Randomness... 1987 (Part 1)

by Nathaniel R

BROADCAST NEWS (1987)

Once we reached the late 80s young Nathaniel was fully immersed in Oscar passions so there are less glaring omissions in films screened. Why am I talking about myself in the third person? Nevertheless 1987 is now so long ago that I really wonder about my initial take on so many of the movies. For instance, a lot of people I respect think very highly of The Dead – and it even gets a very loving homage in Almodovar’s current film The Room Next Door. I remember it as a high minded, intermittently potent drama but also kind of dull. It’s probable I was too young for it at the time (I did see it in theaters…and went specifically because Anjelica Huston had won the Oscar the previous year for 1985’s Prizzi’s Honor so I was in the flushes of new fandom). But we’re jumping ahead of ourselves.

NATHANIEL’S TOP TEN OF 1987 

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Happy 75th, Veronica Cartwright

by Mark Brinkerhoff

Veronica Cartwright in a 2020 documentary "LIfe After The Navigator" exploring one of her 80s films

Happy 4/20, which happens to be the birthday—same day/month/year—of both Jessica Lange and one Veronica Cartwright, the British-born former child star and current character actor extraordinaire.

When did you first clock the extraordinary Veronica Cartwright on screen? Though she mainly does TV guest spots (and the occasional direct-to-VOD titles) nowadays, I can say that she made an immediate impression for me in the mid-‘80s, starting with The Right Stuff (1983), Flight of the Navigator (1986), and most notably The Witches of Eastwick (1987)...

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If I Could Turn Back Time... How Cher Ruled 1987

by Baby Clyde

I’m not sure if I believe in life after love (whatever that means) but I definitely believe in love at first sight. I first saw the love of my life in a dingy dive bar 1981. She stood there, pint in hand surrounded by an intimidating girl gang, dressed to the nines in black leather with gold hoop earring and Jungle Red nail varnish. I watched in awe as she slunk over to the jukebox all back combed hair and gum chewing attitude. Her name was Cherilyn Sarkisian and she changed my life forever. 

I was not even 10 as I watched the video for Meatloaf’s single Dead Ringer For Love. A notorious flop in America it was a Top 5 smash hit in Britain at the tail end of 1981 in no small part because of Meat’s duet partner...

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Beauty Break: Ten Sexiest Witches in Movies

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 👻🎃

Julian Sands in Warlock (1989) though, alas, we haven't seen it.

In the absence of writing time today, how about a visual list. Have you ever wondered why there are so few male witches (or warlocks if you will) in cinema? They're far more common on television. And when warlocks or sorcerers are portrayed in cinema they're usually asexual (sorry but Doctor Strange is the least sexy Avenger!) or old men and are just as likely to be good as evil.

Witches on the other hand are often sexual and usually beautiful... though the beauty is often an illusion. Many of those most glamorous witches are hiding a hideous side -- like they're secretly an old decrepit crone or something less than human (think of Anjelica Huston in The Witches... which we often do). Or maybe they are beautiful but their favourite disguise is something hideous (think Snow White's Queen). This frightening dichotomy and their dangerous sexuality surely has got heaps to do with cinema's male gaze. (This is a way of saying that we hoped for some gender parity in this holiday list of "Sexy Witches!" but it's almost all women.)

AFTER THE JUMP - TEN SEXIEST MOVIE WITCHES...

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1987: Veronica Cartwright in "The Witches of Eastwick"

Before each Smackdown, Nick Taylor looks at alternates to the Oscar ballot...

Happy Halloween!! God, I missed writing these pieces. And I’m so excited to finally discuss a horror film performance, even if The Witches of Eastwick isn’t anyone’s first example of "horror". Probably the purest element of horror in the film - and its best element period - is Veronica Cartwright’s unforgettable turn as the devout, unraveling selectwoman Felicia Alden. An actress possessessing an uncanny ability to give plausible, full-bodied expressions of terror to films as frightening and atmospherically rich as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Alien, her gifts are put to the test in an equally ambitious but more tonally inconsistent film. Felicia surely ranks among the most showcased roles she’s ever had, which is all the more exciting given how different she is from Lambert, though I can’t fathom why her career didn't explode with juicy offers thereafter. Regardless, what she accomplishes here might be the crown jewel of her vivid, horror-cult career...

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