the elevator pitch on this one. It's also just a frustratingly annoying movie, but that's neither here nor there.

Secret Admirer

Unrequited love is a theme as old as time itself, but Secret Admirer is not the way to tell the story. It's frankly creepy the way C. Thomas Howell's character pursues Kelly Preston's in this one. At least Lori Loughlin's character is pretty normal. She's the only normal character in this wacky adventure of misunderstanding.

License To Drive

Any movie that has, as a major plot point, a passed-out girl in a trunk is going to be problematic in almost any era. It might have been passed off as high school hijinks in the '80s, but it wouldn't be excused as easily today.

Zapped!

Well, this is another easy one. Zapped! stars Scott Baio as a high school student who develops superpowers and the ability to do hilarious things like "zap" girls' clothes off. Do we need to say more here? Yeah, pretty sketchy and left in the dustbin for good reason.

Class

Promiscuity was much more celebrated in '80s teen comedies than it is today, and Class, starring Rob Lowe and a slew of young up-and-coming stars, including Andrew McCarthy and John Cusack in their first movie roles (it was Lowe's second). There is also a pretty tasteless scene involving suicide that wouldn't be treated so lightly today, for good reason.

Blame It On Rio

Yet another movie on this list about a grown adult having an affair with a high school girl. Blame It On Rio is a modern Lolita story, and there is a reason stories like that have been left in the past. Michael Caine is actually pretty great in the movie, and it was Demi Moore's first big movie role, as the friend of the girl having an affair with Caine's character, but still, it's just not a plot that would happen today.

Private School

1983's Private School is, unbelievably, yet another movie on this list that is really just a celebration of teenage promiscuity. Those were all the rage in the decade, and our modern sensibilities just don't celebrate that in the same way. Phoebe Cates is great, as always, in her follow-up to another movie that could be on this, Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Loverboy

Before Patrick Dempsey was Dr. McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy, he was Pizza Delivery Boy McDreamy in Loverboy. The movie, if you've never seen it, features Dempsey as a delivery boy-turned-gigolo. Yeah, you read that correctly. A high school student selling his, um, services to older women that plays for comedy. Sure, why not?

Poison Ivy

1992's Poison Ivy is really just a modern retelling of Lolita, but again, it's the kind of movie that just isn't made these days. It was a movie that was made to ease Drew Barrymore's transition into more adult roles, but it might have gone a step too far.

Anything for Love

Anything for Love, also known as Just One of the Girls, pretty obviously belongs on the list based on the title alone. This made-for-tv disaster stars Corey Haim and Nicole Eggert and it's... well, it's a horrible as it sounds.

The late '80s and early '90s (for the most part) were the very brief time when Generation X ruled the culture. Movies, including classics like Reality Bites, The Breakfast Club, and so many others, are what helped define the generation, both for better and for worse. So here they are, some of the most important cultural movies of the era.

Reality Bites

Reality Bites is definitely the movie that best fits the purpose of this list. There are so many ways this movie defines Gen X, from the cast, including Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo, and Ben Stiller, who also directed, to the plot about struggling to find purpose, to the music. It's number A1 on any list like this.

Singles

Seattle in the 1990s. There is nothing more iconic to Gen Xers. Singles brought that scene to the rest of the country. It includes many of the best bands from the city at the time, bands that were themselves defining a big piece of the culture, and also manages to highlight a lot of the angst that the generation also felt at the time.

The Breakfast Club

High school in the '80s and '90s was defined on the big screen by director and writer John Hughes, and his impactful film on an entire generation has to be The Breakfast Club. It's a movie that people who grew up in the era still quote endlessly and rewatch whenever it strikes their fancy.

Do The Right Thing

Spike Lee set the standard for telling the African-American side of the Gen X experience, and he opened up a lot of white eyes with his iconic movie Do the Right Thing. The movie remains just as powerful today as when it hit theaters in 1989, and at a time when only one side of the culture was really shown in movies, it was incredibly groundbreaking and important.

Heathers

There is no darker, more cynical comedy than Heathers. Cynical is often a word used to describe Gen X, so it makes sense that a movie with such a biting sense of humor would be so iconic. Oh - and it stars a few Gen X heroes like Shannen Doherty, Christian Slater, and Winona Ryder.

Slacker

The name says it all. Slacker. For years, that was the label that Boomers and even Gen Xers put on the generation. It wasn't ever a fair label, but it stuck for a long time. It turns out, Gen Xers mostly just want to be left alone, but they'll strive just as hard as anyone for what they want. Director Richard Linklater might be a Boomer himself, but he tapped into the culture like few others.

Pump Up The Volume

Disillusionment and frustration are definitely two things that Gen X thought about their lives while in high school, and that made Christian Slater's renegade DJ character in Pump Up The Volume an icon. He said out loud what many of us thought in our adolescence, even if we were wrong most of the time.

Dazed And Confused

Dazed and Confused might have been about the generation that preceded most of Gen X, but it still spoke to the generation like few other comedies did. Life in the '70s wasn't all that different from high school in the '90s. The internet changed everything for Millennials, but for about 20 years, life was pretty similar for teenagers.

Boyz N The Hood

Like Spike Lee, director John Singleton's work landed like a bomb on suburban America. Boyz N The Hood is one of the best movies about urban life in the '90s. It was an aspect of life that white America really didn't have any real insight into until Singleton and Lee told us. Boyz N The Hood remains one of the most important movies of the '90s.

Say Anything

There is no bigger Gen X icon than John Cusack, and the role that most exemplifies that is Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything. It would be impossible to count just how many people took their style and musical tastes from Lloyd. He was a cool as cool got in the era.

Reservoir Dogs

Quentin Tarantino was the first director that Gen X really attached itself to. His movies didn't really influence style, or even music, as he used older tunes, but there is a nihilism in his movies that really resonates with those kids who were watching in the early and mid-'90s.

Fast Times At Ridgemont High

For many, the first R-rated comedy they really remember watching is Fast Times At Ridgemont High. You didn't have to be in high school to idolize some of the characters, and the movie taught teenagers at the time a lot about the stuff their parents didn't want to talk about.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

The cast alone from 1993's What's Eating Gilbert Grape? earns it a place on this list. Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, and Leonardo DiCaprio have been a part of Gen X's lives forever, it seems like, and this movie is the highlight of all of their early careers.

Pretty In Pink

It might be a little embarrassing to admit just how many people took their fashion cues from Duckie in Pretty in Pink. Unrequited love may be ubiquitous among all generations of humans, but it felt especially acute in the '80s. Once again, we can probably thank John Hughes for that.

He Got Game

Like so many of his movies, Spike Lee spoke to a generation like few others in He Got Game. Basketball and hip-hop were enormous pieces in the Gen X puzzle, and this movie brought them together for the first time. A soundtrack of almost nothing but Public Enemy? That says it all.

Clueless

Between starring in Aerosmith videos and the classic comedy Clueless, Alicia Silverstone is a bona fide Gen X superstar. Her first truly star-making movie was, of course, Clueless. Plus, it made Paul Rudd a star, too.

Dead Poets Society

One of the movies on this list that took place in an era outside of Gen X is Dead Poets Society. Even though it was set decades before most Gen Xers were born, the movie really spoke to the generation, especially the boys of the era. I can attest to that, without question. Robin Williams was an idol to us, and still is today.

Clerks

"I'm not even supposed to be here today," could be the quote that defines the era better than anyone else. At least how we felt at the time. Dante's thoughts and words were our thoughts and words. We were stuck in dead-end jobs, dealing with idiots and dreaming about bigger things, with no idea how to achieve them. At least we figured out most of that in the end.

Empire Records

Generation X was the last generation that really shopped at record stores. By the time we were in our 20s, Napster had changed the game, and we never went back. Working at a record store was the dream of a lot of high school kids, and watching Empire Records gave us all something to strive for, even if most of us fell short.

Coming To America

Coming to America is, in some way, really on this list to represent all of Eddie Murphy's movies. We grew up with Murphy on SNL and followed him for the next decade, sneaking into his rated R movies, and watching bootleg VHS tapes of his standup. In a way, the pinnacle of his early career was Coming To America, so here it is, standing in for so many classic '80s comedies.

The Crow

It's hard to know if The Crow would be on the list without the tragic death of Brandon Lee. It was such big news at the time that it made both the actor and the movie he died on the set of iconic. Of course, it also had a fantastic soundtrack that included Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Rage Against the Machine, and more bands that also helped define the culture of the era.

The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid is now a franchise that has now literally been with many Gen Xers for basically their entire lives. The first movie is legendary and it helped give us all hope that no matter our circumstances, we could win the trophy and get the girl. It didn't always work out that way, but it could, and we appreciated that.

New Jack City

It's hard to understand those who don't remember the Crack epidemic just how all-encompassing it felt to everyone. D.A.R.E., "Just Say No," and the war on drugs were part of everyday life for teenagers in the '80s and '90s, and it was mostly because of Crack. No movie showed that societal disaster quite like New Jack City did.

The Goonies

The Goonies really might need much explanation as to why it's on this list, of course. It's frankly a little amazing just how enduring the movie has been over the years. It's still a movie that Xers point to as a favorite, many decades after the Steven Spielberg movie hit the big screens. The stars were our age, it was a story we believed could be ours.

Colors

Like the Crack epidemic, the gang wars in Los Angeles were a part of nightly stories on the network news. You'd have thought the world was coming to an end in South-Central LA. The Bloods and Crips were household gang names. Colors, directed by Dennis Hopper and starring Robert Duvall and Sean Penn, brought that into theaters in the 'burbs in this slightly misguided, but still iconic flick.

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

One thing we were always on the lookout for was anything afoot at the Circle K. We can thank Ted "Theodore" Logan and Bill S. Preston, Esq. for that. Gen Xers saw this movie over and over and over again in the era, and are honestly still liberally quoting from it today.

Swingers

As Gen X got a little older, so did the characters in the movies we revered. Swingers is a perfect example of a movie that came along just as Gen X was graduating from college, trying to live their dreams (and struggling), and hoping to meet that someone special to spend the rest of their lives with. And we all wanted to be as cool as Trent (Vince Vaughn). And we played video games before we went out. But we never really did much swing dancing.

The Lost Boys

The Coreys (Haim and Feldman), and vampires. Nothing says "Gen X" like that combo, right? The Lost Boys characters were so cool, whether you wanted to be a vampire or wanted to hunt them. It was all there in The Lost Boys.

American Psycho

Generation X has always had a real streak of nihilism to it. Nothing quite on the level as American Psycho, of course, but it still managed to speak hilariously to that feeling. It was dark, and Gen X loved dark, dark humor.

Office Space

Everyone hates their job at some point, as Office Space so eloquently highlights. This was especially acute for Generation X when this movie came out. Mike Judge raised us with Beavis and Butthead in high school and he was there again to usher in our working lives after college.

Edward Scissorhands

This list wouldn't be complete without a Tim Burton movie, now would it? It represents many of the movies that the director made that spoke to the generation, but this is the one that starred Depp and Ryder, so here we are.

I’m Gonna Git You Sucka

I’m Gonna Git You Sucka brought a brand new comedic sensibility to the generation, and it remains a uniquely Gen X movie, as there may not be any other generation that has seen it, much less revere it like Generation X.

There are a lot of songs that you might have no idea were written for, or at least released in conjunction with a movie. Sometimes, those songs end up being more successful than the movie itself, but just as often, the songs become so iconic that people forget they were originally on a soundtrack. Artists like Radiohead, Simon & Garfunkel, Eric Clapton, Public Enemy, and many more have written some of their biggest hits for movies.

This list is a tribute to just some of the songs you may have completely forgotten, or never knew, that the tunes started out on movie soundtracks.

"The Sound Of Silence"

You probably remember that Simon & Garfunkel did the soundtrack for The Graduate, but the one song you probably associate the most with the movie is "Mrs. Robinson." Another one of the folk duo's biggest hits, "The Sound of Silence," also comes from the soundtrack.

"Exit Music (For A Film)"

This one is easy to forget that it came from a movie. "Exit Music (For A Film)," by Radiohead is probably most recognizable as part of Ok Computer, an album widely regarded as one of the best of the '90s, and indeed, one of the best all-time. "Exit Music (For A Film)," however, first appeared in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet.

"New York, New York"

One of Frank Sinatra's most iconic songs, "New York, New York," isn't really even a Sinatra original. It was originally part of the Martin Scorsese film New York, New York, and performed by Liza Minnelli. Sinatra's version is the definitive version, for sure, but not the original.

"Tears In Heaven"

Eric Clapton had a huge career renaissance in the 1990s on the back of the huge hit "Tears In Heaven." He famously wrote the song about his son Connor, who died tragically when he fell from a window in a high-rise in New York. The song didn't appear on a Clapton album until the iconic version from his "MTV Unplugged" appearance. The song first appeared on the soundtrack for the oft-forgotten movie Rush in 1991.

"Call Me"

American Gigolo starring Richard Gere was a huge hit in 1980, and Blondie's biggest hit (or one of their biggest, anyway), "Call Me," actually comes from the movie. It's a signature song for the iconic punk/wave band, and it was co-written by Giorgio Moroder, who composed the music for the movie.

"Fight The Power"

Public Enemy was already one of the most important hip-hop groups of all time when they wrote and recorded "Fight The Power" for Spike Lee's masterpiece Do The Right Thing. Like other songs on this list, it's become a signature song for the group, but it didn't appear on an album until after it was featured in the movie.

"Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head"

Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote "Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head" for the movie Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid." Unless you remember in the movie, you'd never expect that song, performed by B.J. Thomas, would ever come from one of the best Westerns of all time.

"Let's Go Crazy"

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together to celebrate Purple Rain, both the movie and the soundtrack from the creative genius known simply as Prince. The album more than the movie, but the film is great. Obviously, "Purple Rain" is the song most closely associated with the movie, for obvious reasons, but do you remember "Let's Go Crazy" in the movie too? One of Prince's biggest bangers hits hard in the movie, and on the album.

"Moon River"

Fans of The Simpsons know that "Moon River" is Andy Williams' signature tune. You didn't think he was going to play it, and then BAM! Second encore! He wasn't the first to record it, though. It was written by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer for Audrey Hepburn to sing in Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's become a jazz standard in the years since.

"Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door"

"Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door" has become one of Bob Dylan's most iconic songs. It has famously been covered by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Guns N' Roses. The song was originally composed by the legendary songwriter for Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid, which Dylan also appeared in.

"Take My Breath Away"

On a soundtrack as iconic as Top Gun, it's easy to forget all the bangers that came from it. Like "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin. Sure, anyone who was around in the '80s and saw the original Top Gun in theaters or on VHS might remember it, but if you're any younger, you might not have any idea.

"Independent Women, Pt 1"

The rebooted Charlie's Angels was a huge cultural hit in 2000, and part of that was because of the Destiny's Child hit "Independent Women, Pt 1." There are likely thousands of Beyoncé fans who don't realize the song was once part of a soundtrack.

“It Must Have Been Love”

Roxette had a whole slew of hits in the 1990s and one of their biggest, “It Must Have Been Love," came from one of the biggest movies of the era, Pretty Woman. The song matches the vibe of the movie perfectly.

"Gangsta’s Paradise"

Coolio's "Gangsta’s Paradise" is one of the most iconic hip-hop songs of all time. The movie it came from, Dangerous Minds starring Michelle Pfeiffer, doesn't have the reputation by a long shot. It's not that it's a bad movie, but it just hasn't had the longevity that the song has enjoyed.

“Cradle of Love”

The video for Billy Idol's "Cradle of Love" was one of the most popular in MTV history, back when MTV still played videos. The movie it came from, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, starring Andrew Dice Clay, was not nearly as popular. For a certain demographic, the foul-mouthed comedian's lone movie that he led is a classic; for most, it's silly and stupid.

"Happy"

This one may be a little debatable for its inclusion on this list. "Happy" by Pharrell Williams was a monster hit, and it was originally on the soundtrack of another huge hit, Despicable Me 2. Fans of the franchise certainly know this, but the song became so ubiquitous, there are many fans of the song who had no idea it came from a movie.

“Say You, Say Me”

White Nights is a mostly forgotten movie about contrasting dancers (played by Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikov) from 1985. Far less forgotten is the Lionel Richie hit that first appeared in the movie, "Say You, Say Me." One reason people don't associate it with the movie first is that while it appeared in the movie, it was left off the soundtrack, so it could be included later on Richie's album Dancing on the Ceiling months later.

"Lose Yourself"

Eminem's "Lose Yourself" is one of the rapper's biggest hits, and it first appeared in his hit movie 8 Mile. It's one of those songs that you immediately know who is rapping, of course, but considering that the movie hasn't really remained all that iconic, it's easy to forget the song started on the soundtrack.

"Nobody Does It Better"

While some disagree, for me, "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon is not only an amazing song, but it's the best theme song in the Roger Moore era of James Bond. Usually, the Bond theme songs share the name of the movie they come from, but for The Spy Who Loved is an exception. The name of the movie appears in the lyrics of the song, but the title is different, making it easy to forget it's a Bond theme.

“Crazy for You”

Madonna was just at the beginning of her world-changing career when she struck gold with "Crazy For You." The song, which was originally part of the soundtrack for a movie about wrestling, Vision Quest, was so successful, the movie was renamed in some countries after it.

"Against All Odds"

Phil Collins did quite a bit of soundtrack work in the 1980s, and one of his biggest hits, "Against All Odds," comes from a movie of the same name starring Jeff Bridges. The movie, about a retired athlete, isn't remembered as one of Bridges' best movies, but the song remains iconic.

"End of the Road"

Boyz II Men were one of the biggest bands of the '90s, so it makes sense they would be tapped to include a song on the soundtrack of a movie starring one of the biggest movie stars of the era. Boomerang is an underrated Eddie Murphy movie, one of the last of his truly great movies from the '80s and '90s, but still, it hasn't had the staying power of "End of the Road."

"Don’t You (Forget About Me)"

If you're like me, you listen to a lot of the First Wave channel on SiriusXM. One of the staples of '80s wave is "Don’t You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds, and while Gen X certainly remembers that it comes from The Breakfast Club, the song has become so iconic on its own that it's easy to forget for many.

"Eye Of The Tiger"

Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" has become ubiquitous at sporting events and in gyms all over the world. It's easy to say it's far better known than the movie it comes from, Rocky III. Not that the third Rocky movie is forgotten, but the song is no longer associated with the movie, right?

“I Just Called to Say I Love You”

“I Just Called to Say I Love You” has become one of Stevie Wonder's signature songs, and for a guy with as many hits as Stevie, it's a wonder any of them came from a movie, but this one did. It's a mostly forgotten movie starring Gene Wilder and Kelly LeBrock called The Woman In Red.

“Because You Loved Me”

Celine Dion's biggest hit, "My Heart Will Go On," will always be associated with the movie it comes from, Titanic. Another one of her hits, “Because You Loved Me," also comes from a movie that almost no one remembers, Up Close and Personal, starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer.

“Kiss From a Rose”

One of Seal's biggest hits in the '90s, “Kiss From a Rose," was actually first included in Batman Forever, which doesn't usually rank very highly on the list of great Batman movies, but is still a lot better than Batman & Robin.

“Stay (I Missed You)”

Reality Bites is a movie that helped define Gen X, and Lisa Loeb's hit “Stay (I Missed You)” is an iconic song from the era, but people often forget the song actually comes from the movie. Of course, it makes perfect sense when you do realize it, but still, the two are very separate in many people's minds.

"Endless Love"

The movie Endless Love is notable for being Tom Cruise's first major movie (he had a small role) and, frankly, not much else. The theme song, however, "Endless Love," by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, remains an iconic love song that people still slow dance to all over the world.

“(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”

In 1991, there was one song that was absolutely everywhere. “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams was a monster hit, and the fact that it comes from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves gets completely lost in the song's history. IT doesn't seem like the kind of song that would appear in a period piece, which is probably why people don't associate it with the movie anymore.

“Kiss”

While Purple Rain was a hit, Prince's second movie, Under the Cherry Moon, was not. The purple one's hit "Kiss" is actually probably more associated with the famous bathtub scene in Pretty Woman than it is with Cherry Moon.

“Wind Beneath My Wings”

“Wind Beneath My Wings” is Bette Midler's signature song, and it comes from one her best movies, Beaches, yet people seem to forget that the two have the same origin story, but they do.

The 1980s were the peak of movie soundtracks. It seemed like every single movie included a banger that became a hit on the pop charts. Sometimes, the biggest hits from those movies overshadow other great tunes. This list is all about those songs that we don't play as much, but we should. Songs from movies like Rocky IV that aren't by James Brown, or from The Lost Boys that don't involve shirtless saxophone players. Fire up your streaming service and start listening!

"Heavy Metal - Take A Ride" - Heavy Metal

The cult animated hit Heavy Metal has a bunch of great tunes in it. Sammy Hagar, Blue Öyster Cult, Devo, and others all have great tunes. One of the best, if not the best, is "Heavy Metal - Take A Ride" by former Eagles guitarist Don Felder. Felder never got the appreciation he deserved as a songwriter in the Eagles, and he shows why he should have with this classic.

"A Hazy Shade Of Winter" - Less Than Zero

The Bangles' cover of the Simon & Garfunkel classic folk tune "A Hazy Shade Of Winter" takes on a real 1980s urgency in Less Than Zero. It is a completely transformed tune that fits the vibe of the movie exceptionally well. It's a movie about yuppie excesses, and the driving beat The Bangles achieved is pitch-perfect.

"Ghostbusters" - Ghostbusters 2

Everyone remembers Ray Parker's "Ghostbusters" from the first Ghostbusters movie, but far fewer people know the song by the same name by Run DMC from the sequel. I dare say it's an even better song (though that's not taking away from Parker's classic). Of course, it borrows heavily from the original, lyrically and musically.

"You're The Best" - The Karate Kid

There is no question that the biggest and most enduring hit from The Karate Kid is "Cruel Summer" by Bananarama. There is another banger on the sountrack though, "You're The Best" by Joe "Bean" Joe "Bean" Esposito. I'll bet you're humming it right now, but when was the last time you listened?

"To Live And Die In L.A." - To Live And Die In L.A.

To Live And Die In L.A. is a mostly forgotten movie from the '80s, and Wang Chung isn't nearly as remembered as they should be either. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" is great and all, but their theme song, "To Live And Die In L.A.," is just as good.

"Love on a Real Train" - Risky Business

German electronic pioneers Tangerine Dream were all over the soundtracks of '80s movies. One of their best soundtracks was the one they wrote for Risky Business. Everyone remembers Bob Seger blasting as Tom Cruise danced in his tighty whities, but fewer remember the trippy electro soundtrack by Tangerine Dream, especially the song played during the train sequence.

"Burning Heart" - Rocky IV

Every 4th of July, James Brown's "Living In America" from Rocky IV can be heard coming from backyards across the country. There is another song from the movie, played during the epic training montage in Siberia, called "Burning Heart" by Survivor. Survivor, of course, is most remembered for another movie in the Rocky franchise, "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky III.

"Shakedown" - Beverly Hills Cop II

The first Beverly Hills Cop is a movie with some amazing music moments. The sequel, which is just as funny, doesn't have as good of a soundtrack, with the exception of Bob Seger's "Shakedown." It matches anything from the first movie, for sure. It was even nominated for an Oscar.

"Restless Heart" - The Running Man

John Parr had one of the biggest hits of the '80s with the theme to St. Elmo's Fire, but that wasn't the only banger he wrote for a movie. "Restless Heart" from The Running Man proved even '80s movies about dystopian futures could produce hit songs that ooze 1980s." You might not remember it from the movie, but it's classic '80s cheese, in the best way.

"One Foot In Front Of The Other" - Revenge Of The Nerds

There aren't any hits in Revenge of the Nerds, but there are some really memorable tunes. One of those, the best one, is "One Foot In Front Of The Other" by the band Bone Symphony, who really only had this one song. The movie may have been "canceled" (for good reason), but the song lives on!

"Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" - Pretty In Pink

The Smiths are one of the most revered bands of the 1980s. They are probably more popular today than they were even at their peak. Like so many other great wave bands, they are featured in a great John Hughes movie, Pretty In Pink, with their song "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want." It's not the biggest hit from the movie, but it's a total '80s classic.

"For Your Eyes Only" - For Your Eyes Only

Of all the many theme songs from James Bond movies, this song from the Roger Moore era is often forgotten. "For Your Eyes Only," from the movie of the same name, performed by Sheena Easton, is one of the mellower tunes in Bond history, and it's sneaky great.

"You Can Leave Your Hat On" - 9 1/2 Weeks

9 1/2 Weeks was a cultural phenomenon when it was released in 1986. It featured a legendary soundtrack, and, in my opinion, the best song on it is "You Can Leave Your Hat On," performed by Joe Cocker. The song was written by the great Randy Newman (of "You Got A Friend In Me" fame) and appears in one of the most memorable scenes in the steamy movie.

"Cry Little Sister" - The Lost Boys

Everyone remembers the sweaty, shirtless saxophone player in The Lost Boys who still believes (Tim Cappello), but do you remember "Cry Little Sister" by Gerard McMahon? It's a banger too. Frankly, it's a little better than "I Still Believe," but not nearly as remembered, for obvious reasons.

"We Are Not Alone" - The Breakfast Club

Simple Minds had a huge, worldwide hit with "Don't You (Forget About Me)" from The Breakfast Club soundtrack. It's a song that has remained beloved, especially by Gen X, ever since. Karla Devito had another song on the soundtrack, featured in the scene with Emilio Estevez dancing around the library, called "We Are Not Alone" that also deserves some love from Gen X.

"Playing With The Boys" - Top Gun

Okay, we admit this one might be a stretch, because the entire soundtrack to Top Gun is pretty well loved by millions. Still, "Playing With The Boys" by Kenny Loggins is far less remembered than his other song on the album, "Danger Zone," or the love theme from the movie, "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin. Everyone remembers the volleyball scene, but it's not because of the music,

"Cat People" - Cat People

Cat People is a wild movie, with a wild soundtrack by the legendary Giorgio Moroder. The theme song was co-written by Moroder and the equally legendary David Bowie, who also sang it. Is it the best Bowie tune ever? Well, no, but come on! It's Bowie and Moroder together! That alone is reason to still be talking about this song today.

"All She Wants To Do Is Dance" - Real Genius

This one is a little bit of a fudge, as "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" was pretty much simultaneously released as a single by Don Henley and appeared in the soundtrack to Real Genius. It's not the most talked-about song in the movie, however, so in that respect, it'll stay on the list. Everyone remembers the popcorn scene in Real Genius and the Tears for Fears song that follows it ("Everybody Wants To Rule The World"), but fewer remember this Henley hit playing during the party scene in the school lecture hall.

"Stir It Up" - Beverly Hills Cop

Beverly Hills Cop has a banging soundtrack featuring The Pointer Sisters, Glenn Frey, Rick James, and, of course, composer Harold Faltermeyer with his "Axel F." Patti LaBelle has two songs that are less remembered, and of the two, "Stir It Up" is my favorite.

"Glory Of Love" - The Karate Kid Part II

I'll admit it, I randomly heard this song recently, and it inspired this whole list. The "Glory Of Love" was a giant hit for Peter Cetera when it was released in 1986 on The Karate Kid Part II soundtrack. It hit #1 on the Billboard charts, and it was nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars. So why isn't it as remember today? It's a mystery to me.

"Eighties" - Weird Science

John Hughes had a knack for including some really great up-and-coming bands on his soundtracks, and Killing Joke, with their song "Eighties," is a perfect example. It was right as the band was breaking big, and the song, though less remembered than Oingo Boingo's theme song from Weird Science, is excellent.

"Mr. Night" - Caddyshack

There's a reason Kenny Loggins is so beloved for his soundtracks in the '80s. One of his biggest hits, "I'm Alright," comes from the Caddyshack soundtrack. It's not the only song he has on the album, though. He has a total of four tracks in the movie, and the best, including "I'm Alright," is "Mr. Night," which can be heard when the caddies hit the pool.

"Oh I Love You So" - Cocktail

The Cocktail soundtrack was one of the best-selling albums of 1988, with almost 6 million in sales, and it reached the top ten on the charts of multiple countries. It was anchored with the late-era Beach Boys hit "Kokomo" and Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy," but it also features a lilting little ditty called "Oh I Love So" by Preston Smith, and it's just as fun as those two other tunes.

