Michael Paré Movies
Best remembered for playing Eddie in Eddie & the Cruisers (1983) and its sequel, Eddie & the Cruisers 2: Eddie Lives! (1989), Michael Pare makes his living appearing in B-movies and straight-to-video actioners. The Brooklyn-born Pare started out as a New York Culinary Institute-trained sous chef and then a model. He started acting at a friend's suggestion and studied under Uta Hagen and Marvin Nelson. His first break came from playing tough student Tony Villicana on the adventure/comedy series The Greatest American Hero (1981). This led to the leading role in the made-for-television film Crazy Times (1981). Following his work in Eddie & the Cruisers, Pare starred in The Philadelphia Experiment (1984). His shot for major movie stardom came from director Walter Hill, whose own career was taking off following the success of his Eddie Murphy vehicle 48 Hrs. (1982). Hill cast Pare in the lead of Streets of Fire (1984). The director had originally meant for it to be the first of an action trilogy starring Pare, but the film failed at the box office. Subsequently Pare became the star of numerous low- and medium-budget features and the occasional made-for-cable television movie. In 1987, he starred in the short-lived television series Houston Knights. He reappeared in a big-budget feature, Village of the Damned, in 1995, but despite it's fairly big-name cast, it was unsuccessful, and Pare returned to B-movies such as Raging Angels (1995) and Bad Moon (1996). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Notorious director Uwe Boll takes a break from beating his critics to turn out this deadly serious war film centering on the battlefield experiences of a U.S. combat unit sent to root out and kill Viet Cong soldiers who have been stealthily attacking American troops via an elaborate series of underground tunnels deep beneath the jungles of Vietnam. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Paré, Nate Parker, (more)
Trained to kill but determined to cheer their school's team to the championship game, three lethal cheerleading ninjas must put down their pom poms and pick up their katanas when their sensei is abducted by the mob. April, Courtney, and Monica may just be college freshmen, but they can take out an army of ninja assassins with the skill of an ancient master. Schooled in the ancient martial arts by the esteemed Sensei Hiroshi (George Takei), these three beauties spend their days in the classroom and their nights in the strip club - where they work the poles to pay for their college tuition. Then one day, Sensei Hiroshi is abducted and their lives are suddenly turned upside down. Now, in order to rescue their master, April, Courtney, and Monica will have to summon the skills he once taught them and take on a virtual army of mob assassins. With a nosy cop closing in on one side and suspicious parents asking questions on the other, these girls will have to work overtime in order to keep anyone from finding out what kind of destruction they're truly capable of. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Trishelle Cannatella, Ginny Weirick, (more)
Game-to-screen specialist Uwe Boll follows up his plasma-blasting 2005 hit with this sequel that finds vengeful dhampir Rayne (Natassia Malthe) traveling to the Wild West for a violent showdown against vampiric American outlaw Billy the Kid. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natassia Malthe, Zack Ward, (more)
Based on an incident that allegedly took place in Seattle, WA, back in 1972, director Uwe Boll's Seed tells the twisted tale of a mass murderer who was buried alive after surviving the electric chair, and claws his way back to the surface in search of bloody revenge. According to U.S. law, any convict who somehow manages to survive three 15,000 volt jolts from the electric chair for 15 seconds is eligible to walk free. When notorious psychopath Sam Seed is strapped into the chair and asked for his last words, he simply replies by saying "I'll see you again." Later, after the electricity is sent surging through his veins and blood boils up through his eyeballs, Seed is still breathing. Realizing the dangers of letting such an unrepentant menace back on the streets, the executioner, Warden Wright, and the prison doctor conspire to skirt the law, and pronounce Seed dead. Subsequently bound and buried alive, the enraged Seed somehow manages to escape from his premature grave, and quickly sets out to prove just how alive he truly is. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrew Jackson, William Sanderson, (more)
- 2006
Characterized by many observers as a somewhat down-and-dirtier The O.C., the weekly, hour-long drama series South Beach starred Marcus Coloma as Matt and Chris Johnson as Vincent, two Brooklyn buddies who relocated to South Beach, Miami in hopes of bettering their prospects. Matt was running away from family problems, while Vince seemed to be running away from life itself. Through the auspices of Matt's ruthlessly ambitious former girlfriend Arielle (Odette Yustman), our two heroes get themselves enmeshed in the cutthroat world of professional modeling. Much of the action took place in the upscale Hotel Soleil, owned by Elizabeth Bauer (Vanessa L. Williams), the somewhat contentious mother of Alex Bauer (Lee Thompson Young), who ran the trendy Nocturnal club where Matt and Vincent hung out. Also oiling his way through the proceedings was Robert Fuentes (Giancarlo Esposito), a self-styled "venture capitalist" with strong mob ties. South Beach premiered January 11, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Williams, Marcus Coloma, (more)
- 2006
