Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)

John Carpenter's clever, funny adaptation of the excellent novel by H.F. Saint is a real treat. Chevy Chase plays a man accidentally turned invisible by an accident in a scientific research institute. Instead of wanting to help him, the people responsible attempt to capture and exploit him for his unusual condition.

Some of the “invisible” scenes are ingenious, such as when the invisible man holds a gun against the head of the villain (played by Sam Neill). You see Neill dragged across a room with the weapon apparently stuck to his head.

Daryl Hannah offers an above-par performance as the girlfriend, seeming more engaged than she usually does. 

The film received generally poor reviews but I can’t understand why. It’s hugely entertaining. Maybe people didn’t like the fact that it so effortlessly crosses and combines genres (crime thriller, romance, sci-fi, comedy). That sort of freedom doesn’t seem to be encouraged: maybe films can’t be marketed as easily if they evade a simplistic genre categorisation. But it makes for something very refreshing to watch.

Legal Eagles (1986)

Directed by Ivan Reitman (the talent behind Ghostbusters), this is a film that’s intriguing for being of no fixed genre. It manages to blend courtroom drama, crime, thriller and romantic comedy. 

Robert Redford and Debra Winger are New York lawyers investigating the case of an artist’s work that may or may not have been destroyed in a fire. Terence Stamp is the shifty art dealer mixed up in a fraudulent insurance scheme. And Daryl Hannah is the artist’s daughter who wants the painting her dad dedicated to her – if indeed it even survived. 

There’s something remarkable about the way the film sprawls all over the place and yet still works. Redford and Winger have real chemistry and build up a lot of good-natured warmth as their relationship develops. Both are hugely appealing. The former never seems to age. The latter has a lovely voice and an irresistible smile. Maybe they should have made more films together. 

Daryl Hannah is a little troubling. She’s meant to be an edgy performance artist, but she’s so sleepy and noncommittal that she seems barely present. You’d expect some dynamism or passion in someone who’s trying to push boundaries. But when you see her “performing” her “art”, it’s a ludicrous and unintentionally amusing affair involving light projections, photos of herself, objects bursting into flame and tape recordings of her voice. A clunky mess. Laurie Anderson she is not. The film would have worked better if this character was just a regular person wanting what was rightfully hers rather than an “enigma”. Or maybe they just had the wrong actor for the part. 

Another oddity is the chirpy music, which sometimes seems misjudged for certain scenes. But because the mood and tone keep changing as we race from one genre to another, it’s possibly just struggling to keep up. At the very least, you can see that the soundtrack had to be varied.  

But these are minor flaws. I really liked the fact that it’s so unusual. Plus, the climax is genuinely exciting and the comedy never eclipses the drama. Quirky, rewarding and somehow fascinating.

Wall Street (1987)

There’s something not quite right about Oliver Stone’s stock-market thriller. Michael Douglas is actually fairly compelling as the corrupt Gordon Gecko and his much-discussed “Greed is good” speech remains an iconic bit of cinema. But Charlie Sheen is woeful as the young upstart who initially wants to be Gecko and ultimately wants to ruin him. Can Charlie Sheen act? Seemingly charmless, humourless and lacking emotional range, he’s almost exactly the same here as he was in Platoon. He simply does not convince and it's unclear whether or not you are meant to be on his side.

Daryl Hannah is oddly underwritten as Sheen’s interior-designer girlfriend. James Spader isn’t given enough of a role, either. He would have been a better choice for the main part. But the script is slightly clichéd all round.

The best things about the film are Martin Sheen, the on-screen and real-life father of Charlie, and the New York skylines and scenery. Terence Stamp is OK, but – absurdly – he’s made to say “mate” and “bloke” to accentuate his Englishness.

There’s a good film in there somewhere, but Oliver Stone – as usual, intent on making a Big Statement – cannot tease it out.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (2007)

Ridley Scott’s masterpiece (originally released in 1982) is also Harrison Ford’s greatest film. In the Los Angeles of 2019, a cop has to track down and terminate four “more human than human” robots (or “replicants”) who have turned murderous as their four-year lifespan is about to expire. It’s wonderful on so many levels:
• The super-atmospheric soundtrack by Vangelis.
• The dark, dank visuals that so convincingly create a world and which have proved so influential on other films.
• The way it plays with genre. Is it sci-fi, horror, film noir, existential drama or a detective story? It’s all of those.
• The perfect cast: Rutger Hauer and Daryl Hannah are so convincing that you never once doubt that they are synthetic beings. Sean Young is also perfectly not-quite-right as the replicant who believes she’s human until all her illusions are crushed.
• The philosophical depth of it. What is life? What is humanity? How should we best use the little time we have?
• The exciting plot that builds to a remarkable and unexpected resolution.
• The restraint of it. No one over-acts. And Harrison Ford looks genuinely frightened when he’s being pursued. It’s the opposite of a shoot-’em-up cop film, or rather an extremely sophisticated version of one.

This is the third version of Blade Runner I’ve seen and they are all valuable in their own ways.

Steel Magnolias (1989)

Moving comedy-drama adapted from Robert Harling’s play. Indeed, it works very much as a theatrical piece with long, set scenes and acts. The story concerns six women in a small Louisiana town and examines how their lives interact. At the heart of it is a mother–daughter relationship. There are laughs and tears aplenty. Dolly Parton is a natural as the local beautician. Daryl Hannah proves she really can act as the timid newcomer who gets religion. Julia Roberts is the just-married daughter battling severe diabetes and Sally Field is her endlessly worried mother. Shirley MacLaine and Olympia Dukakis are also just right for their parts as older members of the community. The male characters (including Sam Shepard as Dolly Parton’s distant husband) are deliberately played down, allowing the film to keep its focus on the six women. Things are slow to get going and I didn’t think I was enjoying it, but matters improve when the narrative kicks in and ultimately works round to an emotional and satisfying conclusion.

Roxanne (1987)

Lovely romantic comedy: a retelling of the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. Steve Martin plays the wonderfully gifted fire chief for the small town of Nelson, who just happens to have a huge nose. He falls in love with a visiting astronomer, Roxanne (Daryl Hannah), who unfortunately is drawn to a good-looking dimwit instead. The love story is just part of the charm. There’s so much touching detail about how the people of the town live their lives, from the inept volunteer firemen to the various characters you get to know in Nelson’s bars, shops and cafés. Steve Martin is riveting as the aerobic, intellectual, poetic fire chief who eventually wins over the woman he loves. It’s heartwarming but also very funny for much of the time.

Splash (1984)

Hugely entertaining film about a mermaid and a young New Yorker who fall in love. There’s lots of comedy value in the “life viewed through the eyes of an alien” aspect. There’s also a surprisingly poignant element: the “message” that you should be with the one you love, however “different” they might be. Being a 1984 film, it has the same look, feel, New York setting and music styles as other feel-good films from this time – such as Ghostbusters. In fact, you can almost imagine Bill Murray acting the Tom Hanks part. Best of all is the wide-eyed innocence of Daryl Hannah as the beautiful mermaid with the unpronounceable name (she speaks it once and the high-pitched noise she makes shatters the glass of all the TV screens in the department store). This film is a lot of fun, but it makes you think too. I enjoyed it even more on DVD today than I did at the cinema when it first came out. Plus, the ending is superb.