Nick's Flick Picks: The Movies of 1989

<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFCC" link="#003399" vlink="#003399" topmargin="25" leftmargin="50"> <TABLE> <TR bgcolor="#000000"><TD><img src=strip89banner.jpg width=100%> </TD></TR> <TR><TD> <br> <Font Color="#0099CC" Face=Garamond Size=+2><b>Top Ten Films of 1989: World Premieres</b></Font><br>  <a href=movies89us.html>Top Ten by U.S. Release Date</a> (<Font Size=-1><i>Updated</i></Font>) // <a href=persac89.html>My 1989 Oscar Ballot</a> (<Font Size=-1><i>Updated</i></Font>)<br> <Font Size=-1><br></Font> <Table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0> <TR><TD width=4% align=right><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1>1. </Font></TD><TD width=96% align=left><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1><b><Font Color="#003399">Black Rain</Font></b></Font> Dir. Shohei Imamura. With Yoshiko Tanaka, Kazuo Kitamura, Etsuko Ichihara <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>A</b></Font></TD></TR> <TR><TD width=4% align=right><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1>2. </Font></TD><TD width=96% align=left><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1><b><a href=whenharr.html style="text-decoration:none">When Harry Met Sally...</a></b></Font> Dir. Rob Reiner. With Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>A</b></Font></TD></TR> <TR><TD width=4% align=right><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1>3. </Font></TD><TD width=96% align=left><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1><b><Font Color="#003399">Do the Right Thing</Font></b></Font> Dir. Spike Lee. With Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, John Turturro, Bill Nunn <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>A</b></Font></TD></TR> <TR><TD width=4% align=right><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1>4. </Font></TD><TD width=96% align=left><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1><b><Font Color="#003399">Crimes and Misdemeanors</Font></b></Font> Dir. Woody Allen. With Woody Allen, Martin Landau <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>A</b></Font></TD></TR> <TR><TD width=4% align=right><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1>5. </Font></TD><TD width=96% align=left><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1><b><Font Color="#003399">Roger & Me</Font></b></Font> Dir. Michael Moore. Documentary about labor crisis in Flint, Michigan <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>A</b></Font></TD></TR> <TR><TD width=4% align=right><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1>6. </Font></TD><TD width=96% align=left><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1><b><Font Color="#003399">Henry V</Font></b></Font> Dir. Kenneth Branagh. With Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Paul Scofield <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>A</b></Font></TD></TR> <TR><TD width=4% align=right><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1>7. </Font></TD><TD width=96% align=left><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1><b><Font Color="#003399">The Fabulous Baker Boys</Font></b></Font> Dir. Steve Kloves. With Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>A</b></Font></TD></TR> <TR><TD width=4% align=right><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1>8. </Font></TD><TD width=96% align=left><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1><b><Font Color="#003399">Sweetie</Font></b></Font> Dir. Jane Campion. With Karen Colston, Genevi&#232ve Lemon, Tom Lycos <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>A</b></Font></TD></TR> <TR><TD width=4% align=right><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1>9. </Font></TD><TD width=96% align=left><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1><b><Font Color="#003399">Valmont</Font></b></Font> Dir. Milo&#154 Forman. With Annette Bening, Colin Firth, Meg Tilly, Fairuza Balk <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>A</b></Font></TD></TR> <TR><TD width=4% align=right><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1>10. </Font></TD><TD width=96% align=left><Font Face=Garamond Size=+1><b><Font Color="#003399">War Requiem</Font></b></Font> Dir. Derek Jarman. With Nathaniel Parker, Owen Teale, Tilda Swinton <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>A</b></Font><br> </Table> <br> <Font Color="#0099CC"><b>Exemplary Shorts:</b></Font> <Font Color="#003399"><i>Cycles</i></Font>, <Font Color="#003399"><i>Living Inside</i></Font>, <Font Color="#003399"><i>Me and Rubyfruit</i></Font><br> <hr> <br> <Font Color="#0099CC" Face=Garamond Size=+2><b>Reviews from 1989</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Size=-1> <Font Color="#009900">★</Font> <b>= Full-Length Review</b> / <Font Color="#0099CC">&#169</Font> <b> = Capsule-Length Review</b> / <Font Color="#FF6600">★</Font> <b>&nbsp= Blog Review</b> (New Window) </Font><br> <Font Size=-3> <br></Font> <Font