The Usual Choices
Aliens (James Cameron)
Blue Velvet (David Lynch)
Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen)
Platoon (Oliver Stone)
Stand By Me (Rob Reiner)
But how about...
Manhunter (Michael Mann)
All clean lines and neutral colours (whaddya expect? It's a Michael Mann movie), this is the first cinematic outing of Hannibal the Cannibal (although he's on a diet in this film). Let's face it: hunting down a crazed serial killer is virtually guaranteed to produce an involving story. And as long as the murder scenes are only shown in the crime photos rather than graphically and slashingly acted out, I'm as absorbed as anybody. While forensic-superman William Petersen smoulders like damp leaves, he relievedly bursts into flame in the climax and gets his man. Not Silence of the Lambs, but, in it's more subdued and sleeker way, just as riveting.
...and what about...
Sid & Nancy (Alex Cox)
I LOVE a whole bunch of the music that came out of, and after, Punk. But I was never taken with too many of its trademarks (deliberate ugliness, wrecking everything and unhygienic behaviour...disease and squalor are not cool). Sid Vicious was a great poster-boy for the "do-it-yourself" boast that Punk made, but he just became a kid in over his head. This film, to its credit, really tries to accurately deliver the long, slow slide into junkie hell, and quite often succeeds. It's not pleasant viewing of course, but the pair of remarkable lead performances keeps you involved. Just one thing: I could've done without the yellow cab ride into the afterlife; this film doesn't require an artificially romantic ending.
...not to mention...
Lucas (David Seltzer)
An 80's High School flick that manages to be a bit different. Lucas is a kid clearly on the Autism spectrum who deals with jocks vs nerds / wants the girl he loves to love him back / dickhead bullies and stupid teachers / crap parents. So...what's different? Well: Corey Haim is wonderful as the crazy mixed-up kid, adolescent kindness cuts through the adolescent nastiness, and rarest of all, there are glimmers of real feeling in the dialogue. Even the usual USA plastic High School cliches aren't enough to swamp this. Nothing startling mind you, but refreshing to have a teen film that doesn't focus on premature sex or psychotic slashers.
...and one personal unmentionable...
The Mission (Roland Joffe)
This is a wannabe-David-Lean epic, but it fails to be grand. Sure, the cinematography is grand and the historic event is potentially grand, but the passion, despite everyone's best efforts, remains muted. The opening scene of man-on-crucifix going over the falls is a striking image, but nothing that comes after it is its equal. De Niro (who is the least convincing weeper ever) carries too much literal and figurative baggage to ever be an acceptable born-again type, and he only kicks in emotionally when he is violent. The film's climax is really just a siege movie (Assault on Precinct 13 jungle-style), but even that seems too balletic. So, all we leave with are beauty and craftsmanship. And that, for a motion picture, is usually not enough.
My Top 10 Films of 1986
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| Harrison explains DIY Prostate Check methodology |
#02 A Salvador (Stone)
#04 A Blue Velvet (Lynch)
#05 A- Hannah and Her Sisters (Allen)
#06 A- The Mosquito Coast (Weir)
#07 A- The Fringe Dwellers (Beresford)
#08 A- Mona Lisa (Jordan)
#09 A- Something Wild (Demme)
#10 A- The Big Easy (McBride)
Overflow: More A-/B+ Films
#11 A- Platoon (Stone)
#12 A- Little Shop of Horrors (Oz)
#13 A- Stand By Me (Reiner)
#14 B+ Sid & Nancy (Cox)
#15 B+ Manhunter (Mann)
#16 B+ Lucas (Seltzer)
#17 B+ At Close Range (Foley)
#18 B+ The Boy Who Could Fly (Castle)
#19 B+ The Fly (Cronenberg)
#20 B+ Crocodile Dundee (Faiman)
#21 B+ Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Nimoy)
Sorry, They Didn't Make It...
