Tag: 1990

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Movie Review

Q & A (1990) Movie Review

Q & A – Movie Review

Discover the intense corruption thriller Q & A. Read our review and get a first reaction to this gripping movie.

First Reaction – Q & A is a tense corruption thriller.

Watch Q & A Here

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ABC Film Challenge – Action – Q

Director: Sidney Lumet

Writer: Sidney Lumet (Screenplay)

Writer: Edwin Torres (Book)

Cast

Plot: Dirty cop Mike Brennan thinks he got away with murder. But during a routine Q&A, the righteous assistant DA finds a clue that sets them both on a collision course.

Runtime: 2 Hours 12 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Q & A starts when dirty cop Mike Brennan (Nolte) murders an innocent person. He claims self-defence and most of the force believe his story. However, young DA Al Reilly (Hutton) is assigned to investigate the case and starts questioning Mike’s story.

Al must risk his reputation to take on Mike, who has most of the force behind him and can push people to do whatever he wants. However, could he go too far and leave too many clues to his murder or continue in his dirty operations?

Verdict on Q & A

Recap

The movie follows a dirty cop who has been getting away with murders for years. However, his latest one finds him under investigation from the District Attorney. It becomes a battle between the two, with one wanting to do the right thing and the other wishing to continue their corrupt ways.

Best Parts

This movie doesn’t shy away from the corrupt cop’s actions; in fact, he tends to flaunt his behaviour. It shows just how ruthless they are and how much needs to be cleaned up by the DA. This creates a battle that shows how corrupt the system has become and how much needs cleaning before it is too late. The performances are fantastic too, with Nick Nolte and Timothy Hutton shining in their roles.

Worst Parts

This is a movie that pushes the boundaries of the era, it can push people the wrong way with how the corrupt cop operates. It falls into the typical racial stereotypes that can be seen to upset people.

Final Thoughts –Q & A is a great thriller which keeps you guessing.

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Movie Review

Narrow Margin (1990) Movie Review

Narrow Margin – ABC Film Challenge – Thriller – N – Narrow Margin – Movie Review

Narrow Margin

Director: Peter Hyams

Writer: Peter Hyams (Screenplay)

Writer: Martin Goldsmith, Jack Leonard (Story)

Cast

Plot: A Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney is sent to protect a woman who accidentally witnessed a Mafia murder.

Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Narrow Margin starts when Hunnicut (Archer) has a blind date with Michael Tarlow (J.T. Walsh). When their night gets interrupted by a mafia boss Leo Watts (Yulin). Watts goes on to murder Tarlow, with Hunnicut going unnoticed. Los Angeles District Attorney sees a chance to bring the crime boss down once and for all.

Deputy District Attorney Robert Caulfield (Hackman) is set to protect their star witness. However, Watts isn’t going to make it easy for her to take the stand. Robert must escort Hunnicut through the Rockies on a train, as the assassins look to discover who the star witness is.

Verdict on Narrow Margin

Narrow Margin is a thriller following a deputy district attorney trying to escort a star witness back to stand trial. However, the job isn’t that easy, as the suspect has assigned assassins to finish the job off and keep her quiet.

This is a tense thriller that keeps everything contained using the race-against-time formula. It shows the risk and the reward of stopping a big-time criminal. We are kept in suspense as the witness if hunted down, giving us a real cat-n-mouse feeling about the movie. Gene Hackman is great in the leading role, even if the villainous figures don’t feel as menacing as they could be.

Final Thoughts – Narrow Margin is a suspenseful thriller that keeps us on edge.

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Movie Review

Air America (1990) Movie Review

Air America – Movie Review

Air America

Director: Roger Spottiswoode

Writer: John Eskow, Richard Rush (Screenplay)

Writer: Christopher Robbins (Book)

Cast

Plot: A young pilot finds himself recruited unwittingly into a covert and corrupt CIA airlift operation in Laos during the Vietnam conflict.

Runtime: 1 Hour 53 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Air America starts when a young pilot Billy (Downey Jr) loses his license in America. He gets recruited to Laos to work for a secret air support group. Billy gets partnered with Gene (Gibson) to learn the ropes, as he learns about the operation, he has become part of.

As Billy gets used to his new surroundings, he learns about the questionable activities being done by his fellow pilots. This leads to him needing to make a big decision about his future, as the role becomes more dangerous as the Vietnam war starts to become a bigger problem for the pilot.

Verdict on Air America

Air America is an action comedy following a group of rogue pilots in Vietnam that use the cover of helping the locals to run an illegal CIA operation. It sees a rookie pilot of the area learning about the operation, as the rest of the crew try to keep it secret from a visiting senator.

