Two Moon Junction (1988)

Synopsis:
April has just graduated from an exclusive Southern college. She's just returned home to her family mansion to prepare for her semi-arranged marriage to "the right man", a man approved by April's father, a Senator. During a trip to the local fair, April meets Perry, the kind of man she always wanted but never knew. Her parents are aghast, as Perry is exactly the kind of man they don't want her associating with. April must reconcile the expectations of her family and her fiancée with the passion she feels for Perry. Written by Murray Chapman

Starring:
Sherilyn Fenn
Richard Tyson
Louise Fletcher

Director: Zalman King

Snack Bar Budapest (1988)

Synopsis:
A disbarred lawyer (Giancarlo Giannini) is working as a debt collector for his partner Sapo (Philippe Léotard). Escorting prostitute Milena (Raffaella Baracchi) impregnated by Sapo to an unnamed sea resort of grotesque, he encounters the ambitious young ringleader Molecola (François Negret) who has bought several old recreational sites in the environs to turn the town into an "Italian Las Vegas" but the hotel-bar named Snack Bar Budapest run by a man (Carlo Monni) and his family remains an obstacle. Molecola needs a lawyer to legitimize forceful evacuation of Snack Bar Budapest and the lawyer agrees. However, a murder he commits brings him at odds with Molecola.

Starring:
Giancarlo Giannini
Philippe Léotard
François Négret

Director: Tinto Brass

Waaris (1988)

Synopsis:
Multi-millionaire widower Kishan Singh prepare a will which states that his ancestral property is equally divided among his two sons, Gajjan and Dulla while the son of Gajjan, Shravan shall inherit the farm land. Enraged at not willing anything to his three sons, Thade, Dara and Chhote, Dulla confronts his father which leads to an argument leading to violence and Kishan is killed in the process. Dulla is then apprehended by the police and is jailed leaving his sons to be raised by Gajjan. Years later Shravan meets with a poor young woman, Paramjit alias Paro and both fall in love leading to marriage. Eventually Dulla's sentenced gets completed and he joins the family once again; shortly after he schemes with goons and have Shravan killed. With no one to claim their rights on Shravan's land this leaves the way clear for Dulla and his three sons to take control of this land but Paro will not permit this to happen and the only way she can prevent this is by giving birth to a heir so she confronts Gajjan to re-marry her younger sister, Shibo but there is a short-coming involved as Shibo is in love with a young man, Bhinder and wants to marry only him.

Starring:
Smita Patil
Amrita Singh
Raj Babbar

Director: Ravindra Peepat

Die Venusfalle (1988)

Synopsis:
A doctor is torn between three fabulously beautiful women in 1980ies Berlin with one oneiric sequence chasing the other -- and that's about it. It's the type of movie that can make an impression on you if you're watching it on the silver screen, but seen on the small screen of your boob tube it's simply not enough to capture and hold your imagination. Director Robert von Ackeren is a great stylist and has, in many ways, made one of the quintessential 1980ies movies: cold, glossy surfaces and sulphurous emotions in a city that looks more like metropolis than modern Berlin, and not much in the way of story, plot or narration.

At the time of its release this movie was considered notorious, and Sonja Kirchberger was the talk of the town -- or rather, publicity photos of her flashing her boobs in that négligé were sprawled over magazine covers. Rather childishly, most professional critics seem to have taken umbrage against the fact that Kirchberger wasn't a professional actress but -- so the legend went -- a mere dental technician who was "scouted" by the director in some furniture catalog. Oh my god, an actress who's had a real job -- let's heat up the pyre! Another criticism seems to have been that the movie's visual style wasn't gritty and realistic enough -- which is also way off point, like criticizing a Vietnam war movie for not containing enough scenes with werewolves.

Overall, the movie really lacks some sort of plot, it's mostly a bold, superficial vision of a neon-lit world where all women are gorgeous and prey on men. It would be interesting to see what von Ackeren can do with a good script.

Starring:
Myriem Roussel
Horst-Günter Marx
Sonja Kirchberger

Director: Robert van Ackeren

Macho Dancer (1988)

Synopsis:
Abandoned by his American lover, a handsome teenager from the mountains journeys to Manila in an effort to support his family. With a popular call boy as his mentor, Paul enters the glittering world of male strippers, prostitution, drugs, sexual slavery, police corruption and murder. Teeming with sex and Asian beefcake, Macho Dancer is a searing indictment of the hypocrisy and police corruption rampant under both the Marcos and Aquino regimes.


