Best Films Of 1989
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- DirectorRob ReinerStarsBilly CrystalMeg RyanCarrie FisherHarry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.The often hilarious dialogue makes this film still easily watchable through many viewings. 9/10
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsRobin WilliamsRobert Sean LeonardEthan HawkeMaverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression.8.5/10
- DirectorJim SheridanStarsDaniel Day-LewisBrenda FrickerAlison WhelanChristy Brown, born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.8.5/10
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsMatthew BroderickDenzel WashingtonCary ElwesRobert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.8/10
- DirectorJames CameronStarsEd HarrisMary Elizabeth MastrantonioMichael BiehnA civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and faces danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsTom CruiseBryan LarkinRaymond J. BarryThe biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsJohn CandyMacaulay CulkinJean Louisa KellyLaid back commitment-phobe Buck babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her cute younger brother and sister.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsMorgan FreemanBeverly ToddRobert GuillaumeThe dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school he is determined to improve by any and all means.
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsKevin CostnerJames Earl JonesRay LiottaIowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
- DirectorRobert M. YoungStarsWillem DafoeEdward James OlmosRobert LoggiaIn Greece during World War II, a young Jewish boxer, his girlfriend, and their families are sent to Auschwitz. When the camp guards learn of his boxing abilities, they force him to participate in weekly boxing matches.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsMichael KeatonJack NicholsonKim BasingerThe Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.
- DirectorJeremiah S. ChechikStarsChevy ChaseBeverly D'AngeloJuliette LewisThe Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.
- DirectorEddie MurphyStarsEddie MurphyRichard PryorRedd FoxxDuring the 1930s, a New York City illegal gambling house owner and his associates must deal with strong competition, gangsters, and corrupt cops in order to stay in business.For some reason many critics gave this film bad reviews after many successes from Eddie Murphy. I don't really get it to be honest. The more I see this film, the more I laugh. It's actually pretty hilarious.
- DirectorSteve KlovesStarsJeff BridgesMichelle PfeifferBeau BridgesThe lives of two struggling musicians, who happen to be brothers, inevitably change when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.The Bridges Brothers are terrific here, and Michelle Pfeiffer that white gold. If she was a tiger in Scarface, she is some kind of Lioness in this one. A queen of the cats if you will. I'm not sure there is a film around that captures what it's like to be a lounge act, quite like this film does; And that's certainly not all it captures. This is a much better film than most people have given it credit for. I'm with the critics on this one mostly, as most of them seemed to enjoy it a lot as well. The three leads form an interesting dynamic here and as previously said, all of them are great in their roles. 8/10
- DirectorJim McBrideStarsDennis QuaidWinona RyderJohn DoeThe life and career of wildly controversial rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis.This film took a lot of heat from critics for being not all that accurate and somewhat superficial. Well, whatever the case, I loved the film the first time I saw at 14, and I still like it quite a lot. It would be great to see a more accurate film of Jerry's life, but whatever, this is a fun movie.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsColin FirthAnnette BeningMeg TillyFrance before 1789: When a widow hears that her lover is to marry her cousin's daughter, she asks the playboy Valmont to take the girl's virginity. But first she bets him, with her body as prize, to seduce a virtuous, young, married woman.If you don't know, this is just another version of the French Novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Just as Cruel Intentions is. If you like that very well known story, this version is well worth a watch. In fact most Milos Forman directed films are worth a watch to say the least. 7.5/10
- DirectorDanny DeVitoStarsMichael DouglasKathleen TurnerDanny DeVitoA married couple tries everything to drive each other out of the house in a vicious divorce battle.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsMichael J. FoxSean PennDon HarveyDuring the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.First Casualty, Truth.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsMatt DillonKelly LynchJames Le GrosA pharmacy-robbing dope fiend and his crew pop pills and evade the law.7.5/10
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsJohn CusackIone SkyeJohn MahoneyA noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.
- DirectorDavid S. WardStarsTom BerengerCharlie SheenCorbin BernsenThe new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they'll lose and she can move the team. But when the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.
- DirectorAndy BreckmanClaude KervenDave WilsonStarsEddie MurphyJames DowneyBrian Doyle-MurrayEddie Murphy produces a compilation of his best sketches, impersonations and most memorable characters from his years on Saturday Night Live: 1980-1984.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordSean ConneryAlison DoodyIn 1938, after his father goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones finds himself up against the Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonAfter visiting 2015, Marty McFly must repeat his visit to 1955 to prevent disastrous changes to 1985...without interfering with his first trip.
- DirectorRon SheltonStarsPaul NewmanLolita DavidovichJerry HardinA middle-aged Louisiana governor falls in love with a young stripper, which jeopardizes his political career and the radical policies which have made him a controversial figure.My Grandfather told me that he remembered when this true event actually made it to the newspapers. We then watched the film together for the first time when I was just a young teen. Memorable! We both enjoyed the film quite a lot. It's funny and fun.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsNicole KidmanSam NeillBilly ZaneAfter a tragedy, John Ingram and his wife Rae are spending some time isolated at sea, when they come across a stranger who has abandoned a sinking ship.
- DirectorJoseph RubenStarsJames WoodsRobert Downey Jr.Margaret ColinA cynical former civil liberties attorney now reduced to "specializing" in defending drug dealers becomes transformed by an eight-year-old murder case.
- DirectorRowdy HerringtonStarsPatrick SwayzeKelly LynchSam ElliottA bouncer hired to clean up the baddest honkytonk in a Missouri town. Armed with a black belt in karate and a degree in philosophy, Patrick Swayze sets out to tame the Double Deuce for its owner.