> B Malcolm [apparently, asperger's can be zany fun...but not enough]
> B Round Midnight [a jazz movie for sleepwalkers; smokey and cool definitely]
> B The Colour of Money [well made, but Tom ain't Fast Eddie Jr]
> B River's Edge [aka Kids Do the Darnedest Things]
> B 'Night Mother [Severe Depression Alert]
> B- Children of a Lesser God [why not use subtitles rather than have everyone annoyingly interpret for her?]
> B- Brighton Beach Memoirs [some things are best kept to yourself, okay Neil?]
> B- Extremities [yeah, get the bastard, girls]
> B- Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer [yeah, somebody needs to get the bastard...just don't make me watch it]
> B- Labyrinth [Bowie's worst haircut]
> B- Ferris Bueller's Day Off [light, pleasant and forgettable]
> B- Three Amigos [all I ever remember is the crotch-thrust-cough thing]
> B- True Stories [quirky, Arty, quirky...so what..?]
> B- The Mission [A Personal Unmentionable]
> C 91/2 Weeks [a bit of rough]
> C Heartburn [aims for witty & truthful; bad shot]
> D Top Gun [just another pissing contest]
> D Dream Lover [wants to be Spellbound + Vertigo, but isn't even I Confess + Under Capricorn]
"Ah!..Sweet Mystery of Life...": 1986 Films I Apparently Still Need to See
Comrades (Douglas); Defence of the Realm (Drury); Desert Bloom (Corr); Down and Out in Beverly Hills (Mazursky); Down By Law (Jarmusch); The Hitcher (Harmon); Parting Glances (Sherwood); Peggy Sue Got Married (Coppola); Pretty in Pink (Deutsch); Round Midnight (Tavernier); Seize the Day (Cook); Where the River Runs Black (Cain); The Whistle Blower (Langton); Working Girls (Borden)
Best Performances of 1986
Michael Caine in Hannah and Her Sisters
Jane Fonda in The Morning After
Bob Hoskins in Mona Lisa
Marlee Matlin in Children of a Lesser God
Paul Newman in The Colour of Money
Dianne Wiest in Hannah and Her Sisters
James Woods in Salvador
But how about...
Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors
What a hoot! From his opening musical number as a much-more-S-than-M dentist to his highly hysterical demise, this is Steve's greatest film role. Yes, I'm sure that he would rather be rated for Pennies from Heaven (which he was good in) or All of Me (which he was very good in), but LSoH is the one he was great in. The darkest of humour (domestic violence as a laugh-getter?), with allusions to Elvis and Vlad the Impaler, Steve is just a wild & crazy guy. With impeccable timing, physical comedy that looks easy but couldn't be, and an obligatory funny voice, this supporting / near-cameo performance is right up there with Gene Hackman in Young Frankenstein and Bill Murray in Tootsie.
Now spit.
...and what about...
Harrison Ford in The Mosquito Coast
Is there ever a character in movies as focused and borderline deranged as an inventor? Harrison plays the eccentric genius / alternate lifestyle / all-controlling dictator for all it's worth, not afraid to do the slowburn from likeable Father-Knows-Best to maniacal Take-No-Prisoners. Unable to cope with and accept any opinions / ideas other than his own (he doesn't share), Harrison gradually demands from his family exactly what he has tried to remove them from: unquestioning obedience to an illogical authority. A stretch from Hans Solo and Indy for sure, but the actor meets the challenge. He sure ain't heroic in this.
...not to mention...
Wil Wheaton & River Phoenix & Corey Feldman & Jerry O'Connell in Stand By Me
I was a child of the 60's; these characters are of the 50's. The most common complaint about this gang of kids is all the profanity ("suck my fat one"??). I have no idea if boys in the 50's spoke like this because all my preconceptions come from US TV such as Leave It to Beaver and Make Room for Daddy, which I know must be phony. Anyway, who cares? I certainly swore when I was with my childhood mates and I also argued, laughed, fought, defended, shared secrets and got attacked by leeches. This group gets that feeling of best friends across flawlessly, pushing it into the realm of the actual. No mean feat, especially for an ensemble with the average age of 13.
