Favoritest Movies of 1989
Using Paired Comparison Analysis, I'm ranking every movie I've ever seen, year by year; the top 80th percentile from each year advance to the decade round, and from there the all time round.
This is not a statement of quality, other than the only quality entertainment can have is how entertaining it is. Sometimes you like a bad, poorly written movie more than a masterpiece. We all do this; The most recent an Academy Award for Best Picture was the highest grossing movie of the year was 2003 (1997, 1994, 1988, 1979, & 1976 in my lifetime...)
This is not a statement of quality, other than the only quality entertainment can have is how entertaining it is. Sometimes you like a bad, poorly written movie more than a masterpiece. We all do this; The most recent an Academy Award for Best Picture was the highest grossing movie of the year was 2003 (1997, 1994, 1988, 1979, & 1976 in my lifetime...)
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- 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.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghDerek JacobiSimon ShepherdIn the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorWilliam ShatnerStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyCaptain Kirk and his crew must deal with Mr. Spock's long-lost half-brother who hijacks the Enterprise for an obsessive search for God at the center of the galaxy.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorRoland JofféStarsPaul NewmanDwight SchultzBonnie BedeliaThis film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret WWII project, and the first atomic bombs designed, built, and tested in Los Alamos.
- 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.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsKirsten DunstMinami TakayamaRei SakumaA young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
- 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.
- DirectorRon ClementsJohn MuskerStarsJodi BensonSamuel E. WrightRene AuberjonoisA mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain in an attempt to become human and win a prince's love.
- DirectorKazuki ÔmoriKoji HashimotoKenjirô OhmoriStarsKunihiko MitamuraYoshiko TanakaMasanobu TakashimaDesolate by the loss of his daughter, a geneticist creates a monstrous new mutation.
- DirectorPeter ManoogianStarsPaul SatterfieldHamilton CampClaudia ChristianA human becomes an unlikely rising star in the biggest fighting tournament in the galaxy that's dominated by alien species.Seriously, no poster... :(
- 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.
- DirectorDanny DeVitoStarsMichael DouglasKathleen TurnerDanny DeVitoA married couple tries everything to drive each other out of the house in a vicious divorce battle.
- DirectorJay LeveyStars'Weird Al' YankovicVictoria JacksonKevin McCarthyAn unemployed visionary becomes the manager of a local television station. The station becomes a success, with all sorts of hilarious sight gags and wacky humor.
- DirectorChris WalasStarsEric StoltzDaphne ZunigaLee RichardsonThe almost-human son of "Brundlefly" searches for a cure to his mutated genes while being monitored by a nefarious corporation that wishes to continue his father's experiments.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsMichael DouglasAndy GarciaKen TakakuraTwo NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayDan AykroydSigourney WeaverThe discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorAlan BunceStarsGordon PinsentGavin MagrathElizabeth HannaIn his spectacular film debut, young Babar, King of the Elephants, must save his homeland from certain destruction by Rataxes and his band of invading rhinos.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsTimothy DaltonRobert DaviCarey LowellA vengeful James Bond goes rogue to infiltrate and take down the organization of a drug lord who has murdered his friend's new wife and left him near death.
- DirectorMichael LehmannStarsWinona RyderChristian SlaterShannen DohertyAt Westerburg High where cliques rule, jocks dominate and all the popular girls are named Heather, it's going to take a Veronica and mysterious new kid to give teen angst a body count.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsRalph MacchioPat MoritaRobyn LivelyOstracised villain John Kreese attempts to gain revenge on Daniel and Miyagi, with the help of a Vietnam War comrade, the wealthy owner of a toxic waste disposal business.
- 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 .Rewatched recently on Netflix. There was some point when I learned what a mullet was. When I saw this movie originally, A) I was ignorant of hairstyles having names B) The mullet was ubiquitous. Only upon rewatching this movie did I realize Travolta had a mullet.