This is a movie that gets to explore another story in the Vietnam war. Showing how Americans would have used their methods to profit off an invasion they created. However, this is told in a light-hearted manner to help make us support Gene and Billy. The performances from Gibson and Downey Jr are good throughout the film, as are most of the cast.

Final Thoughts – Air America is an entertaining action comedy.

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Movie Review

The Hunt for Red October (1990) Movie Review

The Hunt for Red October – ABC Film Challenge – Favourite – H – The Hunt for Red October – Movie Review

HUnt for Red October

Director: John McTiernan

Writer: Larry Ferguson, Donald E Stewart (Screenplay)

Writer: Tom Clancy (Novel)

Cast

  • Sean Connery (Dr No)
  • Alec Baldwin (Glengarry Glen Ross)
  • Scott Glenn (The Silence of the Lambs)
  • Sam Neill (Jurassic Park)
  • James Earl Jones (Star Wars)

Plot: In November 1984, the Soviet Union’s best submarine captain violates orders and heads for the U.S. in a new undetectable sub. The American CIA and military must quickly determine: Is he trying to defect or to start a war?

Runtime: 2 Hours 15 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Hunt for Red October starts when a Soviet Union submarine Captain Marko Ramius (Connery) violates orders. He starts heading toward the USA in a new undetectable submarine. Jack Ryan (Baldwin) is called in to help understand this decision, where he believes it is to defect.

However, the CIA isn’t as convinced, setting up to defend the states from a potential attack. The tension is ramped up as the two sides without communication start getting closer together, with the potential of a new war starting.

Verdict on The Hunt for Red October

The Hunt for Red October is a submarine thriller following two sides as they get closer to a potential combat that could have disastrous effects. It sees a Soviet Union captain go against his order and head to America. While the Americans decide if he is going to be a threat or not.

This is an intense thriller and capitalises on the fact submarine thrillers are generally some of the most intense stories out there. The movie constantly keeps you guessing as to how things could unfold. Knowing that things could escalate to devastating levels if people handle the problem. The performances are equally brilliant in the movie, as the whole cast adds to the intensity we experience.

Final Thoughts – The Hunt for Red October is an intense thriller.

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Movie Review

The Exorcist 3 (1990) Movie Review

Director: William Peter Blatty

Writer: William Peter Blatty (Screenplay)

Starring: George C Scott, Ed Flanders, Brad Dourif, Jason Miller, Nicol Williamson, Scott Wilson, Nancy Fish, George DiCenzo

Plot: A police Lieutenant uncovers more than he bargained for as his investigation of a series of murders, which have all the hallmarks of the deceased Gemini serial killer, leads him to question the patients of a psychiatric ward.

Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Exorcist 3 starts as police lieutenant Kinderman (Scott) starts investigating a series of murders that are similar to a serial killer known as the Gemini Killer, who is meant to be dead.

As Kinderman finds one of his friends Father Dyer (Flanders) the next victim in strange killings, he will find himself investigating the patients at a psychiatric ward, which will only make bigger question for him to answer, ones he can’t explain.

Thoughts on The Exorcist 3

Thoughts – The Exorcist 3 is a smart addition to the franchise, which had one of the best ever horrors, followed up, by one of the worst sequels. The Exorcist 3 goes in a different direction, looking to show the return of the demon, as it looks to unleash the reign of terror it never managed in Regan. Turning everything into police hunt for a potential new killer, one he thought he saw die years before. Now the detective will need to go face to face with an evil presence he can never get near, a killer that is staking up the bodies, even though they have nowhere to go to commit them. The Exorcist 3 builds on the battle between humans and the demon, giving the demon fresh blood to fight for in its reign of terror. The Exorcist 3 is known famously for the one jump scare that you would never have seen coming and never forget after. We also have a heavyweight cast here where nobody looks out of place and Brad Dourif brings all the terror to the role.

Final Thoughts – The Exorcist 3 is a chilling addition to the Exorcist franchise.

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Movie Review

Pacific Heights (1990) Movie Review

Director: John Schlesinger

Writer: Daniel Pyne (Screenplay)

Starring: Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine, Michael Keaton, Mako, Nobu McCarthy, Laurie Metcalf

Plot: A couple work hard to renovate their dream house and become landlords to pay for it. Unfortunately, one of their tenants has plans of his own.


Tagline – They were the perfect couple, buying the perfect house. Until a perfect stranger moved into their lives.

Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Pacific Heights starts when young couple Patty Palmer (Griffith) and Drake Goodman (Modine) move into their dream home in San Francisco with plans to rent out most of the rooms, with the pair finding a string of tenants.

When Carter Hayes (Keaton) talks himself into on of the apartments, it becomes clear he isn’t going to be a good tenant, forcing Drake to try and push him out, leading to a deadly battle for the building.

