My Five Favorite Films From...1985

Honorable Mention – Weird Science: It’s a funny little ridiculous film. Plus, I really identified with those two nerds as a kid. What with me being a nerd and all.

5. To Live And Die in L.A.: This neo-noir film was criminally ignored when it came out. Definitely worth owning on DVD. And if you’ve only see William Petersen as Grissom on CSI, you’ll see a new side of him here.

4. Pee-wee's Big Adventure: I love this movie. It still makes me laugh when I watch it. The whole concept of him chasing after his bike is insane…but it works. And no, there is no basement at the Alamo.

3. Better Off Dead: Would “absurdist comedy” be the right way to describe this movie? Call it what you will, but it’s a lot of fun. And how can you go wrong with the bad guy being named Roy Stalin? Never mind the Korean drag-racers doing a Howard Cosell impression. And I want my two dollars!

2. Brazil: Only Terry Gilliam could meld comedy with a sci-fi dystopia. Biting satire of the highest order. If you haven’t seen it, make sure you get the DVD that has the 142-minute cut, as that contains Gilliam’s original vision. Do not settle for the studio cut of 94 minutes, which isn’t worth wasting your eyeballs on.

1. (Tie) Pale Rider and Ran: I didn’t want to have a tie at the top, but I love both these movies. Pale Rider continued Eastwood’s deconstruction of the Western that culminated in Unforgiven. And Ran was unlike anything I had ever seen in my life. It was the movie that introduced me to Kurosawa. You cannot go wrong with either of these films.

Films I Like But Didn't Make The List: Back to the Future, Day of the Dead, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, The Goonies, Ladyhawke, Rocky IV, Wetherby, The Breakfast Club, Rambo: First Blood, Part II, Young Sherlock Holmes, Witness, National Lampoon's European Vacation, Target

Guilty Pleasure – Commando: It’s a mindless action film with one-liners galore and a lot of gunplay. But I watch it every single time I see it on television. I cannot explain the hold it has over me. I don’t think it’s the bad guy with the chainmail shirt. More likely it’s that Arnie somehow slaughters over 200 enemy soldiers without getting scratched. That takes talent.

Insane Film That Must Be Mentioned – The Last Dragon: Not insane in a bad way, but in a “These guys were smoking some strong weed” kind of way. How else can you explain a plot where the Shogun of Harlem – named Sho’Nuff no less – walks around challenging random people to fights? And the hero is a guy named Bruce Leroy who needs to find “The Glow” in order to defeat Sho’Nuff? It’s completely off-the-wall in every way.