Broken Arrow starring John Travolta, Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis

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Broken Arrow starring John Travolta, Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis
Broken Arrow starring John Travolta, Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis. Directed by John Woo, 1996. Remember, John Woo movies are about the fun, not the logic!

Captain Riley Hale (Christian Slater) and Major Deakins (John Travolta) are boxing buddies and co-pilots in the US military.Deakin’s true colors are revealed as the two are on flying two nuclear weapons to their destination. Deakin attacks Riley, sends him off in his parachute and releases the weapons.

His team is waiting for him, with a trucks, a helicopter and the financer (Bob Gunton) of the operations nearby. He has already recruited some officers from the army, so eliminating fellow soldiers won’t be that big of a problem.

However when Riley lands on a desert-like park and runs into the park ranger Terry (Samantha Mathis), an unplanned partnership is born. Together, they survive the men Deakins sends after them and begin to follow the trucks. From then on, it turns into a boxing match of intelligence between Riley and Deakin. Deakin always seems to be one step ahead, but he just might be underestimating both Riley and Terry. Can these two stop Deakin and safely get the nuclear weapons back? Because if the government refuses to pay the $250,000,000 Riley will be asking, he is just crazy enough to activiate the weapons and casualties be damned…

Broken Arrow is one of my favorite action movie ever. It is fast, entertaining and really fun- just like you expect John Woo (Face/Off, Mission Impossible 2) movies to be. It actually breaks my heart that it is only 5.8 on IMDB. Maybe my expectations are low but I just love to watch what crazy stunts John Woo will make his actors pull and frankly, I also love to have a crazy villain in the form of John Travolta. I also like the fact that the chemistry between Christian Slater’s and Samantha Mathis’ characters at just that- chemistry, so that we don’t get an unrealistic romance forced on the audience.

I also like the side characters and note that there is also Delroy Lindo in the cast, as well as Kurtwood Smith (Red Forman – the strict dad from That ‘70s show) and Raymond Cruz (Det. Sanchez from The Closer) in a very small role.

Written by Graham Yost and directed by John Woo.

Favorite Quote:

(Secretary Baird explains that Broken Arrow is the military term given to the situation when a nu?clear weapon is lost).

Giles Prentice: I don’t know what’s scarier, losing nuclear weapons, or that it happens so often there’s actually a term for it.

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Shark TV Series starring James Woods, Jeri Ryan & Danielle Panabaker

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Shark starring James Woods
Shark starring James Woods.

Sebastian Stark (James Woods) is the most brilliant defense lawyer in town. He is loaded and he gets a kick out of being the best. Winning his recent trial however changes things forever: a wife-beater has almost beaten his wife to death but apparently called 911 and saved her. Sebastian wins his case, on the grounds that if he’d intended to kill her, he wouldn’t have called 911. Both his defendant and his beaten wife are grateful.

But at night, he gets a phone call. This time, the guy has actually killed his wife. He is not in shock or depressed but smug that Sebastian will make him walk free again. This makes Sebastian reconsider his career as a defense lawyer. He’d no doubt soon shake the shock and guilt and move on, but he gets an interesting offer: he is proposed to work with the D.A’s (Jeri Ryan) office.

Suddenly finding himself on the opposite end of the table, Sebastian is now determined to put every criminal behind bars. He starts by training and showing his “rookie” young lawyers team (Sophina Brown, Sarah Carter, Sam Page, Alexis Cruz) some tough love. They are not all that impressed about his approach, but at the end of the day, they know he is the best and they have a lot to learn.

Sebastian’s personal life is also about to have a major change: His ex-wife is moving to New York and taking their 16-year-old daughter Julie (Danielle Panabaker) with her.

However Julie makes a surprising decision and Stark’s life begins a very different chapter.

Sebastian Stark is the much more social version of House. He is equally brilliant. He knows how good he is. But he is also aware that he hasn’t been the perfect father and he does his best to make it up to his daughter. It is impossible not to like and admire Stark and James Woods make him a great character to watch.

