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Loose Cannons - Awesome movie starring Gene and one of my favourite actors, Dan Aykroyd. Dan is a traumatized/nutty cop who can figure out anything by looking at the evidence, and Gene is the serious, but sarcastically funny, cop who is partneered with him. They have to protect a guy who's being chased by some Germans who want a video back that shows Hitler in some awkward footage. Very funny movie, with some great impressions by Dan.
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The Birdcage - Hilarious! A must see, just because it's so funny. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane are teriffic as gay lovers. Robin's son wants to marry a girl, who's father happens to be the moralist politician, played by Gene, who has no idea the guy's "parents" are gay. Gotta love the song, foliage, ladder and drag scenes!
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Bonnie And Clyde - Classic movie! One of those ones you gotta watch at least once in your life. Lotsa smiles from Gene and he looks cool wearing those old fashioned clothes and hat. Good amount of action and suspense. Bonnie and Clyde rob banks and try to make a name for themselves, along with the help of the gang that forms along the way.
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Antz - Adorable family animation movie. Gene plays a military figure, cartoon-style. Even if you don't like cartoons, you start watching and completely forget it's animated, and you just enjoy the movie. Suspense, humour and romance all wrapped into a cartoon.
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Under Fire - Gene gets tangled up in a foreign country that's having it's own unique war. The trick is to get out of there alive, with proof of what's going on out of the public's eye. Make a wrong move, and you get shot for no reason. Nick Nolte is the photographer who falls for Gene's wife.
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Eureka - Stange movie about a guy who spends his life searching for gold, and when he finally finds it, things aren't as happy as he thought they'd be. His daughter is involved with a troublemaker and the rich life has become boring. Not to mention the mob wants his island for the building of a casino. Some graphic violence, and a weird movie, but I've seen worse.
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Company Business - Interesting movie with Gene and Mikhail Baryshnikov tied into a conspiracy as they try to get away with the dirty money without getting captured. Has some humour and a few neat twists in it that keeps it on it's toes.
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Uncommon Valor - Gene leads some ex-military men into a POW camp to get back his son and others who were left behind in the war, ten years ago. Lotsa action and a good war movie.
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Downhill Racer - Gene plays a ski coach training Robert Redford, and others, for the Olympics. Robert is a bit of a loner and a hard worker, but Gene has to teach him that it's a team sport, not an individual competition. Some reviews say you have to appreciate skiing to enjoy the movie, but I don't follow skiing, and I thought it was a good movie. The snow footage is really beautiful, and the races have you on the edge of your seat.
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The Conversation - Supposedly one of the best movies of the '70's, but it was kinda boring, in my opinion. Gene plays a surveillence guy who fears that the couple he's been spying on will be murdered. The end is the best part. The paranoia makes the movie.
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Superman - Excellent portrayal of Lex Luthor, by Gene. He makes the movie with is witty insults and his power-hungry personality. In this first movie, we see where Superman came from, and how he handles growing up. Lex plans on ruining the entire Californian coast so he can rebuild it to his liking.
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Superman II - Gene got top billing over Christopher Reeves, yet he wasn't in it very much. There are three new bad guys who have the same powers as Superman. Lex breaks out of prison, leaving Otis behind. Lex grovels to save his life when facing the bad guys and then grovels when facing Superman. Gene has a lot of funny lines that make his role brilliant, as usual! My favourite parts are when Lex and Otis are breaking out of prison when they do the shadow and ladder bits in that scene. Also when Lex gets a ride to Superman's place and he has trouble on the ice. Nice to see Clark/Superman spending some quality time with Lois.
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Superman IV - Probably better than the first one. This time, Lex uses Superman to create Nuclear Man, who is voiced by Gene. Nuclear Man and Superman have a few fights during the movie, and they're a perfect match of strength. Superman tries to rid the world of nuclear weapons, while Lex uses them in his plan to take over the world.
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Crimson Tide - Great submarine movie. Gene captains a sub into a war situation, but before they can carry out their orders, they recieve a message that gets cut off. A brave sailor steps forward and questions Gene's orders, which causes a big problem between the men onboard.
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The Chamber - Gene plays a man in prison who's on death row for planting bombs that killed a Jewish man and his two children. His lawyer is his own grandson, who's decided to try and save him. There were other people involved, but they have to be exposed in order to save Gene from the gas chamber in so many days.
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French Connection - Gene plays Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, battling drug lords with every means possible. A lot of following and car chases. My favourite part is when Popeye is following the bearded man, and the guy keeps getting on and off the subway and Popeye manages to get on and off just in time. The DVD has lots of goodies, including trailers, deleted scenes that explain some of the scenes in the movie a bit better, documentaries, commentary by Gene and stills galleries.
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French Connection 2 - I think this one was better than the first one. Popeye is back battling the druggies, and this time seems a bit more rough than before. There's a great scene where he gets drunk, and the next scene, he's in the shower and then comes the ice cream eating scene. Once he gets back into shape, the hat comes back and he's on the street once again. Popeye has a taste for revenge, and he does all he can to see that he gets it.
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Cisco Pike - A slow movie, but it's not so bad. Gene plays a cop who's not all there, and he insists that Kris Kristopherson starts selling drugs again, even after he was busted by Gene in the past. Kris has to sell so many keys of grass in 59 hours. The best part is when Gene starts running in place.
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Lucky Lady - Gene teams up with Burt Reynolds and Liza Minelli to sell liquor illegally and make some cash. It's set back in the day, and it's a pretty good film. The three of them ship the booze on a boat, and they run into problems with competitors who will do anything to be the top sellers. They also run into the Coast Guard and have to figure out a way to get out of that situation, along with other hassles along the way. There's a love triangle theme as well. The bathtub scene is fun. I also like the tuxedo and dancing part.
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A Bridge Too Far - A war movie with lots of famous stars, including Gene, Sean Connery and Anthony Hopkins. I usually like war movies, but I found it to be a little boring for my liking.
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Absolute Power - Clint Eastwood steals the show, but Gene plays a great President who roughed up the wife of a good friend, that resulted in her death, and Clint witnessed it. Interesting scene with Gene and the girl in the bedroom and he gets all tough and scruffy while he's drunk. Also a nice tuxedo and dancing scene. Not too thrilled about the ending, though.
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Young Frankenstein - Funny movie that I feel is better than the actual Frankenstein movie. Gene's only in it for a few minutes, but the soup, cigar and expresso parts are a riot. Similar to the original with some twists.
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Behind Enemy Lines - Not like I thought it would be, but still a good war movie. Two guys go off their flight path to check some activity out in the woods, and they get shot down. They have to survive long enough for Gene to send some men out from the carrier ship to recover them, but since they went off-course, Gene has some complications. He gets to fly a chopper and look pretty darn spiffy! I love the very last scene.
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Postcards From The Edge - Gene was at the start and the end, and he looks awesome as a director. I also adore Shirley MacLaine, so that was a plus. Meryl Streep is pretty funny and her and Shirley do their own singing in the movie. Meryl is an actress and she was hooked on drugs. Shirley is her mother who has an alcohol problem, but she feels it's under control. Part of the rehab deal means Meryl has to live with her mother, which isn't the best thing for either of them, it seems. Good coping movie, with a nice amount of humour.
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The Package - Not a bad movie. Tommy Lee Jones is cool, so he was a plus. Gene is a high ranking officer in the military and he has to deliver a military prisoner to the USA, but things go wrong and Gene gets involved in a big mess. People are planning to kill a foreign president and Gene loses the prisoner and uncovers some secrets while trying to get him back. Good amount of action and suspense. If you've seen The French Connection, you'll notice some similarities, such as hiding behind a tree, the driving sequences and the train station with the stairs.
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Twilight - Interesting movie with some twists. Suspense and action, along with a love triangle of sorts. Gene is an actor who's dying and married to an actress who's husband, twenty years ago, disapeared and was thought to have committed suicide. Paul Newman steals the show as a former cop/investigator who lives with the couple and Gene's daughter. Gene is involved with blackmail and he gets Paul to deal with it, but there's a string of bad luck and murders that pop up along the way. James Garner has a good role, too. Towards the end, Gene has Paul hit "play" on the Tv and "Downhill Racer" comes onto the screen. Paul makes a comment about who the young guy was. That was a nice treat.
