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Post by berkley on May 21, 2023 19:04:47 GMT -5
The best film of 1987 is either the cult classic Withnail & I or Louis Malle's excellent Au Revoir, Les Enfants. I feel like there's a few films I should revisit like Broadcast News and John Huston's The Dead. Wings of Desire is a pretty film to watch I have a lot of time for Kiarostomi's Where is the Friend's House? and Souleymane Cissé's Yeelen. I would probably go with Withnail & I as my favorite as my lingering memory of this year is that opening scene with King Curtis' cover of Whiter Shade of Pale.
I saw Withnail & I for the first time only a few years ago. Definitely one of the standouts of 1987.
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Post by Hoosier X on May 21, 2023 19:41:50 GMT -5
The best film of 1987 is either the cult classic Withnail & I or Louis Malle's excellent Au Revoir, Les Enfants. I feel like there's a few films I should revisit like Broadcast News and John Huston's The Dead. Wings of Desire is a pretty film to watch I have a lot of time for Kiarostomi's Where is the Friend's House? and Souleymane Cissé's Yeelen. I would probably go with Withnail & I as my favorite as my lingering memory of this year is that opening scene with King Curtis' cover of Whiter Shade of Pale. How could I forget Au revoir, les enfants? I think I have a three-way tie for 1987. Withnail and I is a film I saw only once when it was still a relatively recent film and I remembering it being very good. It’s a really good choice for favorite. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 1, 2023 13:53:57 GMT -5
Been a little busy, but pressing on to 1988. Another of those years where there is no reason to play coy. My favorite movie of 1988 is my pick for best action movie of all time and is a top five film for me. Die Hard - I watch this movie at least once a year (it isn't Christmas without Die Hard). Bruce Willis is incredible as John McClane and John McClane is a great action hero. This is before the sequels make him in to just another superhero...he's a slightly better than average guy who manages to beat the odds. Alan Rickman is a brilliant villain as Hans Gruber. William Atherton and Hart Bochner embody 80s sliminess. The script is absolutely brilliant...this is one of the most quotable movies ever. McTiernan gives us a near perfect action movie. "I was always partial to Roy Rogers myself." So...the also-rans... Beetlejuice - This movie never fails to make me laugh. It's not one of my favorite comedies of the era, but I'm always happy to watch it. Keaton is very good. Catherine O'Hara is great as Delia Deetz. And I 100% fell in love with Winona Ryder watching it. Who Framed Roger Rabbit - In many other years this would be the choice...or at least a much harder decision. I love this movie. It's just pure entertainment from snap to whistle. Bob Hoskins is amazing as Eddie Valiant. Christopher Lloyd is great as Judge Doom. The animation is brilliantly integrated in to the live action. Robert Zemekis gave us a love-letter to animation, L.A. history with just a little bit of film noir thrown in. Add in amazing voice acting, including this being one of the last times we hear Mel Blanc in his classic roles and the movie is a triumph. Coming to America - I like, but don't love this movie. I think it's a good, but not great comedy. There's plenty to like, but Eddie Murphy is just not as lively or interesting as he'd been in previous roles. The script is kind of pedestrian. But it's still funny and I don't ever feel bad about watching it. I really think that John Amos pretty much steals the movie as Cleo McDowell. This is also the last decent film that Murphy would make for decades. Sad. Bull Durham - I'm not a Kevin Costner fan. I tend to like movies in spite of him, not because of him. This is easily his best movie...and it's at least a little bit because of him. This is just a great synthesis of comedy, romance and the fable of baseball. Susan Sarandan is near her best. Tim Robbins is very funny. One of those movies that is just far better than it gets credit for being. Mississippi Burning - You can argue about the historicity of the film. And you can argue that it was long since past time in 1988 that Hollywood looked at the black side of the civil rights movement as opposed to the white saviors. What you can't argue with are incredibly strong performances by Gene Hackman and Frances McDormand. And it's still a pretty darn compelling film. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Another comedy that I can watch and feel good about, maybe a bit out of comfort and nostalgia. I do think that Steve Martin and Michael Caine have amazing chemistry together. And Glenne Headly was a more than worthy foil. Eight Men Out - I'm a bigger fan of baseball history than I am of baseball, so this is kind of up my alley. John Sayles does a great job with the direction and the script. The cast is very deep and quite good. This is definitely where I first noticed David Strathairn. It makes me want to go out to the ballpark. As usual there are many films I've either not seen or not seen in far too long. Including; Cinema Paradiso (eons); Akira (honestly all anime is just a complete blind spot for me); Big (it's been a while and I feel like it needs a re-watch to see how I feel about it); Midnight Run (way too long); A Fish Called Wanda (yep...way too long); The Last Temptation of Christ (I REALLY owe this one a re-watch); Dead Ringers; Heathers (I need to watch this again for Winona Ryder); Dangerous Liaisons; Bird (I really loved this but I need to see it again); So what's my favorite film of 1988? I already said it was Die Hard. And 1988 in film for those as need a look. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jun 1, 2023 14:29:24 GMT -5
For me it's a three-way tie between Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Midnight Run and A Fish Called Wanda - what a great set of timeless comedies.
