The Last Boy Scout - 1991

Geffen Pictures, Silver Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures

Directed by Tony Scott

Cast:

• Joe Hallenbeck – Bruce Willis
• Jimmy Dix – Damon Wayans
• Sarah Hallenbeck – Chelsea Fields
• Sheldon 'Shelly' Marcone – Noble Willingham
• Milo – Taylor Negron
• Darian Hallenbeck – Danielle Harris
• Cory – Halle Berry
• Mike Matthews – Bruce McGill
• Chet – Kim Coates

Story: Joe Hallenbeck is going through a really rough time in his life. The former Secret Service agent who once took two bullets for the President is now a alcoholic bum private detective who discovers his wife is sleeping with Mike Matthews, his best friend. Mike is also a detective and offers Joe five hundred dollars to handle a surveillance job, which he accepts even though he catches him in his bedroom closet with Sarah, his wife. As Mike is leaving, Joe gets the information on the job and stands by the curb to watch Mike leave. But when Mike gets in his car, it blows up. And the stripper he is hired to protect gets killed. The stripper's boyfriend, a former professional football player named Jimmy Dix, gets involved and together they work to solve the mystery that's getting people killed.

Review: Timeline in another dimension...has to be. Pro Football on a Friday Night with Bill Medley singing the theme song? Halle Berry dancing in a strip club with silver pasties? Anyone wanting to assassinate Jimmy Carter? (well, maybe) Talk about your fantasy summer action films. I think Tony Scott knew exactly what he was doing when he got Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) to write this incredibly fast paced film with lots of twists and turns. Willis and Damons work exceptionally well off each other, and its hard to tell who's the straight man and who's the comic in several of the exchanges. I'm not quite sure which characters have the shortest film time, but not many Bad Guys survive. Bruce McGill and Kim Coates are both excellent in brief but important roles, and Taylor Negron wins the award for most villainous bad guy of the 1990's, in my opinion. Now, if you're looking for plots that make sense, forget it. This is a shoot 'em up film where Willis gets to play the irascible grouch who is pissed off about losing his job and taking it out on the world. How bad is he? Every time someone calls him a bastard, his response is: “and then some!”. So we are not talking Oscar material, and we certainly aren't talking collectible, unless you are a big fan of Willis. (I admit it, I have a copy) Rated R for every conceivable reason in the book except maybe perversion with animals, this is definitely a see it once and enjoy the laughter and the action.

The Sum of All Fears - 2002

Paramount Pictures, Mace Neufeld Productions,MFP Munich Film Partners GmbH & Company I. Produktions KG

Directed by Phil Alden Robinson

Cast:

• Jack Ryan – Ben Affleck
• William Cabot – Morgan Freeman
• President Fowler – James Cromwell
• John Clark – Liev Schrieber
• NS Advisor Gene Revell – Bruce McGill
• President Nemerov – Ciaran Hinds
• Dr. Cathy Muller – Bridget Moynahan

Story: A young CIA analyst becomes embroiled in a conflict between the United States and Russia. Jack Ryan is the resident expert on the newly elected Russian President Nemerov, and is summoned by CIA director Cabot to provide background information. He accompanies Cabot to Moscow, and then joins him in a tour of a facility where nuclear warheads are being dismantled. Ryan's curiousity is peaked when he discovers three of the seventeen scientists who are supposed to be on duty at the facility are missing. The more he digs into this anomaly, the more he discovers, and he and his research team are the only people standing between World War Three.

Review: The fourth Tom Clancy novel to make it to the big screen, and the third actor to play Jack Ryan. This film falls short of expectations for several reasons. Since it is shot as a “prequel”of sorts to the previous films, Sum of all Fears seems somehow out of time with its predecessors. In this film, Jack Ryan is played by Ben Affleck, who is certainly no slouch in front of the camera. His portrayal of the the Clancy hero is good, and even meshes with the performance of Alec Baldwin in the first film of the series, Hunt for Red October. I guess my problem is Red October post dates Sum by a number of years, since in it Catherine and Jack are married with a daughter, yet the Soviets are still around. In Sum, Ryan and Cathy are still dating, only becoming engaged at the end of the film and the Soviet Union is long gone. From that standpoint alone, the timing is off sequence, which can make for a bit of a conflict for those of us who have read Clancy's novels, or seen the previous films. For the uninitiated, the film is terrific, and opens up the possibility of an entire new series (which was never pursued, apparently). Cromwell and Freeman are striking in their roles, as is Ciaran Hinds as the Russian President. The remaining cast, McGill, et. al., are intense when they need to be and absent when not needed. Which is the problem with a film like this, since you have so much action going on it is easy to get lost in it. Rated PG-13 for violence and language, the terrifying scene of a nuclear weapon going off in a crowded city is enough for all of us to consider whether or not to let the kids watch. Definitely not collectible, since the series was never continued and the film is out of sequence with the first three Clancy films. Rent it, don't buy it.

