Most overrated movie The Last Emperor Best juvenile performance Christian Bale – Empire of the Sun  Notes from awards committee: 1987 was a great year for movie fans offering a strong line-up of entertaining films throughout the year. As is often the case, the Best Motion Picture of the year was snubbed by the Academy. We are here to correct that mistake, and award the Best Picture Simpson Award to RoboCop – a brilliant and surreal blend of techno adventure, unforgettable characters, a modern reboot of the Frankenstein myth with wild-ass action. The back story is profound, and the RoboCop is a living example of science fiction's conflict between technology and humanity. This film raises hard questions about how far we'll go with AI. RoboCop has a surprisingly well-written script packed full of great quotes, memorable scenes, and well-developed characters; not all of them good guys. Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop is that rare, subversive breed of film that completely transcends the anti-SF bias of the Academy, and it should have been recognized as such. World at Large
Fun Surprises - Empire of the Sun – is a sweeping historical, adventure epic with a cast of thousands by Director Steven Spielberg. The film tells the true story of Jim Ballard, an English boy who's separated from his parents during the chaos of the Japanese invasion of China during World War II. Featuring an excellent performance from the young Christian Bale, EOTS is an emotional and visually striking drama about loss, family, and the horror of war. The film's reputation has grown with time, and it's now rightfully considered an underrated Spielberg classic. Moonstruck – is a top shelf romantic comedy; quirky, funny, romantic and so Italian. The casting is perfect without a weak performance. Cher won the Simpson Best Actress and Nicolas Cage as Ronnie Cammareri has never been better. The story is multi-layered and fast paced, with the heart of the movie being the romance between Loretta (Cher) and Ronnie. Stakeout – is a lighthearted cop - buddy movie, with a little romance, exciting action scenes and plenty of comedy. The comedy clicks with the chemistry between detectives Richard Dreyfuss and Estevez, maybe the best duo of the overcrowded buddy cop genre. Serious scenes depicting the bad guys are realistic, especially the prison break and a frantic car chase. Sure, the plot is predictable, but the film is always entertaining. Predator - Our boy Arnold leads a group of elite troops into the jungle on a secret mission. But after a quick initial victory, they are in for a rude surprise. Despite a number of indifferent reviews on release, Predator has stood the test of time, and is more popular than ever. Perhaps it's the look and feel – heavily armed commandoes in camo fatigues in the jungle haven't changed much over the years. Or maybe it's the awesome special effects. The film makes a smooth transition from pure action story to a sci-fi/horror. Many sequels have followed, but watch the original first. Radio Days - This nostalgic film is one of Director Allen Konigsberg’s (Woody Allen) best portrayals of NYC of the 1940s. Allen fondly recreates the Golden Age of radio when families gathered around the radio to listen to their favorite storytellers and singers. It's an affectionate and detailed period piece, with plenty of lighthearted humor, memories, and 1940s anecdotes. Allen, who often plays the role of a neurotic NYC pogue, is not seen in the film, but rather narrates the story. Mia Farrow stars in one of her best roles. Untouchables – is poor history yet entertaining with excellent production values recreating 1920s Chicago during Prohibition, and enhanced by some inspired acting. Kevin Costner leads the all-male cast as the quiet, intelligent hero, Elliot Ness. Bobby DeNiro, playing Al Capone, clearly enjoys playing a villainous role. He grabs center stage and booms out his lines. I have never seen him overact so badly! The film is a good blend of action, humor and violence that stands up as an 80’s classic. De Palma made sure that the violence was not as overpowering as in his previous gangster film Scarface. The result is a much better film. The Light Horsemen - The movie opens with the British Army attacking the Turkish stronghold of Gaza, Palestine in 1917. This is a rare WW1 that does not drag us into the awful, gruesome trenches of the Western Front. The highlight of the film is a spectacular cavalry charge by the Australian Light Horse on Beersheba. The Aussies, or maybe their horses, are the real stars of the show and their heroic charges are brilliantly staged and filmed with hundreds of horses and extras and plenty of dramatic tension. The close camera shots of the battle really give you the feeling you're right in the thick of it. I'm lost in admiration at the effort required to produce an action movie like this one. Less Than Zero – is an honest little gem of a film that takes place in the nearby planet of Beverley Hills, California. This movie has an atmosphere and mood all its own, with a cool soundtrack to match. The acting is superb; Robert Downey Jr. delivers a strong performance in his breakout role as a kid in debt up to his neck to his drug dealer. James Spader is perfect as Rip, an ice-cold drug dealer with plenty of dangerous vibes. This one is a very underrated, near flawless film. Broadcast News -is the second best rom-com of the year. This film marks the first time I saw Holly Hunter and I was mesmerized by her performance. The movie is hers from start to finish, and makes the 'love triangle' subplot almost unnecessary. A well-crafted film - two perfect scenes linger in my mind; one with a marvelous full circle, long-take thru a TV studio showing a live news feed from producer to anchor in one shot, and another with Joan Cusack unraveling seconds before a tape feed barely makes the news deadline. White Mischief – is loosely based on a book, by same name, about the unsolved murder of Scottish playboy aristocrat Lord “Joss” Hay in the British African colony of Kenya in 1941. The husband of one of Lord Joss’s many conquests, Sir 'Jock' Broughton, was tried for the murder, but acquitted. Sir Jock’s young and sexy wife Diana is played by Greta Scaachi, and she is dazzling in this movie. The film lags a bit when she is not on screen. In fact the dramatic arc of the story begins and ends with Diane, making the movie more about her life, and the murder a side show. The last scene, where Diana attends a party on the shores of Lake Naivasha with a chain of dormant volcanos looming in the background is quite surreal, and somehow captures the magical beauty of it all. The film evokes a remarkable time and place which vanished soon after WW2 - never to be seen again. Disappointments - The Last Emperor - was the first movie authorized to film in the Forbidden City since Chi-com rule began in 1949, but it's not a great film nor deserved the best picture Oscar. Even though the locations and costumes are impressive, the story is emotionally flat and the acting is weak. The result is a film that lacked neither an entertaining dramatic arc nor a remotely likeable main character. Exactly what I would expect from a Chi-com approved script. Full Metal Jacket - is overflowing with chauvinism and xenophobia. I agree with one critic who penned, “… Kubrick was too static a director to make a really convincing action movie, but he has to be credited for the first 40 minutes; the finest rendering of military indoctrination ever put on film. Just remember – those recruits all volunteered for the Marines.” Ironweed – is a Hollywood prestige project with big stars, but has nothing in the way of entertainment. It’s a joyless, 2-1/2 hour trudge through Depression Era despair. Good Morning, Vietnam - provides a window into the Armed Forces Radio Show, a PR and propaganda program broadcast by the American army from HQ in Saigon during the Vietnam War. There are amusing scenes of Robin Williams’s antics as he clashes with the military brass. J.T. Walsh and Bruno Kirby are outstanding straightmen for Robin’s humor. Unfortunately, the story stumbles into an unlikely and boring subplot with Robin romancing a local gal with Viet Cong sympathies. A very predictable disaster unfolds; the twisted message being: “Yes, we bomb and slaughter these foreigners, but why don’t they love us Americans?”
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