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 ...

Unforgiven (1992) Director:  Clint Eastwood Writer:  David Webb Peoples Cast:  Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris, Jaimz Woolvett, Saul Rubinek, Frances Fisher, Anna Thompson, Anthony James Synopsis: Reformed gunfighter and down on his luck pig farmer William Munny (Eastwood) is convinced to go back to his former life by The "Schofield Kid" (Woolvett) to collect a $1,000 bounty on a pair of cowboys who assaulted a prostitute. Along with William's former partner Ned Logan (Freeman), the trio travel to Big Whiskey, Wyoming, to kill the offending cowboys and collect the payment. Trouble arises when Big Whiskey's sheriff, the famous Little Bill Daggett (Hackman), finds out about the bounty and takes steps to discourage anyone from trying to collect, including brutally beating the well-known gunhand English Bob (Harris). Soon after arriving in town, Will runs afoul of Little Bill, and the group must find a way to complete their task while avoiding...

My Fellow Americans (1996) Director: Peter Segal Writers:  E. Jack Kaplan, Richard Chapman, Peter Tolan Cast:  Jack Lemmon, James Garner, Dan Aykroyd, John Heard, Wilford Brimley, Lauren Bacall, Sela Ward, Everett McGill, Bradley Whitford, James Rebhorn Synopsis: Former U.S. Presidents and bitter political rivals Russell P. Kramer (Lemon) and Matt Douglas (Garner) are caught in the middle of a kickback scheme involving the current president, William Haney (Aykroyd). Lost in the wilderness, after a failed attempt to kill them,  Kramer and Douglas must learn to overcome their dislike of each other to uncover the conspiracy while dodging repeated attempts on their life by the insane Col Tanner (McGill). Hilarity ensues. First Impressions: I caught this film on home video and wasn't really aware of its existence before spotting it on the shelf at Blockbuster. I was acquainted with Lemon and Garner after watching them in Grumpy Old Men  and Maverick,  respectively, a...

Last of the Mohicans (1992) Director:  Michael Mann Writers:  James Fenimore Cooper (novel), John L. Balderston (adaptation), Paul Perez (adaptation), Daniel Moore (adaptation), Phillip Dunne (1936 screenplay), Michael Mann (screenplay), Christopher Crowe (screenplay) Cast:  Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeline Stowe, Russel Means, Eric Schweig, Jodhi May, Steven Waddington, Wes Studi, Maurice Roëves, Patrice Chéreau, Edward Blatchford, Terry Kinney Synopsis: In 18th century North America during the French and Indian War, Hawkeye (Day-Lewis), a white man adopted by Chingachgook (Means) and his son Uncas (Schweig), the last member of a dying tribe called the Mohicans, unwittingly becomes the protector of Cora (Stowe) and Alice (May) the two daughters of  British Colonel Munro (Roëves). The sisters have been targeted by Magua (Studi), a sadistic and vengeful Huron warrior who has dedicated his life to destroying the girls' father for past injustices. When the girls are...