1984.
5. DUNE. This ridiculously expository and ponderous adaptation is the definitive version for me and a stone cold classic. It’s full of interesting visuals and performances and oddities.
4. STAR TREK SEARCH FOR SPOCK. An underappreciated Trek film! The quest to resurrect Spock is a great story, stealing the Enterprise is a classic set piece, as is its destruction. The Klingon villain is so-so but this is a logical sequel to Khan.
3. THE TERMINATOR. The first one feels small and dated to me, but it’s a classic for a reason.
2. TEMPLE OF DOOM. The weakest of the original Indy movies but still enjoyable and chock full of iconic sequences.
1. GHOSTBUSTERS. One of the greatest comedy/horror classics of all time. It walks a perfect line between being funny and legitimately scary.
1983.
5. NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. I struggled to find five here. Connery’s return as Bond is a big deal but the movie is too long and too slow.
4. OCTOPUSSY. The dueling Roger Moore movie that year was much better.
3. NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION. I haven’t seen this since I was a kid but it’s a classic.
2. JAWS 3. I was obsessed with this movie as a kid just because it was set in Sea World. Setting an action/horror movie in a theme park is a combination of my two favorite things.
1. RETURN OF THE JEDI.
1982.
5. POLTERGEIST. One of the best in horror with some iconic scares.
4. BLADE RUNNER. An atmospheric classic with perfect production designs, but a plodding story and a leaden lead.
3. THE THING. One of the greatest horror stories of all time with to-this-day incredibly realistic and gory animatronic monsters.
2. TRON. I loved this movie as a kid and the production values hold up surprisingly well.
1. STAR TREK WRATH OF KHAN. The second best Trek movie with its greatest villain. A massive improvement over the plodding first film.
1981.
5. SUPERMAN 2. I never appreciated this movie as a kid but at least it had actual villains.
4. EVIL DEAD. A horror classic done a shoestring budget.
3. TIME BANDITS. One of my favorite Terry Gilliam movies chock full of ideas, characters, and humor.
2. EXCALIBUR. I just watched this again and it totally holds up. A perfect mythic telling of the King Arthur myth with the greatest portrayal of Merlin ever.
1. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Probably the best action/adventure movie of all time. Perfection.
That’s it! Hit my birth year! I am Raiders Years Old!
Derek Beebe 