Best Movie Year

Released 1 May, 1987, Creepshow 2 is a sequel to the rather good anthology film from 1982. Unlike the first film, Creepshow 2 is neither good, nor a hit. This week our podcast hosts have differing opinions on liking the film. It is part of their ongoing exploration into the wild idea that 1987 was the best year for movies.

Released on 1 May, 1987, The Allnighter has Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles in the lead role. Written and directed by her mother, Hoffs stars alongside Dedee Pfeiffer and Joan Cusack. They're a trio of girls graduating college, uncertain of what lies ahead and mourning a lack of love in their relationships. It's an 80s party film! But... is it a good 80s party film? Dan Barrett and Simon Foster dust off the film for a chat.

Walter Hill film Extreme Prejudice is pretty well-forgotten by movie audiences these days, but it has a great cast of character actors and some great, bloody-as-heck shootouts. Dan Barrett and Simon Foster press play on the neo-western for the Best Movie Year podcast where they go through the films of 1987.

Released on 10 April 1987, The Secret of My Success had Michael J Fox, riding high on the success of break-out hits like Family Ties, Back To The Future, and Teen Wolf, giving a very 1980s adult comedy a go. As Brantley Foster, he's a farm kid from a flyover state now trying to fake his way to the top of corporate New York. On this week's Best Movie Ever podcast, Dan and Simon look back at a film that both had a lot of fondness for. But... does it actually hold up well? It's a divided podcast this week.

Released into US cinemas April 3, 1987, Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol dares ask audiences: Can David Spade skateboard? The gang are all back for the fourth film, with Steve Guttenberg, Bobcat Goldthwait, and, uh, the rest. The police have a new program that engages everyday citizens in police work. And it is met with HILARIOUS results. Dan Barrett and Simon Foster take a look at the movie, which was a childhood favourite of Dan's. It is part of their deep dive into the films of 1987. Was it, in fact, the Best Movie Year?

Released on 27 March, 1987, Blind Date was Bruce Willis' first effort as a big screen star coming off of his star-making turn in TV hit Moonlighting. It was a box office hit, bringing along Kim Basinger as his co-star.Crowd-pleasing comedies more often than not don't age especially well. How does Blind Date fare through 2025 eyes? Uhhhh....

Released into UK cinemas March 20, 1987, The Fourth Protocol is a British cold war thriller starring Michael Caine. He's an MI5 agent who is battling the MI5 bureaucracy as much as he is the KGB who are working on assembling a nuclear weapon on home soil. It's Michael Caine vs a pre-Bond Pierce Brosnan, who is cast here as a KGB agent posing as a visiting American. It's great stuff with an over-supply of stiff British upper-lips. Dan Barrett and Simon Foster take a look at the movie, which neither of them had seen until now. It is part of their deep dive into the films of 1987. Was it, in fact, the Best Movie Year?

Whoopi Goldberg is, as the name of the film suggests. a burglar. But what happens when a theft goes wrong and she witnesses a murder? You guessed it: high stakes comedy 80s-style.As the Best Movie Year continues to explore the films of 1987, this week it is Burglar getting a look-in. This is a podcast that doesn't support use of the stop button, so Dan Barrett and Simon Foster watched the whole film.

Released March 13, 1987, Evil Dead 2 occupies a very special place in the heart of horror and cult movie fans. It's ridiculous, gory, and sometimes ridiculously glory. It is the sort of movie that your VHS player was made to play. Simon Foster and Dan Barrett watched the film this week for the Best Movie Year podcast as they try to work out whether 1987 was the "best movie year"...

Released March 6, 1987, it would be understandable if you didn't really know the movie Tin Men. Despite being widely available, it's not really a film that gets talked about a lot these days. It's a Barry Levinson film set in the 50s about ill-mannered, slimy sales guys. After a car accident brings two of them together, their lives will never be the same. Danny DeVito, Richard Dreyfus, and Barbara Hershey star. But, after watching the film, will podcast hosts Dan Barrett and Simon Foster ever be the same again?

