John Grisham, Tom Cruise Movie: ***^ The Firm (1993)

 The Firm is a movie with lots of tension.  A young couple is starting their life after he, Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) finishes law school.  He accepts a position with a law firm in Memphis, and he and his wife, Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn) move to the new law office, making much more than he would have from his other offers.  However it soon becomes evident that things are not right.  Two employees in Chicago are killed.  Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman) is assigned to groom him.  There is tight security at the firm.  William Devasher (Wilford Brimley) is director of security.  Wayne Tarrance (Ed Harris) of the FBI want him to gather information on his bosses.  He cooperates to a point.  He gathers information on the billing, as they all over bill.  He goers to Chicago as the work for the mob and he gets them to agree to releasing information on the billing.  He provides this to the FBI and gives them this with which they can put the FBI in jail, while leaving the mob (the client) alone and not violating client/lawyer confidentiality.  This movie is very intense.  His wife helps him, but he also gets help from Tammy Hemphill (Holly Hunter) who was the secretary for a private I murdered by the mob because McDeere approached him for help.  

Very tense but this movie is ratd R and has too much swearing and use of the F word.  

Movie Review: ****Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

 This movie poses the question, should a super being impose peace, nuclear disarmament in this case, on the world.  In this case Superman (Christopher Reeve) takes on this task.  However in this case, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) has escaped prison again, helped by his nephew, Lenny (John Cryer). Luthor is determined to clone Superman.  He does this using the sun, which gives him the power of the sun creating Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow).  

In the mean time at the Daily Planet things are not going well.  There has been a hostile takeover by David Warfield (Sam Wanamaker) who is into sensational headlines and stories even if not quite true.  Perry White (Jackie Cooper) is let go and Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) eventually quits.  Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure) hangs on.  Lois Lane rekindles her flame with Superman, encouraged by Superman.   Warfield's daughter Lacy (Mariel Hemingway) ignites a flame with Clark Kent.  Clark Kent and superman go on a double date with Lois and Lacy which makes for some trickery back and forth.  However the date is interrupted when Luthor send a message to Superman on a frequency only he can hear.  He entices Superman and introduces him to Nuclear Man.  This leads to an interesting fight, and Superman being sickened, perhaps with nuclear energy from the sun.  The outcome is very much in doubt, as long as the sun shines Nuclear Man has the advantage.

In the mean time White has bought up the shares of the company, and comes back with his own take over, kicking Warfield out.  Superman concludes that peace should not be forced, but come from the people themselves.

This movie has an interesting conclusion.  The Superman movies all fall short in terms of special effects.  They did not have the computer generated features that are available now.  However within their technology limits they do pretty well.  

Movie Review: ****^Superman II (1980)

 Superman II is just as fun as Superman.  In fact in some ways it is funner.  The gag at Niagara Falls, and Clark Kent 45(Christopher Reeve) saving Lois (Margot Kidder) while bumbling around and not using super powers or so it seams.  And then the trip to Superman's residence, and his relinquishing his powers.  The bit at the diner is just as fun.  Superman without powers is beaten into the ground, but then he returns after getting his powers back.

The basic theme is three other beings (Sarah Douglas, Jack O'Halloran and Terence Stamp) from Krypton show up, after a nuclear bomb explodes in space, releasing them from their prison.  They are intent on ruling, and nothing can stop their powers; especially not Superman after relinquishing his powers.  Superman has to undo this, but he still is no match for the three.  So he has to use subterfuge, and Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman).

Movie Review: ****^Superman (1978)

 Superman/Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) is sent to earth by his parents (Marlon Brando and Susannah York) as his planet, Krypton is due to explode.  They send him to earth, where differences is gravity will give him super powers.  There he is adopted by the Kents (Glen Ford and Phyllis Thaxter).  When his father dies, he moves to New York and becomes a reporter.  There he works with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), photographer Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure) and his boss Perry White (Jackie Cooper).  Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) is a criminal boss and mastermind.  He is intent and igniting a nuclear bomb to create an earthquake so California with drop into the sea.  This will propel his properties in the desert to be seaside property.  

