Ray Saniger Movies

Stephen Frears' Hero is a contemporary re-working of a Frank Capra-styled fable about a two-bit criminal named Bernie (Dustin Hoffman) who saves several passengers from a plane crash and leaves the scene without being identified, leaving only a lost shoe for identification. One of the passengers happens to be news-reporter Gale (Geena Davis) who is intent on finding her savior, and offers a million dollars to the "hero" of the crashed flight. Bernie has since given his remaining shoe to a homeless man named John (Andy Garcia) who decides to cash in on the offer. A handsome, charming man, John wins the hearts of the entire city. Soon, Bernie realizes that he's been cheated out of a million dollars, and he begins an effort to get his proper recognition--and his money. Hero manages to be quite funny and satirical while sticking to a story that is essentially a Hollywood fable. That is to the credit of director Frears and the cast, who turn in uniformly excellent performances. Nevertheless, Hoffman is superb as a bitterly comic and spiteful variation on his classic Ratso Rizzo character. By the way, be on the lookout for Chevy Chase in a very funny cameo. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

A typical Chuck Norris vehicle from the late '70s, Breaker! Breaker! is neither the first nor the last Hollywood attempt to translate the wide appeal of trucking into big-screen profits. Alhough, it is probably the least successful. In this "modern" Western, a small California town is ruled by the nefarious Judge Josh. Using CB technology, the Judge and his gang of henchman lure wayward truckers into their town in order to do them bodily harm. Eventually their evil ways catch up to them in the form of J.D. Dawes (Norris), who comes in search of his brother. What he finds, however, is nothing a little Tae Kwan Do and a case of dynamite can't fix. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide

A young medical student named Mark (Marland Proctor) inherits a decrepit ranch/tourist attraction from his late uncle, and must turn a profit with the enterprise within six months in order to possess it fully. He invites his fiancee, Brenda (Claudia Ream) and a gaggle of their freaky hippie friends to start living on the property and brainstorm some ways to make "Callahan's Old West" a success. However, the ranch's caretaker, Solomon (B. G. Fisher) warns the kids that an eerie spectral presence haunts the area, a headless horseman who rides through the night seeking revenge for a deadly shootout that occurred at the ranch in 1928. Sure enough, the mysterious horseman begins appearing, splashing blood from a disembodied head over the frightened hippies and driving some to accidental deaths. When gold is discovered in the land the ranch occupies, suspicions arise that perhaps the headless rider isn't a ghostly presence at all. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide