I've Totally Seen That Movie Before

Valkyrie (2008) Director: Bryan Singer Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, Nathan Alexander Cast:  Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Carice van Houten, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard, Kevin McNally, Christian Berkel Jamie Parker, David Bamber, Tom Hollander, David Schofield. Kenneth Cranham, Halina Reijn Synopsis: Disillusioned by the Third Reich and Adolph Hitler's (Bamber) leadership, crippled war hero Col. Claus von Stauffenberg and a group of like-minded German officers decide to try and save their country, and thousands of lives, before the Allies close in on Berlin. They realize the only way to save Germany is to kill Hitler and overthrow the government. Stauffenberg partners with an influential cabal of high-ranking officials and politicians and together they devise a scheme to modify Operation Valkyrie, Hitler's emergency plan intended to restore civil order in the event of a coup. The also devise a plan to kill Hitler using concealed ...

Platoon (1986) Director:  Oliver Stone Writer:  Oliver Stone Cast: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn, Kevin Dillon, John C. McGinley, Reggie Johnson, Mark Moses, Corey Glover, Johnny Depp, Chris Pedersen, Bob Orwig, Corkey Ford, David Neidorf, Richard Edson, Tony Todd Synopsis: In 1967, Chris Taylor (Sheen) opts to drop out of university to volunteer for combat in the Vietnam War. However, things aren't as he imagined they would be as he is ostracized by the rest of his platoonmates because he hasn't put his time in yet. The platoon is led by two non-commissioned officers, the intense and ill-tempered SSgt. Barnes (Berenger) and the more pleasant Sgt. Elias (Dafoe), who often butt heads when it comes to leading them men. The conflict between the two NCOs is intensified when Barnes commits an illegal killing during the raid of a Vietnamese village pulling the whole platoon into conflict. As the war drags on, Chris is pulled...

We Were Soldiers (2002) Director:  Randall Wallace Writers:  Harold G. Moore (book), Joseph Lee Galloway (book), Randall Wallace (screenplay) Cast:  Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliot, Chris Klein, Keri Russel, Barry Pepper, Duong Don, Ryan Hurst, Robert Bagnell, Jon Hamm, Clark Gregg Synopsis: The story of the first major engagement between U.S. forces and the N.V.A , when the 7th Cavalry Division fought against overwhelming odds in Vietnam's Ia Drag Valley. told from the perspective of the U.S. commander, Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Gibson), We Were Soldiers  follows the 7th Cav. from training in the use of helicopters as combat transports, all the way through the fateful battle and the aftermath. The film also follows the N.V.A. commander, Lt. Col. Nguyen Huu An as he tries to out-strategize Moore to claim victory for his vastly superior force.  First Impressions: I saw this one in the theaters with my group of friends. I've always been drawn to wa...

U-571 (2000) Director:  Johnathan Mostow Writers:  Johnathan Mostow (story), Sam Montgomery (screenplay) David Ayer (screenplay) Cast:  Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, David Keith, Thomas Kretschmann, Jake Weber, Jack Noseworthy, Tom Guiry, Will Estes, Terrence Carson, Erik Palladino Synopsis: In the midst of World War II, German U-boats have helped the Nazis control the shipping lanes between North America and Europe. The Nazis have the upper hand due to the effectiveness of the Enigma coding machine, which allows the U-boats to communicate freely with their commanders in Germany. The Allies are desperate to get a hold of working Enigma, and when a damaged U-boat sends out an SOS after an encounter with a British Destroyer, they jump on the opportunity. The U.S. Navy disguises the S-33, and old sub from the previous war, as a Nazi rescue sub to overtake the damaged German vessel and secure the Enigma, without Germany learning of its comprom...

Enemy at the Gates (2001) Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud Cast: Jude Law, Ed Harris, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins, Ron Perlman Writers:  Jean-Jacques Annaud, Alain Godard Synopsis: During the Battle for Stalingrad, political officer Danilov (Fiennes) turns a young Russian sniper named Vassili Zaytsev (Law) into a folk hero and a symbol of Soviet resistance against the Nazis for his sharpshooting abilities. The Nazis, unused to fighting a war against guerrilla tactics, call in their own sharpshooter, Major  König (Harris) to hunt down and kill Zaytsev. What follows is a cat and mouse game as each sniper attempts to out-think the other and gain the upper hand set against  the backdrop of one of the most brutal battles or the war.  First Impressions: I saw this movie in theaters when it was released and I remember enjoying it quite a bit. The early part of the aughts saw quite a few movies about the former Soviet Union and this...

Black Hawk Down (2001) Director: Ridley Scott Cast:  Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Ewen Bremner, Sam Shepard, Ron Eldard, Jeremy Piven, Jason Isaacs, Johnny Strong, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Orlando Bloom Writers:  Mark Bowden (book), Ken Nolan (screenplay) Synopsis: In October 1993, the U.S. Army Rangers and Delta Force stationed in Somolia to help provide humanitarian aid are sent on a raid into the heart of the city of Mogadishu to capture two top Lieutenants of the local warlord. The raid was only supposed to take a half and hour but after one of the Army's Black Hawk helicopters is shot down, the  mission takes a turn for the worse. The movie follows a number of troops on the ground including Sgt. Eversman (Hartnett), Cpl. Grimes (McGregor) and Hoot (Bana) as they not only try to protect the injured trapped in the downed chopper but also try to survive the night as thousands Somali militia try to kill them. Fir...

First Blood (1982) Director:  Ted Kotcheff Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Brian Dennehy, Richard Crenna, Bill McKinney, Jack Starrett, Chris Mulkey, David Caruso Writers:   David Morell (based on the novel by), Michael Kozoll (screenplay) Synopsis: Former Green Beret and Vietnam vet John Rambo (Stallone) wanders into a small town in the Pacific Northwest, where he is arrested for vagrancy by corrupt sheriff Will Teasle (Dennehy). After suffering abuse at the hands of Teasle's deputies, Rambo snaps and escapes custody, injuring several deputies in the process, and flees into the nearby hills. During the manhunt, deputy Art Galt (Starrett) is killed in a helicopter accident. The death pushes Teasle over the edge and he becomes consumed with finding Rambo. Colonel Trautman (Crenna), Rambo's former superior officer, is brought in to help the local authorities bring him to justice.  First Impressions: This movie came out in fall of 1982, when I wa...