| Show I Mikes Mike's best of 88 a by Mike Richan Contributing writer Ii t 1988 was a banner year for films Box office receipts r reached an time all-time high and there were more adult- adult oriented films a welcome diversion from the teenage l flicks Hollywood has churned out relentlessly since 1985 Along with this diversity came controversy and surprises the rumble of Last Temptation of Christ the delightful return of in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the triumphant stylistic return of Francis Frands Ford Coppola with Tucker It was a year for superior performances performances performances per per- and scripts in a year ineffectually eaten away by the writers writer's strike Unfortunately there were some real losers also nothing among the financial ruins of last years year's Ishtar but stinkers nonetheless Before the boos however the bravado Here are my Top Ten Films for 1988 in numerical order and there isn't an 87 release among them 1 MISSISSIPPI BURNING Alan Parkers Parker's fictionalized t f tale of a pivotal civil rights incident in the South was mesmerizing mesmerizing mesmerizing mes mes- moving and perfectly made Gene Hackman delivers the performance of his career 2 WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT An instant classic is rare so also is the successful brilliance of this film The most popular movie of the year was the most inventive and fun I saw it nine times and counting 3 THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST Regardless of how you view the film it is technically a masterpiece of filmmaking and passion for the film comes through in every frame Performances by Willem DaFoe and David Bowie were noteworthy and Peter Gabriels Gabriel's score an extra touch of genius 4 THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST Lawrence Kasdan the director of The Big Chill proved he has an expert hand with subtle material William Hurt plays the passionless internalized lead to perfection demonstrating yet another characterization one wouldn't suspect him of choosing Kathleen Turner and Geena Davis co 5 TUCKER Coppola's best film since Godfather II and a winning stylistic telling re-telling of a car makers maker's tragic story My vote for Best Supporting Actor goes to Martin Landau as Uncle Abe a financier for Tuckers Tucker's' auto plans until his past forces him to tearfully resign from Tuckers Tucker's dream 6 Dustin Hoffman gives the best performance performance performance mance by an actor in a leading role with his portrayal of an autistic savant who has inherited a lot of money but cannot understand the concept of its value Tom Cruise stars as his greedy turnabout brother and contrasts Hoffman Hoffman Hoffman Hof Hof- nicely both character and performance 7 THE GOOD MOTHER A guilty pleasure perhaps and a fine film Panned by many critics this piece on the price a conservative mother pays when she risks a change in her lifestyle was moving intelligent and directed with assurance by Leonard Diane Keaton at her best since Reds and Liam Neeson played the couple accused of sexual abuse of a child supporting cast members Ralph Bellamy and Jason Robards were flawless 8 THE THIN BLUE LINE Errol Morris directed this documentary of a man wrongly imprisoned with a life sentence for a crime he did not commit It is a haunting disturbing and riveting story of the wheels of justice spinning spinning spin spin- ning n ng in the wrong direction Still in confinement Randall Adams was scheduled to be executed until the Supreme Court blocked the act Despite recent confessions and this films film's dramatic effect he remains in jail in Texas Morris described his film as the lithe ultimate Twilight Zone episode His eerie re-creations re of the crime combined with Phillip PhiIlip Glass' Glass hypnotic score produce a chilling film not unworthy unworthy unworthy thy of Serling's best and with the added impact of fact 9 EIGHT MEN OUT John Sayles wrote and directed this story of the fixing of the World Series Beautifully filmed and expertly acted this historical drama is perhaps the best baseball movie ever made 10 MIDNIGHT RUN Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin in the best buddy movie of the year and a road movie to boot DeNiro is a bounty hunter bringing white- white collar criminal Grodin an accountant in New York to the authorities in Los Angeles There is never a dull moment in this film by Martin Brest Beverly Hills Cop and the acting was consistently above par Those are my ten personal picks There are several honorable mentions I wish could have been included like A Cry in the Dark with Meryl delivering the best performance by an actress this year Running on Empty with Christine Lahti right behind her A Handful Handful Handful Hand Hand- ful of Dust a beautifully made English romance film Bull Durham with Costner and and two I Iother other guilty pleasures by Tim Burton and I They Live by John Carpenter Next week The worst o of f 88 I i 0 t |
