James T Lawson favorite movies of the year 1980's.

James T Lawson is back with closing arguments on his fav movies from the 1980's. Hmmm...who could your favorite actor be?

1980: The Empire Strikes Back.    James T: "Empire Strikes Back for me is a no brainer!!! I don't need to praise or defend this film. It simply IS the best!! 1980 did bring us Superman II, even despite some cheezy moments, like him throwing the "S" from his chest as a weapon?... Still don't get that. 1980 also brought us two great comedies in Airplane and Caddyshack, one classic horror flick  The Shining, a adult movie epic entitled Caligula (classic), and three dramas worth noting, Urban Cowboy, Altered States, and The Elephant Man. I could not leave 1980 without mentioning Flash Gordon ....I don't care, I LOVE it!" 

1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark.    James T: "Raiders of the Lost Ark could easily be my favorite film of ALL time!!! I won't waste time discussing it, so I'll talk about some of my other favorites from this year like Excalibur. This movie is a beautifully shot epic with an AMAZING soundtrack, that puts you in King Arthur's world. 1981 gave us 3 comedies (Stripes, History of the World pt 1, Neighbors), 2 dramas (Mommy Dearest, Taps), 2 Sci-Fi classics (Escape From New York, Road Warrior), a Bond film (For Your Eyes Only), and 2 horror (The Evil Dead, Omen III). This year also gave us Heavy Metal, the greatest cartoon EVER!! What a year...damn!!"

1982: Blade Runner.   James T: "Blade Runner gets the nod here only because it has Harrison Ford (favorite actor). This was my hardest decision ever. I basically flipped a coin on 1982. Blade Runner and Conan the Barbarian are both in my top ten ALL time!!! Blade Runner's poster gets shown here, but you can't choose one child over the other can you? Both films also have two of my favorite soundtracks ever. It's not fair!! 1982 was amazing, it gave us Poltergeist, Airplane II, Creepshow, Star Trek II, Rocky III, The Thing, First Blood, and Officer and the Gentleman. Honorable mentions to 2 films you should find and see, The World According to Garp and Evil Under the Sun. GREAT year!"

1983: Return of the Jedi.   James T: " Return of the Jedi wins here because my heart won't let me choose against it, despite it's flaws. I'll move on through '83 which was a average year. It gave us 3 classic dramas (The Outsiders, Terms of Endearment, Scarface) 2 Bond films (Octopussy, Never Say Never Again), 3 Sci-Fi (Brainstorm, Something Wicked This Way Come, Twilight Zone) a cool little, I guess you would say horror (Videodrome) and one of the greatest comedies National Lampoon's Vacation. Honorable mention to Wargames..."Do you want to play a game."

1984: Dune.   James T: "Dune gets the poster put up, but let me say that like 1982, this was not fair. 1984 holds not one but 4 other movies on my ALL time list ( The Cotton Club, Temple of Doom, Purple Rain, Beverly Hills Cop). This year also gave us 3 Sci-Fi classics (2010, Dreamscape, The Terminator), the introduction of Freddy Kruger (Nightmare on Elm St.), action and adventure with (Romancing the Stone and Red Dawn) and the very well done Amadeus. Dune is such a childhood connection and I love the soundtrack! Honorable mention goes to Sixteen Candles and Police Academy.

1985: Year of the Dragon.   James T: "Year of the Dragon is the easy choice here, but not by much. What edges this film out over some of my other favorites from this year is Mickey Rourke. This is some of Mickey's best and if you haven't seen this film, you should. My 2nd choice for 1985 and it's also on my ALL time list, is The Breakfast Club. I can't tell you how many times I have watched this film. This was also a great year that gave us 3 great dramas (The Color Purple, Witness, Kiss of the Spiderwoman), 4 Sci-Fi (Mad Max 3, Cocoon, Back to the Future, The Goonies), a Bond film (A View to a Kill) and another Chevy Chase classic Fletch. Can't forget to mention RAMBO II and honorable mention to a film called Jagged Edge...look it up!

1986: Platoon.   James T: "Platoon is the clear winner here. One of the best, if not the best war film made. You loved or hated every character and you connected to the time and place. Oliver Stone literally put his soul in this film and was rewarded. 1986 also gave us 3 top notch drama/thrillers (Manhunter, The Mosquito Coast, Blue Velvet), 2 classic sci-fi (Aliens, Star Trek IV), 2 dramedies (Stand By Me, Jo Jo Dancer), the overrated Top Gun and the underrated Poltergeist II. Honorable mention goes to Running Scared starring the late great Gregory Hines and funny man Billy Crystal. Fun film for sure! Much love to Under the Cherry Moon. (Prince fan)."

1987: Angel Heart.   James T: "Angel Heart is on my ALL time list, so I won't discuss this film except to say once again...Mickey Rourke! This was an interesting year with some stand outs like Full Metal Jacket and Predator. It was mostly filled with good movies that werent highly spoke of. 1987 brought us 3 horror (Hellraiser, Elm St. 3, The Lost Boys), a good Bond film (The Living Daylights), and The Untouchables which stands as the only Kevin Costner film I can watch. Honorable mention to Suspect with Cher and Liam Neeson. It's a good little film. Did I forget to mention The Running Man?...(guilty pleasure)

1988: School Daze.   James T: "School Daze is the winner here with only competition coming from Die Hard. School Daze prepared me for college and then some... This was an ABSOLUTE horrible year for film. This was the year of Sequel overload, that lead to Sequel failure, just to name a few (Rambo III, Poltergeist III, Short Circuit II, Caddyshack II, Phantasm II, Crocodile Dundee II). Get the point...HORRIBLE and I left a lot off the list! I did however have a few shining examples like Willow, Working Girl, and Hellraiser II (actually better than the first). We also got the introduction of Chucky in Child's Play. Honorable mention goes to another Chevy Chase adventure Funny Farm...Love it!

1989: Dead Poets Society.    James T: "Dead Poet Society is the winner here and it's the oddest choice of them all. I picked this over The Last Crusade. This was a point in time, when my film taste changed and this was one of the films that spoke to me. A great story with solid performances lead by Robin Williams. This was a nice return after 1988's sad output. 1989 gave us 3 drama classics (Do The Right Thing, Driving Miss Daisy, Lean on Me), 5 comedy classics, two of them from Chevy Chase (Christmas Vacation, Fletch II, Uncle Buck, Parenthood and War of the Roses), 2 solid action, both with Stallone (Tango and Cash, Lock-Up), and a Bond film (License To Kill) Honorable mention goes to Pet Semetary for being a hell of a good horror flick."