Gift SubscriptionsMichael Shaner
Edward J. Olmos made his directorial bow with the powerhouse crime saga American Me. Olmos stars as street-gang leader Santana, who during his 18 years in Folsom Prison rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful, crime-free life. But his old gang buddies force him back into his old habits. The omniprescene of the "Mexican Mafia" in the southwest is sufficient to make this film a daunting, demoralizing experience. Upon its release, American Me received a lot of press play due to the fact that Olmos shot his Folsom sequences on location, using actual prisoners as extras and bit players. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward James Olmos, William Forsythe, (more)
- 1992
Cat Sassoon fronts this Roger Corman produced martial arts adventure that tells the tale of a tough LA cop who heads to Manila to investigate the murder of her sister. She was working there as a kickboxing FBI agent who photographed the execution of a US military man. Before she is killed, she hands the potentially damning film to a stripper so she can keep it from the perpetrators, the notorious freedom fighters of the Black Brigade. Once officer Katara arrives she is immediately warned by the government to stay out of the situation, but she disobeys and creates all sorts of problems for everyone involved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Director Alan Parker tackles this adapation of William Wharton's novel, which retains much of the source material's texture and complexity. Matthew Modine is Birdy, who comes back from Vietnam mentally shattered and deludes himself into thinking that he is a bird, an animal that has obsessed him since childhood. Birdy is confined to a military hospital, where he spends his time sitting naked in his room, not acknowleding anyone, moving and acting like a parakeet. His best friend Al (Nicolas Cage), also a wounded Vietnam vet, visits Birdy every day, determined to bring him back to reality. Birdy is occasionally disjointed but enriched by strong performances from Modine and Cage and a number of hard-to-forget moments. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage, (more)
Kickboxing champion Don "The Dragon" Wilson stars in Bloodfist. In time-honored fashion, Wilson arrives in Manila to investigate his brother's murder. There he stumbles upon a sinister secret society which thrives on illegal kickboxing tournaments and ends up in the ring himself, literally fighting for his life. Several sequels later followed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Joe Mari Avellana, (more)
- 1985
This drama chronicles the good deeds of a sociology student who after doing research into feminine crimes begins taking in teen-age hookers. It is based on a true story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
Bone (Peter Nelson) and Helen (Sherilyn Fenn) are rebels who long to escape from the oppressive, futuristic society that keeps them down in this sci-fi actioner. Bone has been fired for being disgruntled, and Helen is a state-paid prostitute in a world where many things, even sex between consenting adults, is taboo. (David Carradine) is the big shot government agent who promises the duo they can move to the planet Froidan if they manage to steal a coveted computer disc in this feature bogged down by side plots and too much dialogue at times. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Peter Nelson, (more)
- 1995
Ray (David Marciano) falls hopelessly in love with a beautiful woman (Susan Gibney) whom he has seen but once--when she knocked him down with her car. All subsequent evidence indicates that Ray's "dream girl" is a pretty tough cookie, and an illegal arms dealer to boot. But Ray cannot get over her, even when she repeatedly tries to kill him. Can it be that he is loving neither wisely nor well, or is the girl truly the outlaw that she appears to be? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1989
Hunter (Fred Dryer) is given the responsibility of mentoring fledgling detective Jack Ryan (Eric Larson)--the son of his own mentor, police commissioner Bill Ryan (Harry Guardino). Unfortunately, during the search for a robber-murderer who preys upon businessman at check-cashing stores, young Jack commits a number of serious errors. Regretfully, Hunter must inform Jack that he hasn't got what it takes to be a cop--but how can he bring himself to break the news to the boy's father? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
This low-budget melodrama is a misfired attempt at film noir. Blake (Cliff DeYoung) is a former Vietnam veteran and occasional hitman who hangs out with his buddies in the Little Saigon section of Los Angeles. He falls for the beautiful Evelyn (Tracy Scoggins) when she asks him for help. Evelyn is the girl-toy of a perverted art dealer and forger, but she also carried on with the vengeful teenage chauffeur Richie (Michael Shiner) -- who now threatens her with death. Evelyn uses all her feminine charms to trap Blake into being the fall guy in her nefarious and complicated scheme. Contains nudity, violence, explicit language and simulated sex. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff De Young, Tracy Scoggins, (more)
