Terry J. Leonard Movies
The glorious Hollywood institution of the romantic comedy gets raked over the coals in this broad parody of any number of boy-meets-girl flicks. Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan) is a young woman who wants nothing more than to find the man of her dreams and settle down. However, Julia has a rather serious weight problem that prevents her from making a positive impression on people. Determined to find love at all costs, Julia somehow drops the weight and meets Grant Fonckyerdoder (Adam Campbell), a handsome and charming Englishman who falls head over heels for her. Julia and Grant waste no time in setting the date, but until they make their way to the altar they have to deal with meddling parents, flaky wedding planners, fights over the right wedding dress, vertically challenged romantic advisors, and Andy (Sophie Monk), a longtime friend of Grant, who isn't so happy to hear he's getting hitched. Also featuring Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge, Eddie Griffin, and Tony Cox, Date Movie was written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, proudly billed as "two of the six writers of Scary Movie." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alyson Hannigan, Adam Campbell, (more)
- 2006
- PG13
- Add The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift to QueueAdd The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift to top of Queue
Better Luck Tomorrow director Justin Lin picks up where John Singleton left off to offer a high-octane look at the world of underground Japanese drift-racing in the latest installment of the super-charged Fast and the Furious film series. A frustrated teen from a broken home, Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) is an outsider looking to make a name for himself on the illegal street racing circuit. When Sean is busted by the police for his high-speed exploits and given the option of either spending time behind bars or moving overseas to live with his no-nonsense, military man father who's currently stationed in Tokyo, the young rebel packs his bags and sets his sights on Nippon. Though at first reluctant to adapt to the unfamiliar customs and foreign code of honor of his new home, Sean soon strikes up a friendship with American speed freak Twinkie (Bow Wow), a like-minded race fan who schools the inexperienced newcomer in the pulse-pounding world of drift-racing. Inadvertently challenging local champion and yakuza associate D.K. (The Drift King) his first time on the road, Sean is subsequently forced to work under expatriate Han (Sung Kang) to pay off his debt after failing to cross the finish line first. Taking note of the young American's affinity for racing as he warmly welcomes him into his merry band of misfit drift-fanatics, Han slowly introduces Sean to the key principles of the popular new racing style. When Sean makes the potentially deadly mistake of falling for D.K.'s girlfriend Neela (Nathalie Kelley), he'll need all the help he can get to face his most challenging race to date and take on the most notorious driver on the Tokyo drift scene in a hair-raising, hairpin-turn race where the winner truly takes all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucas Black, Bow Wow, (more)
A businessman becomes the last line of defense for his family and his business in this thriller. Jack Stanfield (Harrison Ford) is an upper-echelon technology executive at Landrock Pacific Bank, a leading financial institution based in Seattle. Stanfield oversees security for Landrock, and has made sure that their online banking services are the best-protected in the world, and that the bank's data is safe from hackers and other intruders. However, Stanfield finds out the hard way that his system does indeed have a flaw when he's visited by Bill Cox (Paul Bettany), a cold and calculating man who has spent months learning everything there is know about Stanfield and his family. Cox's underlings have taken Stanfield's wife, Beth (Virginia Madsen), and their two children hostage, and they inform Jack that they will be released only when he uses his knowledge of the bank's security systems to deposit 100 million dollars in Cox's account in an offshore bank. Stanfield is deeply wary but willing to go along to ensure the safety of his family, but when he has reason to doubt that Cox and his cohorts will live up to their end of the bargain, he swings into action to exact justice against the criminals. Firewall also stars Alan Arkin, Robert Forster, and Mary Lynn Rajskub. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, (more)
