Cliffhanger (Released in 1993) - Action adventure on the mountains - Starring Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker

Gabriel Walker (Sylvester Stallone) is a mountain climber and rescue ranger, who is on a rescue mission to help an injured climber Hal with his girlfriend and partner Sarah (Michelle Joyner). Fastened with cables, Gabe is hanging out the side of a cliff, silhouetted against an amazing backdrop of jagged edged cliffs of the Rocky Mountains. The trio must now make an arduous slither across the valley to the waiting chopper, at four thousand feet! Hal makes it, and a visibly nervous Sarah takes to the cables to make her way across. The wind is picking up, and this could risk the rescue mission, Gabe tells Sarah not to look down, and she moves across the line. Suddenly, one of the clips gives way and she is hurtled downward, as she cries and tries to hold onto the flimsy support, Gabe hurries across, just as the cable give way - she grabs his forearm, unfortunately her glove slips and she falls to her death, as an angry Hal looks at Gabe with blame in his eyes.
Gabe looks up Jessie Deighan, the chopper pilot that day and his girlfriend, who is upset that Gabe took off after Sarah’s funeral instead of facing the consequences. Now he wants to leave the town and wishes that Jess would go along with him. She wants him to stop feeling guilty about what happened out on the ledge, logically questioning why Hal took an inexperienced Sarah with him in the first place, Gabe won’t have any of it, and continues to hold himself responsible for the mishap. Jess and Hal are called to another rescue mission - the boys who met Gabe are stranded on the ledge. Jess asks him to help - and he does, but a still angry Hal tries to throw Gabe off the cliff.




Elsewhere, bank money is being transported in flight, as the threat of burglary is high in armored vehicles and trains, treasury agents are getting ready for the flight. As he returns to town eight months after the incident, his truck is followed by admirers, who want him to climb The Tower (where the incident took place) with him - he politely refuses and sends them with a warning. It turns out that the distress call for rescue was a hoax and there is a band of robbers waiting to accost the treasury agents on their flight with the money. Ex military men are involved in daring air-to-air transfer mission to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars - unfortunately, their plan goes kaput as the suitcases with the currency fall into the mountain pass - they instead, rope in Hal and Gabe to help trace the treasure by faking an emergency.
Siding up with the thieves is Hal, who is hot on Gabe’s trail after the tragic death of his girlfriend Sarah, for which he holds Gabe responsible. A thriller all the way.
Directed by Renny Harlin, based on a premise by John Long (!) and with a screen play co written by Stallone, the film was praised by critics and audiences, although many were critical of the technical aspect of climbing shown in the film. The movie set a record for the highest aerial stunt which was performed at 15000 feet! A remake of the film was to be made in 2010, but yet remains under wraps. An average success, it was a change from most of Stallone’s army guy/tough cop roles.

Demolition Man (Released in 1993) - A corny futuristic movie starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne

Experimenting with different genres to exercise his talent (maybe) - Stallone’s Demolition Man is a sci-fi thriller, released in 1993 starring him as John Spartan, an LA cop nicknamed ‘Demolition Man’, for his reckless and destructive law enforcement work style. He is pitted against Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) who is evil to the core. In 1996, Spartan is set up by Phoenix in a case implicating him for the deaths of hostages in a bus, which was taken hostage by Phoenix. Spartan leads a Special Operations Unit which is unable to rescue the people, as result they all perish and he is sentenced to sixty years approximately, in prison.
This is where the movie takes off - in 2032. In that distant future, prisons are scientifically more advanced and sound ‘cryo prisons’; prison inmates are cryogenically frozen. A terrible natural catastrophe has struck LA, as a result of which much of the city is destroyed. A new one is formed in its stead - wherein erstwhile LA and San Diego are merged to form San Angeles, the city is in the capable hands of Dr. Raymond Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne). What merges, other than the geographic territory, is also the criminal demographic, despite the fact that weapons are banned and every human desire is sanctioned by the SAPD.
Phoenix seizes the opportunity to escape during a prison hearing for parole - he is able to overpower the guards and prison warden without problems. He is the quintessential villain - physically strong with fighting prowess, multi lingual, with a superior understanding of futuristic sciences and heightened sensory skills. Given the largely pacific environment in San Angeles, the law enforcement agencies are incapable of dealing with the heightened menace of Phoenix. A veteran on the Force suggests that the ‘Demolition Man’ Spartan be resurrected to help capture Phoenix.




Unlike Phoenix, Spartan has adaptability issues and is unable to make a smooth transition from the cryo stage to part human-part machine creature. The actual face behind menacing Phoenix is actually Cocteau who aims to overpower the underground resistance called ‘Scraps’ and reign supreme over San Angeles. Spartan sees security footage of a conversation between Phoenix and Cocteau; the former is in a museum at the weapons exhibit, in a bid to arm himself. Sandra Bullock is Lenina Huxley, who is Stallone’s love interest in the film - awkward kisses are exchanged between the two as they remain in their robotic, machine state.
The culture represented in the film is truly surreal - no one dies of unnatural causes, there are no human activities that includes sex (great future there!), best aspect is that there is no poverty. There are no fast food joints, they were all ‘killed’ in the franchise wars - only Taco Bell survives (for overseas audiences, the equivalent was Pizza Hut, since it had more brand presence abroad). Every person is fitted with a microchip, which can be tracked by a central federal computer. What happens in the battle between Spartan and Phoenix, given that they cause mayhem all around during their fights ?
The film was well received by audiences, 64% audiences ruled in favor of the film, and Stallone was lauded for his performance, even Snipes gave a stellar performance as Phoenix. Rolling Stone magazine called it the ‘Frankenstein of action thrillers’ -directed by Marco Brambilla, it is his directorial debut.

