Film Dictionary

February 2, 1986

Crimes Of The Heart (1986) **

Southern melodrama about three crazy sisters in a small Mississippi town, one of whom has just shot her husband.

The Mosquito Coast (1986) **

Harrison Ford plays a crazed inventor who moves his family into the jungle of Central America.

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) **

This film offers a variation on the "Back To The Future" formula.

Ruthless People (1986) **

Amusing comedy about a nasty millionaire (Danny DeVito) trying to get rid of his fat and nagging wife (Bette Midler).

A Russian mouse emigrates to America. Songs:

"There Are No Cats In America" *
"Never Say Never" *
"Somewhere Out There" **
"The Cossack Cats"
"The Storm"
"Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor"
"The Market Place"
"Releasing The Secret Weapon"
"A Duo"
"A Great Fire"
"Reunited"
"Flying Away"

Down And Out In Beverly Hills (1986) **

An inferior remake of Renoir's "Boudu sauve des eaux" (1932).

Legal Eagles (1986) **

Robert Redford, Debra Winger and Darryl Hannah in a moderately entertaining legal comedy.

January 1, 1986

The Karate Kid. Part II (1986) *

Disappointing sequel to the 1984 hit.

Pirates (1986) *

Roman Polanski's worst film ever, a boring and pointless pirate flick.

The Golden Child (1986) *

One of Eddie Murphy's worst films. It's hard to believe he would follow "Beverly Hills Cop" with this one. This and Stallone's "Cobra" made 1986 "The Year of Bad Follow-ups".

Cobra (1986) *

Sylvester Stallone's worst action film. It's hard to believe he would follow "Rambo" (1985) with this one. Quote: "Crime is a disease. I am the cure". This and Eddie Murphy's "The Golden Child" made 1986 "The Year of Bad Follow-ups".

December 12, 1985

Top 10 Films of 1985

1. "Brazil" (Terry Gilliam, UK)

2. "Runaway Train" (Andrei Konchalovsky, USA)

3. "The Purple Rose Of Cairo" (Woody Allen, USA)

4. "Come And See" (Elem Klimov, Soviet Union)

5. "Colonel Redl" (István Szabó, Hungary)

6. "The Emerald Forest" (John Boorman, USA)

7. "Ran" (Akira Kurosawa, Japan)

8. "Prizzi's Honor" (John Huston, USA)

9. "The Company Of Wolves" (Neil Jordan, UK)

10. "After Hours" (Martin Scorsese, USA)

Other great films:

Angry Harvest (Germany)

Bez konca (Poland)

The Color Purple
A Chorus Line

The Coca-Cola Kid (Australia)

Commando

D.A.R.Y.L.
The Day Of The Dead

Le Declic (France)

Desperately Seeking Susan

Detective (France)

L'Effrontée (France)

Elvis Gratton (Canada)

Flesh Blood

The Goonies

Gritta von Rattenzuhausbeiuns (East Germany)

The Hollywood Clowns

How Poets Are Losing Their Illusions (Czechoslovakia)

Into The Night

Joshua Then And Now (Canada)

The Kiss Of The Spider Woman (Brazil)

The Lost Empire

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (Australia)

Mr Vampire (Hong Kong)

Nadzor (Poland)

Och Karol (Poland)

The Official Story (Argentina)
Out Of Africa

Pee-wee's Big Adventure

Perinbaba (Czechoslovakia)

Police (France)

Police Story (Hong Kong)
Pulgasari (North Korea)

Rambo: First Blood. Part II

Re-Animator

Ronja Rovardotter (Sweden)

Shoah (France)

Silverado
Subway (France)

Sugarbaby (Germany)

The Sure Thing

Sweet Dreams

That's Dancing
Trois Hommes et un couffin (France)

When Father Was Away On Business (Yugoslavia)
White Nights

Witness

Year Of The Dragon

Top 10 Guilty Pleasures of 1985:

1. "Silip" (Elwood Perez, Philippines)

2. "Bliss" (Ray Lawrence, Australia)

3. "Je vous salue Marie" (Switzerland)

4. "Lifeforce" (Tobe Hooper, UK)

5. "L'Amour braque" (Andrzej Zulawski, France)

6. "Piccoli fuochi" (Peter Del Monte, Italy)

7. "Shauna: Every Man’s Fantasy" (Roberta Findlay, USA)

8. "The Grafenberg Spot" (Artie Mitchell, USA)

9. "Massacre In Dinosaur Valley" (Michele Massimo Tarantini, Brazil)

10. "Women In Fury" (Michele Massimo Tarantini, Brazil)

Short Top 3:

1. "Le Livre de Marie" (Anne-Marie Miéville, Switzerland)

2. "I Hate You Now" (Richard Kern, USA)

3. "Rainbow War" (Bob Rogers, Canada)

Other great shorts:

The Right Side Of My Brain

Thrust In Me

Top 3 Music Videos:

1. "Take On Me" (Steve Barron, A-Ha)

2. "Cry" (Godley and Creme, Godley and Creme)

3. "Don't Stop The Dance" (Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Bryan Ferry)

Other great music videos:

Don't Come Around Here No More
Money For Nothing

Top Commercial:

"Varför ska vi bry oss om varandra?" (Roy Andersson, Sweden)

Other great commercials:

HSB-Spjalsangen (Sweden)
Lemmings

Lotto-Familjen (Sweden)

TV Top 3:

1. "Moonlighting: The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" (Peter Werner, ABC)

2. "Miami Vice: Out Where The Buses Don't Run" (Jim Johnston, NBC)

3. "Miami Vice: Evan" (Rob Cohen, NBC)

Cartoon Top 3:

1. "Jack Mac And Rad Boy Go!" (Wes Archer, USA)

2. "The Big Snit" (Richard Condie, NFB, Canada)

3. "Get A Job" (Brad Caslor, NFB, Canada)

Other great cartoons:

78 Tours (Switzerland)

Anna & Bella (Holland)

Boom Town
Carnival (UK)
Drawing On My Mind
Eldorado (Italy)
Garbage In Garbage Out
Incubus (Italy)

Weak films of 1985:

Agnes Of God
Crimewave

Jagged Edge
The Jewel Of The Nile
Ladyhawke
Letter To Brezhnev (UK)
Murphy's Romance
Padre Nuestro (Spain)
Poulet au vinaigre (France)
Le Pouvoir du mal
Sans toit ni loi (France)
Seduction: The Cruel Woman (Germany)
The Trip To Bountiful
A View To A Kill
Young Sherlock Holmes

Weak shorts:

The Wizard Of The Strings

Weak cartoons:

Break (Soviet Union)
Living In A Mobile Home (UK)
Love Addict
Love In The Fast Lane
Moebius Play
Second Class Mail (UK)
Street Of Crocodiles
Toilet Bowl (UK)
Tony de Peltrie (Canada)
Traveling Light
The Wreck Of Julie Plante (UK)

Top Musical of 1985

"White Nights" (Taylor Hackford, Columbia)

November 11, 1985

Brazil (1985) *****

Directed by Terry Gilliam. A brilliant black comedy, clearly inspired by George Orwell’s “1984”, but totally unique and original. There are three versions of this film. The original director’s cut is 142 minutes. The theatrical version is 132 minutes; it has a sad ending. There is also a 94 minutes studio cut with a happy ending, which includes footage not found in the 132-minute version.