Thoughts on Pacific Heights

Thoughts – Pacific Heights is a thriller that will give a couple the tenant from hell, who wants to use everything in their power to try and bring down the landlords. Pacific Heights will show the impossible position a landlord can find themselves in when a tenant decides to go rogue on them. What starts out as trying to deal with the tenant from hell, does take a twist halfway through, showing the bigger picture to what Carter is up to. Pacific Heights is split into two sides, with Carter having control of one, while Patty has control of the other, making this a compelling thriller, that will see Michael Keaton shine as the psychotic figure. Pacific Heights is a thriller that will keep us on edge through the whole film, making us want to see what will come next. The only downside within this film, comes from the over-the-top reaction both Patty and Drake show, during their unhappiness, with neither being able to hold it together, when calm would have been the smartest solution.

Final Thoughts – Pacific Heights is an intense thriller that will keep us guessing, where Michael Keaton shines.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Horror – G – The Guardian (1990) Movie Review

Director: William Friedkin

Writer: Stephen Volk, Dan Greenburg, William Friedkin (Screenplay) Dan Greenburg (Novel)

Starring: Jenny Seagrove, Dwier Brown, Carey Lowell, Brad Hall, Miguel Fereer, Natalija Nogulich, Theresa Randle, Xander Berkeley

Plot: A young couple with a newborn baby don’t realize that the nanny they hired is a magical nymph who sacrifices infants to an evil tree.


Tagline – Tonight, while the world is asleep… an ancient evil is about to awaken.

Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Guardian starts when a couple Phil (Brown) and Kate (Lowell) move to a new town to start a new family and hire a live-in nanny Camilla (Seagrove) they believe their life is about to be everything they wanted.

When Camilla starts acting strange around the house, it becomes clear to us that she has her own plans for the new-born baby, looking to take it to sacrifice to an evil tree that will defend her every move.

Thoughts on The Guardian

Characters & Performances – Phil and Kate are the couple that have the baby, they are trying to get their careers back on path, with their joint decision to hire Camilla, they want the best and will accept someone into their life to help them. Camilla is the nymph nanny that is hired, with her own desires to make the newborn baby her latest sacrifice to an evil tree. Jenny Seagrove is the right type of creepy for this role, making her character filled with the caring side, but having her own sinister side. The other people we meet are family friends that are here to support the family and their decisions.

Story – The story here follows a couple trying to start a new life with a new baby that will see themselves hiring a nanny who has their own motivation for getting close to a baby for own sacrifice plans. This is a story that will dive into parental control and putting the trust into the wrong people, we have seen plenty of the disturbed nanny stories in the past, with this one taking us into the supernatural path giving it a fresh feeling. The story might be filled with the idea that we know what is happening, it does however fall short on showing us much about the parents away from the baby, as we literally have five scenes which cover nearly a year in less than five minutes, not giving us enough time to learn the true desires of the careers they want to follow. When it comes to someone targeting a baby, we know this is going to be an easy sell to created added horror in a story.

Themes – The Guardian is a horror mystery that will show a couple looking to protect their baby from a nymph that wants to sacrifice it, this is a horror no parent will ever want to go through, with someone targeting their baby, especially one they thought they could trust around it. When it comes to the evil tree that is the shrine, we get the strongest moments of effects, when the tree comes to life to come after victims, increasing even more fear to the story.

 

The Guardian is a creepy movie that targets the parental love for a baby being targeted by evil.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Favourites – D – Die Hard 2 (1990) Movie Review

Director: Renny Harlin

Writer: Steven E de Souza, Doug Richardson (Screenplay) Walter Wager (Novel)

Starring: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, Reginald VelJohnson, Franco Nero, William Sadler, John Amos, Dennis Franz

Plot: John McClane attempts to avert disaster as rogue military operatives seize control of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.


Tagline – They say lightning never strikes twice… They were wrong

Runtime: 2 Hour2 4 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Explosive Sequel

Story: Die Hard 2 starts when John McClane (Willis) is picking up his wife Holly (Bedelia) from the airport for Christmas in Washington D.C. what is a busy holiday arrive sees Colonel Stuart (Sadler) bring together a team just as notorious drug lord Esperanza (Nero) is arriving in the same airport for extradition.

Stuart takes over the airport controlling the runways, demanding a release of Esperanza, with John being the only one preparing to stop him in a race against time to save not only the passengers on all the planes, but his own wife’s flight.