Driver and muscle for hire Frank Martin returns in this sequel to the 2002 box-office hit. Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is a former special-forces officer who will transport anything anywhere for a price, and his latest assignment is acting as chauffeur for Jack Billings (Hunter Clary), the young son of politician Jefferson Billings (Matthew Modine), who has garnered no small amount of controversy for his aggressive efforts to stamp out the trade in illegal drugs. One day, Frank is to take Jack to the doctor for a checkup while his mother, Audrey (Amber Valletta), sets up a birthday party for the tyke. However, Jack's doctor is not who he appears to be -- he's actually Dimitri (Jason Flemyng), a Russian agent well versed in viruses who works with criminal kingpin Gianni (Alessandro Gassman). After a long and hard-fought chase with Frank, the bad guys get ahold of little Jack and hold him for ransom. The parents comply with their monetary demands and soon have their son back at home -- but little do they know that the boy has secretly been injected with a deadly and easily spread virus, which the terrorists hope to spread to the boy's powerful father and other politicians whom Jefferson will soon be addressing at a public event. When Frank learns what has happened to young Jack, he sets out to find the culprits -- and the antidote that will save the boy and all others who have been exposed to the virus from dying a painful death -- though his foes have stacked the deck so that it looks as if Frank has been complicit in the crime. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Statham, Alessandro Gassman, (more)
A grieving woman must make a journey into her past in this psychological thriller. Telly Paretta (Julianne Moore) is a mother who is struggling to put her life back together after the unexpected death of her eight-year-old son. Telly begins seeing a therapist (Gary Sinise) who offers a startling diagnosis -- that her son never really existed, and all her memories of the child are products of her imagination. When Telly meets a man with a strangely similar story to tell about his lost child (Dominic West), she becomes convinced that her doctor is wrong, and sets out to prove the existence of her child -- and that she isn't insane. The Forgotten also features Alfre Woodard and Anthony Edwards. An alternate ending exists to this film, which has been released on DVD and purportedly does a great deal to compensate for the story's weaknesses. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julianne Moore, Dominic West, (more)
A teen learns that all the gadgets in the world can't help him overcome his awkwardness around the opposite sex in this big-budget family entertainment. In Agent Cody Banks, Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz plays a young man plucked from suburban obscurity to be trained as a CIA super-agent. His mission? Get friendly with his classmate Natalie (played by another teen TV star, Lizzie McGuire's Hilary Duff) so that he can uncover her father's diabolical scheme to create indestructible robots. To compound his problems, Cody also has to deal with the same stresses as any adolescent: nagging parents, insufferable classwork, and a fragile sense of self-esteem. Agent Cody Banks was produced by MGM, not coincidentally the studio responsible for another popular spy franchise, the venerable James Bond series. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Muniz, Hilary Duff, (more)
American independent filmmaker Deborah Kampmeier makes her writing and directing debut with the intimate drama Virgin. In a small conservative town, Jessie (Elizabeth Moss) is the outcast teenager of a right-wing Christian family consisting of a strict dad (Peter Gerety), an emotional mom (Robin Wright Penn, who also produced), and an innocent sister (Stephanie Gatschet). After spending an evening with local boy Shane (Charles Socarides), Jessie is convinced that she's pregnant, although she has no memory of actually having sex. Her rebellious behavior isn't completely understood by her family or her community. The conclusion finds her meeting up with two other troubled women. Virgin was shown at the 2003 IFP Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elisabeth Moss, Daphne Rubin-Vega, (more)
Vin Diesel opted to not appear in the sequel to the film the shot him to stardom in the first place, The Fast and the Furious. With the character of Dominic Toretto out of the picture, 2 Fast 2 Furious concentrates exclusively on the latest exploits of undercover agent Brian O'Connor, played by Paul Walker. In addition, with director Rob Cohen passing, producers have added a dash of credibility to the sequel by hiring John Singleton to helm. What does completely remain from the first film is the presence of fast-living underground street-racing gangs. Moving from Los Angeles to Miami, O'Connor is looking to redeem himself after the events of the first movie, so he again goes undercover to infiltrate another group of thuggish car enthusiasts. This time around he's enlisted the help of ex-con Roman Pierce (Tyrese) and fellow agent Monica Celemente (Eva Mendes) to bring down Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), an importer/exporter who heads up a massive drug trafficking operation. Heading up the supporting cast are hip-hop stars Ludacris and Fabolous. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, (more)