D-Tox (Also known as Eye See You) - Released in 2002 - Starring Sylvester Stallone, Tom Berenger, Charles S. Dutton, Robert Patrick

Born to win. Born to lose. Born to die. The supposed order in which all things happen in life, no interference is needed, but it does occur. A bizarre 911 call. An electronically engineered voice tells the operator she must not interrupt to ask questions, if she does - he will be obliged to be bad. The voice is that of a serial police & prostitute killer, who has been on the rampage… On the trail of the killer is FBI Agent Jake Malloy. Sadly, his partner is on the killer’s list and succumbs to the psychopath’s evil ways. As Jake goes to his dead partner’s home and reminisces, the phone rings. It is the same serial killer, who gleefully tells Malloy that now it’s his girlfriend Mary’s turn to pay for all discomfort Jake has called the killer. The voice adds that he is aware that Malloy has been on his tail for four years, when there was an alarming spate of murders of prostitutes.
Jake is spurred into action as he rushes to save Mary - but sadly, it is too late, for the woman is dead when he arrives at her house. The Seattle Police and the FBI cordon off the area where they suspect the killer is - he is discovered - dead. Malloy is sorely disappointed to learn that the man may have committed suicide - he’d have loved to get his hands on him. A few months later, Malloy slips into depression - sick to death of the losses he has suffered. He takes to drinking, and attempts to kill himself, albeit unsuccessfully. His friend Agent Chuck Hendricks (Charles S. Dutton) takes it upon himself to help Jake, and enrolls the Agent in rehab, specially set up for law enforcement personnel. It was founded by Dr. John Mitchell (Kris Kristofferson), who was also a cop and a recovering alcoholic. The centre is in Wyoming, and Hendricks stays on to see that Malloy will be okay on his own at rehab.




At the facility, Jake is introduced to many recovering cops and officers.  The staff include assistant to Jon Mitchell - Hank and kind hearted resident psychiatrist Jenny Munroe - with whom Malloy forms a bond. One day, the centre is cut off from the rest of civilization as a terrible blizzard shuts it down. There is a sudden, unexplained spate of unnatural deaths being made up to be suicides - patients Connor and Brandon are found dead by Jenny and Malloy. Both of them believe that trouble is afoot, as the dead men would’ve confided about being troubled, to either of the two.
Mitchell is equally flummoxed, and decides to lock up the other patients, as he reviews their cases. Just then he is informed that Jack Bennett (Stephen Lang) a mentally unstable employee, is missing - and so is a snowmobile. Bennett was once admitted to the centre for rehab. Malloy warns Jenny and counsels her to remain locked in her room; although all the inmates believe Jack could be the killer, yet Jake and Munroe think otherwise.
Jake thinks it would be wise to arm the men with weapons - just then, Hendricks finds a cop’s body in a lake. Who is the killer, and can Malloy stop him / her ? D-Tox was an out and out bore, the latter part of the twentieth century wasn’t kind to slasher thrillers and violence ridden tripe; the movie is tiresome and gruesome. Stallone shoudn’t have just let himself go in a desperate bid to prove his range to the world. The movie was an incredible flop.

Nightkill (released in 1980) - Starring Robert Mitchum, Jaclyn Smith, James Franciscus and Mike Connors

A perfect suburban set up, the sound of shower water cascading, the brief interlude of  a conversation  between two lovers, unbeknownst to whom - the intimate details of which are being recorded. Katherine Atwell (played by Jaclyn Smith) arrives at the airport in Phoenix, afraid she’s late; till she sees her husband Wendell (played by Mike Connors) at the bar at the airport - he got there earlier, after having stashed a whole lot of greens in one of the airport lockers. Their marriage seems ideal to the average outsider, but peel away the façade and what you get is a whole lot of bitterness and anger at Wendell’s end, which he readily unleashes on Cathy. At work, Wendell’s hell bent on shutting down a research lab, as the government sees it fit to do so - he asks Steve Fuller (played by James Franciscus) to be the harbinger of ill news - the loyal sidekick seems not to like being a ‘hatchet man’. Wendell even asks Steve to step into his shoes and be Cathy’s date at an award function - now this, the latter doesn’t seem to mind!
When the three meet that evening at the Atwell’s residence, Steve gets to see the loathsome manner in which Wendell treats his wife, he even insults the housekeeper. As Cathy peruses through papers that her husband insists she sign without bothering to read, while Wendell plays with his caged pet, Steve laces his drink with a sinister looking substance in a vial. Suddenly, he collapses, and Cathy exclaims that he might be having a heart attack - Steve drily remarks ‘No he’s not, I  just killed the b@*t*d - its tasteless, odorless and real fast.’ He stops Cathy from calling the doctor - and the audience now stumbles on the truth about Cathy’s relationship with Steve - he only asks her to trust him, and tells her that he loves her. All the while somebody is recording their conversation.




