The Year in Review- 1988

   It was the year Bruce Willis changed the face of action cinema forever and Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman bonded all the way to the Academy Awards. Tom Hanks got big, Bob Zemeckis took us to Toontown, and Robert De Niro bickered with Charles Grodin. Martin Scorsese tackled Christ, Kevin Costner took up baseball, and Michelle Pfeiffer was pfantastic. Here are the ten best films in order for 1988.

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.

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.

5. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"(1988) Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg's most talented disciple, followed up his decade-defining megahit "Back to the Future" with another huge summer crowd-pleaser. This technological breakthrough ambitiously combined live-action and animation in seamless fashion. Bob Hoskins is our human anchor as a down-and-out detective in 1947 Los Angeles who reluctantly takes jobs involving 'Toons'. The film noir-styled plot finds him paired up with a particularly lively 'toon Roger Rabbit(voiced by Charles Fleischer) falsely accused of murder. Nearly every Golden Age cartoon character is present and accounted for in this magical production. Where else are you going to see a Disney/WB merger with Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Donald and Daffy Duck? How about Kathleen Turner's ravishing Jessica Rabbit?? I still can't believe they never made a sequel.

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.

Honorable Mentions- "Braddock: Missing in Action III"(1988) Chuck Norris makes it a trilogy. "She's Having a Baby"(1988) Kevin Bacon freaks out over fatherhood in this John Hughes joint. "Frantic"(1988) Harrison Ford and Roman Polanski unite in Paris. "Masquerade"(1988) Rob Lowe, Meg Tilly, and Kim Cattrall heat up this erotic thriller. "Biloxi Blues"(1988) Mathew Broderick joins the Army. "Mystic Pizza"(1988) Julia Roberts enters our lives. "Vice Versa"(1988) Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage jump on the body-switching bandwagon. "18 Again!"(1988) So did George Burns. "Stand and Deliver"(1988) Edward James Olmos was an Oscar nominee. "Beetlejuice"(1988) Michael Keaton meets Tim Burton. "Colors"(1988) Sean Penn and Robert Duvall are cop partners in South Central, L.A. "Rambo III"(1988) A ripped Sly Stallone tears through Soviet-occupied Afghanistan.

"Crocodile Dundee II"(1988) Paul Hogan's Outback hero takes down a Colombian drug cartel. "Willow"(1988) George Lucas and Ron Howard rip off LOTR. "The Presidio"(1988) Sean Connery and Meg Ryan are movie stars, Mark Harmon is not. "Funny Farm"(1988) Siskel and Ebert loved it. "Coming to America"(1988) Eddie Murphy was the king of comedy. "A Fish Called Wanda"(1988) Kevin Kline won on Oscar for this quirky comic caper. "The Dead Pool"(1988) Clint Eastwood's fifth and final outing as 'Dirty' Harry Callahan. "Clean and Sober"(1988) Michael Keaton checks into rehab. "Tucker: A Man and His Dream"(1988) Jeff Bridges builds cars for Coppola. "Running on Empty"(1988) River Phoenix shines in this Sidney Lumet drama. "Crossing Delancey"(1988) Amy Irving and Peter Riegert in a Jewish romcom.

"Eight Men Out"(1988) The 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal. "Another Woman"(1988) A rare drama from Woody Allen. "Gorillas in the Mist"(1988) Sigourney Weaver bonds with primates in Africa. "Bird"(1988) Clint Eastwood directs Forest Whitaker in this tribute to tormented jazz legend Charlie Parker. "The Bear"(1988) This French family film found favor with critics. "Bat*21"(1988) Danny Glover rescues Gene Hackman in Vietnam. "They Live"(1988) 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper kicks ass and chews bubblegum. "Punchline"(1988) Tom Hanks teaches Sally Field the art of stand-up comedy. "Dead Ringers"(1988) Jeremy Irons play creepy twin gynecologists for David Cronenberg. "Alien Nation"(1988) James Caan and Mandy Patinkin star in this minor classic. "Child's Play"(1988) Killer doll Chucky is the textbook definition of a guilty pleasure.

"The Vanishing"(1988) This dark Dutch drama has American fans. "Memories of Me"(1988) Billy Crystal reconnects with his old man. "Everybody's All-American"(1988) Dennis Quaid plays football in the '50s. "Cinema Paradiso"(1988) This foreign film favorite put Italy on the world stage. "Cocoon: The Return"(1988) More senior citizens mixing with aliens in this amiable sequel. "Scrooged"(1988) Bill Murray is back. "Twins"(1988) Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito were a smash as unlikely siblings. "Tequila Sunrise"(1988) Michelle Pfeiffer is caught in a love triangle with Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell. "Working Girl"(1988) Mike Nichols makes Melanie Griffith a movie star. "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!"(1988) Leslie Nielsen's debut as Lt. Frank Drebin. "A Cry in the Dark"(1988) The dingo ate Meryl Streep's baby. "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"(1988) Steve Martin and Michael Caine are competing con men on the French Riveria. "Beaches"(1988) Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey in the ultimate chick flick.