Jeannie Epper and Zoe Bell are two women who get hurt for a living -- they're Hollywood stuntwomen, who take the falls and dodge the punches while taking the place of glamorous stars. Epper's big break came when she was hired to stand in for Lynda Carter on the Wonder Woman television series in the 1970s, while Bell made a name for herself doing Lucy Lawless' stunt work for Xena: Warrior Princess. Double Dare is a documentary which looks at the lives and careers of these two women, as well as their friendship. Epper, in her early sixties, finds herself dealing with ageism in the entertainment industry, just as she's dealt with sexism much of her life, as she struggles to stay in the game, while Bell learns from her older friend not only the nuts and bolts of stunt work but the trails Epper and her compatriots had to blaze to be respected in their profession. Double Dare also features appearances by Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeannie Epper, Zoe Bell, (more)
The successful franchise of Paramount motion pictures based on novelist Tom Clancy's techno-thrillers featuring heroic CIA intelligence analyst Jack Ryan stages a much-publicized "do-over" with this action-adventure that recasts the character of Ryan as a rookie to the complex game of geopolitical warfare. Ben Affleck takes the reins from Harrison Ford as Ryan, a greenhorn CIA historian and analyst who finds himself thrust front and center into the spy community's spotlight when Nemerov (Ciaran Hinds), a Russian politician on whom Ryan is an expert, suddenly becomes the leader of the former Soviet Union upon the current president's unexpected demise. Attached to the director of the CIA, Cabot (Morgan Freeman), Ryan insists -- contrary to the opinions of many high-ranking White House officials -- that Nemerov is not a warmonger. Meanwhile, a cadre of neo-fascists, led by Dressler (Alan Bates), plots the detonation at the Super Bowl in Baltimore, MD, of a nuclear device recovered from a long-ago Israeli fighter jet crash, a terrorist incident they intend to spark a war between the super powers, leaving them to conquer the world in the conflict's post-apocalyptic vacuum. The Sum of All Fears co-stars James Cromwell, Bridget Moynahan, and Liev Schreiber as covert operative John Clark, a character central to another series of Clancy's best-selling tomes. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, (more)
This long-delayed science fiction thriller from director Gary Fleder was actually filmed prior to his box-office hit Don't Say a Word (2001), which preceded it in theaters by several months. Based on a 1953 short story by Philip K. Dick, the film shares that schizophrenic author's long-running obsessions with concealed identity and humanity's potential inferiority to alternative life forms. Gary Sinise stars as Spencer John Olham, a respected government scientist in the year 2079 trying to devise a secret weapon that will help his fellow humans win a decade-long war with invading aliens that are cloning human subjects and using the replicas as walking time bombs. Suddenly, Olham is accused of being an alien spy and a nationwide manhunt to capture him ensues. With even his doctor wife (Madeleine Stowe) unsure that she can trust him, Olham must uncover the truth on his own, even as he's relentlessly pursued by Hathaway (Vincent D'Onofrio), a federal agent charged with destroying the clones. Imposter has a complicated history, originally produced in early 2000 as a 30-minute short to be included in an anthology entitled "The Light Years Trilogy," a project that never got off the ground. So impressed was Dimension Films with the completed piece, however, that the footage was incorporated into a new feature version. That film was then shuffled around the release schedule for more than a year as effects were completed, reshoots were ordered, and the film was recut for a PG-13 rating instead of its original R. The R-rated "director's cut" was later released on DVD. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe, (more)
