The Hidden - 1987 - USA

The Hidden - 1987 - 6/10

 
Los Angeles cops have their hands full with a spree murderer.
Mild mannered citizen, only he is now a raging killer.
After an onslaught of bullets, the perp is taken to hospital, where he is expected to die.
He expires, except what possessed him jumps.
An alien body jumper, with a taste for Ferraris, automatic weapons, and carnage.
Enter an FBI agent, knowledgeable about the quarry, in whatever host.
Wild SciFi, Horror, buddy cop flick, years ahead of its time.

Full Metal Jacket - 1987 - USA

Full Metal Jacket - 1987 - 7/10

 
Maggots, excuse me, young men, drafted into Uncle Sam’s Marine Corps.
Enduring the brutally savage gunnery sergeant, Hartman, before being shipped to Vietnam.
Just before the Tet Offensive.
Kubrick’s film is terrifying and polarizing.  The Hartman / Pyle conflict searing.
Perhaps a little lopsided, as boot camp lingers long after the deployment.
Easier Vietnam odyssey than Apocalypse Now, which is richer.

The Red Spectacles - 1987 - Japan

The Red Spectacles - 1987 - 7/10
AKA - Jigoku no Banken: Akai Megane // 紅 い 眼 鏡

 
Owing to uncontrolled, rampant crime, Tokyo unleashes a heavily armed, brutally efficient police unit.
Who overstep all manner of propriety with heinous consequences.
Units are disbanded, save for three individuals who flee in full body armor.  Only one escapes.
Such is the prologue, followed by three years later…

 
Fugitive Koichi, carrying a large trunk, returns to an utterly transformed Tokyo.
Secret police pursue, gunfights, captures, escapes, old contacts, betrayals, mind games.
Society has changed, people have changed.
Koichi is told, “Time stands still, we only pass through it,” which he does not understand.
Truly baffling film, immediately reminded me of Alphaville (1965).
Violent, dreamlike, characters and actions caught in a recurring timeslip.
Visually extraordinary, while the plot (at times, quite funny) all but incomprehensible.

(Iron) Angels - 1987 - Hong Kong

(Iron) Angels - 1987 - 6/10  
AKA - Tian Shi Xing Dong  // 天使行動

 
Military troops, led by Interpol, destroy a poppy field in the Golden Triangle.
In retaliation, Triads murder or kidnap and torture Interpol agents.
Police haven’t the resources, so instead the Angel organization is contracted to hit the gangs.
Breathless action in the Girls With Guns category, with Moon Lee and Oshima Yukari squaring off.
Countless villains, endless rounds of bullets, crazy stunts.
One of those rare HK films directed by a female.  Several sequences would be cribbed by major films.
Entertaining audio commentary by Samm Deighan.

Sara’s House - 1987 - Poland

Sara’s House - 1987 - 6/10
AKA - Dom Sary

 
Beautiful Sara is a hunter, ever seeking young, vigorous men.
Who subsequently weaken, physically erode, then vanish.
The young doctor is her newest prey, but he is extremely wary.
Based on a story by Grabinski, this is tale of the succubus, and her attendant, Asmodeus.
Pacing is measured, and this is more a chess match and open conflict.
Photography first rate, however.

Cause Célèbre - 1987 - UK

Cause Célèbre - 1987 - 6/10

 
The first marriage was for love, until he perished at the Somme.
Next, one of convenience, which fizzled after a few years.
Third time lucky, older man with money, until the funds and vigor ran dry.
Enter the 18-year-old handyman, chauffeur.  Imposing and virile.
Afternoon romps until the husband’s skull is bludgeoned.
Based on the life of Alma Rattenbury, half the film is courthouse proceedings.
Theatrical imprint is strong in this.  Fine acting, but not especially engrossing.

Predator - 1987 - USA

Predator - 1987 - 7/10

 
“The demon who makes trophies of men.”
Dutch and his team of elite soldiers strike a remote base of insurgents.
Unknown to them, they are observed by an extraordinary hunter.
What follows is kill or be killed.
Testosterone overload in this Schwarzenegger actioner, along with thousands of rounds of bullets.
First and finest of a franchise that refuses to die despite derivative scripts and actors sans charisma.
Pre-CGI, this remains as fresh and exhilarating as ever.