- DirectorAmy HeckerlingStarsJohn TravoltaKirstie AlleyOlympia DukakisAfter a single, career-minded woman is left on her own to give birth to the child of a married man, she finds a new romantic chance in a cab driver. Meanwhile, the point-of-view of the newborn baby is narrated through voice-over.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsAl PacinoEllen BarkinJohn GoodmanA detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.
- DirectorJean-Claude LordStarsMichael ParéMarina OrsiniBernie CoulsonA Montreal construction worker joins a band and turns out to be a long-lost rock star from 1960s New Jersey - none other than Eddie Wilson, who mysteriously disappeared after a road accident.
- DirectorAndrey KonchalovskiyAlbert MagnoliStarsSylvester StalloneKurt RussellTeri HatcherFramed by their ruthless arch-nemesis, a pair of mismatched LAPD officers must put their differences aside to get even with the brutal crime baron who sent them to rot in a maximum-security prison.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreRoger B. SmithRhonda BrittonAfter General Motors closes its factory in Flint, Michigan, eliminating 35,000 jobs, filmmaker Michael Moore undertakes a quixotic quest to interview General Motors' chairman, Roger B. Smith.
- StarsCindy PickettJohn AshtonCorin NemecThe harrowing true account of Steven Stayner, who was kidnapped by a perverted pseudo-priest and his lackey during the 1970s. As he gets older, he realizes that he needs to try to make an escape and get back home.
- DirectorJamie UysStarsN!xauLena FarugiaHans StrydomSix people meet in the Kalahari desert: a female NYC lawyer flying with a local zoologist/pilot in a mini-plane, a Cuban and an African soldier taking each other POW, a Boer elephant poacher, and a Bushman looking for his two children.
- DirectorMark GoldblattStarsDolph LundgrenLouis Gossett Jr.Jeroen KrabbéWhen Frank Castle's family is murdered by criminals, he wages war on crime as a vigilante assassin known only as The Punisher.It's no masterpiece for sure. However I do feel this is one of the more underappreciated superhero films around. It's really not too bad for it's time, and budget. The darker aspect of it is welcome compared to most of the overly glossy superhero films these days in my view.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsRobert De NiroSean PennDemi MooreTwo fugitives pass themselves off as priests in the hope of evading capture and passing the police blockade at the border with Canada.6.5/10
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsJames SpaderAndie MacDowellPeter GallagherA sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsMorgan FreemanJessica TandyDan AykroydAn old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.
- DirectorJohn DahlStarsVal KilmerJoanne WhalleyPat MulliganA young detective becomes involved with a beautiful woman on the run from the mob and her psychopath boyfriend.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsSteve MartinMary SteenburgenDianne WiestFour Buckman siblings attempt to raise their children - each in their own different style - and deal with the joys and sorrows that the process brings.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsRichard PryorGene WilderJoan SeveranceDave is deaf, and Wally is blind. They witness a murder, but it was Dave who was looking at her, and Wally who was listening.
- DirectorAndrew DavisStarsGene HackmanTommy Lee JonesJoanna CassidyExperienced Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher is escorting a prisoner, Airborne Ranger Thomas Boyette, back to the US, but Boyette escapes and Gallagher must risk life and limb to catch him.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonDanny GloverJoe PesciRiggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosStarsPeter WellerRichard CrennaAmanda PaysPerched on the hull of a wrecked Soviet freighter, a team of deep-sea miners led by head oceanographer Steven Beck comes face to face with a mutant creature that's the product of a failed genetic experiment.
- DirectorStephen HerekStarsKeanu ReevesAlex WinterGeorge CarlinTwo rock-'n-rolling teens, on the verge of failing their class, set out on a quest to make the ultimate school history report after being presented with a time machine.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsAndrew McCarthyJonathan SilvermanCatherine Mary StewartTwo idiots try to pretend that their murdered employer is really alive, leading the hitman to attempt to track him down to finish him off.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRichard DreyfussHolly HunterBrad JohnsonThe spirit of a recently deceased expert pilot mentors a newer pilot while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend that he left behind.
- DirectorChristopher GuestStarsKevin BaconJennifer Jason LeighEmily LongstrethFilm school grad Nick Chapman thought his career was made after his award winning short film, but discovered Hollywood wasn't as easy as it seems.
- DirectorDavid SchmoellerStarsPaul Le MatWilliam HickeyIrene MiraclePsychics find themselves plotted against by a former colleague, who committed suicide after discovering animated, murderous puppets.6.5/10
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsRick MoranisMatt FrewerMarcia StrassmanThe scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.
- DirectorCarl SchenkelStarsDenzel WashingtonRobert TownsendJames FoxWhen police officer Xavier Quinn's childhood friend, Maubee, becomes associated with murder and a briefcase full of ten thousand dollar bills, The Mighty Quinn must clear his name. Or try to catch him, which could be even trickier.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsMickey RourkeEllen BarkinElizabeth McGovernAfter being double crossed and thrown in jail, a deformed gangster gets a new face and rehabilitation, but his desire for revenge looms.
- DirectorJoan Micklin SilverStarsPatrick DempseyKate JacksonRobert GintyRandy is still unfocused after 2 years in college. When his dad refuses to keep paying his tuition, he gets a job delivering pizzas. Several alluring cougars pay him $200 for pizza delivery and "services rendered." As for their husbands.
- DirectorDave ThomasStarsJohn TravoltaArye GrossKelly PrestonTwo NYC guys get jobs starting a nightclub in Smalltown, USA. They don't know it's a spy training model town in USSR .