They conceal the body in a large freezer, even as the family dog whines beside it. The two then go on to alter the pictures of Wendell in his passport - replacing them with Steve’s. The latter intends to steal the dead man’s identity - intending to travel to Washington under this guise. Proving to the police that Wendell went missing on the trip would then be cakewalk. He leaves Cathy to attend an award function held in her honor by two friends - Herbert and Monika Childs (played by Fritz Weaver and Sybil Danning), giving her an alibi. Steve promises Katherine that he will be back the next day.
Seems fine so far, but the efficient secretary at Wendell’s office - reports him missing to the police. Cathy is then questioned by detective Lt. Donner (played by Robert Mitchum), after which she thinks it’s best to dispose of the body - but when she opens the freezer - Wendell’s body isn’t in it - its Steve’s! Apparently, Wendell was aware of her liaison with Steve, and had bribed a detective to bug the house - he was responsible for the recordings. Meanwhile, Monika Child warns Cathy that she must stop flaunting her affair with Steve - how does she tell her he’s dead? Now, it’s his body she has to hide, putting it in a body bag, and driving off, she encounters a road block, due to an accident - she finally rides out into the wilderness, and leaves the body in an abandoned shack, a former building site - the body rolls into the debris. As she plans to fly out to Denver, she hears Wendell Atwell’s name being announced to proceed to the courtesy telephone - stunned, Cathy stops in her tracks. From a distance, she can make out her supposedly - dead husband’s Stetson as he picks up the receiver to speak to someone - she runs hysterically back into her car.
A thriller that seems slow on the pickup, directed by Ted Post, the film still manages to hold your imagination - Robert Mitchum’s performance is great!

The Amsterdam Kill (released in 1977) - Starring Robert Mitchum, Richard Edgan and Leslie Nielsen

Directed by Robert Clouse, The Amsterdam Kill was filmed on location in Hong Kong and Amsterdam. Clouse also directed "Enter the Dragon" and "Black Belt Jones." Quinlan (played by Robert Mitchum) is a dishonored former DEA agent, his service record tarnished after he stole drug money. Although he’s been ‘ignobly discharged’ - he’s still all good inside, a little more honest than the other average cop you may know - rising to the occasion if the situation (and sometimes his pocket) so demands - the lesser of the devils.
He is contacted by an aging drug baron by the name of Chun Wei (played by Keye Luke) to help him uncover who is behind the murder of heroin dealers, in both Hong Kong and Amsterdam, from where Chun operates and manages one of the largest drug cartels. Wie wants to do all this ratting for a cushy price: he wants a US passport, one way ticket to New York’s Chinatown and not surprisingly, a whole lot of dollars. Quinlan is also re-hired by the DEA who want to make use of his knowledge as an ex-agent; the Department wants him to give information regarding the drug network in Hong Kong as well as Europe. He assists Chun Wei, as well as his former boss Odums (played by Bradford Dillman) and colleague Ridgeway (played by Richard Edgan), he is especially looking forward to show down the pretentious DEA honcho Riley Knight (played by Leslie Nielsen).
With information supplied by Chun, which Quinlan promptly passes onto the DEA, a noticeable number of cartels are actually busted and put out of business. However, rogue elements within the system pass on prior information about one such raid, and reacting to the tip off, the drug dealers ambush agents and policemen in a drug laboratory. When the agents conduct a raid, two agents are lost in combat - this makes Quinlan’s credibility questionable, and he realizes it would take a lot for him to regain their trust, and that most of them do not consider him to be anything but a nuisance. Chun Wei is also tracked down by the dealers, and meets a watery end in a bathtub.




Odums, who heads the US DEA in Hong Kong, tells Quinlan to come over, in order to find out who is responsible for the leaks; the ex agent flies down from London, and is attacked on numerous occasions by unknown assailants, and has miscellaneous violent encounters while in the City. After a number of red herrings and dead leads (quite literally, as the body count increases), Quinlan stumbles upon the word Juliana, the trail leads to the Venice of the North - aka Amsterdam. An eminent, hot shot political czar is vying for all the share of the drug trafficking. However the nameless person commits suicide before he can be apprehended by the law enforcing agencies.
One thing’s for certain, the DEA guys aren’t on his side, so Quinlan seeks help from a former dealer and close friend of his - Jimmy Wong (George Cheung). They soon discover the reason why the detection dogs are unable to sniff out drugs: the flower trade involves more than just ordinary flowers - the drugs are planted inside flower pots to avoid them being discovered. Quinlan and Jimmy singlehandedly, without help from local or US authorities, are able to bust a huge stash at a greenhouse in Amsterdam. The film was rumored to have its fight sequences chalked out and enacted by none other than Bruce Lee and Sammo Hung - the reality however, remains unknown. It is also rumored that Mitchum commented he did the film for money, and wasn’t really happy with neither the treatment of his character onscreen nor the treatment he received as Hollywood guy in Hong Kong.

