Flight of the Red Balloon (2008)

      Flight of the Red Balloon (French: Le voyage du ballon rouge) is a 2008 French/Taiwan film directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien. It is the first part in a new series of films produced by Musée d'Orsay, and tells the story of a French family as seen through the eyes of a Chinese student. The film was shot in August and September 2006 on location in Paris. This is Hou Hsiao-Hsien's first Western film. It references the classic 1956 French short The Red Balloondirected by Albert Lamorisse.

       The film opened the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival in May 2007.

Kindergarten Cop (1990)

      Kindergarten Cop is a 1990 American comedy thriller film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger stars as John Kimble, a tough police detective, who must go undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch drug dealer Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson), before Crisp can get to his ex-wife and son, while along the way he discovers his passion for teaching. Pamela Reed plays his partner Phoebe O'Hara, and Penelope Ann Miller plays Joyce, the teacher who becomes Kimble's love interest. The original music score was composed by Randy Edelman. Schwarzenegger received a salary of $12 million for the film.

Dick Tracy (1990)

        Dick Tracy is a 1990 American pulp action film based on the 1930s comic strip character of the same name created by Chester Gould. Warren Beattyproduced, directed, and starred in the film, which features supporting roles from Al Pacino, Charles Durning, Madonna, William Forsythe, Glenne Headly,Paul Sorvino, Dick Van Dyke, and Charlie Korsmo. Dick Tracy depicts the detective's love relationships with Breathless Mahoney and Tess Truehart, as well as his conflicts with crime boss Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice. Tracy also begins his upbringing of "The Kid".

       Development of the film started in the early 1980s with Tom Mankiewicz assigned to write the script. The project also went through directors Steven Spielberg, John Landis, Walter Hill, and Richard Benjamin before the arrival of Beatty. Filming was entirely at Universal Studios. Danny Elfman was hired to compose the film score, and the music was featured on three separate soundtrack albums.

       Dick Tracy was released in 1990 to mixed to positive reviews, but was generally a success at the box office and at awards time. It picked up seven Academy Award nominations and won in three of the categories: Best Original Song, Best Makeup and Best Art Direction. A sequel was planned, but a controversy over the film rights ensued between Beatty and Tribune Media Services, and the lawsuit continues, so a second film has not been produced.

Total Recall (1990)

        Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone and Michael Ironside. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale". Directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, Jon Povill, and Gary Goldman, it won a Special Achievement Academy Award for its visual effects. The soundtrack composed by Jerry Goldsmith won the BMI Film Music Award.

       The plot concerns an apparently unsophisticated construction worker, Doug Quaid (Schwarzenegger), who is either a victim of a failed memory implant procedure or a freedom fighter from Mars relocated to Earth. He attempts to restore order and reverse the corrupt influence of commercial powers, all while faced with the possibility that none of these events are real and pursuing them could damage his brain.

Pretty Woman (1990)

        Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only important female character. The story of Pretty Woman centers on the down-on-her-luck Hollywood prostitute Vivian Ward who is hired by a wealthy businessman, Edward Lewis, to be his escort for several business and social functions, and their developing relationship over the course of Vivian's week-long stay with him.

       Originally intended to be a dark drama about prostitution in New York City, this motion picture was reconceived as romantic comedy with a large budget. It was widely successful at the box office, and it became one of the highest moneymakers of 1990.

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

      The Hunt for Red October is a 1984 novel by Tom Clancy. The story follows the intertwined adventures of Soviet submarine captain Marko Aleksandrovich Ramius and CIA analyst Jack Ryan.

      The novel was originally published by the U.S. Naval Institute Press — the first fictional work they ever published, and still their most successful.

     The book is inspired by the failed mutiny on board the Storozhevoy by Valery Sablin in 1975; however, the military response depicted in the novel is likely from events surrounding the sinking and subsequent salvaging of K-129.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

       Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American live-action film adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise directed by Steve Barron. The film was followed by three sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, and TMNTin 2007. This film presents the origin story of Splinter and the Turtles, the initial meeting between them, April O'Neil and Casey Jones, and their first confrontation with Shredder and his Foot Clan. The film is distributed by New Line Cinema and outside the United States is internationally distributed by Golden Harvest.

