A little about my favorite movies of 1984:

Repo Man: One of the all-time best cult films.

El Norte: Excellent movie about two siblings who flee Guatemala 
for Los Angeles and all the crappy luck they have.

Buckaroo Banzai: Any movie that so heavily references "The Crying 
of Lot 49" is okay by me.  Plus John Lithgow's second-finest moment 
on film (the first was in that Twilight Zone movie).

This is Spinal Tap: I rarely use the word seminal, but I'll use it 
here.

Birdy: Like most of Alan Parker's films, not quite perfect, but very 
interesting.  And an excellent soundtrack by Peter Gabriel from back 
when he was talented.

The Company of Wolves: This was made back when no one had heard of 
Neil Jordan, so I think of this as an Angela Carter film.  Little 
Red Riding Hood with some twists (and good ones, not bad ones like 
"Freeway" with Reese Witherspoon).

Ghostbusters: Hasn't this film been praised to death?  I saw it on 
opening night, with no hype at all.  Back when the idea of the 
Sta-Puf Marshmallow Man was fresh and exciting.

The Terminator: One of the best remakes of "La Jetée," right up 
there with "12 Monkeys."

Romancing the Stone: Once again, my weakness for romantic comedies 
shows through.

Stranger Than Paradise: The first Jim Jarmusch film!  This film broke 
open the floodgates for independent cinema, because it was so good.