Shadows and Fog (1991)

starring Woody Allen, Mia Farrow

written and directed by Woody Allen

85 minutes

A killer stalks the streets of the city. Vigilante gangs search for him. Kleinman (Woody Allen), a humble nobody, is recruited by one of the vigilante gangs. He goes out unaware of what his role is in their scheme.

Kleinman meets a Irmy (Mia Farrow) a sword swallower with the circus, which is getting ready to leave town. She has left her boyfriend the clown after catching him with a tightrope walker.

Kleinman is suspected of being the killer at one point. The vigilante gangs chase him through the streets. He runs. He hides. He winds up at the circus, as does the killer, and a lot of other people.

The American President (1995)

The American President (1995)

starring Michael Douglas, Anette Benning

written by Aaron Sorkin

directed by Rob Reiner

President of the United States, widower, and single father Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) is in the midst of his third year in office when he asks lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Benning) to be his date for a state dinner at the White House. She accepts his offer and before long they are working the same end of a battle to get the votes to pass a piece of legislation through Congress and dating. One of the President's political rivals uses Andy and Sydney's relationship and rumors about her past to score points with the public. The President brushes it off until he realizes that he's about to lose Sydney because he won't stand up for himself. 

Fled (1996)

Fled (1996)

starring Laurence Fishburne, Stephen Baldwin, Will Patton

written by Preston A. Whitmore II

directed by Kevin Hooks

98 minutes

Two convicts, Piper (Laurence Fishburne) and Dodge (Stephen Baldwin), escape from a prison road work gang and make their way to Atlanta, GA. They are pursued by a US Marshall Pat Schiller and local or state police detective Matthew Gibson (Will Patton). 

Dodge has just 9 months to go on his prison sentence. He convinces Piper to stick with him (after they get free from the handcuffs that keep them shackled together) by offering him a piece of the money he stole. They don't know it but quickly discover that the Cuban mafia has sent Rico Santiago, a hitman after Dodge.

I Went Down (1997)

I Went Down (1997)

starring Brendan Gleeson, Peter McDonald

directed by 

107 minutes

Git Hynes (Peter McDonald) winds up in debt up to his eyeballs to Tom French, a local mob boss, 24 hours after he gets out of prison. French offers to forgive the debt if Git will do a job for him. Git is sent to find Frank Grogan who owes French some money. Bunny Kelly (Brendan Gleeson), a more experienced man, is sent with Git. Things do not go according to plan for various reasons.

Def by Temptation (1990)

Def by Temptation (1990)

starring James Bond III, Kadeem Hardison, Bill Nunn

directed by James Bond III

Joel (James Bond III) travels from North Carolina to New York City to visit his friend K (Kadeem Hardison) who moved there years before to pursue an acting career. Joel's straightlaced nature sticks out like a sore thumb in the Big Apple. K does what he can to help his friend fit in to his new surroundings.

A rift develops between Joel and K after a woman (who had previously shown an interest in K) now gives him the cold shoulder in favor of Joel. K starts to suspect that there is something supernaturally evil about the woman. K's worst fears are confirmed by Dougy (Bill Nunn) an undercover cop who clues him in to the fact that any man who goes home with her is never seen again.

Only Yesterday (1991)

Only Yesterday (1991)

starring Miki Imai, Toshirō Yanagiba, Yōko Honna

directed by Isao Takahata

118 minutes

in Japanese with English subtitles

Twenty-seven year-old Taeko Okajima (Miki Imai) takes time off from her job to travel to the countryside and visit with some of her eldest sister's in-laws. She helps them to harvest to harvest safflower. She reflects several times to when she was just ten.

The memories begin as she leaves her job in Tokyo and travels to the farm. She continues to think back to her life at ten over the course of the ten days she spends on the farm. She hangs out with Toshio (Toshirō Yanagiba), a cousin of her sister's husband. Toshio's grandmother can see that Taeko loves it there. She tries to convince Taeko to stay and marry Toshio. Taeko is taken aback by the suggestion which is delivered just as she is less than 24 hours from returning to her life in Tokyo.

