Al's Top Rated Films: 1990

Spectacular and underrated conclusion to my favorite trilogy of all time. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale created yet another sci-fi comedy adventure masterpiece, which also happens to be a top-notch western. The story picks up in 1955 just after Doc's Delorean was struck by lightning, which sent him back to the year 1885 where he has found peace and happiness working as a blacksmith in the old west. He instructs Marty not to come back for him in a historical letter he send to him 70 years earlier, but Marty ends up learning that Doc was murdered a few days after he wrote the letter by Biff's great-grandfather, Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, over a matter of $80. So Marty gets in contact with the 1955 Doc Brown to fix up the time machine and heads back to 1885 to bring Doc home. Trouble ensues when the Delorean's gas tank springs a leak and leaves them without a source of fuel, and Doc ends up meeting, rescuing, and falling in love with a school teacher that puts their lives and futures in jeopardy. Not to mention Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen and his band of thieves are out for both Doc and Marty's blood. This is my most watched western of all time, and I think it's underrated for how much they flipped the script from the first two films. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd both deliver iconic lead performances just like they do in the first two installments. Thomas F. Wilson delivers one of his best performances of the entire trilogy as Tannen. Mary Steenburgen also had a great role as Doc's love interest, Clara Clayton. Lea Thompson had a smaller role this time out, but was still excellent. James Tolkan, Elisabeth Shue, Matt Clark, Pat Buttram, Harry Carey Jr., Dub Taylor, Christopher Wynne, Sean Sullivan, Mike Watson, Burton Gilliam, and others had great supporting roles.

Absolutely superb drama/thriller from Rob Reiner and Stephen King that follows a famous author named Paul Sheldon who gets in a nasty car accident during a massive blizzard in a remote area of the Colorado wilderness where he has historically found inspiration to write. He's rescued from the wreck by a woman named Annie Wilkes who takes him to her secluded home to nurse him back to health. When he wakes up, she informs him that she's his number one fan thanks to his series of novels entitled "Misery". She soon learns Paul has a manuscript of the final book in his possession, and Annie can't wait to read it due to her obsession with the series. When she learns he's killed off the star character in the fourth-coming novel, she snaps and turns to horrifying methods of captivity and torture, harnessing the power to have him re-write his final "Misery" novel the way she wants it to be. This is easily one of my favorite thrillers of all time. James Caan delivered arguably his greatest lead performance, and Kathy Bates really steals the show with her chilling starring role. Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen had great supporting roles among an extremely minimal cast.

Fantastic crime drama and biography from Martin Scorsese set from 1955–1980, and follows a young Irish-American gangster named Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) who becomes infatuated with a life of crime lead by the Mafia in his working class Italian-American neighborhood of Brooklyn. He hooks up with Mafia leader Paulie Cicero, and works closely with ambitious and much more dangerous mob partners James Conway (Robert De Niro) and the extremely short-fused Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). Intimidation, power struggles, murder, drugs, infidelity, and intense paranoia fuel the fire as the story leads up to deadly circumstances and horrific conclusions. One could argue this is the most iconic mafia/mob/crime drama of all time, and stands as a crowing achievement in Scorsese's filmography. Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci (winning the Oscar) arguably deliver their all-time greatest lead performances. Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Frank Sivero, Tony Darrow, Mike Starr, Frank Vincent, Chuck Low, Frank DiLeo, Gina Mastrogiacomo, Catherine Scorsese, Christopher Serrone, Charles Scorsese, Suzanne Shepherd, Debi Mazar, Michael Imperioli, and several others had excellent supporting roles.

Fantastic biography from Penny Marshall set in 1969, and follows a medical researcher turned clinical physician named Dr. Malcolm Sayer at a local hospital in the Bronx that houses many patients who survived the 1917-1928 Encephalitis lethargica epidemic that leaves the victim catatonic, unable to eat, drink, dress, bathe themselves, or even speak. The main patient the story focuses on is Leonard Lowe. He's been in his catatonic state for over 30 years, and he becomes the test study of an experimental drug called L-Dopa. The results creates a miraculous awakening among Leonard and the rest of the patients with the same sickness. But like many drugs, there can be overwhelming side effects. Robin Williams delivered one of his all-time greatest lead performances. Robert De Niro was also excellent as Leonard, as he really put his whole self into the role. Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard, Penelope Ann Miller, Alice Drummond, George Martin, Anne Meara, Mary Alice, Keith Diamond, Bradley Whitford, Max von Sydow, Peter Stormare, and many others had excellent supporting roles.

