#11 - “Aliens” (1986) with Laramy Wells
In 1986, young up and coming writer-director, James Cameron, took the tall task of tackling a sequel to director Ridley Scott's space-thriller, "Alien". With returning cast member, Sigorney Weaver, he not only moved the stor...
#10 - “Dirty Dancing” (1987) with Tyra Williams
In 1987, a small Connecticut-based direct-to-video company made its first feature film for a true theatrical release. With low expectations from investors due to a female-driven plot amid a testosterone-heavy Summer blockbuster season, this small movie became a word-of-mouth sleeper hit, made a dancing football player turned actor into a bona fide sex symbol movie star, and birthed the worldwide phenomenon called “Dirty Dancing”.
#9 - “Major League” (1989) with Charlie Cotter
When you think of great movies about major league baseball, there aren’t too many to choose from. “Bull Durham” was about the minor leagues. “Field of Dreams” was about ghosts of former players meeting on a cornfield in Iowa to play again. “The Sandlot” and “Bad News Bears” were about kids and their love for the national pastime. And “A League of Their Own” and “The Natural” captured baseball, but baseball of the past. In 1989, only one film was able to capture major league baseball in moder…
#8 - “Predator” (1987) with Laramy Wells
Released in on June 12, 1987, up and coming director John McTiernan’s second film introduced action and horror fans to a brand new kind of extra-terrestrial threat. It was a bonafide box office hit when released due to its st...
#7 - “Summer School” (1987) with Laramy Wells
The 1980's in Hollywood was filled with more high school movies about slackers and smart-alecks than anyone actually needed, especially when it came to featuring students who looked like they were older than the teachers. Sum...
#6 - “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983) with Chris McMichen
In July of 1983, director Harold Ramis took us on a cross-country comedic adventure with one of the most well-known, and often most beloved families in pop culture today - The Griswolds. The Griswolds’ first cinematic adventure takes us from Chicago to California as the good-hearted, but dimwitted patriarch, Clark W. Griswold, attempts to drive his family to “Wally World” for a good, old-fashioned family Vacation.
#5 - “The Shining” (1980) with Laramy Wells
In 1980, director Stanley Kubrick, released a film that would haunt and terrify audiences for years to come. His own adaptation of a best-selling Steven King novel has split audiences and critics, some calling it an “overrea...
#4 - “War Games” (1983) with Chris McMichen
Released in June of 1983, “War Games” made young Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy movie stars while it irrevocably changed our views of how computers could work and what dangers “hacking” those computers could do to the national safety of our country. A razor-sharp script, standout performances, and what was considered cutting-edge technology at the time, “War Games” changed the way political thrillers have been made since. “Would you like to play a game?”
#3 - “Stand By Me” (1986) with Laramy Wells
A tender and poignant story of four friends who spend the last weekend of the Summer of 1959 looking for the body of a missing local boy, “Stand By Me” won the hearts of critics and audiences in the Fall of 1986. Starring Wi...
#2 - “Coming to America” (1988) with Ron West
In 1988, Eddie Murphy re-teamed with "Trading Places" director, John Landis, to make his tour-de-force, multi-character playing masterpiece known as "Coming To America". It officially made Eddie a bonafide movie star and gav...
#1 - “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) with Jeff Tinkle
Released on June 12, 1981, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford introduced a new kind of hero in professor, archaeologist, and fedora-wearing adventurer, Indiana Jones. They also launched one of the greatest and ...