ET The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

          This film is the simple story of a little green alien being left behind on planet Earth and making friends with a 10-year-old boy as he tries to send a message back home for rescue. This was Speilberg's second "Science-Fiction" film after 1977's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and he changed the way space aliens were viewed. Gone were the 40's - 60's aliens who were just coming to Earth to take it over or destroy it. Speilberg's aliens were friendly. They want to be our friends, but it is us who are hunting them. Just about every adult in this film is the bad guy with their faces hidden in the dark or with scary space suits. Only the children understand. The visual effects, specifically the creature design, are stellar. It's quite amazing the emotion Speilberg got from the animatronic E.T., the small actor Henry Thomas and a very young Drew Barrymore. Some people have stated that this is just a retelling of the Christ story; Coming to Earth, healing, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven. I see the similiarities, but that may be pushing it. It spawned an amusement park ride, but luckily no sequel. The film was the highest moneymaking film for about 10 years and truely a part of film mythology. It appears on AFI's list of top 100 films of all time at number 25.

Back To The Future (1985)

       This movie has always just made me smile. It blends science fiction, fantasy and comedy. Michael J. Fox stars as a teenager from the 80's who accidently travels back to the 50's with a time machine invented by the crazy scientist, Doc. Brown, played wonderfully by Christopher Lloyd. He meets his parents as teenagers and must reunite them so as not to alter the future and his own existence. It contains high production values, great special effects and sound, but it's the screenplay and actors who make this one shine. Looking back on this movie now, I believe this is the quinessential 80's film. Since the film wanted to play up the differences and humor between the 2 eras, they had to emphasis the cultures even more. Because of this, the film becomes a time capsule of the 80's themselves, from the star, clothes, language, music (supplied by Huey Lewis and the News) and look. It spawned an amusement park ride and 2 sequels which were good, but never reached the simple , charming feel of this film.

Ghost (1990)

       Sam and Molly are a very happy couple and deeply in love. Walking back to their new apartment  after a night out at the theatre, they encounter a thief in a dark alley, and Sam is murdered. He finds  himself trapped as a ghost and realises that his death was no accident. He must warn Molly about the danger that she is in. But as a ghost he can not be seen or heard by the living, and so he tries to  communicate with Molly through Oda Mae Brown, a psychic who didn't even realise that her powers were real. (Written by Sami Al-Taher <staher2000@yahoo.com>)

Home Alone (1990)

       Home Alone is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. The film stars Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy, who is mistakenly left behind when his family flies to Paris for their Christmas vacation. While initially relishing time by himself, he is later greeted by two would-be burglars played by Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci. Kevin eventually manages to outwit them with a series of booby traps. The film also features Catherine O'Hara, John Heard, Devin Ratray, Roberts Blossom, and John Candy. As of 2009, Home Alonewas the highest grossing comedy of all time.

     Culkin was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, becoming the youngest actor ever to be nominated for the award at the age of 11. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. <www.wikipedia.com>