Sci-Fi & Fantasy Classics

Toy Story was the first feature-length film animated entirely by computer. If this seems to be a sterile, mechanical means of moviemaking, be assured that the film is as chock-full of heart and warmth as any Disney cartoon feature. The star of the proceedings is Woody, a pull-string cowboy toy belonging to a wide-eyed youngster named Andy. Whenever Andy's out of the room, Woody revels in his status as the boy's number one toy. His supremacy is challenged by a high-tech, space-ranger action figure named Buzz Lightyear, who, unlike Woody and his pals, believes that he is real and not merely a plaything. The rivalry between Woody and Buzz hilariously intensifies during the first half of the film, but when the well-being of Andy's toys is threatened by a nasty next-door neighbor kid named Sid -- whose idea of fun is feeding stuffed dolls to his snarling dog and reconstructing his own toys into hideous mutants -- Woody and Buzz join forces to save the day. Superb though the computer animation may be, what really heightens Toy Story are the voice-over performances by such celebrities as Tom Hanks (as Woody), Tim Allen (as Buzz), and Don Rickles (as an appropriately acerbic Mr. Potato Head). Director John Lasseter earned a special achievement Academy Award, while Randy Newman landed an Oscar nomination for his evocative musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A sequel to the low-budget 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

Television sitcom star Tim Allen made his big screen debut with this light, family-friendly holiday comedy. Allen stars as Scott Calvin, the divorced dad of Charlie (Eric Lloyd). Scott is distressed to learn that his ex-wife Laura (Wendy Crewson) and Charlie's psychiatrist stepfather Neal (Judge Reinhold) have informed his son that there is no Santa Claus. While a sullen Charlie visits his dad on Christmas Eve, a noise on the roof brings them outside, where Scott startles the intruder, who tumbles from the roof. It turns out that there is a Santa after all, and Scott has just accidentally killed him. Because of a legal technicality known as "the Santa clause," Scott inherits the jolly old elf's job. As the next year passes, Scott rapidly gains weight, grows a white beard and meets the elf Bernard (David Krumholtz) -- who is the one who really runs the North Pole -- while Charlie regains his Christmas spirit. However, Neal becomes concerned about Scott's sudden change in appearance and insistence that he's Santa, and he forces him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Director John Pasquin previously directed Allen in the TV series Home Improvement and would team with him again for Jungle 2 Jungle (1997). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

"I'm in love with a mermaid!" read the opening line of Leonard Maltin's original review for Splash. And with the delightful Darryl Hannah in the lead, who could fault Maltin for his public declaration of ardor? The story begins in 1959, when a young boy is rescued from a watery grave by an adolescent mermaid. Twenty-five years later, the boy has grown up--and lo and behold, it's Tom Hanks. Meanwhile, the mermaid, likewise grown up, has surfaced in search of Hanks, her long-lost love. On dry land, the mermaid is able to walk about on legs; any contact with salt water, and she reverts to her half-fish form. Adopting the name of Madison from a New York street sign, the girl manages to win Hanks' heart. Alas, a secret government lab, populated by such smarmy types as Richard B. Shull and Eugene Levy, captures Madison for research purposes--and possible vivisection. Egged on by his brother John Candy, Hanks rescues his beloved, joining her in the ocean depths as a mer-man (mer-fellow? mer-guy?) A captivating confection from the peerless creative team of director Ron Howard and screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, Splash was a winner all the way--especially at the box office, where the $11 million film racked up a huge profit. Historical sidebar: Splash was the first release from Disney's Touchstone Pictures division. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Paul Verhoeven's American breakthrough film Robocop is an exceedingly violent blend of black comedy, science fiction, and crime thriller. Set in Detroit sometime in the near-future, the film is about a policeman (Peter Weller) killed in the line of duty, who the department decides to resurrect as a half-human, half-robot supercop. The robocop is indestructible, and within a matter of weeks he has removed crime from the streets of Detroit. However, his human side is tortured by his past, and he wants revenge on the thugs who killed him. The film was later followed by two feature-length sequels and a live-action television series, neither of which were as successful as the original film ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Behind the black cowl, Gotham City superhero Batman is really millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton), who turned to crimefighting after his parents were brutally murdered before his eyes. The only person to share Wayne's secret is faithful butler Alfred (Michael Gough). The principal villain in Batman is The Joker (Jack Nicholson) who'd been mob torpedo Jack Napier before he was horribly disfigured in a vat of acid. The Joker's plan to destroy Batman and gain control of Gotham City is manifold. First he distributes a line of booby-trapped cosmetics, then he goes on a destruction spree in the Gotham Art Museum while the music of Prince blasts away in the background, and finally he orchestrates an all-out campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Gothamites, hoping to turn them against the Cowled One. Meanwhile, reporter Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) becomes the love of Batman's life-which of course plays right into the Joker's hands. Photographed by Roger Pratt, designed by Anton Furst, and scored by Tim Burton's favorite composer Danny Elfman, Batman was a monstrous box-office hit, making $100 million in the first ten days of release--$82,800,000 in North America alone. Incidentally, Billy Dee Williams' comparatively small role as DA Harvey Dent was originally designed to set up the sequel, wherein Dent was to convert into master criminal Two-Face; but by the time the producers got around to that character in 1995's Batman Forever, Two-Face was played by Tommy Lee Jones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With only a few days before their high-school graduation, it looks like airheaded rock star wannabes Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are doomed to flunk all their finals. The boys' long-suffering teacher (Bernie Casey) gives them one more chance. If they can ace an oral exam on the topic of how a famous historical personality might react to modern times, they will be allowed to pass. If not, Ted's dad will plunk the boy into military school, thereby breaking up the boys' garage band permanently. Bill and Ted receive unexpected aid from a very unexpected source: Rufus (George Carlin), an Emissary from the Future. It seems that in Rufus' time, Bill and Ted's rock music is the basis of all society-and if their band is aborted, Rufus' world will no longer exist. Thus, Bill and Ted are whisked off in a time machine (actually a telephone booth) to retrieve a few historical characters--including Joan of Arc, Abe Lincoln, Napoleon and Beethoven--as "eyewitnesses" for their crucial oral exam. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure inspired both a sequel (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) and a Saturday morning cartoon series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With the ultimate throw-down, "There can be only one," Highlander captured the imaginations of fantasy fans seeking a well-executed swordplay epic, becoming a cult classic in the process. Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) is one of a waning few survivors of a clan of immortals The breed have been dueling each other for centuries in the quest to be the last one remaining, and hence achieve a supreme enlightenment that would be dangerous in the wrong hands. The immortals can only die by decapitation, so they hunt each other through time and across continents to meet for each decisive duel, which will bring one of them a step closer to ultimate power. In present-day America, the troubled hero MacLeod lives a brooding and lonely existence, having lost his true love centuries ago. The evil Kurgan (Clancy Brown), an immortal who plans to use his power toward unspeakable ends, has fought MacLeod before but is still trying to finish him off. After emerging victorious from a parking garage skirmish with the third-to-last immortal, MacLeod knows that only Kurgan is left, and the two are on a collision path toward the inevitable. In the film's numerous flashbacks to the past, Sean Connery plays Ramirez, the immortal who first tutors MacLeod after the hero survives a mortal battle wound, prompting his fearful village to banish him. Roxanne Hart plays MacLeod's modern-day love interest, who tries to help him while struggling to believe his incredible story. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