Starring:
Daniel Fernando
Allan Paule
William Lorenzo

Director: Lino Brocka

Shuto Kousoku Trial I (1988)

AKA:
Shuto Kousoku Trial 1

Synopsis:
Made during one of the most notorious eras of street racing, when the Mid Night Club ruled the scene and became one of the most infamous and feared or "respected" car clubs in Japan. Before they were banned from doing so, car magazines freely covered illegal races.
Street racers challenge each other to exceed the current speed record held by the F1 racer. However, in order to break the record of the Shuto Expressway, you need to have "luck" in addition to a high-powered street-machine and driving technique. And you must be able to conquer "Devil's Curve". Racers bet their dreams and their lives against one another in a dangerous game of speed. The 1st movie of the series and the only one which involves Police car chase.
This movie was banned from Japanese theaters due to its message, nevertheless the series followed in video releases.

Amsterdamned (1988)

Halloween IV:The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

AKA:
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Halloween 4

Synopsis:
It's October 30, 1988 and Michael Myers has been in a coma since his pursuit of Laurie Strode, 10 years ago, was finally stopped (events of H1 and H2). However when he is transfered from Richmond Mental Institute to Smith's Grove he awakes when he hears that he has a niece in Haddonfield and after killing the transfer crew he escapes. In Haddonfield, the niece, Jamie, has been adopted by the Carruthers family but keeps having nightmares about Michael (but she doesn't know who he is). On Halloween night, Jamie goes out trick and treating, little knowing that her murdering Uncle is following her and her step-sister Rachel. Rushing to her aid is Dr. Loomis and with the help of Sheriff Meeker starts to search the town for Michael and to find Jamie to protect her.

La Portera Ardiente (1988)

About:
A cheaply made and mildly exploitative film with little to recommend beyond the performance of Maribel Fernandez, who delivers her lines with crackle and spark and has enough charisma to fill the screen and carry the film on her own, luckily, as the supporting cast do little to help her.

Synopsis:
Fernandez plays the titular "doorwoman", more or less charged with watching over the entrance to the large yard around which her neighbours small houses are arrayed. This makes up a traditional Mexican "vecindad", where everyone knows everyone else's business, and the habitants seemingly spend most of their time hopping into the beds of their neighbours. Thus the film is filled with plenty of low-grade farce, cheap double- entendres (or albures as they are known here) and a shot of one of the women cast members showering naked included (gratuitously) approximately every 20 minutes or so.

Starring:
Alma Delfina
Maribel Fernández
Roberto Guzmán

Director: Mario Hernández

Mardangi (1988)

AKA:
Mardanagi

Starring:
Hemant Birje
Dara Singh
Archana Joglekar
Anjana Mumtaz
Aman Virk

Director: S.R. Pratap

Das tapfere Schneiderlein (1988)

Synopsis:
Er ist ein kleiner, dünner Mann, doch auf seinem Gürtel trägt er sieben Kreuze, die symbolisieren sollen, dass er sieben Kämpfe erfolgreich für sich entschieden hat. Niemand ahnt, dass der kleine Schneider nicht sieben Männer auf einen Streich besiegt hat, sondern nur sieben Fliegen. So ist es kein Wunder, dass jeder, auch der König, großen Respekt vor dem tapferen Schneiderlein hat, das pfiffig durch die Welt marschiert. Den König plagen große Sorgen; drei Feinde bedrohen sein Reich. Bisher konnten die mutigsten und stärksten Männer nichts gegen die Bedrohung ausrichten. In seiner Not wendet er sich an das tapfere Schneiderlein: Es soll die schier unlösbare Aufgabe meistern. Das Schneiderlein ist verzweifelt. Aber mit List und Verstand überwältigt es die gefährlichen Riesen, fängt das wilde Einhorn und erledigt das bösartige Wildschwein. Wegen erwiesener Tapferkeit gibt ihm daraufhin der König seine Tochter zur Frau und das halbe Königreich dazu.

