1. "Die Hard"(1988)
The best movies tend to come without warning, and NOBODY saw this one coming. Wait a minute, Bruno from "Moonlighting" made the greatest action movie EVER?! You better believe it. Sly and Arnold were regularly blowing stuff up at the multiplex as the champions of the Reagan era, but there was something about John McClane that just resonated with the testosterone-loving masses even more. Unlike those superhuman musclemen, McClane is very human, and Bruce is terrific as the working-class East Coast cop whose always in the wrong place at the right time. Alan Rickman is the perfect foil as the icy, cultured leader of a group of terrorist-robbers holding thirty hostages in L.A.'s Nakatomi Corporation on Christmas Eve. Director John McTiernan kept ratcheting up the tension and excitement, working wonders with the claustrophobic setting that gave virtually every action filmmaker a new blueprint to work from, while Willis became a certified leading man that would 'Yippe-kay-ay' in four sequels of varying quality.
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2. "Rain Man"(1988)
Dustin Hoffman's virtuoso performance dominates this enormously successful Best Picture winner. It's so rare to see a film that scoops up major awards AND tops the box office for weeks but this effective and affecting drama did the trick(Judge Wapner's ratings went up, too). Hoffman doesn't make one false move in his characterization of autistic savant and human calculator Raymond Babbitt, which made it easy to overlook Tom Cruise's leap from megastar heartthrob to formidable actor in his own right(something his other '88 release "Cocktail" failed to achieve). Their amazing chemistry and unlikely bond kept audiences coming back to this unusual road trip and Barry Levinson deservedly took home the Best Director Oscar for balancing fine humor with subtle emotion.
3. "Dangerous Liaisons"(1988)
The setting may be 18th Century France, but director Stephen Frears' elegant costume drama is SO contemporary that it was easily modernized in 1999's "Cruel Intentions", and would have likely won Best Picture if Dustin Hoffman hadn't been counting cards that very same month. John Malkovich built a reputation off his role as the rakish Valmont who accepts the challenge of his equally icy cohort Glenn Close to seduce the married and virtuous Madam De Tourvel(Michelle Pfeiffer). The results are as sensual as they are tragic, with the added bonus of seeing younglings Uma Thurman and Keanu Reeves earning their apprenticeships as well. With so much great dialogue and superb acting on display, you don't have to be a professional critic or a stuffy film scholar to fall for this classy gem.
4. "Big"(1988)
Tom Hanks lights up the screen in one of the most pleasant surprises of the late '80s. When a twelve year old boy makes a wish to be an adult on a magical fortune-telling machine at a carnival, he wakes up the next morning to discover his wish has been granted. After turning overnight into one of Hollywood's most lovable actors, he runs off to the big city and he lands a lucrative job at a major toy company where he falls for executive Elizabeth Perkins. This charming comic fantasy is expertly directed by Penny Marshall and brilliantly acted by Hanks- he is perfect as a child trapped in a man's body. If you think that's an easy thing to do, you can check out some of the other body-switching comedies from the same time period("Like Father Like Son", "Vice Versa"). Or you could just take my word for it.
6. "Midnight Run"(1988)
Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin made a highly entertaining odd couple in this exceptional action comedy about an ex-cop turned bounty hunter who will collect $100 grand if he can deliver a fussy mob accountant from NY to L.A. in four days. There's just a few difficulties- they can't fly, and the mob, the FBI, and a rival bounty hunter(John Ashton)are hot on their trail. De Niro's legendary ability to fully immerse himself in every character made Jack Walsh feel like a real guy with a real history, lending the film a surprising depth it wouldn't have had otherwise, while director Martin Brest handles the combination of laughs and gun-play just as well as he did in "Beverly Hills Cop".
7. "The Last Temptation of Christ"(1988)
Long before Mel Gibson courted controversy and broke box office records, Martin Scorsese did the same(or at least the first part) albeit to a much lesser degree with his own biblical epic. Jesus, as played by Willem Dafoe, is presented with many weaknesses as he struggles with doubt, lust and guilt before summoning the incredible strength to fulfill his destiny. There's just no way this type of film isn't going to have it's detractors, but Scorsese was up for the challenge and his treatment of the material isn't lacking in power or passion. The strong supporting cast includes Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Harry Dean Stanton, and David Bowie.
8. "Bull Durham"(1988)
Ron Shelton's directorial debut(that he also wrote) is an affectionate, funny look at minor league baseball, based on his own personal experiences as an aspiring infielder from 1967-71. Kevin Costner was perfectly cast as an aging catcher brought to North Carolina to mentor a dimwitted rookie pitcher, played by Tim Robbins in his breakthrough role- but this summer sleeper just may belong to Susan Sarandon, whose sultry groupie set her up for an A-list '90s run. The enduring appeal of the Durham Bulls was illustrated by Sports Illustrated- they put it at #1 on their list of fifty greatest sports movies in 2003. That's certainly debatable, here's a few things that aren't- Costner was never cooler, Sarandon was never hotter, and America's favorite pastime has rarely been this fun on screen.
9. "The Accused"(1988)
A 25 year old Jodie Foster loudly announced her arrival as a formidable grown-up with this Best Actress Oscar-winning triumph as a low rent party girl turned gang-rape victim. A top-billed Kelly McGillis of "Top Gun" fame, is solid in her good role as the young prosecutor that sets out to not only convict Foster's assailants but those who cheered them on as well(Leo Rossi is an all-time slimeball). Director Jonathan Kaplan wisely teased out the infamous barroom pinball machine attack that we finally see in a harrowing flashback sequence. That grim highlight coupled with some tense courtroom testimony makes this a dark but compelling tale.
10(tie). "Married to the Mob"(1988)
Jodie Foster may have taken home the gold, but has any actress ever shone more brightly than Michelle Pfeiffer did in 1988? Five years after De Palma gift wrapped her to the collective male psyche in "Scarface", MP couldn't be denied A-list status after a trio of wildly different roles that were all well-received by critics AND audiences("Tequila Sunrise" brings up the rear). In this cinematic precursor to VH1's "Mob Wives", Pfeiffer is as engaging as she is gorgeous as Angela De Marco, who decides to leave the Family to live a poor-but-honest-life after her hit-man husband(Alec Baldwin) gets whacked in this quirky comedic gem from director Johnathan Demme("Silence of the Lambs").
10(tie). "Mississippi Burning"(1988)
Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe(big year for him) are mismatched FBI agents investigating the disappearance and suspected murders of three civil rights workers in the racially charged Mississippi of 1964 in "Midnight Express" director Alan Parker's taut dramatization. They get able support from Frances McDormand's repressed housewife and the effortlessly creepy Brad Dourif. Has Hackman ever NOT been an authoritative presence onscreen? "Burning" isn't exactly burned in the collective consciousness despite famed critic Roger Ebert declaring it the best film of 1988(he wasn't far off). It happens sometimes, but that's why I write this blog. This film shouldn't be forgotten.
