What's in a Movie Year - 1989

Taking a look at the year 1989, picking my 10 favorite movies from that year in random order.
 

The Burbs
One of the best Tom Hanks movies nobody saw. At least, no one I know (besides my brother and parents of course, we watched it a lot). It’s funny, absurd and satirical. Dark humor, where Ray is spending his vacation days at home watching his new neighbors the Klopeks, who act weird and have strange noises coming from their house at night.
 

When Harry Met Sally
Harry and Sally are former college roommates but will never be friends because, according to Harry, friendship between men and women is impossible. Although the chemistry is obvious they maintain for years that nothing is wrong. Meg Ryan shines in her role as neurotic, somewhat naïve Sally. And Billy Crystal is the sarcastic and realistic Harry. One of the few romantic comedies I absolutely love.
 

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
In part 3 of Steven Spielberg’s successful series about the archeologist-adventurer, Indiana Jones once again comes into conflict with the Nazis, who believe they have discovered the location of the Holy Grail. This time his father joins him on the journey. This causes extra stress and a lot of merriment in this action/ adventure film. One of the best third-in-a-trilogy films.
 

Back to the Future II
The story of this second part of the “Back to the Future” trilogy begins seconds after part one ended. Marty McFly has to go back to the future, conjures up Doc Brown, because things seem to be going completely wrong there. To solve it, he will have to jump back and forth in time considerably. Great follow-up to one of the best time-travel movies ever made.
 

Dead Poet’s Society
Keating teaches English in 1959 at a posh boarding school for boys where iron discipline  reigns. That he wants to teach the students to think in an original and independent way, is not well-received by the staff and parents but makes him very popular with the students. A small group of boys take Keating’s lessons to heart, with tragic consequences. The message of the film is very skillfully conveyed by Robin Williams (who plays Keating), who thus showed that he could handle a serious role very well.
 

Born on the 4^th of July
Director Oliver Stone based his movie on the autobiography of Ron Kovic, who returned from combat mentally and physically broken and became active in the anti-war movement. Brave venture by Tom Cruise, who convinces as a naïve idealist who becomes deeply embittered and ends up as an energetic activist. A Tom Cruise movie that is not talked about enough.
 

Glory
During the American Civil War, the 54^th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry regiment fights the Confederates. The regiment consists of black and white volunteers, but is led by white officers. One of them, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, has his doubts about the expected discipline and employability of the black soldiers. Wonderful roles by Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington. Impressively detailed war film.
 

Field of Dreams
‘If you build it, he will come’. The level-headed farmer Ray Kinsella hears the words as a whisper. He doesn’t’ know where they come from, but he does know that he needs to build an entire baseball field on his cornfield. More mysterious developments follow. One of the many baseball films Kevin Costner has made, but also his best.
 

Do the Right Thing
Colorful, individualistic magnification of a multi-racial New York neighborhood, Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn full of explosive tension. In less than 24 hours, the residents, partly due to the summer heat, partly due to bigotry, are brought to a boiling point. The hatred is directed primarily at the Italian operators of a pizza joint. A film full of brutality, is definitely established Spike Lee’s reputation as a director without succumbing to commercial trends or easy thrills. Great piece of cinema, even if it won’t be to everyone’s taste.  
 

Uncle Buck
This movie is on her simply for sentimental and nostalgic reasons, since this has always been a family favorite. Father and mother Russell have to go away for a while and are looking in vain for a babysitter. They have no choice but to call Uncle Buck, the black sheep of the family. This corpulent, anything but conventional bachelor takes his job seriously, however, and it’s not long before he has trouble with daughter Tia and her boyfriend. John Candy manages to steal al our hearts as Uncle Buck.
 

Ranking the Franchise - Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones is one of my favorite movie characters of all-time and I love the movies.  And with four films out, I decided to take a closer look and rank them.  
 

4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
This is without a doubt the worst one in the series. The rest of the franchise is very consistent, but this one really disappointed the audience. It was criticized and I do understand why. And although the film does have its moments and I really liked the comradery between Indiana and Mutt, the film overuses CGI and not in a good way (remember that awful scene where Mutt is swinging from the trees like Tarzan).
 

3. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
“Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom” is the second film and also the darkest one. Officially this film is a prequel and is set before “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (I didn’t even realize that after having seen it already over 10 times, haha). The story follows Indiana, singer Willie Scott and the young Short Round, who visit a village that has children mysteriously disappearing. They find a cult that sacrifices humans and they kidnap children to be their slaves. Like I said, the story is dark but filled with action and adventure.
 

2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
The story is interesting. The film starts with a young Indiana who steals a relic from a grave robber. We get a little backstory and see how he got his infamous hat and how he started fearing snakes. When we see adult Indiana, he hears that his father, Henry Jones, has been kidnapped. Sean Connery plays father Henry, a great addition and I loved the fact that is focuses on the father-son bond instead of another love interest. My favorite moment is the chair scene, where Indiana and Henry are bound to chairs and the wall turns. Inventive and very funny.
 

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
Close call, but the first film is till my favorite and although it’s from 1981, it really holds up. This is the equivalent of an adventure movie. The Nazis are trying to find the Ark of the Covenant, which will give them powers. Indiana Jones tries to find it before they do. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” has one of the coolest opening scenes ever and I love the scene with the swordsman and how Indiana just shoots him without even bothering. A film with high rewatchability.