johnny-burgundy

Sniper (1993) This is an action thriller starring Tom Berenger and Billy Zane as snipers. Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett (Berenger), Force Reconnaissance Marine, an experienced sniper, is paired up with an inexperienced civilian, Richard Miller (Zane), to eliminate a rebel general financed by a Colombian drug lord. It received mixed, but mostly poor reviews. Nonetheless, it was popular enough with audiences to initiate the Sniper film series. It was followed by six direct-to-video sequels: Sniper 2, Sniper 3, Sniper: Reloaded, Sniper: Legacy, Sniper: Ghost Shooter and Sniper: Ultimate Kill. This is one of the last decent 80's style action movies, before the move to 'straight to video'.

Rampage (2018) This is a science fiction monster film loosely based on the video game series of the same name by Midway Games. The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Jake Lacy, Joe Manganiello, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. It follows a primatologist who must stop mutated animals from destroying Chicago. As of June 28, 2018, Rampage has grossed $423.9 million, against a production budget of $260 million including promotion costs. It received mixed reviews and audiences gave the film an average grade of A-. This was a solid action movie, but some of the advertising budget should have been used to beef up the CGI. Otherwise, this was as expected for a summer blockbuster, starting the Rock.

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

This is a classic espionage thriller. It stars Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, and Sam Neill. The film is based on Tom Clancy's 1984 bestselling novel of the same name. The film grossed $200,512,643 worldwide. It was well received by critics and audiences gave the film an average grade of A. The Hunt for Red October was nominated and won several awards in 1991. The film was also nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills. The Jack Ryan character was the first real attempt at an American equivalent to a James Bond. Later the advent of the Jason Bourne movies took on that function. Unlike Bourne or some versions of Bond, Ryan is more of a fish out of water. He is an analyst thrust into the action. The difference from the others is his mind is his weapon in this film. This is a solid psychological thriller, that hold up considerably, despite our knowledge of the subsequent films.