"Somebody's Baby" - Fast Times At Ridgemont High

If you ask someone to name one song from Fast Times At Ridgemont High, the odds are almost all of them will say "Moving In Stereo" by The Cars. Maybe a few people mention "Goodbye, Goodbye" by Oingo Boingo. Fewer people will say "Somebody's Baby" by Jackson Browne, which seems to be a forgotten classic for many people.

"Bring On The Dancing Horses" - Pretty In Pink

It's hardly a surprise to see John Hughes movies on this list, as he really put together some great soundtracks. Pretty In Pink is a perfect example, as it produced the hits like "If You Leave" for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and a re-recorded version of the song the movie was named after, "Pretty In Pink" by The Psychedelic Furs. It also produced a minor his for Echo & The Bunnymen, "Bring On The Dancing Horses."

"Helplessly In Love" - Dragnet

If you wonder why people want to see Tom Hanks go back to pure comedies, check out Dragnet. It's not the best movie in his filmography, but he is really funny in it. It also features a great, forgotten song, "Helplessly In Love" by New Edition.

"Unbelievable" - Night Of The Comet

Night Of The Comet is an '80s cable classic. No one saw it in theaters, but everyone saw it on TV in the months following its release. It's a cheesy movie that has become a minor cult classic in the four decades since its release. "Unbelievable" by the short-lived and obscure band Revolver shares that '80s cheese DNA in all the best ways.

"After All" - Chances Are

What happens when you team up the great Peter Cetera with the legendary Cher? The love theme from the forgotten Robert Downey, Jr. movie Chances Are. The song, "After All," was good enough to be nominated for an Oscar, but you never see it on any playlists from the '80s, and it should be!

"Thunder In Your Heart" - Rad

Anyone who grew up in the 1980s dreamed about riding a BMX like the characters in Rad. That also meant bouncing on one tire to the tune of "Thunder In Your Heart" by John Farnham.

"Far From Over" - Staying Alive

The soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever is one of the best-selling albums of all time and is one of the most beloved of all time. It was a cultural bombshell in the '70s, along with the film that made John Travolta a movie star. The sequel, Staying Alive, was pretty much the opposite of Saturday Night Fever in every way, especially the soundtrack. However, "Far From Over" by Frank Stallone, whose brother Sylvester directed the movie, is a certified banger.

"Cheer Down" - Lethal Weapon 2

It's pretty astounding that a song by a former Beatle, in a movie as popular as Lethal Weapon, wouldn't be a more remembered hit, but here we are. The crying guitar in "Cheer Down" can only be one guitar player, the legendary George Harrison. The song is pure Harrison and should be as appreciated as his bigger hits.

"Nobody's Fool" - Caddyshack II

Kenny Loggins' songs on the Caddyshack soundtrack are beloved, but don't discount his banger from the Caddyshack II soundtrack, "Nobody's Fool." It's by far the best part of the sequel.

The Breakfast Club (which is streaming on your Netflix subscription) is a memorable movie for many reasons. Still known as one of the best high school movies of all time, John Hughes explores teen angst in five people from different social circles who realize they’re not too different from each other. But, one thing we can’t forget about from the ‘80s classic is the Simple Minds tune “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” in which star Molly Ringwald had a very interesting first reaction to the song.

As soon as you hear the Simple Minds’ hit that starts with a couple of chords only to go into “Hey, hey, hey, hey!,” you know it’s “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” It’s an example of a song that still gets listened to today if you’re in the mood to get transported back to the ‘80s. But, take it from a child of the ‘70s like The Breakfast Club’s Molly Ringwald to have a unique description of the song when she first heard it. In the 2025 movie release of the documentary Simple Minds: Everything is Possible (via People), the former Brat Pack member revealed her first reaction to the 1985 single:

Well, that’s an interesting perspective! Yeah, when you think about it, the smoothness of lead singer Jim Kerr's voice would sound like a strange musical phone call. Although if someone called me to say they were “alone, dancing, you know it, baby,” I’d probably be weirded out by that.

A cool fact about the iconic movie song is that Jim Kerr initially turned down the offer to play “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” until the song’s writer, Keith Forsey, hit it off with the band. Another fascinating fact was that Molly Ringwald apparently is the woman to thank for guiding John Hughes to Simple Minds' direction:

I love that! As music has always been a guiding point for John Hughes’ movies, I’m sure it was a great help that the then-16-year-old actress recommended a rock group teens listened to back then.

“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” was the perfect song to end a teen movie that gets audiences all in their feels. The ending scene of The Breakfast Club is so iconic as the kids leave detention and say their goodbyes, with the final shot showing Bender pumping his fist into their air, representing that they all got something out of that unusual day. Hearing the 1980s anthem play is like Bender, Claire, Ally, Brian, and Andy are all hoping the same thing: that their rare experience together in the same space isn’t forgotten.

Molly Ringwald’s first reaction to the popular Simple Minds tune may have sounded like “an obscene phone call.” However, she deserves props for introducing the Scottish band to John Hughes and helping to make the ending of The Breakfast Club a memorable music moment. You can learn all about the song that helped define the ‘80s with the documentary Simple Minds: Everything is Possible playing in theaters on June 13th.

A team of anti-heroes and former or even current supervillains who must work together to complete a mission for the United States government. Sound familiar? That’s the core premise behind DC Comics’ Suicide Squad, which has been spotlighted in two theatrical movies, and it also lines up nicely with Thunderbolts*, the next of the upcoming Marvel movies. However, if you ask Sebastian Stan, who’s reprising Bucky Barnes in this 2025 movie release, we shouldn’t be comparing the MCU’s Thunderbolts to the Suicide Squad.

Instead, Stan mentioned two other movies that he feels are more fitting to compare to Thunderbolts* given what we can expect to see from him and the other main characters. As he told BAFTA:

This isn’t the first time Sebastian Stan has mentioned The Breakfast Club while talking about Thunderbolts*, as he felt the team chemistry between himself and co-stars like Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus was “a little bit like” the 1985 John Hughes movie. Then There’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, one of Jack Nicholson’s best movies. That’s definitely a more intense cinematic experience compared to The Breakfast Club, but I see what Stan is getting at when highlighting how Thunderbolts* also has these conflicting personalities that get rather violent with each other before needing to put aside their differences.

I’m guessing we can also expect Thunderbolts* to have a more upbeat ending than One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest since this is still a (presumably) PG-13-rated superhero movie. That’s not to say there won’t be casualties along the way, as I already suspect that Taskmaster will be killed off. The important thing, though, is that while the Suicide Squad might be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Thunderbolts*, you’d be better off thinking of the two movies Stan mentioned to get a better grasp on the MCU movie’s overall vibe.

Following his surprise appearance in Captain America: Brave New World, Bucky Barnes will return in Thunderbolts* to work with Yelena Belova, John Walker/U.S. Agent, Alexei Shostakove/Red Guardian, Ava Starr/Ghost andAntonia Dreykov/Taskmaster on a mission these characters are forced into by Julia Louis Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Directed by Jake Schreier and written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo, the movie comes out on May 2.

Is it possible to make a great movie out of a story that is, fundamentally, not much more than just two or more people talking? Absolutely, and we have assembled plenty of examples of the most riveting conversations captured on film to prove it. The following are just a few of our picks for the best dialogue-heavy movies ever made.

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Writer and director Quentin Tarantino proved he had a knack for crafting captivating dialogue by debuting with a movie that was little more than dialogue called Reservoir Dogs. The unique crime thriller is the story of a jewelry heist that we never actually see but learn about through conversations between the violent thieves involved (some of which were improvised) in scenes taking place before and after the ill-fated job.

Coherence (2013)

The less you know about co-writer and director James Ward Byrkit's Coherence – which follows a disastrous and confusing dinner party on the night a comet passes over a quiet suburb – the more rewarding the experience is. The cast, including Emily Baldoni and Nicolas Brendan, improvised 100% of their dialogue in one of the most cleverly constructed Multiverse movies ever made.

Before Sunrise (1995)

Co-writer and director Richard Linklater redefined romance movies in the mid-1990s with Before Sunrise, in which a young American man (Ethan Hawke) and a French woman (Julie Delpy) share an adventure through Vienna after a chance meeting on a train. It was followed by 2004's Before Sunset and 2013's Before Midnight, which follows later pivotal moments in their romance nine years apart.

Breathless (1960)

Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless is one of the most important films from the experimental French New Wave movement for its realistic approach to prioritizing dialogue over plot. It stars Jean-Paul Belmondo as a crook on the run trying to persuade an American student journalist (Jean Seberg) to run away with him to Italy.

12 Angry Men (1957)

The most interesting moments in a legal case do not take place in the courtroom, as demonstrated in Sidney Lumet's directorial feature debut, 12 Angry Men. The film features a star-studded cast as a jury that erupts into a heated frenzy when one man (played by Henry Fonda) disagrees with the nigh-unanimous decision to convict an 18-year-old of murdering his abusive father.

Clerks (1994)

Kevin Smith became an inspiration to aspiring indie filmmakers everywhere with his debut feature, Clerks – a comedy that is simple in concept but uproarious in execution. Save one action-packed rooftop hockey match, some sick dance moves courtesy of Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith), and one unexpected death, the film consists mostly of conversations between convenience store cashier Dante (Brian O'Halloran), video store employee Randal (Jeff Anderson), and others about love, the Star Wars movies, and other minor and morbid topics.

Women Talking (2022)

Based on the true story that inspired Miriam Toews' 2018 novel of the same name, Women Talking is a drama about a group of female Mennonites who discuss whether or not they should leave their village after a heartwrenching case of abuse in 2010. Writer and director Sarah Polley received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for crafting a captivating and timely drama out of this harrowing story.

Conclave (2024)

Never could we have imagined that a film about the democratic selection of the Catholic Church's next Pope would be considered one of the best movies of 2024, yet here we are. Director Edward Berger's adaptation of Robert Harris' 2016 novel, Conclave, is a thoroughly riveting thriller offering profound commentary on faith and political discourse, featuring stirring performances by Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, and Isabella Rossellini.

Mass (2021)

One of cinema's most powerful statements about gun violence comes from a movie by writer and director Fran Kranz (of The Cabin in the Woods fame) called Mass. The acclaimed, low-budget drama depicts a conversation between the parents of a school shooting victim (played by Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton) and a couple (played by Ann Dowd and Reed Birney) whose son was the perpetrator.

My Dinner With Andre (1981)

Perhaps the quintessential example of how a simple conversation can amount to a moving and memorable cinematic experience is director Louis Malle's My Dinner with Andre. Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn (who also penned the screenplay) portray fictional versions of themselves discussing various funny and provocative topics over a meal at a New York City restaurant.

Phone Booth (2002)

Imagine the most awkward and frustrating phone call of your life. It is probably not nearly as bad as what transpires when New York City publicist Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell) answers a ringing phone booth in Times Square only to find a deadly sniper (Kiefer Sutherland) on the opposite end who threatens to kill him if he hangs up. As tensions escalate and the police try to intervene, Stu struggles to negotiate with the psychopath for a chance to save his own life in director Joel Schumacher's Phone Booth.

The Two Popes (2019)

Andrew McCarten adapted his own play, The Pope, into director Fernando Meirelles' acclaimed Netflix original film, The Two Popes. Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce give powerhouse, Academy Award-nominated performances as Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (the future Pope Francis), who try to reach common ground during a pivotal turning point for the Catholic Church.

Locke (2013)

In the underrated, great A24 movie, Locke, Tom Hardy stars in the title role of a construction foreman taking an evening drive to London that will change his life forever. Told in real-time, writer and director Steven Knight's drama is a thoroughly absorbing one-person show told entirely through Locke's phone conversations with people played by Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott, Tom Holland, and more.

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Quentin Tarantino took the dialogue-heavy concept of 1992's Reservoir Dogs and, somewhat, reimagined it into one of the best Western movies of the 21st Century, The Hateful Eight. An all-star ensemble – including Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, and Oscar nominee Jennifer Jason Leigh – plays a group of people holed up in a cabin during a snowstorm, where no one is quite who they claim to be, in post-Civil War Wyoming.

The Invitation (2015)

One of the best horror movies that meaningfully address grief is Karyn Kusama's The Invitation, starring Logan Marshall-Green as Will, who is attending a dinner party hosted by his former wife (played by Tammy Blanchard) and her new husband (Michel Huisman). As time goes by and conversations bring unusual revelations to light, Will begins to suspect that there is a sinister ulterior motive to this gathering.

Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967)

One of the best and most important Sidney Poitier movies is Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, in which the Academy Award winner plays John Prentice – a Black doctor who travels with his white fiancée, Joey Drayton (Katharine Houghton), to meet her parents (played by Spener Tracy and Katharine Hepburn). Eventually, the Draytons meet John's parents (played by Roy Glenn and Beah Richards) and what ensues is a staggering, groundbreaking discussion that ultimately proves love breaks through all racial barriers.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Teenagers are often categorized by different superficial designations – i.e. brains, athletes, basket cases, princesses, and criminals – but if you were to put one of each group in a room and let them talk amongst themselves, they would come to realize they are not so different underneath. Evidence of this social experiment lies in, arguably, the greatest high school movie ever made, John Hughes' The Breakfast Club, which takes place during one life-changing Saturday morning detention.

The Big Chill (1983)

Few films have captured the essence of catching up with old friends more authentically than co-writer and director Lawrence Kasdan's influential dramedy, The Big Chill. The likes of Kevin Kline, Jeff Goldblum, Glenn Close, and more star as a group of thirty-somethings coming together for the first time since college for the funeral of a friend, where they learn more about each other, and themselves.

Carnage (2011)

The hilarious, Tony Award-winning play, God of Carnage, follows two couples who, after discovering their respective children got in a fight, agree to discuss the incident for a meeting that grows increasingly volatile as the conversation goes on. The film adaptation, simply titled Carnage, stars John C. Reilly, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz, and Kate Winslet and expertly captures its satirical depiction of disputes over class, parental philosophies, and more provocative themes.

Rope (1948)

One of the more underrated Alfred Hitchcock movies, Rope (which is amusingly shot to appear as one continuous take), is the story of two men (played by John Dall and Farley Granger) who try to convince themselves that they can get away with murder by hosting a party just moments after committing the crime. However, as the night progresses, their old school teacher, Rupert Cadell (James Stewart) begins to suspect that something is afoot.

Coffee And Cigarettes (2003)

Coffee and Cigarettes is a movie anchored by, not just one conversation, but a series of conversations that each have the eponymous objects in common. Each of writer and director Jim Jarmusch's grayscale vignettes stars a different pairing or trio of celebrities as fictionalized versions of themselves discussing a myriad of topics in a hilariously surreal fashion.

Sleuth (1972)

Anthony Shaffer adapted his own Tony Award-winning play, Sleuth, into a film starring Sir Laurence Olivier as a detective novelist who invites his wife's younger lover (played by Michael Caine) to his estate where he challenges him to a diabolical battle of wits. Caine would also star in Kenneth Branagh's 2007 adaptation, this time playing the older gentleman opposite Jude Law.

The End Of The Tour (2015)

Jason Segel gives one of his best serious performances as David Foster Wallace in director James Ponsoldt's The End of the Tour. Instead of a conventional biopic, the A24 and Sony-produced drama provides a mere snapshot of the life and career of the late Infinite Jest author by dramatizing a revealing interview he had with Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) in the mid-to-late 1990s.

The Guilty (2018)

When a German police officer (played by Jakob Cedergren) assigned to work as a dispatcher receives an alarming call from a woman claiming to be kidnapped, he cannot help himself but attempt to take matters into his own hands from behind the phone in co-writer and director Gustav Möller's The Guilty. Three years later, director Antoine Fuqua released an English-language adaptation on Netflix starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role.

Tape (2001)

One of director Richard Linklater's darkest and most intense cinematic experiments (and most overlooked films of his career) is Tape. The drama takes place entirely in one motel room and features only three characters (played by Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Uma Thurman) who discuss the most unsettling moments from their pasts.

Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (2022)

In the Hulu-original dramedy, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Daryl McCormack plays the title role – a male escort hired by the widowed Nancy Stokes (Oscar winner Emma Thompson) to help bring some adventure into her life. While the content does get racier with each of the characters' intimate sessions, the film's most powerful moments come from their intimate conversations with one another, lending beautifully to this inspiring story of self-discovery.

Buried (2010)

Ryan Reynolds has shared in interviews that he is claustrophobic, which is why it is shocking that he agreed to star in director Rodrigo Cortes' Buried. The entire film takes place in a coffin placed six feet underground where Reynolds' Paul Conroy, equipped with a cell phone and little else, struggles to negotiate with his captors and find help before he runs out of oxygen.

Malcolm & Marie (2021)

From writer and director Sam Levinson, the Netflix original movie Malcolm & Marie is far from your typical romance film. It stars John David Washington as a filmmaker who returns home after his latest movie premiere with his girlfriend (played by Zendaya), with whom he engages in a challenging conversation regarding the state of their relationship throughout the night.

Circle (2015)

Writing and directing duo Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione's Circle is a movie kind of like Saw but more appropriate for those who prefer psychological thrills over gore. The story follows a group of 50 strangers who wake up in a mysterious chamber where they must collectively decide who among them deserves to be the sole survivor.

Lifeboat (1944)

John Steinbeck wrote the story for Alfred Hitchcock's Oscar-nominated, World War II-era thriller, Lifeboat. It is a survival story of more than one kind, following a group of people struggling to survive their harsh environment and each other while floating on open water.

Margin Call (2011)

The beginning of the 2008 financial crisis is seen through the eyes of employees at a Wall Street investment firm over the course of 24 hours in Margin Call. From writer and director J.C. Chandor, the drama features Zachary Quinto, Demi Moore, Jeremy Irons, and others as financial analysts who must rush to save their company from the brink of collapse.

Slacker (1990)

Richard Linklater made his directorial feature debut with Slacker. He also stars in the quirky comedy as one of several young Texans discussing god-knows-what, one conversation at a time, over the course of one day.

There are two things about the 1980s that will be forever linked, the movies and the music. It was a unique decade for both and there are so many great songs that came from movie soundtracks that it's almost impossible to limit this list, but we're going to do our best. Here is our list of some of the very best music moments in classic 1980s movies like Dirty Dancing and Top Gun.

"Don't You (Forget About Me)" - The Breakfast Club

One thing fans of The Breakfast Club will never do is forget about you. The song, written and performed by Simple Minds, is one of the most iconic songs of the decade. The use of it in The Breakfast Club is equally iconic, as Bender and the rest of the "club" leave detention at the end of the day.

"Playing With The Boys" - Top Gun

The Top Gun soundtrack produced multiple hits and the whole album is full of bangers. If we're going to pick one iconic moment in the movie that fits the music perfectly, we have to go with the Kenny Loggins' hit "Playing With The Boys" during the volleyball scene. The moment you hear the song, you think of those fit guys playing on the beach... even if Tom Crusie is inexplicably wearing jeans.

"Fight The Power" - Do The Right Thing

While there are great songs all over movies from the '80s, there are few that had the cultural impact as Public Enemy's "Fight The Power" from the equally impactful Spike Lee joint, Do The Right Thing. Both exploded onto the scene and neither music nor movies were the same after them.

"Neutron Dance" - Beverly Hills Cop

Not only is Beverly Hills Cop one of the funniest movies of the decade, but it's also a great action movie, and to top it all off, it's filled with fantastic songs, including the theme song "Axel F" by Harold Faltermeyer. But there is no more memorable scene than the opening with Axel (Eddie Murphy) swinging from the back of the truck in an amazing chase with "Neutron Dance" by The Pointer Sisters blasting in the background.

"Holding Out For A Hero" - Footloose

Yet another '80s movie with an iconic soundtrack is Footloose. Sure, we could have gone with the theme song here, but is there a more memorable scene than the game of chicken on heavy construction equipment with "Holding Out For A Hero" by Bonnie Tyler accompanying the ridiculous (and amazing) scene? We think not.

"I Still Believe" - The Lost Boys

There is just something that is just so 1980s about. greased up, topless Tim Cappello shouting out "I Still Believe" as he gyrates around with his saxophone. That scene in The Lost Boys is both ridiculous and ridiculously awesome.

"Christmas in Hollis" - Die Hard

When John McClain asked Argyle if he had any Christmas music in Die Hard and the chauffeur answered with "Christmas in Hollis" it was a revelation for millions of middle-class Americans who had no idea there was Christmas hip hop. It's still the best seasonal rap song, don't you agree?

"Mess Around" - Planes, Trains And Automobiles

A whole bunch of things really go wrong for John Candy and Steve Martin in Planes Trains And Automobiles. The wildest has to be when Candy's character burns down the rental car while he smokes and jams out to the Ray Charles classic "Mess Around."

"Adagio For Strings" - Platoon

The most powerful moment in Platoon is when Elias (Willem Dafoe) is killed with his arms out in a Christ-like pose. Without question, a big reason the scene is so emotional is the choice by director Oliver Stone to use the piece "Adagio For Strings" by composer Samuel Barber. It's the perfect piece of music for the scene and really adds to the incredible impact of it.

"Partyman" - Batman

Sometimes people who weren't around in the 1980s don't really understand what a huge cultural moment Tim Burton's Batman was. It was a huge deal and Burton getting the enigmatic Prince to write some songs for the movie was an inspired moment. The Purple One's "Partyman" is the perfect song for the scene when The Joker (Jack Nicholson) and his henchmen break into Gotham's art museum and deface the art.

"Old Time Rock And Roll" - Risky Business

Is there any way we could put together this list without Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear in Risky Business to the Bob Seeger classic "Old Time Rock And Roll"? No, there isn't and there really isn't anything else to be said here, It's a classic film moment.

"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" - Dirty Dancing

Nobody puts Baby in the corner, and only one person can launch Baby up in the air. When Johnny and Baby finally pull off that lift at the end of Dirty Dancing is one of the most triumphant moments of '80s film. The song that accompanies the moment, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes became just as iconic.

"In Your Eyes" - Say Anything

Walking a fine line between romantic and psychotic is Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) holding his boom box over his head while playing "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel outside Diane's (Ione Skye) window in Say Anything. We're saps at our core, so we'll call it 100% romantic and 100% iconic.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" - The Big Chill

Boomer culture was in full nostalgia mode in the 1980s and nothing sums that up more than The Big Chill. That's not to say that the movie doesn't have its moments. One of the coolest tricks the movie pulls off is near the beginning when the organ player at the funeral starts playing "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones. It segues perfectly into the actual song as the funeral procession drives across a long bridge. It's probably the best scene in the movie if we're honest.

"Oh Yeah" - Ferris Bueller's Day Off

"Oh Yeah" by Swiss electronic band Yello was used in a few movies in the 1980s, like Uncle Buck and The Secret Of My Success. With all due respect to the Michael J. Fox classic, the best use of the song came at the end of Ferris Bueller's Day Off when Principal Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) is forced to ride the school bus and learns that he does, in fact, "eat it."

"Let's Go Crazy" - Purple Rain

Prince was one of the biggest stars of the 1980s and his magnum opus was the soundtrack to his movie Purple Rain. Obviously there is a ton of great music in the movie, but the best scene has to be when Prince plays "Let's Go Crazy" in a club before jumping up on an amp and shredding that amazing guitar solo at the end of the song.

"Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" - Beetlejuice

Even songs from the 1950s were able to create amazing musical moments in the 1980s. Take the Harry Bellefonte song "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" in Beetlejuice for example. The wild scene that the song accompanies is when the dinner party is interrupted by the ghosts living in the attic and it's the most memorable moment in the whole movie.

"Moving In Stereo" - Fast Times At Ridgemont High

In the interest of keeping this list rated G, we won't say much about the scene in Fast Times At Ridgemont High that features The Cars' song "Moving In Stereo." expect to say it involves Phoebe Cates in a red bikini and IYKYK.

"If You Were Here" - Sixteen Candles

Director John Hughes had a knack for creating amazing musical moments in between the hilarious quotes from his movies. In Sixteen Candles one of those classic moments happens at the end when Jake and Sam finally kiss over Sam's birthday cake as "If You Were Here" by Thompson Twins plays over the scene.

"Holiday Road" - National Lampoon's Vacation

Fleetwood Mac veteran Lindsey Buckingham provided the classic "Holiday Road" for National Lampoon's Vacation and while it only plays briefly as the Griwolds first hit the road in Chicago, it's been an enduring hit ever since.

"Magic Dance" - Labyrinth

1986's Labyrinth not only launched Jennifer Connelly's career, but if gave one amazing musical moment when the villain, played by the legend himself, David Bowie, sings his song "Magic Dance" along with a whole slew of Jim Henson puppets. It's as magical and the name of the song implies.

"Eye Of The Tiger" - Rocky III

In the first Rocky movie, audiences were treated to that amazing moment of Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) climbing the stairs of the Philadelphia Art Museum to "Gonna Fly Now." Of course, that doesn't count for this list of '80s movies, but luckily in Rocky III, we get "Eye of the Tiger" for the training montage. It's a toss-up for which is better.

"Tequila" - Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

For years after Pee-Wee's Big Adventure was released, people were still doing the Pee-Wee dance whenever they heard "Tequila" by The Champs. The '60s classic created a classic '80s moment.

"These Boots Are Made For Walking" - Full Metal Jacket

What makes "These Boots Are Made For Walking" by Nancy Sinatra so amazing in Full Metal Jacket is that it feels so upbeat immediately after the darkest moment in the movie when Private Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio) kills his drill sergeant and then himself. It's director Stanley Kubrick at his finest.

"Big Bottom" - This Is Spinal Tap

Well, once again, we've come to a movie that there was no way we could leave off this list. The rock mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap. There are at least a dozen scenes we could choose here, but the most iconic has to be the song "Big Bottoms" and that was proven years later when literally dozens of bass players joined the sort of fake, sort of real band for the song at Live Earth concert in 2007.

"The Power Of Love" - Back To The Future

We just had to include the meta moment in Back To The Future when the fictional band led by Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) starts playing a rocking version of the movie's theme song "The Power Of Love" only to be shut down by a teacher played by Huey Lewis who, with his band The News, actually played the song for the movie. It's just too darn loud.

"Werewolves Of London" - The Color Of Money

Warren Zevon is one of the most beloved songwriters in rock history, but he didn't have a ton of hits. One exception is "Werewolves of London" a song that was a hit when it came out in 1978 and then fans fell in love with it again when it appeared in an amazing scene in The Color Of Money in 1986.

"If You Leave" - Pretty In Pink

Like all his other movies, John Hughes using "If You Leave" by Orchestral Movements in the Dark in Pretty In Pink created one of the all time combos of music and movie. It's still weird that Andie didn't end up with Duckie, though.

"Lollipop" - Stand By Me

For many in Gen X, their first introduction to classic early '60 music came from Stand By Me. One of the songs used, "Lollipop" is almost a novelty song, but it's an incredibly infectious earworm too, so it ended up being one of the most iconic moments in the movie, music-wise.

"Into The Groove" - Desperately Seeking Susan

Desperately Seeking Susan isn't a great movie. It feels rushed and half-baked, and it was, really, as it was an attempt to capitalize on Madonna's burgeoning fame. It's the Material Girl's first major foray into film and the most memorable moment came when she is in a bar, listening to her own song, "Into The Groove."

"Gimme Shelter" - Adventures In Babysitting

If you aren't paying attention, you might miss "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones in Adventures In Babysitting, but it adds a real foreboding as the kids hitch a ride back to the station wagon that they hope has been repaired and they can finally wrap up their crazy night.

"Imagine" - The Killing Fields

John Lennon, and later Yoko Ono, were very protective of the former Beatles' music, especially his iconic "Imagine." Ono gave permission to the producers of The Killing Fields to use it at the end when the two protagonists are reunited after the horrors of the Khmer Rouge are finally over and it's an incredible emotional moment, in no small part to the song.

Even the best movies have scenes in them that completely take you out movie and ruin at least a small of it for the viewer. Films like Saving Private Ryan, The Departed, and even The Godfather all have scenes that almost completely ruin them. Well, that might be a little harsh, they are all still stone-cold classics, but they all have questionable moments that make you wonder how they remained in the movie.

The Baby In American Sniper

American Sniper is a tension-filled masterpiece with a fantastic performance by Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. The movie works on almost every level and yet there is that one scene, when Kyle is holding his newborn baby and it is clear to anyone watching that the baby is a prop. It's hard to believe the makers of the movie let that scene go like they did.

The Rat In The Departed

As if the lesson in The Departed wasn't clear enough, Martin Scorsese hits viewers across the face with a frying pan when the CGI rat walks across the balcony railing in the last shot of the movie. Why a genius like Scorsese felt the need to drive the point home in such a hacky way, we'll never understand.

The Bad Audio Sync In The Big Lebowski

Fans of The Big Lebowski know what we're talking about here. After Walter (John Goodman) fails to get Larry Sellers to crack, he decides to take to the streets and destroy what he thinks is Larry's new car. It's not Larry's, it's the neighbor's car and when the neighbor comes out, there is a really bad audio sync, and all of a sudden it feels like a bad Hong Kong action movie from the '70s. It may be the only flaw in an almost perfect movie.

Superman Turning Back Time In Superman

The Christopher Reeve Superman is still beloved to this day, and with good reason. It's among the best superhero movies ever made and it always will be. But let's be honest about the ending. The scene after Lois dies in her car and Superman is forced to fly around the world and actually turn back time is... awful. It's just so dumb and there are a million better ways that could have been handled.

The Laptop In Skyfall

Skyfall is a great Craig-era James Bond movie. There is no way around the fatal flaw that Q (Ben Whishaw) makes when he plugs a laptop recovered by Bond into MI-5's computer system. Of course, it's a booby-trapped computer that takes down the whole system. Who trained Q? his technology-challenged uncle? Come on, no one in his position would make that kind of mistake, It may sound pedantic, but it's just not reasonable.

Questionable Fight Blocking In The Godfather

Even a masterpiece like The Godfather has a moment that completely takes viewers out of the moment. When Sonny (James Caan) goes to confront Carlo, it's one of the most intense moments of the movie. Unfortunately, the fight blocking is, frankly, terrible and it looks really bad. Even the best can have flaws.

The Off-Color Joke At The End Of Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman: The Secret Service is a really fun movie with some completely ridiculous moments that somehow work, like Samuel L. Jackson eating McDonalds. One insanely stupid moment that doesn't work is the off-color joke at the end of the movie by the damsel in distress. It just doesn't work at all.

Greedo Shooting First In The Re-Edited Star Wars

There are a lot of reasons to complain about George Lucas tinkering with perfection when he re-edited Star Wars in the '90s. Most of it is stuff people can live with, but reworking the scene in the cantina to make Greedo shot at Han Solo first really changes too much about the character and the movie. It should have never been done.

Tell Me I'm A Good Man In Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is among the best war movies ever made. It doesn't need that final scene of Ryan asking his wife to "tell him he's been a good man." Even if director Steven Spielberg felt that the final scene at the cemetery in Normandy was needed, the shot of the elder Ryan walking with his family is all that the audience would need to understand who he was. The cheesy line just ruins it.

Mom's Named Martha In Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice

People can argue all day long if Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice is a good movie. It's certainly a lot better than many critics believe. But there is still that incredibly stupid and silly moment when the two titular superheroes almost bond over the shared name of their mothers. Cheesy!

Darth Vadar's "NOOOOO" In Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith

Whether you love the Star Wars prequels or not, most people agree that Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith is the best of the three. That's even taking into account the oh-so-silly "NOOOOOO" when the newly formed Vader realized his love was gone. You know the others are rough movies when this is including in the best one.

Deadpool In X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a movie that some love and some despise. It can really go either way. But what can't be disputed is how terrible Deadpool is in it. Enough said. Even Deadpool though Deadpool was terrible as we learn in the post-credits scene of Deadpool 2.

The CGI Of Old Characters In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is arguably the best Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi. It takes a classic bit of Star Wars lore and makes it real. What isn't real, and almost takes the audience completely out of the movie is the CGI versions of Princess Leia and Grand Moff Tarkin. It's so disconcerting it can't help but distract from what is otherwise a really great movie.

Flying Through Space In The Martian

For a movie that spends so much time and effort on the scientific details of surviving on Mars, The Martian completely throws it all out of the window at the end with the flying through space bit at the end as Matt Damon's character attempts to reconnect with his crew. It's such a shame such a fantastic movie ends with such a silly scene.

John Michael Higgins' Questionable Accent In Licorice Pizza

It's hard to say if John Michael Higgins' questionable Japanese accent when he is mocking his wife is supposed to play for laughs or what in Licorice Pizza, but the scene really doesn't work no matter what the intention was. It is a rare example of a scene in a Paul Thomas Anderson movie that should have been left on the cutting room floor.

Singing Elton John In Almost Famous

There is just something about a '70s rock band that is sort of loosely based on Led Zeppelin bonding over an Elton John song. It just seems so unlikely that Led Zeppelin or a band of their ilk would ever do something like that. It's so out of place in an otherwise fantastic movie.

Midi-chlorians - The Entire Star Wars Franchise

Midi-chlorians. There is probably no Star Wars fan on Earth who understands why the decision was made to make up these stupid things. They are so unpopular with the fanbase that they have essentially been reconned out of the whole universe and we're all grateful for it.

The Makeover In The Breakfast Club

Like a lot of comedies from the 1980s, The Breakfast Club has some problematic moments. Though not as extreme as a movie like Revenge of the Nerds and its very problematic content, the scene that sticks out like a sore thumb is when Claire (Molly Ringwald) does a makeover on Allison (Ally Sheedy) and she gets the attention of Andrew (Emilio Estevez) because all of a sudden she's pretty. Yikes.

The Plane Chase In Argo

Argo is a fantastic movie based on an even more fantastic true story. One thing that isn't true to the real-life escape portrayed in the film is the chase by the Iranian police of the plane on the runway as the embassy workers escape to freedom. It's a totally unnecessary addition to "Hollywood up" the ending. Just tell the remarkable story! It doesn't need more action!

Miranda Tate's Death In The Dark Knight Rises

Miranda Tate's death in The Dark Knight Rises has been derided by many as not worthy of the character. And that is totally true. It's just so...anti-climatic. She just... dies.

Every Scene With Mickey Rooney In Breakfast At Tiffany's

Breakfast At Tiffany's is one of the best rom-coms of all time. Still, modern audiences cannot get through the movie without wincing every time Mickey Rooney's incredibly racist portrayal of an Asian man is on the screen. Even in 1961 this should have been called out and left out of the movie. It's not just a bad accent, it's a very offensive one,

Surfing The Tidal Wave In Die Another Day

There are a lot of ridiculous moments in the James Bond franchise. Most of them are excusable, especially from the Roger Moore-era movies. The one scene that really isn't is when the Pierce Brosnan version of Bond para-surfs on a giant tidal wave. The CGI alone is offensive, even if we can suspend reality long enough for the ride.

The Hookup In Big

The Tom Hanks' classic Big plays out like a weird rom-com at times. It's unsettling at the least when you think about the real age difference between the characters. That's all we really need to say here.

Quentin's Cameo In Pulp Fiction

Quentin Tarantino is one of the best filmmakers of his generation and Pulp Fiction is his masterpiece. Still, the scene that he is in, when he repeatedly uses a racial slur as he sips coffee is extremely obnoxious and completely unneeded. The bit about his wife and the coffee is fantastic, but everything after that should have just been cut.

Regina George's Death In Mean Girls

Why does Regina George need to die at the end of Mean Girls? It's such a weird exclamation point at the end of the movie that feels very unnecessary. She's been disgraced and disregarded, with good reason, does she really deserve to die? It really takes away from one of the best movies 2000s.

The God Of War In Wonder Woman

There is no question that the DCEU had a lot of problems really coming together and a great example of everything that was wrong with the now-rebooted franchise is adding scenes like Wonder Woman's battle with the God Of War at the end of the first Wonder Woman movie. It's just not needed. The movie could have ended before it and been an almost perfect superhero movie, instead, it just goes one step too far and almost gets ruined because of it.

The Rocket Launcher In Falling Down

Micheal Douglas' performance in Falling Down is amazing. The movie, for the most part, is fantastic. Sadly, what starts out as a very grounded yet terrifying look into one man's breakdown reaches the point of absurdity when he suddenly decides he needs to use a rocket launcher to get his point across. From a realistic movie to a cartoon in moments.

The Pictures At The End Of Crazy, Stupid, Love

Crazy, Stupid, Love goes from super fun to disturbing in the very last moments of the movie when Jessica, played by Lio Tipton gives Cal racy photos of herself. She is Cal's babysitter! Who thought that was a good way to end the movie?

The Explanation At The End Of Unbreakable

There are times when people are blown away by writer and director M. Night Shyamalan and there are other times he leaves everyone shaking their heads. The explanation of how everything worked in Unbreakable is the latter. We got, man, you don't need to bang us on the end with what it all means.

9/11 In Remember Me

One of the weirdest endings to a movie has to be the final scene of Remember Me. Everything romantic that has happened in the movie is rendered moot when it is revealed that Tyler (Robert Pattison) dies in the World Trade Center attack on 9/11. What? Why would anyone think that added anything to the story? So weird.

Nuking The Fridge In Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

Okay fair enough, we can hear you saying Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull isn't a good movie. And you're right, it's not. But we just had to include the famous "Nuke the Fridge" scene because it makes a bad movie even worse and other than the weird choice of an ending involving aliens the "Nuke the Fridge" moment came when the movie still held promise.

Explaining Love In Interstellar

Interstellar is an awesome that asks at least as many questions as it answers. Why then did director and writer Christopher Nolan include such a hacky scene explaining the meaning of love? The world may never know.

Ending a story is hard, just ask Monty Python who had a very hard time (and budget issues) with the ending of The Holy Grail. When a film ends well, it's often with one iconic scene that really sticks with the audience forever. Sometimes it's the most enduring image of the movie and this is a list of scenes like that. Iconic scenes that really stick the landing at the end.

Fight Club

It's really hard to believe that Fight Club wasn't really a hit when it was released in 1999, especially given the epic ending. Not only does it tie up a disturbing bow on the whole movie, but the visual, of a city collapsing is simply stunning. If those two things are not enough, having The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind" play over the exploding city is one of the best uses of music in a movie, ever.

Oppenheimer

Director Christopher Nolan pulled off an amazing trick in Oppenheimer. With his trademark use of time in a movie, he managed to tell the whole story of Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), including what happened after The Manhattan Project but still managed to bring the film to a climax with the big boom of the first nuclear bomb test. All of that set the end, with a focus on Oppenheimer himself internally debating if it was all the right thing to do.

Psycho

Leave it to Alfred Hitchcock to end a movie with a quiet bang that leaves the audience freaked out and thinking about days and even years later. The end of Psycho, with Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) staring into the camera as we hear his internal monologue, is about as perfect an ending as a movie can have.

Dead Poets Society

You simply cannot think about Dead Poets Society without thinking of that iconic ending first. As John Keating (Robin Williams) walks out of his classroom after being fired, all of his students stand on their desks in tribute, reciting "O Captain! My Captain!" from the famous poem by Walt Whitman. It is guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye every time you see it.

The Breakfast Club

Over the 90 or so minutes of The Breakfast Club, audiences all get to know each one of the characters intimately. Vice Principal Vernon (Paul Gleason) reads Brian's words as the audience hears Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) explain how each student is unique, but how they have to appreciate each other. They may be a brain, an athlete, a basket case, and a criminal, but they all have the problems of any teenager.

The Truman Show

The Truman Show is one of Jim Carrey's best films and the ending is a big part of that. The emotion of his sailing trip across "the ocean" and the moment he arrives at the door is harrowing. The joy of seeing Truman finally escape captures the audience perfectly and Truman waving goodbye as he walks out the door ends the movie in the best way possible.

The Silence Of The Lambs

The worst part about the end of The Silence Of The Lambs is that you find yourself actually rooting for a psychopathic serial killer. The movie, if you don't remember, ends with an escaped Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in disguise tracking his nemesis, Dr. Chilton (Anthony Heald) as he gets off a plane in a tropical location.

Thelma & Louise

There really isn't a more epic ending to a movie than Thelma & Louise. After being chased across multiple states after committing a justified crime, the two titular characters decide to literally ride off into the sunset - or off a cliff - as the police are closing in on them. In it together to the end.

The Godfather

There is nothing in cinema quite like The Godfather saga. There are some amazing scenes all throughout the two...okay, three... movies. None are more arresting than the final scene of the first movie when Michael (Al Pacino) fights with, and lies to, Kate (Diane Keaton) before leaving the room to greet his other family members. The door closing in Kate's face is tragic, but incredible.

Chinatown

Despite the last line of dialog in the movie, it's impossible to forget Chinatown, especially its tragic ending as Evelyn (Faye Dunaway) is killed attempting to finally escape the clutches of her domineering and, frankly, evil father played by John Huston. Jake (Jack Nicholson) is understandably distraught, yet all he can do is forget about it.

Planet Of The Apes

With one of the best twists in film history, the ending of Planet Of The Apes is so unforgettable that it has become a part of pop culture. Even people who have never seen the movie, starring Charlton Heston as an astronaut stuck on what he thinks is a distant planet, know how it ends when he discovers he's been on Earth the whole time.

Field Of Dreams

The premise of Field of Dreams is that if he (Kevin Costner) builds it "he" will come. The "he," of course, is Costner's character's father. The movie ends with the two characters having a catch on the baseball field as the camera pulls out to reveal a line of cars headed to watch a game at the magical field. Finally, they come.

The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects has one of the most beloved twists ever and the way it ends, with the reveal that Kevin Spacey's character is Keyser Söze, and with that final breath...poof, one of the most epic final scenes ever.

Dr. Strangelove

You can't really end a movie in a more epic way than having nuclear weapons exploding over and over. From the moment Korg (Slim Pickens) hitches a ride on one of his bombs, to the montage of actual nuclear explosions, the end brings to a point the absurdity of nuclear war.

Casablanca

There aren't many movies that have multiple quotes that have become part of the lexicon like Casablanca. Playing it again, hills of beans, looking at you... the list goes on and on. The final shot of Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and Renault (Claude Raines) walking off into the fog is right up there with the greatest endings ever, with that iconic quote from Rick to Renault about the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Sunset Boulevard

There are few ending scenes as uncomfortable (and wonderful) as the final scene in Sunset Boulevard. Norma Desmond's slow walk down the stars, with the over-the-top facial expressions by actor Gloria Swanson is sooooo disconcerting, and when the camera comes to a stop on Swanson's face and she delivers that famous line, "Alright, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up" is spine-tingling.

Reservoir Dogs

Quentin Tarantino's debut movie is one of the best movies by a first-time director ever. His brilliant script ends as tragically as a movie can with virtually all the characters dying. The last two, Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) and Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) are the most heartbreaking.

Whiplash

The only way to end a movie as intense as Whiplash is with a scene befitting that intensity and the final drum solo of the movie when it all comes together for Miles Teller's character. The movie is hard to watch and tension built up until that final release is felt by audiences as much as it shows in Teller's face. It's brilliant.

The Graduate

The best thing about the ending to The Graduate is just how unsure both Benjamin (Dustin Huffman) and Elaine (Katharine Ross) are when they take their seats on the bus. Sure, on the surface it's a pretty standard ending to a Rom-Com, with the two lovebirds facing the future together. But as the shot lingers, it's clear both are nervous about that future, unsure that they've made the right decision. It's an excellent ending.

The Thing

The thing about the ending of The Thing is that it really is all about one line. One iconic line. After all MacReady (Kurt Russell) and Childs (Keith David) have been through, they are left by themselves in the cold. When Childs asks what they should do, MacReady can only say, "Why don't we just wait here a little while...and see what happens."

There Will Be Blood

The final act of There Will Be Blood is one of the most intense scenes in any movie, ever. The physical and metaphysical battle for Daniel Plainview's soul is violent. In the end, after Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Eli (Paul Dano) are finished, and Eli is dead, Plainview can only turn to his butler and say, "I'm finished." He is finished in almost every way

Inception

Much like the rest of the movie, the ending to Christopher Nolan's Inception is left open to interpretation by the audience. When Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) spins the top at the end to determine if he's in the real world, he never actually looks at it, leaving him, and us, to wonder just where he is.

Primal Fear

Edward Norton's character (or characters) in Primal Fear are terrifying and the end, with its nod to Hitchcock's Psycho, leaves the audience with a most uneasy feeling. What did we all just watch and what is real? Those are the questions we are asked and we don't have all the answers.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is one of the most unconventional romances in film history. It asks the question we all ask sometimes, are we destined to be one other person in our lives? The ending doesn't really answer it, but it is clear that two souls can be connected whether we want them to be or not.

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid

Sure, it's the "Hollywood" ending to a kinda true story in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. In the end, in classic Western style, our heroes are surrounded with no chance to escape, they choose to go out guns blazing. Of course, in real life, the fate of the real Butch and Sundance has been open to a lot of conjecture. Did they survive? Well, the movie freezes just as they burst out of their hideout, and we never see the final gunfight, so maybe they did. It's part of what makes it one of the best Westerns ever.

Se7en

It doesn't get more disturbing than the end of Se7en. John Doe (Kevin Spacey) is in control the whole time and he proves it with the delivery of "the box," getting exactly what he wants from Mills (Brad Pitt), and the audience is left with that pullback from the camera on the helicopter as we hear radio chatter about what's happened. It's one you just can't stop thinking about for days.

The Shawshank Redemption

The end of The Shawshank Redemption could be subtitled "Red's Last Journey" as he makes his way across the country, and across the border to reunite with Andy on the beach. It's a touching ending to the best movie of the 1990s.

Citizen Kane

Obviously, Citizen Kane is one of the most iconic movies of all time, and the ending is no small part of why people love it so much. The image of the burning sled called "Rosebud" at the end not only answers what Kane (Orson Welles) hinted at in the first scene of the movie, but it leaves the audience to ponder just what life, even one like Kane's, really means in the end.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

For much of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, we don't really see just how important Big Chief is. In the end, though, it's Big Chief who not only sets McMurphy free by suffocating him, but he frees himself of the hospital and all his internal baggage that he's found so hard to let go of. It's a tragically beautiful ending to a wild movie.

The Bridge On The River Kwai

So much of war is futile and no movie expresses that more succinctly than The Bridge On The River Kwai. The whole movie is a battle between the Japanese guards and the Allied prisoners, and it's a battle with nature, and the titular bridge, which, in the end, of course, is blown up. What is the point of it all?

Schindler's List

The raw power of the final scene of Steven Spielberg's masterpiece Schindler's List is undeniable. The black-and-white movie turns to color as the real-life survivors place stones on the real-life grave of Oskar Schindler. It brings even more weight to the cost of the Holocaust than you could possibly expect and it's as powerful a moment as has ever been in any film, ever.

It's A Wonderful Life

The Christmas classic It's A Wonderful Life has become a bit of a trope in recent decades, but you still can't deny how sweet and wonderful the ending is as an angel finally earns his wings.

Looking back on the history of film, especially the best movies of the 1980s, there’s a legacy of films that could now be seen as rather problematic. And in making this list of such titles, our intent is not to dogpile on films like Revenge of the Nerds, which seem to frequently pop up. If anything, consider the following rundown as a catalog of movies that could possibly still be enjoyed, even with the following caveats in mind.

Revenge of the Nerds

Rooting for the underdog is easy, even in a case like Revenge of the Nerds, which inappropriately depicts stereotypes of sexuality. Even worse is the fact that the character of Betty Childs (Julia Montgomery) not only has scandalous pictures distributed without consent, but she’s also tricked into intimacy with the lead hero nerd Lewis (Robert Carradine). It’s probably for the best that the 2007 remake was canceled.

Rambo III

1988 was a very different time in geopolitics, as anyone could see through the presence of several action movies pairing heroes like John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) with the freedom fighters of the Mujahideen. While the viral post about Rambo III dedicating the film to their efforts isn’t real, the fact that this anti-Soviet occupation force eventually helped form The Taliban is.

The Breakfast Club

This John Hughes comedy landmark almost didn’t qualify for the list of problematic ‘80s favorites. That was until we took a closer look and remembered that scene where Bender (Judd Nelson) took advantage of a situation in which he could look up Claire's skirt (Molly Ringwald). There are still some beautiful life lessons in this absolute classic, but that moment signified a pattern of behavior from The Breakfast Club’s bad boy which is unacceptable.

Sixteen Candles

You can take your pick over what piece of Sixteen Candles’ classic comedy shenanigans is the most problematic, as two glaring options have persistently been discussed in modern times. With either the harmful stereotypes embodied by the entire character of Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe) or Ted’s (Anthony Michael-Hall) various escapades trying to convince his friends he’s hooked up with a girl, you could probably start an argument just by mentioning this movie’s name in passing.

Police Academy

Earlier entries in the Police Academy series tended to be a lot raunchier than their eventual successors. But one joke that continued to play into the trope of “gay panic” humor was the running gag of members of the force winding up at the Blue Oyster Bar. Full of leather-clad men who knew how to dance, the joke eventually softened by the time Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol was released.

Soul Man

C. Thomas Howell’s Soul Man lead is about to go to Harvard…but needs a scholarship after life events leave him without his college fund. This leads him to come up with the idea of taking too many tanning pills, so he can masquerade as a Black man. If the racial politics weren’t enough to make you question the eventually good-natured film, then the pill-popping probably would do it.

Better Off Dead

Yee Sook Ree (Yuji Okumoto) and his brother Chen Ree (Brian Imada) provide the John Cusack classic Better Off Dead with a scene that some contemporary fans have questioned. With Chen unable to speak English, and Yee only speaking in an imitation of Howard Cosell, the joke doesn’t seem outwardly racist. However an actual bit of upset comes from the fact that Okumoto revealed to EW that he was dubbed over in the role by impressionist Rich Little.

Rain Man

Back in the day, Rain Man was a huge hit at the box office, as well as becoming the best picture winner at the 61st Academy Awards. However, from a more current lens, Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of a neurodivergent math whiz doesn’t exactly pass muster. It also doesn’t help that the movie’s title has also found itself used as derogatory slang for neurodivergence.

Porky’s

There are definitely hilarious consequences when it comes to the main act of peeping tomfoolery that makes Porky’s mischievous centerpiece. But out of context, and perhaps even in context, a group of boys exposing themselves through a hole in the girl’s shower doesn’t play with some modern audiences. Not even if it gives us the infamously funny “wanted poster’ scene.

Overboard

Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn’s ‘80s classic Overboard is a lighthearted rom-com that many still call one of their favorites. However, the main push of the story revolves around the wealthy amnesiac Joanna (Hawn) depending on love interest/kind-hearted dad Dean (Russell) to remind her of who she is. Even with the roles reversed in the Anna Farris/Eugenio Derbez 2018 remake, it’s a plotline that hasn’t aged well.

The Toy

How could a movie like The Toy miss when pairing the likes of Richard Pryor and Jackie Gleeson? Well, for starters, critics didn’t think the film was all that funny. But the greater sin is the fact that the story of a millionaire (Gleeson) practically “buying” a down-on-his-luck Black man (Pryor) to be his son’s live-in friend is problematic on several levels.

Big

In between moments of piano playing at FAO Schwartz and singing schoolyard songs that even Hannah Wadddingham still remembers, Big has a problem on the same scale as its title. With the magically grown Josh Baskins (Tom Hanks) being engaged in a love affair with his co-worker (Elizabeth Perkins), the actual age gap between these characters kind of smacks you in the face at the end…much like one of the ‘90s kid classics that actually suck, Blank Check.

Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom

In a franchise like that of the Indiana Jones movies, there’s always that one entry that can be called out as a problem. In the case of 1984’s Temple of Doom, the racist undercurrents throughout the humor and action of the prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark is a huge step backwards. It’s also not very funny unless you consider fueling inaccurate stereotypes involving the consumption of chilled monkey brains hilarious.

All Dogs Go To Heaven

The controversy around All Dogs Go To Heaven is one that is leveled against pretty much every animated film Don Bluth has ever created. That’s right folks, this animated movie is one that’s been deemed too dark for kids. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the character of King Gator (Ken Page) has been singled out as potentially insensitive as well.

Short Circuit 2

Actor Fisher Stevens ultimately came to regret his role in the Short Circuit movies and rightfully so. Playing the role of lovable assistant Ben Jabituya, Stevens engaged in brownface to play this character of Indian ancestry not once, but twice! Needless to say, Ben was going to be cast with a more ethnically appropriate lead in Short Circuit’s proposed reboot, directly responding to that questionable moment in movie history.

The Karate Kid

Some people might question if Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) was really the hero of The Karate Kid. Others wonder if Mr. Miyagi's gentle wisdom (Pat Morita) was a spin on the “Magical Asian” trope. No matter how you side on this matter, we can probably agree that the Netflix streaming hit Cobra Kai has only improved the legacy of this franchise, sometimes by facing those questions head-on.

Driving Miss Daisy

In any other year Driving Miss Daisy would have merely been seen as problematic for the fact that it’s a decidedly softer tale about overcoming racism. But as the Morgan Freeman/Jessica Tandy-led film was crowned for Best Picture in competition against Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, the criticisms only grew louder, and more enduring.

The Principal

Stop us if you’ve heard this one: a tough-as-nails principal (Jim Belushi) cleans up a school the entire district looks down on through violence and intimidation. If you thought you were getting Lean On Me in the first half, I apologize as the second half of that synopsis is what separates The Principal from its loftier counterpart. Who’d have thought a flick where a school’s head disciplinarian beats a student in hand-to-hand combat would have aged so poorly?

Beetlejuice

Can you love Beetlejuice warts and all? Of course you can, because Tim Burton’s legendary horror-comedy is a fun ride. However, we all seem to be on the same page about just how problematic the 1988 original's story is, considering the B-Man (Michael Keaton) was trying to marry the obviously underage Lydia (Winona Ryder). And somehow, these two became the best of friends for four seasons of an animated series after all that unpleasantness went down.

The Wizard

While the titular character in The Wizard isn’t outright diagnosed on the Autism spectrum, the wider reading of this 1989 adventure sees young Jimmy (Luke Edwards) coded as such a character. Apparently caused by a death in the family that later ended his parents' marriage, Jimmy seemed to have two choices: run away from home or be sent to an institution. Sorry to say it, but this is an ‘80s childhood classic that sucked.

Howard The Duck

Some out there might still defend Howard the Duck as a quirky and entertaining romp with a pre-MCU variant of Marvel’s beloved deep-cut character. If that defense doesn’t touch upon the obvious trouble spots of unexpected duck nudity, and the implied intimacy between intergalactic duck Howard (Ed Gale/Jordan Prentice/Chip Zien) and would-be rockstar Beverly (Lea Thompson), then feel free to start up that conversation yourself!

Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

Sure, Superman IV: The Quest For Peace seems problematic for suggesting that good old Supes (Christopher Reeve) can solve the nuclear arms race in a heartbeat. But if there’s anything that has fans, and even Jon Cryer sharing negative Superman IV feelings, it’s the fact that the final classic installment was handled by Cannon Films in a way that showed they had no idea how to make this film.

Iron Eagle

Just as the Rambo sequels thought one man could somehow re-fight the Vietnam War with the Mujahideen, Iron Eagle’s attitude towards international relations is another problematic fantasy. Apparently all Doug Masters (Jason Gedrick) has to do to save his fighter pilot dad from imprisonment in a foreign nation is to take a crash course in aviation from Louis Gossett Jr., and steal some government property with the right intentions. And trust us, the sequels that follow aren’t any more enlightened.

Look Who’s Talking

Everybody seems to remember Look Who’s Talking as the adorable movie where Mikey (Bruce Willis) talks up a storm while his mother Mollie (Kirstie Alley) and her future husband James (John Travolta) fall in love. But what everyone seems to forget is that Mikey’s biological father (George Segal) was a married man who totally abandons his mother, and him, in the process.

Tootsie

There’s a great amount of heart in Tootsie, but it still doesn’t change the fact that Dustin Hoffman’s central lead is rewarded for masquerading as a woman to seemingly further his career. Misogyny and transphobia are the particular lenses that criticize this Sydney Pollack picture, as there’s no real lesson learned through Michael Dorsey’s (Hoffman) seemingly humorous escapades.

Sleepaway Camp

One of the most landmark twists of ‘80s horror has to be the moment where we learn that Sleepaway Camp’s secret slasher Angela (Felissa Rose) is secretly a transgendered person originally named Peter. That’s not the main problem though, as the 1983 horror classic seems to suggest that the reason Peter has supposedly “snapped” is that they witnessed their father in a homosexual relationship.

Cocktail

What’s a Tom Cruise dramedy without a suicide, right? If you’re weirded out by that question, it’s ok, as that’s exactly what audiences watching Cocktail in 1988 probably felt when, after a period of declining fortunes, fellow bartender Doug (Bryan Brown) dies by suicide. Not exactly the sort of movie you’d expect to bag a hit single by The Beach Boys.