Shark is a first class drama/thriller with lots of entertaining moments. Unfortunately it only lasted for 38 episodes. It is from 2006 and if you like your mystery shows, Shark is a must. Watch a couple of episodes and you will probably be upset about the fact it only aired for 2 seasons.

Favorite Line from Episode 1, Season 1:

Sebastian Stark: (his first reaction to the Mayor’s offer): Me a prosecutor? I eat prosecutors for breakfast, they are my main source of fiber. Come on!

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Wanna know about the Best Shark Villain?

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You like your shows thrilling and leading characters brilliant? Here are some other shows you might like (if you already like them, please drop by and leave your comments):

24 starring Kiefer Sutherland

The Closer starring Kyra Sedgwick

The Mentalist starring Simon Baker

House starring Hugh Laurie

Leverage starring Timothy Hutton

Castle starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic

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Up Close and Personal starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer

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Up Close and Personal starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer
Up Close and Personal starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer. Beautiful romantic drama from 1996. Directed by Jon Avnet.

Sally Atwater (Michelle Pfeiffer) is from a small town, living with her sister Luanne (Dedee Pfeiffer). Her dream is to become a big star as a TV reporter and she gets her chance when she lands a gig in Miami. She realizes that it will be a long time before her new boss, seasoned reporter/news coordinator Warren Justice (Robert Redford) will take her seriously. But she works hard and Warren gives her the chance to prove herself. While her career is on the rise, she gets to know Warren and his ex-wife, successful reporter Joanna Kennelly (Kate Nelligan). Warren doesn’t exactly have a great track record for long term relationships but with the attraction growing between them, can they really just be friends and colleagues? Or is it possible that Warren did indeed meet his match and they are perfect for each other?

The two finally get together but now Sally’s getting in the way. Can they make it work? And can Warren readjust his career for her or is too late for him?

Up Close and Personal is a lovely romantic drama from 1996, directed by Jon Avnet (Red Corner, The War, Fried Green Tomatoes). Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer make the perfect couple, and I have to say Robert Redford looks fantastic at 60 (with Michelle being 38, there is quite a bit of age difference). It is entertaining, emotional only when necessary and apart from a bit long and being interrupted with a silly pop song in the middle when romance was supposed to be shown, it rarely has any flaws. But how happy can the movie be? If you have seen a Jon Avnet drama, you know exactly what I mean.

Spoilers:

Frankly, the only part I didn’t enjoy much was the ending but that’s because I am a romantic who expects to get a happy ending for every true love story. But I wasn’t surprised it ended the way it did, after all- we had gotten a good, anti-climactic moment 1.5 hours into the movie, with 20 more minutes to go, which is not a good sign.

Yes, the ending is very decent but I still wish I got a happy one.

Fun notes:

* The actress playing Michelle Pfeiffer’s sister in the movie is Dedee Pfeiffer, the actress’s real life, fellow actress sister.

* I have a feeling feminists might have gotten worried about the movie in the late 1990s. After all, we have a 60-year-old male romantic lead, ending up with a gorgeous woman 22 years his junior. And it might have been difficult to imagine the situations reversed. Fortunately, for Michelle, it was reversed: three times. She starred with Paul Rudd in the romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman in 2007, who is 11 years her junior. In 2009, she starred as the romantic lead for Rupert Friend, who is 23 years her junior in Chéri and in another film called Personal Effects with Ashton Kutcher– who is 20 years her junior. And the feminist in me is glad that an actress is getting the same treatment as an actor.

Other Posts on Michelle Pfeiffer

Chéri starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend

I Could Never Be Your Woman starring Paul Rudd and Michelle Pfeiffer

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Wolf Movie Review- starring Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader and Jack Nicholson

Tequila Sunrise starring Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell

Other Posts on Robert Redford Movies

Lions for Lambs starring Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and Andrew Garfield

Ordinary People starring Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland & Mary Tyler Moore (directed by Redford)

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