Hilarious family comedy from John Hughes and Chris Columbus, and definitely one of my favorite Christmas films ever made. The story follows an 8-year-old boy named Kevin McCallister, who's huge family is preparing for a vacation to Paris, France. Kevin is the youngest in the family and is generally frustrated that nobody takes him seriously. After a messy dinner incident occurs and the family blames Kevin for everything, he is sent to sleep the night in the attic away from the family. The next morning he wakes up to find an empty house. The entire family left for their vacation and forgot him at home, and didn't figure it out until they were halfway to France. Kevin's mom and the family deal with plenty of guilt-ridden drama on how to get back home, while Kevin is having a blast having the house all to himself. However, when a duo of career house burglars named Harry and Marv target his house because they know the family is on vacation, Kevin decides he must defend his house and take down the criminals in most unique and hilarious fashion. Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern all deliver iconic lead performances. Catherine O'Hara and John Heard also had great starring roles. Devin Ratray, Roberts Blossom, Gerry Bamman, John Candy, Angela Goethals, Hillary Wolf, Michael C. Maronna, Kristin Minter, Diana Rein, Kieran Culkin, Terrie Snell, D. Danny Warhol, and plenty others also had great roles among the supporting cast.

Excellent conclusion to Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo's classic crime drama Godfather trilogy. The story is set in 1979; about 22 years after the troubling and dismal closing events of The Godfather II. Michael Corleone is in his 60s, and still finds him struggling to lead a legitimate family business while the past continues to plague him in his family and professional relationships. He and his ex-wife Kay battle over their son Anthony's future as and opera singer, and with each other's disturbing past and feelings for each other. He has the best relationship with his daughter Mary, who gets wrapped up in a love affair with her cousin Vincent Mancini—the illegitimate son of the late Sonny Corleone—who becomes Michael's right-hand man as he teaches him the ways of the family business he desperately wants to be a part of. When Michael's diabetes starts to catch up with him in old age, it becomes clear the he needs to pick a replacement to run the family business. I thought the story was great and it wrapped thew story great. I must admit that I've only seen the 2020 re-edit: The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. I can't speak about the original theatrical release, but the new edit was fantastic. Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Andy Garcia, and Sofia Coppola all had excellent lead performances. Talia Shire, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, Raf Vallone, Donal Donnelly, Richard Bright, and many others had great supporting roles.

Excellent action-packed thriller from Steve Barron and easily my favorite film in the entire Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. The story is set in the gritty crime-ridden streets of New York City and follows TV news reporter April O'Neil who's saved from being mugged by a group of mysteriously masked mutant turtles. We soon learn their origin story thanks to their sensei Splinter who is a mutated rat from the same mysterious ooze the turtles were transformed by in the sewers where they live. Splinter has trained them in the art of ninja combat, which will put them to the ultimate test when the evil Foot Clan cult leader Master Shredder wants to control the city and all the young kids he's able to manipulate. April gets stuck in the middle of it all while while a hockey-masked vigilante named Casey Jones comes to their rescue and helps fight against evil. I still love this film today. Since it caters more to older audiences, it remains my favorite in the franchise since every sequel got overly cartoony and kid-friendly after this. All the characters were nicely developed. Josh Pais (Raphael), Brian Tochi (Leonardo), Corey Feldman (Donatello), Robbie Rist (Michaelangelo), Kevin Clash (Splinter), James Saito/David McCharen (The Shredder), Elias Koteas (Casey Jones), Judith Hoag (April O'Neil), Toshishiro Obata/Michael McConnohie (Tatsu) all had excellent and iconic performances among a solid supporting cast.

Fantastic crime drama/thriller from Abel Ferrara that follows a drug lord named Frank White who was just released from a lengthy stretch in prison and is looking to take control of New York City's organized crime and wipe out all the competition in the process. While Frank can be a ruthlessly brutal, he cares deeply for his friends and community. With the money he makes off drugs, he plans to inject back into the community and fund a South Bronx hospital for the poor. As he knocks off other subsequent crime bosses, the heat gets turned up on him by the NYPD narcotics squad, which finds officers going rogue to take Frank and his organization down. Fantastic story all around, with excellent action, excellent character development, and great casting. Christopher Walken arguably delivers his all-time best lead performance. He had the perfect style and flair for the role. Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, and Victor Argo also excellent starring roles. Janet Julian, Wesley Snipes, Joey Chin, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Calderon, Steve Buscemi, Theresa Randle, Leonard L. Thomas, Roger Guenveur Smith, and many others had great supporting roles.

Excellent war drama/adventure/western directed by and starring Kevin Costner. The story is set in 1863 during the American Civil War, and follows a troubled Union Army Lieutenant named John J. Dunbar who's wounded during a battle in Tennessee. He ends up requesting a transfer to a remote western Civil War outpost and quickly makes friends with wolves and the Lakota Indian tribe, who accepts him into their family and names him "Dances With Wolves". Before long, horrifying conflicts between intolerant Union soldiers and the Lakota tribe heat up, let alone those who object to John's life choices. Powerful and very nicely done story all around with a great cast of characters. Kevin Costner delivers one of his all-time best lead performances. Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, and Rodney A. Grant also had great starring roles. Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman, Robert Pastorelli, Charles Rocket, Maury Chaykin, Tantoo Cardinal, Jimmy Herman, Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, Tom Everett, Larry Joshua, Donald Hotton, and several others had very nice supporting roles. It's very long at almost 4 hours, but it's definitely worthy of its time.

Excellent comedy horror/western from Ron Underwood set in the tiny desert town of town Perfection, Nevada. The story follows two best friends and free-lance business partners named Valentine McKee and Earl Bassett who are tired of their dead-end jobs and decide to hit the road to find better lives for themselves. On their way out of town, they run into an attractive seismologist doing studies on mysterious underground activity in the area. The story quickly turns to deadly terror once they find the movements are actually coming from large and highly intellectual creatures traveling underground and killing people one by one, which they have nicknamed "Graboids". With their keen sense of hearing, it becomes seemingly impossible to escape the desert or destroy the monsters. Out of all 7 Tremors films, this one is easily the best. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward deliver some of their best lead performances, and have great comedic chemistry together. Finn Carter, Michael Gross, and Reba McEntire were also excellent among a solid supporting cast.

Fantastic and underrated music drama from Spike Lee set in 1980s Brooklyn, and follows the life of an extremely talented jazz trumpeter and composer named Bleek Gilliam. While he's caring for his friends and the two women in his life, he's mostly selfish and puts his well-being and success above everyone else. When his childhood friend and band manager screws up his business affairs and gets himself into big trouble from unpaid gambling debts, Bleek intervenes and things subsequently take a disastrous turn as he's forced to reevaluate what's actually important in life. Excellent film willed with Spike Lee's signature superb writing/dialogue throughout, and also one of the best jazz soundtracks ever made. Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, and Joie Lee all delivered excellent lead performances. Cynda Williams, Bill Nunn, Giancarlo Esposito, Robin Harris, John Turturro, Nicholas Turturro, Dick Anthony Williams, Samuel L. Jackson, Leonard L. Thomas, Charlie Murphy, and others had great supporting roles.

Excellent sequel to arguably 1988's greatest action-packed thriller. The direction is handled by Renny Harlin this time around, and follows John McClane as he's waiting for his wife to arrive at Washington's Dulles Airport when he notices a team of corrupt military terrorists led by retired Special Forces Colonel Stuart that are devising a plot to sabotage the airport's landing system. Before long, they take control of the entire airport and threaten to sabotage all of the airplanes if they don't release a South American military leader General Ramon Esperanza, who's being transported to the U.S. for using U.S. funds to buy drugs. John makes it his mission to take them down like he has done before. Sequels are often not as good as their predecessors, but I was truly astounded by how great this film was. That can be said for the entire franchise (except for the last film). It was a thrilling ride throughout. Bruce Willis delivers a fantastic lead performance as John McClane once again. William Sadler also delivered a great starring role as the villain. Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, Franco Nero, John Amos, Reginald VelJohnson, Dennis Franz, Art Evans, Fred Thompson, Don Harvey, Tom Bower, Robert Patrick, and several others had very nice supporting roles.

Excellent fantasy drama/romance from Jerry Zucker that follows a successful banker named Sam Wheat who's brutally shot and murdered, but gets a second chance to avenge his death and set things right when his spirit is left behind as a ghost instead of being brought to heaven or hell by angels. He quickly learns about deceit and corruption that was responsible for his death, and hooks up with a spiritual psychic named Oda Mae Brown who is the only person that can hear his voice. His main reason for living is his girlfriend Molly Jensen, whom he shared a seemingly perfect loving relationship with. He soon ends up intervening in her life when the corruption that got him killed starts coming after her. Very entertaining film and one of the finest romance stories out there. Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore both deliver superb lead performances and have great chemistry together. Whoopi Goldberg and Tony Goldwyn also have great starring roles. Rick Aviles, Vincent Schiavelli, Angelina Estrada, Armelia McQueen, Gail Boggs, Stephen Root, and others also had very nice supporting roles.

Excellent psychological horror/mystery from Adrian Lyne that follows a Vietnam War veteran and New York postal worker named Jacob Singer who seemingly has severe PTSD from the war, and has mysterious flashbacks of his final horrific battle, his former wife and family, and now-dead son Gabe. The flashbacks begin to take control of his life as evil demons and spirits appear out of nowhere which leaves him in a debilitated state. When he finds out the other soldiers in his Army battalion that fought a horrific battle none of them can remember the details of are now having the same terrifying visions, Jacob becomes determined to uncover the mystery behind their unexplained deaths and suffering. Uniquely made film that unravels nicely and never gets too strange. Tim Robbins delivered one of his best lead performances. Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jason Alexander, Patricia Kalember, Eriq La Salle, Ving Rhames, S. Epatha Merkerson, and others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent family horror from Nicolas Roeg and Roald Dahl that follows a curious young boy named Luke Eveshim who lives with his Grandmother Helga after the death of his parents. Helga tells Luke stories of evil witches and her childhood experiences with them. She claims they are definitely true, but Luke isn't totally convinced. However, all that changes when Luke and Helga take a vacation to a seaside hotel in England. When Luke is exploring his way around the hotel, he stumbles across a mysterious convention of women who are secretly wicked blood-thirsty witches. The International Grand High witch Eva Ernst continues to instruct her pupils on her plans to dispose of all Britain's children by turning them into mice. Excellent story, and it always stands out to me since the witches are extremely grotesque and frightening. I do believe it gave me nightmares as a child. It's very much a horror film, and an excellent one all around. Anjelica Huston arguably delivers her all-time best lead performance. Jasen Fisher and Mai Zetterling also had excellent starring roles. Charlie Potter, Rowan Atkinson, Anne Lambton, Jane Horrocks, Jenny Runacre, Angelique Rockas, Bill Paterson, Annabel Brooks, Emma Relph, and others also had excellent supporting roles.

Underrated drama from James Ivory set mainly between the first and second world wars in the 1930s and 1940s, and follows the upper-class Kansas City based Bridge family. The family is led by the conservative, strict, and controlling father, Walter. He is extremely self-righteous and looks down on the way most others live, even though he has a number of flaws of his own. He also grapples to understand the wild young generation his kids take part in. The main focus of the story is on the relationship with his lovely and dedicated wife, India. They are disconnected in most ways, and Walter often treats her like a possession. While Walter is content living this way, it takes a major toll on India throughout the duration of their monotonous marriage. Powerful story all around with an excellent cast. Paul Newman delivers one of his best later-day lead performance, but it was Joanne Woodward's emotion-fill Oscar-nominated lead performance that really stood out as the star of the film. Kyra Sedgwick, Margaret Welsh, Robert Sean Leonard, Blythe Danner, Austin Pendleton, and others also had great supporting roles.