Released March 6, 1987, Raising Arizona was the first Coen Brothers comedy and has thrived on a cult status since it debuted. SIMON FOSTER and DAN BARRETT watch the film for their ongoing project to see if 1987 is the "best movie year." How does the film hold up today and does it lend 1987 weight as the best movie year?

Released March 6, 1987, ANGEL HEART is a batty film. For the first hour viewers are lulled into believing they are watching a 1950s era detective noir. But then our PI Harry Angel follows the investigation to New Orleans where we discover what has really been going on. And it is bonkers. Angel Heart stars Micky Rourke, Lisa Bonet, and has Robert De Niro credited as making a "special appearance." This week on the podcast, DAN BARRETT and SIMON FOSTER press play on the film as they explore whether 1987 was the best year for movies.

Co-host Simon Foster can usually be reliably defensive of movies that he loved as a 1980s movie fan. Dan Barrett lacks any sentimentality, so calls a spade a spade. Join us this week as Simon's faith is tested with the John Hughes-written teenage fantasy romcom starring Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Lea Thompson.

Released March 6, 1987, Lethal Weapon is the GOAT buddy cop film. Rewatching this, it turns out neither podcast hosts Simon Foster or Dan Barrett were too old for this sh!t. Hang out with the guys as they pore over Lethal Weapon and discuss the good and the couple of moments that left them thinking: 'huh?'

Released Feb 27, 1987, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors taught an entire generation to love and laugh... at teenagers being brutalised in life and in their dreams. This week on Best Movie Year Dan and Simon check out the third film in the franchise. Does the film add weight to the idea that 1987 was the best movie year?

An entire generation of movie fans, upon hearing that Sylvester Stallone was going to star in an arm wrestling competition action film, braced themselves for what could have been the greatest motion picture event of their lives. But that movie was Over The Top and within just 3 years of it's release, these same youngsters had embraced grunge, cynicism, and irony. A coincidence? This week on the Best Movie Year podcast Dan Barrett and Simon Foster try to make heads or tails of what they pressed play on. It is all for the scientific experiment of determining whether 1987 really is the best movie year.

Released 13 January, 1987, Mannequin was a party film released for the Valentine's Day audiences. This story about a man falling in love with an Egyptian spirit goddess-turned storefront mannequin was supposed to stir romance in us all - The lovers, the dreamers, and me. This week on the podcast, Dan Barrett and Simon Foster watched the crowd favourite Mannequin. Did this film deserve to become a smash hit? Or is it just as plastic fantastic as the female love interest in this?

Michael J Fox is the bad boy rocker in Paul Schrader's 1987 melodrama. But plot twist, he's nowhere near as bad as his older sister rock bad girl. So much drama. And here to go through this half-baked nonsense is the bad boys of podcasting Dan Barrett and Simon Foster.

Released on 30 January, Radio Days is a nostalgic look back at a pre-WWII Rockaway Beach family and the way their relationships were formed by their relationship with radio.This sort of film isn't really made anymore, so as Dan and Simon take a look at 100 films from 1987, they grapple with their own nostalgia while wondering who even listens to radio anymore.

Released January 30, 1987, Outrageous Fortune was a smash hit at the box office. A then-rare female buddy comedy, the film had audiences howling with laughter. So, why in 2024 does it barely raise a chuckle? And why is it so hard to find even a movie trailer online for this pretty huge 80s comedy?

Released on Jan 23, The Stepfather is a surprisingly really good and creepy horror starring Terry O'Quinn in an early breakout role. He got typecast after giving a performance that was creepy as heck.Dan and Simon discuss the film and how maybe the creepiest thing about the movie isn't the family-murdering titular character.

Released at the start of January 1987, The Kindred is a pretty dire creature feature that is one part creepy X-Filesian science gone wrong monster flick, one part teen cabin in the woods nonsense. But, does it make for an entertaining film? Does it add to the case that 1987 is the best movie year?

In our quest to determine whether 1987 is the best year for movies, Dan and Simon watched the first film released in 1987 as they launch this brand new podcast. They have another 99 films to watch before deciding whether 1987 was the GOAT.But they begin with Withnail & I. A cult classic that found a very loyal audience of university students on VHS in the decade that followed, it remains a favourite for many to this day.