I've Totally Seen That Movie Before

Dredd (2012) Director:  Pete Travis Writers:  John Wagner (characters), Carlos Ezquerra (characters), Alex Garland (screenplay) Cast:  Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Rakie Ayola, Lena Headey, Warrick Grier, Wood Harris, Domhnall Gleeson Synopsis: Judge Dredd (Urban), Mega City 1's most notorious Street Judge, is assigned to train and evaluate Cadet Judge Anderson (Thirlby). The pair are called on to investigate a trio of murders in the high-rise slum tower, Peach Trees, controlled by the gangster Ma-Ma (Headey). Dredd and Anderson manage to capture one of Ma-Ma's lieutenants, Kay (Harris) and attempt to bring him back to the Hall of Justice for interrogation. In response, Ma-Ma locks down Peach Trees to prevent Kay from revealing that the building is the gang's primary manufacturing and distribution center for the illegal narcotic, Slo-Mo. Dredd and Andreson must fight to survive as Ma-Ma offers a reward to anybody who kills them. Violence ensues. First Impressions:   A...

The Jackal (1997) Director:  Michael Caton-Jones Writers:  Kenneth Ross (earlier screenplay Day of the Jackal ), Chuck Pfarrer (screenplay) Cast:  Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier, Diane Venora, Mathilda May, J.K. Simmons, Richard Linebeck, John Cunningham, Jack Black, David Hayman Synopsis: After his brother is killed during a joint raid between Russian authorities and the FBI, Russian mobster Terek Murad (Hayman) hires the elusive hitman known only as the Jackal (Willis) to kill a high-profile American target. The FBI's Deputy Director Carter Preston (Poitier) and Russian militia officer Major Koslova (Venora) are tasked with finding the Jackal and stopping him before completing his task. Preston and Koslova solicit the help of Declan Mulqueen (Gere), a former IRA sharpshooter and one of the few people known to have actually seen the Jackal, to help in their mission.  First Impressions: Pretty sure I saw this one in theaters when I was in my early 20s. I ...

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) Director:  Frank Oz Writers: Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro, Paul Henning Cast:  Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly, Antone Rodgers, Barbara Harris, Ian McDiarmid Synopsis: Lawrence Jamieson (Caine) earns his living by conning wealthy and corrupt women in the French Riviera by posing as a deposed European prince who needs money to finance his secret war to liberate his oppressed people. He encounters small-time con man Freddie Benson (Martin), whose presence in the small resort town of Beaumont-sur-Mer could jeopardize everything Lawrence has worked to achieve. Lawrence and his friend, local police chief Andre (Rodgers), believe Freddie is the notorious Jackal, a con man whose true identity is unknown, working his way through Europe. To get Freddie out gracefully, Lawrence takes him in and tries to get him out of the area gracefully. When this fails, the pair devise a bet in which the winner is the first to solicit $50,000 from the American...

Broken Arrow (1996) Director: John Woo Writer:  Graham Yost Cast:  John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Delroy Lindo, Bob Gunton, Frank Whaley, Howie Long, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Kurtwood Smith Synopsis: Air Force pilots Vic Deakins (Travolta) and Riley Hale (Slater) are sent on a training mission to fly a B-2 stealth bomber carrying two live nuclear missiles to test for radiation emissions over the Utah desert. When Deakins attempts to kill Hale as part of his plan to steal the nukes and ransom them back to the U.S. government for $250 million, the bomber crashes. During the struggle, the bombs are deployed and become lost in the desert. With the help of park ranger Abbey Carmichael (Mathis), Hale must disarm both bombs before Deakins can use them to blow up a large portion of the American Southwest. Violence ensues.  First Impressions: I don't think I caught this one in theaters, but I did watch it some months later on home video. At this point, I was already ...

Gladiator (2000) Director: Ridley Scott Writers: Dave Franzoni (story & screenplay),  John Logan (screenplay), William Nicholson (screenplay) Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, David Scofield, Tomas Arana, Spencer Treat Clark, Tommy Flanagan, Ralf Moeller Synopsis: Hero of the Roman Empire General Maximus (Crowe) is chosen by the dying emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Harris), to lead Rome after his death and return power to the senate. Before the emperor's wishes can be made know, he is murdered by his son, Commodus (Phoenix), who orders the death of both Maximus and his family. The general escapes death but is sold into slavery and finds his way into the fighting pits of the outer provinces. Fueled by a desire for revenge, Maximus finds his way to Rome. Still, Commodus has grown powerful, and Maximus requires the assistance of the new emperor's sister, Lucila (Neilsen), to kill Commodus and restore the...

Predator (1987) Director:  John McTiernan Writer:  Jim Thomas, John Thomas Cast:  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall, Elipidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves, Shane Black Synopsis: A team of special forces ops., led by Major "Dutch" Schaefer (Schwarzenegger), are ordered to assist CIA agent Al Dillon (Weathers) on a mission to rescue potential survivors of a helicopter crash deep in the jungles of South America. Shortly after finding the chopper, Dutch discovers that he and his team were sent on the mission under false pretenses and are forced to deal with a group of well-armed rebels. However, the deception turns out to be the least of their problems, as they soon discover they are being hunted by an unknown entity. Violence ensues.  First Impressions: I missed this one in theaters because I was still a bit young when this film was released. However, I was able to catch it shortly afterward on home video at a fr...

Romancing the Stone (1984) Director: Robert Zemeckis Writer:  Diane Thomas Cast:  Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Zack Norman, Alfonso Arau, Manuel Ojeda, Holland Taylor, Mary Ellen Trainor Synopsis: Mousy romance novelist Joan Wilder (Turner) is sent a treasure map in the mail from her recently deceased brother-in-law. She is told by criminals Ira (Norman) and Ralph (DeVito) that she must travel to Colombia to give the map to them in exchange for her sister Elaine (Trainor), who they had kidnapped. Joan complies with the demands, and upon arriving in Colombia, she becomes lost in the jungle after being waylaid by the mysterious Colonel Zolo (Ojeda), who also wants the map. She is rescued by Jack Colton (Douglas), who agrees to bring her back to civilization and eventually convinces her to seek the treasure as leverage for her sister's life.  First Impressions: I know; this seems like the last movie that I would watch, let alone review. However, this film ...