LA cop Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), whose wife has recently died, is a loose cannon with a seeming death wish. This makes him indispensable in collaring dangerous criminals, but a liability to any potential partners. Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), a conservative family man who wants to stay alive for his upcoming 50th birthday, is partnered with Riggs. As Riggs gets to know Murtaugh and his family, he begins to mellow, though his insistence on using guerilla tactics to catch criminals is still (put mildly) above and beyond the call of duty. The main villain is The General (Mitchell Ryan), a drug dealer responsible for the death of the daughter of one of Murtaugh's oldest friends. The General is also in charge of a deadly, militia-like gang of smugglers. Adding fuel to the fire is The General's chief henchman, played with all stops out by Gary Busey. Moviegoers familiar only with the relatively tongue-in-cheek Lethal Weapon sequels may be amazed to find out how dangerous and unpredictable Riggs is in the first Lethal Weapon -- and how likely it seems that Murtaugh might not survive until fade-out time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, (more)
Previously filmed in 1962 with Geraldine Page and Paul Newman in the leads, Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth was restaged for television in 1989 by Nicolas Roeg. Elizabeth Taylor stars as Alexandre Del Lago, a fading, alcoholic, drug-dependent movie star. Mark Harmon co-stars as Chance Wayne, a shiftless would-be actor who romances Alexandre in hopes of getting a few producer's doors opened for him in Hollywood. Assuming that it'll be a simple task to unload Alexandre when he's through with her, Chance has not reckoned with the star's smothering ego. Chance must also contend with Tom Finley (Rip Torn), the fire-breathing political boss who is the father of Chance's hometown sweetheart (Cheryl Paris). The TV remake of Sweet Bird of Youth was first broadcast October 1, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Mark Harmon, (more)
- 1994
- R
SWAT-Team instructor John Lomax's faith in the American justice system is shaken when the sociopath who murdered his sister is sentenced to life in a mental institution rather than to Death Row. Internal pressures upon Lomax mount when he is attacked by a mentally unstable woman desperately trying to free her brother from jail before his execution. When Lomax begins talking about ways to get to his sister's murderer and to kill him for revenge, his girlfriend and his partner get seriously worried. Meanwhile, the killer himself has devised an escape plan and he doesn't care who gets killed during the ensuing mayhem. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Speakman, James Brolin, (more)
The Two Jakes is the much-delayed and rather convoluted sequel to the 1975 classic Chinatown. Released in 1990 after an abortive stab at shooting that began in the mid-'80s, the film was the subject of a creative feud between its principals, star Jack Nicholson, producer Robert Evans, and screenwriter Robert Towne. Private eye Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is a middle-aged war hero, paunchy, snobbish about his golf game, and about to marry a lovely and much younger woman. Then a fleeting reference to a woman he once loved that he heard on a wire recording plunges him into a past he has tried to escape. It comes while he was spying on a philandering wife (Meg Tilly) and her paramour in her motel room for her husband, Jake Berman (Harvey Keitel). Then Berman shocks Gittes when he shoots his wife's lover. Gittes is doubly stunned when he learns that Berman was partners with the dead man in a subdivision that may contain huge oil deposits. So now Gittes wonders, was it justifiable homicide or murder? The answer lies in the wife (Madeleine Stowe) of the dead man, her shady oil baron friend (Richard Farnsworth), and in the past he has tried to avoid. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, (more)
Actor Bill Paxton produced this unusual film about a clan of Irish-American con artists practicing in the American South. They live in a secluded compound and have their own time-honored customs. Pat (Mark Wahlberg) is returning to the hideout for the funeral of his father, who irked the clan by marrying an outsider. Because his mother is not Irish, the compound's boss, Jack Costello (Luke Askew), tells him that he's no longer welcome there. But Bokky, played by Paxton, takes the younger man under his wing and teaches him the clan's trade. Bokky specializes in cheating homeowners by charging them to apply driveway or roof sealant, then leaving before they discover that it's only black oil. He also buys and resells shoddy mobile homes. Pat soon proves more nervy and creative than his boss. They try to scam a bartender, Jean (Julianna Margulies), but Bokky falls in love with her. Jean needs cash to pay for an operation for her hearing-impaired daughter, so Bokky finally agrees to work for a cowboy con artist named Double D (James Gammon), who has been trying to recruit him for a big job in Nashville. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Mark Wahlberg, (more)
- 1992
In this action adventure, the mysterious Preacher, a "special forces" veteran, card sharp and ex-clergyman, is called to a town on the Texas-Mexico border to investigate a suspicious helicopter crash involving a Vietnam veteran pilot. His investigation reveals that the town is totally corrupt. Mayhem ensues, but justice somehow prevails. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