       When the New York Police Department is unable to stop a severe crime wave caused by the Foot Clan, four vigilantes — Leonardo, Michelangelo,Donatello and Raphael — come forth to save the city. Under the leadership of Splinter and together with their new-found allies April O'Neil and Casey Jones, they fight back and take the battle to Shredder. The film kept very close to the dark feel of the original comics, with several elements also taken from the animated series that was airing at the time, such as April being a news reporter, and the turtles having different-colored masks, as opposed to the uniform red masks of the comic. The film was the highest-grossing independent film of all time when it was released, and became the ninth highest grossing film worldwide of 1990 and the most successful film in the franchise.

When Harry Met Sally... (1982)

        This is Rob Reiner's second film on the list. This wonderful romantic comedy harkens back to the golden days of Hollywood. Nora Ephron's script sparkles with humor, intelligence and a simple conversation style that relates to the way normal people might talk. This style would go on to effect other film and T.V. (Seinfeld) dialogue. The cast of Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan shine together as likable, quirky characters who develop a relationship over a 10 year period. It made a star out of Harry Connick, who arranged old music standards for the film. The scene of Sally in the resturant showing off a woman's acting abilities is timeless, with Reiner's own mother adding the classic line, "I'll have what she's having!"

The Terminator (1984)

      This film's biggest impact was how it was made. All of the 80's movie industry was interested in making money. They did this by buying out the smaller movie companies and sticking with cookie-cutter blockbusters (especially through sequels) that made lots of money, but had very little substance. This film was made without a studio company and with a budget of about $3 million. Known as an independent film, it would soon make more money, percentage wise, than any other film to that date and it would begin the creative "Indie" films of the 90's. The story centers around a yuppie lawyer who is cheating on his beautiful wife with her carefree sister. One of his old school buddies shows up and begins interviewing people, especially the lawyer's wife, on videotape. The conversations become more intimate and so does their relationship questioning the lawyer's double standard. This was director Steven Soderbergh's first film and went on to win the Cannes Film Festival's top honor. It was the closest an American film would come to the Ingmar Bergman style.

Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)

       This film's biggest impact was how it was made. All of the 80's movie industry was interested in making money. They did this by buying out the smaller movie companies and sticking with cookie-cutter blockbusters (especially through sequels) that made lots of money, but had very little substance. This film was made without a studio company and with a budget of about $3 million. Known as an independent film, it would soon make more money, percentage wise, than any other film to that date and it would begin the creative "Indie" films of the 90's. The story centers around a yuppie lawyer who is cheating on his beautiful wife with her carefree sister. One of his old school buddies shows up and begins interviewing people, especially the lawyer's wife, on videotape. The conversations become more intimate and so does their relationship questioning the lawyer's double standard. This was director Steven Soderbergh's first film and went on to win the Cannes Film Festival's top honor. It was the closest an American film would come to the Ingmar Bergman style.

The Princess Bride (1987)

      I have a few personal favorites on this list and this is one of them. This is a movie that every aspect of the production was just right: story and script (taken from the William Goldman book) casting, directing by Rob Reiner, and art production. The movie begins with a grandfather arriving at his sick grandson's house to read him a book. The story tells of a farm boy who has fallen in love with a maiden named Buttercup, but must leave to find a fortune, so he can marry her. While gone, he's supposedly killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts. Five years pass and the evil Prince Humperdink wants to take Buttercup, as his bride. She becomes kidnapped by a trio of likable mercenaries only to be pursued by a mysterious man in black. The sick grandson occasionally interupts the movie to make comments only a small boy would make which just added to its fairy tale charm. The movie is filled with memorable characters and some of the most recitable dialogue of the 80's.