Akira
In the futuristic year 2019, Tokyo has been destroyed and a new metropolis built on artificial islands now rife with violence, protest and gang warfare. During a skirmish the young […]
Tag Archives: 1988
Grave of the Fireflies
A Japanese brother and sister (Tsutomu Tatsumi and Ayano Shiraishi) struggle to survive the end of World War II in Studio Ghibli’s only 12A-rated feature. Isao Takahata’s (Pom Poko, The Tale […]
As Tears Go By
A Hong Kong gangster (Andy Lau) goes to great lengths to protect his protégé “Mr Fish Balls” (Jacky Cheung) from Hong Kong loan shark Tony (Alex Man) – that’s right, […]
Bloodsport
Jean-Claude Van Damme plays army officer Frank Dux (the missiles from Brissiles?), who enters an illegal and exceptionally brutal martial arts contest for reasons which aren’t entirely clear. Probably just […]
Big
13-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) yearns to be big and learns the misery of adulthood when he wakes up as a full-grown George Osborne lookalike (Tom Hanks). Directed by Penny […]
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
A detective (Bob Hoskins) with a long-held grudge against cartoons, gets drawn into Toontown when popular actor Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer), who stars as himself in cartoon serials, is set […]
Twins
In Arnold Schwarzenegger’s comedic debut he plays Julius Benedict, a genetically superior superhuman, who discovers his long-lost twin (Danny DeVito) made from all the genes that were left over. His […]
Red Heat
A Russian officer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and a Chicago cop (Jim Belushi) team up to bring down a drug kingpin (Ed O’Ross) in 1988’s Red Heat. There are parallels with Rocky […]
Art Blakey: The Jazz Messenger
Two years before his death, this 1988 documentary spotlights one of the world’s greatest drummers and bandleaders. Dick Fontaine and Pat Hartley’s fly-on-the-wall style avoids the usual retrospective approach by […]
Jazz Odyssey: Bird
This is a 1988 biopic of Charlie Parker (Forest Whitaker) directed by one-liner comedian and arch nemesis of Tim Westwood, Clint Eastwood. Bird fits in the Elephant Man/Gandhi category of […]
Screen Goblin 