The plot of this action film begins in 1996, with Los Angeles in a violence-crazed conflagration. One of the LAPD's most notorious cops, John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone), known as "the demolition man," is in hot pursuit of blonde-haired psychopath Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), who is so nasty he even kills sometimes just because he feels cranky. John captures Simon, but not before Simon kills innocent hostages. John is blamed for the deaths of the hostages, and both he and Simon are cryogenically frozen to remove their brand of ultra-violence from a society that is simply just too violent. The film shifts to the future world of 2032, where Los Angeles has become a megalopolis called San Angeles. There is no poverty, Arnold Schwarzenegger was (at one time) president of the United States, and Taco Bell is the sole survivor of the Franchise Wars. Into this peaceful and bland society, Simon is summarily defrosted by reigning benevolent dictator Dr. Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne) to have Simon murder Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary), the leader of a group of underground rebels. But Cocteau bites off more than he can chew when the melted-down Simon proceeds to go on a murder-and-looting spree. Reluctantly, Cocteau defrosts John to hunt down his old adversary. As John adjusts to self-driving cars and having sex wearing helmets, he pairs up with Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock), a bored cop with a nostalgic fascination for 20th-century culture. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Businessman Larry Burrows (James Belushi) has a wife who ignores him, a screwball friend who won't leave him alone, and a car that continually breaks down. All that and more is enough to give him a mid-life crisis. After his car stalls once more, he enters a bar looking for help and encounters a bartender (Michael Caine) who shows him what his life would have been like, if he hadn't struck out in a baseball game back in high school. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Handsome young Washington attorney Louie Jeffries (Chris McDonald) has it all: a promising career, a beautiful wife, and a baby on the way. But after discovering a local judge is in cahoots with the Mob, Louie bites it in a car crash and finds himself in Heaven. Unsatisfied with the customer service he's receiving, Louie jumps the gun and gets himself reincarnated -- before being administered the magic injection that will remove his memories of his former life. For the next quarter-century, Louie's museum curator wife, Corinne (Cybill Shepherd), remains true to her husband's memory, ignoring the frustrated devotion of Louie's best friend, Philip Train (Ryan O'Neal). Meanwhile, Louie's soul grows up in the body of Alex Finch (Robert Downey Jr.), an aspiring journalist. Alex's memories of his life as Louie return after he becomes romantically involved with Miranda (Mary Stuart Masterson) -- the daughter he never got to meet. Soon, Alex/Louie is romancing his wife, spurning his daughter's advances, and frustrating Philip's attempts finally to woo Corinne. Written by Mystic Pizza scribes Perry and Randy Howze and directed by Emile Ardolino of Dirty Dancing fame, Chances Are didn't score as well at the box office as those earlier comedies. Its soundtrack, however, generated the hit Peter Cetera and Cher ballad "After All." ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide