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...

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 ...