Mississippi Burning (1988): review- 8/10

Two FBI cops investigate murders in Mississippi: the superior is ascetic and fully committed to the civil rights project, while his accomplice, played by Hackman, is morally ambiguous and scepetical.

The film works through, with little subtlety, the imposition of Federal Law in a small southern town.

The relationship between Hackman and his accomplice- which could be illuminating about the attitudes of southerners who grudgingly accepted racial segregation- is not as enlightening as it might be. Equally, the black characters operate, as do the KKK policemen who oppress them- as caricatures.

Nonetheless, the film is extremely entertaining.

Working Girl (1988): review- 5.5/10

Victory and vengeance of the girl from the typing pool over her female superior: set in the world of New York Financial markets, and featuring big hair and bigger hairdos.

It would have been much more fun if, for instance, the heroine were not so relentlessly "good" and perhaps transformed into her boss more fully in the course of the film.

The film also lacks surprises, being based on obvious class conflicts between New Jersey and wealthy Manhattan, and is oddly paced.