My Five Favorite Films From...1983

Honorable Mention – Le Dernier Combat: With hardly any dialogue and a sparse score, Luc Besson’s first film is one to remember. This post-apocalyptic tale is unlike anything else you have ever seen.

5. The Outsiders: The Greasers and the Socs. A great adaptation of a great book. And I will admit it still gets dusty in the room when Johnny dies.

4. (Tie) Trading Places and National Lampoon’s Vacation: I couldn’t choose between the two. Both films are hilarious. If you held a gun to my head, I’d probably pick Vacation, but you cannot go wrong either way.

3. A Christmas Story: This is A Wonderful Life for my generation; always on at Christmas, but 100x more watchable and completely hilarious. Sometimes when I’m frustrated I’ll bust out the “Sons of bitches…Bumpuses!!”

2. Scarface: First time I ever saw anyone murdered (by implication) with a chainsaw. And if you want to see F. Murray Abraham hanged from a helicopter, this is the film for you. It’s hyper-violent and deserves some of the criticism it receives, but I enjoy it because at the end, justice is served with Tony’s death.

1. Wargames: A real touchstone 80s movie. Somewhat outdated today (the computer is ridiculously huge and Command Center operations were moved from Cheyenne Mountain to Peterson AFB in 2008), it's still a solid film. I don’t know if it’s because I was (and still am) a computer nerd, but I love the whole story of this one kid almost torching the planet and then saving it.

Films I Like But Didn't Make The List: Blue Thunder, The Right Stuff, Risky Business, Never Say Never Again, Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, Lone Wolf McQuade, The Keep, Mr. Mom, The Fourth Man, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Sleepaway Camp, The Dead Zone, Return of the Jedi, The King of Comedy

Guilty Pleasure – Yellowbeard: This isn’t a good movie. But Graham Chapman makes me laugh. And even though I know this isn’t a “quality” film, I like it.

Insane Film That Must Be Mentioned – Videodrome: “Long live the New Flesh.” Tumor-inducing video signals that cause hallucinations and homicidal tendencies. And that doesn’t even touch the crazy visuals. I’ll admit to liking this movie, not only because it’s unlike anything else but also because the Pride of Warwick, RI is the star. I like almost anything with James Woods (Vampire$ and John Q being the exceptions).