Interesting thread. I think the key word here is nostalgia. I love a lot of the 80's films here too, but with some I feel it's fond memories rather than them being true classics.
It's unfair to slate the current decade, because the films do not have that personal history that makes the 80's films special to us.
I would agree with the comment that the 90's was far superior in terms of actual quality films. In Hollywood the Coen brothers and Tarantino were producing their best work, you had Goodfellas, Seven, The Usual Suspects, Forrest Gump, LA Confidential, Fight Club etc.
And from Europe you had La Haine, Delicatessen, City of the Lost Children and The Three Colours films.
I'm sure in 20 years time films from this decade like Amelie, Meet The Parents, Shaun of the Dead and the like will be remembered just as fondly as the likes of Top Gun or Dirty Dancing.
When I was at Uni I read a book by a guy called James Moanco from the 70's and it was basically slating contemporary films like Jaws and Annie Hall and saying how they couldn't compare to the "golden age" of the 30's and 40's. Now the 70's is widely regarded as the best decade in Hollywood's movie making history. It shows thattime plays it's part, we filter out the garbage from any given era and only remember the quality.