Crocodile Dundee

Paul Hogan’s cult classic Crocodile Dundee has a lot to answer for when it comes to a lot of the content presented in the film. But if you had to choose just one example of why this movie hasn’t aged well, the scene where Mick Dundee outs a transgender woman (Anne Carlisle) to the amusement of a bar packed with patrons just might be the most compelling proof.

Just One Of The Guys

It’s a toss-up between which piece of Just One Of The Guys is more concerning: the fact that Terri/Terry (Joyce Hyser) had to flash her bare chest to prove she was actually female, or that the whole movie is a gender-swapping version of She’s All That. While the movie does get points with modern audiences for handling its story about sexism with sensitivity, this seemingly exploitative moment sets that message back a bit.

Teen Wolf

If there ever was a scene that proved the ‘80s were “a different time,” the garage-based scene between Teen Wolf’s Scotty (Michael J. Fox) and his best pal Stiles (Jerry Levine) certainly proves that point. Using a homophobic slur in the lead-up to Scotty admitting he’s a werewolf wasn’t bad enough, as Stiles’ preference that his friend might be a potential bloodthirsty horror nightmare hits all the wrong notes.

Dirty Dancing

We totally understand that Dirty Dancing is one of the best romantic movies of all time. It’s hard not to get caught up in the ‘50s set love story between Baby (Jennifer Grey) and Johnny (Patrick Swayze). However, considering he’s 24 and she’s 17, it’s amazing that Baby’s father (Jerry Orbach) didn’t make sure the bad boy dance instructor was doing the time of his life in the clink.

Trading Places

For as much as Trading Places seemed to get right in its satire of wealth inequality and racial politics, the implied violation of one of the film’s villains (Paul Gleeson) by a gorilla, and the Blackface act Dan Akyroyd uses in the final act are quite problematic. Also, the controversy of hiring director John Landis so close to the tragic deaths on the set of his segment for Twilight Zone: The Movie only adds to this picture’s woes over time.

The 1980s was not just a great time for movies but for the people in them. Many of our all-time favorite actors got their start in '80s movies (or at least started to hit it big during that time).

The question is, in what film did these stars hit their peak of cinematic brilliance during that decade? Let's see if we can provide an answer by looking at the best '80s movies starring the most iconic '80s actors, in our opinion.

Bruce Willis (Die Hard)

While the TV series Moonlighting made Bruce Willis a household name, playing John McClane, a New York cop at war with violent German thieves in an LA high-rise on Christmas Eve, made him a movie star in 1988. However, Die Hard might be the actor's best film in any decade, let alone the greatest action movie of all time. 

Sigourney Weaver (Aliens)

Fans have been debating which is the best Alien movie for years but no one disagrees that James Cameron's Aliens is the best Alien movie of the '80s. The 1986 sci-fi movie classic, in which our human protagonists take on plenty more than just one vicious extraterrestrial this time, saw Sigourney Weaver reprise Xenomorph survivor Ellen Ripley to Academy Award-nominated acclaim.

Jack Nicholson (Terms Of Endearment)

The single most iconic Jack Nicolson performance from the 1980s, arguably, comes from the horror movie classic, The Shining. However, we chose to highlight his Academy Award-winning performance in director James L. Brooks' tragic 1983 Best Picture Oscar winner, Terms of Endearment, as Garrett, who forms a complicated relationship with his widowed next-door neighbor, Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine). 

Meg Ryan (When Harry Met Sally...)

Meg Ryan made up one of Hollywood's most beloved onscreen couples with Tom Hanks, but we loved her the most in the '80s when she was falling in love with Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally... Considered one of the greatest rom-coms of all time, director Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron's clever and sweet 1989 favorite traces the titular duo's evolution from enemies, to friends, to lovers over the course of 12 years.

Tom Cruise (Top Gun)

Everyone had the need, the need for speed, in 1986 when director Tony Scott's romantic, action-packed instant classic, Top Gun, ruled the box office, captured the hearts of audiences everywhere, and spawned an acclaimed blockbuster sequel in 2022 called Top Gun: Maverick. If Tom Cruise was not a movie star before then, there was no doubt he was at the top of A-list after giving his all as daredevil Navy pilot, Maverick.

Meryl Streep (Sophie's Choice)

There are few actors with as much esteem in Hollywood as the great Meryl Streep, who earned her second Academy Award for her mesmerizing, heartbreaking performance in the title role of Sophie’s Choice. Writer and director Alan J. Pakula's adaptation of William Styron's passionate novel follows the relationship between a Polish woman who survived the Holocaust and a Jewish-American man (played by Kevin Kline) who is obsessed with the tragedy.

Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice)

The all-time best Michael Keaton movie and performance might always be up for debate but no one can deny that, in the 1980s, no film saw him demonstrate his high-energy comedic talents and versatility better than Beetlejuice. The Oscar nominee plays the title role of Tim Burton's 1988 horror-comedy classic (actually spelled "Betelgeuse") — a sleazy "bio-exorcist" begrudgingly enlisted by a recently deceased couple (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) to scare their home's new inhabitants out.

Sally Field (Steel Magnolias)

The 1980s was a great time for Sally Field, who won both of her Oscars during that decade — one for Norma Rae in 1980 and another in 1985 for Places in the Heart. However, we believe the one film that best encapsulates the actor's stunning range is the powerful, charming 1989 dramedy Steel Magnolias, in which she shines brightly among an ensemble cast including Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah, and Julia Roberts as a close-knit group of Louisiana women.

Eddie Murphy (Coming To America)

There were few movie stars in the '80s bigger than Eddie Murphy, who made such a huge impact in very little time on SNL before hitting it big with feature-length classics like 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop. Yet, 1988's Coming to America was the first film to see him disappear into multiple roles and, not to mention, African Prince Akeem's search for love in Queens, New York, amounts to a hilarious and heartfelt story.

Molly Ringwald (The Breakfast Club)

The first face we tend to picture when we think of the Brat Pack is Molly Ringwald, who was the go-to young female actor for coming-of-age dramedies of the '80s, such as Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles. However, her best film — and, arguably, the greatest high school movie of all time — is writer and director John Hughes' The Breakfast Club, in which she and four of the decade's most essential stars (Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, and Judd Nelson) play a group of socially disparate teens who find unexpected kinship during Saturday detention.

Denzel Washington (Cry Freedom)

Two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington received his first Oscar nomination for his moving portrayal of activist Steve Biko in director Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom. The 1987 film focuses primarily on the friendship between the influential Black anti-Apartheid activist and the white South African journalist Donald Woods (Kevin Kline), who puts his own life at risk to investigate Biko's death.

Jodie Foster (The Accused)

Not only does 1988's The Accused feature one of Jodie Foster's most powerful, Academy Award-winning performances, but it is also an enduringly relevant indictment of a flawed justice system that silences women. Foster plays Sarah Tobias, the victim of a violent assault who, along with her prosecuting attorney, Katheryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis), is challenged by a case that puts the blame on her.

Robert De Niro (Raging Bull)

Out of all of Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorsese's collaborations, none have been as unique and as moving as 1980's Raging Bull. De Niro delivers a roaring one-two punch in the masterful sports movie as real-life boxer Jake LaMotta, tracing his rousing success in the ring and his tragic self-destructive tendencies outside of it.

Cher (Moonstruck)

In 1987, Cher proved that she was a master in both the world of music and the world of acting with her Academy Award-winning performance as Loretta Castorini in Moonstruck. Soon after the widowed Italian-American woman agrees to marry her boyfriend, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello), she finds herself falling deeper and deeper in love with his brother, Ronny (Nicolas Cage).

Harrison Ford (Raiders Of The Lost Ark)

One of Harrison Ford's all-time greatest characters is the rough, resourceful, globe-trotting archeologist Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones. The iconic hero was first introduced in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark — director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas' tribute to cinema that would later inspire countless tributes to its stunning visual design, John Williams' sweeping score, and its endlessly thrilling, wall-to-wall action.

Diane Keaton (Reds)

Diane Keaton is an absolute revelation in co-writer and director Warren Beatty's 1981 historical epic, Reds. She plays famed activist Louise Bryant who falls in love with radical-minded fellow journalist John Reed (Beatty) as he hopes to bring the ideals of Russia's Communist Revolution to the United States.

Robin Williams (Dead Poets Society)

The late Robin Williams gives us the best of both his comedic energy and dramatic authenticity in director Peter Weir's moving 1989 drama Dead Poet's Society. As English teacher John Keating, he serves as a much-needed role model to a close-knit group of Catholic boarding school students (played by rising stars such as Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard) who learn how to seize the day.

Michelle Pfeiffer (Scarface)

It was in the '90s when three-time Academy Award nominee Michelle Pfeiffer really began to hit her stride but her strongest work in the '80s is, arguably, Scarface. She stars in director Brian de Palma's 1983 gangster movie classic as Elvira Hancock, who becomes the wife of Cuban crime lord, Tony Montana (Oscar winner Al Pacino).

Morgan Freeman (Glory)

One of the most inspiring Morgan Freeman performances comes from 1989's beloved, moving war movie, Glory. The Oscar winner stars as Sergeant Major John Rawlins, who is the highest-ranked Black member of his regiment in the U.S. Army during the Civil War.

Whoopi Goldberg (The Color Purple)

Legendary comedian Whoopi Goldberg earned her first Academy Award nomination for her heartbreaking performance as Celie Johnson in 1985's The Color Purple. Director Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Alice Walker's seminal novel chronicles decades in the life of the Black, Southern woman as she endures dehumanizing adversity and traumatic abuse. 

Kurt Russell (Escape From New York)

One of co-writer and director John Carpenter's best movies, 1981's Escape from New York, takes place in a war-torn future when Air Force One crash lands inside a maximum security prison that used to be the Big Apple and the President of the United States (Donald Pleasance) is taken hostage by the prisoners. The only one who can save him is a recently arrested, hardened war veteran named Snake Plissken, which is easily one of Kurt Russell's coolest roles and certainly one of his greatest performances.

Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction)

While we do not condone treacherous acts like boiling a family's pet rabbit alive, we would consider Alex Forrest to be a villain with understandable motivations, and not just because Glenn Close gives a brilliant performance in 1987's intense thriller, Fatal Attraction. It was married lawyer Dan Gallagher's (Michael Douglas) mistake to indulge in a one-time fling with the New York editor, who then misconstrues the affair for love and continues to taunt him and his family in increasingly horrifying ways.

Sylvester Stallone (First Blood)

Sylvester Stallone has played many iconic roles in many great action movies, especially in the 1980s, but his best role from that decade would have to be John Rambo in First Blood. The 1981 adaptation of David Morell's novel is not a conventional shoot-em-up thriller like the later Rambo movies but an emotionally charged, nuanced drama in which the burdened Vietnam veteran is pushed to the edge by a cruel sheriff (Brian Dennehy) and wages a war against a whole town.

Goldie Hawn (Overboard)

Many of Oscar winner Goldie Hawn's most memorable roles see her sharing the screen with her real-life romantic partner, Kurt Russell, and the couple's chemistry was at an all-time high in director Garry Marshall's Overboard. Hawn stars in the inventive and charming 1987 rom-com as a spoiled socialite with amnesia who is convinced by a carpenter (Russell) that she is his wife and the mother of his four boys to get back at her for her cruel treatment. 

Bill Murray (Ghostbusters)

Academy Award nominee Bill Murray is one of the most beloved comedic talents of the '80s (or any decade, really) and to understand why, all you need to do is watch 1984's Ghostbusters. Also one of director Ivan Reitman's best movies, the spooky, kooky classic sees Murray's masterfully witty Peter Venkman team up with Ray Stantz (writer Dan Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), and Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson) to rid New York of its scariest spirits.

Geena Davis (The Accidental Tourist)

Geena Davis earned an Academy Award for her wonderfully eccentric performance in 1988's The Accidental Tourist as Muriel Pritchett. Emotionally distant travel writer Macon Leary (William Hurt) meets and begins to fall for the free-spirited dog trainer after splitting with his wife (played by Kathleen Turner), following the death of their son, in director Lawrence Kasdan's moving dramedy. 

Kevin Bacon (Footloose)

It is no wonder why Chris Prat's Peter Quill regarded Kevin Bacon's role in Footloose as one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history. Ren singlehandedly brought dance back to the cruelly repressed small town of Bomont in the timelessly entertaining music movie from 1984.

Kathleen Turner (Romancing The Stone)

The ultimate romantic adventure comedy would have to be director Robert Zemeckis' 1984 hit, Romancing the Stone. Kathleen Turner is wonderful as novelist Joan Wilder, who enlists the help of a rogue mercenary to help rescue her kidnapped sister in Colombia and ends up joining him on the search for a prized artifact. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator)

The film that made Arnold Schwarzenegger the leading action movie hero of the 1980s remains his best action movie from the decade, as far as we are concerned. The Austrian bodybuilder gives a pitch-perfect, ice-cold performance as one of the best '80s movie villains — the cybernetic title role of James Cameron's The Terminator, which is sent from a war-torn future to prevent the birth of humanity's savior by killing his mother, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton).

Jane Fonda (9 To 5)

After taking the '70s by storm as one of the decade's biggest and most acclaimed stars, Jane Fonda started off the 1980s right with 9 to 5. In the hilarious workplace satire, her character, Judy Bernly, teams up with fellow office assistants Violet (Lily Tomlin) and Doralee (Dolly Parton) to turn the tables on their nightmare of a boss (played by Dabney Coleman).

Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man)

In his second Academy Award-winning performance, Dustin Hoffman plays autistic-savant Raymond Babbitt in Barry Levinson's Best Picture Oscar winner, Rain Man. He stars opposite Tom Cruise as his younger brother, Charlie, who gets to meet him for the first time in this beautiful family story from 1988. 

Daryl Hannah (Wall Street)

You can find Daryl Hannah in many of the '80s' most iconic cinematic classics but the cream of the crop would have to be Wall Street. She stars in Oliver Stone's riveting 1987 drama as Darien Taylor, who once shared a romance with corrupt stockbroker Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) and begins a relationship with his ambitious protege, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen).

A great movie is often made better by a great song. Often, those songs become huge hits on their own and have just as much, or more, of a legacy as the movie itself. Here is our list of 32 hit songs from movie soundtracks that still get played often. 

“My Heart Will Go On” (Titanic)

You can’t have this list without the massive Celine Dion hit “My Heart Will Go On” from another massive hit, Titanic. The song went to #1 in more than 25 countries worldwide and sold somewhere in the neighborhood of seven million copies. It made Dion an international superstar and remains a song people all over the world love. 

"Fight the Power" (Do the Right Thing)

Sometimes people forget that the Public Enemy track "Fight the Power" is from a soundtrack. The song by the pioneering hip hop crew has taken on a true life of its own with its strong social message and fantastic beat. It did, however, start life as part of the soundtrack for Spike Lee’s revolutionary Do the Right Thing, a movie the song fits perfectly in. 

“I Will Always Love You” (The Bodyguard)

Whitney Houston was a national treasure before her untimely death at age 48. Her biggest hit, “I Will Always Love You” from The Bodyguard was written by another national treasure, Dolly Parton. The combination of the two proved to be immensely powerful and successful, as the song, and the soundtrack album it is on, dominated the charts for months, starting in late 1992. The album spent a total of 121 weeks on the charts, nearly two and a half years! 

“The Heat Is On” (Beverly Hills Cop)

The late Glenn Fry had a slew of hits with his original band, The Eagles, and in the ‘80s he had a bunch of solo hits as well. The most prominent being “The Heat Is On” on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. The opening notes crash into the opening scene of the movie and people have loved the song ever since. 

“Danger Zone” (Top Gun)

Kenny Loggins was soundtrack gold in the 1980s. He had huge hits in a number of movies including Caddyshack and Footloose, but maybe his most enduring hit is “Danger Zone” from the Top Gun soundtrack. It’s still so popular that the original version was used in Top Gun: Maverick rather than an updated version. Amazingly, it was offered to a number of artists before Loggins, but we can’t imagine anyone else singing it. 

"Happy" (Despicable Me 2)

Is there a more aptly named song than Pharrell Williams’ “Happy”? It’s a song that just makes you, well, happy. Like the movie it’s from, Despicable Me 2, it’s full of joy and you can’t not be in a good after watching the movie or listening to the song. It was an instant classic when it was released on the soundtrack and remains so today. 

"Sunflower" (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse)

With over 2 billion views on YouTube, "Sunflower" by Post Malone and Swae Lee from the Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse soundtrack is a true earworm. It’s a song you can listen to over and over and never get sick of. Superhero movies don’t tend to produce a ton of hit songs, for whatever reason, but "Sunflower" is a huge exception. 

“9 To 5” (9 To 5)

There is no way to play Dolly Parton’s “9 To 5” and not immediately get motivated. If you ever feel low on energy, just pop this song, and bam! you’re off to the races. It’s a song you still hear all the time, despite coming out as part of the soundtrack to the movie of the same name more than 40 years ago. Dolly truly is the greatest, we think you’ll agree. 

“Stayin' Alive” (Saturday Night Fever)

The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack was a cultural phenomenon in the late ‘70s. To this day it’s one of the best-selling albums of all time, with an estimated 40 million copies sold. The soundtrack, the sound of the ‘70s, was anchored by the now-legendary disco song “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees. The song was such a huge hit, that they named the sequel to Saturday Night Fever after it, though that’s a sequel we’d rather forget. 

“Gangsta Paradise” (Dangerous Minds)

The late Coolio’s hit "Gangsta Paradise" from the Dangerous Minds soundtrack is a great example of a song’s legacy far outlasting the movie’s. The movie, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, was a huge hit in 1995, but you have to wonder if the song drove more of the box office than the movie itself. It’s not a terrible movie by any means, but it's not surprising the song is more popular today than the film. 

“Ghostbusters” (Ghostbusters)

The tale of the signature song from the Ghostbusters soundtrack is long and sordid. There have been disputes and lawsuits along the way, but the Ray Parker, Jr. remains a banger and one that gets played all the time, especially at every Halloween party you’ve ever been to. The video is also legendary with all kinds of stars making cameos, and singing along with it. 

“Lose Yourself” (8 Mile)

Eminem’s legacy is cemented as one of the best rappers of all time. He also took a foray into acting for a bit, starring in the semi-autobiographical 8 Mile in 2002. It’s a good movie, though a little dated these days. The hit song from it, “Lose Yourself” is definitely not dated, however, and people still love listening to the hip hop anthem today. 

“I'm Alright” (Caddyshack)

Even in the 2020s, on golf courses all over the world, you will hear quotes and references to Caddyshack and that includes the theme song from the movie, “I’m Alright” by Kenny Loggins. One of a slew of soundtrack hits for Loggins in the ‘80s, “I’m Alright” was the first to launch that part of the singer's career, and it’s kept him relevant for years, decades even. 

“You've Got A Friend In Me” (Toy Story)

Randy Newman is one of the truly underappreciated songwriters of the late 20th Century, but it’s really great to know that one of his songs, “You've Got A Friend In Me” from Pixar’s Toy Story, has become part of the American music lexicon. Generations of kids have now grown up singing the happy ditty and it will surely be a favorite for kids for generations more. The song, like the movie, will always find a new young audience.

“Let's Go Crazy” (Purple Rain)

Prince owned the mid-1980s with hits like “1999,” “Little Red Corvette,” “Controversy,” and more. In 1984 he took on the most ambitious project of his career, a movie called Purple Rain and the soundtrack to accompany it. The movie was a success, and the album was a full-blown blockbuster. There are a bunch of songs we could choose here, but by far the most fun is “Let’s Go Crazy.” The guitar solo at the end is one of the best ever played in pop music, period. 

“Don't You (Forget About Me)” (The Breakfast Club)

The Scottish band Simple Minds had been building a solid career for themselves in the U.K. in the early ‘80s but had not found any success breaking through in America. That was until 1985 when they were asked to record “Don't You (Forget About Me)” for the soundtrack to The Breakfast Club. The song was then, and remains, a true anthem of the decade. 

“Theme From Shaft” (Shaft)

To later generations, Isaac Hayes is probably best known as the voice of Chef on South Park, but for any film fan from the ‘70s, he’s the guy who wrote and recorded the soundtrack to the original Shaft. The whole soundtrack is filled with funky goodness, but the theme song remains the most iconic. It’s been referenced in pop culture all over the place, including in a very funny bit on Newsradio in the ‘90s and of course, in an episode of The Simpsons in Season 2. 

“Mrs. Robinson” (The Graduate)

It was pretty rare in the 1960s to get a pop group, or folk duo in this case, to do an entire film soundtrack, but in the case of The Graduate, it was a brilliant decision. Simon & Garfunkel wrote and recorded the soundtrack, which includes one of the best songs of the 20th century, “Mrs. Robinson.” In the years since it was released in 1968, it’s been covered by many other artists including Frank Sinatra and The Lemonheads, who had a big hit with it in the ‘90s. 

“(I've Had) The Time of My Life” (Dirty Dancing)

When it was released in 1987, Dirty Dancing grew its audience through word of mouth and people returned again and again, Like the movie, the final song of the film “(I've Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes gets people coming back to it over and over. It’s a beloved song for multiple generations. It even won the Oscar for Best Original Song, one of the most enduring songs to ever do so. 

“Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” (Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid)

Unless you already know that “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” by BJ Thomas is from Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid you’d never guess it. It seems so out of place, yet somehow works perfectly in the movie. The movie is an all-time great Western and the song feels straight out of the era the movie came out, the late ‘60s. It’s popular today to make period pieces with modern music, but it was a rarity then.

“Tears In Heaven” (Rush)

Eric Clapton’s plaintiff hit “Tears In Heaven” is a great example of a song far outshining the movie it was written for. Rush, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jason Patric is largely forgotten these days but the song, which Clapton wrote about his young son who tragically died, has endured for decades and is still a highlight of his live concerts. 

“Footloose” (Footloose)

Kenny Loggins just churned out hit after hit in the ‘80s. Most of them came from movies, like his iconic “Footloose” from the Kevin Bacon movie of the same name. The movie feels a little dated these days, but the song is a perfect moment in time that makes it, in fact, timeless. We dare you to try to not sing along and dance when you play it by yourself in the car. Go on, try. 

"Check On It" (The Pink Panther)

Let’s be honest, the 2006 version of The Pink Panther starring Steve Martin is mostly forgettable. The exception is co-star Beyonce and her banger of a hit “Check On It.” It’s vintage Beyonce and should be played at a high volume, as much as possible. It’s been far more enduring than the movie it came from. 

“Young And Beautiful” (The Great Gatsby)

One of the most striking things about Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby was the modern music set against the backdrop of 1920s America. The soundtrack is fantastic and Lana Del Ray’s "Young And Beautiful" is a song that people still love listening to today. 

“Eye Of The Tiger” (Rocky III)

One of the best songs to get you pumped up and psyched for…anything really… is “Eye Of The Tiger” by Survivor. Written as the theme song for Rocky III the song has since become the ultimate 1980s anthem and has been used in countless movies and TV shows, not to mention commercials and, of course, in sports stadiums all over the world.

"Crazy For You" (Vision Quest)

Did you know that the Madonna hit "Crazy For You"  is from a movie soundtrack? No? That’s not a surprise. The song was first released as part of the soundtrack for Vision Quest. The movie was nowhere near as big a hit as the song, which Madonna actually performs in the film. The song was so much more popular, in fact, that when the movie was released worldwide, the name was changed to Crazy For You in some countries. 

“We Don't Need Another Hero” (Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome)

The late Tina Turner had one of the most enduring careers in showbiz history.  One of her best appearances was in 1985’s Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Even more memorable was the song she recorded for the soundtrack, “We Don't Need Another Hero,” which became one of the biggest hits of her legendary career. 

“I Don't Want to Miss a Thing” (Armageddon)

Aerosmith has been one of the biggest bands in the world for decades now but their only #1 hit came from the Armageddon soundtrack. Despite multiple songs making their way into the Top 10, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” is the only one to hit the pinnacle for the Boston band. 

“Superfly” (Superfly)

Superfly is probably the most famous movie in the 1970s genre known as blaxploitation. While it’s a great movie that has a strong cult following, the soundtrack has endured even more, especially the theme song of the same name, written and performed by the great Curtis Mayfield. 

“Take My Breath Away” (Top Gun) 

It’s very rare for a soundtrack to have more than one hit, but the soundtrack for Top Gun had 3 Top Ten hits, with “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin reaching  #1. It also won the Oscar for Best Song and has become a staple of 80s music stations in the years since. 

“Power Of Love” (Back To The Future)

Huey Lewis and The News’ "Power Of Love" from “Back To The Future” just oozes great ‘80s power pop. One of the biggest hits of the band’s career, the song is even featured within the story of the movie when Marty McFly’s (Michael J. Fox) band, The Pinheads, play it in their audition for the battle of the bands before the judge, played by Huey Lewis, tells them it’s just too loud. It’s a song we’d all love to see The Pinheads play in real life, right?

“Wing Beneath My Wings” (Beaches)

Bette Midler’s biggest hit came fairly deep into her amazing career when she hit it huge with the theme song from her movie Beaches. Midler has continued to sing it often, including at a memorial for 9/11 victims in 2001 at Yankee Stadium, just days after the attack. The movie, while good, isn’t on the same level as the song. 

So here's our list of songs that are at least as enduring as the movies they come from. There's no doubt in the years to come, more tunes will emerge like these because we all love songs like this. 

You can typically tell who is meant to be considered the “hero” of a movie by identifying the title role or looking at the top-billed cast member. However, there are many ‘80s movie characters who often go overlooked for the pivotal role they play in bringing things to a satisfying conclusion. We took a deeper look at some of the best movies of the 1980s, identified who we believe is the real hero, and decided to give them the credit they deserve.

Short Round (Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom)

While many like to criticize Raiders of the Lost Ark by claiming Indiana Jones' actions have no bearing on the plot, it is more surprising that Harrison Ford's intrepid archaeologist gets more credit for defeating the Thuggee Cult than he really deserves in the sequel. If not for Short Round (Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan in his debut role) freeing Indy from their captors' spell, 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom would not have had the happy ending the bleak thriller so thankfully concludes on.

Sgt. Al Powell (Die Hard)

In arguably the greatest action movie ever made (let alone one of the best Christmas movies), 1988’s Die Hard, as John McClane (Bruce Willis) is single-handedly warring against violent thieves invading Nakatomi Plaza, his only real ally at ground zero is Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson). At the very end, the L.A. cop actually ends up taking out the last of Hans Gruber’s (Alan Rickman) goons, Karl (Alexander Gudunov), with the first shot he gained the courage to take in years.

Boy In Police Station (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)

At the end of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the title character (Matthew Broderick) probably would have gotten caught without help from his sister, Jeanie (Jennifer Grey), who would not have been willing to help if she hadn't met Charlie Sheen's character at the police station. Not to mention, despite his off-putting appearance, the unnamed teen gives off a more genuine and endearing aura than the central character of John Hughes's 1986 classic.

George McFly (Back To The Future)

When Marty McFly's (Michael J. Fox) plan to get his future mother, Lorraine (Lea Thompson), and father, George (Crispin Glover), to fall in love goes awry courtesy of Biff (Tom Wilson), George gains the courage he needs to knock the ruthless bully out himself. This ensures that Marty will one day be born and changes his family's fate for the better at the end of the 1985 time travel movie masterpiece, Back to the Future.

Chunk (The Goonies)

Out of the entire Goonies cast — a stunning who’s who of future A-listers, including Sean Astin and Josh Brolin — it is Chunk (Jeff Cohen) who has the most memorable and inspiring character arc. He goes from being the butt of every joke to the one who helps rescue his buddies from The Fratellis (with help from Sloth, of course).

Jessica Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)

In 1988’s groundbreaking fusion of live-action with animation, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit (voiced by Kathleen Turner) assures private eye Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) that she is not bad, but “just drawn that way.” She goes on to prove that her words ring true by becoming a pivotal role in Valiant’s effort to clear her husband (Charles Fleischer in the title role) for murder.

Wang Chi (Big Trouble In Little China)

Kurt Russell may get top billing and his character, Jack Burton, may kill Lo Pan (James Hong) by the end, but did you ever notice that is really his only heroic act in 1986's Big Trouble in Little China? His Chinese-American best friend, Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), is the one who makes the smartest decisions and kicks the most butt in John Carpenter's cult-favorite fantasy that is lauded for its predominantly Asian cast at a time when such representation was scarce.