Underrated and hilarious crime comedy from Ivan Reitman that follows a burly and highly skilled Los Angeles police detective named John Kimble who goes undercover as a Kindergarten teacher at a suburban Oregon elementary school in order to locate a drug dealer's son and ex-wife who have been successfully hiding from him for years until he finally learns of their whereabouts. He's helped by his comical sidekick Phoebe O'Hara, and pursues a relationship with a beautiful mother named Joyce who he believes is his target. Things heat up as the boy's drug dealing father finds his exact location. This is one of my favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger films because it combines his superb action star skills with very clever comedy. It still stands a hilarious and effective blend that entertains today. Penelope Ann Miller, Pamela Reed, and Richard Tyson also deliver excellent starring roles. Linda Hunt, Carroll Baker, Christian Cousins, and several other kindergartners had excellent supporting roles.

Excellent fantasy-driven drama from Tim Burton that follows an artificial man named Edward who was created by a gifted inventor who dies before he could finish his hands—leaving him with metal scissors for hands. A local Avon lady named Peg Boggs ends up taking him in after she sees the sad and solitary life he's living, and he ends up falling in love with her daughter Kim. When he breaks out of his shell and becomes a local celebrity for his artistic abilities to trim hedges and cut hair, things take a downward spiral when he's framed for a robbery. Excellent story and film all around, which has Tim Burton signature touches all around within the gorgeous production. Johnny Depp delivered one of his most iconic lead performances of his career as Edward. Winona Ryder and Dianne Wiest also had excellent starring roles. Anthony Michael Hall, Alan Arkin, Kathy Baker, Conchata Ferrell, Robert Oliveri, Caroline Aaron, Dick Anthony Williams, Vincent Price, Susan Blommaert, and several others had great supporting roles.

Excellent Made-for-TV horror mystery by Stephen King set in 1960 Derry, Maine, and follows 7 middle-school outcasts and best friends known as "The Losers Club". They end up seeing visions of a terrifying child-killing clown named Pennywise who feeds on the fear of children. After becoming obsessed with the visions, they realize they must kill the clown. When they think they've destroyed him, the monster reappears 30 years later in their visions after he starts another killing spree, and "The Losers Club" must reunite as adults to finally destroy the monster after making a pact to do so if it ever returned. I personally like this better than the newer It movies (2017-2019). It relies heavier on acting skills than it does gore and special effects. Still a great film to this day. Tim Curry, Richard Thomas, John Ritter, Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Richard Masur, Annette O'Toole, and Tim Reid all deliver excellent lead performances. Jonathan Brandis, Brandon Crane, Adam Faraizl, Seth Green, Ben Heller, Emily Perkins, Marlon Taylor, and Jarred Blancard also had great starring roles as the child actors, among a solid supporting cast.

Fantastic comedy adventure from Bob Hathcock. DuckTales was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid and I've always found this film to be the best and most memorable piece of work in the the DuckTales franchise. The story follows billionaire Scrooge McDuck and his nephews as they finally recover the lost treasure of Collie Baba, which Scrooge has spent years searching for. Amongst the riches includes the most desirable piece in the bunch—a magic lamp and an accompanying Genie that will grant three wishes to each of his masters. But things go south when an extremely powerful and evil shape-shifter named Merlock the Magician and his servant Dijon the Thief hunt them down to steal the lamp. Alan Young, Russi Taylor, Christopher Lloyd, Richard Libertini, and Rip Taylor all delivered excellent lead performances. Terence McGovern, Chuck McCann, and Joan Gerber were also great among the supporting cast.

Underrated comedy crime drama from George Armitage that follows a daring con man named Frederick J. Frenger Jr. who travels from California to Miami and immediately starts stealing and committing other crimes before meeting and starting a relationship with an impressionable young prostitute named Susie Waggoner. Meanwhile, an old veteran police detective named Sgt. Hoke Moseley works to track him down after he accidentally murders a man in his recklessness. The story and acting is great throughout, and really boasts a more complex story than I anticipated. Alec Baldwin delivered one of his finest lead performance. Jennifer Jason Leigh also delivered one of her best starring roles, along with Fred Ward. Charles Napier, Nora Dunn, Edward Saxon, Wendy Thorlakson, Kenneth Utt, Paul Gleason, and others had very nice supporting roles.

