Desperado, released in August of 1995, is basically a big(ger) budget remake of director Robert Rodriguez’s first film, El Mariachi (1992). Many are familiar with the lore surrounding El Mariachi‘s production. It was made in twenty days on a budget of $7,000 (or roughly the cost of afternoon snacks for today’s… Continue reading
Released in June of 1990 to the tune of $82 million at the box office, Days of Thunder is another high-octane action film from the unstoppable Simpson/Bruckheimer production team that dominated the 80’s and 90’s. Roger Ebert would call it the quintessential example of the “Tom Cruise Picture,” and he’s… Continue reading
Released in May of 1997, Breakdown is an old-school suspense/thriller from director Jonathan Mostow and starring Kurt Russell. It won its opening weekend and finished its theatrical run with a respectable $50 million haul, but it has since vanished into the realm of the underrated and under-appreciated – not to… Continue reading
To be good at something is one thing. To be good at something consistently for years is another. In a sport where getting a hit three times out of ten over a career makes you a borderline Hall-of-Famer, baseball requires an immense amount of discipline, repeatable mechanics, and the ability… Continue reading
Hitting theaters in May of 1995 and posting a very impressive box office total of $91.4 million on a $53 million budget, Crimson Tide was one of my very first truly suspenseful cinematic experiences. With a very engaging core moral dilemma combined acting clinics by Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman,… Continue reading
Released in February of 1996 and grossing a respectable $70 million domestically, Broken Arrow is a true 90’s action film. Filled with bizarrely comedic dialogue, an over-the-top villain in John Travolta, and a whole lot of stuff blowing up real good (helicopters, hummers, trains, people), it’s best remembered as a… Continue reading
Terminator 2: Judgment Day was my very first R-rated film. I remember, as a 10-year-old, watching it at a friend’s house. My Mom was none too pleased to find out I had seen such a violent film. For me, it was like Christmas. Even without fully understanding the finer details of… Continue reading
If you’re in the hunt for beautiful, touching, and emotional movie music, 1997’s Face Off original score would seem an unlikely starting point. Known primarily for director John Woo’s signature ballets of violence and an over-acting clinic by stars John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, Face Off did moderately well at the box… Continue reading
If you’ve been watching movies for any length of time, there’s no doubt you’ve heard the work of Hans Zimmer. One of the most prolific and popular musical score composers ever, Zimmer’s work dates back to the 1980’s but really took off in the 1990’s. More recently, he has scored… Continue reading