Yet another TV series is revived for the big screen, as Will Smith and Kevin Kline join forces as James T. West and Artemus Gordon, the most sophisticated government agents of the 1860's, in the film adaptation of The Wild Wild West. West and Gordon represent two opposite ends of the personality scale: West is a smooth-talking charmer and man of action who prefers to shoot first and ask questions much, much later; while Gordon is intensely methodical and cerebral, with a genius for gadgets and mechanical innovations. They're brought together by no less an authority than the President of the United States to track down an evil genius named Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh). Loveless was once an honored military leader and inventor until one of his schemes went awry and left him paralyzed from the waist down. Driven mad by the experience, Loveless is determined to get revenge on the United States by assassinating the President, using a 60-foot tall mechanical spider. Assisting Loveless is a team of beautiful female criminals, Miss East (Bai Ling), Amazonia (Frederique Van Der Wal), Munitia (Musetta Vander) and Miss Lippenreider (Sofia Eng). As the initially suspicious West and Gordon learn to work together, they also find themselves helped by an attractive woman, Rita Escobar (Salma Hayek), who has her own bone to pick with Loveless. Wild Wild West reunites star Will Smith with director Barry Sonnenfeld, who previously worked together on the hit Men In Black (1997). Wild Wild West features a hip-hop theme song from one-time Fresh Prince Smith, along with a more traditional Western score from composer Elmer Bernstein. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Kevin Kline, (more)
Robert Redford directed himself for the first time in this romantic drama adapted from the 1995 best-seller by Nicholas Evans. Fourteen-year-old Grace MacLean (Scarlett Johansson of Manny & Lo) and her friend Judith go horseback riding in upstate New York on a winter morning, but their horses lose their footing on ice and slide onto a road, where Judith and her horse are killed by a jackknifing truck. Grace and her horse are also seriously injured -- doctors must amputate Grace's right leg -- and the frightening incident leaves a lasting trauma not only on Grace but also on her horse, Pilgrim. Grace's mother -- magazine editor Annie MacLean (Kristin Scott Thomas) -- seeking Grace's recovery, feels there's a link between her crippled, embittered daughter and Pilgrim's behavior. Learning about a horse trainer with a special gift, she takes Grace and Pilgrim to Montana where horse whisperer Tom Booker (Robert Redford) lives on a ranch with his younger brother Frank (Chris Cooper), Frank's wife Diane (Dianne Wiest) and their children. Tom's work with the horse also has a rejuvenating effect on the guilt-ridden Grace. Annie loses her magazine job, and the low-key romantic involvement between Annie and Tom develops during the summer, stifled by the unexpected arrival of Annie's husband, Robert MacLean (Sam Neill). Screenplay by Eric Roth and Richard LaGravenese (who adapted The Bridges of Madison County). Filmed in Montana and Saratoga Springs, New York. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, (more)
This 1998 version of Mighty Joe Young begins with a Gorillas in the Mist-type prologue and then jumps forward twelve years to find Bill Paxton leading a safari expedition to capture the legendary giant (two-ton) gorilla, the subject of the film's title. Paxton's intentions are admirable; he wants to remove the majestic beast from the imminent danger of poachers and set him up on a posh nature reserve in California. The x-factor comes in the form of Charlize Theron's beautiful jungle girl, Jill Young. Jill has been Joe's soul mate from birth and is the only human who can communicate with him. She is also the reason Paxton's maverick-on-the-run lingers at the reserve after his task is completed. From there, the plot is spurred on by the nefarious actions of a poacher with an Ahab complex and a battery of money hungry scientists who want to exploit Joe. Naturally, all of this puts a burr under the towering simian's skin, causing him to break free and go ape in L.A.'s concrete jungle. ~ Tom Meek, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlize Theron, Bill Paxton, (more)
Brett Ratner directed this action-comedy that found box-office success by teaming Chris Tucker with Jackie Chan -- performing his own stunts as per his earlier films. As the story begins, Hong-Kong supercop Lee's (Chan), detective savvy leads to the confiscation of $500 million in weapons, drugs, and Chinese art. When Hong Kong Chinese Consul Han (Tzi Ma), is sent on a diplomatic mission to Los Angeles, his 11-year-old daughter, Soo Young (Julia Hsu), is abducted by an international criminal mastermind. The FBI assures Han they will find the kidnappers and return her safely, yet Han only trusts his longtime friend and ally (also his daughter's beloved martial arts teacher) Inspector Lee, who immediately flies in to help. Unwilling to have an outsider interfere in their investigation, the FBI assigns rogue LAPD detective (and buffoon) James Carter (Chris Tucker) to the case. Hoping to impress the FBI, Carter enthusiastically reports for work but is dismayed to discover his real mission is only to keep Lee away from the case (read b-a-b-y-s-i-t-t-e-r). The arrogant Carter reacts by embarking on a one-man crusade to solve the case, but he must first distract Lee. It doesn't take Carter long before he realizes he has greatly underestimated his Hong Kong counterpart, who sees what's going on and slips away. Impatient FBI agents try to cast off these unwanted misfit cops, but with an assist from LAPD bomb expert Tania Johnson (Elizabeth Pena), Carter and Lee eventually confront the bad guys in a full-tilt action sequence. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, (more)
