I've Totally Seen That Movie Before

The Goonies (1985) Director: Richard Donner Cast:  Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Kwan, John Matuszak, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano, Anne Ramsey Writers:  Chris Columbus (screenplay), Steven Spielberg (story) Synopsis:  Mikey Walsh (Astin) stumbles upon an old map leading to the treasure of the famous pirate One Eyed Willy. With his brother, Brandon (Brolin) and their friends Chunk (Cohen), Data (Kwan), Mouth (Feldman), Andy (Green) and Stef (Plimpton), Mikey sets out to find the lost treasure in the hopes of saving his family's home, which is about to be foreclosed on. Along the way, they run afoul of the Fratelli's, a family of criminals who just executed a daring daylight escape from the country jail. Ma Fratelli (Ramsey) finds out about the treasure and will stop at nothing to find it, even if it means going through the kids to get it.   First Impressions:  There are some movies that leave an i...

The Hunted (2003) Director:  William Friedkin Cast:  Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Connie Nielsen, Leslie Stefanson, John Finn, José Zúñiga, Ron Canada Writers:  David Griffiths, Peter Griffiths, Art Monterasteli Synopsis: Survivalist and former military trainer, L.T. Bonham (Jones) is called in by the FBI to assist in tracking down a killer responsible for several ritualistic murders in and around Portland, Oregon. Bonham soon discovers that the killer is Aaron Hallam (Del Toro), a former student of his whose experiences in the military have turned him into a remorseless killing machine. Once Hallam escapes custody, Bonham must use all of the skills at his disposal to track down Hallam and bring him to justice.  First Impressions: I saw this movie in theaters back when it was released in 2003. At the time, I remember enjoying it quite a bit. It stars two of the best actors of their respective generations and was helmed by a well...

The Survivors (1983) Director:  Michael Ritchie Cast:  Robin Williams, Walter Matthau, Jerry Reed, James Wainwright, Kristen Vigard, Annie McEnroe Writer:  Michael Leeson Synopsis: After losing their jobs, Donald Quinelle (Wiliams) and Sonny Paluso (Matthau) find themselves at a diner during a robbery. Donald and Sonny manage to foil the robbery, revealing the robber, Jack's (Reed) face in the process and Donald ends up being shot. Jack, who is a hired killer, discovers Donald and Sonny's identities and plans to kill them to keep his murderous activities secret. Sonny convinces him that he won't tell a soul who he is and tries to convince Donald to do the same. Unfortunately, recent experiences have caused Donald to go off the deep end and he joins a group of wacko survivalists in the Vermont wilderness. Instead of keeping quiet, Donald provokes Jack in an attempt to instigate an one-on-one duel with the hired gun. Hilarity ensues. First Impressions I was ...

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...

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) Director:  Peter Jackson Cast:  Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Viggo Mortensen, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, John Rhys-Davies, Karl Urban, Mirando Otto Hugo, Brad Dourif, Weaving, Liv Tyler, Christopher Lee, Bernard Hill, David Wenham, John Noble Writers:  J.R.R. Tolkien (novel), Fran Walsh (screenplay), Philippa Boyens (screenplay), Stephen Sinclair (screenplay), Peter Jackson (screenplay) Synopsis: As Frodo (Wood), Sam (Astin) continue their journey to Mt. Doom, Gollum (Serkis) begins to sow the seeds of dissent among the two Hobbits, with the hopes of procuring the ring for himself. Meanwhile, Gandalf (McKellan) and Pippin (Boyd) race to the city of Minas Tirith to help in its defense against the coming forces of Mordor. Aragon (Mortensen), Legolas (Bloom) and Gimli (Rhy-Davies) walk a dangerous road, seeking an advantage in the coming battle. Merry (Monaghan) looks to pr...

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) Director:  Peter Jackson Cast:  Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Viggo Mortensen, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, John Rhys-Davies, Karl Urban, Mirando Otto Hugo, Brad Dourif, Weaving, Liv Tyler, Christopher Lee, Bernard Hill, David Wenham Writers:  J.R.R. Tolkien (novel), Fran Walsh (screenplay), Philippa Boyens (screenplay), Stephen Sinclair (screenplay), Peter Jackson (screenplay) Synopsis: After the breaking of the Fellowship, Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Astin) continue on their journey to Mordor, with the assistance of the duplicitous Gollum (Serkis). Aragorn (Mortensen), Legolas (Bloom) and Gimli (Rhys-Davies) pursue a group of Uruk-Hai in an effort to rescue the capured Hobbits, Merry (Monaghan) and Pippin (Boyd) but instead get embroiled in a quest to free Theoden (Hill), King of Rohan from the influence of Saruman (Lee) and his agent Grima (Dourif). Meanwhile Merry and Pippin encounte...