I've Totally Seen That Movie Before

A Perfect World (1993) Director:  Clint Eastwood Cast:  Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Laura Dern, Keith Szarabajka, T.J. Lowther, Bradley Whitford, Leo Burmester Writers: John Lee Hancock Synopsis: Two criminals Butch (Costner) and Terry (Szarabajka) escape from prison, taking a young boy, Phillip (Lowther) as a hostage. As the pair race to cross state lines, they are pursued by venerable Texas Ranger Red Garnett (Eastwood) and criminologist Sally Gerber (Dern). As they travel together, Phillip begins to view Butch as a father figure after discovering that they hold a number of common bonds. First Impressions: I wasn't really aware of this movie when it hit theaters and didn't see it until it came out on video some months later. In fact, I don't even recall seeing many TV spots or trailers for the film, which is odd considering that the cast at the time was quite prestigious. I saw the film with a group of friends who rented it pretty much o...

Amistad (1997) Director:  Steven Spielberg Cast:  Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman,  Stellan Skarsgård, Pete Postlethwaite, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Paymer Writers: David Franzoni Synopsis: In 1839 a group of African slaves led by Cinque (Hounsou) escape and kill the crew of the Amistad, the ship transporting them from Cuba to the U.S. They are soon captured by the U.S. Navy and imprisoned as runaway slaves in Connecticut. The local abolitionist movement led by Mr. Tappan (Skarsgård) and Theodore Joadson (Freeman) enlist the help of a real estate lawyer, Roger Baldwin (McConaughey) to find a legal way to set the slaves free. Baldwin is successful in showing hat Cinque and his kin were not born on a plantation and, thus illegally acquired. However, in an effort to preserve a treaty with Spain and prevent a Civil War, John Forsyth (Paymer), the Secretary of State to President Martin Van Buren, takes the case...