Das Märchen vom Däumling (1988)

Synopsis:
Nicht ein daumesdicker Wicht ist Held dieses Films, sondern ein etwa 8jähriger Bauernjunge von gewöhnlichem Wuchs. "Der Däumling" wird er von allen genannt, weil er sich dem furchtlos-unbekümmerten Winzling aus dem Märchen gleichgesonnen weiß.

Da er unter der Obhut seiner Stiefmutter nichts zu lachen hat, tut der Junge es seinem Vorbild gleich und zieht abenteuerlustig und erwartungsvoll in die weite Welt hinaus - und wie jener kehrt auch er zu guter Letzt nach allerlei aufregenden, gefahrvollen und zugleich lehrreichen Erlebnissen unversehrt heim, glücklich, wieder unter den Seinen zu sein.

Einen Schatz wollte er finden und hat stattdessen dem König beigestanden, dessen verwöhntes Töchterlein vor dem Heiratsbegehren des Teufels zu schützen. Um seinen gerechten Lohn betrogen, steht er am Ende mit leeren Händen da, reich nur an Erfahrungen und Selbsterkenntnis.

Spyder (1988)

Desert Warrior (1988)

About:
Lou Ferrigno pops his top in this gonzoid, Filipino low-budget, post holocaust actioner 'Desert Warrior'. I can't imagine that there are that many people who don't enjoy Il Ferrigno movies. Nice to see Mike Monty making an appearance; very few Filipino trashoid movies during the 80's failed to nab the honourable Monty. (I think he might actually have lived there during this period of time)

The Big Blue (1988)

Synopsis:
Enzo and Jacques have known each other for a long time. Their friendship started in their childhood days in the Mediterranean.

Le grand bleu (1988)

AKA:
The Big Blue >> English
Голубая бездна >> Russian

Jawani Ka Dushman (1988)

Starring:
Bhanuchander
Rajani
Silk Smitha

Director: Nivas

Missing Link ()

Synopsis:
Missing Link is a 1988 film written and directed by Carol and David Hughes. The movie is set in Africa roughly one million years ago, at a time when one species of "man-apes" (Australopithecus robustus) was being displaced by the ancestors of modern humans (possibly Homo erectus but they are never named. They are only addressed as man and from the few scenes where they show any visibility, they vaguely resemble modern humans). The film follows the last of the man-apes (Peter Elliott) as he wanders through the wilderness after his tribe is slaughtered by the aggressive humans who have invented the ax and have learned to make use with fire. He journeys through a savanna, an oasis, a desert, and eventually the shores of a beach. Along the way, he avoids the humans that killed his family and witnesses many fantastic sights of wildlife. After experiencing an hallucination brought on by ingesting a hallucinogenic plant (possibly a reference to the stoned ape theory), he realizes the stone ax that he has been carrying after finding it at the site where his tribe was killed is a weapon. When he comes across a human footprint at the ocean shore, he sniffs it and then starts hitting it, wanting revenge against the humans. But he then relents and tosses the ax into the ocean. The closing scene has him sitting mournfully on the beach as the sun sets. The closing text states that the "man-apes" were likely the first species humanity pushed into extinction.

Missing Link is an unusual film in that it blends elements of drama, documentary, and avant-garde cinema. There is no dialogue, though there is narration (by Michael Gambon). There is also very little action. Instead, the film is filled with extended, picturesque sequences reminiscent of the style often used in nature documentaries. Perhaps due to its unconventionality, the movie was not a commercial success.

Director: Carol and David Hughes

A Cry In The Dark (1988)

AKA:
Evil Angels

Synopsis:
Based on the true story of Lindy Chamberlain. During a camping trip to Ayers Rock in outback Australia, she claimed that she witnessed a dingo stealing her baby daughter, Azaria, from the family tent. Azaria's body was never found. Police noted some apparent inconsistencies in her story, and she was charged with murder. The case attracted a lot of attention, turning an investigation into a media circus, with the public divided in their opinions.

Starring:
Meryl Streep
Sam Neill
Dale Reeves

Director: Fred Schepisi

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait (1988)

Synopsis:
A documentary about the classic 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' film, including interviews with Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface), Edwin Neal (The Hitchhiker), John Dugan (Grandpa) and Jim Seidow (Old Man).

Starring:
John Dugan
Jim Siedow
Edwin Neal

Director: Brad Shellady