The Year in Movies: 1986

  1986

Number of Movies I've Seen: 17

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  7

Oscar Winner:
Platoon -  The year the Oscars got it right. Of all the glut of 70's and 80's era Vietnam movies, Oliver Stone's is the only one for me that avoids glorification of violence and misplaced patriotism while telling a human story that is timeless beyond those that lived its truth.

Box Office Winner:
Top Gun - Hollow, meaningless, cool-as-ice fighter jet fun.

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. Platoon 

3. Castle in the Sky - Probably my favorite from Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki. Just don't watch the dub!

4. Stand by Me - On a recent rewatch I dug this one so much more after seeing the love story that I didn't notice as a kid

5. Aliens - Alien is due all the credit for creating this universe, but this is easily the best stand-alone film in the saga.

6. River's Edge - I really need a rewatch of this one. Crispin Glover and Keanu Reaves in full 80's teen darkness.

7.  Hannah and Her Sisters  -  Many films feel like 20 minutes of content stretched to 2 hours. Allen's films somehow squeeze 10 hours of content into 90 minutes. Every character is alive, dynamic, real, and interesting. This film is also notable for quick "pre-fame" cameos from Lewis Black, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and John Turturro all in a quick 30 second scene.

8. Hoosiers - Racial optics aside, this movie will always be one of my favorite sports movies. I love basketball... I just wish my genes did too.

9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - My favorite of the Star Trek series mainly because it was the first one I saw as a cinematically aware person. Also, save the whales!

10. Short Circuit - I loved these movies as a kid. On rewatch, I realized that most of the things I loved were actually from the sequel.  Oh well...