The Untouchables is a 1987 crime drama directed by Brian De Palma and written by David Mamet. The Untouchables opened in June 1987 where it grossed $10,023,094 on its opening weekend which ranked it the sixth highest opening weekend of 1987.   The film is now 23 years old, Prohibition in the United States has led to an organized crime wave in the 1920s and early 1930s.  The problem is most serious in Chicago where gang leader Al Capone (Robert De Niro) has almost the whole city even the Mayor of Chicago under his control and supplies poor quality liquor at high prices.  Treasury agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) is put in charge of leading the crusade against Capone and his empire. Ness’s initial strategy is to conduct raids using a large squad of uniformed officers, but his first attempt fails when he breaks into a warehouse storing umbrellas not liquor.  Embarrassed over his failure Ness walks home, on his way home Ness has a chance encounter with Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery) an incorruptible Irish beat cop who understands the way Capone does business.  Ness decides to ask Malone for his help.  Malone urges Ness to become as ruthless as the gangsters if he wants to take them down “He pulls a knife you pull a gun.  He sends one of yours to the hospital you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way and that’s how you get Capone”.  With corruption running rampant throughout the Chicago police force, Malone suggests that Ness recruit directly from the police academy in order to find team members who have not yet had a chance to come under Capone’s influence.  Italian American trainee George Stone (Andy García) is enlisted for his superior marksmanship and calm reactions under pressure.  Joined by Treasury accountant Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith) detailed to Chicago from Washington, Ness has built an incorruptible team capable of combating Capone.  Their first raid takes place in the local post office whose storeroom is used to house Capone’s illegal liquor.  Malone and most of the police know where the alcohol is, but they leave it alone because no one wants to cross  Capone and his gang.  The raid succeeds without incident though Capone later kills the man who had been in charge of the storeroom with a baseball bat.  As the four pick up steam and become noted by the press, Wallace begins to probe the finances of the Capone organization.  He believes that a feasible method of prosecution is through a tax evasion charge if nothing else. At one point, Ness is visited by a Chicago alderman who is also under Capone’s control.  The alderman tries to bribe Ness into dropping the investigation but Ness angrily rejects the offer and throws him out in full view of the team. As he leaves, he mockingly refers to them as “untouchable” and says that Capone who is known as a cop killer can get to anyone he chooses, one way or another.  more…

Conan the Barbarian is a 1982 action/adventure fantasy film by director John Milius.  The film is now 28 years old.   The film is set during the prehistoric Hyborian Age as a young boy, Conan is instructed by his father (William Smith) on the importance of steel to their people and its relationship with their god Crom.  Soon after a group of warriors led by Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones) systematically destroys Conan’s village. Thulsa Doom’s lieutenant Thorgrim, whacks the villagers with his hammer their dogs kill Conan’s father and Rexor another lieutenant of Doom’s steals the sword of Conan’s father.  Conan’s mother is beheaded by Thulsa Doom in front of Conan with the sword Rexor stole. They sell the children into slavery after the village is rampaged.  Conan is forced to push The Wheel of Pain for years, years later now an adult and extremely muscular Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is trained as a swordsman and then freed by his masters. Conan meets two thieves Subotai (Gerry Lopez) a Hyrkanian archer and Valeria (Sandahl Bergman) who becomes his lover. The three break into the fortified temple used by a doomsday cult to steal a large jewel called “The Eye of the Serpent” and Conan discovers that this cult is associated with the warriors who destroyed his village and their leader, Thulsa Doom. The three become drunk after celebrating their new found wealth and are captured by soldiers of King Osric of Ophir (Max von Sydow).  He offers them a fortune to return his daughter (Valérie Quennessen) to him who has been seduced into joining the cult and he fears that she may be charged with assassinating him.  Motivated by his hatred for Doom, Conan leaves Subotai and Valeria to seek out Thulsa and get revenge.  Arriving at the Mountain of Power, Conan attempts to disguise himself as a priest but a suspicious guard instead brings him to Thulsa Doom. Conan is beaten by Rexor and Thorgrim and Thulsa Doom demonstrates the power of flesh by making a young girl jump to her death. Doom orders that Conan be crucified in the desert on the Tree of Woe to contemplate what he has heard. When Valeria and Subotai find him, they take him to a haunted Stonehenge like cemetery called the Mounds and ask Akiro (Mako) the wizard who resides there to revive Conan.  He agrees, but explains that the demons who power the magic involved will “extract a heavy toll” though he does not explain what it may be.  With Conan now revived the three of them enter the Mountain of Power through a gorge that Akiro told Subotai about.  Once inside they witness a cannibalistic feast by its members and Thulsa Doom’s transformation into a giant snake.  They wreck the harem with brute force and disrupt the cannibalistic orgy. After they grab the princess and escape Doom shoots Valeria with a poison arrow and she dies in Conan’s arms. He cremates her at the Mounds after taking the Eye of the Serpent from her corpse.  He hen prepares for battle with Thulsa Doom’s army. more…