Midnight Ride (released in 1990) - Thriller movie starring Mark Hamill, Michael Dudikoff, Savina Gersak, and Robert Mitchum

A rough ride, this slasher cum thriller film directed by Bob Bralver - is more of a hit and miss film - it wanted to score a hit with the audiences, but landed a miss :-). The film opens with Justin McKay (played by Mark Hamill, who also did Star Wars) at a car rental, where he is giving travel details – he’d like to rent a car to Hendersonville, when asked to fill in the rental contract form, he tells the attendant that he has no credit card, she tells him that he would then be unable to get the car – he crumples the form and throws it on her face- ‘Keep your stupid car.’
The scenes switches to a housewife, Lara (Savina Gersak), a Russian immigrant – who walks out of the house and her husband Lawson (Michael Dudikoff), her reasons are genuine, though somewhat clichéd and commonplace: he pays more attention to his job than her. “I just wanna leave, be swallowed up… ’. As she drives away, her mind a riot of emotions and thoughts - she thinks of spending the night with her friend at Santa Barbara. But there’s a bad thing waiting to happen to her: she offers a lift to Justin McKay, feeling sorry for him because he tells her he’s missed his bus home.
At a police check point, they are informed they have to take a detour, Lara tells the policeman that she and her ‘brother’ are traveling together. As they pull away, Justin remarks that she reminds him of his sister, whom he liked very much. Unbeknownst to Lara, her husband is following her, as he places his car in her way, she is taken aback and bumps into it. Getting out, she realizes its Lawson, this angers her further and she pulls away again. Lawson radios for help, meanwhile Hamill wonders why he was following them, and Lara tells him he’s her husband. When she pulls over at a motel to make a call, the lady at the desk is particularly rude and arrogant - this peeves Justin,  who says he doesn’t like her because she has a fake eye. While Lara waits her turn at the phone booth, he walks into the reception, the woman asks him what he wants - he points at her eye- ‘I want that.’




Viewers are given a macabre glimpse of  the woman’s corpse, with her eye missing. Lara is none the wiser. Justin shares with Lara the purpose of his visit to Hendersonville - ‘to meet an old professor, he makes me feel good.’ She notices he’s weaving thread or something, he tells her it’s a present for her. Suddenly, he dangles the necklace before her - the motel lady’s glass eye decorated as a pendant - Lara rams the brakes and asks Justin to get out, he tells her she doesn’t mean that - he wants her to like him! He threatens her, and she promises not to bother him or make an attempt to leave. Justin asks her who she is and why she left her husband. Meanwhile Lawson goes over to a colleague’s place to borrow his car. The trail seems to have gone cold, but he persists and is on the road to trace the car.
Leaving a trail of blood and gore, killing fourteen people, including six policemen - the duo travels on. Ultimately, Justin halts at a hospital, his intentions are insane - he  wants Dr.Hardy (played by Robert Mitchum), his psychiatrist, to administer electric shocks, not to him, but to Lara so that she likes him.
The doctor is familiar with Hamill’s history: he was witness to the terrifying butchering of his little sister by their alcoholic mother, thus the doctor knows that Mark is easily offended when he feels disrespected or let down. Hamill ignores the doctor and zaps Lara with the intention of killing her - Lawson arrives just in time and saves her. In the fighting that ensues, Justin is electrocuted and dies. All’s well that ends well- our hero reunites with his lady love and the two will hopefully live happily ever after - as for the audience, can’t say the same after eighty eight minutes of torturous viewing!

Film - Con Air - Action thriller starring Nicholas Cage and John Malkovich (released in 1997)

The movie marks the 1997 directorial debut of Simon West, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (The Rock). Con Air, the name borrows inspiration from the JPATS (Justice Alien and Prison Transportation System), the largest prison transport network. Nicholas Cage (Face Off, The Rock) plays Gulf War veteran Cameron Poe, who returns home to his wife, pregnant with their first child, and who ends up killing a drunken man who assaults her- this lands him in a maximum security prison.

Eight years down the line, he is being let off for good conduct. He nervously looks forward to meeting his daughter - the child he’s never seen before. Flying on a C-123, the Jailbird will take him home to Alabama. His co-passengers include Mike "Baby-O" O'Dell, the vicious Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, along with his   right-hand man, Nathan "Diamond Dog" Jones - they are being transported to another penitentiary. 

Also on the plane is the Drug Enforcement Agent Duncan Malloy, who gets another agent Willie Sims on board, in guise of a prisoner; unbeknownst to the others, Malloy arms Sims with a gun. Their aim is to get the transported drug lord Francisco Cindino to divulge more information about his operations; the US Marshal Larkin (John Cusack, America’s Sweethearts) on board agrees, unaware that there is a weapon on the person of the agent.
Cyrus (John Malkovich, In the Line of Fire) provokes his fellow passengers to riot; they end up hijacking the Jailbird. Pretending to befriend him, Poe plants a recording device on one of the guards, who would be off loaded in Carson City, dressed as a prisoner. The aircraft is now manned by “Swamp Thing”, with Cindino, the master mind close at heel. Cyrus commands Joe "Pinball" Parker, to get rid of the transponder telling plant it on another plane. But just as the Jailbird is airborne, the guards discover the device Poe had planted, and they alert Malloy and Larkin.

Joe Parker meets a gory end as his body is lodged in the landing gear when the plane takes off - but not before Poe sends in a note to Larkin telling him about what’s going to take place. The Marshal alerts the National Guard to go to Lerner Airfield, an abandoned airbase. Meanwhile, Poe’s identity and intentions are discovered by Billy Bedlam, who had found the parole letter, thus revealing the fact that Poe was the traitor amongst them - he ends up dying at the hands of Poe.
The  plane lands at the airfield but goes off the runway - skidding to halt in sand, next to a tank of propane.
Cindino had planned for his jet to already be there - but seeing that it isn’t, the Virus commands everyone to start digging into the sand to free the plane. Marshal Larkin makes it to the scene, preventing Cindino and his minions from escaping, when the Virus gets to know how Cindino duped him - he kills the drug lord.
An ambush is evaded as Larkin helps the Guardsmen - all the other prisoners return to the Jailbird, including Cyrus – who discovers the true intent of Poe, he tries to get even by shooting Poe’s friend Mike Baby’O.
The transponder helps Malloy track the aircraft, ordering it to land in Las Vegas, but lack of fuel causes it to crash land at The Strip. Cyrus is killed by a pounder at a construction site, as are his pals Swamp and Jones.
Poe is reunited with Casey and his wife, all’s well that ends well, or like Baby ‘O said –‘God’s got my back’.
Almost ten different aircrafts were used while filming the movie. It has a wonderful soundtrack, especially the song “How Do I Live Without You” (which was nominated for an Oscar in 1997) is hauntingly lovely!
The audiences worldwide received the film well- its current approval rating is 55% on Rotten Tomatoes- it is an action-packed entertaining thriller, worth a second watch!