Above the Rim (1994)

Above the Rim (1994)

starring Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur, Bernie Mac, Marlon Wayans, Leon

directed by Jeff Pollack

96 minutes

Kyle Watson (Duane Martin), star point guard for his high school basketball team, hopes to get an offer letter from Georgetown. He thinks he’s got it all figured out but he runs into a few speed bumps along the way. One of them is Birdie (Tupac Shakur), the local gang leader who wants Kyle to work for him. Kyle is down with Birdie’s suggestion, at first. 

Tommy Sheppard (Leon), Birdie’s older brother, is one of the security guards at Kyle’s high school. Tommy was a star basketball player years before but the death of a close friend has caused him to retreat into himself and not pursue his dream. Kyle doesn't really give Tommy much thought until his mother starts dating Tommy.

She's Alive: Creating 'The Bride of Frankenstein' (1999)

She's Alive: Creating 'The Bride of Frankenstein' (1999)

directed by David J. Skal

39 minutes

This documentary takes a very meticulous look back at The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), from several different angles. The people interviewed for this movie were all people very familiar with the movie or the people involved in the making of the movie. They cover everything from biographical sketches of the top billed actors to the special effects and why James Whale agreed to direct the sequel to Frankenstein (1931), which he also directed.

This is a better than average documentary about the making of a movie. It was both enjoyable and informative. I found it on YouTube.

Tremors (1990)

Tremors (1990)

starring Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward

directed by Ron Underwood

96 minutes

The residents of the extremely small town of Perfection, NV find themselves under attack by giant worms. Handymen Val McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Bassett (Fred Ward) lead the towns people in their fight against the slithering and burrowing creatures.

Thoughts

The creatures are pretty gross looking but for the most part I found this movie to be more humorous than scary.

The Mission (1999)

The Mission (1999)

starring Anthony Wong, Francis Ng Chun-Yu, Jackie Lui Chung-Yin, Roy Cheung Yiu-Yeung, Lam Suet

directed by Johnnie To

in Cantonese with English subtitles

84 minutes

Five men are hired to protect a mob boss after an attempt on his life. They are each a little different. There are further attempts on the boss's life until they find and kill the man behind it all. Everything is looking up until the boss finds out that one of the bodyguards slept with his wife and orders one of the other bodyguards to kill him.

Thoughts

I've seen a few of the actors in this movie in other films but nothing recently. 

I don't get why this movie gets such a high ratings. Maybe I don't have the right perspective to appreciate it. I thought it dragged. I stuck with it but I didn't feel rewarded in the end.

The Birdcage (1996)

The Birdcage (1996)

starring Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman

directed by Mike Nichols

119 minutes

Armand (Robin Williams) tries to put on a good front for Val, his son, when Barbara, Val's fiancée, and her parents come to visit. Barbara's parents, U.S. Senator Keeley (Gene Hackman) and his wife Louise, are in the midst of a crisis because one of the Senator's allies was just found dead with an underage prostitute.

Barbara's parents hope that a wedding will distract the press who are all over them at the moment. Armand who has been in a committed relationship with Albert (Nathan Lane) for 20 years has to move fast in order to get Albert and their home cleaned up before Barbara's parents arrive.

Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Returns (1992)

starring Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Keaton

directed by Tim Burton

126 minutes

Oswald Cobblepot abandoned by his parents (who find him disgusting) is adopted by penguins that live in the sewers beneath Gotham. Decades later he allies himself with criminals from the Red Triangle Circus.

Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer), secretary to Gotham industrialist (and all around bad guy) Max Shreck, displeases her boss one too many times. He pushes her out a window. She falls several stories but miraculously comes back to life. She designs herself a costume and starts calling herself Catwoman.

True Lies (1994)

True Lies (1994)

starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold

directed by James Cameron

141 minutes

Secret Agent Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) works for Omega Sector, a top secret spy agency of the United States Government. Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), Harry's wife, does not know of his real job and is on her way to having an affair with a used car salesman whom she believes to be a spy.

Harry, with some help from his co-worker Gib (Tom Arnold) breaks up Helen's budding romance without her knowing that he's the one who scared off the used car salesman but then some terrorists, whom Harry tangled with early in the movie, kidnap Harry and Helen.