Rebecca "Newt" Jorden (Aliens)

Aliens may have solidified Sigourney Weaver's Scream Queen status and made a heroic icon out of her character, Ellen Ripley, but the most courageous and resourceful character in James Cameron's 1986 sci-fi sequel has to be Carrie Henn as Newt. The young girl manages to survive on a planet overrun with Xenomorphs all by herself before the arrival of a crew of marines, who also might not have survived as long as they did without her tips and tricks.

Rufus (Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure)

If you think about it, the plot of 1989’s Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is not so different from The Terminator, which makes George Carlin's Rufus the sci-fi comedy's own Kyle Reese. The time-traveler ensures a bright future by helping the titular messianic duo (Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter) at every turn, including in 1991’s Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey when he disguises himself as Pam Grier’s character, Mrs. Wardroe, to let them into Battle of the Bands.

The Ewoks (Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi)

There are many Star Wars fans who see the Ewoks as nothing but a cheap  gimmick to attract younger audiences to the franchise. Whether or not that is true, the cute, cuddly warriors were pivotal to the Empire's downfall at the end of 1983’s Return of the Jedi.

Grandpa (The Princess Bride)

In 1987’s The Princess Bride, there is no real doubt that Westley (Cary Elwes), Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and Fezzik (Andre the Giant) are the heroes of the enchanting, action-packed fairy tale. However, to us, the hero of the whole movie is Peter Falk's character, who takes the time to visit his ill grandson (Fred Savage) and read to him the story within the story.

Roy Batty (Blade Runner)

The main protagonist of 1982’s Blade Runner is, of course, Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard, but his job as a cop assigned to retire Replicants makes him a better qualifier for the villain of the story. It is Roy Batty's (Rutger Hauer) bid to try to give artificial humans like himself a chance at a better, longer life that makes him the real hero of Ridley Scott's groundbreaking, futuristic noir.

Ophelia (Trading Places)

After losing everything as part of an experiment to make him poor and give his job to the impoverished Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy), hot shot investor Louis Winthorpe (Dan Aykroyd) crosses paths with a street walker named Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis). While she was initially hired by Clarence Beeks (Paul Gleason) to make life even worse for him, she takes him in, cares for him, and attempts to help him get back on his feet, making her the true hero of 1983’s Trading Places.

Cabbie (Escape From New York)

One of Kurt Russell’s most iconic roles is Snake Plissken — a hardened criminal tasked with rescuing the President (Donald Pleasance) from a penal colony that used to be Manhattan in a dystopian 1997 in John Carpenter’s 1981 cult favorite, Escape from New York. The only incarcerated individual who is selflessly willing to help the anti-hero complete his mission in time is Oscar winner Ernest Borgnine’s Cabbie, whose own taxi ends up being Snake’s escape vehicle.

Carl Fox (Wall Street)

Oliver Stone’s 1987 drama Wall Street chronicles the rise and fall of ambitious stockbroker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), as a result of taking orders from the devil on his shoulder: the ruthless Gordon Gecko (Academy Award winner Michael Douglas). If only he had listened to the angel on his shoulder — his father and the moral center of the story, Carl (Sheen’s real-life father, Martin Sheen) — he might not have wound up behind bars.

Queen Aoleon (Coming To America)

In Coming to America, Akeem’s (Eddie Murphy) chances at a life with his true love, Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley), are almost ruined by his father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones), if not for the support of his mother, Queen Aoleon, who we assume talked sense into her husband offscreen. Her tender-hearted performance and truly majestic presence in the 1988 comedy makes us sad that the late Madge Sinclair could not reprise the role in 2021’ Coming 2 America.

Bub (Day Of The Dead)

Never did a horror fan have any reason to feel empathy or admiration for a zombie until writer and director George A. Romero introduced “Bub” in 1985’s Day of the Dead. Played by Sherman Howard, the reanimated corpse displays an unusual level of intelligence, endearing human characteristics, and a strong compassion for his handler, Dr. Matthew Logan (Richard Liberty) which drives him to seek vengeance on his murderer and the film’s true villain, Capt. Henry Rhodes (Joseph Pilato).

The Gopher (Caddyshack)

As far as we are concerned, anyone who proves to be a source of frustration for Judge Smails (Ted Knight) is on the side of heroism in the classic 1980 comedy, Caddyshack. That being said, absolutely no one gets under that man's skin like the Gopher who lives underneath Bushwood Country Club and makes burrows in the golf course grounds wherever he goes.

Cousin Eddie (National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation)

When Eddie (Randy Quaid, reprising his role from 1983’s Vacation) arrives at the Griswolds’ house unannounced, Clark (Chevy Chase) believes his holidays are destined for disaster. He is right, but his otherwise annoying and absent-minded cousin is responsible for very few of the uproarious mishaps in 1989’s National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. In fact, he really comes through at the end when he brings Clark’s boss, Frank Shirley (Brian Doyle-Murray), to the house, where he becomes ultimately convinced to give Clark the bonus he deserves.

Dawson (Adventures In Babysitting)

We are not just including Dawson, Vincent D’Onofrio’s garage mechanic character from 1987’s Adventure in Babysitter, because he happens to look like one of Marvel Comics’ iconic depiction of Thor. Then again, if not for that striking resemblance, he might not have been coerced into giving Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue) a $5 dollar discount for her car repair by young Sara Anderson (Maia Brewton) who calls him her hero. 

Carl (The Breakfast Club)

The character who forever changed the way high schoolers perceive their custodial employees was Carl (John Kapelos) from 1985’s The Breakfast Club, who has a bit of a heart-to-heart with the nearly sadistic Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason). We like to think that the janitor's defense of the students in detention that day got through to the uptight teacher so, by the time he reads their letter at the end of John Hughes’ quintessential teen dramedy, he may have seen them in a new, more sympathetic light.

Vi Moore (Footloose)

In Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) refers to Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon) as the hero of Footloose for bringing the joys of dancing back to the small, conservative town of Bomont. However, there is one character from the 1984 classic of equal (or even greater) importance that he should have also mentioned: Vi Moore (Dianne Wiest), who breaks her long silence and ultimately convinces her strict preacher husband, Shaw (John Lithgow), to give the town’s youth the freedom the dance.

Billy Francis Kopecki (Big)

In 1988’s Big, when 13-year-old Josh’s (David Moscow) wish to be a grown-up mysteriously comes true, turning him into Tom Hanks, the only one coming to his aid (after some convincing) is his best friend, Billy (Jared Rushton). He tries to be there to get his buddy through his strange situation in any way he can, even helping him get a job, but when Josh starts act a little too grown-up, it is Billy who brings him back down to Earth, reminding him it is time become his real self again.

Mr. Green (Clue)

Determining the real hero of Clue depends on which ending of the 1985 board game-inspired whodunit you consider canon. The conclusion we like to settle on reveals that Mr. Green (Michael McKean) is an undercover FBI agent, which he announces after shooting Wadsworth (Tim Curry), who also turns out to be the real Mr. Boddy.

The Gyro Captain (The Road Warrior)

Things between Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) and a fellow loner known only as The Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence) get off to a rough start in the second installment of George Miller’s Mad Max franchise, released as The Road Warrior in the States. However, the gyrocopter pilot comes to see the hardened former cop as a great teammate, later rescues him from a near-fatal accident, and assists him in his race to bring the rig to the Oil Refinery compound.

Mrs. Parker (A Christmas Story)

There are countless cinematic mothers, especially from the 1980s, who deserve more credit than they receive, and the quintessential example has to be Melinda Dillon’s role in 1983’s A Christmas Story. The classic moment when she keeps her son, Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley), out of trouble with The Old Man (Darren McGavin) after his tussle with Skut Farkus (Zach Ward) is just one way she shows her loving devotion to her family and undisputedly earning the honor to be called a hero. 

Curtis (The Blues Brothers)

The heart and soul of the best movie based on Saturday Night Live characters, The Blues Brothers, is Cab Calloway's Curtis, who served as a father figure for the titular siblings, introducing them to music in their youth. Not to mention, he motivates them to attend a church service that ends up giving them the idea to put the band back together to save the orphanage.

Ken Pile (A Fish Called Wanda)

It comes as a surprise to see the stuttering, accident-prone goof, Ken Pile (Michael Palin), take down the true antagonist of 1988’s A Fish of Wanda, Otto West (Oscar winner Kevin Kline). To avenge the death of his beloved fish, Ken runs over Otto with a steamroller when he is stuck in cement, seemingly putting an end to his career in thievery, until we discover at the end that he survived the ordeal. Nonetheless, to see Ken get even with his enemy is one of the hit comedy’s most satisfying moments.

Otto (Airplane!)

When food poisoning incapacitates the entire piloting staff on a commercial flight, former fighter pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) is asked to help bring the also ill passengers to safety, but he is not the only one equipped for the job. Lest we forget, a great deal of the classic 1980 spoof movie, Airplane! sees an inflatable automatic pilot — aptly named “Otto” — at the helm of the aircraft. 

Lt. Andrew Bogomil (Beverly Hills Cop)

When Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) first blows into town in 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop, he immediately comes at odds with Lt. Andrew Bogomil. However, because the Detroit detective helps Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Taggert (John Ashton) take down local traffickers while he is supposed to be on vacation, he fabricates a story to cover for him and helps smooth things out with Inspector Todd.  

Yori (Tron)

In 1982’s Tron, Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and the title character (Bruce Boxleitner) might have never managed to take down the Master Control Program without the help of Yori (Cindy Morgan). She gives Tron the chance to get pivotal information from his user outside the grid after convincing a guard named Dumont to let him. 

Merlin (Top Gun)

At the end of 1986’s Top Gun, Maverick (Tom Cruise) is still reeling from the death of his best friend, Goose (Anthony Edwards), which distracts him from his current aerial battle. Luckily, Merlin (Tim Robbins) is in the other seat and helps bring him back to Earth, leading him to victory.

So, next time you watch a flick and think you know who the real hero is, think again.

Mean Girls joined the rare club of movies that became musicals and then became musical movies. It’s a very small list that includes The Color Purple, Hairspray, Matilda, and Little Shop of Horrors. However, I want this list to grow. There is an abundance of entertaining movies that could become exciting musical movies. Specifically, many teen comedies could be amazing musicals.

The updated film performed well at the box office and, despite some mixed feelings, it generally had positive reviews. Hollywood needs to increase and capitalize on this momentum. Now is the perfect time to greenlight more movie musicals that started as teen comedies. 

The Breakfast Club 

It feels like every popular movie (or cult favorite) has done or will do a stage version. The Breakfast Club is no exception. There have been several unofficial versions in musical and play form. However, there hasn’t been an official musical of it. That is a shame because the premise is perfect for a musical. 

There could be so many angst-filled solo songs. Every main character could explain their high school story with one. Plus, so many beautiful duets could happen. There could be plenty of confrontational, romantic, or comedic musical numbers. Because The Breakfast Club is a comedy, a few characters could lean into that with their songs. Imagine Brian being the comedic relief with plenty of funny lines and lyrics. And, of course, the movie musical has to end with the entire cast singing “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds. The classic has all the elements needed for an exceptional musical movie.

Do Revenge

Do Revenge, or as I like to call it the perfect millennial Gen Z movie, is basically Mean Girls for psychos. Many of the best movie musicals have a little bit of camp to them. They’re fun because they lean into and appreciate the ridiculousness of their stories. The Netflix film could be quite inventive and funny in musical form. Imagine a song where Eleanor and Drea sing angelically at the beginning of it but switch back and forth between that and hard rock tones. This song could tell their stories and set up their devious plans. Do Revenge could be Sweeney Todd for the Gen Z crowd, but without the human meat pies. 

Can you imagine a “I don’t do cocaine” song? Let’s envision it sung in an operatic style with funny commentary from Erica’s friend. Please, someone write this musical today. I don’t just need it, the world needs it. Don’t let the fact that Do Revenge only came out a few years ago stop someone from winning a Tony and an Oscar.

10 Things I Hate About You 

I love ‘90s and early aught teen comedies but I don’t know if many of them would be enthralling as musicals. However, I think 10 Things I Hate About You is an exception to this belief. It would work very well in a musical format. The plot and characters’ complexities make adding music feel natural. Grease has many aspects that could help inspire the development of a 10 Things I Hate About You movie musical.

The perils of high school life work very well as a musical when the characters, songs, and plot harmoniously create something captivating. The 1999 hit already has all those parts, it just needs songs now. The “I Hate You” speech from Kat could easily start a very mesmerizing ballad and declaration of love. Cameron could have so many wooing songs to and about Bianca. Patrick could sing a song similar to “Creep” by Radiohead at some point in this musical. This is one of the best movies of the ‘90s for a reason. That’s because its material speaks to an audience, and it could speak even louder with some songs.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 

Honestly, all the best John Hughes' movies could work as movie musicals, especially with their infamous jerk characters to add potentially comedic songs. But Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has such a fun premise that a movie musical version would thrill and entertain. Let’s have songs instead of Ferris’s fourth-wall-breaking monologues. The musical film could open with a song that explains his plans and introduces the key characters.

A Ferris Bueller’s Day Off movie musical could effortlessly blend big production numbers with small solo performances. It can work as a grand-scale production such as In The Heights and West Side Story. I want to see people dancing in the streets as Ferris walks down them.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before 

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before could be a cute romantic musical movie. The kind that transports viewers to the land of teenage dreams and fake dating schemes. I see it existing on the same scale of cuteness as Hairspray. We all need Lara Jean to panic and sing about all her letters going out. We also need A High School Musical-esque montage of Peter Kavinsky stressing about life.

Then add a Genevieve mean girl diddy about Lara Jean needing to stay away from her ex-man. Let’s also add a tear-inducing duet with the Covey sisters singing about the power of sisterhood. The film already perfectly captures the sweetness of first love without going too cheesy. A musical movie, in the right hands, could do the same.

Heathers  

Heathers has already gone from movie to musical, so it just needs to take a note from the Mean Girls playbook and become a musical movie. The musical part is already there, so the work is basically done. Some production company just needs to buy the rights. Then hire the director, writer, and other crew. Then start casting. Easy.  

I love the Heathers movie but have yet to see the musical. However, I imagine that it is just as fun as the original. Therefore, I’d love to see it play out on screen. Heathers the musical movie could be a real hit with the right cast. 

Bonus: The Perks Of Being A Wallflower  

The Perks of Being A Wallflower is not a teen comedy. However, I believe in its ability to transform into a great movie musical; it would fall into the Dear Evan Hansen realm. The type of musical with a dark story but that includes many comedic things and explores deep topics, such as mental health, profoundly.The Dear Evan Hansen movie may have received some backlash, but the musical itself is an outstanding modern musical that tackles some heavy topics entertainingly and touchingly.

The Perks of Being A Wallflower musical movie could do the same. The book and movie are already exceptional on their own, but if more teen films become movie musicals, this one definitely deserves some consideration.

Remakes and reboots happen all the time, whether we want them or not. Therefore, if some of my favorite teen comedies are going to be remade, let them take the musical movies route. It worked pretty well for Mean Girls.

Remember that episode “Fly” on Breaking Bad? I know some people call that episode “a masterpiece," while others call it the worst episode in the entire series. But you know what? I respect both opinions. It’s definitely debatable. 

I'll tell you what's not debatable. “Fly” is what’s considered a “bottle episode.” What that means is that it’s an episode that costs a lot less to make than most of the others, and is usually confined to just one or two locations.  

And guess what! Bottle movies exist as well. For example, the Quentin Tarantino cult-classic Reservoir Dogs would be one such film. And while yes, there’s more than one location in that movie, like with that famous opening diner scene, the film primarily takes place in a warehouse. So, what are some other fantastic bottle movies out there? Well, you’re about to find out!    

Rope (1948) 

The oldest bottle movie on this list, Rope, was one of the best Alfred Hitchcock movies I watched while I was still in my Hitchcock phase. The setting is a single apartment, and two upper class friends have just murdered a man. But, here’s the catch: they’re so cocky (or at least, one of them is), that they decide to host a dinner party in that same apartment that very night. Honestly, this one is kind of hard to watch, it’s so suspenseful.   

The movie is bolstered by a great performance from Jimmy Stewart, who plays the two young men’s former prep school housemaster. He has a morbid sense of what a human’s purpose in life is. 

And you gradually see the horror of when he finally realizes what he might have awoken in these two young men, as he used to talk to them about philosophies such as Nietzcsche’s concept of the Ubermensch. It’s a staggering movie, and it only takes place in one location. Which reminds me. I really need to watch Lifeboat next.  

12 Angry Men (1957)  

Directed by the late, great Sidney Lumet, (His directorial debut no less! Which just goes to show that some directors can make a great movie on their very first try.) 12 Angry Men is one of the most famous bottle movies ever made.  

The film centers around 12 jurors who are in a single room deliberating on whether an inner city kid is a murderer or not. It seems like an open and shut case as 11 of the jurors are utterly convinced that the kid is guilty, but one single juror (Henry Fonda, who was seriously robbed of an Oscar) disagrees.  

The movie is a whirlwind of emotions, and by the end of it, you’ll feel like you’ve gotten a true taste of the city without even leaving that room. I’ll tell you, for a movie that came out in 1957, it still packs one hell of a punch.     

The Breakfast Club (1985) 

John Hughes’ classic, The Breakfast Club, is one of the quintessential movies of the ‘80s. Starring Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald, and Emilio Estevez, the film is about five wildly different teenagers (who may not be as different as they think), who have to spend a Saturday detention being monitored by a nasty vice-principal, played by the late Paul Gleason.   

The film primarily takes place inside the high school, and throughout the story, we learn about all of the various characters, and just why they’re in detention in the first place. 

But even though they all just seem like your standard archetypes on the surface, they all have rich backstories of either abuse or neglect, and they end up bonding with one another over the course of its run-time. There’s a reason why this ‘80s gem is still talked about today. It’s fantastic!  

Clue (1985) 

Best movie based off of a board game ever? Well, yeah, but it’s not really all that hard when your closest competition was the shameless movie, Battleship. 

Directed by Jonathan Lynn, and starring a whole host of great actors, including Eileen Brennan, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Lesley Ann Warren, and of course Tim Curry, just to name a few, the movie truly embraces the mystery side of the board game by having a number of twists and turns (and multiple endings!) that one would expect from a movie based on such a family favorite game.   

The film takes place within the confines of a New England mansion, but it feels so sprawling and immense that it’s easy to forget that we’re in just this one location. Oh, and it’s silly. So, so silly. It’s little wonder that it’s become such a cult classic. Don’t trust anybody, and especially not the butler!  

Clerks (1994)  

Quite possibly Kevin Smith’s best movie, Clerks seems like the kind of flick that wouldn’t work, but does. Starring Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson as the clerks in question, and Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith himself as Jay and Silent Bob, respectively, Clerks takes place both inside and outside a convenient store, and a video shop.  

The story is infinitely relatable (“I’m not even supposed to be here today!”), and uniquely comical. There were two sequels, but neither was able to quite capture the hilarity of the original.   

Buried (2010) 

Do not, I repeat, do not watch this Ryan Reynolds movie from 2010 if you are in any way claustrophobic. Because you might seriously pass out if you watch it. I’m dead serious. Directed by Rodrigo Cortes, Buried finds Ryan Reynolds’ character literally buried alive in a coffin for its short (but satisfying) runtime.

What makes Buried one of the greatest bottle movies of all time is that it’s literally just Ryan Reynolds in a cramped space on a cell phone, and it still manages to be one of the most compelling and riveting movies you will ever see in your entire life. I was genuinely breathless by the end.  

The Hateful Eight (2015)  

Well, look who it is. Quentin Tarantino, who began his career with a bottle movie in Reservoir Dogs, returns to the format with this western starring Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bruce Dern, and many others. The Hateful Eight takes place in a cabin, and the tension becomes as thick and as deep as the snowstorm that they’re trying to escape. 

What makes The Hateful Eight work, and my second favorite Tarantino movie (because nothing will ever surpass Pulp Fiction) is that each character is so uniquely different, and multilayered. 

The dialogue is phenomenal, because duh, it’s a Tarantino movie, and the tightness of the cabin that our characters are stuck within brings new meaning to the Sartre quote, “Hell is other people.” What a movie!    

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) 

It’s kind of funny that 10 Cloverfield Lane is seemingly, somehow in the same franchise as 2008’s Cloverfield, and 2018’s The Cloverfield Paradox. I say it's funny since Cloverfield is a giant monster movie, and The Cloverfield Paradox is an outer space horror flick, while 10 Cloverfield Lane is a bottle movie that takes place in a bunker. 

What’s also kind of funny is that out of the three movies that I just mentioned, 10 Cloverfield Lane is arguably the best of the three. 

Directed by Prey’s Dan Trachtenberg, and starring John Gallagher Jr., Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and John Goodman, 10 Cloverfield Lane is about a woman who gets into a car crash and wakes up chained to a wall. What follows is paranoia, rage, and…well, I’ll save that for you to discover, since the whole film makes you wonder what’s actually outside of the bunker. But, it’s a taut film with excellent performances, and a concept to die for.

There are many other bottle films that I could have mentioned  (Locke and Hitchcock’s Rear Window are two others), but I thought eight was a nice number. For more news on all things cinema, be sure to swing by here often!  

I have always been firm believer in the phrase, “A hero is only as good as his or her villain.” I also believe that some of the best movies of the 1980s are home to some of the greatest heroic characters in cinematic history. By that logic, the antagonists from that decade would have would also have to be pretty top notch, to say the least.

Well, the 30 great ‘80s movie villains below certainly make a great case for that bold claim. Take a look at the heinous jerks, power-hungry criminals, and coldblooded killers from the unforgettable decade, below.

Ace Merrill (Stand By Me)

Part of the reason why 1986’s Stand By Me — Rob Reiner’s adaptation of the coming-of-age novella, The Body — is one of the most beloved Stephen King movies is that its darker moments never rely on a supernatural threat. That was handled perfectly enough by Kiefer Sutherland’s performance as Ace Merrill, who is remembered today as one the quintessential examples of how unmercifully sadistic a childhood bully can be.

Audrey II (Little Shop Of Horrors)

A 1960 B-movie by Roger Corman inspired a hit Broadway show that director Frank Oz made into one of the greatest musical horror comedy movies — 1986’s Little Shop of Horrors, in which Rick Moranis’ Seymour Krelborn comes across a weeeiiiirrrrd plant that soon becomes a sensation. 

The catch: Audrey II (named after his co-worker and crush, played by Ellen Greene) is really a “mean, green mother from outer space” with an insatiable craving for human flesh and an even meaner singing voice (courtesy of The Four Tops’ Levi Stubbs) that could consume the entire world if it grows large enough.

Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice)

Before playing one of the greatest ‘80s movies heroes (and becoming the best live-action Batman actor in the process), Michael Keaton first collaborated with Tim Burton in the title role of the spooky 1988 classic, Beetlejuice. The future Academy Award nominee actually had a lot of influence in the creation of the kooky, conniving bio-exorcist — from his rapid-fire speech pattern, bizarre wardrobe choices, and moldy skin — making him a villain hard to dislike and even harder to forget, despite only 17 minutes of screen time.

Biff Tannen (Back To The Future)

Making Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and Doc Brown’s (Christopher Lloyd) troublesome adventures in the time travel movie classic, Back to the Future, and its sequels even more difficult is Biff Tannen — easily the best-known role of comedian Tom Wilson. Initially a typical, ‘50s-era high school bully, by Part II, he evolves into a dynamic antagonist of various sides who, in an alternate 1985, becomes a powerful, ruthlessly corrupt business tycoon with the unwitting help of his older self.

Chet Donnelly (Weird Science)

Has cinema ever shown us a more fearsome example of how horrible older siblings can be than the late Bill Paxton as Chet Donnelly from 1985’s Weird Science? From little things like stealing breakfast from his brother, Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith), to shoving a shotgun in Gary’s (Anthony Micheal Hall) face, the dull-brained, militaristic terror is easily the biggest jerk from John Hughes’ movies and his comeuppance at the end — Lisa (Kelly LeBrock) turns him into some frog-like blob — is less than he really deserves.

Christine (Christine)

It is every teenager’s dream to have their own car, but when Keith Gordon’s Arnie gets his own set of wheels in John Carpenter’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Christine from 1983, it proves to be a nightmare… for everyone else in his life. The titular, red Plymouth Fury (named after George Romero’s ex-wife) turns out to have a mind of her own, the ability to heal herself of any damage, and grows so protective of her driver that she will do anything to keep him all to herself. 

Chucky (Child's Play)

Anyone who suffers from an irrational fear of dolls must have felt a refreshing sense of validation upon the 1988 release of one of the best scary doll movies, Child’s Play, in which a single mother (Catherine Hicks) discovers a friendly-looking gift for her young son (Alex Vincent) is possessed by the soul of a nasty serial killer. Academy Award nominee and deeply underrated actor, Brad Dourif, gives a memorably menacing performance as the voice of Charles “Chucky” Lee Ray that is key to why the franchise still continues to this day with Syfy’s hit Chucky TV show.

Darth Sidious (Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi)

If this was a list of villains from the best ‘70s movies, we would have given praise to the original Star Wars movie’s Darth Vader, but when it comes to classics from this decade, the most fearsome foe from George Lucas’ galaxy far, far away is his boss, Darth Sidious. Otherwise known as Emperor Palpatine, the Sith Lord (whom Ian McDiarmid first appeared as in 1983’s Return of the Jedi) may appear old and decrepit, but behind those yellow eyes is a mighty, nigh unstoppable force of deadly, tyrannical manipulation — not to mention, the lightning that emits from his fingertips is pretty devastating. 

The Duke (Escape From New York)

One of the first and most iconic acting roles by Isaac Hayes (the Academy Award-winning composer of the iconic movie theme song from Shaft) is a really bad mother— shut your mouth — known as The Duke from John Carpenter’s dystopian 1981 cult thriller, Escape from New York. The ruthless criminal, who has established himself as the most powerful inmate in the maximum prison that once was Manhattan, sees the accidental arrival of the President (Donald Pleasance) as his ticket to freedom and compromises the anti-heroic Snake Plissken’s (a badass Kurt Russell) rescue mission by barbaric means.

Gozer (Ghostbusters)

The moment that really confirms 1984’s Ghostbusters as a classic horror-comedy movie (with emphasis on the horror) is certainly not when Slimer first appears, but in the final act when the crew must take on the demonic Gozer (Slavitza Jovan, but later played by Olivia Wilde in Ghostbusters: Afterlife). The terrifying, omnipotent “prehistoric bitch” takes way more than a proton pack to defeat, but at least has enough respect for its human adversaries to give them the choice of what will be bring forth their planet’s destruction, resulting in the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man’s attack on New York.

The Gremlins (Gremlins)

Many can relate to the idea of giving your child a seemingly cute and cuddly pet that turns out to be a terror, which producer Steven Spielberg, writer Chris Columbus, and director Joe Dante exaggerated to a nightmarish levels in the Christmas horror movie classic, 1984’s Gremlins. If only the Mogwai’s three rules were followed, it could not have given rise to the titular, green, grinning, goblin-like creatures that give Billy’s (Zach Galligan) small town a horrifying holiday.

Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street)

Growing up, parents always said not to be afraid of bad dreams because they cannot hurt you, but what if that was not the case and staying awake was the only solution? Such is the concept of writer and director Wes Craven’s 1984 supernatural slasher favorite, A Nightmare on Elm Street, in which Robert Englund gives his most iconic performance as Freddy Krueger — a grotesque boogeyman with the power to slay people with his razor-clawed glove from within their subconscious.

Hans Gruber (Die Hard)

You would never believe that the late Alan Rickman had never been in a movie before giving his stunning, seminal performance in 1988’s Die Hard cast as Hans Gruber. The bloodthirsty, but admirably sophisticated, German thief is a polar opposite to Bruce Willis’ reluctant, blue collar hero, John McClane, making him the perfect adversary for, arguably, the greatest action movie ever made and one of the genre’s finest villains.

Ivan Drago (Rocky IV)

While the original from 1976 is a classic Best Picture Oscar winner, the fourth installment of the Rocky movies from 1985 might be the most iconic in the Sylvester Stallone-led boxing movie franchise. A good chunk of credit should be given to Dolph Lundgren as the cold, hulking, Russian rival athlete, Ivan Drago, who takes competition deathly seriously, based on his signature catchphrase, “I must break you,” and his absolute lack of remorse for incidentally killing Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in the ring. 

