I've Totally Seen That Movie Before

Heat (1995) Director:  Michael Mann Cast:  Robert DeNiro, Al Pachino, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Natalie Portman, Mykeleti Williamson, Wes Studi, Ted Levine, Dennis Haysbert, William Fitchner, Jon Voight, Tom Noonan, Hank Azaria Writer:  Michael Mann Synopsis: Neil McCauley (DeNiro) leads a crew of ruthless bank robbers taking down scores around Los Angeles. After their recent job goes wrong and results in the murder of three armored car guards, McCauley and his crew draw the attention of LAPD Robbery Homicide detective Vincent Hanna (Pachino). What follows is an epic cat-and-mouse game as Hanna attempts to track down and stop McCauley before he can take down his next score. In the process of the hunt, Hanna and McCauley grow to respect one another, despite being on opposite sides of the law.  First Impressions: I did not see Heat in theaters, in fact when it was released I wasn't even aware of its existence. Despite the criti...

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) Director:  Renny Harlin Cast:  Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Yvonne Zima, Craig Bierko, Tom Amandes, Brian Cox, Patrick Malahide, David Morse Writer:  Shane Black Synopsis: Samantha Caine (Davis) woke up on a beach eight years ago remembering nothing about who she was or or how she came to be on that beach. The only thing she knew was that she was pregnant with her daughter Caitlin (Zima). Over the ensuing years, Samantha built the idyllic life, she became a teacher and got engaged to Hal (Amandes). When she suffers a blow to the head during a car accident, Samantha begins to remember pieces of her old life and when a crazed murderer breaks into her home in an attempt to kill her, she realizes that her past may be more dangerous than she realized. She enlists the help of low-rent private investigator Mitch Henessey (Jackson) to help her find out who she really is and why people are trying to kill her. In the process Sam and Mitch uncover a...

Hard Target (1993) Director: John Woo Cast:  Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lance Henriksen, Yancy Butler, Arnold Vosloo, Willie C. Carpenter, Kasi Lemmons, Eliott Keener, Wilfred Brimley Writer:  Chuck Pfarrer Synopsis: Natasha Binder (Butler) travels to New Orleans to find her estranged father, Douglas, whom she soon discovers was homeless and living on the streets. After saving her from an attempted mugging, she enlists the help of local sailor Chance Boureaux (Van Damme) to help her find her father. As they investigate, they discover that Douglas was murdered by a shadowy criminal organization run by Emil Fouchon (Henriksen), which allows the super-rich to hunt homeless people for a substantial fee. Nat and Chance are soon on the run from Fouchon and his sidekick Pik van Cleef (Vosloo) who chase them into the bayou as they try to keep their presence a secret. First Impressions: I saw this movie on video back in 1994 and it was my first experience with the movies of acclaimed Hong ...

42 (2013) Director: Brian Helgeland   Cast:  Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, Lucas Black, Andre Holland, Alan Tudyk, John C. McGinley   Writers: Brian Helgeland   Synopsis: Branch Rickey (Ford), the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946, decides it's time for baseball's color barrier to fall. To that end, Rickey chooses Jackie Robinson (Boseman) to be the first African-American to play in the MLB. However, Jackie's road isn't so easy as he faces intense racism not only from opposing teams and umpires but also his own teammates. The film takes us through Jackie's rise through the minor leagues and his eventual landmark first season with the Dodgers in 1947.   First Impressions: I love baseball and I was extremely excited to see this movie. Unfortunately, my group of friends that I normally watch movies with, don't care for the game as much as I do. Since I don't like going to movies alone, I didn't se...