I've Totally Seen That Movie Before

Disorganized Crime (1989) Director:  Jim Kouf Writer:  Jim Kouf Cast: Hoyt Axton, Corbin Bernsen,  Rubén Blades, Fred Gwynne, Ed O'Neill, Lou Diamond Phillips, Daniel Roebuck, William Russ Synopsis: Career criminal Frank Salazar (Bernsen) reaches out to four buddies to help him pull off a bank heist in small-town Montana. Before he can meet his colleagues, he is arrested by a pair of Detectives from Newark, George Denver (O'Neill) and Bill Lonigan (Roebuck). Unfortunately, Frank's accomplices - Max Green (Gwynne), Carlos Barrios (Blades), Ray Forgy (Phillips) and Nick Bartkowski (Russ) - are all unaware of his situation and make the trip to Montana anyway. While being transported back to New Jersey, Frank escapes police custody and goes on the lam. Meanwhile, the remaining four criminals must plan and pull off the intended job in less than a day. First Impressions: I didn't see this in theaters; I caught it a few years after release on home video. On my initial viewing,...

Iron Man (2008) Director: John Favreau Writer:  Stan Lee (characters), Don Heck (characters), Larry Lieber (characters), Jack Kirby (characters), Mark Fergus (screenplay), Hawk Ostby (screenplay), Art Marcum (screenplay), Matt Holloway (screenplay) Cast:  Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb, Shaun Toub, Faran Tahir, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, John Favreau Synopsis: While on a business trip to Iraq, billionaire weapons manufacturer Tony Stark (Downey) is attacked by terrorists. While he survives the attack, he is mortally wounded in the process, and fellow captive Yinsen (Toub) creates an electromagnet to prevent the shrapnel lodged in his chest from reaching his heart. In an attempt to escape captivity, Stark miniaturizes the electromagnet and uses it not only to keep him alive but to power a mechanical suit that he uses to fight his way out. Once he returns home, he begins refining the suit's design. However, he soon learns that his ...

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) Director: John Hughes Writer:  John Hughes Cast:  Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey, Cindy Pickett, Lyman Ward, Edie McClurg, Charlie Sheen, Ben Stein Synopsis: High school senior Ferris Bueller (Broderick) devises an elaborate plan to skip school one day. He talks his frequently-depressed best friend Cameron (Ruck) into stealing his father's classic Ferrari to head into Chicago for a day of fun with his girlfriend Sloan (Sara). While the kids enjoy their day in the big city, their high school principal, Ed Rooney (Jones), is convinced Ferris is playing hooky and is determined to catch him in the act. However, Ferris suspects as much and plans accordingly. 1980s Teen hijinks ensue. First Impression: This film didn't really interest me on its release. I was 10 years old and more concerned with the doings of the Transformers and G.I. Joe. As a result, I ended up catching it on video when I was about 15. The fi...

Never Cry Wolf (1983) Director:  Carroll Ballard Writers:  Farley Mowatt (novel), Curtis Hanson (screenplay), Sam Hamm (screenplay), Richard Kletter (screenplay), Charles Martin Smith (narration), Eugene Corr (narration), Christina Luescher (narration) Cast:  Charles Martin Smith, Brian Dennehy, Zachary Ittimangnaq, Samson Jorah Synopsis: Researcher Tyler (Martin Smith) is sent by the government to the Arctic to investigate the possibility that wolves are responsible for the reduction in the caribou population. He hires a local bush pilot, Rosie (Denney), to fly him to the wilderness to study the wolves in their natural habitat. After struggling alone his first few days in the harsh environment, Tyler meets the Inuit, Ootek (Ittimangnaq), who helps him learn about the wolves and himself and his place in the universe. First Impressions: I was about seven years old when I saw this movie on VHS for the first time. I thought the movie was neat as I really liked the idea of a ...