Shoot to Kill (1988)

Starring:

• Sidney Poitier
• Tom Berenger
• Kirstie Alley

IMDB.com
Sidney Poitier returned to the big screen in this action-thriller, after a decade-long absence. When a cunning murderer vanishes into the rugged mountains of the Pacific Northwest, pursuing FBI agent Warren Stantin (Poitier) must exchange familiar city streets for unknown wilderness trails. Completely out of his element, Stantin is forced to enlist the aid of expert tracker Jonathan Knox (PLATOON'S Tom Berenger). The killer has infiltrated a guided hiking trip led by Knox's girlfriend Sarah (Kirstie Alley, at the height of her Cheers fame). Viewers don't know which of the hikers is the killer, and the tension lasts well into the movie.

A rare action movie that manages to rise above its formula, Shoot to Kill delivers mystery, exciting action, and beautiful cinematography.

Tom Berenger has done many action/thriller movies, but Sidney Poitier steps out for a change of pace in this movie. Its formula is "double-fish-out-of-water buddy picture", and it stays pretty close to the formula throughout the movie. