1980s
Used Cars (1980) WikiData TMDB IMDb
Used Cars
director: Robert Zemeckis actor: Kurt Russell / Jack Warden
other title: La fantastica sfida / Brugte biler
When the owner of a struggling used car lot is killed, it's up to the lot's hot-shot salesman to save the property from falling into the hands of the owner's ruthless brother and used-car rival.
Big (1988) IMDb NeoDB TMDB Douban WikiData
Big
director: Penny Marshall actor: Tom Hanks / Elizabeth Perkins
When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big—he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight. But he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.
Secret Admirer (1985) IMDb TMDB WikiData
Secret Admirer
director: David Greenwalt actor: C. Thomas Howell / Lori Loughlin
other title: L'ammiratore segreto / O Admirador Secreto
An anonymous love letter left in Michael Ryan's locker on the last day of school wreaks havoc on his life and the lives of everyone who comes in contact with it.
Big Business (1988) TMDB IMDb WikiData
Big Business
director: Jim Abrahams actor: Bette Midler / Lily Tomlin
other title: Affari d'oro / Alle disse kvinder
In the 1940s in the small town of Jupiter Hollow, two sets of identical twins are born in the same hospital on the same night. One set to a poor local family and the other to a rich family just passing through. The dizzy nurse on duty accidentally mixes the twins unbeknown to the parents. Our story flashes forward to the 1980s where the mismatched sets of twins are about to cross paths.
Countdown to Looking Glass (1984) TMDB WikiData IMDb
Countdown to Looking Glass
director: Fred Barzyk actor: Scott Glenn / Michael Murphy
A fictional confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Persian Gulf. The narrative of the film details the events that lead up to the initial exchange of nuclear weapons from the perspective of an on-going news broadcast.
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) NeoDB TMDB KevGa-NeoDB IMDb Douban WikiData Melon Log
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
7.8 (12 ratings) director: David Zucker actor: Leslie Nielsen / Priscilla Presley
other title: Una pallottola spuntata / Høj pistolføring
When the bumbling Lieutenant Frank Drebin investigates events following the shooting of his partner, he stumbles upon an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.
Magic Crystal (1986) NeoDB IMDb Douban WikiData
魔翡翠
director: Wong Jing actor: Cynthia Rothrock / Andy Lau
other title: El cristal mágico / The Magic Crystal
Archaeologist Shum finds an antique jade with supernatural power in Greece. The stone is wanted both by KGB's agent Karoff and the Interpol. Shum asks his friend Nike for help. However, Shum is finally caught by KGB but the jade is slipped into the hands of a boy called Pan.
The Return of the Living Dead (1985) TMDB IMDb WikiData NeoDB Douban
The Return of the Living Dead
7.7 (7 ratings) director: Dan O'Bannon actor: Clu Gulager / James Karen
other title: Il ritorno dei morti viventi / Ligene er ligeglade
When foreman Frank shows new employee Freddy a secret military experiment in a supply warehouse in Louisville, Kentucky, the two klutzes accidentally release a gas that reanimates corpses into flesh-eating zombies. As the epidemic spreads throughout the town, and the creatures satisfy their hunger in gory and outlandish ways, Frank and Freddy fight to survive with the help of their boss and a mysterious mortician.
Xtro (1982) WikiData IMDb TMDB
Xtro
director: Harry Bromley Davenport actor: Philip Sayer / Bernice Stegers
other title: Xtro - Attacco alla Terra / Estranhas Metamorfoses 1
Tony's father Sam, abducted by aliens three years earlier, returns to earth and seeks out his wife and son, but Rachel has since been living with Joe and the reunion is awkward. Joe doesn't trust Sam, and Rachel can't quite decide what her feelings are for her two men. Sam is not the same as when he left, and he begins affecting Tony in frightening ways.
Defence of the Realm (1986) TMDB IMDb WikiData
Defence of the Realm
director: David Drury actor: Gabriel Byrne / Greta Scacchi
other title: Dossier confidenziale / Em Defesa da Verdade
A reporter named Mullen 'stumbles' onto a story linking a prominent Member of Parliament to a KGB agent and a near-nuclear disaster involving a teenage runaway and a U.S. Air Force base. Has there been a Government cover-up? Mullen teams up with Vernon Bayliss, an old hack, and Nina Beckam, the MP's assistant, to find out the truth.
Her Vengeance (1988) NeoDB Douban TMDB IMDb WikiData
血玫瑰
director: Lam Nai-Choi actor: Pauline Wong / Lam Ching-Ying
other title: 血玫瑰
Fong Kit Ying is an unassuming nightclub employee in Macao who inadvertently angers a gang of drunken patrons. They follow her home after her shift and mount a viscous gang assault. After her traumatic ordeal, she vows to hunt them down one by one.
Mr. Vampire (1985) NeoDB TMDB IMDb WikiData Douban
殭屍先生
8.3 (11 ratings) director: Ricky Lau actor: Lam Ching-Ying / Ricky Hui Koon-Ying
other title: Mr Vampire / El señor de los vampiros
The planned reburial of a village elder goes awry as the corpse resurrects into a hopping, bloodthirsty vampire, threatening mankind. Therefore, a Taoist Priest and his two disciples attempt to stop the terror.
Oct. 13, 2025 watched
A fantastically enjoyable Sammo Hung-produced action/horror/comedy with the hopping undead (goengsi/jiangshi).

Loved and watched this film since ~1990

Rewatched (for the umpteenth time) 12 October 2025 in #MonsterMiru #WatchParty after #Monsterdon on Mastodon.
1980s ActionComedy ActionComedyHorror ActionHorror ComedyHorror
Deathstalker (1983) NeoDB Douban TMDB IMDb WikiData
Deathstalker
director: James Sbardellati actor: Rick Hill / Barbi Benton
other title: Deathstalker - O Guerreiro Invencível / Der Todesjäger
The warrior Deathstalker is tasked by an old witch lady to obtain and unite the three powers of creation - a chalice, an amulet, and a sword - lest the evil magician Munkar get them and use them for nefarious purposes. After obtaining the sword, Deathstalker joins with other travelers going to the Big Tournament to determine the strongest warrior. The false king holds the true princess in captivity, and plots to have Deathstalker killed, and Deathstalker must fight to free the princess.
Dance of Death (1980) NeoDB IMDb WikiData TMDB Douban
舞拳
director: Chen Chi-Hwa actor: Angela Mao Ying / Paul Chun Pui
other title: Danse de la mort / 舞拳
An orphan boy seeks revenge upon a villainous kung-fu sect that killed his friends. He chances upon two old kung fu masters who are fighting to determine who's the better fighter; one is a drunk, the other puffs constantly on a pipe. Fei Fei convinces them to teach him kung fu, and then he'll fight using both of their techniques and will discover which is superior. So Fei Fei ends up fighting his way up the ranks of the evil sect with the two old men trailing after him, evaluating the battles and counting how many of their individual moves Fei Fei uses. The final battle with the white-haired master of the sect, using new kung fu moves inspired by dancers in a brothel, is amazingly gymnastic. --Bret Fetzer
Sept. 14, 2025 watched
Angela Mao plays a beggar boy (yes) who gets a drunken master & doped master to teach her their techniques so she can get revenge on an evil kung fu school.

With Jackie Chan on action choreography, we get plenty of fun among all the fighting, and Angela is a delight!

Seen as part of #KungFuSat #WatchParty on Mastodon
1980s AngelaMao KungFu KungFuSat Taiwan
Five Element Ninjas (1982) TMDB IMDb WikiData
五遁忍術
director: Chang Cheh actor: Ricky Cheng Tien-Chi / Lung Tien-Hsiang
other title: FIVE ELEMENT NINJA / 五遁忍術
A young martial artist vows to take revenge against the ninja who murdered his martial arts master and brothers. He finds a new teacher and faces, together with his new brothers, the Five Element Ninja challenge.