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Heartbreakers - Funny movie! Sigourney Weaver is Jennifer Love-Hewitt's mother and they both make a living out of conning men. Ray Liotta is one of the victims. When the IRS catches up with them, they have to pull a big con and that involved a tobacco tycoon, played by Gene. He's a riot in this and does a ton of smoking, but the "Making Of" stuff explains that he used herbal cigarettes except for the scenes where he had to make a lot of smoke. He imporvised a bit, including the scene where he goes to kiss Sigourney and he blows smoke in her face. Very funny moments, and the Special Edition DVD has some great deleted scenes and hilarious footage about the making of the movie and what the director put Gene through. Nice interview footage, too.
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All Night Long - Weird but great movie. Gene plays a married guy who threw a chair out of his office building and gets demoted to a store manager where he has to deal with weirdos a lot. Dennis Quaid, Gene's son in the movie, is having an affair with his fourth cousin, Barbra Steisand, because her husband is a bossy firefighter who's rarely home. Gene tells Dennis not to see her anymore, and then he gets involved with her himself. His life gets hectic, he moves into a warehouse, and becomes a bit obsessed with Barbra. He loses it a little and a lot of funny things happen along the way. Amusing movie with several great movies and a good amount of subtle humour.
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Extreme Measures - I'm not into the hospital thing, but it was a decent movie. Gene is a bad guy with good intentions. He uses homeless people to test his cure for spinal diseases and Hugh Grant gets in the way. Hugh is a doctor who can't let go the fact that one of his patients died in a strange way. He looks into it and gets into some trouble along the way. Has some moments that really make you think. Moral tug-of-war. Gene looks cool in a scene where it's kinda dark, and he looks nice in a white coat.
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No Way Out - I'd seen this a while ago and remembered the basic plot, but seeing it again as a Gene fan, I liked it even more. Kevin Costner is in love with a woman who happens to be Gene's mistress. Gene works at the Pentagon as Secretary of Defense and Kevin gets assigned there, working for him. Gene finds out that she's seeing someone and he gets upset because he could get in a lot of trouble with a scandal since he's married. He gets out of control and ends up killing her, and his co-worker persuades him into keeping it from the police and blaming someone else. Kevin has to help find the guy, but there's evidence left behind and it's only a matter of time before they figure out that he was the other man. Gene looks cool in glasses and when he wears a tuxedo. Lots of suspense and some romance.
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Hoosiers - Awesome movie! I didn't think I'd be all into the basketball plot, but it was great. Gene is a former college basketball coach who got into trouble for punching one of the kids, and he goes off to the service. Then he comes to Indiana and gets a job as the couch at the small school, in a small town. People aren't too thrilled about him, so they make things hard on him. He's determined to make it a team sport and train the guys well. One of the guys' father, played by Dennis Hopper, is a drunk, but he knows all about basketball and Gene tries to help him out while taking the team to the championship. Lots of couch-styled yelling and a little romance on the side.
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Enemy Of The State - Great action/suspense movie! Will Smith plays a lawyer who gets in the middle of a big secret scandal. A guy drops a video, containing footage of a political figure being murdered, into Will's bag and the government stops at nothing to get it back. Will's home is trashed and bugged, and everyone he knows is being watched. His wife gets upset when she finds out he's still doing business with his old flame, who works with Gene. Gene likes to stay out of the picture, but Will ends up finding him and they both have to deal with the government. Some funny moments make the movie even better. Check out those glasses that Gene wears.
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Heroes Of Iwo Jima - Interesting and informative biography of the Battle of Iwo Jima with interviews from the people who were involved. Gene is the host and narrator and mentions when he was in the Marines. Good program for history buffs or for people who wanna know about the men who raised the American flag together and the photographer who took the picture.
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The Quick And The Dead - Looked like it'd be a boring western to me, but then I read it had some offbeat humour. Set in the old west and Gene owns the town and runs a gunfight every once in a while. Sharon Stone wants revenge, so she participates in the fight, and Russell Crowe was an outlaw with Gene, but now he's a preacher and Gene forces him to participate. Leonardo DeCaprio is a great shooter, and the unappreciated son of Gene. The movie is basically a countdown to the final battle. Every time they show Gene, they zoom in on his boot and spurs before showing the rest of him. He tells a couple great stories, and shoots really well. He rides a horse in the flashback scenes, and he's tough as nails. I loved the clothes and the intense way he portrayed his character, even slapping Sharon with his gloves at one point. Interesting film!
