Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986)

Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986)

[3] Whoopi Goldberg stars as a bank computer specialist who inadvertently decodes a plea for help and gets roped by the mysterious sender into a series of dangerous spy games. Jumpin' Jack Flash was Whoopi's second major role after her…
Daniel (1983)

Daniel (1983)

[6] Sidney Lumet directs this fictionalized account of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a married couple who were accused of being Soviet spies and executed in the midst of 1950s' McCarthyism hysteria. Lumet cuts back and forth in time throughout the…
Cruising (1980)

Cruising (1980)

[8] Al Pacino plays a New York police detective who goes deep under cover within the city's S&M community to catch a serial killer preying on gay men. Director William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) stirred controversy for his…
Heartburn (1986)

Heartburn (1986)

[4] Meryl Streep stars as a food critic reluctant to remarry. But who can resist the charm of Jack Nicholson? The two marry and squeeze out a kid, and then sure enough, he cheats on her and the infidelity escalates…
To Be or Not To Be (1983)

To Be or Not To Be (1983)

[7] Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft star as leaders of a Polish theater troop forced to entertain the Nazis while simultaneously plotting their escape to Allied territory. You might think the material is too heavy for a comedy, but To…
Scrooged (1988)

Scrooged (1988)

[5] I thought I'd get a lot more from a dark comedy directed by Richard Donner (Superman, Lethal Weapon) and starring Bill Murray, but Scrooged is neither dark nor funny enough to leave much of a lasting impression. Murray plays…
Sophie’s Choice (1982)

Sophie’s Choice (1982)

[8] Meryl Streep snared the best actress Oscar for her disarming performance as a Polish refugee forced by a Nazi soldier into one of the cruelest scenarios a mother could imagine -- choosing which of her two children will die.…
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)

[7] You know what? Screw it. I like this movie and I don't care who knows it. Does it break the rules Wes Craven set up in the original film by having Freddy (Robert Englund) bust out of dreamland to…
The Blue Lagoon (1980)

The Blue Lagoon (1980)

[6] There's no denying the pervasive corniness of Randal Kleiser's adaptation of The Blue Lagoon. Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins play teenagers who have grown up in isolation on a remote island after being shipwrecked as children. The film half-asses…
Howard the Duck (1986)

Howard the Duck (1986)

[6]

This may be a guilty pleasure, but I also think it inherited an unfair reputation, too.  George Lucas wanted to produce a comic film noir.  No matter how well it was done, it would never be a huge hit.  His name proved cancerous to the movie, unintentionally promising universal appeal for what is really a niche movie. The critics took their best shots and Howard the Duck went down as one of the most famous flops in movie history.