Film - Face Off (starring John Travolta and Nicholas Cage) - Action thriller - Released in 1997

“There is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face.”
Face /Off is an out and out thriller, throw in sentiment for good measure, a few teary eyed moments and voila - a full thriller where you don’t have to think too much. The cops and robbers routine is taken to the next level when FBI Special Agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) loses his son to Castor Troy’s (Nicholas Cage) bullet - one which was meant for him.
Castor’s Achilles’ Heel is his brother Pollux Troy (Alessandro Nivola); they are both planning a bomb blast in LA -  whilst Castor is severely wounded in the gun battle that ensues, Pollux, the only guy who knows the location of the bomb, is taken captive.
Meanwhile, the vegetated state of Castor ensures there’s no way he’s disclosing the whereabouts of the bomb, so it’s now left to Archer to step up to the moment.
In a bizarre proposal, doctors tell Archer he can take on Castor’s identity – by way of a ‘Face/Off’. He has so much at stake but mainly the memory of Michael, his son, needs to be laid to rest. And so agrees to get a new face, a new identity. After the operation, Archer (as Troy) is incarcerated in the same prison as Pollux, and manages to get the location of where the bomb is planted. The tricky part now is getting out unscathed from Erewhon prison.
Castor Troy, now faceless, arises like phoenix from the ashes, and manages to get a face for himself - that of his rival Archer. And along with the new identity he has certain perks – a lovely wife, a beautiful home and a whole lot of ways to make sure that he uses the FBI to get rid of Archer once and for all. In order to earn the trust and praise of the department, Castor defuses the bomb - and becomes a hero. He takes to his new role like a fish to water, while the actual Archer faces near death in a prison riot, but manages to escape; once out, his aim is to get in touch with all of Castor’s network - his buddies and girlfriend, included.
Déjà vu when Castor (actually Archer) sees Adam, Sasha’s son (Castor’s ex) - and memories of Michael come flooding back. On the other hand Archer (actually Troy) is making inroads with Jamie - the daughter, who says she can never bring herself to forgive her father for what happened to her brother Michael. Having climbed the upper echelons of the Department ladder, Archer now takes matters into his own hands after he kills an FBI big gun and is himself promoted to Assistant Director In charge - virtually untouchable AND hopping mad because Cage killed his brother Pollux.



Meanwhile the actual Archer (in guise of Troy, played by Cage) approaches Eve, his wife and convinces her that the man in her home is the impostor Castor Troy; she tells him that Troy will be attending the funeral of the official he’d killed. But Castor, a veteran to cat and mouse games, is a step ahead, and he takes Eve hostage. In the gun fu that ensues Castor manages to escape in a speed boat, only to be brought down by Archer, who wins back his family and self respect, with a second chance at caring for the child Adam, whose mother Sasha was killed in the crossfire.
John Woo is known for bringing the Asian character to his films - they may be a little over the top, however, audiences love them. Both Travolta and Cage were two actors he had worked with earlier in Broken Arrow and Windtalkers. An excellent play is conducted by Woo on the words and names in the Film. For instance, Castor and Troy, according to ancient Greek Mythology - are brothers who make up the constellation Gemini, the prison Erewhon is the word “nowhere” written backwards.
With a rousing musical score by Hans Zimmer, the Movie was well received by audiences and critics alike - it was nominated for the Academy Award for Sound Editing (70th Academy Awards, 1998), losing to the Titanic. It won the Best Action Scene in the MTV Movie Awards and the Best Directing and Writing in the Saturn Awards.

Mata Hari (released in 1931) - Starring Greta Garbo and Ramon Novarro

Mata Hari is a pre-code (before the introduction of censorship) film loosely based on the life of Mata Hari (the stage name of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle), a courtesan executed for espionage during World War I. This movie directed by George Fitzmaurice stars Greta Garbo in the pivotal role. This movie is one of Greta Garbo's biggest hits and MGM's hit of the year netting a profit of nearly one million dollars. This pre-code movie was released again later and heavily censored, and many a scene was chopped to fall in line with the Hay's code.
Mata Hari is a courtesan who resides in Paris and is a spy for the German armed forces. She seduces many army and police officers passing secrets to enemy hands. With the general paranoia for spies during World War I, French spy bureau chief, Dubois vow to unmask the femme fatale. He keeps surveillance over her activities to nail her with complete evidence.
Mata Hari gets her assignments from Andriani who urges her to get the information of Russian Troop movements along the border. She meets the dashing Russian pilot of the imperial air-force, Alexis Rosanoff who is celebrated for his flight through the German Lines to bring in important messages. Mata Hari does not know that Alexis actually possesses the documents that Andriani had asked her to procure. She falls for the dashing officer and has an affair with him.



