Dates refer to the publication of the review - the later films had a 1987 release in the UK.
13 April 1986: Room with a View
‘Equally sensitive to the emotional currents of the Edwardian era as to the nuances of Forsterian moral comedy... captivatingly beautiful, and elegiacally sad.’
27 July 1986: Sid and Nancy
‘This is a love story, but one that denies romance... Sid and Nancy are trash, too repellent to be conventional pop martyrs.’
14 August 1986: Pretty in Pink
‘John Hughes and Howard Deutch embroider this passion fruit tale with every icon of the under-21 set they can muster. But crisp as the crust is, the inside of the pie remains obstinately like junk-food goo.’
4 September 1986: Mona Lisa
‘A parable about the strong preying upon the weak, and the ultimate reasons why you can trust no one but yourself.’
7 September 1986: Highlander
‘A hare-brained sword-and-sorcery fantasy that bounces off the eyeballs like a laser beam and never gets near the brain or the heart.’
5 October 1986: Top Gun
‘A high-tech update of a traditional Hollywood recruiting movie... A defensible patriotism crosses the line into a disturbing chauvinism.’
6 November 1986: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
‘Its hero is a real ratbag, who somehow gets to be endearing... a latterday rebel with a cause who is precisely what the system deserves, since it puts such a premium on success and enterprise.’
7 December 1986: Labyrinth
‘Though attractive, it is imperfect. The songs are unmemorable and there is more wizardry than magic, more sweetness than charm.’
11 December 1986: Crocodile Dundee
‘There’s nothing better than being agreeably surprised by something you suspect is going to be fairly awful.’
15 February 1987: The Fly
‘A film of poignancy and depth that may need to be preceded by warning flags but not by apologies.’
15 March 1987: Stand By Me
‘An economical, gentle, truthful tale... the thinking boy’s Tom Sawyer without the melodrama and puppy-love.’
9 April 1987: Blue Velvet
‘Nothing as remotely unhealthy has come out of Hollywood for years but also nothing that so upends our usual expectations of the commercial cinema.’
23 April 1987: Platoon
‘Platoon isn’t imaginatively wrathful. It has no poetry in it. But it is real enough to hold the attention like a vice.’
