Here we are, the final day of 80s Movie Month! I hope you’ve had as much fun as I have revisiting some of the best, worst and weirdest the decade had to offer. To finish our look at 80s movies, today’s Top 5 will be counting down the biggest earning films of the decade. With some serious blockbusters released in the 80s, can you guess what made the Top 5? Read on to find out!

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On Monday I posted about the indie films that gave some character to the 80s. However, it wasn’t always the independent ones that were the strangest! The decade gave us some strange but wonderful films that I look back on now and just wonder – what were they thinking?!

5. Beetlejuice

This Tim Burton comedy-horror starred Michael Keaton as the ghost who helps a dead Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin haunt the family who has moved into their old house. Who could forget Beetlejuice’s striped suit and whacky make up, and the crazy nightmare-scape of the ghost world? This is a brilliant one that was only the beginning of what Tim Burton had to offer.

4. Labyrinth

Pop Eighties favorite David Bowie featured in this movie about a girl who wishes her baby brother to be stolen by goblins. When it comes true she has to make her way through a labyrinth to find the Goblin King (Bowie) and get her brother back. This film single-handedly began my obsession with mazes and labyrinths! I think the Jim Henson puppets were really scary and the Bowie music added to the weird atmosphere of it all.

3. Purple Rain

Prince (before he was Symbol), was a big, big deal in the 80s. So much so that he starred in this pure-ego movie, playing “The Kid” (who is basically just him), a struggling musician trying to keep his band together while having an intense relationship with singer Apollonia. It is best known for its risque sex-scenes and for spawning the hit single When Doves Cry.

2. Heathers

This is not your average teen movie. In the beginning you could be forgiven for thinking it is, with the bitchy popular clique (including Shannen Doherty), Winona Ryder playing the girl who doesn’t quite fit in, and the arrival of Christian Slater as the rebel bad-boy love interest. However, when Winona and Christian kill the leader of the popular clique by having her drink drain cleaner, the movie goes in a totally different direction. It is a brilliant satire of both teen movies and teen life in 80s America, with stellar performances by all cast members. This one is a cult classic for a reason!

1. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

This is definitely the strangest 80s film I can think of! Billed as a fantasy-comedy-noir, it mixed live action with animation in a seamless way that was quite cutting-edge for its time. Bob Hoskins stars as a private detective who investigates a murder involving cartoon character Roger Rabbit in Toon Town, where all the cartoon characters of the day live (especially interesting was the fact that this Disney film approached rival Warner Brothers to use their major cartoon characters like Donald Duck, Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny, who surprisingly agreed). I remember loving this movie as a kid, but it’s definitely more of an adult-oriented cartoon (the beguiling Jessica Rabbit certainly wasn’t drawn for kids!). Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a critical success, made a lot of money, and won 3 Academy Awards, but I think it would be most pleased to know it took out the #1 spot for weirdest movie of the decade!

If you’ve spent more than a couple of seconds on this blog, you’ve likely worked out that I love 80s music and movies more than just about anything! So when these two things are combined, it makes for very happy viewing for me. With that in mind, today I’m counting down my top 5 music-related movies of the decade. These could be musicals, movies starring musicians, movies with a band theme – you’ll have to read on to find out!

5. Dirty Dancing

This one of course needs no introduction. It’s a dance movie, but the soundtrack had a pretty huge impact and it gets extra points because the wonderful Patrick Swayze (RIP) recorded a song, She’s Like the Wind, for the movie.

4. Desperately Seeking Susan

Madonna. Fashion. Music. There might have been a plot in there somewhere, but I never really pick up on it when I watch the movie.

3. Eddie and the Cruisers

This is a favorite of mine because it is an 80s movie about a 60s rock n roll band – two of the best decades covered right there! It is a wonderful look at band dynamics and the inevitable ego clashes that come along with being in any creative group.

2. Amadeus

This one isn’t quite your regular 80s music movie! Amadeus is about Mozart (yes, that one) and his relationship with another composer, Salieri, who is wildly jealous and plots to steal Mozart’s work and glory. I especially love the depiction of Mozart in this, because it is so unexpected – Tom Hulce plays him as a lewd, spoiled brat, which is hard to reconcile with the some of the most beautiful music that has ever been composed. Amadeus won big at the Oscars in 1984, taking 8 awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Lead Actor.

1. The Blues Brothers

I’ve always had a lot of time for anything with a Belushi in it, and John B in this movie is one of the best. John and Dan Ackroyd play brothers who try to get their old blues band back together to save the orphanage they grew up in from being foreclosed on. They get themselves into all manner of hilarious situations while running from the police and getting other bands offside, while they try to get the money to save the orphanage. Belushi and Ackroyd were two of the most talented comedians of the time, and adding a great script and killer soundtrack made this my number one choice!