Thoughts on Die Hard 2

Characters – John McClane is just looking to pick up his wife for Christmas, only his cop senses pick up on the idea that something is going on, which sees him needing to use his skills to track down the terrorists holding the airport hostage, his wife is on one of the planes, which sees him needing to race against time to save everyone. Holly is on one of the planes heading to the airport, she finds herself on the plane with Thronberg, the reporter she hit at the end of the first movie. Thornberg is still the arrogant journalist who is always looks for a story, stuck on the plane he is complaining and looks to find his own story again. Colonel Stuart is running the operation to release Esperanza from the ground, he has taken the airport hostage and if his orders are not followed, he will kill people, with one of his actions being one of the most horrific in any action film.

Performances – Bruce Willis is brilliant in the reluctant hero role once again, still having a couple of wise cracking lines, while showing the never giving up fighting attitude. William Sadler does bring us one of the most underrated villains of the 90s, his cold performances shows how deadly he truly is. Most of the supporting cast area flawless too letting to lead to shine through the film.

Story – The story here follows John McClane deal with another group of terrorists, this time taking an airport hostage, willing to crash planes is demands aren’t met. We do once again see John needing to take on a large group of hostages, while the area is bigger, the threat it bigger too. By having the idea that his wife is in danger again, not her fault for either though, shows that he is fighting for a more personal reasons than just doing the right thing, meaning he will fight for more. The terrorist plan is well executed with the team being organised and will do anything to get the job done. This is just as intense as the first one with a story that will be able to hold up with the best action films of all time.

Action – The action in this film is bigger and more explosive than the first film, it does help make this a lot more entertaining and deadlier than what we would expect.

Settings – The film is set on an airport, which shows us just how deadly a hostage taking over an airport could be, leaving the planes flying blind and them in complete control of thousands of lives.

Special Effects – The effects are used for the explosions in the film, we have bigger ones than before, but ones that could be considered more realistic than the first film.


Scene of the Movie – The early landing, because it is horrific and disturbing, a scene you would expect to see stopped just in time.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The cops are painted to be dumb.

Final Thoughts – This is an excellent sequel that lives up to the original, it is bigger, more explosive and pure entertainment.

Overall: Brilliant Sequel.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Oscar Nominations – A – Awakenings (1990) Movie Review

Director: Penny Marshall

Writer: Steven Zaillian (Screenplay) Oliver Sacks (Book)

Starring: Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard, Penelope Ann Miller

Plot: The victims of an encephalitis epidemic many years ago have been catatonic ever since, but now a new drug offers the prospect of reviving them.


Tagline – There is no such thing as a simple miracle.

Runtime: 2 Hours 1 Minute

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Brilliant

Story: Awakenings starts when Dr Malcolm Sayer (Williams) takes a job in the psychiatric hospital in hope of conducting research, but only been given a clinic role, until he makes a startling discovery about a group of catatonic patients, who have all suffered from encephalitis during the epidemic.

When Malcolm starts to see minor changes in the patients with environmental changes, he looks to an experimental drug, where he is allowed to try on only one patient, Leonard Lowe (De Niro), in which he gets amazing results, giving him a new lease of life.

Thoughts on Awakenings

Characters – Dr Malcolm Sayer wants to work in neurologist which sees him taking a role at a psychiatric hospital, believing he could continue his research, but ends up being a clinic role. He wants the job and soon makes a discovery about a string of the patients there, that they are not a catatonic as they seem and pushes for research to be done, here learns that he could help them and gives them a new lease for life. Leonard Lowe is a man that has been catatonic for years, he is given a drug which brings him out of the state, where he wants to try and return to his life, one he never got to truly live. Eleanor is one of the nurses at the hospital that helps Malcolm get his ideas through, one who cares about the patients more than the other nurses seem to.

Performances – Robin Williams is brilliant here, he doesn’t bring any of his humorous side, showing that when he needed to bring the serious side only, he could excel like the best of them. Robert De Niro is wonderful to watch, he shows the different states his character goes through and the pain of lost time. Julie Kavner brings the middle ground between doctor and patient to life, bringing the human connection to the film.

Story – The story here follows a forward thinking doctor that takes a role in a psychiatric hospital where he makes a discovery that could help the patients in the hospital, one that could cure them from a catatonic state they have been in for years. This story shows us just how medical science would have been used to try and help people, how people would take a chance to find a cure, rather than just give up on people. We see how Malcolm wanted to make a difference to so many lives, how he had to fight through monetary problems just for a chance to give these patients another chance. This will show the successes and the failures along the way, proving that progress will need to happen down different paths.

Settings – The film keeps most of the story inside the hospital, showing us just how the doctors and patients saw life change with the new improvement in the patients.


Scene of the Movie – The big day out.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – This is a flawless movie, nothing.

Final Thoughts – This is a truly brilliant movie that has two of the greatest actors in leading roles, that carry the film to new levels, show the kindness in humans and just how difficult understand treatments and disease can be on people.

Overall: Outstanding Medical Drama.