Dune (1984)

Dune (1984)

[8] Dino DeLaurentiis foots the bill for this gravely ambitious film adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel about the messianic rise of an off-lander who rallies a reclusive desert civilization in a fight against galactic takeover. Hot off The…
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

[7] This film and Top Gun are the ones that really launched the Simpson/Bruckheimer brand of action/comedy that would dominate the box office through the late 80s and 90s. (Even after Simpson's death in '96, Bruckheimer is still a top…
Blood Simple (1984)

Blood Simple (1984)

[8] The Coen Brothers broke onto the film scene with this claustrophobic mystery/thriller featuring Frances McDormand, John Getz, and Dan Hedaya in a murderous love triangle. M. Emmet Walsh complicates matters for all of them as a hitman for hire.…
The Bounty (1984)

The Bounty (1984)

[6] This Dino DeLaurentiis production of the infamous tale of mutiny welcomes more shades of gray into the characters of Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian than the 1935 original film, though I wouldn't say it's a better film overall. Bligh…
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)

[8] Director Hugh Hudson (Chariots of Fire) delivers an emotionally compelling adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' vine-swinging legend. The first half of the movie, depicting Tarzan's childhood up through his discovery by an Austrian explorer (Ian Holm), outshines the last,…
Tightrope (1984)

Tightrope (1984)

[5] Clint Eastwood plays a detective (who isn't Dirty Harry) assigned to a case involving a serial rapist and murderer whose victims begin to include Eastwood's acquaintances. This is a paint-by-numbers serial killer movie, full of all the old cliches…
Red Dawn (1984)

Red Dawn (1984)

[5] The Russians invade America and spark World War III in this Cold-War emblem from writer/director John Milius (Conan the Barbarian, Big Wednesday). Political correctness aside, the opening of this movie -- the Russian invasion -- is very effective. But…
The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai (1984)

The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai (1984)

[2] This movie is just too silly and disjointed for me. I hate it and I always have. It's a boring, cheap, un-inventive waste of time and talent. I truly don't get its appeal. The plot is beyond me, and…
Supergirl (1984)

Supergirl (1984)

[6] Supergirl is good cheese, one of those 'so bad it's good' kind of movies. You've got Faye Dunaway vamping out as a frustrated witch living in an abandoned amusement park, smokey voiced Brenda Vaccaro as her wise-cracking sidekick, a…
2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)

2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)

[4] Peter Hyams (Capricorn One, The Relic) tackles Arthur C. Clarke's sequel novel. It is, of course, a fool's errand to follow so closely in the footsteps of Stanley Kubrick and his revolutionary and revered 2001: A Space Odyssey, but…