Die Hard 2: Die Harder - 1990

Gordon Company, Silver Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Directed by Renny Harlin

Cast:

• John McClane – Bruce Willis
• Holly McClane – Bonnie Bedelia
• Richard Thornburg – William Atherton
• Col. Stuart – William Sadler
• Maj. Grant – John Amos
• Capt. Carmine Lorenzo – Dennis Franz
• Leslie Barnes – Art Evans
• Mr. Trudeau – Fred Dalton Thompson
• Marvin – Tom Bower
• Samantha Coleman – Sheila McCarthy
• Sgt. Al Powell – Reginald VelJohnson

Story: John McClane is at another airport on Christmas Eve, but this time he's picking up his wife, Holly, as she is flying in. This time it's Dulles in Washington D.C., where Holly's parents live. Apparently John is now sporting an LAPD badge, so we can safely assume he has moved to LA to be near Holly as she continues her career with the Nakatomi corporation. Alas, John can't turn off the cop instinct and notices something amiss as he is waiting in the lounge...three men wearing military boots and acting suspiciously. He follows two of them discretely, but they enter a restricted area and he has a janitorial worker open the door and sends him for the airport police. As he approaches the two men who are busy doing something to a panel, they begin shooting, and a battle ensues, one that leaves one of the men dead while the other escapes. The airport police are treating this like a random luggage thief incident, but McClane uses a ink pad and gets the prints off the dead guy. He faxes the prints to Sgt. Powell in LA and asks him to run them. Powell reports back a little later, this guy is dead. Actually, the government says he died two years ago in a helicopter crash. So how was he alive and in the airport? McClane reports his information to the airport police Captain and the supervisor, Mr. Trudeau, but just as Trudeau orders Lorenzo to bring in all his shift commanders, the runway lights begin to go down, systems throughout the control tower shut down, and an ominous voice on the FAA frequency hot line warns them they are in control, and they have two minutes to tell their planes to circle at the outer marker. Col. Stuart and his crack squad of commandos have taken over the airport to free an inbound military general, and John McClane must once again save the day!

Review: At first, I thought the producers had lost their minds. Renny Harlin instead of John McTiernan on a Die Hard? But this one is as good as the first, if not better. Bruce Willis reprises his role as the indestructable John McClane, and like Al says, the insurance companies are getting nervous. This time McClane is up against a top notch crew of black ops commandos who have figured out every angle, except McClane. John is the fly in the ointment, and he does his best to counter every move the commandos make. The action scenes are exceptional, and the actors are perfectly cast. William Atherton and Bonnie Bedelia reprise their roles as well, and their interaction on the plane while John fights the bad guys on the ground adds an additional tension to the film that peaks your interest from the start. Dennis Franz as the irascible airport police chief compliments Fred Dalton Thompson as his boss. John Amos as the changeling Army major sent to foil Col. Stuart is priceless, and even plays up with McClane's character. Marvin the janitor is a perfect substitute for Argyle the limo driver, and the entire film proceeds with the pace and tempo that keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what the heck is going to happen next. Rated R for violence, brief nudity, and a whole lot of language. Definitely collectible as #2 of the set of four.

Necessary Roughness - 1991

Paramount Pictures

Directed by Stan Dragoti

Cast:

• Paul Blake – Scott Bakula
• Coach Ed Generro – Hector Elizondo
• Coach Wally Rig – Robert Loggia
• Dr. Suzanne Carter – Harley Jane Kozak
• Dean Phillip Elias – Larry Miller
• Professor Andre Krimm - Sinbad
• Dean Carver Purcell – Fred Dalton Thompson
• Jarvis Edison – Jason Bateman
• Lucy Draper – Kathy Ireland