Prince Of Darkness - 1987 - USA

Prince Of Darkness - 1987 - 5/10

 
For 2000 years, the priestly Brotherhood Of Sleep have watched over this glass cylinder of swirling evil.
Now, the time has arrived for Satan or his son to unleash his father and wreck the world.
A priest consults, not the Vatican, but a college professor.
Together, with a clutch of drafted grad-students, they prepare to square off.
Intriguing premise by Carpenter bounces off the rails quickly and irretrievably.
Pointless romance, tons of candles (who’s been maintaining those), contamination via discharge, an insidious army of street people (?), computes and electric power yet no phones, glass lasts 2000 years, the usual ‘where’s so and so?’
Shoddy schlock or disappointing garbage.
Oh, yes, and characters who have never viewed a single Horror film.

Babette’s Feast - 1987 - Denmark

Babette’s Feast - 1987 - 7/10

 
Broccoli film.  Meaning, it’s good for you.  You appreciate it, though don’t necessarily enjoy it.
A French refugee is given shelter by an abstemious, devout pair of sisters.
After a decade of repayment service, Babette decides to prepare an elaborate French meal.
For a table gathering who, save one, know nothing of cuisine.
Those who cannot tell the difference between robust peasant fare, and nuanced and subtle dishes.
Akin to giving three-year-olds expensive chocolate truffles, when a Tootsie Roll tastes the same to them.
Yes, this one raked in acclaim and awards.  A high-quality film that I disliked exceedingly.

Au Revoir Les Infants - 1987 - France

Au Revoir Les Infants - 1987 - 8/10

 
Amidst World War II, the French Catholic boarding school seems immune.
The priests, however, have quietly sheltered a few Jewish boys.
Being children, somewhat innocent and unwary, they lack guile for secrecy.
Power Louis Malle film, based on an incident in his childhood.
A quiet film, keenly observant of daily slights and treacheries.
Casual betrayals and justifications.
The ordinariness of the day to day cloaks a chilling, wartime reality.
Masterclass cinema.

A Chinese Ghost Story - 1987 - Hong Kong

A Chinese Ghost Story - 1987 - 7/10
AKA - Sien lui yau wan  // 倩女幽魂

 
Bill collector / scholar is caught up in a rainstorm, where his invoices bleed.
He cannot collect, lacks funds to return home, nor can he afford a room.
Locals advise he lodge free at Lan Yeuk Temple.
Where he encounters a gorgeous female (Joey Wang).
Not knowing she is a ghost, in thrall to a powerful demon who consumes humans.
Also there is Dao monk, slinging rhymes and battling the underworld.
What follows is part ghost story, part comedy, part bittersweet romance.
The look is beautifully stylized, with an energetic, bonkers finale.
One of the countless glories of Hong Kong cinema heyday.

Wall Street - 1987 - USA

Wall Street - 1987 - 7/10

 
Young stockbroker at a middling firm gets a chance to “bag the elephant”.
Meaning a legendary tycoon, the swaggering, unscrupulous Gordon Gekko.
Problem is, the young guy works for a reliable outfit and is taught to be honest.
Gekko is anything but, and the film is one of moral and ethical corruption.
One might imagine this is a preachy drama, this is not.
This is a financial thriller, and an ideal time capsule of the unruly 1980’s.
News then was awash with corporate raiders, day traders, and firms like Salomon Brothers.
Michael Douglas as Gekko  is a powerhouse.

A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - 1987 - USA

A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - 1987 - 6/10

 
Outside of the original, this is my favorite of all the Nightmare films.
A teen, haunted in her dreams by – who else – is packed into an asylum.
The female psychiatrist (great casting!) recognizes Freddy and aids other teenage patients on how to deal with him.
This sequel doesn’t mess around.
Trained, and as a squad, they have strategies to deal with the monster.
Sets, music, lighting, acting, everything is of high quality.
Not to overlook Freddy, sadistic, repellent, yet wickedly funny.

