We’re now heading firmly in to 2019 and the year ahead looks good for movies with films like Avengers: End Game, Toy Story 4, The Lion King and Glass all set to be released this year. But let’s wind the clock back 30 years and have a look at some of the films we were looking forward to in 1989 – there were some big releases that year….

1. Batman

To me this is still the definitive movie version of the Dark Knight, with Michael Keaton perfect as Batman and Jack Nicholson possibly giving his best performance as The Joker.

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Tim Burton envisaged what Gotham should be like.

2. The Little Mermaid

One of Disney’s biggest releases around that time, The Little Mermaid came when they were going through something of a renaissance and had wonderful animation and a great soundtrack, too.

3. Dead Poets Society

Probably Robin Williams best “straight” performance as we were so used to seeing him doing big comedy.

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Dead Poets Society was very different and was a powerful and dramatic film that everyone should see at least once.

4. Back to the Future Part II

The mid-part of the trilogy and the one in which Marty McFly is sent in to the future and all kinds of things go wrong when Biff gets hold of the Sports Almanac and brings it back to the past.

5. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

The last of the “good” Indiana Jones films.

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Indie goes on a quest to rescue his dad who was on the search for the Holy Grail and this was a fantastic and fun family action film.

6. Ghostbusters II

Another sequel that was released in 1989, Ghostbusters II took everything about the first film and tried to make it bigger and better – in some ways it worked, but the original is generally considered to still be far superior.

7. The Abyss

James Cameron’s tale of aliens that have arrived and are living under the ocean.

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This had spectacular special effects for the time and is a wonderful, if slightly slow-paced, Sci-Fi film.

8. Licence to Kill

Timothy Dalton’s second outing as James Bond, Licence to Kill was a new way forward for 007 as it was darker, grittier and far more violent that most of what had come before.

9. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Our first experience of Bill and Ted was when they had to go through time collecting historical figures to help them pass their history assignment at school.

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This was a classic film that still stands up today.

10. Society

One of the strangest horror films you’ll ever see, an insular society of people that takes a turn for the weird when the body horror starts and people start to fuse with others.

11. Born on the Fourth of July

Widely regarded as one of Tom Cruise’s finest performances, this was gripping and powerful drama at its very best.

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There were some very hard to watch and emotional scenes.

12. Honey I Shrunk the Kids

One of the most fun and enjoyable family movies of the 80s, this is an absolute classic and a go-to film whenever you notice it’s on TV, it’s impossible not to watch and impossible not to smile when you do!

What did you think about the movie releases of 1989? Was it a good year for film?

Does it make you want to turn the clock back to this classic era? Do you remember seeing any of these films when they were first released? Let us know all your thoughts and memories in the comments as always.