Jack Torrance (The Shining)

One of the reasons why Stephen King did not care for The Shining (to put it lightly) was the casting of Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, as he believed it would let on his eventual descent into madness from the moment we first see him. However, the Academy Award winner’s bombastically unhinged performance was one of the top reasons why Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation is so beloved to this day and why the good dad gone bad is, arguably, the best Stephen King movie villain yet. 

Jason Voorhees (Friday The 13th Sequels)

In 1980’s original installment of the Friday the 13th movies, the killer stalking Camp Crystal Lake was a vengeful mother named Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer), who would easily go down in history as one of the greatest female horror villains of all time. Yet, the one who would go down as one of the most iconic horror movie villains in general and became the (hockey-masked) face of the subsequent franchise was her son, Jason Voorhees, who started off slicing teens with his machete to avenge his mother, but did not really need much of a motivation as the series went on.

Johnny Lawrence (The Karate Kid)

In the ‘80s, one of the go-to actors to play the designated superficial, bullish jock in a coming-of-age movie was William “Billy” Zabka and earning him that reputation was his role as Johnny Lawrence in 1984’s The Karate Kid. Years later, the character — introduced in the classic movie as Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) brutal martial arts rival — would be seen in a whole new light when Zabka reprised the role in the Cobra Kai cast on the YouTube original series that became a Netflix exclusive.

The Joker (Batman)

There have been many different, unique portrayals of The Joker — the top dog of Batman’s rogues gallery — with some favoring Mark Hamill’s enduring animated iteration or Heath Ledger’s unpredictably manic, Oscar-winning interpretation in 2008’s The Dark Knight. However, when 1989’s Batman came out, it seemed like nothing would be able to surpass Jack Nicholson as Jack Napier — a Gotham gangster whose chemical accident turns him into a Clown Prince of Crime with an ingenious balance of cartoonish lunacy and chilling wickedness.

Judge Doom (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)

There are many reasons why modern audiences struggle to call Robert Zemeckis’ astonishing blend of live-action and animation, 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a great movie for kids, definitively. One of the most pressing is the way Christopher Lloyd fully channels his bad side — and abstains from blinking his eyes — as the ominous Judge Doom, who only gets much, much scarier when we discover his true identity.

Khan Noonien Singh (Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan)

Ricardo Montalban first appeared as a genetically engineered Augment known as Khan — or, as William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk pronounces it, “KHAAAAAAAAAN!” — in an episode of the original Star Trek series in 1967. However, his grand return to the role as the titular antagonist of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is one of the most legendary performances in the franchise’s history and key as to why the 1982 sequel is still widely considered the best Star Trek movie to date.

Lord Humungus (The Road Warrior)

George Miller’s Mad Max movies have had their fair share of great villains, from Toecutter in the 1979 original to Immortan Joe in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road — both of whom were played by Hugh Keays-Byrne. When the franchise fully entered its influential, dystopian-era stage with 1981’s The Road Warrior, Mel Gibson’s anti-hero was tasked with taking on the Marauders’ hulking leader, Lord Humungus (Kjell Nilsson), who kind of looks like if Jason Voorhees was a medieval exotic dancer, but is nonetheless a memorably imposing figure off post-apocalyptic tyranny.

Mama Fratelli (The Goonies)

The deadly traps that the thrill-seeking youngsters from the Goonies cast encounter while searching for buried treasure are scary enough, but if there is anything more terrifying in director Richard Donner’s 1985 cult classic, it’s the matriarch of the menacing Fratelli family. Given her reputation for playing particularly “grouchy” characters, to say that Academy Award nominee Anne Ramsey gives one of her most intimidating performances as a woman trying to beat a group of children to the site of hidden loot is really saying something.

Mola Ram (Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom)

Harrison Ford’s intrepid fortune hunter, Indiana Jones, has made enemies with many dastardly personalities, but I do not believe a single one of them comes close to being as haunting as Amrish Puri as Mola Ram. What better proof is there than the terrifying scene from 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when the Thuggee cult leader reaches into a man’s chest, pulls out his still-beating heart, and lowers him into a fiery pit as a sacrifice to his ruthless deity. 

Mother Alien (Aliens)

In the franchises’ decades-long history, the Alien movies have shown us various breeds of the Xenomorph — each one horrifying, but also undeniably picturesque, in its own way — but the one that might take the cake, however, is the (literal) mother of them all. Then again, we cannot blame this queen for her main goal in James Cameron’s 1986 sequel, Aliens, which is to protect her children from Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley, who is on her own mission to rescue the young, orphaned Newt (Carrie Henn).

The Predator (Predator)

The Xenomorph may be cinema’s definitive depiction of extra-terrestrial evil, but the most badass of them all would have to be the titular creature played by the late Kevin Peter Hall in director John McTiernan’s 1987 sci-fi hit, which is still the best of the Predator movies in most people’s eyes. As Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch would demonstrate in the third act of the testosterone-fueled, jungle-set action thriller, it does not take brawn, but brains to defeat the hulking beast, who admirably maintains a code of honor when hunting his prey.

Principal Richard Vernon (The Breakfast Club)

I pray for anyone who ever felt like their principal relished in making his students’ lives miserable when they were in high school, because that would mean that they actually knew someone like Richard Vernon. 

Paul Gleason, an actor who seemed to relish playing unlikable characters with brilliant focus, may have hit his peak in that regard in 1985 with his performance in John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club cast as a nearly sadistic principal with no sense of respect or concern for his youthful peers. I hope the custodian, Carl (John Kapelos), managed to talk some sense into him and save him from being a dangerous embarrassment to the public school system.

Rene Beloq (Raiders Of The Lost Ark)

Out of all of the memorable Indiana Jones movie villains, my pick for the all-time best would be Rene Beloq, played by Paul Freeman in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. As a fellow fortune-hunter, the charismatic Frenchman is a perfect match for Harrison Ford’s hero — having a similar goal, but going about it in a more despicable manner by partnering with the Nazis and being willing to kill and manipulate to get his hands on any great fortune.

Roy Batty (Blade Runner)

There really is not a “good guy” in director Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking — yet commercial unsuccessful — adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? from 1982, considering how there is nothing admirable about Rick Deckard’s (Harrison Ford) occupation in “retiring” Replicants from a moral standpoint. Furthermore, as an artificial being who wants nothing more but to live longer and freely, I think that Rutger Hauer’s Roy Batty is actually one of Blade Runner’s more sympathetic characters, which is what makes him such a unique example of antagonism.

The Terminator (The Terminator)

One of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most iconic characters would come to be known as a great hero in the early ‘90s with the release of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, but that is a far cry from his original depiction in 1984. The titular antagonist of James Cameron’s breakthrough, The Terminator, may look like an ordinary (yet extraordinarily ripped) man, but is really a futuristic machine that does not negotiate, feel any emotion, and refuses to cease until his target — Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the unwitting mother of a dystopian war hero — is dead.

The Thing (The Thing)

Imagine not being able to trust if someone you know personally is really who they say they are or if they are a shapeshifting, otherworldly creature in disguise. That is the concept of, arguably, the best of John Carpenter’s movies, 1982’s The Thing, which more faithful adapts John W. Campbell  Jr.’s horror novella “Who Goes There?” into a master class in suspense in which its alien antagonist pits an Arctic research crew against each other, challenging them figure out who is still human.

For anyone who wants to get in the business of playing bad people on the silver screen, they should consider ‘80s movie villains their heroes.

Every movie has a star, most have a hero. Sometimes there other roles that get overlooked, or under-appreciated. This list is dedicated to those ‘80s movie characters that just don't get the credit they should. 

Sallah - Raiders Of The Lost Ark

Indiana Jones is a legend. A hero. Everything anyone ever wanted from a big screen idol. Dr. Jones also probably wouldn't have survived the first half of Raiders of the Lost Ark if not for Sallah (John Rhys-Davies). Remember, it's Sallah who notices the monkey that died from eating the poisoned dates. 

Queen Aoleon Joffer - Coming To America

When Eddie Murphy's character, Prince Akeem, wants to travel to America to sow his royal oats in Coming To America, it's his mother, Queen Aoleon Joffer (Madge Sinclair in one of her roles as a Queen), who encourages it. When Akeem declares his love for Lisa, it's Queen Joffer who tells him to run after her. She's a queen in name and in action. 

Merlin - Top Gun

The are two critical moments in Top Gun when a pilot needs his "RIO" (the guy in the other seat). One is at the beginning of the movie when Cougar loses it after the first dog fight. He cracks under the pressure and his RIO, Merlin (Tim Robbins), helps Maverick (Tom Cruise) talk Cougar down to the flight deck. In the end, when Maverick needs to get back in the fight but is struggling with the loss of his RIO, Goose (Anthony Edwards), It's Merlin in the backseat that helps get Maverick back in the fight. 

Fezzik - The Princess Bride

There is one person you can always count on in The Princess Bride and that is Fezzik, played by Andre The Giant. Sure, he threatens to crush Wesley's skull and he is the Brute Squad, but that's before we really get to know him. After drying Inigo Montoya out from the booze, they set out to help the man they once were ordered to kill and in the end, it's Fezzik with the four white horses to carry everyone to safety. 

Sarah - Adventures In Babysitting

Sure, Sarah gets herself in a jam on the edge of a skyscraper in downtown Chicago in Adventures in Babysitting, but she's also the one that convinces the mechanic played by a blonde Vincent D'Onofrio to help. In the movie, he may look like Thor, but at first, he's not interested in saving the kids, because they are short a few bucks on the car repairs. Sarah offers up her favorite toy and he's so touched, he gives them the car. 

Jake Houseman - Dirty Dancing

Dr. Jake Houseman, Baby's father in Dirty Dancing, played brilliantly by Law & Order's Jerry Orbach, is a bit of a villain at times in the movie. He's very old school and very over-protective of his daughters. He certainly isn't happy about Baby (Jennifer Grey) and Johnny (Patrick Swayze) canoodling around. When the chips are down and Johnny's partner Penny is in trouble after a botched back-alley abortion, it's Dr. Houseman who steps in and saves her life.

Yori - Tron

In Tron, it's Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) and Flynn (Jeff Bridges) who win the day by defeating the Master Control Program. But without critical information that Tron gets by contacting his user outside the grid, it never could've happened. To do this, Yori convinces the guard, Dumont, to let Tron get the info he needs from his user.

Lt. Bogomil - Beverly Hills Cop

Ronny Cox plays the hardass Lt. Andrew Bogomil in Beverly Hills Cop. At first, he's definitely not on Axel Foley's (Eddie Murphy) side. He orders Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Taggert (John Ashton) to follow Foley while he's in Beverly Hills. Bogomil comes around and ends up inventing a story to cover for Foley after they take down the drug traffickers.

Agent Oscar Wallace - The Untouchables

Agent Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith) isn't the prototype of a Treasury Officer tracking the gangsters in the 1930s in The Untouchables. He's not the grizzled vet like Sean Connery's Malone, or the hard-charging Elliott Ness (Kevin Costner). What he is, though, is the guy that actually nails Al Capone (Robert DeNiro). It's his bookish nature that gets him examining Capone's accounts to discover that Capone has paid no taxes for years. 

Carl Fox - Wall Street

Carl Fox, played by Martin Sheen, is Bud's (his real son, Charlie Sheen) father. Bud is caught up in the glitz and glamour of the go-go 1980s. Beach house, modern art, Darryl Hannah...you remember. He goes down some pretty dark roads in the movie, gaining insider trading info for the diabolical Gordon Gekko. The whole time, it's Carl  who tries to speak reason to him. Carl even lines him up with a job at his company that Bud once tried to kill with a deal. That's love. 

Sgt. Hulka - Stripes

In the beginning, he was the drill sergeant. Sgt. Hulka (Warren Oates) is mean; he's tough; he drills the men in the platoon in Stripes, directed by Ivan Reitman, half to death. Like any drill sergeant, he never lets down his guard or shows his human side. That is, until the end, when the idiots in the platoon drive straight into communist Czechoslovakia. Using all his toughness and smarts, Hulka gets word to John (Bill Murray) and Russell (Harold Ramis) and together they break the rest of the platoon out of jail and get back safely to Western Europe, becoming national heroes. 

Iona - Pretty In Pink

Iona (Annie Potts) is the best friend everyone needs in Pretty in Pink. She's the (slightly) older, wiser, big sister type for Andie (Molly Ringwald) and guides her through some of the most important parts of her life. When the brass tacks are down at the end of the movie and Andie needs a dress to the prom, it's Iona who gives Andie her own prom dress, making Andie pretty in pink. It's enough to bring a tear to your eye.

President John Harker - Escape From New York

Okay, so President Harker (Donald Pleasence) in Escape From New York isn't exactly a hero. In fact, the character is easy to despise. He's annoying, he's obnoxious, and he's almost ungrateful at times for the help he gets from Snake (Kurt Russell). For one brief moment, he is the hero. As Snake is being pulled to safety and off the prison island that is 1997 New York, The Duke (Isaac Hayes) appears with a gun and aims to kill Snake. Harker raises a machine gun and blows The Duke away, saving Snake, even if it was really Harker's own anger towards The Duke that motivated him. 

Billy - Big

Like Iona, Billy (Jared Rushton) in Big is the best friend we all need. After Josh (Tom Hanks, who almost didn't get the role) "grows up," he's basically on his own. The only person who believes Josh's story, that a wish from a fortune-telling machine made him "big," is Billy. He takes it upon himself to locate the machine while Josh is wrapped up in his "adult" life. In the end, it's Billy that finds the machine so Josh is able to become a kid again. 

Carl The Janitor - The Breakfast Club 

Carl (John Kapelos) is the eyes and ears of Shermer High School in The Breakfast Club. He's also quite the philosopher when he explains to Vice Principal Vernon (Paul Gleason) that the kids haven't changed, he has, after Vernon says he thinks '80s kids aren't like kids of yesteryear. It's an important thing for everyone to remember: kids will always be kids. 

Vasquez - Aliens

Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein) is one tough marine. She might be the toughest of the bunch in Aliens. She proves how tough she is when she and Lt. Gorman fight down to their last bullet, holding the alien off so Newt and Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) can escape. Vasquez and Gorman end up sacrificing themselves so the rest can get away. 

Sato - Karate Kid Part II

Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) and Sato (Danny Kamekona) have, it's easy to say, a complicated relationship in The Karate Kid Part II. We learn that the reason Miyagi left Okinawa as a kid was because Sato had challenged him to a fight to the death over a girl. When Miyagi returns to Okinawa, Sato has not forgotten. In the end, Sato finds forgiveness, and we need more of that in this world. 

Vijay - Octopussy

Sometimes even James Bond needs a little help. In Octopussy, a lot comes from Vijay (Vijay Amritraj), MI6's man in India. Not only does he help Bond get acclimated to the country, but he also drives the tuk-tuk in the chase scene, saving Bond and making the ultimate sacrifice when he's killed on a stakeout. 

Sgt. Al Powell - Die Hard

It's easy to hear "pal" instead of "Powell" in Die Hard when John (Bruce Willis) is communicating with Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson) of the LAPD. That's good, because Powell is a real pal to John. He's there to listen when John needs it, and most importantly, he's there with his weapon at the end so save John from the lone remaining terrorist. 

Zev Senesca - The Empire Strikes Back

Zev Senesca (Christopher Malcolm) in The Empire Strikes Back has a small role. He's one of many heroes in the rebellion, but the reason Zev stands out is because he locates Han and Luke after their night in the cold on Hoth. Without Zev, we might not have our heroes to save the galaxy from the Empire.

Da Mayor - Do The Right Thing

In Do The Right Thing, most of the characters do the wrong thing. The lone voice of calm in the movie is Da Mayor (Ossie Davis). He tries with all his might to educate the young and calm tensions at the end, but he, like many of our elders, is ignored and lambasted. He should be the hero that is needed at the moment, and would have been if any of us had been listening. 

Mrs. Parker - A Christmas Story

Moms are always a good bet for being unsung heroes and Mrs. Parker (Melinda Dillon) in A Christmas Story is no different. Anytime Ralph needs his mom, she is there. From the fight with the bully to covering up for shooting his eye out, Mrs. Parker has his back. 

Coleman The Butler - Trading Places

Butlers on film are often some of the most loyal characters, and Coleman (Denholm Elliott) in Trading Places is loyal not to one, but to both the characters he works for, Winston and Billy Ray (Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy). He even plays a big part in the scheme to get rich while bankrupting the Dukes and he ends up on the beach with them at the end, as he should.  

Rufus - Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Speaking of loyal servants, Rufus (George Carlin) in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure is just that. Serving Bill and Ted with all the info they need to fulfill their destiny. Sure, he worships them, but he does the hard work to get them where they need to go so that in his future, Bill and Ted occupy the spot of reverence they are meant to. 

Frank Tillman - Road House

Frank Tillman (Kevin Tighe) in Road House is the boss. He's the bar owner who hires Dalton (Patrick Swayze) and lets him run the show. That's enough to get him on this list, but in the end, he's also one of the people who saves Dalton's life when Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara) goes to shoot him. A true hero in every sense. 

Next time you're watching a movie, pay attention to the supporting characters that truly make the difference. It shows we can matter in our own ways.

Not every “Gen X” movie was about Gen X (Dazed & Confused, anyone?), but there are a lot of characters that exemplify exactly what it felt like to us growing up as part of the slacker generation. Characters that reflected it and that defined it. If you’re already wondering if John Cusack and Winonna Ryder played them all, they didn’t, but they are on the list for playing Gen X movie characters quite a bit. 

Lloyd Dobler (Say Anything…)

Any list like this has to start with a John Cusack role, and Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything… is the quintessential Gen X character. His drive to succeed hidden beneath his slacker aesthetic is how we saw ourselves, and we did in the now-iconic boombox scene. His fashion sense, especially the bands he chooses to rep on his tee shirts, influenced how we dressed. Most of all it is his teenage rejection of consumerism that he summed up in one scene, saying:

How can you not admire that?

Mark Hunter (Pump Up The Volume)

Gen X was kind of the last generation to grow up listening to and romanticizing radio. So, it was 1990’s Pump Up the Volume and its main character, Mark Hunter (Christian Slater), that found us all day dreaming about playing our music and publicly airing our angst about growing up in vanilla suburbs surrounded by plastic people and consumerism. 

Mookie (Do The Right Thing)

Spike Lee exploded on the scene as a true voice of a generation. The conflict between Lee’s Mookie and Danny Aiello’s Sal exemplifies Gen X versus Baby Boomers. Sal is caught in the old ways, Mookie is ready for society to carve a new path. It’s hip-hop vs. doo-wop. Generational conflicts are as old as time, but Do The Right Thing identifies one of the biggest conflicts that still endures today between these two generations.

Janet Livermore (Singles)

It doesn’t get more Gen X than Singles. Set in the most ‘90s of cities, Seattle, Bridget Fonda’s character, Janet, is the epitome of an over-educated, underemployed 20-something trying to navigate her career struggles and her confusing love life. Gen X was taught we could do anything we wanted when we “grew up,” only to find that many of us had no idea what we should do, just like Janet. 

Dante (Clerks)

Stuck in a dead-end job, obsessed with movies, and too tired to fight back against “the man.” That is us and that is Dante Hicks. Clerks is a time capsule of a short-lived time when video rental stores anchored mini-malls and Dante represents a generation of young adults that weren’t even supposed to be at work that day, but caved to the pressures of their boss. While a slacker ethos may lie underneath, an almost impossible-to-ignore work ethic is pushed to the surface (to Dante’s detriment). If we have to pick only one Kevin Smith film and character, let's pick the best. 

Lydia Deetz (Beetlejuice)

The generation that invented goth found its direction from a handful of characters (often played by Winona Ryder). One of the most important was the black-clad, ghost-whispering teenager, Lydia Deetz, in Beetlejuice. Sure, she ends up happy and outgoing in the end, but Lydia represents the depressed, rebellious teenager that hates everything her parents love and sees her whole life as one, big, dark, room. And, we love her for it. 

Veronica Sawyer (Heathers)

Ryder was back in Heathers as the popular teenager in a film that can best be summed up as a bizarro-world John Hughes movie. The dark comedy follows Veronica as the least important member of the mean girls' click (led by the three Heathers) in high school who's new boyfriend, J.D., played by Christian Slater (because, of course), is far edgier than she would like. The role was originally intended for Jennifer Connelly, according to Ryder, but no one could imagine it without her now. 

Rob Gordon (High Fidelity)

To Generation X, music matters a lot, and Rob Gordon, played by John Cusack in High Fidelity, epitomizes that more than any other movie character. We don’t want to be rock stars, we want to critique and judge them. We’d rather rank the 10 best guitar solos in an ‘80s glam metal song than play our own solo. Rob and his employees at Championship Vinyl say out loud what so many Gen Xers think about music, life, and love. 

Lelaina Pierce (Reality Bites)

We could’ve picked just about any character from Reality Bites to represent us. In the end, though, it’s pretty easy to go back to Winona Ryder, and her character Lelaina. If she could be defined in one moment, it’s the famous scene when she’s lamenting how much her job meant to her now that she’s lost it, and how she wished everything could be “reset” at the end of the day, “like The Brady Bunch.” For a generation of latchkey kids raised on Boomer TV shows, this feels like the confluence of our culture moving past that of our parents.

Stacey Hamilton (Fast Times At Ridgemont High)

Everyone knows that the mall was where all the action was for teenagers in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Stacey Hamilton in Fast Times At Ridgemont High, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, is lucky enough to work there. Like in real life, most of her world centers around the mall and high school, and she finds herself in the same position as so many of her generational brethren, stuck in the suburbs with nothing else to do but hook up. 

Bill S. Preston, Esq. And Ted "Theodore" Logan (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure) 

Together they are Wyld Stallyns! Once again, we’ve found the true archetype of the generation. Two slackers with big dreams and no earthly idea how to make them a reality. Bill and Ted (Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves) know they are destined for greatness, but it takes some prodding and some help from Rufus (George Carlin) to get them to believe they will save the world one day. 

Trent Walker (Swingers)

There was a time in the mid-90s when Gen X was growing up and was sick of sweatpants and Cure tee shirts. It was time to be “all growns up," so who did we look to? Vince Vaughn’s Trent in Swingers. A character so stylish, he launched a brand new lifestyle, based on our grandparents' aesthetic, but modern and hip. His comedic irreverence only sold it more, and when it was over, we were all looking for the oldest places in LA to hang out. 

Duckie (Pretty In Pink)

Duckie (Jon Cryer) is one way many of us saw ourselves. We were sensitive outsiders, too delicate for some things, but with a strong ethos and a stronger sense of style, as unique as we wanted it to be. Before norm-core became the, um, norm, we wanted over-the-top outfits that inspired us and angered the "richies." Duckie does all of that. While Duckie didn't get the girl in the end, he still stood by his morals.

Peter Gibbons (Office Space)

Ron Livingston’s Peter Gibbons in Office Space is the perfect character to represent how depressing the daily drudgery of life in a cubicle can be. His nihilism about life and work, when the movie begins, is something we can all appreciate on some level, and once he starts (not really) missing a lot of work, we learned that a work/life balance is more important than we could ever imagine. 

Narrator (Fight Club)

A completely different, and much darker, form of generational nihilism can be represented aptly by Edward Norton’s Narrator in Fight Club, who is reborn under the guidance of Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). Modern life and work just don’t suck, they are the opposite of how we should all be living. While Office Space plays it for laughs, Fight Club makes it a revolutionary call to arms. As Tyler says:

Malik Williams (Higher Learning)

While we may have been sold the idea that America was a post-racial society, it was movies like Higher Learning that showed we were a long way from it. Malik, played by Omar Epps, wrestles mightily with race, both literally with his skinhead roommate Remy (Michael Rapaport), and figuratively with his hard-nosed professor played by Laurence Fishburne. 

Randy Meeks (Scream)

Another film that we could pick almost any character from is Scream, because of its enduring legacy that makes Scream still relevant to us today. Sidney, played by Neve Campbell, represents our whole lives from bullied teenagers to strong parents. Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), however, is the perfect representation of a Generation X film geek, the type who grew up to define nerd culture in the 21st century. Back then, without the internet, there was always the one guy that spent his weekends renting movies and reading Leonard Maltin books, and he was like Google for the rest of us (unless he was us). 

Cher Horowitz And Tai Fraiser (Clueless)

Two teenagers with very different backgrounds, but both represent a little piece of Generation X. Tai (the late Brittany Murphy), is the shy girl from the other side of the tracks. She is played against Cher, portrayed by '90s legend Alicia Silverstone. They have an immediate connection, even though they are so different. Both so vividly represent high school life in the 1990s that it forever makes them icons for generations. Cher is so enduring, Alicia Silverstone is still grappling with the effects of the fame Cher brought her. 

Lucas (Empire Records)

Lucas (Rory Cochrane) in Empire Records, is a lot like Rob Gordon might have been as a teenager. A lover of all things music who only wants work in a record store – an independent record store, that is. He falls under that all-too-familiar archetype. He may look like a slacker, but he’s anything but, just like we all see ourselves. 

Brodie Bruce (Mallrats)

A comic book nerd with a biting sense of humor and a hatred for anything mainstream who spends all day, every day, hanging out in a mall? That, my friends, is how you become a Gen X icon. Everything about Brodie Bruce (Jason Lee) screams slacker generation. Without Stan Lee’s cameo and conversation with Brodie at the mall, would the MCU look the same? Probably not. 

Mouth (The Goonies)

We couldn’t make this list without The Goonies, nor could we make it without a character played by Corey Feldman. In this case, we’ve picked Mouth. We all saw ourselves as someone in the Goonies crew when we were kids, seeking out adventure wherever it took us (though rarely actually out of the neighborhood). We fought bad guys and sought pirate booty, and all with a sharp sense of humor, just like Mouth. 

A Brain, An Athlete, A Basket Case, A Princess, And A Criminal (The Breakfast Club)

No list would truly be complete without another John Hughes movie. No set of films more represents Generation X than the string of hits he had in the ‘80s and in The Breakfast Club, Hughes defined so many different versions of us. The iconic cast, Anthony Michael Hall as Brian, Emilio Estevez as Andrew, Ally Sheedy as Allison, Molly Ringwald as Claire, and Judd Nelson as Bender, nailed each of their roles like a perfectly played synthesizer and all of us can find something about ourselves in each. 

Generation X has never really been slackers, nor have we ever not been slackers. One thing is definitely true, though, because we found ourselves in a lot of movie characters, as even movies from the '90s that weren't about Gen X specifically certainly define us.

John Hughes' ability to connect to teenagers in the ‘80s is why he was famous, as both a writer and a director. His ability to craft minor characters is what truly set him apart. From very small one-line cameos to characters with one or two short scenes often end up the characters with the most quotable lines in movies chock full of lines film fans say all the time to each other. Like any list, it’s hard to pick out the best, but we think you’ll agree that these are classic miner characters in Hughes’ films. 

Car rental agent – Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Edie McClurg was a mainstay in John Hughes movies and one of her shining moments was a fairly brief scene at the St. Louis airport in Planes, Trains and Automobiles when Steve Martin’s character, Neil Page, attempts to rent a car in his desperate bid to get home for Thanksgiving. McClurg plays a very pleasant car rental agent forced to listen to Page’s profanity-filled barrage towards her. She takes it all in before delivering one of the best lines of the movie: “You’re fucked.”

Mutant Biker – Weird Science

While he only has one line, it’s a total gem. After the bikers crash Wyatt and Gary’s party in Weird Science, Lisa convinces them to stand up for themselves. When they do, the crazed “mutant” bikers back off and suddenly get very polite. Character actor Michael Berryman, known more his work in horror flicks and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest than comedies, has one of the classic lines as he’s leaving, 

Economics Teacher – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

“Bueller…Bueller….Bueller…” Is there really anything else that needs to be said here? Ben Stein’s brilliantly deadpan delivery as the most boring economics teacher ever in Ferris Bueller's Day Off is so famous and so often quoted, the phrase could be added to the dictionary. 

Ed, The Car Salesman – National Lampoon’s Vacation

Eugene Levy only gets one scene in National Lampoon’s Vacation, but wow is it fantastic. Levy plays a sketchy sales guy perfectly, as the first person to rip off Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold before the trip even begins. Instead of the Arctic Sports Wagon with the optional CB and rally fun pack, Levy still manages to sell Clark the now-infamous Family Truckster in metallic pea color (a damn fine automobile, if you want his opinion). 

