Gorillas in the Mist (1988)

Gorillas in the Mist (1988)

[7] Sigourney Weaver plays anthropologist Dian Fossey in this biopic from director Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter, Thunderheart). Fossey studied mountain gorillas in Rwanda and the Congo, living among them for nearly 18 years in '60s, '70s, and '80s. Her fervent conservation…
Top Secret! (1984)

Top Secret! (1984)

[9] With double-entendres out the wazoo and sight gags out the yin-yang, not to mention a shiny young Val Kilmer dancing and singing his heart out, Top Secret! wins me over. Kilmer plays an Elvis Presley-like crooner set to perform in World…
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…
Dead Poets Society (1989)

Dead Poets Society (1989)

[9] Robin Williams headlines this period drama from Australian auteur Peter Weir (Witness, Picnic at Hanging Rock) centered around teen boys coming of age at a late 1950s New England prep school. Williams plays Professor Keating, their inspirational English teacher, whose unorthodox…
Witness (1985)

Witness (1985)

[8] Harrison Ford must hide among the Amish after he discovers corruption within his police department. Witness was an opportunity for Ford to show his acting chops, and it remains one of his best performances. This was the first American film made…
After Dark, My Sweet (1990)

After Dark, My Sweet (1990)

[7] Jason Patric stars as an alcoholic drifter with a troubled past who wanders into a kidnapping/ransom plot with a widow and her uncle, played by Rachel Ward and Bruce Dern. While Dern's character does much of the planning, Patric and Ward…
Eyes Without a Face (1960)

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

[8] A surgeon kidnaps young women and removes their faces in hopes of successfully transplanting one on his horribly disfigured daughter in Eyes Without a Face. Released the same season as Hitchcock's Psycho and years before Romero's Night of the Living Dead,…
Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

[8] Jacob's Ladder is a terrific example of what can happen when an inspired screenplay gets into the hands of a great director and a capable leading actor. I'm talking about Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost), Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction), and Tim Robbins…
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

[7] Mel Gibson returns as the iconic Mad Max, joined by Tina Turner in a fun, villainous role. But the third film in the series is also the weakest, first signaled by the PG-13 rating, a ridiculous attempt to make a hard-edged…
Enemy Mine (1985)

Enemy Mine (1985)

[8] After tackling fantasy in The Neverending Story, director Wolfgang Petersen turned to science-fiction in this intimate tale of opposing fighter pilots who crash-land on a dangerous planet together. Dennis Quaid plays the human, and Louis Gossett Jr plays the alien, unrecognizable…