I've Totally Seen That Movie Before

The Terminator (1984) Director: James Cameron Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen, Rick Rossovich, Bess Motta, Earl Boen Writer:  James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd Synopsis: A cyborg called a Terminator (Schwarzenegger) is sent back in time to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Hamilton), whose unborn son will lead humanity in a war against a sentient AI. A young human soldier from the same time named Kyle Reese (Biehn) is also sent back to protect Sarah at all costs. If the Terminator is successful, the future of mankind is doomed. First Impressions I was 8 years old when this movie came out, so I didn't get to see it in the theaters, but for kids my age, the movie was almost like a myth. I mean, a killer robot from the future punches a guy through the stomach, how could I not want to see that? Anyway, I was a teenager by the time I finally saw it on home video and I thought it was great. It was dark and violent but with a so...

Throw Momma From the Train (1987) Director:  Danny DeVito Cast:  Billy Crystal, Danny DeVito, Kim Greist, Anne Ramsey, Kate Mulgrew, Branford Marsalis, Rob Reiner Writer:  Stu Silver Synopsis In this re-imagining of Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train , writing professor and struggling author Larry Donner (Crystal) gives one of his students, Owen Lift (DeVito) some advice on writing. When Owen misunderstands this advice, he murders Larry's hated ex-wife, Margaret (Mulgrew). In exchange, Owen wants Larry to kill his mother (Ramsey), who has made his life miserable. Hiding out and on the lam, Larry agrees to help Owen out, but Momma Lift is much harder to kill than they thought. First Impressions I saw this movie for the first time when I was about 12 years old and I thought it was frigging hilarious. The movie is what one would call a "dark comedy" but it also had its share of slapstick humor, which is probably what appealed to me when I was a kid. I was a lit...

Highlander (1986) Director:  Russel Mulcahy Cast:  Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, Roxanne Hart, Beatie Edney, Alan North Writers:  Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood, Larry Ferguson Synopsis: Highlander begins in 16th century Scotland where a young clansman named Connor MacLeod (Lambert) suffers a fatal wound in battle against an evil warrior called Kurgan (Brown). When it's discovered that he not only survives the wound but has suffered no ill effects from it, his kinsmen banish him from the village because they believe him to be possessed by the devil. In truth, MacLeod is part of a group of immortal warriors, who meet each other in one-on-one combat to fight for the "Prize." MacLeod soon meets the Egyptian Juan Sanachez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, who trains him to fight the Kurgan and to eventually win the Prize when an event called the "Gathering" takes place. The rest of the story takes place hundreds of years later in 1985, when the immo...

Ladyhawke (1985) Director:  Richard Donner Cast:  Rutger Hauer, Matthew Broderick, Michelle Pfieffer, Leo McKern, John Wood, Ken Hutchison Writers:  Edward Khmara, Michael Thomas, Tom Mankiewicz Synopsis: Ladyhawke is the story of a young thief, Phillipe Gaston (Broderick) who is being hunted after escaping from prison. He is saved from recapture by the exiled soldier Navarre (Hauer), who befriends him. Navarre has been on the run from the evil Bishop of Aquilla (Wood) since he escaped the city with his love Isabeau (Pfeiffer), whom the Bishop covets. Gaston learns that the Bishop placed a curse on the lovers that causes Isabeau to become a hawk during the day and Navarre to become a wolf during the night. Navarre seeks Gaston's help to get him into the city so that he can kill the Bishop, while the disgraced monk Imperius (McKern) looks for a way to break the curse. First Impressions: Ladyhawke is one of the least well-known entries in Richard Donner's vas...