John Stark Movies
Bruce Willis returns as misfit cop John McClane in the third film in the Die Hard series. McClane has fallen on hard times; after moving to New York City and breaking up with his wife, he's developed a drinking problem and has been suspended from the NYPD. However, his past comes back to haunt him in the form of Simon (Jeremy Irons), a terrorist bomber who has been using McClane as his contact as he plants a series of bombs in public places and gives McClane inane "clues" to their whereabouts in the form of riddles and bizarre games. McClane soon discovers he's been involved in Simon's scheme as part of a personal grudge; while associated with an international terrorist group, Simon is also the brother of the man McClane threw off the side of a skyscraper several years back (in the original Die Hard). Now McClane, with the help of a Harlem shopkeeper named Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson), has to find out where Simon has planted the bombs, guess where he'll strike next, and try to find his base of operations before more bombs go off and thousands of people die. The supporting cast features Graham Greene and Colleen Camp; singer Sam Phillips made her acting debut as a member of Simon's terrorist group (Phillips never speaks, so as to not to reveal her Texas accent). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, (more)
On the eve of his Hawaiian vacation, irresponsible high school teacher Mark Harmon is forced into teaching a summer school class. His students are all malcontents and layabouts with the standard repertoire of teenaged hangups and hostilities (two of the kids, who can't see enough slasher movies to suit them, are hilarious precursors to Beavis and Butt-Head). Harmon would rather spend his time with history teacher Kirstie Alley, but she doesn't think much of his laziness and lack of dedication. Harmon finally begins to take his job seriously when he realizes his students' problems are not all of their own making. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley, (more)
Based on a novel by H. G. Wells, a group of bloodthirsty, oversized creatures (including rats, chickens, wasps, and worms) have taken over a remote island after ingesting a mysterious growth known as "Food of the Gods." It is up to an unusual group of people to put an end to this animal threat. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, (more)
- 1956
Foreign Intrigue was one of the first major Hollywood films to be based on a popular TV series. Robert Mitchum stars as an American press agent who travels the length and breadth of Europe to learn the past of a recently deceased multimillionaire. After stopovers at the Riviera, Stockholm and Vienna, Mitchum learns that the dead man accumulated his wealth by blackmailing war criminals and Nazi collaborators--all of whom would be happy if Mitchum would disappear, or die, or both. In her first English-language film, Ingrid Thulin (billed as Tulean) plays one of the hero's several amours, as does the toothsome Genevieve Page, likewise making her first American film appearance. After a brief but profitable theatrical release, Foreign Intrigue returned to its roots when producer Sheldon Reynolds sold the picture to TV in 1958. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Geneviève Page, (more)
- 1940
- NR
The Nazi Party's rise to power has disastrous consequences for a German family in this drama. Victor Roth (Frank Morgan) is a college professor teaching in Germany in 1933 who leads a peaceful and contented life with his wife Emelie (Irene Rich), son Rudi (Gene Reynolds), daughter Freya (Margaret Sullavan), and stepsons Otto (Robert Stack) and Erich (William T. Orr). However, Adolph Hitler's emergence as Germany's ruler has an unexpected impact on their lives. Fritz (Robert Young) and Martin (James Stewart) both vie for Freya's hand in marriage, but anti-Nazi activist Martin is forced to flee to Austria, while Freya is disturbed by Fritz's membership in a pro-fascist group. Victor repudiates Hitler's theories about Aryan superiority in class, and he not only loses his teaching position, but he is sentenced to a concentration camp. And while Emelie and Rudi join Freya as she tries to escape to Martin's new home in Austria, they find themselves hunted by Otto and Erich, now members of the Hitler Youth. The Mortal Storm was perhaps the most explicitly anti-Nazi film made in Hollywood prior to America's entry into WWII, and it resulted in all of MGM's product being banned in Germany. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, (more)
- 1940
This cautionary pre-World War II drama stars Joan Bennett as an American girl who falls in love and marries a German (Francis Lederer) in 1938. At first he seems charming, but Joan discovers that her husband is slowly being seduced by the Nazi Party. Determined to leave, Bennett is forced to battle Lederer for custody of their child, whom the husband plans to raise as a budding Fascist. The Nazi is foiled by his father(Otto Kruger), who crushes Lederer's "iron will" by informing his son that his own mother was Jewish. At 77 minutes, The Man I Married cuts out all slack, and the result is a taut, exciting melodrama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Bennett, Francis Lederer, (more)