Michael Paré, Danny Trejo, Ja Rule, and Tom Sizemore star in this nightmarish tale of a maximum security prison overtaken by a malevolent supernatural force. Upon entering into a notorious penitentiary to explore a gruesome series of deaths, Detective Michael Turner (Paré) discovers that his latest case may not be as cut and dry as he initially suspected. It seems that these cold concrete halls are home to not only some of the world's most dangerous criminals, but also a force beyond human comprehension. Now, as this vengeful entity lashes out and the body count begins to rise, the hardened inmates struggle desperately to stay alive and the tireless detective works around the clock to reverse this deadly curse. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ja Rule, Michael Paré, (more)
A long-dead monster gets a new lease on life as a Romanian village is under siege in this made-for-cable horror story. After a number of Americans have been disappearing under mysterious circumstances in Bucharest, a pair of U.S. intelligence agents are sent to Romania to investigate. It soon becomes clear they aren't dealing with ordinary criminals -- over 400 years before, a strange and bloodthirsty beast ravaging the town was captured and sealed in a crypt, and a recent earthquake has opened the tomb and brought the creature back to life. As the agents and the townspeople look for a way to vanquish the monster, they also become aware of a coven of vampires who are doing their evil business in town. Gargoyle: Wings of Darkness features Michael Paré, Kate Orsini, and Sandra Hess. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Uwe Boll's Heart of America: Homeroom is a drama about a massacre on the final day of the school year. The last day of school contains many problems for teachers and students alike. The principal must discipline an English teacher (Michael Paré) who has let his professional frustrations get the better of him, student Dara needs to score from the drug dealing Wex (G. Michael Gray), and a foursome of cruel athletes continues to torment the losers and nerds. Unbeknown to everyone else at the school, the eternally picked upon Daniel (Kett Turton) and Barry (Michael Belyea), as well as a third accomplice, are extensively armed and plan to unleash their fury on the school right after final bell. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jürgen Prochnow, Elisabeth Rosen, (more)
Red Serpent stars Roy Scheider as the title character, a drug kingpin in Moscow. The Serpent attempts to transport drugs, using American businessman Steve Nichols (Michael Paré) as a mule. The Serpent's evil plan includes holding Nichols' daughter hostage until the drugs have been delivered. The only person who can help Nichols is a former KGB operative who has a history with the Red Serpent. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
A small town baseball announcer embarks on the journey of a lifetime after facing the prospect of being placed in a retirement home against his will in this bittersweet drama featuring Academy Award-winning actor Rod Steiger in his final film role. Despite the fact that his health is fading, and having recently suffered a mild stroke, Charlie McCabe is reluctant to give up his announcing position for the local baseball team and settle quietly into a local nursing home. Recalling an unfulfilled promise that he had made to his late wife that he would make amends with his estranged son, Charlie and his loving granddaughter Biddy set out to make good on his word and lay old ghosts to rest. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A woman desperate to save her husband is thrown into danger of her own in this thriller. Terry (Morgan Fairchild) and Scott (John James) are a couple who've fallen on hard times; ever since the death of Scott's brother, the family has been in crisis, and Scott has developed a rare degenerative bone disease. Scott's condition has been expensive to treat, and he's fallen behind on his mortgage payments; desperate to pay his medical bills and still keep a roof over their heads, Terry and Scott swallow their pride and decide to recover a cache of stolen money Scott's late brother hid in a cave, which is soon to be flooded after a dam is rerouted. While searching for the money, injured Scott becomes trapped in the cave, and Terry has to find help before he's trapped underwater. Terry thinks her troubles are over when she encounters outwardly friendly Vincent (Michael Pare), but she finds a new nightmare has just begun -- Vincent is an escaped mental patient with violent mood swings, and instead of helping her rescue Scott, he soon takes her hostage. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Morgan Fairchild, John James, (more)
Eric Roberts is at it again in this serial killer thriller from Uwe Boll, a director best known for his 1991 film German Fried Movie. In an anonymous American town (actually Vancouver) a serial nutcase is taking the proverb "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," a little too seriously, robbing victims of their eyes, ears, and tongues. Detectives Jim Renart (Michael Pare) and Dorothy Smith (Jennifer Rubin) are under pressure from their superior (Roberts) to capture the killer, and they finally get a break when alpha-yuppie stockbroker Tom Gerrick (Casper Van Dien) offers himself for questioning. However, actually nailing Gerrick proves to be a difficult matter, especially with the feds set to take over the case in mere hours, and Gerrick's impending appearance on a TV talkshow. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Millbern, Catherine Oxenberg, (more)
In the distant future, after the Texas Confederacy has gone to war and wiped out Syria with a deadly virus because of oil prices, disgraced Captain Sean Murdoch (Malcolm McDowell) is recruited to take command of a hulking ship headed for a port in Nigeria. The ship is operated by means of forced labor from slave prisoners, and its mysterious cargo happens to be containers of the deadly virus used in the war. The ruthless Proxate Corporation, represented on the ship by icy businessman Tarkis (Michael Pare), wants the ship sunk despite the idea that the cargo would contaminate all the water on the planet. Capt. Murdoch finds an opportunity to redeem himself in saving the ship and its crew of violent convicts, but the wily cyborg (Daniela Nolano) sent to sabotage the ship has abilities that may prove to be too much for Murdoch and his crew to combat. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malcolm McDowell, Michael Paré, (more)
Set in a high-price Malibu community, this made-for-TV drama wallows in a multitude of extramarital affairs, corporate intrigue and elegant back-stabbing, with murder the logical extension to all the hanky-panky. Characters crucial to the plotline are a cop posing as an auto mechanic, and a sexy nanny who intends to break up her best friend's marriage. The ending is abrupt and unsatisfying, a sure sign that the film was actually the pilot for an unsold series. Written and produced by Dynasty veterans Richard Shapiro and Esther Shapiro, The Colony was originally consigned to a "dog day" timeslot on July 4, 1996, by its parent network ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Paré, Brian Bloom, (more)
A dark and brooding atmosphere pervades this dramatic, convoluted account of a battle between a backwater lawman and the would-be crime lord he recognizes as a former army buddy who turned traitor during the Middle-East conflict. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Paré, Macha Grenon, (more)
- 1995
This elaborate made-for-television sci-fi thriller is set in a future where the Earth has become uninhabitable, and the few surviving humans are forced to live in elevated cities. Due to limited space, virtual reality has replaced actual experiences as the primary form of entertainment, most of which is provided by the gigantic DreamCore corporation. Taking place within the minds of the user, virtual reality excursions and adventures are generally safe, but mistakes do occasionally happen and that is when Dream Breaker Carver gets involved. He gets his toughest case yet when DreamCore senior researcher Dinah disappears and then turns up a lifeless shell after playing one of the VR games she created. Carver's subsequent investigation reveals that Dinah had invented a special VR chip and implanted it in her body so she would no longer require cumbersome equipment to enter her fantasy world. But when she used the chip, something went horribly wrong, and a rift between the real and virtual world occurred, leaving Dinah's body dead, but her soul trapped in the VR world. Just as she was able to permanently enter that fantastical realm, so were the monsters she battled there, free to enter the real world with all their murderous abilities intact. The most deadly of these is The Angel, and once free she sets out to destroy the last remaining vestige of humanity. It is up to Carver and his colleagues to figure out a way to safely enter the alternative world, stop the Angel and the balance Dinah inadvertently destroyed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Paré
This made-for-cable science fiction drama is set in a grim future where abuse of the environment has rendered much of the Earth unlivable and most of the survivors wile away their days playing high-tech virtual reality adventure games. Carver (Michael Pare), who works for DreamCore, the world's leading VR technology firm, makes a startling discovery after his close friend Dinah (Tara Maria Manuel) dies testing a new game. It seems that Dinah was working with a revolutionary system called the Trancender, which allows players unprecedented entry into the VR world but also allows the creatures from the VR games to enter the real world. Carver must first travel into the virtual world in hopes of finding out the truth about Dinah's murder, then track down the VR killers who have left it behind. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Paré, Tara Maria Manuel, (more)
- 1994
It's been almost three decades since the ozone layer disintegrated, and the Earth is a pretty rotten place to be. A lucky few humans are living in a space station and working on a secret formula that will restore the atmosphere. Unfortunately for them, terrorists want to use the formula for their own nefarious purposes, and it's up to lunar cop Joe Brody (Michael Pare) to kick butt and save the planet. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Gary Busey stars in this Canadian ultra-macho Rambo-knockoff in which a crazed blood-thirsty sociopath escapes from an asylum and sets out to kill his former commander. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Busey, Michael Paré, (more)
- 1993
In this action-thriller, Brad Cartowski (Michael Pare) is a Navy SEAL whose wife, Marcy (Claudette Mink), has been kidnapped by a band of Libyan terrorists. The terrorists have also hijacked an airliner filled with passengers, and in exchange for the return of both Marcy, the jet, and its passengers, they're demanding the release of Carlos (Billy Drago), the leader of their organization who has been captured by American operatives. The United States warily agrees to the deal, but after Carlos is set free in Athens, he and his men decide to keep the plane -- and Marcy. An outraged Brad discovers the U.S. military is hesitant to step in and save Marcy, so he teams up with fellow SEAL Cody (Jan-Michael Vincent) to stage a rescue mission on their own. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Paré, Billy Drago, (more)
- 1992
This implausible action film stars Michael Pare as a soldier who must rescue the CIA-director's daughter (Janis Lee) from a Turkish prison camp. In the process, Pare is temporarily blinded but uses his psychic abilities to defeat a group of Arab terrorists attempting to steal plutonium to blow up the world. Director Bob Misiorowski handles the action scenes fairly well, but the silly premise seems to have been patched together from several different scripts, none of them very good. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