Face=Garamond><Font Size=-1 Color="#009900">★</Font>   <b><a href=theabyss.html style="text-decoration:none">The Abyss</a></b></Font> Dir. James Cameron. With Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Ed Harris, Michael Biehn <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B+</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond><Font Size=-1 Color="#009900">★</Font>   <b><a href=born4th.html style="text-decoration:none">Born on the Fourth of July</a></b></Font> Dir. Oliver Stone. With Tom Cruise, Willem Dafoe, Kyra Sedgwick <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond><Font Size=-1 Color="#FF6600">★</Font>   <b><a href="http://blog.nicksflickpicks.com/2006/11/bitter-sweetie-is-still-beauty.html" style="text-decoration:none" target="_new">Sweetie</a></b></Font> Dir. Jane Campion. With Karen Colston, Genevi&#232ve Lemon, Tom Lycos, Jon Darling <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>A</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond><Font Size=-1 Color="#0099CC">&#169</Font>   <b><a href=whenharr.html style="text-decoration:none">When Harry Met Sally...</a></b></Font> Dir. Rob Reiner. With Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>A+</b></Font><br> <br> <Font Color="#0099CC" Face=Garamond Size=+1><b>More Grades from 1989</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Size=-1><b>Unreviewed titles I have seen recently enough to grade</b></Font><br> <Font Size=-3> <br></Font> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <a href=cycleszd.html style="text-decoration:none"><b>Cycles</b></a></Font> Dir. Zeinabu Irene Davis. With Stephanie Ingram, Zeinabu Irene Davis, Marc Ch&#233ry <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Dead Calm</b></Font> Dir. Phillip Noyce. With Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, Billy Zane, Rod Mullinar <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B+</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <a href=drivmiss.html style="text-decoration:none"><b>Driving Miss Daisy</b></a></Font> Dir. Bruce Beresford. With Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>C</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Hearing Voices</b></Font> Dir. Sharon Greytak. With Erika Nagy, Stephen Gatta, Tim Ahren <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>D</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket</b></Font> Dir. Karen Thorsen. Documentary about the author <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Looking for Langston</b></Font> Dir. Isaac Julien. With Ben Ellison, Matthew Baidoo, Akim Mogaji <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B+</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Music Box</b></Font> Dir. Costa-Gavras. With Jessica Lange, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Lukas Haas <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>My Left Foot</b></Font> Dir. Jim Sheridan. With Daniel Day-Lewis, Hugh O'Conor, Brenda Fricker <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B+</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <a href=parents.html style="text-decoration:none"><b>Parents</b></a></Font> Dir. Bob Balaban. With Bryan Madorsky, Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Sandy Dennis <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B+</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Say Anything...</b></Font> Dir. Cameron Crowe. With John Cusack, Ione Skye, Lili Taylor, John Mahoney <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>sex, lies, and videotape</b></Font> Dir. Steven Soderbergh. With Andie MacDowell, James Spader <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B+</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>She-Devil</b></Font> Dir. Susan Seidelman. With Roseanne Barr, Ed Begley Jr., Meryl Streep <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>D+</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Shirley Valentine</b></Font> Dir. Lewis Gilbert. With Pauline Collins, Bernard Hill, Tom Conti <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>C</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Steel Magnolias</b></Font> Dir. Herbert Ross. With Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Sweet Bird of Youth</b></Font> Dir. Nicolas Roeg. TV Movie. With Mark Harmon, Elizabeth Taylor <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>D</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Tongues Untied</b></Font> Dir. Marlon Riggs. With Marlon Riggs, Essex Hemphill, Steve Langley <Font Color="#FF0000"><b>B+</b></Font><br> <Font Size=-3> <br></Font> <br> <Font Color="#0099CC" Face=Garamond Size=+1><b>Also from 1989</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Size=-1><b>The memories are fading, but they're somewhere in my brain</b></Font><br> <Font Size=-3> <br></Font> <Font Face=Garamond>Fetching</Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>The War of the Roses</b></Font> Dir. Danny DeVito. With Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Wild