The way 2020’s been going, it seems as good a time as any to get a bit nostalgic – taking it back 30 years.
Now, I don’t remember much from 1990, as I was only a few years old at the time. But that doesn’t mean I can’t love and appreciate the gems that were produced that year.
With that said, here are five films that haven’t lost their luster over the past three decades.
Home Alone
I don’t even like Christmas movies; yet, I’ve seen Home Alone more times than I can count. I’d even be bold enough to dub it a classic.
Home Alone is just one of those movies that can be watched at any time during the year, not just in December.
Aside from that whole taking-down-serial-burglars thing, I could relate to Kevin McCallister. His family blamed him for things that weren’t really his fault and he was often overlooked.
One thing I could not relate to, however, was having the whole house to himself. Dude was living the dream.
Edward Scissorhands
Director and producer Tim Burton is known for his strange, and sometimes dark, films. And Edward Scissorhands is definitely one of them.
Johnny Depp’s outstanding portrayal of Edward, a man-made man with scissor hands who interacts with humans after a life in isolation, earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 1991.
Winona Ryder also did an excellent job in the role of the lovely Kim Boggs, Edward’s love interest, who looks past his unusual appearance and falls for him.
And if you’re into film scores, like I am, Edward Scissorhands is a fantastic choice. The music is hauntingly beautiful.
Problem Child
In this hilarious flick, the late John Ritter plays Ben Healy, a corny but kind man who adopts a redheaded boy after he finds out his wife can’t have kids.
Enter Junior.
Unfortunately, Junior is kind of a nightmare. Some of his antics include “accidentally” setting his room on fire and ruining a girl’s birthday party (In his defense, though, she was awful to him for no reason.).
Be that as it may, Junior behaves this way for a (good?) reason. And if you watch the movie, you will find out why.
Kindergarten Cop
Long before Arnold Schwarzenegger was the Governator (and not too long after Terminator), he played a role that melted my frostbitten heart: a kindergarten teacher.
Although he was actually an undercover cop who was there to find out information about one of the students, the bond he formed with the kids was so touching.
Additionally, the movie gave us this memorable scene showing the, um, refreshing honesty of children.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Let me preface this by saying that my brother and I loved this movie. We loved it so much we watched it all the time. All. The. Time.
OK, sure. The costumes and special effects were subpar. And it had its fair share of cheesy, cringe-y moments. But this is the 90s we’re talking about here. That was par for the course back then.
None of that matters now. There’s still something about seeing the live-action version of the cartoon we watched that continues to give us a special feeling.
To this day, this is the only TMNT movie we acknowledge.