Soon she comes to know about the papers and darkens the room distracting Alexis, enabling others to photocopy the papers before returning it to the rightful owner. Andriani is disappointed in Mata Hari's involvement with Alexis. He kill Carlotta, another spy for daring to fall in love with her target. He threatens Mata that the same fate awaits her.
Dubois on the other hand in search of evidence gossips about her affair with Alexis to her ex-lover Shubin. An enraged Shubin confronts Mata Hari and threatens to expose her. Scared of Shubin's anger, Mata Hari even shows the photographs she stole from Alexis. But blinded by rage Shubin places a call to the embassy to have Mata Hari arrested. Mata shoots him and is on the run. She almost boards the plane to Amsterdam, when information about the fatal accident involving Alexis reach her. In-spite of Andriani's warnings she meets Alexis and is duly arrested by Dubois. A blinded Alexis does not know the situation and thinks that Mata is severely ill and is confined to a sanatorium.
Mata Hari is tried and convicted for spying against France. She is condemned to death and her last wish is to see Alexis. A blind Alexis meets her thinking the prison to be a sanatorium. She informs him not to grieve her death and walks out to meet the waiting firing squad. This movie was a huge success and is responsible for the cult following of Mata Hari. This movie is largely a fictionalized account and completely romanticizes the spy she was. Greta Garbo's beauty and talent makes this movie a notch above all.

Firewall (released in 2006) - Starring Harrison Ford, a thriller movie

Jack Stanfield has everything in his life, a loving wife, great children, beautiful house and a great job as Vice President of Security at Landrock Pacific Bank in downtown Seattle. He is approached by another firm with a better offer and Jack agrees to meet Cox the manager. As he leaves for the day to meet cox little does Jack know the nightmare he is walking in to.
Cox follows Jack as he leaves the restaurant and informs him discreetly at the rear seat of the car about the abduction of his family. He threatens to kill them unless jack wires him $ 10000 from each account of the bank, thus robbing a tune of 100 million from his employers. Jack reaches home and finds his family captive and agrees for the transfer.
As he reaches the office Cox enters his office and forces him to give a guided tour of the security systems in place. Cox introduces a virus in to the system and leaves. Jack on reaching home try to escape by bribing the henchmen and all his attempts fail. Cox entices Jacks son Andy in to eating a cookie with nuts which makes him go in to shock as he is allergic to it. Cox withholds the treatment till Jack acquiesces to his demands.



Jack reaches his office and downloads the files necessary for transfer in to his daughter Sarah's i-pod mini and also slyly takes a photograph of the account information with an employee's camera phone. Cox on the other hand wipes the memory bank and security system clean to enable Jack to take the fall for embezzlement. He also makes Jack fire his secretary Janet for being suspicious.
Jack in the mean time kills two Hench -men and calls his friend. But Cox has one ace up his sleeve, and he kills Harry and with a planted message from Beth makes it look as though Jack had killed Harry in a fit of jealousy over Beth. Cox then transports the entire family to his hideout. Jack in the mean time goes to the bank and with the information in the photograph remove all money from Cox's account. He then calls him to announce that the ransom will be paid only if his family is released.
Cox tries blackmailing him again but it does not work as Jack has the tap of all the cash. During the conversation Jack hears his family dog and gets a brain wave of tracking the GPS unit attached to its collar. With Janet's help they drive over to the hideout and Janet leaves to call the police. Jack kills the henchmen in search of his family. But a panicky Cox take them up the tower for the final push. But jack climbs the treacherous incline, kills him ultimately rescuing his family. This movie was blasted by the critics, but was a box office success. It was also nominated for awards, the Taurus World Stunt Award for Best Fight. A must see for action buff's.

K-19 Widow-maker (released in 2002) - A movie starring Harrison Ford

This movie is directed by Katheryn Bigelow takes a leaf out of the the real life incidents concerning the Russian Nuclear submarine K-19. It stars Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson in the pivotal roles.
K-19 is a Soviet ballistic Nuclear Submarine which is commandeered by Captain Alexei Vostrikov. Vostrikov commands no respect with his crew because he is said to have landed this plum job because of his wife's political connections. The second in command executive officer Mikhail Polenin is an experienced and well liked officer. He and his crew go a long way and have difficulty in accepting the rookie Vostrikov. Vostrikov tries to meddle with the daily workings of the submarine and accuses the officer and crew of being soft and lazy. He organize difficult maneuvers and actions which is not compatible with the submarine of this class. Due to the mounting injuries the crew began to grumble and a mutiny is quelled because of Polenin's intervention.



After very satisfying trials Vostrikov orders a very tricky maneuver to test the surface ballistic missile. It involves rapid surfacing of the sub from great depths to break the thick Arctic Ice. Polenin has his reservations, but Vostrikov conducts this trial with no difficulties. After its success he wins the grudging respect from his crew members for his fearlessness. But Polenin considers him to be very lucky not prudent.
But the damage has been done with the coolant pipes of the reactor totally damaged. As the submarine cruises through the Atlantic perilously close to the US and NATO army base the crew realizes that the reactor temperatures are abnormally high which would result in an nuclear explosion. Vostrikov ruefully admits that his drastic trials in the Arctic have wrecked the submarine. Soon a plan is made to drain their drinking water supplies and direct it to cool the reactor. It requires lion hearted men to weld those pipes with standing high amount of radiation. This is the high point of the movie where these brave hearts work with out any protective suits for 10 minute shifts to salvage the reactor.
In the mean time Vostrikov repeals all American help and waits with the silent ship whose radio's are also damaged. Soon a mutiny occurs and is quelled by the resourceful Polenin. Vostrikov again tries to order the welding which is resisted by the crew. Thats the time when Polenin utters those amazing words “don't order them, ask them”. Vostrikov then tells them that a nuclear explosion would wipe out the US Army base nearby signaling retaliatory strikes against Russia resulting in a nuclear holocaust. The crew goes back to work suffering heavy causalities and saves the submarine, reaching a Russian ship.
In the end Vostrikov and his men, old and infirm can only drink to their fallen comrades as they are denied even their medals since it was not a war situation. An amazing movie and I consider it on par with Saving Private Ryan. It was nominated for the Political Film Society Award and was a critical and box office success. A gripping drama for all peace-lovers.