A Perfect World - 1993

Warner Bros. Pictures, Malpaso Productions

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Cast:

• Chief Red Garnett – Clint Eastwood
• Robert 'Butch' Hayes – Kevin Costner
• Sally Gerber – Laura Dern
• Phillip 'Buzz' Perry – T. J. Lowther
• Terry Pugh – Keith Szarabajka
• Bobby Lee – Bradley Whitford
• Tom Adler – Leo Burmester
• Paul Saunders – Bruce McGill

Story: Two prisoners break out of a Texas jail in the early 1960's. One is just trying to get away, the other is an idiot who is hell bent on going out Texas-style, guns blazing. While looking for a different car, they happen on a single mom and her daughters and son in a residential area. They take the son hostage and escape in the car they came in. The next morning, while getting some supplies, Butch kills Terry for trying to sexually assault the boy, Phillip. By this time the U. S. Marshalls have been alerted and Chief Red Garnett, who is in charge of the manhunt, commandeers the Governor's latest equipment as his command post. The governor has sent a specialist in criminal behavior, Sally Gerber, to aide in the recapturing of the prisoners. The FBI has sent Bobby Lee to assist, but as a sniper. Butch and 'Buzz' steal a yellow Ford sedan and make their way across the back roads of Texas, trying to avoid roadblocks and escape. Marshall Garnett and his crew try to figure a way to get the boy out safely, while the Governor of Texas is making as much political currency as he can.

Review: Clint Eastwood's perspective on the human condition is remarkable. In this film he takes the best of each cadre of the cast and seems to make the entire thing about everyone's agenda. Keith Szarabajka is the perfect sociopath, and you can tell he is not long for the film. Kevin Costner is not a career criminal, just a wild youth who got sent up on the recommendation of Garnett years ago, a recommendation he is now regretting. Eastwood and Dern are the realists on the Law Enforcement side, trying to cope with a situation while dealing with the politics of the situation. Bradley Whitford should really be in the prison uniform, but instead plays the FBI sniper who is intent on proving to everyone his testosterone levels are up to the task. Throughout the film, the relationship between Costner and Lowther is the principle theme, and you can tell Costner's character is basically a decent person, although there are some things in his understand of life that need a little adjustment. The end of the film is as powerful as the beginning, and this early Eastwood epic ranks up there with Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby as a powerful film with a subtle, but provocative message. Rated R for violence, language, and sexual content. If you are an Eastwood fan, you are going to want this one for your collection.

Collateral - 2004

Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks SKG, Parkes/MacDonald Productions

Directed by Michael Mann

Cast:

• Max Durocher – Jamie Foxx
• Vincent – Tom Cruise
• Annie – Jada Pinkett Smith
• Fanning – Mark Ruffalo
• Richard Weidner – Peter Berg
• Pedrosa – Bruce McGill
• Ida – Irma P. Hall
• Daniel – Barry Shabaka Henley
• Felix – Javier Bardem

Story: LA cab driver Max Durocher picks up a woman heading downtown to the federal building. On the way, there they have a wonderful conversation about her job, his dreams, and at the end of the ride he has made such a good impression she gives him her card. A man outside the federal building in a gray suit starts to take the next cab, but Max is first in line and tells him, “I'll take you.” The man tells Max an address, compliments him on the cleanliness of his cab, and asks how long it will take to get there. Max says seven minutes, and explains the route. When he gets to the destination, the man introduces himself as Vincent and explains he has several stops to make and offers Max $600.00 plus an extra $100.00 if he gets back to the airport after the trip and doesn't have to run for the plane. Max reluctantly agrees and pulls in the alley behind Vincent's first stop to wait for him. But as he is waiting, a body falls from the apartment onto the cab. Max soon realizes Vincent is the killer, but Vincent corrects him. “I just shot him...the bullets and the fall killed him. At gunpoint, Vincent explains he is on a route to kill several witnesses and Vincent will be his ride.

Review: I don't believe I will ever tire of Michael Mann's perspective on the human race. Cruise is the assassin, a cold, relentless killer without remorse, fulfilling a contract as quickly and efficiently as possible. Jada Pinkett Smith is the doer, an assistant federal prosecutor who is focused and dedicated to making the world a safer place by making sure the criminals end up behind bars. Jamie Foxx is an everyman caught up in a situation he cannot control trying to survive. He is a cabbie with dreams of becoming a limo service owner, and like most of us, lacks the ambition to follow it through. The way his life is going, he will end up driving a cab for the rest of his life. The polarized characters in this drama make for more than just a crime story. It is the battle we all face everyday, the battle of our ambitions and goals being quelled by complacency and routine. It is the battle most of us lose, unless we are fortunate enough to find an epiphany that changes our lives. For two hours, Mann escorts us through the battle in a unique and singular perspective that only he can manage, and this film keeps you on the edge of your seat as Max reaches that epiphany and develops into the everyman who can attain a higher plain. Rated R for violence and language, the sheer integrity, and power of this film make it collectible as one of Mann's best pieces. The performances are brilliant, the photography and setting is superb, and the film concludes with a resolution that will bring you to a realization of just how meaningful life can be.