I've Totally Seen That Movie Before

Red Dragon (2002) Director:  Brett Ratner Writer:  Thomas Harris (novel), Ted Tally (screenplay) Cast:  Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Anthony Heald, Ken Leung, Frankie Faison, Tyler Patrick Jones Synopsis: A remake of the 1986 film Manhunter .  Will Graham (Norton) is a retired FBI profiler living in Florida with his wife Molly (Parker) and son Kevin (Jones). He was once one of the Bureau's top profilers but he was forced to retire after being wounded and traumatized following his capture of the notorious Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins). Graham is visited by his former boss and friend Jack Crawford (Keitel) who asks him to get back into the game by helping him catch a serial killer known as the Tooth Fairy (Fiennes), who kills on the full moon. Will reluctantly agrees but the Tooth Fairy proves to be elusive and Graham comes up empty at every turn. Desperate and with time running...

Manhunter (1986) Director:  Michael Mann Writers:  Thomas Harris (novel), Michael Mann (screenplay) Cast:  William Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Dennis Farina, Stephen Lang, Tom Noonan, David Seaman, Benjamin Hendrickson, Michael Talbott, Dan Butler Synopsis: Will Graham (Petersen) is a retired FBI profiler living in Florida with his wife Molly (Greist) and son Kevin (Seaman). He was once one of the Bureau's top profilers but he was forced to retire after being wounded and traumatized following his capture of the notorious Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Cox). Graham is visited by his former boss and friend Jack Crawford (Farina) who asks him to get back into the game by helping him catch a serial killer known as the Tooth Fairy (Noonan), who kills on the full moon. Will reluctantly agrees but the Tooth Fairy proves to be elusive and Graham comes up empty at every turn. desperate with time running short until the next full moon, Will decides to ask Lecktor for advice...

Sicario (2015) Director:  Denis Villeneuve Writer:  Taylor Sheridan Cast:  Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, Jon Bernthal, Victor Garber, Daniel Kaluuya, Jeffrey Donovan, Julio Cesar Cedillo, Maximilliano Hernandez Synopsis: FBI agent Kate Macer (Blunt) is recruited to work on a special operations team devoted to combating Mexican drug cartels operating in the southern states. Macer, who has seen first-hand the violence perpetrated by the cartels, reluctantly joins the team but is wary of its leader, Matt Graver (Brolin), who claims to be with the Department of Defense. Kate soon learns that the unit operates within its own rules, using methods and tactics that would not generally be considered  "legal." While she disagrees with Graver's methods, Kate understands that the cartels don't play by the rules either. She is then left to decide whether the ends justify the means. First Impressions: I saw this one in theaters back in 2015. It was one of those films...

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...

The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) Director: Stephen Hopkins Writer:  William Goldman Cast:  Val Kilmer, Michael Douglas, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill, Brian McCardie, Emily Mortimer, Om Puri, Henry Cele Synopsis: In 1896 Lt. Col. John Patterson (Kilmer) was hired by Robert Beaumont (Wilkinson) to build a railway bridge across the River Tsavo in East Africa. Soon after he arrives, workers start to go missing from the work camp. Patterson discovers that the disappearances are being caused by a pair of man-eating lions. After several unsuccessful attempts to kill the beasts, which the workers have named "The Ghost and the Darkness," Patterson falls behind schedule on building the bridge. To get things back on track, Beaumont calls in the professional hunter, Remington (Douglas), to assist Patterson in his efforts to hunt the lions. However, the lions continue to kill and eat workers despite the hunter's presence, causing most of them to flee the camp, forcing Remin...

Thirteen Days (2000) Director:  Roger Donaldson Writers:  David Self (screenplay), Ernest R, May (book), Philip D. Zelikow (book) Cast:  Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Frank Wood, Steven Culp, Dylan Baker, Bill Smitrovich, Henry Strozier, Ed Lauter, Michael Fairman, Tim Kelleher, Dan Ziskie, Len Cariou, Kevin Conway, Christopher Lawford Synopsis: In October 1962, U.S. spy planes discovered evidence that the U.S.S.R secretly placed nuclear missiles in Cuba. These missiles have the potential to wipe out most of the Eastern and Southeastern United States. President John F. Kennedy (Greenwood) must develop a plan to prevent the missiles from becoming operational. It's not so simple, as Kennedy must protect the U.S.'s interests while ensuring that any action that he does take won't result in a Soviet response in Europe. To make matters worse, Kennedy's military advisors strongly push for military action as they look to save face after the Bay of Pigs fiasco.  First Impre...

The Fugitive (1993) Director: Andrew Davis Writers:  Jeb Stuart (screenplay), David Twohy (screenplay), Roy Huggins (characters) Cast:  Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Julianne Moore, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas, Jeroen Krabbé, Daniel Roebuck, L. Scott Caldwell, Tom Wood, Ron Dean, Joseph F. Kosala Synopsis:  Prominent vascular surgeon Dr. Richard Kimble (Ford) is wrongfully convicted of his wife Helen's (Ward) murder. After the prison bus he was being transported in crashes following another prisoner's escape attempt, Kimble manages to free himself and goes on the lam. With his newfound freedom, Kimble sets out to not only prove his innocence but to uncover the identity of his wife's killer. Making things more difficult is Deputy U.S. Marshall Sam Gerard (Jones), who is determined to bring Kimble in at any cost. First Impressions: I missed this one in the theaters but caught it months later on home video. I was drawn to the film, partly because it was a p...

The Score (2001) Director:  Frank Oz Writers: Daniel E. Taylor (story), Kario Salem (story), Lem Dobbs (screenplay) Cast:  Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, Marlon Brando, Angela Bassett, Gary Farmer, Paul Soles, Jamie Harold, Serge Houde, Richard Waugh, Mark Camacho Synopsis: Aging thief Nick (DeNiro), who is on the verge of retirement, is pressured by fixer Max (Brando) into doing one final job that could set him up for life. The job is set up by the hot-headed Jack (Norton) and involves breaking into the Montreal Customs House to steal a priceless scepter that's been confiscated. With so much to lose, Nick agrees to the job but insists that he runs the show. Jack agrees but soon grows resentful of what he feels is a lack of respect from Nick. As more and more problems pop up, Nick begins to doubt the operation will be a success, but with such a high potential payoff, he ignores his better judgment and presses on. First Impressions: I made sure to see this one in theaters. I was...

In the Line of Fire (1993) Directer:  Wolfgang Petersen Writer:  Jeff Maguire Cast:  Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott, Gary Cole, Fred Thompson, John Mahoney, Gregory Alan Williams, Jim Curley, Clyde Kusatsu, Steve Hynter Synopsis: Veteran Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan (Eastwood), who was assigned to JFK in 1963, is a legend in the agency as he is the only active agent to have lost a president, a fact that continues to haunt him to this day. Those memories come flooding back when he and his partner, Al (McDermott), are assigned to investigate a threat on President Traveler's (Curley) life by the deranged ex-CIA agent Mitch Leary (Malkovich). Leary has spent hours studying Horrigan and his involvement in the events at Dallas, and he taunts Frank with phone calls about his failure that day. Frank must track Leary down before the violent sociopath can carry out his plans to assassinate the President. First Impressions: I caught this one on vi...