- DirectorPeter BonerzStarsBubba SmithDavid GrafMichael WinslowThose bumbling cadets take to the streets when three inept goons successfully orchestrate a metropolitan crime wave.I saw this at a General Cinema on Watson with my grandmother.
- DirectorJim McBrideStarsDennis QuaidWinona RyderJohn DoeThe life and career of wildly controversial rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis.
- 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.
- DirectorEmile ArdolinoStarsCybill ShepherdRobert Downey Jr.Ryan O'NealA reincarnated man unknowingly falls in love with his own daughter from his previous life. Once he realizes this, he tries to end their relationship before angels erase his memory.
- DirectorBruce MalmuthStarsSteven SeagalKelly LeBrockWilliam SadlerTargeted by the mob and its political supporters, hired assassins leave LAPD Detective Mason Storm for dead. Seven years later, he recovers from a deep coma, demanding justice and the opportunity to get even.
- DirectorHoward ZieffStarsMichael KeatonChristopher LloydPeter BoyleFour mental patients on a field trip in New York City must save their caring chaperon, who ends up being taken to a hospital in a coma after accidentally witnessing a murder, before the killers can find him and finish the job.
- DirectorStan DragotiStarsTony DanzaCatherine HicksWallace ShawnWhen an average-looking teenage girl gets a makeover, it's enough to make her father become overprotective of her.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorThom EberhardtStarsMatthew ModineDaphne ZunigaChristine LahtiA fisherman's son goes through medical school with a bad attitude, especially in cadaver class.
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsJohn CusackIone SkyeJohn MahoneyA noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.
- 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.
- DirectorMarc RoccoStarsCorey FeldmanJason RobardsCorey HaimAn accident puts the consciousness of an elderly dream researcher into the body of a bratty teenager. The problem? The kid prefers dreamworld limbo to real life.
- 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.
- DirectorAlbert PyunStarsJean-Claude Van DammeDeborah RichterVincent KlynA martial artist hunts a killer in a plague-infested urban dump of the future.
- 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.
- DirectorRoger SpottiswoodeStarsTom HanksMare WinninghamCraig T. NelsonA detective must adopt a rambunctious dog in order to help him find a killer.
- 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.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsJohn RitterVincent GardeniaAlyson ReedA womanizing alcoholic writer, whose life seems to be falling apart at the seams, repeatedly finds himself in trouble of one sort or another with the law, ex-girlfriends, and jealous boyfriends.
- DirectorJeff KanewStarsShelley LongCraig T. NelsonBetty ThomasA soon to be divorced Beverly Hills socialite is determined to prove to her husband and herself that she can finish what she starts out to do, by becoming a den mother to a troop of Beverly Hills Girl Scouts.
- 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.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsTom SelleckPaulina PorizkovaWilliam DanielsPhil has writer's block after 30 detective novels. In court for inspiration, he sees a cute Romanian murder suspect. He provides her alibi. She stays with him. Will he live to write another novel?
- DirectorJoe DanteStarsTom HanksBruce DernCarrie FisherAn overstressed suburbanite and his neighbors are convinced that the new family on the block is part of a murderous Satanic cult.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorRobert RadlerStarsEric RobertsJames Earl JonesSally KirklandA team from the United States is going to compete against Korea in a Tae Kwon Do tournament. The team consists of fighters from all over the country - can they overcome their rivalry and work together to win?
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsJohn CandyMacaulay CulkinJean Louisa KellyLaid back commitment-phobe Buck babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her cute younger brother and sister.
- DirectorBruce RobinsonStarsRichard E. GrantRachel WardRichard WilsonA cynical advertising exec has a block at work leading to a meltdown. He's hilariously out of control. Getting a big, talking boil on his shoulder doesn't help.
- DirectorRod DanielStarsJim BelushiMel HarrisKevin TigheTo stop an elusive criminal, a maverick detective enlists the aid of a police dog who's an unusually intelligent smart alec.