...and one personal unmentionable...
Jack Nicholson & Meryl Streep in Heartburn
Meryl & Jack are, of course, two of the greatest ever screen actors, but they don't know how to share. At no point in this relationship comedy/drama do they feel like a couple - it's always about her and it's always about him, but it's never about them. Jack can do anger and sleaze; Meryl can do twitchy and whiny; the only thing they have in common is they can both do exasperation, which is hardly a foundation for a Spencer Tracy + Katharine Hepburn double act. What we're left with are two solo performances impersonating a partnership. A classic demonstration of a fail in chemistry.
My 10 Favourite Performances of 1986
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| "But Bob...when I make love to you, this is my favourite position." |
#02 James Woods in Salvador
#03 Gary Oldman & Chloe Webb in Sid & Nancy
#04 Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors
#05 Bob Hoskins in Mona Lisa
#06 Harrison Ford in The Mosquito Coast
#07 Sean Connery in The Name of the Rose
#08 Melanie Griffith & Jeff Daniels in Something Wild
#09 Corey Haim in Lucas
#10 Dianne Wiest in Hannah and Her Sisters
Overflow: More List-Worthy Performances
#11 Sissy Spacek in 'Night Mother
#12 Ellen Barkin in The Big Easy
#13 Charlie Sheen & Tom Berenger & Willem Dafoe in Platoon
#14 Jim Belushi in Salvador
#15 Kristina Nehm in The Fringe Dwellers
#16 Christopher Walken in At Close Range
#17 Ray Liotta in Something Wild
#18 Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet
#19 Wil Wheaton & River Phoenix & Corey Feldman & Jerry O'Connell in Stand By Me
Sorry, They Didn't Make It...
> Jane Fonda in The Morning After [her last gasp of acting greatness...and it wasn't that great]
> Michael Caine in Hannah and Her Sisters [this should NOT have been the role that won MC his first Oscar]
> Paul Newman in The Colour of Money [his young version blew me away; his old version wearies me]
> Marlee Matlin in Children of a Lesser God [she was good; but awards are supposed to be given for great]
And so...onto the annual awards (with a nod of appreciation to Danny Peary)...
The Alternate Oscars for 1986 are:
FILM of the YEAR
GOLD: Aliens (James Cameron)
SILVER: Salvador (Oliver Stone)
BRONZE: The Name of the Rose (Jean-Jacques Annaud)
LEAD ACTOR: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: James Woods (Salvador)
SILVER: Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa)
BRONZE: Harrison Ford (The Mosquito Coast)
LEAD ACTRESS: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Sigourney Weaver (Aliens)
SILVER: Sissy Spacek ('Night Mother)
BRONZE: Ellen Barkin (The Big Easy)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Steve Martin (Little Shop of Horrors)
SILVER: Jim Belushi (Salvador)
BRONZE: Ray Liotta (Something Wild)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Dianne Wiest (Hannah and Her Sisters)
SILVER: Jenette Goldstein (Aliens)
BRONZE: Mary Stuart Masterson (At Close Range)
ENSEMBLE or PARTNERSHIP: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Gary Oldman & Chloe Webb (Sid & Nancy)
SILVER: Melanie Griffith & Jeff Daniels (Something Wild)
BRONZE: Charlie Sheen & Tom Berenger & Willem Dafoe (Platoon)
JUVENILE: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Corey Haim (Lucas)
SILVER: Kristina Nehm (The Fringe Dwellers)
BRONZE: Wil Wheaton & River Phoenix & Corey Feldman & Jerry O'Connell (Stand By Me)
The Alternate Razzies for 1986 are:
CRAP FILM of the YEARDream Lover (Alan J. Pakula)
CRAP MALE PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
Robert De Niro (The Mission)
CRAP FEMALE PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
Catherine Hicks (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
