11. The Last Unicorn
The third-best movie featuring unicorns (after Legend and Cabin in the Woods). There's also a witch, a wizard, a harpie, a dragon, a talking skeleton and a pirate-cat.
10. Six Weeks
Politician Patrick Dalton's life is changed when he meets precocious 12-year-old Nicole Dreyfus. His introduction to her mother, cosmetics mogul Charlotte Dreyfus, isn't nearly as friendly. But after learning of Nicky's leukemia diagnosis, Patrick bonds with them both and all of their lives begin to change.
9. Swamp Thing
Writer/director Wes Craven presents this origin story for the DC Comics title character, in which molecular biologist Dr. Alec Holland is transformed into a towering hybrid animal/plant creature who roams a southern bayou. Holland, who's motivated by preserving nature as well as solving world hunger before and after his metamorphosis, worries that the global population will reach 6.5 billion by the year 2001. Time would show that he overshot the mark; but then again, the current number of humans on the planet is an estimated 7.9 billion.
Because of his piloting skills, fluency in Russian and general build, retired Major Mitchell Grant is recruited for a joint CIA and MI6 heist behind the Iron Curtain to steal a prototype aircraft that's virtually invisible to sensors.
Aside from star/director Clint Eastwood's complete failure to even attempt a Russian accent (though his character's mission depends on him impersonation a Russian fighter pilot) and the ridiculous concept of a fighter jet's weapons being activated by the pilot's thoughts via the removable helmet, Firefox still manages to outclass the Bond films of the 1980s.
7. Conan the Barbarian
Following DC's cinematic success with Superman, Marvel took a decidedly grittier approach with this comic book adaptation detailing the rise of this muscle-bound gladiator, thief and warrior.
6. The Beastmaster
As a sword-wielding prince with a tiger companion, Dar isn't very dissimilar to He-Man. The story features an evil wizard, telepathy, thieving ferrets and quicksand. 1980s fantasy doesn't get much better than this.
5. The Wrath of Khan
The Wrath of Khan is essentially about time. Now-Admiral Kirk is struggling with coming to grips with getting older -- he feels that his time is running out. And his past catches up with him, in more ways than one: an old enemy resurfaces (Khan); he meets the son he never knew for the first time (a grown man who hates him); and he's confronted by said son's mother, Dr. Carol Marcus (literally, Kirk's baby mama).
Spock's sacrifice and its effect on Kirk in The Wrath of Khan achieve a poignancy unmatched in any other 80s Trek movie.
The Wrath of Khan was the best Trek film for decades but unfortunately, its special effects haven't aged well. On the plus side, the emotional aspects of the story hit as hard as ever. After Khan Noonien Singh disables the Enterprise, Spock makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to help get the fabled vessel moving again as "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of...the one."
4. The Verdict
3. The Last American Virgin
2. Rocky III
The third time's the charm. Rocky III is the best of the three Rocky action movies -- a category which includes Rocky IV and the unwatchable Rocky V. Four of the seven Rocky movies are dramas about people: people who make a living by fighting and the people in their lives. Rocky III, however, began a trilogy of movies that shifted the focus more to the confrontations inside the ring and away from the actual people -- which isn't a bad thing. Sometimes it's nice to just watch a couple of guys going at it without so much of the introspection and the slow build-up. That desire is the very reason that top real-world pugilists become multi-millionaires. It's a bargain, really. You get multiple, exciting fights that go the distance (no quick, 1st round knockouts like in real life) for the price of a Blu-ray rental. There was only one fight in each of the first two movies in the series, after all. Two hours and one fight.
Rocky III was also a departure for the series in that it features a jacked, super-cut, streamlined Rocky as opposed to the unchiseled slab from the first two movies. And this time around Rock is no longer the underdog, but the high-profile champion. The Philly southpaw also trains outside of the City of Brotherly Love for the first time (in the following movie, Rocky IV, he trains in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia) when his one-time rival, former undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed, takes him to his native Los Angeles in order to coach him personally. They also take Paulie along, who's as racist as ever.
People tend to forget that Hulk Hogan's punk ass appeared in the movie (his best) and in the ring. His Thunderlips, who towers over the Italian Stallion, tosses Rocky around as though he were a little kid in what is intended to be a mere exhibition match between the two. And like his fight with Apollo in Rocky, Rocky's sparring event against Thunderlips was inspired by a chapter in Muhammad Ali's life. In 1976, then-heavyweight boxing champion Ali faced professional wrestler Gorilla Monsoon in the ring during a World Wrestling Federation show held in Philadelphia Arena. The much larger Monsoon even picked Ali up and spun him around on his shoulders before throwing him onto the mat. A dazed Ali was quickly convinced by his corner to make an exit.
But despite the title, this is Mr. T's movie. He steals every scene in which he appears, Darth Maul-style. His James "Clubber" Lang is a mean, ambitious, Chicago-bred southpaw who teaches Mr. Balboa what happens to boxers who allow their edges to soften -- the hard way. Before beating the champ mercilessly, Lang insults Mickey, the now-retired Apollo and Rocky. On top of all of that, he hits on Adrian right in front of him at the unveiling of the Rocky statue at the top of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Wow.
Rocky III features the hit song "Eye of the Tiger", which won for "Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" at the 25th Annual Grammy Awards and was nominated for Best Original Song at the 55th Annual Academy Awards. The song also topped the Billboard chart for six weeks in a row, and as of 2015, has sold over 9 million copies worldwide. Ironically, "Eye of the Tiger" was only created out of necessity when Queen refused to give writer/director/star Sylvester Stallone permission to use "Another One Bites the Dust" as the movie's theme song.
1. Poltergeist
Steven Freeling has realized the American Dream: a wife; three kids; and a house in the suburbs. But his new home becomes a waking nightmare after his five-year-old daughter, Carol Anne, is contacted by -- something -- via the television set. Before long, she's disappeared and no one under the family's roof is safe. At their wits' end, the Freelings call in a team of parapsychologists to investigate. And soon discover that the situation is much worse than they'd ever imagined.
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