Frantic (released in 1988) - starring Harrison Ford, and directed by Roman Polanski

Frantic is a 1988 thriller film directed by Roman Polanski starring Harrison Ford and Emmanuelle Seigner.
Harrison Ford is Dr. Richard Walker, a doctor who comes to Paris with his wife for a medical conference. At the hotel, his wife is unable to open her suitcase and thus is determined to have picked up a wrong suitcase at the airport. But while he is taking a shower, his wife mysteriously disappears. He complains at the hotel desk and encounters an indifferent staff. As he ventures out on his own to search for her, a wino from the cafe informs him, that he saw his wife forcibly being taken in a car. Walker although initially reluctant to believe in such a possibility, discovers her ID from the sidewalk. He is convinced about the kidnapping and complains to the American embassy and the Parisian cops. But he gets typical bureaucratic replies which disgusts him and thus the panic sets in.



With no official help Walker in a frantic state moves on to the streets to find his wife. He steps in to a murder scene and finds an ally in a streetwise Young Michelle. Michelle reveals to him that she is a career smuggler who works for an unknown boss. She also informs him that his wife had mistakenly picked up her suitcase containing an unknown consignment. Soon the smugglers call in to trade his wife for the suitcase. Michelle agrees to help him in his search to trace his wife.
Walker, in his desperation tries to learn what is in the suitcase. He finds a Statue Of Liberty replica and learns that a Kryptron which is a small electronic switch used in the detonators of nuclear devices is hidden inside. Soon the matters come to head with the officials too closing on the pair. After an intense gun battle on the river Seine, the kidnappers release Sondra, Walker's wife. But Michelle is shot and a disgusted Walker just throws the Kryptron in to the river, challenging the villains and the officials.
This movie is a critics delight. It had a moderate box office success and is treated as Roman Polanski's better film's after Rosemary's Baby. The haunting background score by Ennio Morricone sets the tone for the suspense and Grace Jones' recording of "I've Seen That Face Before is played while Walker is talking to his daughter. Paris is not treated as romantic city with the favorite hot-spots like the Eiffel Tower not in the picture. Instead we are treated to haunting bleak cobble stoned dark alley and side ways.
Harrison Ford delivers a good performance as an anguished Walker and is one of his performance oriented roles. The whole premise is build on Sondra Walker's disappearance. Even thought he screen time is minimal for her, the director makes her the main object of affection, The beautiful Emanuele Seigner is also her best. Good movie and a thought provoking watch modeled on an Hitchcockian theme

Force 10 from Navarone (released in 1978) - Robert Shaw, Edward Fox, Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers, Barbara Bach, Franco Nero and Richard Kiel

This movie is a sequel to the highly popular 'Guns Of Navarone' and is loosely based on Alistair MacLean's novel of the same name. Directed by Guy Hamilton and stars Robert Shaw,Edward Fox, Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers, Barbara Bach, Franco Nero and Richard Kiel.
Miller and Mallory are back from Navarone and are sent on a mission to Yugoslavia to assist the war efforts and to neutralize a spy who escaped from Navarone. The German spy Nikolai is posing as Captain Lescovar and has infiltrated the Partisans and is undermining the war efforts of the allies in Eastern Europe. They join effort with the Force 10 unit headed by Captain Barnsby. They are air dropped over Yugoslavia and are captured by the Germans and their allies the Chetniks lead by Captain Drazak.
Drazak brings them before Captain Schroeder and the prisoners present themselves as Allied deserters who were court martialed. Schroeder is skeptical and opens their suitcase which is supposedly filled with Penicillin. To their surprise the suitcase contains wooden logs and they concoct a story about burying it on their way to capture. So Schroeder sends Mallory and Barnsby along with his trusted lieutenant Maritza and two other soldiers to retrieve the Penicillin. Maritza proves to be a partisan spy, and helps them to escape and meet Colonel Petrovich, the Partisan leader. Here Mallory recognizes Captain Lescovar and informs Petrovich about the spy. But Petrovich is not impressed and informs Mallory that the spy Nikolai was killed by himself. He asks them to focus on destroying the bridge to avoid attack by the German forces.



