I've Totally Seen That Movie Before

Alien (1979) Director:  Ridley Scott Writers:  Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusset Cast:  Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto Synopsis: On their way back home from deep space, the crew of the commercial towing ship Nostromo receive an unknown distress signal emanating from a nearby planet. Under obligation by the company to investigate the source of the transmission, the crew set down on the planet and discover a derelict spacecraft of unknown design. A team consisting of Captain Dallas (Skerritt), Kane (Hurt) and Lambert (Cartwright) are sent to search the downed vessel. During the investigation, Kane comes into contact with an alien lifeform that attaches itself to his face. Against the objections of the ship's third officer, Ripley (Weaver), science officer Ash (Holm) allows the search party back aboard the ship. Ash wants to learn more about this new lifeform, but before he has the opportunity, it escapes...

Shaun of the Dead (2004) Director:  Edgar Wright Writers:  Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright Cast:  Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran, Penelope Wilton, Peter Serafinowicz, Bill Nighy Synopsis: Electronics store employee Shaun (Pegg) has no direction in life and spends most of his time drinking at his favorite pub, The Winchester, or playing video games with his slacker best friend, Ed (Frost). After being dumped by his long-time girlfriend Liz (Ashfield), Shaun goes on a bender with Ed and wakes up to find that London has been overrun with the living dead. Shaun and Ed ignore instructions to stay in their home and set out into the zombie-infested streets to rescue Liz, her roommates David (Moran) and Dianne (Davis), as well as his mother, Barbara (Wilton). Will the down-on-his-luck Shaun emerge as a hero, or will he end up just making things worse? Zombie hijinks ensue. First Impressions: I came to this film quite by accident. I had read about it somew...

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...

The Running Man (1987) Director:  Paul Michael Glaser Writers:  Stephen King (novel), Steven E. de Souza (screenplay) Cast:  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown, Jesse Ventura, Erland van Lidth, Marvin J. McIntyre, Gus Rethwisch, Professor Toru Tanaka, Mick Fleetwood, Dweezil Zappa, Richard Dawson Synopsis: In the near future of 2019, the world economy has collapsed, and the U.S. has sealed its borders and become a militarized police state. All art has been censored, with the cadres controlling all forms of media. Hunger and disease are rampant. When police officer Ben Richards (Schwarzennegger) refuses to fire on unarmed civilians during a protest, he is framed for their massacre and sent to prison. Following a daring jailbreak, Richards is recaptured and forced to participate in the country's most popular reality TV show, The Running Man, hosted by the sadistic Damon Killian (Dawson). With the help of two other convicts, Loughlin (Kotto...

X-Men (2000) Director:  Brian Singer Writers:  Tom DeSanto (story), Brian Singer (story), David Hayter (screenplay) Cast:  Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Tyler Mane, Ray Park, Rebecca Romijn, Bruce Davison Synopsis: In the near future, mutants are real, and they have extraordinary abilities. However, the existence of mutants is feared by the rest of humanity, resulting in a proposed law requiring these individuals to register with the government. Amid all of the fear and bigotry, the young mutant Rogue (Paquin) runs away from home after discovering her powers cause her to absorb the life force of anyone she touches. She meets the grizzled Wolverine (Jackman) in a remote tavern in Northern Canada, who agrees to let her travel with him. While on the road, the pair are attacked by a group of mutants loyal to Magneto (McKellan), a mutant who believes that a war is coming between mutants and humans. Rogue an...

Predator 2 (1990) Director:  Stephen Hopkins Writers:  Jim Thomas, John Thomas Cast:  Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Kevin Peter Hall, Rubén Blades, Maria Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton, Robert Davi, Adam Baldwin, Kent McCord, Morton Downey Jr., Calvin Lockhart Synopsis: While trying to stop an ongoing drug war in a decaying late 90s Los Angeles, LAPD lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Glover) and his team of detectives discover that someone or something is killing off members of rival gangs. As the killer makes his way through the ranks of LA's most violent drug gangs, a shadowy federal agent named Keyes (Busey) is brought on to investigate the matter further, much to Harrigan's chagrin. It's soon discovered that the murderer (Kevin Peter Hall) is not of this world and has chosen Harrigan as his next target. Violence ensues.  First Impressions:   This film came out when I was around 14, and I didn't get to see it in theaters because it was Rated R and my parents weren't cool. ...

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...