On Monday, I posted about the one movie from the 80s I can’t stand. Mostly though, I have an appreciation for all 80s movies – the good, the bad and the ugly! Today I’m counting down my top 5 movies that were so bad they were actually good. Because sometimes there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a really bad viewing experience!

5. Satisfaction

I am such a big fan of band-centric movies. Any type of band, any type of music, it’s one of my fave movie sub-genres. So, of course I had to check this one out, especially because it stars Justine Bateman, i.e. Mallory from Family Ties! She plays Jennie, leader of a band who needs to travel south for an audition. The whole movie is pretty stupid, but the cast is awesome, with Julia Roberts and also Liam Neeson, who hooks up with Mallory… I mean, Jennie.

4. Look Who’s Talking

I double dare you to pretend you didn’t love this movie in the 80s. EVERYONE loved it! John Travolta was at the height of his fame, and Kirstie Alley was the gorgeous new starlet to make it big. In the movie we could hear what Kirstie’s baby is thinking and it’s 80s-hilarious – partly because baby Mikey is voiced by tough-guy actor Bruce Willis!

3. Xanadu

People talk a lot of trash about Xanadu, but it is a personal favorite of mine. It’s got Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly (tap dancing!) and Michael Beck; lots of dancing; roller skating; singing and awesome 80s hair. So, I ask you, what is NOT to love?

2. The Pirate Movie

I was surprised a few years ago when I canvassed some Internet friends and found out almost no one knew about / remembered this amazing musical. The Pirate Movie is an updated version of Pirates of Penzance, with Kristy McNichol and Christopher Atkins (from Blue Lagoon) in the lead roles and the incredibly dashing Ted Hamilton as the Pirate King, all singing the classic original songs, with some new 80s-style tunes thrown in for good measure. It’s a fun, silly movie that laughs at itself and lets you laugh along with it.

1. Surf Nazis Must Die

This deserves a place on the list on the strength of its title alone! It starred no one you’ve ever heard of, and made no one famous. It is set after an earthquake destroys the California coastline and (for some reason) a bunch of gangs take over the beach, including a neo-Nazi gang. Unlike other gang movies, for example The Warriors, which is an excellent look at futuristic gang life, Surf Nazis Must Die is just stupid. But thoroughly enjoyable!

I have always been a massive sci-fi fan. After all, I’m named after a character from a sci-fi show (Jenna from Blake’s 7 – do yourself a favor and hire it out if you haven’t seen it. Easily one of the best SF shows of all time). Today I’m counting down the top 5 best sci-fi that the 80s had to offer! What would make your list? Also – you can win some cool prizes related to today’s post – go to the competitions page to enter!

5. The Abyss

This James Cameron film, starring Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, is seriously claustrophobic. It’s about a Navy SEAL team who head deep underwater in an experimental new oil platform, to try to rescue a submarine in peril. What they encounter is far more than normal marine life – they discover a life form that’s completely out of this world.

4. Blade Runner

By all rights, this should be higher on the list, but it faced some amazing competition in a decade full of amazing SF. The film is set in 2019, where robots called Replicants, who look just like humans, have been created. They are banned on Earth and only allowed to be used on Earth colonies – and if they break this rule they are hunted down by Blade Runners and decommissioned. Harrison Ford plays a burnt out Blade Runner who  takes on one last job of hunting down a particularly dangerous group of Replicants hiding out in LA. It’s a brilliant dystopian film which is considered a classic for a very good reason.

3. Aliens

Alien (from the 70s) and the sequel Aliens are the rare type of SF that has easily stood the test of time. They don’t look outdated, the stories are still relevant, the acting strong. Aliens sees space pilot Ripley (played by the AMAZING Sigourney Weaver), return to the planet from the first movie where her crew were killed by vicious aliens and she was the only survivor. The aliens are back, as terrifying as ever, and Ripley is as kick-ass as ever. This movie will never, ever go out of style!

2. Terminator

This is the movie that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a household name. Arnie plays a scary cyborg sent back in time from 2029 to to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, the woman who will give birth to John Connor, future leader of the rebels who will fight back against the killer cyborgs. Though his acting skills are questionable, in this James Cameron film Arnie is perfect as the Terminator. And, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor gave Sigourney a run for her money as the top kick-ass sci-fi chick of the decade!

1. The Empire Strikes Back

I hate to be obvious in my countdowns, but the original Star Wars trilogy was such a game changer that this movie needed to be at the top. Star Wars ushered in a new era of SF when it was released in the ’70s, and this legacy continued on with the sequels. The Empire Strikes Back is arguably the best of the lot, with lots of Han, Leia and Luke, much use of the force and light sabres, and of course one of the biggest twists in movie history – “Luke, I am your father”! Sci-Fi perfection!