I've Totally Seen That Movie Before

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Director: Steven Spielberg Writer:  Melissa Mathison Cast:  Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, K.C. Martel, Sean Frye, C. Thomas Howell Synopsis: A lone alien botanist is stranded in a California suburb after his ship leaves without him. The alien is discovered by Elliott (Thomas), a young boy who lives in the area. Elliott befriends the alien and introduces them to his brother Michael (MacNaughton) and his sister Gertie (Barrymore). The alien, who the children have named E.T., forms a strong telepathic bond with Elliott that allows the two to experience each others feelings. The children soon learn that earth is not the safest place for E.T., who is trying to build a transmitter to call his ship so he can return home. However, government agents have become aware of the E.T.'s existence and have begun scouring the neighborhood for the alien. First Impressions: My first impression of this movie is that ...

Rules of Engagement (2000) Director: William Friedkin Writers:  Jim Webb (story), Stephen Gaghan (screenplay) Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley, Bruce Greenwood, Anne Archer, Blair Underwood, Philip Baker Hall, Dale Dye, Amidou Synopsis: Col. Terry Childers (Jackson) is accused of murder following a mission to protect staffers at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen during a protest. During the mission, Childers orders his men to fire into the crowd, resulting in the death of many civilians, who may or may not have been armed. To lead his defense, Childers requests his old friend Col. Hayes Hodges (Jones), a marine lawyer wounded in Vietnam and only a couple of weeks from retirement. Hodges initially resists the request but eventually relents because Childers saved his life in Vietnam and he feels he owes him. Meanwhile, certain officials with the U.S. State Department wish to make an example of Childers to help restore the country's reputation in the Middle E...

Top Gun (1986) Director: Tony Scott Writers: Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Ehud Yonay (magazine article "Top Guns"), Warren Skaaren (screenplay; uncredited) Cast:  Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside, John Stockwell, Barry Tubb, Rick Rossovich, Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan, Whip Hubley, James Tolkan Synopsis: Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Cruise), an impetuous and unpredictable fighter pilot, is selected to attend the the Navy's elite dogfighting school in Miramar, CA., known to pilots as Top Gun. During training, Maverick competes with Lt. Tom "Iceman" Kasansky (Kilmer) for the coveted Top Gun award, which is given to the best pilot during training. Its not all smooth sailing, however, as Maverick is dogged by his less-than-stellar reputation and that of his father, who died under mysterious circumstances during the Vietnam War. To complicate matter further, Maverick sparks up a romance with Charlie (McGillis), ...

The 6th Day (2000) Director:  Roger Spottiswoode Writer:  Cormac Wibberly, Marianne Wibberly Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger,   Micahel Rapaport, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rooker, Sarah Wynter, Wendy Crewson, Rodney Rowland, Terry Crews, Robert Duvall, Wanda Cannon, Taylor Reid Synopsis: In the near future, cloning technology has advanced to the point where it's possible to clone just about anything other than a human, which is illegal. Charter pilot Adma Gibson (Schwarzenegger) returns home from work to find a clone of himself with his family. But, before he can discover what's going on, he is attacked by a group of assailants who want him dead for some reason. Adam must escape and discover the truth about his clone from Michael Drucker (Goldwyn), the CEO of Replacement Technologies, a major conglomerate controlling cloning technology. Adam soon becomes embroiled in a massive conspiracy when all he wants is to get his life back. But is it really his life? First Impressions: I ca...

Dumb and Dumber (1994) Directors: Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly (uncredited) Writers:  Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly, Bennett Yellin Cast:  Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Lauren Holly, Mike Starr, Karen Duffy, Charles Rocket, Victoria Rowell, Hank Brandt, Teri Garr Synopsis: Lloyd Christmas (Carrey), a limo driver who's dumber than a sack full of bricks, takes his equally clueless roommate Harry Dunn (Daniels) on a cross-country trip from Providence to Aspen to return a briefcase left at the airport by his passenger Mary Swanson (Holly). Unbeknownst to the two idiots, the briefcase was left behind on purpose because it contained a sizable ransom payment for Mary's husband, who is currently kidnapped. Along their journey, Lloyd and Harry encounter all manner of obstacles, including angry truck drivers, hostile police officers, spicy peppers, diarrhea and, of course, the pair of hitmen sent to retrieve the briefcase. Hilarity ensues. First Impressions: I saw this in theaters when I...

Field of Dreams (1989) Director: Phil Alden Robinson Writers:  W.P. Kinsella (novel), Phil Alden Robinson (screenplay) Cast:  Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan, Gaby Hoffman, Timothy Busfield, Burt Lancaster, Frank Whaley, Dwier Brown Synopsis: Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (Costner) has the seemingly perfect life with his wife, Annie (Madigan) and his young daughter, Karin (Hoffman). However, one afternoon he hears a voice from inside his cornfield telling him to build a baseball diamond overtop of his crops. Despite the misgivings of Annie and other townsfolk, Ray goes ahead and makes the diamond, believing that it will somehow appease the ghost of disgraced former White Sox outfielder, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (Liotta), his deceased father's favorite player. Once the field is built, the spirit of the long-dead ballplayer appears one evening and soon invites his former teammates to play on the field with him. However, Ray believes the voice needs him to ...

The Batman (2022) Director:  Matt Reeves Writers:  Matt Reeves, Peter Craig, Bil Finger (characters), Bob Kane (characters) Cast:  Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, Peter Sarsgaard, Barry Keoghan, Jayme Lawson, Gil Perez-Abraham, Peter McDonald, Con O'Neill, Alex Ferns, Rupert Penry-Jones Synopsis: This reboot of the Batman franchise is set just two years into Bruce Wayne's (Pattinson) tenure as the Dark Knight. While most still fear him as a dangerous vigilante, Lt. Jim Gordon (Wright) has learned to trust the mysterious hero and calls him in to help investigate the murder of Gotham's mayor, Don Mitchel (Penry-Jones). The murderer, a serial killer calling himself the Riddler (Dano), left a clue for The Batman at the crime scene, and the Caped Crusader must decipher the madman's riddles before he can claim his next villain. The situation becomes more complicated when Batman encounters Selina Kyle (Kravit...