The Stunt Man (1980)

The Stunt Man (1980)

[9] Steve Railsback (Lifeforce, The X-Files) stars as a fugitive who stumbles onto a motion picture set and gets hired as a stunt performer. As long as he's working, the film's director agrees to hide him from the law. The director, played…
Tender Mercies (1983)

Tender Mercies (1983)

[7] Robert Duvall earned the Best Actor Oscar for his subtle but moving performance in Tender Mercies, the story of a divorced, alcoholic country singer who hits rock bottom before slowly rebuilding his life. A single mother (Tess Harper) hires him to…
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

[7] Jason Voorhees escapes the morgue and returns to Crystal Lake where he preys on a fresh batch of victims in the fourth Friday the 13th movie. Among the fresh meat this time around are Crispin Glover (Back to the Future) and…
Distant Thunder (1988)

Distant Thunder (1988)

[4] John Lithgow gives a commendable performance in this stillborn drama about a Vietnam vet suffering from intense post-traumatic stress living in the remote wilderness with a few other troubled vets. After one vet 'kisses the train' (steps into the path of…
Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)

Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)

[6] After his career began to wane in the late '70s, director Robert Altman (M*A*S*H, Nashville) directed a handful of stage play adaptations throughout the '80s before having a successful 'comeback' with 1992's The Player. Ed Graczyk's Come Back to the 5…
King of the Mountain (1981)

King of the Mountain (1981)

[5] Harry Hamlin (Clash of the Titans), Joseph Bottoms (The Black Hole), and Richard Cox (Cruising) star as three friends who engage in illegal car racing along a twenty-three mile, hilltop stretch of Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles... while also trying to…
The Thing (1982)

The Thing (1982)

[10] This movie does two things extraordinarily well. It transports me and it terrifies me. Before anything scary even happens, director John Carpenter (Assault on Precinct 13, Starman) succeeds in creating an atmosphere of mystery and suspense that locks me into the…
Cocoon: The Return (1988)

Cocoon: The Return (1988)

[5] The old folks who left Earth in a UFO at the end of Cocoon are back for an unnecessary sequel that retreads the first film in so many ways, it's shameful. The entire cast and composer James Horner return for the…
Making Love (1982)

Making Love (1982)

[9] Michael Ontkean (Twin Peaks, Slap Shot) and Kate Jackson (Charlie's Angels) play a married couple, long time best friends whose relationship begins to fracture when Ontkean's character begins to explore his crush on a writer played by Harry Hamlin (LA Law,…
The Natural (1984)

The Natural (1984)

[8] Robert Redford stars as Roy Hobbs in this 1930s baseball fantasy about a middle-aged rookie who leads a down-and-out team to the top of the league with his seemingly supernatural batting skills. But when a duplicitous woman (Kim Basinger) takes his…