Morning Patrol - 1987 - Greece

Morning Patrol - 1987 - 6/10
AKA - Proini Peripolos  //  Πρωινή Περίπολος

 
Her memory wiped, the landscape hostile and desolate, she is desperate to reach the city.
The Morning Patrol, guards, move with lethal intent, killing any survivors.
The city itself is deserted: plague, war, or a harvesting.
From her internal dialogue, we know her home was Manderley.
Except that is a fabrication, a fictional manor in du Maurier’s “Rebecca”.
Likewise, when she ponders death, the big sleep, now paraphrasing Chandler.
In the city, the TV runs, movie houses are open.  Both run classic Noir films.
Later in the film, when she wonders how much time she has remaining, viewers will catch references by Dick.
Enigmatic, near-future, dystopian Noir, loaded with unanswered questions.

Tilbury - 1987 - Iceland

Tilbury - 1987 - 6/10

 
Audun leaves the small village for Reyjavik, to swim in larger pools and help the British Army.
Reason, it’s 1940 and the Brits have set up fortifications around Iceland.
Audun is also on a mission to find his priest’s daughter, Gudrun, who disappeared in Reyjavik.
What he discovers, however, is that the beautiful Gudrun has a host of military admirers.
Among them, a strange character, almost misshapen that others seem oblivious to.
Strange folk horror of the tilberi, similar to a demon, suckled by a witch from a hidden teat.
The war setting adds incongruous humor, while Audun remains a back row student.

What The Butler Saw - 1987 - UK

What The Butler Saw - 1987 - 7/10  

 
Geraldine applies for a secretary position, but Doctor Prentice requests she strip nude.
Her clothes disappear once his wife appears, followed by the bellboy who had earlier tried to rape the wife.
Also showing up is a medical inspector, Dr. Rance, who is completely mad.
Keeping up?  That’s the opening ten minute salvo in a riotous Joe Orton comedy.
Laced with more sexual innuendo than a keg-fueled party.
Dialogue is witty, extraordinarily intelligent, and delivered breathlessly.
A live theatre performance is best, yet the cast here is glorious.

English subs = https://subscene.cam/subtitle/3333190

Prick Up Your Ears - 1987 - UK

Prick Up Your Ears - 1987 - 7/10

 
Uncomfortable bio-pic of playwright Joe Orton (whose “Loot” is must-see theatre).
Orton is in a homosexual relationship (still punishable in 60’s England) with fellow writer Kenneth.
As is sadly often the case, one partner is more creative, more successful.
While the lesser grows ever more resentful, jealous, possessive, abusive.
Acting is tiptop across the board, although it grows increasingly difficult to comprehend why Orton stays with Kenneth.

The Believers - 1987 - USA

The Believers - 1987 - 6/10

 
Recently widowed psychologist relocates from the Midwest to Gotham.
Where, he being working with the NYPD as they investigate a voodoo cult, sacrificing children.
Oh, yeah, our psychologist has a child of just about the right age.
The Santerai elements are skirted over, although blood embellishment is heavy.
An undercurrent of Yuppie scum predominates, much as resentment of that group heightened during the 1980’s.
Frightening moments seem at war with the moralizing.

Running Man - 1987 - USA

Running Man - 1987 - 6/10

 
In the near future, one of the cops in the US police state is framed and imprisoned.
Only to be given a “chance” if he participates in life and death game show.
Contestants square off against the television heroes, and generally all lose.
Yes, Barney, the fix is in!
Action adventure film based on novel by Richard Bachman (who quickly started hollering, hey I’m really Stephen King, so buy this here book!).
Empty headed fun, part of a string of Schwarzenegger hits.
Richard Dawson as smarmy host, genius casting.

Black Widow - 1987 - USA

Black Widow - 1987 - 6/10

 
A Federal agent pursues a secretive husband killer.
Both “sense” each other as adversaries, yet seem to form an uneasy bond nevertheless.
While they may not genuinely like each other, they share a rapport, and an element of respect.
Efficient thriller benefits from keen performances by Debra Winger and Theresa Russell.
Well shot, composed, good time killer.