He figures out Superman.  He is from another planet, and vulnerable to kryptonite.  He uses this to incapacitate Superman and launch his two nuclear bombs.  However Luthor is betrayed by his girl (Valerie Perrine).  She released Superman, who in turn saves his friends and the world.  

Clint Eastwood Movie Review: Unforgiven

 This is an "R" rated movie.  I don't usually watch movies rated "R" but made an exception as this movie won best picture andv and Clint Eastwood won for best director.  Gene Hackman won for best supporting actor.  Eastwood was nominated for best actor.

Two customers at a brothel become upset and cut a whore on the face, scarring her badly.  When the sheriff intervenes he fines the two horses to recompense the proprietor of the brothel.  Nothing for the young woman.  

So the women of the brothel raise some money, and hire some bounty hunters with $1000 award.  So Bill Munny (Eastwood) comes out of retirement at the request of a new bounty hunter, The Schofield Kid (Jaimz Wolvett).  He reluctantly agrees to do so as he is failing as a widowed farmer raising two children.  He in turn recruits his old friend,  Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman).  

Together they ride for Big Whiskey, Wyoming.  Munny takes sick and has a fever and is half conscious of things.  When they get there Munny goes to the bar while the two others head to the whore house.  Sheriff Dagget (Gene Hackman) confronts Munny.  He has heard about the hiring of bounty men by the prostitutes and wants to discourage this.  He beats up Munny.  They hear this upstairs and the two escape out the window.  The catch up with Munny and get him to a barn on the outskirts of town where they, with the help of the prostitutes nurse him back to health.  So next they extract revenge on the men who abused the prostitutes.  However Logan quits on the enterprise and heads back to Kansas where they are from.  Things do not go well for him as he is captured by some of the sheriff's men.  He is beaten severely in an attempt to get him to tell the location of Munny.  When Munny hears of this he goes to town in a sour mood to confront the sheriff.  Things turn out poorly for the sheriff and his minions.

I think the theme of this movie is that sometimes your past catches up with you.  Richard Harris plays a cameo role as English Bob who is also a bounty hunter.  However the sheriff caught him, took his gun, and whipped him before sending him out of town.

Movie review: ***^Geronimo (1993)

This is a made for TV movie.  It features Wes Studi as Geronimo.  This is a movie that portrays the native Americans in a positive light.  It starts where Geronimo gives himself up the first time, explains his leaving the reservations and going back on the warpath with a small group.  It shows those things which lead to his arrest, or surrender the second time.  He was shipped to a PPOW camp in Florida.  He was allowed to eventually live the prison, but never allowed to return to his home territory.  He was relocated to Oklahoma. 
Others portraying roles in this movie include Matt damon as Lieutenant Britton Davis, who was part of the surrender, Jason Paric as Lt. Charles Gatewood, who actually negotiated the surrender,  for which he was banned to obscurity, Gene Hackman as Brigadier General George Crook, Robert Duvall as Al Sieber, a scout, Rodney A. Grant as Mangas, an Apache scout and Kevin Tighe as General Nelson Miles.   I am not a judge of how accurate this film is.  It often uses the Apache language with subtitles.  I imagine many Native American actors had to learn the language, as well as some Americans who communicate with the Native Americans. 

Movie Review: ***** Hoosiers

Hoosiers is one of my favorite shows.  It came out in 1986.  It is a movie about a small town basketball team.  It is fictional, but loosely based on the story of Milan High School, 1952 and their state championship run.  In small towns, basketball can be the only show in town, and is followed by everyone.  At the same time, a person's whole life can be tied up with those few years of their high school playing years.  Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) is coming back to the coaching profession, after a twelve year hiatus.  His last coaching was at the university level, and he was suspended for punching one of his players.  He had spent ten years in the navy.  He teaches fundamentals, starting with basics, and insisting the players follow what he says.  However, by the end of the year, he is listening to the opinion of his players, but is still the coach.  Dennis Hooper was nominated in a supportive role for his role as the assistant coach, Shooter.  His son plays on the team.  He has a drinking problem.  Even so he assists.  The pressure gets to him and he relapses.  He is in the hospital as the team plays for the state championship.  Shooter's reaction to the game as he listens on the radio are just classic.  I highly recommend this movie.