Though Temple of Doom lacks Sallah, Marcus Brody, and the Nazis, it is an improvement over Raiders in more than a few ways. To start, Ford is even better as Indy for his character is tested more. Douglas Slocombe’s photography is more effective, and John Williams’ music score is even more diverse and genius. Temple of Doom is also more creative, emotionally effective, and imaginative. However, it lacks the spectacle of the first film and is far more controversial and violent.This is the movie that created the PG-13 rating.

Dennis Muren’s stunning Oscar-winning visual effects match Richard Edlund’s effects in Raiders, yet they are not as awe-inspiring or important to the story. Elliot Scott’s production design is terrific, and the cult sequences are very intense. The stunts top the ones in Raiders and are really good. The most memorable sequences have to be the mine car chase, the creature feature dinner, the Shanghai nightclub opening, the duel at the cult platform, and the rope bridge finale, incredible. Though Temple of Doom isn’t as good as Raiders or Last Crusade it is highly recommended and is one of the best adventure films ever made.

`Die Hard’ introduces us to John McClane, NYPD. You’ll want to remember that name, for next to Ripley it’s the only `action star’ name you’ll ever need to know. Forget Ethan Hunt or even James Bond (well, you can remember James Bond I guess) because John McClane is the definition of action star. Well, I guess I should say that Bruce Willis is the definition of action star, but you get my drift. When the LA building his wife happens to be in is taken hostage by a group of terrorists planning a robbery, McClane takes matters into his own hands and wages a war against the terrorists from inside the building. The LAPD isn’t making things any easier, but John has the help of one particular officer.

The plot is fine but it’s the action that really makes `Die Hard’ an instant classic. It breathes new life into the genre and pushes the envelope in ways that no other action film has done. `Die Hard’ is a movie that will never get old or become outdated. It holds up even today, twenty years after its release, proving to be just as good if not better than most of the so called `action’ films that get released today.

The acting is also a highlight, especially that of Bruce. It saddens me that the Academy can often be so dense and blind. In my personal opinion Bruce gave one of the best performances of the year. He was natural and witty, charming and brooding all at the same time. He created an iconic character, and that is hard to do. John McClane is a household name. Alan Rickman is also a pleasure to watch here. As Hans Gruber he creates a prime bad guy, someone cunning, masterful and of course evil. Reginald VelJohnson feels like he playing a lengthened version of his character on `Family Matters’ and comes off a bit mechanical, but it’s forgivable. Bonnie Bedelia nails her performance as McClane’s wife. She filters through her characters emotions well.

In the end `Die Hard’ is a classic film that I’m sure many of you have already seen. If you haven’t seen it then I urge you to go out and see it ASAP. `Die Hard’, like I’ve already mentioned, is a film that stands the test of time. It is just as up-to-date as the films being released today. There is no other film like it, and there most likely will never be an `action’ film that can top it.

Cast

• Bruce Willis Detective John McClane
• Alan Rickman Hans Gruber
• Bonnie Bedelia Holly Gennero McClane
• Reginald VelJohnson Sgt. Al Powell
• Alexander Godunov Karl
• Paul Gleason Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson
• William Atherton Richard Thornburg
• De’voreaux White Argyle
• Hart Bochner Harry Ellis
• James Shigeta Joseph Yoshinobou “Joe” Takagi

Pacino plays a Cuban refugee thug , Tony Montana , who claws and scracthes(taking some lives along the way) to the top of the cocaine world in Miami with the help of his right hand man Manny Ray(Steven Bauer).

Pacino plays this part with such passion and energy that he absolutely fuels this film from beginning to end. You can’t take your eyes off the man. He adds humanistic dimensions to Tony Montana. He shows Montana’s humor , machismo , intelligence , leadership , guts , and flaws. He even shows Montana’s tender side(the scene with Michelle Pfeiffer at poolside). Pacino actually gets you to like a character who is basically a sleazeball. Now that is acting!

There are memorable moments throughout this film and some are very graphic but what is probably the highlight moment of this film is the great shoot ‘em up scene at the end ; Sosa’s hitmen infiltrating Montana’s estate to kill him because Montana botched a major hit for Sosa. When Montana , full of cocaine , finally refocus his attention to the hitmen he fights back in complete defiance to them with a machine gun/grenade launcher. “Say hello to my little friend!” is now one of those famous movie lines of film history. He blast them away like dominoes , withstanding the awesome gunfire because of the cocaine in his system. This is a real “guy’s” scene. It’s action fueled by high octane adrenaline and Pacino plays it beyond belief. His performance is so elating that you want to grab a machine gun and fight along side him. Pacino IS Scarface!

Cast

• Al Pacino as Tony Montana
• Steven Bauer as Manny Ribera (Credits list as “Manny Ray”)
• Michelle Pfeiffer as Elvira Hancock
• Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Gina Montana
• Robert Loggia as Frank Lopez
• F. Murray Abraham as Omar Suárez
• Harris Yulin as Mel Bernstein
• Paul Shenar as Alejandro Sosa
• Ángel Salazar as Chi Chi
• Pepe Serna as Angel Fernandez
• Míriam Colón as Georgina “Mama” Montana
• Al Israel as Hector “The Toad”

Actually, Full Metal Jacket consists of two different movies – the first of which follows a company of new recruits through 12 grueling weeks of the U.S. Marine Corps boot camp in Parris Island, South Carlonia. The outstanding performance of R. Lee Ermey, playing Gunnery Sgt. Hartman, gives insight into the hell young recruits and draftees must go through to graduate boot camp. Young men barely out of high school, and full of youthful humor and ambition, are steadily molded into well-disciplined killing machines and the world’s greatest fighters. Meanwhile, one of the recruits – a clumsy, overweight Private Pyle – struggles with the strict regiment and Marine life in general, until his fellow recruits force him back in line. This unleashes the inner beast within Pyle…with tragic consequences.

The second part of the film follows a platoon’s experiences in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive of 1968. Here Kubrick focuses on the ugly side of America’s experience in Southeast Asia in the late 1960s, through the prism of the young men sent their to fight it. The Marines quickly realize that their government has sent them into a no-win situation, public support for the war has eroded, and even the native Vietnamese see the Americans as more burden than ally. Kubrick captures the essence of the nihilism of war through Private Joker, a reporter for the Marine Corps’ Stars and Stripes newsletter. Once a jovial character who made light of the situation he found himself in, Joker is reduced to an emotionless, battle-hardened warrior by the film’s conclusion. War is hell.