Amadeus (1984) - 4 stars

One sentence plot summary: A largely fictionalized account of the relationship between composers Mozart and Salieri.

Starring: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice, Simon Callow, Richard Frank, Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones, Charles Kay, Cynthia Nixon, Roderick Cook, Vincent Schiavelli

Best of: Engrossing storyline and tremendous performances from both leads.

Worst of: I wish I had known more about Mozart going in...I think it would have made me appreciate the film even more ad there seem to have been lots of inside jokes.

Notable: Maurice Jarre, in his speech accepting the 1984 Best Original Score Oscar for A Passage to India, expressed his gratitude that Amadeus - with music entirely by Mozart - had not been Oscar-nominated for Best Original Score.

Terms of Endearment (1983) - 2 Stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: Daughter of a dysfunctional mom gets in a dysfunctional marriage and has dysfunctionsal relationships with her kids.

Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff Daniels, Betty King, John Lithgow, Megan Morris, Mikhail Baryshnikov, David Wohl, Albert Brooks, Mary Kay Place

Best of: Jack Nicholson's character and plot line are pretty fun.

Worst of: It's relatively plotless, which can work for a novel...but not so much for a movie. A little less sap wouldn't hurt either.

Notable: Upon completing the film, James L. Brooks was given a gift of a book of cartoons by Matt Groening. This was his first exposure to Groening. The two would go on to create the Simpsons together.

Also nominated: The Right Stuff, Tender Mercies.

Gandhi (1982) - 4 stars

One sentence plot summary: Gandhi was pretty great.

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, Martin Sheen, Ian Charleson, Athol Fugard, Geraldine James, Amrish Puri, Ian Bannen, Richard Griffiths, Nigel Hawthorne, Om Puri, Bernard Hill, John Ratzenberger, Daniel Day-Lewis

Best of: The life of Gandhi is so fascinating and naturally dramatic, that to make a film out of it seems effortless. Ben Kingsley is stunning.

Worst of: I like a good epic and he led an epic life, but it's a rare movie that can't be cut to under three hours.

Notable: Over 300,000 extras appeared in the funeral scene. It was filmed on the 33rd anninversary of Gandhi's funeral.

Also nominated: E.T.

Chariots of Fire (1981) - 2 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: Two runners from the United Kingdom train for and compete in the 1924 Paris Olympics.

Starring: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers, Ian Holm, John Gielgud

Best of: One of the greatest movie themes ever written, but it is way too underused. I kind of wanted it to play the whole movie.

Worst of: Like last year's Ordinary People, it feels dated in a none-too-flattering early 80s sort of way.

Notable: This is pretty fantastic.

Also nominated: Raiders of the Lost Ark.