- DirectorBuddy Van HornStarsClint EastwoodBernadette PetersTimothy CarhartSkip tracer Tommy looks for bail-jumper Lou Ann. Her crime is marrying Roy, who left counterfeit money in their mobile home and got her arrested. She leaves Roy in his pink Cadillac full of money. His psycho friends want their money back.
- DirectorTodd HollandStarsFred SavageLuke EdwardsJenny LewisA boy and his brother run away from home and hitch cross-country, with help from a girl they meet, to compete in the ultimate video-game championship.
- DirectorJeremiah S. ChechikStarsChevy ChaseBeverly D'AngeloJuliette LewisThe Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.
- 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.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDanny AielloOssie DavisRuby DeeOn the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
- 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.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsShirley MacLaineOlympia DukakisSally FieldA young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship, and welcome her into the fold.
- DirectorStephen HopkinsStarsRobert EnglundLisa WilcoxKelly Jo MinterThe pregnant Alice finds Freddy Krueger striking through the sleeping mind of her unborn child, hoping to be reborn into the real world.
- DirectorPeter MastersonStarsRoy ScheiderKaren YoungLane SmithA Texas police detective ties pitcher's strikes to a serial throat slasher.
- DirectorRob HeddenStarsJensen DaggettKane HodderTodd CaldecottJason Voorhees is accidentally awakened from his watery grave and ends up stalking a ship full of graduating high-school students headed to Manhattan, New York.
- DirectorMary LambertStarsDale MidkiffDenise CrosbyFred GwynneAfter tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.
- 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.
- DirectorWill MackenzieStarsMark HarmonMadeleine StoweLesley Ann WarrenTV weatherman (Mark Harmon) must woo three women to wed, with video proof.
- DirectorDon BluthGary GoldmanDan KuensterStarsDom DeLuiseBurt ReynoldsLoni AndersonA canine angel, Charlie, sneaks back to earth from heaven but ends up befriending an orphan girl who can speak to animals. In the process, Charlie learns that friendship is the most heavenly gift of all.
- DirectorSean S. CunninghamStarsGreg EviganNancy EverhardTaurean BlacqueA team of navy personnel stationed at a temporary base at the bottom of the ocean and tasked with setting up nuclear missiles discovers a huge underwater cavern which houses a giant prehistoric creature.
- DirectorMark DiSalleDavid WorthStarsJean-Claude Van DammeDennis AlexioDennis ChanKurt Sloane must learn the ancient kick boxing art of Muay Thai in order to avenge his brother.
- DirectorFrancis VeberStarsNick NolteMartin ShortSarah Rowland DoroffA reformed bank robber is taken hostage by a desperate man during a bank hold up, but is forced to go on the run with his captor when they're both mistakenly thought to be in cahoots.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsChevy ChaseHal HolbrookJulianne PhillipsAfter receiving an inheritance in Louisiana, Los Angeles reporter Irwin Fletcher heads to the Belle Isle plantation where he gets himself into hilarious trouble.
- DirectorJoseph ZitoStarsDolph LundgrenM. Emmet WalshAl WhiteA Spetsnaz commando is sent on a covert mission by his Soviet superiors to infiltrate a rebel army and assassinate its leader.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsDon JohnsonPenelope Ann MillerWilliam ForsytheA man kills a storekeeper and a cop. LASD homicide detective Jerry Beck gets the case. His murder suspect is connected to a heavily armed white supremacy group.
- DirectorJohn FlynnStarsSylvester StalloneDonald SutherlandJohn AmosWith only six months left of his sentence, inmate Frank Leone is transferred from a minimum security prison to a maximum security prison by a vindictive warden.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsTom SelleckF. Murray AbrahamLaila RobinsA man is framed by two corrupt cops for drugs. After he gets out of prison, he comes after them.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsAl PacinoEllen BarkinJohn GoodmanA detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorPat O'ConnorStarsKevin KlineMary Elizabeth MastrantonioSusan SarandonTwo years after being forced out of NYPD, quirky Nick is rehired by the mayor to catch a serial killer after the 11th murder of a woman.