Carl Reed – The Breakfast Club

Who doesn’t love a guy like Carl the janitor (John Kapelos) who turns around John Bender’s (Judd Nelson) insulting question about getting into the custodial arts into a way to freak out Bender and all of all the kids in detention at Shermer High School,  where he has become the eyes and ears of the institution in The Breakfast Club. By the way, that clock is 20 minutes fast. 

Jinx Latham – Mr. Mom

Jeffery Tambor is often the funniest actor in anything he’s in, even when he’s not the star. Mr. Mom is no exception where he plays the hapless, somewhat idiotic boss to Michael Keaton’s character, Jack Butler. The first scene in the movie, when he fires Jack and everyone else is great. It’s when he returns in the movie, revealing his dark side, that viewers get to see what Tambor does brilliantly, playing the comedic bad guy.  

Grandpa Howard – Sixteen Candles

Sixteen Candles is filled with great smaller roles, like John Cusack on the nerd wall at the dance or his sister Joan as the nerdy girl with the headgear. But the funniest is Sam’s (Molly Ringwald) grandfather Howard Baker, played by Edward Andrews. His exchanges with the foreign exchange student living with him, Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe) are as funny as they are offensive. Even at the time, writer John Hughes' stereotyping was offensive, but it’s as easy to make fun of Howard and his prejudices as it is to be offended by The Donger. 

Pooter The Clown – Uncle Buck

Mike Starr is probably most famous for his role in Dumb and Dumber, but his funniest role is in one scene in Uncle Buck when he is hired as a birthday clown for Buck’s (John Candy) nephew. He rolls up in his mouse-themed cars (he must have something for vehicles that look like animals), after having been up all night at a bachelorette party, clearly still drunk.

Margo And Todd – Christmas Vacation

How many times have you been tempted to buy the “I don’t know, Margo” sweater for your annual ugly sweater party? It’s become a legendary line from Nicholas Guest’s character Todd, husband to Margo (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) and frustrated neighbor to the Griswalds in Christmas Vacation. Do you think Margo ever figured out why the carpet was all wet? One thing is for sure, they didn't deserve all that they dealt with.

Gus Polinski – Home Alone

Not only does John Candy save the day, but he also steals the movie Home Alone with his performance as Gus Polinski. Abe Froman might be the sausage king of Chicago, but without the polka king of the Midwest playing “The Twin Lakes Polka” you can bet those bratwursts wouldn’t taste nearly as good. It really makes you want to find a way to get to a beerfest in Chaboygen in the John Hughes-verse. 

The Diceman – Pretty in Pink

After floundering around looking for a career on screen, Andrew Dice Clay entered the collective consciousness as the bouncer in Pretty In Pink. Let’s be honest, he’s really just playing himself, and Duckie (Jon Cryer) even refers to him as “The Diceman,” so it’s not exactly an acting stretch. Still, it’s all worth it when Dice lights that cigarette as only he can, inspiring a generation of kids to take up smoking. 

Reg – The Great Outdoors

Actor Britt Leach plays one of the more outlandish characters in any John Hughes film as Reg, the guy that’s been 66 times – make that 67 times – in the woods around Pechoggin, Wisconsin in The Great Outdoors. The stutter that he developed as a human lightning rod is one of the goofiest, yet genuinely funniest bits in this cult classic. 

The Bike Rider – National Lampoon’s European Vacation

Ok, maybe the most outlandish character in John Hughes world is actually Eric Idle as  the bike rider in European Vacation. This poor bike rider is menaced all over Europe by the Griswolds, and by the end, he’s quite literally falling apart. He’s so over-the-top it doesn’t really fit in with most of Hughes’ characters, but casting a Monty Python vet makes it all work perfectly.

Laura Nelson – Some Kind Of Wonderful

Maddie Corman plays Laura Nelson, younger sister to Eric Stolz’s Keith Nelson in Some Kind Of Wonderful, and in one scene-stealing moment, she leaves the audience and her family in shock (and in stitches). After finding out her socially awkward brother has a date with a beautiful popular girl, she sits down at the breakfast table to explain just how ridiculous it all is – in explicit detail. She’s the kind of sister we’re all terrified of, but by the end, you know she really cares about her brother.  

C.D. Marsh – Career Opportunities

We end this list without one more John Candy appearance. Career Opportunities may be most remembered as a movie with only two main actors, Jennifer Connelly and Frank Whaley, but there is a scene in the beginning that might be the best in the movie. In an uncredited cameo, John Candy plays C.D. Marsh, the manager of the Target store Whaley is trying to get hired on as a security guard. As only Candy could, he makes the seemingly mundane scene come alive with his subtle frustration in confusing Whaley as a candidate for a much more important position than Whaley is applying for. 

John Hughes could write for just about any kind of character. He wrote jerks you hated, he wrote people you love, but most of all, he always brought the funny. He is missed every day, but will never be forgotten because he wrote so many. 

Pedro Pascal has made a career out of starring in TV shows and movies where he plays an R-rated badass. To prove this point, his latest hit is The Last of Us, he had a stand-out role in Game of Thrones, and he was on Netflix’s Narcos as well as Kingsman: The Golden Circle. In short, he’s been in tons of projects that aren’t exactly kid friendly. Turns out, there's a good chance his parents might have let him watch these as a kiddo, considering the films he saw at such a young age, but his dad had to draw the line somewhere, and that line hilariously was The Breakfast Club of all movies. And the actor revealed why that was the one film he wasn't allowed to watch as a kid. 

Pascal admitted he was a bit shocked by his dad's ban on The Breakfast Club, considering he was allowed to watch movies like The Big Chill and First Blood. And knowing that, I’m also a bit shocked; I'm also convinced the actor probably would have been able to watch some of his own work if it came out back then, considering the other films he was able to see. 

The actor went on to explain why his dad wouldn’t let him and his sister watch the John Hughes’ classic on Late Night with Seth Meyers, saying: 

Meyers noted that there is no nudity in The Breakfast Club, and it’s not a violent movie by any means. However, it does deal with mature topics, and I understand Pascal’s dad not wanting his kids to watch a movie where the kids bash their parents.  However, the patriarch of the Pascal family's logic is still a little funky.

Pascal also noted that he was allowed to watch Sixteen Candles, and both he and Meyers agreed, that movie was probably worse to watch as a kid compared to The Breakfast Club. 

The talk show host then joked that that was a “wild swing” in Pascal's parents' opinion from being dead set on their kids not seeing this high school classic to basically using the movie as a babysitter stand-in. 

Now, it seems like a good portion of Pedro Pascal’s work is not necessarily kid friendly. He might be great as the lead of The Last of Us cast, but as an adult that show terrifies me, so I would not allow a 10-year-old to watch personally. Also, Game of Thrones would be a hard pass too, considering the actor has one of the more R-rated death scenes out of the entire GoT cast. However, The Mandalorian I might be OK with a kiddo watching, like The Breakfast Club it might not be the most kid-appropriate, but it’s really not that bad. 

To see the film Pascal’s father banned, then un-banned him from watching, you can stream The Breakfast Club with a Hulu subscription. If you want to watch any of the actor’s arguably more R-rated work you can watch new episodes of The Last of Us every Sunday on HBO or with an HBO Max subscription at 9 p.m. ET, and new episodes of The Mandalorian will be available to those with a Disney+ subscription starting March 1. 

There are only so many movies that fall under the category of “musical,” but most movies do have a musical element to them that lends much to their timelessness. I am not specifically talking about film scores here, but of the catchy and powerful pop hits that have accompanied some of cinema’s iconic moments - most of which were written specifically for the movie and helped launch its popularity, and vice versa. The stories behind how these iconic movie songs came to be (and other intriguing relative facts) are almost as fascinating as the films they appear in.

"Writing's On The Wall" - Sam Smith (Spectre)

While co-writing "Writing's on the Wall" -- from 2015's Spectre -- brought him great success -- including the Best Original Song Oscar -- Sam Smith does not enjoy singing his James Bond theme. Before singing the song for an audience for the first time on The Graham Norton Show, the Grammy winner revealed that he was "dreading" that very performance because it requires him to hit such a painfully high note. He then joked he would have to "grab [his] balls" to achieve the right pitch. 

“Danger Zone” - Kenny Loggins (Top Gun)

The secret as to why the opening scene of Top Gun - the highest grossing film of 1986 - is so unforgettable is the accompaniment of the infectious rock hit “Danger Zone,” which was composed and produced by Giogio Moroder with lyrics from Tom Whitlock. Vocalist Kenny Loggins recalled to MovieWeb that the film’s director, the late Tony Scott, also helmed the song’s music video, which was rare for a major Hollywood filmmaker to do at the time.

“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” - B.J. Thomas (Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid)

Of the four Academy Awards that the seminal western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid earned in 1970, one of them was for its equally seminal original song, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head.” While the iconic track was memorably sung by B.J. Thomas, the late singer revealed in an interview for The Tennessean that co-writer Burt Bacharach approached folk legend Bob Dylan about singing the vocals. 

“Moon River” - Audrey Hepburn (Breakfast At Tiffany’s)

Composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics from Johnny Mercer, “Moon River” became a unique standout after its appearance in the classic romantic-comedy Breakfast at Tiffany’s as sung by its star, Audrey Hepburn, who was not known as a singer at the time. According to The Telegraph (via Southern Living), that is why Paramount Pictures’ then-president, Barney Balaban, wanted to remove the song from the 1961 adaptation of Truman Capote’s novel, but Hepburn said that would only happen over her dead body.

“Lose Yourself” - Eminem (8 Mile)

Seventeen years after it won the Oscar for Best Original Song for its appearance in 8 Mile, Eminem took the stage at the 2020 Academy Awards for a surprise performance of his powerful track, “Lose Yourself.” Co-writer Jeff Bass told Billboard in 2017 that it took roughly a year to complete the song, partly because it was not until after receiving Scott Silver’s script that the rapper (born Marshall Mathers) began developing the autobiographical lyrics.

“Theme From Shaft” - Isaac Hayes (Shaft)

Isaac Hayes became the first Black man to ever win a music Oscar for the theme song of the 1971 Blaxploitation classic, Shaft. In 2000, the late musician-turned actor told NPR that, after he was hired to score the film, he requested to audition for the title role before it went to Richard Roundtree.

“Fight The Power” - Public Enemy (Do The Right Thing)

One of the most striking hits in the history of rap music is Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” which got a lot of exposure in writer, director, and star Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. According to an oral history by Rolling Stone, Lee wanted the “anthem” for his influential, and still socially relevant, 1989 classic to be a hip-hop rendition of the iconic hymn “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as performed by the rap group, until co-writer Hank Shocklee of the Bomb Squad suggested making something new that would “resonate on the street level.”

“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” - Simple Minds (The Breakfast Club)

According to a Guardian article written by lead singer Jim Kerr, Simple Minds initially turned down the offer to perform “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” for John Hughes’ influential teen dramedy, The Breakfast Club until the song’s writer, Keith Forsey, spent some time with the band and they hit it off. Kerr also improvised the “la, la-la-la-la” at the end and planned to incorporate real lyrics later, but Forsey insisted it should stay.

“Mrs. Robinson” - Simon & Garfunkel (The Graduate)

In an interview for The Game 365, Paul Simon recalled a time he happened to spot Joe DiMaggio - who is mentioned in the Grammy-winning song from The Graduate - at a restaurant, approached him, and was questioned why the song asks where the baseball legend has gone. The singer-songwriter explained that the namedrop in “Mrs. Robinson” was a nod to a seeming absence of great American heroes at the time, which DiMaggio was then flattered by.

“St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion)” - John Parr (St. Elmo’s Fire)

The ultimate film from the “Brat Pack” era would have to be director Joel Schumacher’s star-studded 1985 drama, St. Elmo’s Fire, for which John Parr wrote and performed the theme song. When speaking to NPR, the British musician revealed the unlikely source for the lyrics to “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion),” which has little to do with the actual plot of the film, but with the inspirational story of a wheelchair-using Olympian from Canada named Rick Hansen.

“See You Again” - Wiz Khalifa Feat. Charlie Puth (Furious 7)

Charlie Puth told Entertainment Weekly that he wrote the chorus for the Oscar-nominated “See You Again” in 10 minutes while thinking of a friend of his who had passed in a similar way to Paul Walker. The actor’s untimely death in 2013, caused by a car crash, inspired Universal to approach Puth to pen a song for the end of Furious 7, which pays tribute to Walker.

“Shallow” - Lady Gaga And Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born)

While having a more romantic meaning in the context of the story from 2018’s A Star is Born, Lady Gaga told Variety that she believes the popularity of “Shallow” stems from a more serious real-world topic. She said that, in the wake of the #MeToo movement, the content of the Oscar-winning hit’s lyrics being a conversation between a man and a woman who are connecting and openly listening to each other is “why people cry when they hear it.”

“(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life” - Bill Medley, Jennifer Warnes (Dirty Dancing)

The Dirty Dancing cast played writer Franke Previte’s original demo of “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life” while filming the iconic ending performance, which was also the first scene they shot. Previte told American Songwriter that star Patrick Swayze later thanked him at the Oscars for the on-set camaraderie that the demo provided them.

“Eye Of The Tiger” - Survivor (Rocky III)

Survivor guitarist and “Eye of the Tiger” co-writer, Jim Peterik, revealed to Songfacts that Sylvester Stallone initially wanted to use “Another One Bites the Dust” in the montage where the song appears in Rocky III. When he could not get Queen’s permission, he hired the ‘80s rock outfit, who originally thought to call the Oscar-nominated power ballad “Survival,” which would have been the last word of the chorus to rhyme with the lyric “rising up to the challenge of our rival.”

“Ghostbusters” - Ray Parker Jr. (Ghostbusters)

With only a few days given to complete the Ghostbusters theme song (the film itself was conceived, shot, and released within a year), Ray Parker Jr. struggled with the lyrics, especially with figuring how to incorporate the title, as he recalled on an episode of Netflix’s The Movies That Made Us. His breakthrough came when the titular paranormal exterminators’ TV ad in the film reminded him of bug exterminator commercials and inspired him to lead into the famous “Ghostbusters!” shout with the equally iconic phrase “Who you gonna call?”

“Stayin’ Alive” - Bee Gees (Saturday Night Fever)

According to ProCPR.org, a study proved that CPR trainees can maintain the technique at the recommended momentum of 100-120 compressions per minute even more effectively while listening (or singing aloud) to the Bee Gees hit which opens the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. How fitting that a song called “Stayin’ Alive” really can help save lives.

“Purple Rain” - Prince And The Revolution (Purple Rain)

The title song from the soundtrack for Purple Rain was originally recorded by Prince and The Revolution during their live performance of it in the movie’s final scene, which was also the first time the band ever played it on stage. Alan Light, who wrote a book about the making of the 1984 film called Let’s Go Crazy, assured NPR that only minimal editing was applied to the track as it appears on the album, such as the omission of a verse and few notes in Prince’s guitar solo.

“9 To 5” - Dolly Parton (9 To 5)

According to Biography, Dolly Parton agreed to star in the 1980 comedy 9 to 5 on the condition that she could also write the theme song. The country music legend came up with its baseline (which resembles the sound of a typewriter) on the set while strumming her acrylic fingernails in between takes, which is why “Nails by Dolly” can be found in the soundtrack credits.

“Kiss From A Rose” - Seal (Batman Forever)

While it is impossible to separate “Kiss From a Rose” from Batman Forever, the song was not originally written for the superhero film and, in fact, Seal wrote it in 1987 - years before he was even signed to a label, according to People. In response to Joel Schumacher’s passing in 2020, Seal posted an Instagram video recalling how the director’s inclusion of the song in the 1995 blockbuster turned the romantic ballad - previously a flop - into the defining hit of the artist’s career.

“Footloose” - Kenny Loggins (Footloose)

When speaking to Bart Herbison of Nashville Songwriters Association International for an interview published by The Tennessean, Kenny Loggins made a “confession” about the title song from the 1984 Kevin Bacon-led hit Footloose. The lines “Please, Louise, pull me off of my knees” and then “Jack, get back. Come on before we crack” were inspired by a similar lyrical device Paul Simon used for “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” specifically when Simon sings, “Slip out the back, Jack / Make a new plan, Stan,” etc.

“My Heart Will Go On” - Celine Dion (Titanic)

Penned by James Horner, the love theme from Titanic, “My Heart Will Go On,” won the hearts of many - including those at the Academy Awards - but, initially, not its vocalist, Celine Dion, who told Billboard, “When I recorded it, I didn’t think about a movie; I didn’t think about radio. I thought, Sing the song, then get the heck out of there.” Additionally, director James Cameron was, at first, against the idea of adding a pop song to the end of his historical tragedy, but after a push from the studio and some convincing from Horner, he conceded and came to really admire the ballad’s resonance to the film’s romantic plot.

“I Will Always Love You” - Whitney Houston (The Bodyguard)

Whitney Houston’s career-defining song, “I Will Always Love You,” was recorded specifically for her 1992 romantic thriller The Bodyguard, but it is actually a cover of a Dolly Parton classic. Curiously enough, according to an oral history by EW, producer David Foster actually based his arrangement of the song on a previous cover by Linda Ronstadt, which was the only version he could find at the time.

“Gangsta’s Paradise” - Coolio Feat. L.V. (Dangerous Minds)

As Coolio revealed to Rolling Stone, Stevie Wonder had a few conditions that had to be met before he and L.V.’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” - the de facto theme for 1995’s Michelle Pfeiffer-led drama Dangerous Minds - could be released, because it samples his 1976 song “Pastime Paradise.” Ironically, the rapper himself was not happy with “Weird Al” Yankovic’s parody, “Amish Paradise,” and would not make peace with it until years later.

“A Whole New World” - Alan Menken, Tim Rice (Aladdin)

Alan Menken has won several awards for iconic, sweeping songs from some of the best animated Disney movies, including “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. The composer revealed in an interview with Jake Hamilton (co-host of the ReelBlend podcast) that the original title he had in mind was “The World At My Feet” until lyricist, Tim Rice, suggested that “the word ‘feet’ would be better not in the title of a Disney love song.”

“Goldfinger” - Shirley Bassey (Goldfinger)

We all know that the title track from Goldfinger (one of the all-time greatest Bond movie theme songs) is sung brilliantly by Welsh songstress Shirley Bassey, but less people are aware that a young Jimmy Page played guitar in the orchestra. The future Led Zeppelin founder recalled to GQ how Bassey performed the session in one take and, after holding the huge final note, ran out of breath and collapsed on the floor.

“The Power Of Love” - Huey Lewis & The News (Back To The Future)

Huey Lewis & The News wrote and performed two songs for 1985’s masterful time travel adventure, Back to the Future - most famously the Oscar nominated hit, “The Power of Love.” As Lewis recalled in a video for Rolling Stone, the musician makes a funny, uncredited cameo as a Battle of Bands judge who believes the rendition of the song that Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and his band perform for their audition is “too darn loud.”

“That Thing You Do!” - The Wonders (That Thing You Do!)

The titular, Oscar-nominated 1960s-style pop song from Tom Hanks’ 1996 directorial debut, That Thing You Do!, was actually written by Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger, who went on to compose Howard Stern’s theme music, became the musical director for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and other notable works. When he passed away from Covid-19 in 2020, the members of the fictional band from the film, The Wonders, reunited over Zoom for a livestream as a pandemic relief benefit.

“Rainbow Connection” - Jim Henson (The Muppet Movie)

One of the most celebrated achievements of prolific songwriter Paul Williams is “Rainbow Connection,” which Kermit the Frog (voiced by Jim Henson) performs in The Muppet Movie from 1979. In a video interview shot for The Tennessean in 2016, Williams told Bart Herbison that he and and co-writer Kenneth Asher wanted to give Kermit a song as heartwarming and “spiritual” as Jiminy Cricket’s “When You Wish Upon A Star” from 1940’s animated Disney classic Pinocchio, which served as a jumping-off point for the Oscar-nominated ballad.

There really is nothing like dropping the needle on your favorite movie soundtrack and reminiscing about the scenes in which each killer song appears. Now you have many more stories to associate them with.

It is hard for many of us to forget about the infamous The Brat Pack (though the actors involved did not all love the name), a group of teen actors who starred together in many fan-favorite, coming-of-age '80s films. However, for one actual member of the popular group of films, being a member actually seems to still be a bit of a shock. Actress-turned-professor Ally Sheedy recently spoke out about her time as an eighties icon and how her students waste no time Googling her. 

Can you imagine having former Brat Pack actress Ally Sheedy as your college professor? These days, you can find Ally Sheedy, known for playing roles like Alison in the cast of the Brat Pack film The Breakfast Club, teaching acting classes at the City College of New York. Sheedy spoke to People about how her students either researched her name or are already fans of her films. The actress has no problem speaking to her students about her acting experiences after they "Google" her, noting: 

While Ally Sheedy is currently a college professor today, do not think for a second that she has given up her acting chops. You can currently see her on Freeform’s Single Drunk Female playing the mother of a daughter who is trying to maintain sobriety. Fun fact: Sheedy was younger than her on-screen daughter when she landed roles in Brat Pack films The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire. (So, she may not be as truly iconic as Molly Ringwald in Brat Pack movies, but she definitely made a mark.) On the big screen, this college professor even has a cameo appearance in X-Men: Apocalypse you can check out!  

Children of the 1980s may remember that one of Ally Sheedy’s first roles was in Wargames as the adorable friend of a teen hacker who messes with a government program. Still, it's hard to believe it was over thirty years ago that the famous Brat Pack film The Breakfast Club originally came out. After flicks like these came into play, she hit a tough patch in Hollywood. While she had no trouble being handed roles, she also shared in the interview that comedies were really the only things coming her way for a while. 

In the '90s, Sheedy moved back to her childhood home in New York. She managed to not only secure an acting teacher position but won an Independent Spirit Award in 1998 for her role in High Art. With teaching, acting, and being a mother under her belt, there is nothing this woman can’t do! 

So, now you know where to turn to if you would like to have Ally Sheedy as your next acting teacher as well as learn about some of her insider actor experiences. Be sure to take a look at CinemaBlend’s 2022 TV schedule to learn more about where to catch shows like Single Drunk Female and others for your home entertainment.

When it comes to some of the most iconic films of the eighties, what is one of the first ones you think of? It could be Raiders of the Lost Ark, or maybe Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, but to me, I always think of the teen films that ruled the decade. And one of those teen films is the legendary John Hughes movie, The Breakfast Club.

But with a film that's as iconic as The Breakfast Club was, where is the cast nowadays? Are they going to be in any upcoming 2021 movies or 2022 movies? I'm talking about some of the main stars, like Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson and more. Look no further, because now we’re going to break down where The Breakfast Club cast is going, what they’re biggest hits have been since the the eighties film premiered long ago.

Judd Nelson (John Bender)

Known as “The Criminal” in The Breakfast Club, I think all of us at some point fell for the legendary bad boy of this film, John Bender. Judd Nelson played Bender in the film, and since then has been quite active in both film and television.

After his time in The Breakfast Club, he went on to star in several films, such as the coming-of-age drama, St. Elmo’s Fire, Relentless, Conflict of Interest, The Day the Earth Stopped, and the television film, Billionaire Boys Club, alongside several other features. In terms of TV, he’s had several appearances on big-time TV shows, like a main role in the sitcom, Suddenly Susan. He also has had several guest roles on series’ like Psych, CSI: NY, Family Guy and more, and also had a recurring role on the drama, Empire.

Soon, Nelson is going to be in a new film, titled South of Hope, and new TV show titled, In-Security, so it seems it won’t be long before we are seeing him back on both the big and small screen soon.

Molly Ringwald (Claire Standish)

When you think of some of the most iconic faces of the eighties, one of them that always comes to mind is Molly Ringwald, who played “The Princess” Claire Standish in The Breakfast Club. And ever since then, she’s had quite the career.

Ringwald became widely known for starring in coming-of-age films. Prior to her role in The Breakfast Club, she starred in Sixteen Candles. After the Brat Pack became famous, she starred in another classic, Pretty in Pink. She also played a part in many different genres of movie, like the romantic comedy, The Pick-Up Artist, the coming-of-age drama, Fresh Horses, For Keeps, the drama Something to Life for: The Alison Gertz Story, and several others. She’s also had a main role in The Kissing Booth film series on Netflix, alongside The Kissing Booth 3 cast.

Ringwald has also had a successful career on television as well, having a lead role in the Stephen King miniseries, The Stand, was part of the main cast of The Secret Life of an American Teenager, was the series lead in Raising Expectations, and has recently had a recurring role on the CW show, Riverdale.

In the next couple of years, Molly Ringwald plans on having two films releasing, titled Pursued and Kingfish, so soon we’ll get to see the legendary queen of the eighties back on movie screens once more.

Emilio Estevez (Andrew Clark)

Known as “The Athlete” in The Breakfast Club, Emilio Estevez played Andrew Clark perfectly, and showed that even athletes can have feelings too and have their own issues. Moving on from his role in the legendary film, Estevez went on to also have a major career, starring in several different genres of film and television.

Prior to his role in The Breakfast Club, Emilio Estevez had a main role in the S.E. Hinton adaptation of The Outsiders. After The Breakfast Club, Estevez went on to star alongside Judd Nelson in St. Elmo’s Fire, played a role in The Mighty Ducks, as well as its sequel, was in the buddy cop film, Stakeout and its sequel, and had a part in both Young Guns and Young Guns II.

Emilio Estevez has also had a few roles in TV, including multiple shows where he has guest-starred. This include the NBC series, The West Wing, Criminal Minds, Two and a Half Men (alongside his brother, Charlie Sheen), and a couple others.

In the '90s, Emilio Estevez played the role of lawyer/hockey coach Gordon Bombay in The Mighty Ducks cast, which he reprised for the sports comedy-drama, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers on Disney+, which has been renewed for a Season 2.

Soon, Estevez will be in an upcoming film titled, Guns 3: Alias Billy the Kid, which is meant to be another sequel to the Young Guns franchise. Hopefully, we get to see him kick some Western butt real soon.

Anthony Michael Hall (Brian Johnson)

Personally, my favorite part of The Breakfast Club was always Brian Johnson’s “The Brain,” because it showed that nerds were way more than just their heads and their smart grades, and Anthony Michael Hall did a wonderful job of showing that through his portrayal. Since the film was released, Hall has done plenty in both film and TV.

Hall also had a role in Sixteen Candles alongside Molly Ringwald prior to his part in The Breakfast Club, but after that, he went on to have roles in Weird Science, Out of Bounds, Johnny Be Good, Edward Scissorhands, Six Degrees of Separation, the superhero film, The Dark Knight, the drama Foxcatcher, the action film, War Machine, and so many others.

But besides film, Anthony Michael Hall has also been active in TV. For a short while he was a cast member on Saturday Night Live, but after that he went on to have roles in shows like The Dead Zone, a recurring part in Warehouse 13, a recurring role on The Goldbergs, and many more, like The Blacklist, Murder in the First, and more.

Coming up, Anthony Michael Hall is going to have a role in the upcoming horror film, Halloween Kills, alongside Jaime Lee Curtis, and he has two other roles in film coming out as well, titled The Class and Zero. I think the next couple of years for this talented actor are going to be some packed ones.

Ally Sheedy (Allison Reynolds)

You just had to love “The Basket Case” Allison Reynolds in The Breakfast Club. She was the perfect example of how someone can be absolutely unique and have fun while also showing that her life might not be so easy either. Ally Sheedy, who played Allison, has been active in Hollywood since her role in The Breakfast Club.

She also had a part in St. Elmo’s Fire, but then went on to have roles in films like Short Circuit, High Art, and other films that were a bit lower profile than others. However, she’s also appeared on TV plenty of times, including guest star roles in shows like SMILF and recurring roles in series’ like Kyle XY and Psych. Sheedy has also been in several television films as well, like The Warden, Country Justice and more.

Coming up, Ally Sheedy is set to have a role in a film titled Chantilly Bridge, be in a TV series called Single Drunk Female.

Paul Gleason (Vice Principal Richard)

I think a part of us all hated Vice Principal Richard. He represented everything we could possibly despise about school, which is why the The Breakfast Club gang going against him was great and fulfilling. But Paul Gleason was anything but a jerk and played the role very well, and would resume a successful career after his part in the classic film.

Gleason had already had a very prominent career before his part in The Breakfast Club, one of his most notable roles playing Dr. David Thornton in the soap opera, All My Children for several episodes, and he was in Trading Places. But he would only go on to have many more parts in both TV and film. He also had a part in Johnny Be Good, as well as the classic Bruce Willis-led action film, Die Hard, the fantasy film, Wishman, and many more.

