RANKING THE YEAR’S BEST: FROM OSCAR MOVIES TO BLOCKBUSTERS
WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE… AND LET THE MOVIE NERD DEBATE BEGIN.
LET’S REWIND TO 1987.
These are personal TOP 10s ranking Oscar-nominated movies right alongside popcorn-munching blockbusters, indie films, b-movies, and cult classics.You never know, you might even uncover a hidden gem or two.
1987 had some standout greats that totally represented the decade. In the era of sequels, several films would launch there first editions in the franchise. The #1 movie at the box office was the word-of-mouth smash hit THREE MEN & A BABY with $167 million domestically (not adjusted for inflation). Meanwhile, some turds like JAWS: THE REVENGE and SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE ruined the idea that sequels would at least satisfy die hard fans. Other bombs of notice were ISHTAR and Bill Cosby’s LEONARD PART 6.
MY TOP 10 IS FOLLOWED BY HONORABLE MENTIONS AND THE BEST OF ART VS POPCORN.
Let’s dig in…
THE TOP 10
10. ROBOCOP
9. PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES
8. THE LOST BOYS
7. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: THE DREAM WARRIORS
6. WALL STREET
5. SPACEBALLS
4. LETHAL WEAPON
3. THE PRINCESS BRIDE
2. PREDATOR
1. EVIL DEAD 2
HONORABLE MENTIONS
listed alphabetically
DIRTY DANCING / EDDIE MURPHY RAW / FULL METAL JACKET / GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM / HELLRAISER / LESS THAN ZERO / NEAR DARK / RAISING ARIZONA / THE RUNNING MAN / THE UNTOUCHABLES
THE BEST OF ART VS POPCORN
listed alphabetically
ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING / ANGEL HEART / BAD TASTE / *BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED / BEVERLY HILLS COP 2 / BORN IN EAST L.A. / BURGLAR / CHERRY 2000 / CITY ON FIRE / DRAGNET / EMPIRE OF THE SUN / FATAL ATTRACTION / THE GATE / HAMBURGER HILL / HARRY & THE HENDERSONS / INNERSPACE / LA BAMBA / THE LAST EMPEROR / MANNEQUIN / MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE / THE MONSTER SQUAD / OVER THE TOP / PRINCE OF DARKNESS / PROJECT X / REVENGE OF THE NERDS 2 / ROXANNE / THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS / STAKEOUT / SUMMER SCHOOL / TEEN WOLF TOO / THREE MEN & A BABY / THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN / WINGS OF DESIRE / THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK
MY MUST-WATCH LIST
BARFLY / THE BELIEVERS / BROADCAST NEWS / EXTREME PREJUDICE / HOPE & GLORY / MOONSTRUCK / MY LIFE AS A DOG / NO WAY OUT / RADIO DAYS / SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL / WITHNAIL & I
What do you think?
Stay tuned for more REWIND & RANK.
SLIP/THROUGH - Entertainment You Don't Want to SLIP THROUGH the Cracks 
Good stuff! Glad to see Princess Bride and Predator in the top ten. A couple I haven’t seen again, but one day eventually.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love both of those movies. They are up there with my all-time favs. If you like some of the same stuff, I hope you like some of the other recommended films you haven’t seen yet. Thanks for checking out the 1987 Top 10!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another great Top 10 Dan. Quite a few good films that year I’d probably have Robocop, Innerspace, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Predator, Moonstruck, Wings of Desire and Good Morning Vietnam. I need to see Broadcast News again and see Less Than Zero and Empire of the Sun. I do love Evil Dead 2 and have fond memories of that nurse in Nightmare on Elm Street 3. Freddy Krueger is truly evil,he even cockblocks. What is there not to say about Lethal Weapon? I fear it’s only being remembered by our generation but I still think it’s a great film.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The way you put it Freddy IS totally evil Hehhe. Thanks for commenting, buddy. 87 had some greats, eh! I agree Lethal Weapon should be remembered more fondly. I think the TV reboot and numerous sequels may have taken away from the initial popularity and how good the 1st movie was.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have not seen the show but enjoyed all the movies although if I’m being honest they are a case of diminishing returns. I still think Ebert got it right in the sense that 2 was really good, 3 was good and 4 was eh okay.
LikeLiked by 1 person
When in doubt, call on Ebert 🙂 My movie reasoning too 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
One thing is for sure, I’d rather watch Lethal Weapon 4 than Die Hard 4 and I haven’t even seen Die Hard 5. To be fair though I’d probably prefer Lethal Weapons to Die Hards even though the original Die Hard is a classic film in a way none of the Lethal Weapons can hope to be.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love what an amazing mix of timeless and completely cheesy appears here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha The 80s has the perfect blend.
LikeLike
Man I love The Lost Boys and Predator. They never get old.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Same… I totally love Predator, just kicks ass from the get-go. And Lost Boys hair metal hair and 80s cheese has lots of charm too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Lost Boys has the right balance of horror and comedy too. Plus oodles of style. How have you been Dan?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lost Boys was great fun. I’ve been good. So busy with work – last week I wrote a few short films, a tv show, and a feature – nearly 200 pages! So… swamped. But that’s a good thing. The kids show I wrote should be coming out soon and another children adaption is putting out songs I wrote now. All kinds of nerdy fun!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, you’re on a roll. Good for you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Closing in on 200 collaborations since July. 🙂 That’s a variety of editing, coverage, outlining, writing (books, movies, tv shows in every genre… plays, musicals, comics, edutainment, video games, new Facebook medium, new story apps, etc). Writer’s life, buddy. Super busy but super satisfying!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve got it made.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hehe I wouldn’t say that, but it was a life goal to be a working writer. Fingers crossed, you’ll be seeing a few projects on the screen soon though. Until then, still staying focused to the daily grind. 🙂 Thanks for asking though, buddy.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m happy for you Dan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cheers, Vinnie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Things have been heating up on my naughty blog.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right on #writeon – I checked it out again. A bit more going on there for sure. Any plans to write any other genres? Or do an erotic movie/series?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hadn’t thought of any of that, but appreciate the suggestions. Feedback from great people like yourself is all I need.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you ever run an outline by me, or need help cracking a story, I’d lend a hand. No worries.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll keep that in mind. If you get time, please comment on the blog. I like hearing from you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks like you’re building a great community over there on your other site. Good job. There’s more than fiction there too, with some interesting sex-related question based articles too. Good luck with everything. It’s not so much my cup of tea, but I did read the first chapter and was impressed by your style. I think it’s worth continuing to explore the craft. I hope the inspiration keeps coming (and that’s not a pun hehehe).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for giving it a look. My main focus is still definitely my original site. Reviewing movies is just the best.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You definitely have a knack for reviewing. Knowing how and why a film works should come in very hand when writing stories.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been watching some really good stuff recently. Yet I haven’t been pressuring myself too much, which has I’d off wonderfully.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I honestly can’t argue with your list, and I didn’t know so many great movies came out in 1987.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for chiming in and the tweet, buddy. The 80s have a lot of good Top 10s. It was a great decade with a crazy variety of genre bests.
LikeLiked by 1 person