Over & Over: 1987's "Baby Boom"

by Eric Blume

Baby Boom, directed by Charles Shyer with a script by him and his then-wife Nancy Meyers, encapsulates 1987 beautifully.  From young James Spader's Wham!-like hair to Keaton's fashions to the dated woman-in-the-workplace-can-she-have-it-all plot, it could be a time capsule film for the year and its essence.  While we're celebrating 1987, this film couldn't be a better example of exactly where we were.

And yes, Baby Boom is a mercilessly commercial enterprise, engineered with cliche characters and "adorable" cutaway shots to the child inherited by the "Tiger Lady", J.C. Wiatt, played by Diane Keaton.  I can't defend this movie as a work of fine cinema, but I've returned to it over a dozen times for the sheer joy in Keaton's peerless performance...

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Oscar's Documentary Feature Race Heats Up

by Nathaniel R

According to the Wrap, AMPAS has 86 films currently available to CONSIDER for their Documentary branch members. The list will grow until some point in January (the list generally runs anywhere from 120-170 titles), and then the Documentary Branch will whittle it down to 15 contenders before the final nomination balloting.

If we've written about them -- but mostly if Glenn has written about them ;) -- there's a link in the list that follows. We've also indicated which are currently streaming if you'd like to watch any of them. The prestigious International Documentary Association has 30 shortlisted titles  (from which they'll draw their eventual nominations) and we've also mentioned the 14 titles that were nominated by the Critics Choice Documentary Awards for Best Documentary Feature. Why there are so many nominees we don't know! (If 5 is good enough for Oscar) 

Eligible Features (Thus Far) That Oscar's Doc Branch Is Watching...

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Buladó and Dutch Films at the Oscars

by Nathaniel R

The Netherlands have submitted the magical realist drama Buladó for the upcoming Oscars. It's the third feature-length film from 42 year-old biracial director Eché Janga. It's a rarity for a Dutch submission in that it doesn't take place in The Netherlands but in one of the former Dutch colonies. It's set in the Caribbean Island of Curaçao (Janga's father is Curaçaoan) and is largely in the language of Papiamento rather than Dutch. 

The Netherlands have an interesting Oscar history because they've won nearly half the time when nominated but the nominations are not super common. They're currently in their longest Oscar drought ever as they haven't been nominated since 2003 (despite three finalists since then)...

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1987: The Living Daylights and “Strong Female Characters”

1987 is our year of the month. Here's Deborah Lipp...

One of the unusual things about 1987 is that three of the ten top-grossing films of the year are female-centric. Perhaps two of those films—Moonstruck (about which I’ve written here ) and The Witches of Eastwick—are more correctly called “Cher-centric.” Perhaps the force of nature that is Cher is what made the difference here? (More on her later in a different article). Regardless, 1986 and 1988 are both more typically Hollywood, which is to say, more male.

And speaking of male-centric movies, let’s talk about James Bond. 1987 is the year of The Living Daylights, the first Timothy Dalton Bond movie, and the mid-point of a nadir for Bond box office. (At some point, a Bond box office article will be forthcoming.) Specifically, though, let’s talk about the “Bond girl” of The Living Daylights, Kara Milovy, played by Maryam d’Abo...

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Joan Crawford on Criterion

Please welcome guest contributor David Rush...

Our Dancing Daughters

If an actress is to remain a star for six decades, she must expect some fluctuations in her career trajectory. This was most certainly the case for Joan Crawford, whose cinematic legacy – rather overshadowed in the years after her death for reasons we are all more than aware of – is currently showcased on The Criterion Channel.

The first two decades of Crawford’s stardom saw her go from strength to strength: her breakthrough role opposite Lon Chaney in The Unknown (1927); a series of flapper delights in Our Dancing Daughters (1928), Our Modern Maidens (1929) and Our Blushing Brides (1930); a key supporting role in Best Picture winner Grand Hotel (1932); her numerous popular collaborations with Clark Gable; and most importantly, the rags-to-riches vehicles that held particular appeal for aspirant young women during the Great Depression...

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