Excellent comic book inspired action-packed crime comedy/drama directed by and starring Warren Beatty. The story is set in 1938, and follows police officer and ace detective Dick Tracy who regularly takes down evildoers in his crime-ridden city. His main target is the ruthlessly insane megalomaniac Big Boy Caprice, who kills off the another big crime boss named Lips Manless to make him the most powerful kingpin in the city. Dick Tracy is helped along the way by a caring homeless kid and mysteriously seductive lounge singer named Breathless Mahoney. Meanwhile, his lovely girlfriend Tess Trueheart has doubts about their future. Great story all around, with extremely unique and stylized production design and cinematography. The music was excellent throughout as well. Warren Beatty was excellent and Tracy, and Al Pacino delivered the best performance as Big Boy Caprice. Both delivered excellent lead performances. Madonna and Charlie Korsmo also had great starring roles. Glenne Headly, William Forsythe, Mandy Patinkin, Ed O'Ross, Paul Sorvino, Dick Van Dyke, James Tolkan, R.G. Armstrong, Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, Kathy Bates, Catherine O'Hara, and many others had great supporting roles.

Underrated and forgotten Disney war drama/adventure set 1943–1945 during World War II when the United States Army used dogs in battle that were donated by their American owners. The program is called "Dogs for Defense", and follows an unlikely paring of an Army solider named Danny Stauffer who initially doesn't like dogs, and a rambunctious German shepherd named Chips who was sent to the program for terrorizing neighboring chickens and almost being killed for. They end up creating a true bond together through basic training and into the deadly field of battle where they become heroes. Brandon Douglas and Chips both deliver excellent lead performances. William Devane, Ned Vaughn, Ellie Cornell, Paxton Whitehead, Robert Miranda, Sheridan Gayr, Luke Rossi, and others also had great performances among many others in the supporting cast. I really wish they would add this one to Disney+ or re-release it. It's a gem.

Great action-packed crime drama from Sheldon Lettich, and one of my favorite Jean-Claude Van Damme flicks. The story follows a French Foreign Legion officer named Lyon Gaultier that abandons his unit to be with his dying brother in Los Angeles. His wife Helene and their child are subsequently left with unpaid medical bills, and desperately needs help from Lyon. He begins competing in extremely dangerous underground street fights under the corrupt direction of a greedy fight organizer named Cynthia Caldera, which presents danger when he's matched up against far larger opponents than he is. The acting and story isn't all that great, but the action is fantastic and the story and characters are very entertaining throughout. Jean-Claude Van Damme delivers one of my personal favorite lead performances of his. Harrison Page, Deborah Rennard, Lisa Pelikan, Ashley Johnson, Brian Thompson, and Abdel Qissi all had nice supporting roles.

Great crime comedy from Donald Petrie that follows a sharp-witted but underachieving con-man named Eddie and his partner in crime, Lou, after they are presented with one opportunity to ride out a deep and dangerous long con. After breaking into a beautiful house, they decide to stay when they learn the owner will be away for an extended period of time and they house will be empty. But when the man's family comes to the house to meet his now-absent house-sitter, Eddie improvises and pretends to be him. Before long, the con runs very deep as he goes into business with the father of the family (Milt), which really complicates things when he falls in love with his daughter, Annie. Dana Carvey delivers a great and underrated lead performance. Robert Loggia, Todd Graff, Julia Campbell, Milo O'Shea, Doris Belack, James Tolkan, and others also have nice roles among a solid supporting cast.

Fun 80s hip-hop flavored comedy from Reginald Hudlin that follows a high-schooler named Christopher "Kid" Robinson Jr. who decides to go to his buddy Peter "Play" Martin's house for a party while his parents are on vacation. Tension comes into play when the school bully Stab and his brothers Pee-Wee and Zilla show up to teach him a lesson after an altercation earlier in the day. The story and characters were a lot of fun all around, with some undoubtedly great music involved. Christopher Reid and Christopher Martin delivered great lead performances, with Robin Harris, Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, A.J. Johnson, Paul Anthony, Bowlegged Lou, B-Fine, Kelly Jo Minter, Clifton Powell, Desi Arnez Hines II, Mike Pniewski, and plenty others delivering nice supporting roles.

Very funny family comedy from Dennis Dugan that follows an orphaned 7-year-old troublemaker named Junior who's adopted by a devoted, caring, and loving man named Ben Healy and his selfish, demanding, gold-digging wife Flo. Junior puts on a good front to get adopted, but the poor nuns at the orphanage he's been staying at can't wait to be rid of him. He ends up causing total havoc among their home and family as he pushes them past their breaking points. When the boy teams up with his bow-tie wearing idol, pen pal, and notorious serial killer named Martin Beck who just escaped from prison, Ben has a change of heart and fights to get Junior back. This wacky comedy was always a childhood favorite of mine. Michael Oliver delivers an excellent lead performance as Junior. John Ritter, Michael Richards, Amy Yasbeck, and Jack Warden also delivered great starring roles. Gilbert Gottfried, Peter Jurasik, John William Galt, Melody Jones, and others also had very nice supporting roles.

Great family comedy and the first Jetsons film since the show started in 1962. The story follows George Jetson after his greedy and spiteful boss Mr. Spacely puts him in charge of a new sprocket factory on a distant planet. His wife Jane, daughter Judy, son Elroy, and robot maid Rosie all move so George can complete Mr. Spacely's goal of manufacturing 1,000,000 space sprockets. Many hilarious situations present themselves as the family adjusts to their new life, and George runs into big troubles with the sprocket factory. I was surprised to see how low rated this film was since it was one of my favorite cartoon movies growing up. Still a solid viewing today. George O'Hanlon, Mel Blanc, Penny Singleton, Tiffany, and Patric Zimmerman all deliver great starring roles. Don Messick, Jean Vander Pyl, Ronnie Schell, Patti Deutsch, Dana Hill, and others also had nice supporting roles.

Solid sequel to Wolfgang Petersen's classic 1984 family fantasy adventure. This time George Miller handles the direction, and finds Bastian transported back to the world Fantasia he once saved, which is now being destroyed by an evil sorceress named Xayide. Xayide manipulates Bastian by creating a memory machine that eliminates one of his memories each time he uses the magic power of the Auryn that sits around his neck. Atreyu and Falkor join Bastian to save the Empress who is locked in an Ivory Tower in Fantasia. While the story and acting isn't nearly as great as the first film, the film is visually stunning and entertaining throughout. Jonathan Brandis delivers a very nice lead performance. Kenny Morrison, Clarissa Burt, John Wesley Shipp, Martin Umbach, Alexandra Johnes, Thomas Hill, Donald Arthur, and others also had nice supporting roles.

While this action-packed adventure may be loved by fans and several critics, it never greatly appealed to me. The story set in the year 2084, and follows a construction worker named Douglas Quaid who has a recurring dream about a journey to Mars, and in turn purchases implanted memories to take the trip when an error in the procedure reveals that his entire life up to this point has been a false memory by the people that want him dead. It is well done, but not being a big fan of sci-fi left me a bit bored with this film. Arnold Schwarzenegger undoubtedly gives a nice lead performance. Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside, Mel Johnson Jr., Michael Champion, Roy Brocksmith, and several others had solid supporting roles.

Solid drama based on William Golding's classic novel set in the 1950s, and follows a group of 24 military school students that are stranded on a deserted jungle island over the Pacific Ocean after their plane crashes. The boys immediately run into drama when they start to assign leadership, duties, and create rules, which which turns out savage and deadly results when some of the boys object to rules brought on by power-hungry individuals. Not being a big reader as a kid, I really disliked this book and rented this movie instead. I enjoyed the film, but it was never an awe-inspiring story I loved. Balthazar Getty, Chris Furrh, Danuel Pipoly, James Badge Dale, Gary Rule, and many others had solid performances.

While this is the most disappointing film in the Rocky franchise, it still has some nice moments. Rocky and his family hit rock bottom after being auditing for unpaid property taxes, and move back to the old rough Philadelphia neighborhood he, Adrian, and Paulie used to live in. In remembrance of his beloved friend and trainer Mickey that passed away in Rocky III (1982), he decides to takeover his gym and trains a young promising prospect named Tommy Gunn. However, his son isn't happy living in the old neighborhood, and is angered by Rocky's lack attention while he spends all of his time with Tommy, which creates lots of drama. Sylvester Stallone delivers a solid lead performance. Talia Shire, Burt Young, and Tommy Morrison all had nice starring roles. I honestly didn't care for the story direction their son (Sage Stallone) had in the film, but that's not his fault (although he'll always be remembered for it).