Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
[6] When it was William Shatner's turn to spearhead a Star Trek movie, he wanted it to be about a search for God in which God turned out to be the Devil. The studio let him have his way, and…
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
[7] Freddy's franchise continues with this installment directed by Stephen Hopkins (The Ghost and the Darkness, Predator 2). Alice (returning player Lisa Wilcox) is pregnant, and Freddy (Robert Englund) finds a way to kill again through her unborn baby's dreams.…
Millennium (1989)
[5] Kris Kristofferson and Cheryl Ladd star in this sci-fi yarn about people from the future who travel into the past to kidnap the passengers of doomed plane crashes right before they die. When Kristofferson, a plane crash investigator, discovers…
Christmas Vacation (1989)
[7] Christmas is coming and Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) is determined to have the best old-time family holiday gathering ever, complete with an amazing house lighting display, the biggest Christmas tree ever, and extended family filling the house with Christmas…
Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
[7] The sequel is more of the same, but that's not always a bad thing. There's enough talent in front of and behind the cameras in the Lethal Weapon movies to warrant at least one or two entertaining sequels. The…
Dead Calm (1989)
[8] Aussie director Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger) spins a Hitchcockian yarn based on a novel by Charles Williams. Dead Calm is a solid thriller that takes place almost entirely on the open waters of the Pacific.…
Back to the Future: Part II (1989)
[6] As the sequel to an almost perfect film, Back to the Future: Part II naturally comes up short. While it lacks the heart and coherence of the first film, it's wild with ideas and invention, both on screen and…
All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
[6] Don Bluth's films (The Land Before Time, The Secret of NIMH) tend to be too mature for children and too immature for adults. Consider All Dogs Go to Heaven, where one moment you have cutsey critters singing a cringe-worthy…
Licence to Kill (1989)
[5] Licence to Kill is the anti-Bond. Timothy Dalton is out for revenge in this one (his second and final outing in the role), and the performance is desperately missing the character's trademark nonchalance. Without it, it just isn't Bond. It's…
The Fly II (1989)
[8] As unnecessary sequels go, The Fly II is far, far better than it has any right to be. I think the fact that Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont co-wrote the screenplay has something to do with it. The film…