Mallory informs Petrovich that Miller is the real explosive expert and is held captive by the Chetniks. He forms a plan to rescue them along with Maritza. They infiltrate the camp and help Miller and others to escape. Miller informs them that the bridge is impregnable to explosives, but the force of tons of water from the dam nearby could do the trick. So Force 10 plans to destroy the dam instead and ask for supplies. But a sabotage by Lescovar foil the plan and Maritza is killed before she can stop him.
Miller and co plan to raid the German Yard for explosives while a dejected Petrovich plans to return to the head quarters. A daring raid which is suicidal in its planning with a spy Lescovar thwarting their actions is hell enough but the team is successful in the end. Lescovar is killed by an enraged Barnsby and they leave to destroy the dam. With German forces closing on them the bombs are set at a short fuse which makes their survival doubtful. But as they walk away the bombs detonate bringing the dam and the bridge down washing down the enemy hopes. The protagonist trapped on the wrong side of the river start the perilous journey home through enemy lands.
The movie was a box-office and critical disaster and even Ford is said to have disliked his role. I would prefer the book which has better action sequences compared to the insipid sequences in the movie. Just watch it to complete the Navarone Saga.

Witness (released in 1985) - Starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis, protecting a young witness

A thriller directed by Peter Weir starring Harrison Ford, Kelly Macgillis and Lukas Haas, it was released in 1985 to critical and box office acclaim.
The plot involves a young Amish widow Rachel Lapp who is taking her son Samuel for a trip to Baltimore to see the outside world. Samuel in the rest room witness a murder of a police officer Zenovich. Samuel sees only one of the murderers who happens to be a tall black man. Rachel and Samuel are taken by the police as witnesses and are introduced to captain John Book and Sergeant Carter. Samuel as the principal witness has to identify the killer and fails to find the right man in the police line-up. As he saunters around in the police head quarters he sees a newspaper clipping of a police officer Mcfee and recognizes him as the killer.
Book reports this development to his superior, Captain Paul Schaffer and is asked to investigate further. He informs Book, that Mcfee had raided a drug hideout and did not report his findings. Zenovich was killed for investigating Mcfee's drug offenses. Schaffer advices Book to keep the report a secret, till they can find some clinching evidence.



Book escorts Rachel and Samuel to a safe hotel where they are ambushed by Mcfee. Book shoots Mcfee and realizes that Schaffer would be the traitor. Book seriously wounded decides to go in to hiding with the Lapps. He calls up Carter and asks him to remove all the files relating to the Lapp's and his investigations. Book informs Rachel about the situation and escorts them to their home in Lancaster city.
A severely wounded Book, tries to leave the Amish colony after he ha safely escorted the Lapps. But he faints having lost a lot of blood and Rachel's father in-law reluctantly agrees to keep him there. As he recovers he helps Eli, Rachel's father-in-law around the house doing small carpentry and other odd jobs. He finds it difficult to adjust to the Amish way of life, but soon it grows on him. He takes Samuel under his wing and bond starts to develop between them.
Various culture clashes happens as Book adjusts himself to the Amish way. He is forced to surrender his fire arm as the Amish believe in non violence. He does the community jobs like building towers for residents and Samuel helps him to work the machines like a silo. Book enjoys his life with the Amish and also develops a soft corner for Rachel. He also fights others who mock the Amish. Rachel and Book are attracted to each other to the discomfiture of her suiter Hockleitner. Eli and other residents also disapprove of this alliance.
Book in the mean time telephones Carter for information and the villains kill him. Realizing that the game has gone too far, he calls up Schaffer and challenges him. Soon Schaffer and Co reach Lancaster and both Mcfee and Fergie are killed. Schaffer holds Rachel hostage, but the arrival of all residents, make him realize that his game is up. Book arrests and hands him to the Sheriff. But he also comes to the understanding that he cannot be part of the Amish for ever, and returns to the world with his love for Rachel.
Witness was a box office winner and was also nominated for 8 academy awards wining two for the best screen play and editing. It was also a toast at the BAFTA Awards. A good simple movie.

The Ghost and the Darkness (released in 1996) - starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer

How often do you find a movie getting awards both from the Academy awards and also a Razzie award? Well, "The Ghost and the Darkness" is a movie that got both these awards, an Academy award for Sound Editing, as well as a Razzie award (for Val Kilmer for Best Supporting Actor). The movie got critical praise and was well received, although there were some differences between the book (The Man-Eaters Of Tsavo, by J. H. Patterson) and the movie, especially around the character of the hunter, Charles Remington (played by Michael Douglas). The concept is that since Douglas also stepped in to part-produce the movie, he decided to enhance the role of Remington from the original role that was supposed to be much more mysterious. In the process, this also reduced the scope of the character of Col. John Henry Patterson (the hunter who is brought into the project to bring it back to schedule, played by Val Kilmer), given that it was Patterson who killed 3 lions, including the 2 monster ones who killed a large number of workers at the site.




There is some dispute over the number of workers killed by the lions, with Patterson claiming that there were 135 workers killed, while new research claimed that there were around 35 workers killed. The actual lions who were killed by Patterson can now be seen on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois, and these are magnificent specimens, worthy of scaring workers.
The movie centers around a railroad project in Tsavo, Africa, where the project is running behind schedule. Col. Patterson is sent to take command of things and reaches the site. There he starts on his mission, killing a lion quickly, but then unable to prevent the lions from killing off the workers one by one. To everybody's surprise, 2 lions attack the camp, and lions never attack in a group, but are single hunters. This is seen as a bad sign. Then a famous hunter Remington is sent in to help, and in the meantime, the workers are not willing to stay. The lions are a tough hunt, especially when they don't fall for a ruse and attack a new hospital, killing all the inmates and the camp doctor. Patterson finally manages to kill one lion, but the other one manages to kill Remington. In a final stand-off, Patterson finally manages to kill the remaining lion, and the bridge gets built.