Mike Muscat Movies
Arriving at a supermarket where a woman was abducted and murdered, Grissom (William L. Petersen) finds a message in the bathroom indicating that the killer has already struck five times before. Warrick (Gary Dourdan) and Sara (Jorja Fox) are reluctantly teamed as they investigate a robbery-murder in which the supposed victim isn't the victim at all. And Nick (George Eads) gets into trouble thanks to the shenanigans of a prostitute he has befriended. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Arnold Schwarzenegger appears as a pumped-up Shakespearian hero while an announcer bellows, "Something is rotten in Denmark -- and Hamlet is taking out the trash!" This gag sets the stage for the post-modernist action epic The Last Action Hero. The film concerns Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien), a lonely eleven-year-old boy who escapes from his bleak New York City reality by glorying in the action adventure movies of his favorite film character, Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Danny's friend is an elderly movie projectionist, Nick (Robert Prosky), who lets Danny into the shabby Times Square movie theater where he works so Danny can see Slater's new movie. He hands Danny a magic ticket given to him years ago by Houdini, and when Nick rips the ticket and gives Danny the stub, Danny finds himself catapulted from the theater into the back seat of Slater's speeding sports car in "Jack Slater IV." Danny becomes Slater's helper as Jack battles a trio of nefarious bad guys --Benedict (Charles Dance), Vivaldi (Anthony Quinn) and The Ripper (Tom Noonan). But things get out of hand when Benedict steals Danny's magic ticket stub and transports himself into Danny's reality. Benedict and The Ripper proceed to wreak havoc along Broadway, forcing Slater to cross into reality to get the villains and, in the process, learn about blood and pain. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austin O'Brien, (more)
A sequel to the sci-fi action thriller that made him and star Arnold Schwarzenegger A-list Hollywood names, writer/director James Cameron upped the ante with this follow-up by employing a more sweeping storyline and cutting-edge special effects. Linda Hamilton returns as Sarah Connor, now a single mother to rebellious teen John Connor (Edward Furlong), during the late nineties. Having been informed by a time-traveling soldier in the first film that John will one day grow up to become humanity's savior from a computer-controlled Armageddon, Sarah has responded by becoming a muscle-bound she-warrior bent on educating John in survival tactics and battle strategies. Her ranting about humankind's future has landed Sarah in an insane asylum and John in the foster care system. The rebellious John has responded to his situation by getting into scrapes with the law. When a new and improved Terminator android called the T-1000 (Robert Patrick) arrives from the future to eliminate John, an older model T-800 (Schwarzenegger) is sent to protect the boy. The T-1000, however, has the ability to morph itself into any shape it desires, allowing it chameleon-like powers and near indestructibility. The T-800 saves John's life and helps break Sarah out of the institution. Staying only one step ahead of the dogged T-1000, Sarah leads her son and the T-800 to the headquarters of Cyberdyne Systems, the company that will invent a robotic intelligence that will eventually take over the world. There, they attempt to convince inventor Miles Dyson (Joe Morton) to help them stop the future from ever occurring by destroying his work. Dyson sacrifices himself in an explosion to save the world, leading to a final showdown between the two Terminators at a steel foundry. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), which won four Oscars in technical categories for its groundbreaking effects, was followed by a short sequel filmed exclusively as an attraction for theme parks, Terminator 2: 3-D Battle Across Time (1996). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, (more)
Erika Eleniak is the "broken angel" in this made-for-TV domestic drama. The troubled daughter of William Shatner and Susan Blakely, Erika drops out of sight after a shooting incident at her high school prom. Deducing that his daughter has become involved in drug dealing, Shatner goes on a nightmarish odyssey through the gang-controlled streets of LA. Every so often, Roxann Biggs, playing a social worker, delivers the Author's Message in spell-it-all-out terms. More praiseworthy for its intentions than its execution, Broken Angel first aired March 14, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