But yeah, Die Hard is a pretty damn fine action, and Xmas, film.
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Post by berkley on Jun 1, 2023 15:01:13 GMT -5
The Naked Gun
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 1, 2023 15:09:18 GMT -5
It's been quite a while since I've seen The Naked Gun. I remember it being a pretty good satire but not nearly up to the quality of Police Squad (the TV show). |
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Post by berkley on Jun 1, 2023 15:32:07 GMT -5
It's been quite a while since I've seen The Naked Gun. I remember it being a pretty good satire but not nearly up to the quality of Police Squad (the TV show).
I don't believe I've seen it since it was first out and now I think about it I'd probably have to re-watch all three Naked Gun movies to remember which bits are from which individual installments of the series. I do remember enjoying each one of them immensely at the time but it's possible this first one was the weakest of the three. There wasn't much else from 1988 that really jumped out at me. I'm very remiss in not having seen Dead Ringers yet, since I like Cronenberg.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jun 1, 2023 15:45:14 GMT -5
Ooooo, Naked Gun is another good one. Just watched all three of them pretty recently - some time last year. Still found them pretty funny, esp. the first two.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jun 1, 2023 15:50:42 GMT -5
Oh wow, yeah, there are a lot of really, really good movies from 1988. I remember seeing Die Hard three or four times at the theater. And I also really like Eight Men Out, Midnight Run, A Fish Called Wanda and The Last Temptation of Christ.
But my two favorite films from 1988 are The Moderns and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Women on the Verge is my favorite Spanish-language film and I own it on DVD, so I’ve seen it repeatedly.
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Post by commond on Jun 1, 2023 19:36:12 GMT -5
1988 is Grave of the Fireflies, even if it's an absolute stomach punch of a movie. '88 was a big year for anime making waves overseas with Akira and My Neighbor Totoro released in the same year.
I had Grave of the Fireflies at #1 the last time I participated in a Best of the 80s poll, but I also had Time of the Gypsies at #3 (one of my all-time favorite movies), so 1988 has two of my top three from the decade.
I love Almodovar (at least up to a point, I haven't watched a lot of his recent films), but I could never get into Woman... I should give it another shot. I'm a wrestling fan, and I like John Carpenter films, so of course I dig They Live. Errol Morris' Thin Blue Line is well worth watching. Malkovich is excellent in Dangerous Liaisons. I'm a big fan of Claude Chabrol's Story of Women, as well.
There are quite a few films I can't remember watching, stuff from Bela Tarr, Aki Kaurismaki, Theo Angelopoulos, and Krzysztof Kieslowski, and films like Dead Ringers and The Vanishing that I feel like I ought to have seen.
I have an uncle who was always talking about Monty Python films when I was a kid, and he was hugely into John Cleese and a Fish Called Wanda. I was more into Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Land Before Time and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen at the time.
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Post by berkley on Jun 1, 2023 20:06:26 GMT -5
1988 is Grave of the Fireflies, even if it's an absolute stomach punch of a movie. '88 was a big year for anime making waves overseas with Akira and My Neighbor Totoro released in the same year. I had Grave of the Fireflies at #1 the last time I participated in a Best of the 80s poll, but I also had Time of the Gypsies at #3 (one of my all-time favorite movies), so 1988 has two of my top three from the decade. I love Almodovar (at least up to a point, I haven't watched a lot of his recent films), but I could never get into Woman... I should give it another shot. I'm a wrestling fan, and I like John Carpenter films, so of course I dig They Live. Errol Morris' Thin Blue Line is well worth watching. Malkovich is excellent in Dangerous Liaisons. I'm a big fan of Claude Chabrol's Story of Women, as well. There are quite a few films I can't remember watching, stuff from Bela Tarr, Aki Kaurismaki, Theo Angelopoulos, and Krzysztof Kieslowski, and films like Dead Ringers and The Vanishing that I feel like I ought to have seen. I have an uncle who was always talking about Monty Python films when I was a kid, and he was hugely into John Cleese and a Fish Called Wanda. I was more into Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Land Before Time and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen at the time.
Oh, was the Vanishing 1988? That was a good one. And I just saw My Neighbour Totoro at the cinema recently, must have missed that one too when skimming through the wiki list. Totoro would be a definite contender but I'll stick with Naked Gun as my favourite since I saw it at the time.
I've only seen 2 or 3 Almovodars, mostly from the last few years. His most recent, Parallel Mothers, was really good. I've been trying to get to some of his 1980s and 1990s stuff but not much progress made so far.
Just watched Chabrol's Le Beau Serge a month or two ago: outstanding film, though at times quite bleak, even depressing. I plan to go through his career in order, just picking out the highlights for now, not every single film, but I might try to jump ahead and see some of the late 1980s and 1990s work soon, since I'm doing other things from that era. I'll have a look for Story of Women.
I'm a huge Python fan but somehow had never seen A Fish Called Wanda until quite recently. I was all primed to love it but perhaps was expecting too much because I found it only mildly amusing. Not a bad movie by any means but not the comedy masterpiece I was hoping for.
Haven't seen Grave of the Fireflies, another one to add to the list.
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Post by coke & comics on Jun 6, 2023 16:00:11 GMT -5
Not too far behind. 1987. Slam covered a lot of my favorites. Two stand out. And I could go either way for #1.
But I'm going to go with The Princess Bride, one of the best comedies ever, and perhaps the single most quotable film I've seen this side of Big Lebowski. The other contender is of course the brilliant social commentary that is RoboCop.
Evil Dead II comes in at #3. It found the perfect balance between horror and comedy the other films in the series didn't quite manage.
And then probably Lethal Weapon, though it's been a while since I've seen it.
And then I've always had a fondness going back to childhood for Adventures in Babysitting. Still the best Thor movie.
Strongest contenders for me are Empire of the Sun, Broadcast News, and The Untouchables. Strong year.
In my youth, I was certainly into Masters of the Universe, the film that taught me to always stay until the end of the credits.
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Post by coke & comics on Jun 6, 2023 16:09:28 GMT -5
1988. Sure, #1 is Die Hard, best action movie ever. Best Christmas movie ever.
A very close second is My Neighbor Totoro, a magical film unlike anything I've ever seen.
Then I'll probably take Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. But perhaps I'd go with Grave of the Fireflies. The latter, while great, suffers from being too upsetting. I've seen it once and don't think I have it in me to ever watch it again.
For #5, I notice I'm all out of bubblegum, so let's go with They Live. In case RoboCop was too subtle for people.
Plenty of great movies though. I was 7, so starting to appreciate films like Willow and The Land Before Time and Stand and Deliver, which would have been my favorites back then. I remember Without a Clue fondly from my childhood. No idea if it would hold up. Lady in White terrified me as a child. And I loved many incarnations of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe growing up.
As an adult, my runners up are Thin Blue Line and Akira.
Appleseed is another great sci/fi anime from the year.
Oh, and speaking of Thor movies... there's The Incredible Hulk Returns.
Mac and Me is the best Paul Rudd movie.
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Post by badwolf on Jun 6, 2023 19:54:56 GMT -5
1988:
Akira
Grave of the FIreflies
My Neighbor Totoro
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 9, 2023 12:28:29 GMT -5
Moving on in to 1989. Let's start off with the two summer blockbusters. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - I think this is a great sequel. I didn't really care for Temple of Doom. But this was what I wanted from Indiana Jones. Sean Connery was the perfect choice to play Indy's father and the chemistry between he and Ford was great. It's not as novel or as viscerally fun as Raiders. But it's a damn fun adventure film and sometimes that's what you need. And any time I can watch Indy fighting Nazis...well I'm all in. Batman - You had to be there. Really. You had to be there. I went to see this on opening night. And it was amazing. Now, I'll admit that it hasn't held up all that well. There are significant problems with huge parts of it. But in the summer of 1989 it was a cultural phenomenon and you had to just sit back and enjoy the ride. The Little Mermaid - I was not the target audience for this film. I'm still not. But it's a great animated film and it's hugely important historically. This was the start of the Disney Renaissance. Critically acclaimed and the biggest box office for any animated film up to then. And while you can pick things apart and some of it is problematic now, it's a kids movie...so why do it? It's just a fun movie. The Killer - John Woo and Chow Yun-fat combine to make one of the great Hong Kong action thrillers. This is probably Woo's best film. It's certainly his most important having a huge influence on Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez...and seemingly Luc Beeson. It certainly wears its influences on its sleeve. And it doesn't break a lot of ground story-wise. But it's a fabulous distillation of its genre. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - Yeah, it's silly. But it's fun. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are silly and charming and the film is a joy. George Carlin is great a Rufus. Sometimes you just need some goofiness. And ultimately the message of the film "Be Excellent to Each Other" isn't such a bad thing. Henry V - Well that's quite the jump from Bill & Ted to Henry V. Kenneth Branagh's film directorial debut is a tour de force Shakespearian adaptation. Both his acting and directing are outstanding. The rest of the cast is just a dream come true. Robbie Coltrane, Derek Jacobi, Paul Scofield, etc. Probably my favorite Shakespearean film adaptation. Major League - We've established that I like 80s comedies. And I really like this one. It isn't anything profound or groundbreaking. It just makes me laugh. Bob Uecker and Dennis Haysbert in particular crack me up. "Hats for bats. Keep bats warm." As usual there are many films I've either not seen or not seen in far too long. Including; Do the Right Thing (I really need to re-watch this one); The Abyss; Say Anything; Glory; Field of Dreams; So what's my favorite film of 1989? A little tough this year. I really love Henry V and The Killer. But, ultimately, the movie I'm most likely to pop in and watch is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. And 1989 in film for those as need a look. |
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