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Split Decisions - Not bad. Gene is a police officer who spends most of his time training his boxing son for the Olympics. He doesn't approve of his other son because he turned his back on his family to hook up with some other guy and fight professionally for money. He comes to visit and promote his latest fight, and ends up getting murdered by the guy and some goons for not agreeing to throw the fight. His brother decides to train and give up his Olympics future and college acceptance, for the time being, to take his brother's place in the fight. Gene looks cool doing some boxing movies and wearing sweats. Plus the police hat and uniform looks cool. Has some suspense and action.
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The Royal Tenenbaums - Very twisted and interesting movie! Not what I expected, but still as good. The trailer made it look like practically non-stop humour, but it wasn't exactly like that. Royal was never the best father and he split, and eventually he finds out that his wife is gonna marry another man, so he goes back to his family and tries to make up for lost time. Royal has two sons and an adopted daughter-who's married to Bill Murray's character-and she's messing around with her brother's friend, who always wanted to be a Tenenbaum. The brother is actually in love with her, so there's a big chunk of the story, right there. He used to be a tennis pro but lost it when she got married, and he disappeared. The other brother has two kids and he's very over-protective of them, so they never get to have much fun, until Royal shows up. Great movie! Some of the things Gene does, like riding on the back of a trash truck, jumping into a pool, running in front of traffic and yelling at his wife's new boyfriend, are hilarious!
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The Domino Principle - Kinda slow-paced, but not a bad movie. Gene plays a man who was an expert marksman in Vietnam and apparently killed his wife's ex-husband while she was still married to him. Gene is in prison and then escapes with the help of a secret agency that wants him to kill some guy in Latin-America. Gene has to play by their rules or else suffer the consequences, and he doesn't like the rules they play by. Odd and unpredictable ending.
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Night Moves - One of those weird movies. Gene is a private investigator and he and his wife are having troubles, but that's more of a side-line plot. The main one is he has to get this woman's daughter back after she runs away. Gene hangs out with the girl and where she's staying, out by the water, somewhere. There's some secret stuff going on in the meantime, and Gene has to piece it all together, while keeping the girl from running away before he can get her back to her mother.
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Class Action - Father versus daughter in a law case.
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The Mexican - Sort of a weird movie. Has some interesting moments, but nothing I'd wanna watch again any time soon. My friend's husband is in it, so that was a plus. Gene only has a small part, but he's good, as usual.
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Bravo Profiles - Wonderful episode about Gene. He talks through most of it, and there's some interview footage, but most of it is made up of great photos of him throughout his career. There's even some really young ones that are a real treat. Some of the people he's worked with talk highly of him. There's a photo of him doing a painting, and also some footage of him flying. A lot of insights on the movies he's done and how he felt about them. Totally worth the watch!
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Get Shorty - Amusing movie with Gene as a movie dude who gets tied up with some bad guys. Funny moments and a bit of suspense.
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Wyatt Earp - Gene was all scruffy in this, but the movie was pretty good, with or without him. He wasn't in it that much, but the movie itself was pretty decent. Gene plays Wyatt's father and Wyatt leaves town to make something of himself, after getting into trouble with the law.
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Narrow Margin - Gene looks adorable clean-shaven and with glasses. He has to protect a female witness after she's seen a murder and they don't know who to trust on their way to safety. Lotsa action.
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Geronimo: An American Legend - The story of how the Indians were forced off their land to live on a small reservation and how Geronimo fights for their freedom. Gene doesn't have too many scenes, but it's an okay movie, when it isn't dragging.
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The Firm - Gene looked good, but I didn't really pay much attention to the movie. Good-versus-bad law movie.
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Get Shorty - Pretty funny. Sort of a mob gone Hollywood type thing. Gene was sporting a goatee and looked cool. He plays a movie guy who is interested in John Travolta's character's movie idea, which is based on real life. Some bad guys get in the way while looking for a bunch of money that's nearby and John has a plan to make things work out just right.
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The Poseidon Adventure - Large boat, with many passengers, sinks and the survivers have to make it out with the guidance of Gene. He looks young and adorable in this movie, and great in a turtleneck shirt! Lots of suspense and some emotional moments.
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Last Updated: 03 February 2003.
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