With a title like Assault Of The Killer Bimbos, the viewer gets pretty much what he or she would expect: a dumb-but-hip instant cult favorite that knows - and revels in - its limitations. Christina Whitaker and Elizabeth Kaitan are the two lead, er, bimbos, who are working as go-go dancers in a dead-end nightclub when their boss is murdered. When the two girls are accused of the crime, they hit the road for Mexico, picking up yet another bimbo along the way, along with three beach bums, and engaging in various adventures as they attempt to expose the real killers. First-time director Anita Rosenberg delivers a certain amount of wit, getting the most out of her low-rent cast, and the film's self-awareness goes a long way toward making it more palatable than one might expect. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Whitaker, Elizabeth Kaitan, (more)
Hunter's Blood is a bloody action thriller reminiscent of Deliverance or The Hills Have Eyes in which an innocent, peaceful group of people is pitted against a clan of bloodthirsty savages. Five men set out to do some deer hunting in a remote area of Arkansas. David (Sam Bottoms) and his father, Mason (Clu Gulager), experienced hunters, lead a group of city-bred amateur hunters into an area where there have been a series of mysterious disappearances. Soon, they find themselves in danger as they are themselves stalked. While Hunter's Blood is not of the quality of the films that inspired it, the acting is uniformly excellent and the direction by Robert Hughes is fact-paced and exciting. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel Bottoms, Kim Delaney, (more)
A suicidal artist tries to end his miserable life on Halloween night and fails after jumping off the roof of a ramshackle LA boarding house. After the fall, his soul has somehow become possessed by the spirit of a murderous criminal. This horror movie explains how and why. Now the poor bum finds himself haunted by terrible dreams of places he's never been and atrocities he could never think of committing. The dreams take an even darker edge when he begins reading about of a series of murders. Each victim was killed in exactly the same way he dreamed they were; he also learns that each was involved in the killing of the crook. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Lipscomb, Leslie Wing, (more)
This action film centers around the theft of a nuclear warhead from the U.S. Navy. Lt. Matt Ryder (Gregg Henry) is called out of his dishonorably discharged status and is requested to go find the missing nuke. It appears that the warhead has been stashed somewhere offshore, but it is never clear who has engineered the dastardly deed. When Ryder takes a time-out to get together with his old girlfriend Sean (Simone Griffeth), Sean's spurned and ego-maniacal boyfriend Mitchell (Jeff Conaway) comes forcefully into the picture. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregg Henry, Simone Griffeth, (more)
Cinematographer Michael Chapman directed this John Sayles adaptation of Jean M. Auel's best-selling ode to Cro-Magnon women. The story begins at the moment in pre-history when the last of the Neanderthal men were becoming extinct and the superior race of Cro-Magnons were starting to supersede them. Focusing on a tribe of wandering Neanderthals who adopt a young girl named, Ayla (played as an adult by Daryl Hannah). She grows tall, lithe, and smart. The Neanderthals quickly accept her into their tribe, but once a tribal member, Ayla begins to question the tribe's male chauvinistic presumptions. Unable to conceive of why only men are given weapons, she takes it upon herself to learn how to use a slingshot. She then questions the tribe's assumptions concerning sexual politics. She learns to count and becomes the assistant to the local medicine expert. As the seasons wear on, the tribe utilizes Ayla's knowledge for their own good while Ayla's continues to try the patience of the tribe with her unspeakable feminist demands. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daryl Hannah, Pamela Reed, (more)
This is teen drama concerns three friends, Margo (Daphne Zuniga), Kelly (Virginia Madsen), and Cece (Cynthia Gibb) whose only pursuit in life is men. The three young women go out to night spots to see what action they can pick up, and one evening Kelly's discarded date Clifford (Clayton Rohner) is conned into driving Margo and Cece to their favorite clubs. Meanwhile, Kelly is close to getting herself into serious trouble. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daphne Zuniga, Virginia Madsen, (more)
Vera's police-officer husband Elliot (Charles Levin) would love to nab the rustlers who've been stealing cattle in the vicinity, but he hasn't got the evidence. Turning to Mel (Vic Tayback), Elliot suggests that the diner owner go undercover to help trap the criminals. Motivated less by civic responsiblity than by a $5000 reward, Mel agrees to the plan--even though his "clever disguise" probably wouldn't fool a cow, much less a cow thief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When a DNA experiment screws up, a mutant is created which turns into a people-devouring menace. It kills people by sucking spinal fluid from their spinal columns. A genetics student and an ex-cop team up to locate the awful creature. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Stinson, Diana Davidson, (more)





















