Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

Everyone remembers this film for stoner slacker Spicoli (Sean Penn), although he's very much the secondary character to all the ensemble drama around him.

Amy Heckerling's first film, based on the non-fiction book by Cameron Crowe (in which he posed as a high school senior for inspiration), is never quite as perfect as my memory of it purports to be, but it certainly captures the wild zeitgeist of American culture in the '80s. It's an iconic coming-of-age comedy with mammorable performances from Jennifer Jason Leigh and Phoebe Cates.

4 fapus interruptus out of 5

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)

40 years after sweeping the world by storm, and 30 years after his last outing, Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills, and a lot has changed in the world while much stays the same. This one tries to capture the spirit of the earlier movies, but aside from a few winks and nods, doesn't accomplish anything the first two did better. They thought they could replicate the magic by using the exact same songs, but all it does is remind you of better days gone by. In terms of fun, this feels the least rewatchable to me, and I'm not sure how much of that has to do with Netflix's desaturated color grading, which makes everything look a lot more drab and murky compared to the other films in the series.

John Ashton returns for the last time, as this turned out to be his final role.

2½ stake-outs of 5

Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)

What happens when you transpose a popular '80s franchise to the '90s? You get a downgrade in quality, that's what. This one is the rotten stepsister of the series, although it actually holds up much better on reconsideration. Murphy and Reinhold return, but Ashton drops out and is replaced by a new character played by Héctor Elizondo. The bulk of this installment takes place at a theme park, which tells you everything you need to know, but there are still enough cheesy lines and memeable moments to warrant a rewatch in the future. 

2½ Wonder World songs on repeat out of 5

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)

Tony Scott takes over the reins from the original, resulting in a much more action-oriented approach, but a lot less brains. The result is not quite as memorable or iconic as the first film, but the catchy soundtrack remains.

Murphy reprises his role as smart-aleck Foley, with John Ashton returning as the hard-nosed sergeant, but Judge Reinhold undergoes a bit of character assassination here as a gun nut. It mostly thrives off the camaraderie and witty repartee between Axel, Rosewood and Taggart, and sometimes that's enough.

3 shoot-outs of 5

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Alex Foley is a fast-talking undercover detective who makes his way from the hard streets of Detroit to the glam life of Los Angeles in the first of this buddy cop action comedy franchise that defined the '80s and launched SNL veteran Eddie Murphy into superstardom (after previously making a splash in 48 Hrs).

What's great is how director Marty Brest balances the grittiness of the drama with the silliness of the humor, which was never quite replicated to the same effect throughout the series. The back-and-forth antagonism between Murphy and the two by-the-book detectives Taggart and Rosewood (John Ashton and Judge Reinhold) is irresistibly charming. It's an '80s staple that still holds up, even though the surrounding cultural landscape has changed significantly.

The soundtrack is a big part of the reason why this remains such a classic, from Harold Faltermeyer's catchy synth theme to some great '80s pop hits.

4 bananas in the tailpipe out of 5

Ruthless People (1986)

Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker reunited on one last film before going their separate ways in the '90s. In a departure from their previous spoof style, they tackle a dark plot involving kidnapping, blackmail and murder which goes all sorts of wrong. Danny DeVito plays a man who despises his wife (Bette Midler) and plans to have her killed, when he finds out she's been taken and held at ransom by two desperate captors who don't know what they're doing. In some ways, this satirical black comedy feels like a precursor to Fargo. The result is wildly uneven at times, even though it contains many memorable moments.

2½ Stockholm syndromes out of 5

Gremlins (1984)

There's something appealing about the sort of horrors that can be avoided if you follow a few simple rules. Don't push that button, don't fall asleep, don't feed your Mogwai after midnight. It feels almost Lovecraftian in nature- the easier it is for you to avoid breaking the rule, the more tempting it will be for you to break it, bringing upon your own demise. Gremlins plays with classic ideas in fun and creative ways, and the animatronics are still a delight to watch.

Some of the special effects have aged badly, but as far as I'm concerned, that's part of the movie's charm. I'll never quite understand why the horrifying backstory about Kate's father was included- it haunted me for years and still gives me the creeps now- but maybe that's part of Gremlin's appeal too. It's more a black comedy than a horror film, and the speech shows just how dark the film is willing to go. It's surprisingly subversive for a Christmas movie, and an awesome film in its own right.

4 reasons to hate Christmas out of 5.