The Delta Force is a 1986 action film the film is now 24 years old.   The film begins with an American operation to rescue American hostages being held at the US embassy to Tehran. The operation is being aborted after a fatal helicopter crash with the US Delta Forces evacuating to their C-130 transports. Among them is Major Scott McCoy (Chuck Norris) who against orders rescues his wounded comrade Pete Peterson (William Wallace) from a burning helicopter before the team finally evacuates. McCoy expresses his disgust for the politicians and military hierarchy that forced the mission to launch despite the risks and announces he is resigning his commission.  Five years later a group of Lebanese terrorists armed with machine pistols and AK-47s hijack American Travelways Boeing 707 Flight 282 from Athens to New York City.  Taking all passengers and crew hostage the group from the New World Revolutionary Organization led by Abdul Rifi (Robert Forster) and Mustafa (David Menachem) force Captain Roger Campbell (Bo Svenson) and his crew to fly the plane to Beirut Lebanon.  Once there they make demands to the United States government that if not met will result in the death of the hostages. During the crisis they separate the Israeli passengers from the Americans by forcing the flight attendant to identify them against her will. When the plane lands in Algiers for refueling the terrorists bring a dozen additional men on board and surrender the female hostages and children in exchange for the fuel.  Meanwhile Delta Force led by Colonel Nick Alexander (Lee Marvin) and McCoy are deployed to resolve the crisis.  Once the female hostages are evacuated they launch their assault on the aircraft only to discover too late that there are additional hijackers and inadvertently alert the terrorists.  Abdul kills one hostage a US Navy diver named Tom, taking the other two US divers with them as well as dozens of male Jewish passengers on board to Beirut.  more…

Highlander is a 1986 fantasy action film directed by Russell Mulcahy and based on a story by Gregory Widen.  The film is now 24 years old the film begins with Connor Macleod (Christopher Lambert) the Highlander at a wrestling match at Madison Square Garden. In the parking garage he is confronted by another man Iman Fasil a sword fight ensues between the two. eventually Connor defeats Fasil by decapitating him. When that happens a mysterious energy leaves Fasils body and enters Connor and destroys several cars around him.  He hides his sword, before he can leave the garage he is arrested by the police who take him in for questioning.  In a flashback to 1536 in the Scottish Highlands, where we see Connor and his clan MacLeod getting ready to go into battle.  We then cut back to the present where some tough cops are trying to get information from Connor, but since they have no evidence they eventually let him go. The police are investigating the decapitation and we’re introduced to Brenda (Roxanne Hart) a detective and an expert in metallurgy. The cops find Connor’s opponent’s sword under a car and Brenda explains it’s a very valuable historical artifact, probably worth over a million dollars. Later Connor returns to the garage to retrieve his own sword, but before he does he sees that Brenda is looking at the crime scene. She finds some metal shards embedded in the wall and saves them for analysis.  The scene returns to the Highlands, where we’re introduced to Victor Kruger (Clancy Brown) the leader of the enemy clan of the MacLeods.  Kruger tells his comrades that he wants to kill Connor on the battlefield and that nobody else should fight him. The battle begins and Connor, who has never been in battle before is very scared. He soon finds nobody wants to fight him, but eventually Kruger finds him and a sword fight between the two begins. Kruger obviously has a lot more experience and easily defeats Connor by stabbing him in the stomach but before he can decapitate him Connor’s clansmen come to the rescue and do battle with Kruger. Connor is taken back to the village but is so badly wounded everybody assumes he is close to death.  Connor’s kinsmen and lover Kate MacLeod (Celia Imrie) mourn for him over his deathbed.  The next day MacLeod has fully recovered, much to the confusion and rising fear of his clan.  Dugal and Kate believe Connor is in league with the devil and the clan banishes him. In the present we learn that Connor is an antiquities dealer and seems to be quite wealthy. A very pretty older woman is his assistant. Nash confronts Brenda at a local bar When he leaves, she follows. Kurgan confronts them and he and MacLeod engage in a sword fight, but a police helicopter causes the two men to end there battle.  more…