Living in Oblivion (1995)

Living in Oblivion (1995)

starring Steve Buscemi, Catherine Keener, Dermot Mulroney

directed by Tom DiCillo

90 minutes

Nick (Steve Buscemi) is trying to direct an indie movie movie but things keep interfering with the shooting. Lights get broken, actors get distracted, a boom mic drifts into the shot, the cameraman makes mistakes, you name it, it happens.

The first third of the movie turns out to be a dream that Nick was having. The second third of the movie turns out to be a dream that Nicole (Catherine Keener), the lead actress in the movie and in the movie that Nick is shooting, has. The final third of the movie isn't a dream but is equally bizarre.

Princess Mononoke (1997)

Princess Mononoke (1997)

starring Yoji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yuko Tanaka

written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki

134 minutes

in Japanese with English subtitles

Prince Ashitaka, is forced to leave his people after he is infected by a curse that had previously infected a giant boar. Ashitaka reluctantly slew the boar when it threatened to destroy his village. He was unable to avoid contact with the beast thus leading to his condition.

Poetic Justice (1993)

Poetic Justice (1993)

starring Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Regina King, Joe Torry

directed by John Singleton

109 minutes

Justice (Janet Jackson), a hairdresser who is still grieving over the murder of her drug dealing boyfriend, needs to get from Los Angeles to Oakland when she discovers that her car won't start. She rides instead with her friend Iesha (Regina King) and Iesha's boyfriend Chicago (Joe Torry). Lucky (Tupac Shakur), who works with Chicago and unsuccessfully hit on Justice the day before, is also along for the ride.

The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Big Lebowski (1998)

starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore

directed by Joel Coen

117 minutes

Jeff Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), who prefers to be called The Dude, gets roughed up by two thugs who have mistaken him for another Jeff Lebowski, aka the Big Lebowski. The Dude goes to see the Big Lebowski hoping to get some restitution for his rug on which one of the thugs peed.

The Big Lebowski at first doesn't want to have anything to do with the dude but after Bunny, the Big Lebowski's trophy wife, is kidnapped, he asks The Dude to help him out by taking the ransom money to the kidnappers. The Big Lebowski offers to compensate The Dude for completing this task.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

starring Forest Whitaker

directed by Jim Jarmusch

116 minutes

Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker), a hired assassin who lives by the code of the samurai, runs afoul of the local mob, and finds himself hunted by the people who used to pay him to kill.

Thoughts

There are things here that I like but there are some fundamental things about this movie that seem to be missing. I like the tone of the movie. I like the idea of a movie about a killer who follows a code although this is not an original idea. I like the interactions between Ghost Dog and some of the other characters, especially the ice cream man, who only speaks French.

Buena Vista Social Club (1999)

Buena Vista Social Club (1999)

directed by Wim Wenders

105 minutes

mostly in Spanish with English subtitles

This documentary explores the music and delves a bit into the life stories of a dozen or more Cuban musicians. It followed a 1996 album of the same name which was brought together by Ry Cooder and Juan de Marcos González. The musicians interviewed and featured in this documentary include Compay Segundo, Eliades Ochoa, Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, Rubén González, Orlando ‘Cachaíto’ López, Barbarito Torres, Amadito Valdés, and Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal. Joachim Cooder, son of Ry Cooder, accompanied his father on the trip to Havana and played drums and other percussive instruments in some of the performances.

Run Lola Run (1998)

Run Lola Run (1998)

starring Franka Potente, Morris Bleibtreu

directed Tom Tykwer

81 minutes

In German with English subtitles

Lola (Franka Potente) gets an urgent call from Manni (Morris Bleibtreu), her boyfriend. She was supposed to meet him about an hour earlier. She was supposed to pick him up on her motor scooter. He was picking up some drug money that he needed to deliver to his boss. He wound up taking the metro and accidentally left the money on the train after he spotted a couple police officers headed his way.

He can’t cover the missing money himself and is desperate. He’s sure that his boss will kill him when he finds out. He’s ready to rob a small grocery store. Lola begs him not to do it. He gives her 20 minutes to come up with a solution to his dilemma and meet him in front of the store.