Top-notch action sequences and exciting stunt work highlight this fast-moving thriller. John Kruger (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a top agent in the U.S. Marshalls' Witness Protection Program; it's his job to "erase" the pasts of Federal witnesses under his watch and deal with anyone who tries to hurt them. Kruger's latest assignment is to protect Lee Cullen (Vanessa Williams), who while working for a major weapons manufacturing firm discovered evidence that the company was selling new, high-tech weapons to intentional terrorists groups with the cooperation of a faction of enemy agents within the United States government. However, when Kruger discovers that the Witness Protection Program has a rat in the house -- and that rat is his boss, U.S. Marshall Robert Deguerin (James Caan) -- Kruger has to guard his own life while trying to protect Lee's. The supporting cast is highlighted by James Coburn, Robert Pastorelli, and James Cromwell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Caan, (more)
A pair of New York City cops collaborate on a plan to rob a cash-packed subway train in this action-comedy. Charlie (Woody Harrelson) and John (Wesley Snipes) are not just co-workers and close friends but also foster brothers. Because of this family connection, the reluctant John becomes involved in the more capricious Charlie's far-fetched scheme to rob the "money train" that collects the subway's daily grosses. Charlie needs the money for gambling debts, and robbing the train would have the added benefit of angering Charlie's and John's harsh, corrupt boss Captain Patterson (Robert Blake). Romantic interest is provided by a fellow police officer (Jennifer Lopez) who sparks rivalry between the brothers, but the film's main interest is in the violent events that surround the attempted heist, which naturally proves more complicated than planned. The film attempts to capitalize on the chemistry between Snipes and Harrelson, who had previously had a hit comedy with White Men Can't Jump (1992), but Joseph Ruben's unexceptional direction and a bland screenplay by Doug Richardson and David Loughery make the film less distinctive than its predecessor. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, (more)
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)
- 1993
- PG
- Add Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III to QueueAdd Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III to top of Queue
This third film in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series finds the half-shelled ninjas traveling back in time to 17th-century Japan in order to save April O'Neil (Paige Turco). Once there, they also use their skills to help a rebel army battle an evil leader. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elias Koteas, Paige Turco, (more)
The idea of fusing teen sex-comedy and horror genres into a boffo box-office bonanza seems like classic braindead Hollywood-think... but somehow, beyond all reason, the makers of this film manage to pull it off. Much of the credit goes to director Fran Rubel Kuzui (Tokyo Pop) who chooses wisely to let the jokes and action rip by so quickly that viewers won't have time to realize there's practically nothing going on. Also excellent is Kristy Swanson as the bubble-headed cheerleader who learns from a Van Helsing-ish stranger (Donald Sutherland) that she's, like, the reincarnation of this pure female warrior and stuff, destined to rid the world -- or at least the Valley -- of vampires. No sooner is the Buffster being schooled in the ways of vampire butt-kicking (much to the consternation of meek pretty-boy beau Luke Perry) than the lead vampire (Rutger Hauer) and his leering cronies show up -- and leading up the pack is none other than Pee-Wee Herman himself, Paul Reubens. Fans of this film's popular TV offspring will appreciate the fang-sharp humor but may be surprised to find little evidence of the spooky atmosphere that permeates the series -- though there are some inspired moments, particularly the ridiculous death-by-ruler scene. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, (more)
- 1991
- PG
- Add Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze to QueueAdd Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze to top of Queue
