Angel Heart (1987) Director: Alan Parker Starring: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling
More than Robert De Niro's long-fingernailed, egg-scoffing depiction of the devil, and more than its unsettling, chicken-abusing voodoo sequences, Alan Parker's mephistophelean film noir is best remembered for one scene. And that'll be its particularly steamy and revealing sex scene, in which Mickey Rourke gets his back (and front) clawed by the feline Lisa Bonet… All while blood drips down from the ceiling, no less. The problem? Well, at the time Ms Bonet was best-known for playing Bill Cosby's sweeter-than-thou daughter in TV's The Cosby Show. Talk about coming of age...
L.A. Confidential (1997) Director: Curtis Hanson Starring: Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, James Cromwell
The true definition of 18 is 'suitable for adults only', not 'dismemberment and boobies ahoy'. LA Confidential is categorically a film only suitable for grown-ups. Curtis Hanson puts full trust in his audience's intelligence with a murder mystery centred on two cops, one by-the-book, the other by-the-fist. The story twists in myriad directions, but Curtis never loses control for a second and pulls terrific performers from both old hands (Kevin Spacey, James Cromwell) and brilliant newcomers (Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce). Titanic beat it to the Oscar, but this was hands down the best film of 1997 - and still the best of Hanson's career.
