Search for 1988

When it comes to comedians, everyone has their favorite. Mine is John Cleese. In fact, he has held that place in my esteem since the first time I watched an episode of Fawlty Towers on PBS, some twenty years ago. Up to that point, I knew Cle...

It's possible that Michael Apted may be the greatest documentarian currently working (although Errol Morris' followers might disagree). His Up Series stands as a cinematic hallmark - something that will probably never be equaled if only because of...

Grave of the Fireflies, a 1988 production from the famed Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, is perhaps the saddest animated movie ever made. As emotionally wrenching as any live-action film, Grave of the Fireflies resets expectations of ...

Hairspray follows in the footsteps of Little Shop of Horrors and The Producers as campy movies that became even more campy stage musicals before returning to the screen in lavish song-and-dance productions. (Spamalot may be the next title to follo...

When the original Halloween reached screens in 1978, director John Carpenter intended for it to be a one-off project. However, the film's unexpected financial success paved the road for Halloween II, an inferior sequel that tied up most of the loo...

What is it about Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro that makes it such a pleasant, immersive experience? Unlike just about any other animated film (including the other titles in Miyazaki’s impressive oeuvre), My Neighbor Totoro contents i...

Noble House was one of the last great mini-series to air during the dozen-year term when the format was at the pinnacle of network viewing. From 1977’s Roots to the late 1980s, the mini-series grabbed phenomenal ratings as it brought viewers...

Rain Man is an oddball buddy/road movie that nearly drowns in a tsunami of sentimentality and predictability. An unabashed crowd-pleaser, the 1989 Best Picture Oscar winner has aged poorly, its marginal likability fading like an old Polaroid s...

There have been two major waves of fantasy movies. The latest (and most would argue, the most successful) began in the late 1990s with the releases of The Fellowship of the Ring and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The earlier one occur...