Beverly Hills Cop became the highest grossing film of 1984 and earned an estimated $316 million worldwide.  The film is now 26 years old the film begins with Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) attempting to catch crooks through a cigarette smuggling operation which goes sour when some uniformed officers show up, questioning their suspicious activity which earns him the wrath of his boss, Inspector Douglas Todd (Gilbert R Hill).  Foley is delighted when he receives a surprise visit from his best friend Mikey Tandino (James Russo) who tells him he’s been working in Beverly Hills California as a security guard. The two friends go out for a drink and when they return to Axel s apartment, Axel s is knocked unconscious by Zak (Jonathan Banks), Mikey is confronted by Zak who questions him about some missing bearer bonds that he had shown Axel earlier.  Zak then kills Mikey and leaves Axel alone and returns to Beverly Hills.  After being refused the investigation because of his close personal ties Axel s takes a vacation to Beverly Hills to find Mikey’s killer.  Upon his arrival in Beverly Hills he visits an old friend Jenny Summers (Lisa Eilbacher) who works in a art gallery for Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff).  Axel pays Victor Maitland a visit and questions him about Mikey Tandino, Victor has Axel escorted from the building and thrown through a window for his troubles.  Sitting on the sidewalk after being thrown through a window the Beverly Hills police arrive and arrest him and take him back to the station.  There he meets two detectives Sergeant John Taggart (John Ashton) and Det Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) question Axel as to why he burst in on Victor Maitland and started to tear up the place.  Axel just replies i´m on Vacation and i needed to go to the bathroom.  Then Axel begins to question why he was arrested for being thrown through a window, shortly after this remark Taggart punches Axel in the stomach.   Witnessed by Taggarts superior Lt Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox) asks Axel if he wishes to file assault charges against Taggart for striking him.  Axel says no and lets it pass, he is then told by Lt Bogomil that he has spoken to Axel s superior in Detroit and says that if he is in Beverly Hills to investigate the Mikey Tandino murder he need not go back. more…

Truman Gates (Patrick Swayze) a Kentucky native raised in Appalachia, has migrated to Chicago to become a police officer. After his younger brother Gerald (Bill Paxton) becomes unemployed when the local coal mine closes, Truman persuades his brother to look for work in Chicago.  Soon after landing a job as a truck driver for a vending machine company.  In an attempt to legitimize his enterprises John Isabella (Andreas Katsulas) is bringing his son Lawrence Isabella (Ben Stiller) a recent business school graduate into the Isabella family operation.   This doesn’t sit well with Joey Rosselini (Adam Baldwin) whose plan is to succeed John as the head of the family is now threatened. Insulted by being forced to groom Lawrence for a position that he feels should be his, Joey reluctantly lets Lawrence accompany him on a little trip to convince the owners of a local vending machine company to sell out to the Isabellas.  While out on a local run Gerald’s vehicle is hijacked by Joeys Outfit with Lawrence along for the ride to observe. When Gerald pulls a knife, he is immediately gunned down by Joey the sadistic nephew of Outfit boss John Isabella, When the Don later confronts his nephew about this needless killing, Joey lies and says that it was in defense of his cousin’s life.  When Gerald’s body is discovered, Truman returns to Kentucky for the funeral. Truman’s older brother Briar Gates (Liam Neeson) insists on a traditional mountain blood feud, Truman urges his family to let the police deal with Gerald’s murder. Briar is disgusted as he considers Truman’s reluctance to be disgraceful.  Determined to deal with Gerald’s murder in his own way, Briar travels to Chicago. Meanwhile Truman desperately tries to solve the crime before Briar.  He approaches John Isabella and explains the mountain code to him. He suggests that if Gerald’s murderer surrenders peacefully it would save them both a lot of trouble.  John however refuses on general principle and Truman continues his investigation. He soon learns the identity of the hijackers from a witness.  more…