Richard Soto Movies
Nicolas Cage stars in the below-par action film Firebirds -- a dying ember from Reagan-era nationalistic jingoism. In this Top Gun retread, Cage plays Jake Preston, a hotshot Army helicopter pilot who is being trained to use the U.S. Army's Apache aircraft to destroy the drug fields of a South American drug cartel. It up to his taskmaster instructor Brad Little (Tommy Lee Jones) to teach Jake humble lessons before he can be trusted to launch into the skies against the drug dealers. While Jake is trying to tame his egoism, he engages in a torrid love affair with flying ace Billie Lee Guthrie (Sean Young). The film was originally titled Wings of the Apache for the U.S. Army Apache assault helicopters that are prominently displayed in the film. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, (more)
- 1989
Third Degree Burn, from concept to title, is an HBO-produced Body Heat clone. Treat Williams stars as a tough private eye involved in murder and cuckoldry. Virginia Madsen is the smouldering femme fatale. Here's what the ads for Third Degree Burn promised: "Passion in the third degree. Murder in the Second." And it's Williams who's framed for the murder of Madsen's husband. Evidently the flames evoked in Third Degree Burn caused those huge, gaping holes in the plotline. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Treat Williams, Virginia Madsen, (more)
- 1983
- PG
There was a genuine ballad behind The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, based on a real-life character. Cortez, a San Antonio cowpoke, was arrested in 1901 because he resembled the actual criminal. Unable to speak English, Cortez fights off the authorities, inadvertently killing a sheriff in the process. His subsequent life and death as a fugitive from the Texas Rangers forms the core of this independently produced project. Adapted from a novel by Americo Paredes, Ballad of Gregorio Cortez stars Edward James Olmos (who wrote some of the film's incidental music) in the title role. Originally produced for PBS' American Playhouse, the film was released to theatres in 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edward James Olmos, Tom Bower, (more)
