15.
Miracle Mile1988
Dir. Steve De Jarnatt
I had never seen a Steve De Jarnatt film before in my life. I've now seen 2, this and
Cherry 2000! Thankfully this was A LOT better than
Cherry. But this is yet another example of how the genre of Apocalyptic (Post or otherwise) is paved with great ideas and poor execution.
The premise of
Miracle Mile is pretty cool. A young guy, Anthony Edwards, passing a ringing pay phone answers it (hasn't cinema taught us time and again that doing this can only lead to disaster???). On the other end of the phone is a frantic caller who claims that in 50 minutes America will be launching a nuclear attack. He then tells a diner full of late night ghouls and causes mass hysteria when one of the patrons whips out a Zack Morris phone and confirms the crazy rumor. Over the following hour Edwards rescues his girlfriend (or does he???) while LA turns to mass hysteria as the rumor of nuclear holocaust spreads like an LA wildfire.
I loved the premise, but I found nearly ever decision that ever character makes to be unmotivated and frustrating. By the time Edward's tells his girlfriend to stay with the helicopter so he can go find a pilot, and she leaves the helicopter to force him to run after her, I was just peeved. This isn't a terrible film, but it certainly isn't a film I liked too much.
This was a really cool shot:
Oh, I forgot to mention this, I loved the Tangerine Dream score. I don't think it really works well in the movie, but musically its something I'd love to get and listen to. Their score for
Legend is one of my all-time favorites.
And that's about it.
Grade C
Sorry Zhankfor, wasn't my cup of tea.