Gleason also had an active television career as well, with many guest roles on popular shows like Friends, Dawson’s Creek, Drake & Josh, Malcolm in the Middle, and several others, as well as a recurring role in the series, One West Waikiki.

Sadly, Paul Gleason passed away in 2006, but at the very least we still have his old films and television appearances to remember his amazing talent, and the iconic character that we all grew up watching.

John Kapelos (Carl Reed)

Ah, the janitor. With The Breakfast Club, I feel like we’re always so focused in on the Brat Pack that we don't pay enough attention to the few characters who are behind the scenes, and that would be Carl Reed, the janitor of their school, played by John Kapelos.

Kapelos has had many roles in both TV and film. Like some of his co stars, he also had parts in Sixteen Candles and Weird Science, but went on to star in plenty other films, including Roxanne, The Craft, the drama The Shape of Water, 22 Chaser and more.

John Kapelos has also appeared in several TV shows, like a recurring role in the series, Justified, or like the Netflix original, The Umbrella Academy. He also had a role in The Crossword Mysteries, where he played Chief O’Conner. Coming up, he will be in two films, titled Val and The Class.

Out of everyone from The Breakfast Club, which do you think you’ll see next in your favorite TV series or movie? Regardless, we all know how iconic this film was back then, and even more so now. I think I’ll go ahead and re-watch it. Sometimes all you need is some amazing eighties goodness.

The list of the best ‘80s movies is a massive and diverse list of everything from iconic action movies to Best Picture winners, and so much more. With so many great movies having come out in the penultimate decade of the 20th century, keeping track of all those rom-coms, sci-fi thrillers, horror flicks, and tear-jerking dramas is no easy task.

Looking for a way to revisit your favorites from the ‘80s while waiting for those new releases on the 2025 movie schedule? Well, come with us as we explore the best the ‘80s had to offer and how to watch those movies on some of the best streaming services. There’s a lot to unpack, so let’s go back to the ‘80s with these great movies…

The Big Chill (1983)

The Director: Lawrence Kasdan

The Cast: Glenn Close, Kevin Kline, William Hurt

What It’s About: A group of college friends reunite to bury one of their own who has committed suicide. Together for the first time in years, the once close-knit gang examine their college experience and what has changed.

What To Expect: With one of the best movie soundtracks ever assembled, incredible performances by some of the biggest ‘80s stars, and an unflinching story about friendship and identity, The Big Chill has it all.

• Stream The Big Chill on Max.
  Rent/Buy The Big Chill on Amazon.
• Get The Big Chill on DVD on Amazon.

Major League (1989)

The Director: David S. Ward

The Cast: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Wesley Snipes

What It’s About: After discovering that their team’s new owner is planning on tanking the team to relocate to sunny Florida, the ragtag group of misfits that make up the Cleveland Indians take matters into their own hands and attempt to pull off the impossible.

What To Expect: One of the best baseball movies of all time, Major League hits the triple crown of a sports flick: comedy, drama, and all kinds of web gems.

• Rent/Buy Major League on Amazon.
• Get Major League on DVD on Amazon.

Clue (1985)

The Director: Jonathan Lynn

The Cast: Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Michael McKean

What It’s About: Six seemingly random strangers, who appear to have nothing in common with one another, are summoned to a mansion for dinner, only to discover they are in the middle of a murder mystery where no one can be trusted, not even the staff.

What To Expect: With its multiple endings, hilarious gags, and unforgettable performances by some of the funniest people in Hollywood, Clue takes a classic board game and turns it into a classic whodunit comedy.

• Rent/Buy Clue on Amazon.
• Get Clue on DVD on Amazon.

Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (1989)

The Director: Joe Johnston

The Cast: Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Amy O’Neill

What It’s About: After being in the wrong place at the wrong time, a group of teenagers are turned into a fraction of their normal size and are forced to survive the dangerous hellscape that is their backyard.

What To Expect: One of the most hilarious Rick Moranis movies, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, is full of great practical effects, a wild story, and some of the most iconic movie moments of the ‘80s.

• Stream Honey, I Shrunk the Kids on Disney+.
• Rent/Buy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids on Amazon.
• Get Honey, I Shrunk the Kids on DVD on Amazon.

Field Of Dreams (1989)

The Director: Phil Alden Robinson

The Cast: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta

What It’s About: Ray Kinsella’s (Kevin Costner) life is forever changed after hearing a mysterious voice whisper “If you build it, he will come” while out in his cornfield.

What To Expect: What follows is one man’s journey to “ease the pain” of his hero, an odyssey that concludes with one of the most emotional scenes in any sports movie.

• Rent/Buy Field of Dreams on Amazon.
• Get Field of Dreams on DVD on Amazon.

Raising Arizona (1987)

The Director: The Coen Brothers

The Cast: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, John Goodman

What It’s About: A down-on-their-luck couple goes to extreme lengths to have a baby of their own, even if that means kidnapping one from a wealthy family.

What To Expect: One of the Coen Brothers’ best movies, Raising Arizona has a perfect blend of comedy and crime, as well as no shortage of iconic and unforgettable characters.

• Rent/Buy Raising Arizona on Amazon.
• Get Raising Arizona on Blu-ray on Amazon.

9 to 5 (1980)

The Director: Colin Higgins

The Cast: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton

What It’s About: A trio of fed-up secretaries team up to get even with their sexist boss, but things get out of hand when they learn their dream may have come true.

What To Expect: In addition to having one of the best movie songs of all time, 9 to 5 also has one of the best premises of the ‘80s and a cast that is untouchable.

• Rent 9 to 5 on Amazon.
• Get 9 to 5 on DVD on Amazon.

A Christmas Story (1983)

The Director: Bob Clark

The Cast: Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon

What It’s About: A young boy named Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) tries to convince everyone from his parents to his teacher and even Santa Claus himself to bring him a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas.

What To Expect: Made up of a series of vignettes showcasing life in 1940s Indiana, A Christmas Story perfectly captures childhood obsession and what happens when reality brings your dreams crashing down.

• Rent/Buy A Christmas Story on Amazon.
• Get A Christmas Story on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Adventures In Babysitting (1987)

The Director: Chris Columbus

The Cast: Elisabeth Shue, Anthony Rapp, George Newbern

What It’s About: After being stood up by her boyfriend, high school senior Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue) decides to spend the night watching a group of young siblings. What at first seems like a quiet night and easy money quickly turns into anything but.

What To Expect: Adventures in Babysitting, one of the best movies set in Chicago, is full of great and hilarious moments, all kinds of danger, and Elisabeth Shue in all her glory.

• Stream Adventures in Babysitting on Disney+.
• Rent/Buy Adventures in Babysitting on Amazon.
• Get Adventures in Babysitting on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Airplane! (1980)

The Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker

The Cast: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen

What It’s About: With the crew and passengers incapacitated and no one else left to land the plane, a nervous pilot has to rise to the occasion and save the day.

What To Expect: The 1980 disaster film spoof, Airplane!, answers the question: what happens when a man who’s afraid to fly is the only one who can prevent a jumbo-jet from crashing?

• Rent/Buy Airplane on Amazon.
• Get Airplane! on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Aliens (1986)

The Director: James Cameron

The Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Lance Henriksen, Michael Biehn

What It’s About: After spending decades floating through space, Ellen Ripley is awoken and sent with a group of highly-trained space Marines to investigate a mining colony that has gone dark.

What To Expect: Ripley is back with a vengeance in James Cameron’s 1986 sci-fi action flick, Aliens, and she isn’t stopping until the final Xenomorph is launched into outer space.

• Rent/Buy Aliens on Amazon.
• Get Aliens on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Back To The Future (1985)

The Director: Robert Zemeckis

The Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Llyod, Lea Thompson

What It’s About: When Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) steps into a DeLorean time machine and is transported back to 1955, he must avoid high school bullies and a younger version of his own mom if he wants to get back to 1985.

What To Expect: With great time-traveling scenes, Michael J. Fox at his best, and some hilarious scenarios (both in the past and the present), Back to the Future has everything you’d want in an ‘80s movie.

• Rent/Buy Back to the Future on Amazon.
• Get Back to the Future on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Batman (1989)

The Director: Tim Burton

The Cast: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger

What It’s About: After falling into a vat of toxic chemicals, one of Gotham’s most ambitious and dangerous criminals is transformed into the prince of crime, and only Batman can stop him.

What To Expect: Tim Burton’s dark and moody 1989 unconventional superhero film, Batman, forever changed the face of comic book movies and gave audiences one of the best representations of the iconic character.

• Stream Batman on Max.
• Rent/Buy Batman on Amazon.
• Get Batman on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Beetlejuice (1988)

The Director: Tim Burton
The Cast: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin

What It’s About: When the efforts by a ghostly couple (played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) to scare away the new owners of their country home are fruitless, they turn to a spirit by the name of Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to regain control.
What To Expect: More than 35 years after its release, Beetlejuice remains one of the most inventive, iconic, and hilarious additions to Tim Burton’s massive library of movies.

• Stream Beetlejuice on Max.
• Rent/Buy Beetlejuice on Amazon.
• Get Beetlejuice on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

The Director: Martin Brest

The Cast: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton

What It’s About: A wise-cracking and rebellious Detroit police officer comes to Los Angeles to track down those responsible for his best friend’s murder.

What To Expect: Expect to laugh, like a lot, because this Eddie Murphy classic starts and doesn’t stop until the credits roll.

• Stream Beverly Hills Cop on Paramount+.
• Rent/Buy Beverly Hills Cop on Amazon.
• Get Beverly Hills Cop on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Big (1988)

The Director: Penny Marshall

The Cast: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia

What It’s About: When 12-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) wishes he was a little bigger, he gets his wish and then more when he wakes up to find he has been transformed into a full-grown adult (Tom Hanks).

What To Expect: Penny Marshall’s timeless comedy sees Baskin navigate 1980s New York City, but as a child trapped in a man’s body and various situations.

• Stream Big on Disney+.
• Rent/Buy Big on Amazon.
• Get Big on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

The Director: Stephen Herek

The Cast: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin

What It’s About: Strange things are afoot at the Circle K in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure when two dopey high schoolers (played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves) are given access to a time-traveling phone booth to pass their history exam and keep their band together.

What To Expect: Looking for righteous time-traveling sequences, air guitar, and Napoleon going to a water park? Well, look no further.

• Rent/Buy Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure on Amazon.
• Get Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Blade Runner (1982)

The Director: Ridley Scott

The Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young

What It’s About: Blade Runner follows replicant hunter Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) as he tracks down four escaped criminals who have returned to Earth from an off-world colony.

What To Expect: What starts off as a simple game of cat and mouse slowly turns into something much more complex.

• Rent/Buy Blade Runner on Amazon.
• Get Blade Runner on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Blue Velvet (1986)

The Director: David Lynch

The Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Isabella Rossellini

What It’s About: College student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) becomes involved with the dark and twisted world of his town’s criminal underbelly after finding a dismembered ear.

What To Expect: Come in expecting Lynchian twists and turns, unforgettable characters (that you’ll want to forget), and a great soundtrack.

• Rent/Buy Blue Velvet on Amazon.
• Get Blue Velvet on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

The Director: John Landis

The Cast: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Carrie Fisher

What It’s About: Two brothers attempt to get their old band back together to help save the orphanage in which they were raised.

What To Expect: In the mood for great music, even better characters, and quite possibly the best car chase of all time? Well, look no further than The Blues Brothers.

• Stream The Blues Brothers on Prime Video.
• Rent/Buy The Blues Brothers on Amazon.
• Get The Blues Brothers on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Broadcast News (1987)

The Director: James L. Brooks

The Cast: Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks, William Hurt

What It’s About: In addition to presenting the news day in and day out, a news producer finds herself in the middle of a love triangle with her longtime best friend and a dreamy yet under-qualified anchorman.

What To Expect: James L. Brooks’ romantic comedy, Broadcast News, finds the perfect balance between drama and comedy, composure and awkwardness, and so much more.

• Stream Broadcast News on Starz.
• Rent/Buy Broadcast News on Amazon.
• Get Broadcast News on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Caddyshack (1980)

The Director: Harold Ramis

The Cast: Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase

What It’s About: Set at the Bushwood Country Club, which is infested with rodents and yuppies alike, Harold Ramis’ 1980 sports comedy, Caddyshack, follows caddies (led by Michael O’Keefe), grounds crew (led by Bill Murray), and all other sorts of characters who spend a summer at the prestigious club.

What To Expect: Considered one of the best sports comedies ever made, Caddyshack has some of the subgenre’s most quotable scenes and one of Hollywood’s most hatable villains.

• Rent/Buy Caddyshack on Amazon.
• Get Caddyshack on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Coming To America (1988)

The Director: John Landis

The Cast: Eddie Murphy, James Earl Jones, Arsenio Hall

What It’s About: John Landis’ 1988 comedy, Coming to America, follows Prince Akeem Joffer (Eddie Murphy) as he travels to Queens to find a wife to bring back to the African nation of Zamunda.

What To Expect: If you’re in the mood for classic Eddie Murphy moments, some outrageous characters, and a great look at ‘80s NYC, this will do the trick.

• Rent/Buy Coming to America on Amazon.
• Get Coming to America on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Dead Poets Society (1989)

The Director: Peter Weir

The Cast: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke

What It’s About: Set in a prestigious college prep academy, the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society follows newly arrived English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams) as he spends a semester opening the eyes and changing the lives of his students, for better or for worse.

What To Expect: Dead Poets Society, one of the great coming-of-age stories of all time, is at times incredibly hopeful while at others utterly heartbreaking.

• Rent/Buy Dead Poets Society on Amazon.
• Get Dead Poets Society on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Die Hard (1988)

The Director: John McTiernan

The Cast: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia

What It’s About: NYPD officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) finds himself in the right place at the right time in Die Hard when his wife’s holiday Christmas party is overtaken by a group of international terrorists who hold them hostage in hopes of securing unfathomable wealth.

What To Expect: Bruce Willis’ wisecracks, explosive action scenes, and one of Alan Rickman’s great villains all make Die Hard an unforgettable classic.

• Stream Die Hard on Hulu.
• Rent/Buy Die Hard on Amazon.
• Get Die Hard on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Dirty Dancing (1987)

The Director: Emile Ardolino

The Cast: Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Jerry Orbach

What It’s About: Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) goes to spend a summer in the Catskills with her family in Dirty Dancing. Thinking she’ll spend the time bored out of her mind, Baby quickly finds herself learning what it means to dance, love, and stand up for herself, thanks to her dance instructor-turned-lover Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze).

What To Expect: There is no short order of romance, drama, dancing, and legendary ‘50s music in this decorated classic.

• Rent/Buy Dirty Dancing on Amazon.
• Get Dirty Dancing on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Do The Right Thing (1989)

The Director: Spike Lee

The Cast: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis

What It’s About: What initially starts out as a disagreement over which actors should or shouldn’t be included on the wall of a Brooklyn pizzeria quickly escalates into a full-blown riot in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing.

What To Expect: If you’re looking for comedy, drama, and a large dose of social commentary, give Do the Right Thing a shot.

• Stream Do the Right Thing on Prime Video.
• Rent/Buy Do the Right Thing on Amazon.
• Get Do the Right Thing on Blu-ray on Amazon.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

The Director: Steven Spielberg

The Cast: Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore

What It’s About: Steven Spielberg’s 1982 sci-fi adventure E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial follows a young boy (Henry Thomas) as he forms an unbreakable bond with a gentle alien who is trapped on Earth and just wants to go home.

What To Expect: This 1982 sci-fi classic is full of wonder, adventure, and quite possibly one of the best John Williams scores of all time.

• Rent/Buy E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial on Amazon.
• Get E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Blu-ray on Amazon.

Escape From New York (1981)

The Director: John Carpenter

The Cast: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine

What It’s About: John Carpenter’s 1981 dystopian thriller, Escape From New York, sees Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) attempt to save the U.S. President from a group of fanatical criminals who run the streets of Manhattan, which has been turned into a prison colony.

What To Expect: With one of Kurt Russell’s most badass characters, some great practical effects by James Cameron, and a legendary John Carpenter score, there’s a lot to love here.

• Stream Escape from New York on Prime Video.
• Rent/Buy Escape from New York on Amazon.
• Get Escape from New York on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)

The Director: Amy Heckering
The Cast: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold
What It’s About: The school lives, social lives, and love lives of several teenagers are explored both in and outside their California high school.
What To Expect: If you’re looking for a movie that captures the heart and soul of the ‘80s high school experience, look no further than Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Yes, that includes the good, the bad, and the unbearingly uncomfortable.

• Rent/Buy Fast Times at Ridgemont High on Amazon.
• Get Fast Times at Ridgemont High on DVD on Amazon.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

The Director: John Hughes
The Cast: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara

What It’s About: John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off follows the charismatic titular high school senior (Matthew Broderick) as he convinces his girlfriend and best friend to skip class and have an epic adventure in Chicago.

What To Expect: A quintessential ‘80s movie, and one of John Hughes’ best cinematic experiences, there are few teenage comedies that hit as hard (or as often) as this one.

• Rent/Buy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on Amazon.
• Get Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on DVD on Amazon.

Footloose (1984)

The Director: Herbert Ross

The Cast: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow

What It’s About: When Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon), a dance-obsessed high schooler, moves to a small town that has banned all forms of music and dancing, he does what any teenager would do in his position: rebels with loads and loads of dancing, in Footloose.

What To Expect: If you’re in the mood for angry dancing, John Lithgow villains, and great movie songs, look no further than Footloose.

• Rent/Buy Footloose on Amazon.
• Get Footloose on DVD on Amazon.

Friday The 13th (1980)

The Director: Sean S. Cunningham

The Cast: Betsy Palmer, Kevin Bacon, Adrienne King

What It’s About: The slasher film Friday the 13th follows a group of counselors as they are picked off one by one by a sadistic killer with one hell of a backstory involving Camp Crystal Lake.

What To Expect: You won’t see Jason Voorhees tracking down and killing teenagers this time around, but the killer in this iconic slasher is just as brutal and perhaps even more unhinged.

• Rent/Buy Friday the 13th on Amazon.
• Get Friday the 13th on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Ghostbusters (1984)

The Director: Ivan Reitman

The Cast: Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson

What It’s About: Who ya gonna call? Well, Ghostbusters if you’re looking for a fun supernatural comedy involving college professors who use their knowledge to rid New York City of ghostly threats.

What To Expect: Want to go back and see how the Ghostbusters got started? Want to see the Marshmallow Man walk through NYC again? Want to experience one of the best ‘80s movies? Here’s your chance!

• Rent/Buy Ghostbusters on Amazon.
• Get Ghostbusters on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Gremlins (1984)

The Director: Joe Dante

The Cast: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton

What It’s About: Written by Chris Columbus and directed by Joe Dante, the 1984 horror flick Gremlins answers the question: What’s the worst that could happen when you spill water on your new pet and feed them after midnight?

What to expect? Well, you’ll find out what happens when you feed a gremlin after midnight. That’s for sure!

• Rent/Buy Gremlins on Amazon.
• Get Gremlins on DVD on Amazon.

Lethal Weapon (1987)

The Director: Richard Donner

The Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey

What It’s About: Los Angeles police detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are forced to look past their differences and opposing lifestyles to uncover a massive drug-trafficking ring in Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon.

What To Expect: If you want to see one of the premier buddy action movies, Lethal Weapon is going to do the trick, and then some.

• Rent/Buy Lethal Weapon on Amazon.
• Get Lethal Weapon on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Midnight Run (1988)

The Director: Martin Brest

The Cast: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, John Ashton

What It’s About: Bounty hunter Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) sets out to capture mob accountant Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas (Charles Grodin), who has skipped out on his bail.

What To Expect: What follows is a cross-country adventure involving two personalities that mix like oil and water. But with mobsters, bounty hunters, and the FBI hot on their tail, they’ll have to work together.

• Rent/Buy Midnight Run on Amazon.
• Get Midnight Run on Blu-ray on Amazon.

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

The Director: Harold Ramis

The Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall

What It’s About: Bumbling father, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase), takes his wife and two children on what is supposed to be two weeks of family bonding but quickly devolves into a trip from hell in National Lampoon’s Vacation.

What To Expect: Expect chaos. Pure chaos!

• Rent/Buy National Lampoon’s Vacation on Amazon.
• Get National Lampoon’s Vacation on Blu-ray on Amazon.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

The Director: Wes Craven

The Cast: Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp

What It’s About: Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street follows a group of teenagers who are being terrorized by the undead killer Freddy Krueger, who attacks them when most vulnerable: while they sleep.

What To Expect: If you came looking for an iconic horror villain to be both unbelievably brutal yet undeniably hilarious, as well as terrifying dream sequences, this franchise starter will do the trick.

• Rent/Buy A Nightmare on Elm Street on Amazon
• Get A Nightmare on Elm Street on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Platoon (1986)

The Director: Oliver Stone

The Cast: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe

What It’s About: Oliver Stone’s 1986 Academy Award-winning military drama, Platoon, follows a group of American soldiers in the Vietnam War who are pushed to the brink of losing what little humanity they have left.

What To Expect: Don’t go into Platoon looking for a happy-go-lucky or romantic view of war, because this brutal, realistic, and unflinching military drama doesn’t hold back.

• Rent/Buy Platoon on Amazon.
• Get Platoon on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Raging Bull (1980)

The Director: Martin Scorsese

The Cast: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty

What It’s About: Robert De Niro plays Jake LaMotta, a former heavyweight champ whose life is falling apart in Martin Scorsese’s 1980 acclaimed, all-time great boxing movie, Raging Bull.

What To Expect: You won’t find likable or redeemable characters, but you will find one of the most engaging and hard-hitting stories ever told in and out of the boxing ring.

• Rent/Buy Raging Bull on Amazon.
• Get Raging Bull on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)

The Director: Steven Spielberg
The Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, John Rhys-Davies
What It’s About: The world is introduced to Harrison Ford’s iconic archeologist in Steven Spielberg’s 1981 adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark, which kicked off the Indiana Jones franchise with a story about the mysterious Ark of the Covenant.
What To Expect. You can expect legendary movie sequences, Nazis losing their faces, and Harrison Ford being charming as all hell.

• Stream Raiders of the Lost Ark on Disney+.
• Stream Raiders of the Lost Ark on Paramount+.
• Rent/Buy Raiders of the Lost Ark on Amazon.
• Get Raiders of the Lost Ark on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Rain Man (1988)

The Director: Barry Levinson
The Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino

What It’s About: Barry Levinson’s 1988 drama, Rain Man, netted Dustin Hoffman an Academy Award for his portrayal of Raymond Babbitt, an autistic man who has a knack for counting cards and the game of blackjack.

What To Expect: Rain Man features what could be one of Hoffman’s best performances as well as a story that is both heartwarming and incredibly maddening at times.

• Get Rain Man on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Scarface (1983)

The Director: Brian De Palma
The Cast: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer

What It’s About: Brian De Palma’s sprawling 1983 crime epic, Scarface, follows Cuban immigrant Tony Montana (Al Pacino) as he climbs from the bottom of the food chain to the top of Miami’s booming cocaine market.
What To Expect: Though being a remake itself, Scarface would go on to become one of the most influential crime films of the ‘80s and of all time, thanks to its electric tone, over-the-top violence, and one of Al Pacino’s most unhinged characters.

• Rent/Buy Scarface on Amazon.
• Get Scarface on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Spaceballs (1987)

The Director: Mel Brooks
The Cast: Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, John Candy

What It’s About: Mel Brooks’ 1987 sci-fi spoof Spaceballs takes plot points from the likes of Star Wars and other classic adventures and creates a farcical race to save the galaxy from the evil President Skroob (Brooks) and Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis).

What To Expect: Spaceballs has some of the most hilarious spoof movie gags, great comedic moments, and one of the wildest villains of the decade.

• Rent/Buy Spaceballs on Amazon.
• Get Spaceballs on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stand By Me (1986)

The Director: Rob Reiner
The Cast: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell

What It’s About: Based on a story by Stephen King, Rob Reiner’s 1986 coming-of-age story, Stand By Me, follows a group of childhood friends as they spend the final days of their summer break looking for the dead body of a missing boy.

What To Expect: This is perhaps the best “end of childhood” movie ever released, as well as a drama that never gets old no matter how many times you watch it.

• Rent/Buy Stand By Me on Amazon.
• Get Stand By Me on DVD on Amazon.

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982)

The Director: Nicholas Meyer
The Cast: William Shatner, Ricardo Montalban, Leonard Nimoy
What It’s About: The 1982 sci-fi adventure film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan sees Enterprise commander Captain James Kirk (William Shatner) cross paths with the villainous Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), a genetically enhanced superhuman he never thought he’d have to see again.
What To Expect: In the mood for one of the best Star Trek movies as well as an iconic space film, look no further.

• Stream Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on Paramount+.
• Rent/Buy Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on Amazon.
• Get Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Steel Magnolias (1989)

The Director: Herbert Ross

The Cast: Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton

What It’s About: The 1989 Golden Globe winner, Steel Magnolias, follows a tight-knit group of women in northwestern Louisiana who stand together through thick and thin.

What To Expect: Expect to laugh, cry, and then cry some more. Seriously, try watching this movie without crying.

• Stream Steel Magnolias on Max.
• Rent/Buy Steel Magnolias on Amazon.
• Get Steel Magnolias on DVD on Amazon.

The Abyss (1989)

The Director: James Cameron

The Cast: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn

What It’s About: James Cameron’s 1989 sci-fi thriller, The Abyss, follows a group of Navy Seals and petroleum engineers as they go to the bottom of the ocean to make a remarkable discovery, one that could destroy or save humanity.

What To Expect: If you want to see state-of-the-art visuals from the late ‘80s that stand up 36 years later, an engaging story, and one of Ed Harris’ best performances, check out The Abyss.

• Rent/Buy The Abyss on Amazon.
• Buy The Abyss on DVD on Amazon.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

The Director: John Hughes

The Cast: Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson

What It’s About: John Hughes’ 1985 “Brat Pack” classic, The Breakfast Club, follows five high school students from different walks of life who are brought together during Saturday detention, forever changing their lives.

What To Expect: This is one of the best “Brat Pack” films and a movie that everyone needs to watch at least once.

• Stream The Breakfast Club on Peacock.
• Rent/Buy The Breakfast Club on Amazon.
• Get The Breakfast Club on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Goonies (1985)

The Director: Richard Donner

The Cast: Josh Brolin, Sean Astin, Corey Feldman

What It’s About: Richard Donner’s 1985 coming-of-age film, The Goonies, centers on a group of friends who set out for one more adventure together before their neighborhood is demolished and turned into a multi-million-dollar development.

What To Expect: An adventure like no other, The Goonies is all of your childhood dreams (and nightmares) come to life. Pirate ships, mobsters, a “monster” who’s actually a hero, and so much more.

• Rent/Buy The Goonies on Amazon.
  Get The Goonies on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

The Director: Irvin Kershner

The Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher

What It’s About: The best Star Wars movie, 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back starts off with an epic battle on the ice planet of Hoth and only picks up from there as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) uncovers a dark secret about his past.

What To Expect: Seriously, this is the greatest sequel ever made.

• Stream The Empire Strikes Back on Disney+.
• Rent/Buy The Empire Strikes Back on Amazon.
• Get The Empire Strikes Back on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Karate Kid (1984)

The Director: John G. Avildsen

The Cast: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue

What It’s About: When high schooler Daniel LaRusso is forced to pack up his life and leave the East Coast, he lands in Southern California, where he finds himself the target of the evil Cobra Kai dojo. That is, until he learns a few tricks of his own in The Karate Kid.

What To Expect: You want karate? You want drama? You want evil dojo owners willing to do anything and everything to win? Time to watch The Karate Kid.

• Stream The Karate Kid on Netflix.
• Rent/Buy The Karate Kid on Amazon.
• Buy The Karate Kid on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Little Mermaid (1989)

The Director: Ron Clements, John Musker

The Cast: Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright

What It’s About: The 1989 Disney animated film The Little Mermaid follows the rebellious Ariel (Jodi Benson) as she tries to chart her own course in life, even if that means sacrificing everything.

What To Expect: There’s a reason why people say The Little Mermaid helped start the Disney renaissance that would follow in the early ‘90s. Simply put, this movie is a masterpiece of animation.