Women Don't Have the Blues</b></Font> Dir. Christine Dall. Documentary about Harlem blues singers<br> <Font Size=-3> <br></Font> <Font Face=Garamond>Fair</Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Batman</b></Font> Dir. Tim Burton. With Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Michael Gough<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Field of Dreams</b></Font> Dir. Phil Alden Robinson. With Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Glory</b></Font> Dir. Edward Zwick. With Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Heathers</b></Font> Dir. Michael Hoffman. With Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Kim Walker, Shannen Doherty<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>The Little Mermaid</b></Font> Dirs. Ron Clements & John Musker. Animated. Voice of Jodi Benson<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Parenthood</b></Font> Dir. Ron Howard. With Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Rick Moranis<br> <Font Size=-3> <br></Font> <Font Face=Garamond>Feh</Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Blue Steel</b></Font> Dir. Kathryn Bigelow. With Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver, Clancy Brown, Elizabeth Pe&#241a<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Casualties of War</b></Font> Dir. Brian De Palma. With Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, Thuy Thu Le, John Harvey<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover</b></Font> Dir. Peter Greenaway. With Michael Gambon<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Dead Poets Society</b></Font> Dir. Peter Weir. With Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Honey, I Shrunk the Kids</b></Font> Dir. Joe Johnston. With Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Amy O'Neill<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</b></Font> Dir. Steven Spielberg. With Harrison Ford, Sean Connery<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Last Exit to Brooklyn</b></Font> Dir. Uli Edel. With Stephen Lang, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Burt Young<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Look Back in Anger</b></Font> Dirs. Judi Dench & David Jones. With Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Pet Sematary</b></Font> Dir. Mary Lambert. With Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, Denise Crosby<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399">      <b>Shag: The Movie</b></Font> Dir. Zelda Barron. With Phoebe Cates, Bridget Fonda, Annabeth Gish<br> <hr> <br> <Font Color="#0099CC" Face=Garamond Size=+1><b>Still to Come from 1989</b></Font><br> <Font Size=-3> <br></Font> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399"><b>Ten Most Enticing Prospects:</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Dekalog 10: Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Goods</b></Font> Dir. Krzysztof Kie&#X15b;lowski<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Drugstore Cowboy</b></Font> Dir. Gus Van Sant. With Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Remar<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Enemies, a Love Story</b></Font> Dir. Paul Schrader. With Ron Silver, Lena Olin, Anjelica Huston<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>J&#233sus de Montr&#233al</b></Font> Dir. Denys Arcand. With Lothaire Bluteau, Catherine Wilkening<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>The Killer</b></Font> Dir. John Woo. With Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Chu Kong<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Monsieur Hire</b></Font> Dir. Patrice Leconte. With Michel Blanc, Sandrine Bonnaire, Luc Thuillier<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>The Seventh Continent</b></Font> Dir. Michael Haneke. With Birgit Doll, Dieter Berner, Leni Tanzer<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Speaking Parts</b></Font> Dir. Atom Egoyan. With Michael McManus, Arsin&#233e Khanjian<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>The Unbelievable Truth</b></Font> Dir. Hal Hartley. With Adrienne Shelly, Robert Burke<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Yaaba</b></Font> Dir. Idrissa Ou&#233draogo. With Fatimata Sanga, Noufou Ou&#233draogo, Roukietou Barry<br> <br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399"><b>Further Research:</b></Font><br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Always</b></Font> Dir. Steven Spielberg. With Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Brad Johnson<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Black Rain</b></Font> Dir. Ridley Scott. With Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Ken Takakura<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Blaze</b></Font> Dir. Ron Shelton. With Paul Newman, Lolita Davidovich, Jerry Hardin<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt</b></Font> Dirs. Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Creature Comforts</b></Font> Dir. Nick Park. Animated. Voice of Julie Sedgewick<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>The Cyclist</b></Font> Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf. With Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Esmail Soltanian<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>A Dry White Season</b></Font> Dir. Euzhan Palcy. With Donald Sutherland, Janet Suzman<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Eat a Bowl of Tea</b></Font> Dir. Wayne Wang. With Cora Miao, Russell Wong, Victor Wong<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Fat Man and Little Boy</b></Font> Dir. Roland Joff&#233. With Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>The Fly II</b></Font> Dir. Chris Walas. With Eric Stoltz, Daphne Zuniga, Lee Richardson, John Getz<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>A Grand Day Out</b></Font> Dir. Nick Park. Animated. Voice of Peter Sallis<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Harlem Nights</b></Font> Dir. Eddie Murphy. With Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Homework</b></Font> Dir. Abbas Kiarostami. Documentary about Iranian school children<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>How to Get Ahead in Advertising</b></Font> Dir. Bruce Robinson. With Richard E. Grant<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Immediate Family</b></Font> Dir. Jonathan Kaplan. With Glenn Close, Mary Stuart Masterson<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>In Country</b></Font> Dir. Norman Jewison. With Bruce Willis, Emily Lloyd, Joan Allen<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Jacknife</b></Font> Dir. David Hugh Jones. With Robert De Niro, Kathy Baker, Ed Harris<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Kiki's Delivery Service</b></Font> Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Animated. Voice of Minami Takayama<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Lean on Me</b></Font> Dir. John G. Avildsen. With Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, Robert Guillaume<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Licence to Kill</b></Font> Dir. John Glen. With Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Life and Nothing But</b></Font> Dir. Bertrand Tavernier. With Philippe Noiret, Sabine Az&#233ma<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Lonesome Dove</b></Font> Dir. Simon Wincer. TV Movie. With Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Meet the Feebles</b></Font> Dir. Peter Jackson. Animated. Voices of Donna Akersten, Stuart Devenie<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Miss Firecracker</b></Font> Dir. Thomas Schlamme. With Holly Hunter, Mary Steenburgen, Tim Robbins<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story</b></Font> Dir. Brian Gibson. TV Movie<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Mystery Train</b></Font> Dir. Jim Jarmusch. With Youki Kudoh, Nicoletta Braschi, Steve Buscemi<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>New York Stories</b></Font> Dirs. Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Old Gringo</b></Font> Dir. Luis Puenzo. With Jane Fonda, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Smits, Patricio Contreras<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Pink Cadillac</b></Font> Dir. Buddy Van Horn. With Clint Eastwood, Bernadette Peters<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Sea of Love</b></Font> Dir. Harold Becker. With Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Slaves of New York</b></Font> Dir. James Ivory. With Bernadette Peters, Chris Sarandon, Mary Beth Hurt<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>The Tall Guy</b></Font> Dir. Mel Smith. With Jeff Goldblum, Rowan Atkinson, Emma Thompson<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Tango & Cash</b></Font> Dir. Andrei Konchalovsky. With Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>Too Beautiful for You</b></Font> Dir. Bertrand Blier. With Josiane Balasko, G&#233rard Depardieu<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>True Believer</b></Font> Dir. Joseph Ruben. With James Woods, Robert Downey Jr., Yuji Okumoto<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>True Love</b></Font> Dir. Nancy Savoca. With Annabella Sciorra, Ron Eldard, Aida Turturro<br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066">      <b>We're No Angels</b></Font> Dir. Neil Jordan. With Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, Demi Moore, Hoyt Axton<br> <hr> <Font Face=Garamond> <table cellpadding=12><tr> <td>Trackbacks:</td> <td><b><a href=movies89home.html target="_top">Permalink</a></b></td> <td><b><a href=movies89.html target="_top">1989</a></b></td> <td><b><a href=movarchs.html target="_top">Home</a></b></td> <td><b><a href="http://blog.nicksflickpicks.com" target="_new">Blog</a></b></td> <td><b><a href=email.html target="_top">E-Mail</a></b></td> </tr></table> </Font> </center> </body>