Story:Ooops. The team and coaches of Texas State University are sanctioned by the NCAA, and the school is forced to recruit a football team from actual students in order to play. Ed “Straight Arrow” Generro is hired to coach and recruit his team. He brings in Wally Rig as his defensive coach, and starts to recruit students. But Dean Elias sees this as an opportunity to eliminate football from the curriculum forever, and sets about trying to sabotage the team academically. Meanwhile, Coach Rig has a brilliant idea. He recruits Paul Blake, a former high school quarterback who was set to play for Penn State when his father passed away and he had to take over the family farm. Blake is in his thirties, but his curiosity to know if he can still play draws him back into the game and he enrolls to play. All sorts of things emerge. Blake's journalism professor, Dr. Carter, was a cheerleader who had a major crush on Paul in high school. Blake's science professor, Andre Krimm, was a former football player who dropped out of football to pursue his career in science and still has eligibility left. In need of a kicker, they recruit a soccer player, Lucy Draper, who is anything but male. While they fail to win all their games, they prove that honesty and college football can go hand in hand.

Review: So why review a 21 year old movie? Easy. Good movies have no expiration date, and this is certainly one of them. At the time, the NCAA was going through all sorts of problems with player bribes, payoffs, faked grades, violations from steroids to hookers to cars for the players. This movie was brave enough to face these problems and gives an accurate picture of trying to build a football team from a bunch of wanna be's and never were's. Scott Bakula is perfect in the role, neither attempting to affect a fake Texas drawl nor over playing the role. Hector Elizondo and Robert Loggia, two veteran actors who could easily dominate the film, instead add their considerable talents to make the film believable. Several great touches are added, including Rob Schneider as the announcer for the games, and the appearance of a prison team arranged by Dean Elias (Larry Miller, the schmuck you love to hate) adds an extreme and interesting comic scene. Dick Butkus, Earl Campbell, Roger Craig, Ben Davidson, Tony Dorsett, Evander Holyfield, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Jim Kelly, Jerry Rice, Herschel Walker, and Randy White are the prison football players. The film is cohesive, the language is minimal, and the violence is limited to the football field, practice, and a slight altercation between two teams at Billy Bob's. Collectible if you are a fan of good sports movies, and definitely a great film for the family on a Saturday night.

In The Line Of Fire - 1993

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Castle Rock Entertainment

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen

Cast:

• Frank Horrigan – Clint Eastwood
• Mitch Leary – John Malkovich
• Lilly Raines – Rene Russo
• Al D'Andrea – Dylan McDermott
• Bill Watts – Gary Cole
• Harry Sargent – Fred Dalton Thompson
• Sam Campagna – John Mahoney

Story: An aging secret service agent is investigating a reported threat against the President when he stumbles on to a guy who is actually plotting to kill him. “Booth” is a sinister sort who recognizes Frank Horrigan as the last remaining Secret Service agent from the Kennedy era, the man who was standing behind the car when Kennedy was shot. The Secret Service takes all the right steps to capture “Booth”, but he is always just a few steps ahead of them. He plays a cat and mouse game with Frank, calling him, talking about how, even telling him where the assassination will take place. Frank risks everything, including his life several times, to prevent the assassination from happening, but is it enough?

Review: To date, this is the last film Clint has starred in that was not directed by him. But if you're going to work with the best, why not work with Petersen? That logic appears to be sound, as this film is one of the more seamless dramas Eastwood has done. Everything fits, from the opening scenes as an undercover agent to relationship with John Mahoney to the interaction with John Malkovich. The love relationship between him and Rene Russo is neither forced nor overly romantic, but the feeling blends perfectly into the resolution of the film. Fred Dalton Thompson is not stranger to political roles, but might have played this one with a little more panache. Overall, this film is well-written and directed, plays well to the adult audience, and leaves a favorable impression, like going to a good restaurant on a night when the chef has gone all out. You leave satisfied, and plan to come back again. Rated R for violence and language, this film is not for the pre-teens, and while the teens would not be shocked at the violence, they probably won't want to watch a bunch of “old people” for 128 minutes. Their loss is our gain. Collectible for the Eastwood fans, and anyone who enjoys a good suspense film.