1988: Movies Sorted By Tier
Submitted by jim on Mon, 06/21/2004 - 11:45
Tags:
Loved
A Fish Called Wanda
... It's so hard to pick favorites, but this may be my favorite comedy. Dark without being too weird, and the cast and the performances they deliver are inspiring. Everybody is perfect.Big
... Like Babe (but without the talking animals), this movie is sweet without being cloying. Tom Hanks is perfect as the child in a man's body - just the right amount of fun, innocence, and curiousity.Bull Durham
... Perhaps the best sports movie ever. Everything about this movie works: the sports, the comedy, and the romance. I'm tempted to say this movie contained best-of-career roles for Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, and Kevin Costner.Die Hard
... To see it for the first time at 18 is to love it. To see it 12 years later, ummm, not quite so much. But still an excellent example of the breed, and Alan Rickman steals the movie with a timeless bad-guy performanceGrave of the Fireflies
[NOT for kids!] ... Being a parent isn't all milk and honey. Sometimes I long for the days when my life was my own. I always love my kids, but there are moments when I take them for granted. There are other moments when I'm overwhelmed by frustration. There are moments when I want to just pack one small bag to go on a trip rather than fill the car to the brim with cribs, strollers, toys, snacks, clothes, and the kitchen sink. But even though these moments are rare, and even though I'm not the sort of parent that needs to be reminded that he loves his kids, I'm still grateful for this movie, which reminds me in the most gut-wrenching terms how much I do, in fact, love them. In a way it's a shame this movie is anime, since that means 99% of the U.S. movie-watching population will avoid it automatically (although Miyazaki is making inroads with movies like Princess Mononoke and the wonderful Spirited Away), but this movie is as far from stereotypical anime as you can get. There is no fantasy, no ghosts, no little girl princess/warriors, no comedy. It is the story of two children (a twelve-year-old and a five-year-old, I'm guessing) that are orphaned in the waning days of WWII, and their struggle to survive. In the opening scene we see the twelve-year-old, homeless, succumb to starvation in a subway. Although my kids are younger, I couldn't help but watch the film and imagine them in a similar situation, so I spent the entire movie in a state of heart-sickness. It was awful. It was great. After you see it, read the Ebert review. It's one of his good ones.Midnight Run
... I had forgotten to list this and then I rewatched Beverly Hills Cop and noticed the connections (noted above). My favorite Robert De Niro comedy. In fact, I don't think he has enjoyed the same level of comedic rapport that he shared with Charles Grodin since. And I love the rest of the cast as well (Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, all of whom vie for movie-stealing honors). A great road movie.The Thin Blue Line
... The scales of justice? Try the steamroller of justice. Errol Morris does an incredible job of investigating and documenting a disturbing tale of justice grossly miscarried. He did such a good job the movie was instrumental in getting the case reopened, but that doesn't change how disturbing it is that Randall Adams found himself in jail for years, and at one point on death row. And oh my, those surprise witnesses. Moments into her first interview, it's clearly that Emily Miller is a train wreck, and yet... Ugh, I cringe at the thought. Odd bit of trivia: Adams actually sued Errol Morris. Here's Morris's take on that. If you want to skip the rest of the interview, it's near the bottom. Do a "find" on "Did I read somewhere that Randall Adams sued you?").Who Framed Roger Rabbit
... The 'toons are meticulously integrated into the live action, but that would be meaningless if Bob Hoskins failed to sell talking to something where there is nothing. How he kept his eyes focussed on a spot only a few feet away without ever looking like he was staring off into space is baffling. Oscar-worthy in itself. It also helps that Christopher Lloyd turned Judge Doom into one of the best villains ever, and man, what a voice on Kathleen Turner, huh?Really Liked
Akira
... Between this, Ghost in the Shell, and Once Upon a Time in the West I've been privileged to experience several achingly good soundtracks in close proximity. What a treat! But in the anime showdown, the soundtrack is the only department where Ghost in the Shell is competitive. Otherwise, it's Akira in a walk. A far more compelling future vision, even if it is vastly softer science fiction. The plot is complex but still accessible, the visuals are terrific once you acclimate yourself to the animation style, and it actually seems rather timely, as we here in 2004 hear of physicists attempting to recreate big bang and black hole conditions in particle accelerators. One of the better "what hath science wrought" cinematic meltdowns.Dangerous Liaisons
Eight Men Out
The Last Temptation of Christ
The Naked Gun
My Neighbor Totoro
... It's really too bad the Fox Video box for this movie makes this look Tom & Jerryish, because once you get past the cover you have yet another beautifully animated and gentle Miyazaki movie. Like Kiki's Delivery Service this film is truly appropriate for all ages (although interestingly the totally benign Totoros roar in a most intimidating fashion, so that might be one stumbling block for the very young). The themes of the divine in nature that run through all Miyazaki's work are present even in this early film, which incidentally again demonstrates that nobody else captures the beauty of falling rain so well. Here's hoping Disney gives the red carpet DVD treatment to this movie that they've bestowed on some of Miyazaki's others.Shoot to Kill
A Short Film About Killing
... Wow, really liked the cinematography in this one, especially the flat, almost canvas-like backgrounds in some scenes, and the kind of old-photo fade to shadow at the edges. An excellent movie about, well, killing. I still haven't seen the anti-death penalty movie yet that depicts the condemned as a true monster and still gets the message across. Think Timothy McVeigh levels of evil, completely unrepentant all the way to the block. Can such a movie be made?The Vanishing
... Interesting to watch this in such close proximity to Diabolique, another movie that is all slow build-up with huge payoff. The thing that really makes this one is how believable it seems. Even actions that would be inconceivable were you to pose the situations to me hypothetically seem real, real, real. Chilling.Working Girl
Glad I Saw
The Accused
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Beetle Juice
The Big Blue
... Jean Reno directed by Luc Besson. Fans of The Professional are already hooked. You'll be happy to hear both deliver here, in this tale of two friend/rival freedivers. If you're not familiar with the sport in its competitive aspect, it involves diving as deep as you can on one breath while trying to make sure you have enough oxygen to get back to the surface alive. You can probably imagine how a movie about competition between friends in such a sport is likely to end, but I make no promises. I will say that the ending features a beautiful, haunting, fade-to-black that the rest of the movie doesn't quite live up to, although it tries mightily. I watched the overlong 160+ minute director's cut. Supposedly there's a sub-120 minute American cut out there which sucks. I'm thinking the European theatrical release probably hits the sweet spot, running time-wise.The Dead Pool
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Gorillas in the Mist
Mississippi Burning
Rain Man
Tucker: The Man and His Dream
Guilty Pleasures
- None Yet
Could Have Missed
Frantic
Scrooged
Twins
Willow
Should Have Missed
Coming to America
The Land Before Time
Miracle Mile
... If it wasn't for all the cussing I'd think this was a made-for-TV movie. It's engrossing at times, and Anthony Edwards and the mystery caller do a nice job of selling the hook (Edwards picks up a payphone and learns, perhaps, that WWIII has started and the nukes are on the way), but I'm thinking the movie suffers from a cast that isn't quite up to the task and the crippling eightiesness of it all, resulting in a short shelf-life (or is "half-life" a better term for movies where the threat of WWIII looms?).Red Heat
El Sucko Grande
Action Jackson
Cocktail
Moon Over Parador
Rambo III
They Live
... Rowdy Roddy Piper battles aliens who live among us, disguised as yuppies. Not subtle (nor should it be). I can't believe this didn't come earlier in John Carpenter's career. Although I guess it's not so hard to believe it came after his peak rather than before it. Boy, pretty steep slopes on either side of his peak, aren't there?
Cloned From:
Tsk, tsk, tsk, Jim, you've left a vital plot point of Miracle Mile uncloaked. Don't spoil it for others. Sorry you were disappointed. It's probably one of those movies you need to stumble over knowing nothing about it in order to get the buzz. Hence the need not to spoil the plot. I'm surprised at you! [Enough rant? Felt good.]
I would never wittingly reveal plot points, even for movies I don't like! I'm not really sure where my offense lies though. Are you disappointed I describe the phone call? That happens in the first 10 minutes, and it's written on the box and all the movie's promotional materials. Or do you think I gave away the end by calling it an "Armageddon movie". I kinda thought that term just described the genre, and included movies that merely invoke the spectre of annihilation for tension, without actually following through. Anyway, I didn't change the former, but I did change the word "Armageddon" to something more ambiguous. Sorry!
Jim, overnight I came to regret the above post. What you did was only a little worse than I did in listing the movie in my Devastating Movies About the End of the World list. You did give away the moment in which the big plot change occurs, however - that was what needled me. The luckiest viewers of this movie are those that know zilch about it beforehand.
Oh yeah! Hey! You DID do the same thing on that list! How could I have overlooked that? You rat!
:-)
No worries, no regrets. I was worried that I might have really slipped up and spoiled the movie; I wasn't taken aback by your "rant", if you can even call it that.
Wow, could this be your one of your favorite years?
T'ho
:?)
I hadn't considered that, but I guess so, looking at how heavy the top tiers are here compared to other years. It also has the advantage of being the year I turned 18, so I was watching a fair number of movies and was on the cusp of improving my taste, but hadn't yet so many of them score lots of nostalgia points.
AAAAhhhhhh...18.
The year every young man feels a burgeoning need to improve himself. The endless golden years of youth.
I understand
T'ho
:?)
Nice Roger Rabbit review! I'm curious, did you recently rewatch that movie, or did you just decide to throw together a review based on your memory of it?
Thanks! It was a recent rewatch. We own it now, and gave it a screening before showing it to the kids. Unfortunately for them, Judge Doom is probably still too nightmare-inducing.
didn't like they live eh?... what didn't you like about it? roddy piper's acting is the only thing i thought was less than desirable... great action sequences, original aliens for once, decent story... where'd it lose you?
It actually teetered on the brink of being a guilty pleasure (and so many of my guilty pleasures totter on the brink of unredemption (irredemption?)). Some of it was enjoyable. The concept, and the big brawl come to mind, even if the wrestling moves were a bit much. Honestly, I think it was mostly Piper that dragged it down for me (if they didn't lose me before, they definitely lost me when he tried to pull off the "I had such a tough childhood" scene). Imagine Bruce Campbell in the role instead. Also, it strikes me as a movie to watch with either lots of friends or lots of alcohol (or both), and I had neither going for me that night. :-)
haha... you make a good point about the friends and alcohol... i've only seen it twice and both were late night tv binges with bored friends... but yeah bruce campbell would have been a lot better... lucky enough for me roddy piper is fine by me as an actor, when he's not speaking that is, so it makes it somewhat bareable... but i would guess that he has absolutely no believability and is completely annoying to most people... plus i really love keith david, so it sort of evens out for me.
Oh yes, Keith David I liked. I always like him.
Re: The Thin Blue Line
There are excellent reasons I refuse to live in Texas again...
The "justice" system is one of them.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I'm glad you got out alive!
That makes two of us!
Thanks.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Now L,
You know I have to take issue with this--which state is it again that doesn't allow sickening miscarriages of justice? The U.S. system overall has some real problems; Texas certainly has some staggering problems, as The Thin Blue Line illustrates, but I think of a supposedly progressive Northern state like Illinois and what comes to my mind? At least a dozen wrongly convicted men on death row. Just one example...
Johnny Waco
No state has clean hands, on that we can agree.
I apologize. I didn't mean to insult or offend anybody, especially not a great friend.
But I'm not moving back! ;)
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I still haven't seen the anti-death penalty movie yet that depicts the condemned as a true monster and still gets the message across.
Well, it's not like "Dead Man Walking" lets Sean Penn off the hook...
No, I suppose that's true. And to ask for an anti-death penalty movie where the condemned is truly irrevocably, irretrievably, unrepentantly evil through and through is probably an unreasonable request. Fringe cases, n' all...