The crime-fighting Turtles -- Michaelangelo (Michelan Sisti), Donatello (Leif Tilden), Raphael (Kenn Troum), and Leonardo (Mark Caso) -- return in this quickly made sequel to the popular superheroes' first film. The story concerns arch-enemy Shredder, who kidnaps nutty professor Jordan Perry David Warner, the man who invented the infamous ooze, in order to use the ooze to destroy the Turtles. Shredder enlists his hapless German shepherd puppy named Rahzar and a baby snapping turtle named Toko and dips them in the ooze to turn them into horrible and imposing ninja warriors. But on the Turtles' side is proficient kick-boxing pizza boy Keno (Ernie Reyes Jr.), who uses his moves to help the Turtles stop Shredder and his monster warriors. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paige Turco, David Warner, (more)
Director Mark L. Lester modeled this police action drama on the Hong Kong style, guaranteeing plenty of over-the-top action sequences. Dolph Lundgren stars as police detective Chris Kenner, an American raised in Japan. He is given a new partner, Johnny Murata (Brandon Lee, making his Hollywood debut), a Japanese raised in America. The two are made for each other -- Chris doesn't appreciate American culture, while Johnny doesn't much like Japanese culture. One thing they both enjoy are the martial arts, of which they are experts. The two are assigned to L.A.'s Little Tokyo, trying to nab the notorious Yoshida (Carey-Hiroyuki Tagawa), a drug manufacturer using a local brewery as his distribution center. Yoshida, a member of the Yakuza, has brought the residents of Little Tokyo to their knees. But Chris has personal reasons for wanting to get Yoshida -- as a child he witnessed Yoshida murdering his parents. When Yoshida rapes and kidnaps Minako (Tia Carrere), a beautiful lounge singer, it's the last straw and Chris and Johnny set out for Yoshida's heavily guarded home for a big showdown. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolph Lundgren, Brandon Lee, (more)
Kevin Costner plays an ex-pilot who visits the posh Mexican estate of an old associate (Anthony Quinn) "Tibey" Mendes, for a bit of R & R. Tibey has turned into a very powerful Godfather type who rules his world and those who touch it. Costner can't help but notice his old friend's incredibly beautiful young wife (Madeleine Stowe) and before long they're involved in some sizzling hoochie-coo at the risk of being discovered by Mendes. Mendes eventually catches on and exacts a painful and cruel punishment on the reclusive lovers caught in their lustful liaison. Costner vows a pay-back and the last part of the movie involves his attempt to achieve it. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn, (more)
In return for Warner Bros. greenlighting his pet project White Hunter, Black Heart (1990), Clint Eastwood directed and starred in this more commercial film, an action caper about a mismatched pair of auto theft cops. Eastwood is grizzled veteran detective Nick Pulovski, who's determined to bring down the chop-shop operation being run by a pair of German crooks, Strom (Raul Julia) and Liesl (Sonia Braga). Although he's been officially removed from the case and partnered with a green, recently promoted detective, David Ackerman (Charlie Sheen), the hard-drinking Nick's not about to let the car thieves get away with murder. David, in the meanwhile, is dealing with his own issues, including the death of his brother (for which he was responsible), his unhappy girlfriend Sarah (Lara Flynn Boyle) and his estrangement from his wealthy father Eugene (Tom Skerritt). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Charlie Sheen, (more)
Two pilots go against the rule book in a bid to win the war in Viet Nam in this speculative military drama. Lieutenant Jake Grafton (Brad Johnson) is a U.S. Navy pilot stationed aboard an aircraft carrier after the death of his one-time flying partner Morgan McPherson (Christopher Rich), who perished during a recent, ill-advised mission. Lt. Grafton, who has become cynical about the current state of military affairs, is convinced that if the war were left to the soldiers rather than the politicians overseeing the Pentagon, United States victory would be swift and assured. Grafton shares this opinion with Virgil Cole (Willem Dafoe), a supremely confident new pilot under his command, and together they commandeer an A-6 Bomber, known as The Intruder, for an unauthorized bombing raid against Hanoi. The city had been declared off-limits because it was believed that it would have a negative impact on the Paris peace talks, so the raid lands Grafton and Cole in hot water. However, when the talks break down, President Richard Nixon authorizes the pilots to lead a new strike against Hanoi with everything they've got. Ving Rhames and David Schwimmer both appear in small roles that predated their respective rises to fame (in fact, this was Schwimmer's first movie). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, (more)
