40 Years of Movies: 1988

 


2021 is the year I turn 40. As part of my celebration, I'm looking back at 40 years of movies, picking my favorite film from each year I've been around! To learn more about the criteria for this process, check this introduction. Each post will feature my pick, plus three runner's up. So check back over the next 40 weeks of this journey!

1988:

Die Hard
About: This was an easy choice. Die Hard is one of my favorite films of all time, so seeing it come up for 1988, it was easy to pick this as my favorite of the year. Starring Bruce Willis as a grizzled NYPD Detective caught up in a hostage situation at a Christmas Party in Los Angeles, this is a classic. It's got a great blend of humor and action, plus a great story. This is one of the best Christmas movies, too. So, this is easily my favorite film for this year!

Other Considerations:
Young Guns
About: That's not to say there aren't other movies from 1988 that I enjoy. This western features Emilio Estevez as Billy the Kid, and a number of other young actors from the time, including his brother Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland, as Billy's colleagues. This one has good action and some iconic scenes. The sequel isn't quite as good, but I enjoyed this original quite a bit.

Willow
About: This adventure from director Ron Howard based on a story from George Lucas is a lot of fun. Val Kilmer and Warwick Davis make a good screen team and this film is a lot of fun. Davis has played some classic characters in a number of projects and works well here as Willow. It's one of Kilmer's better film's too. This one seems to be a little overlooked now, but it makes the list for me.

Lady in White
About: This ghost story centers on a boy (Lukas Haas) locked in a closet at school on Halloween who sees a ghost that leads him on an adventure to solve a crime. I remember when I saw this as a kid, and it was chilling when the killer is revealed. Even years later, the film stuck with me in some memorable ways. This is probably not a high profile or well known film among audiences, but it's one that I've always enjoyed.

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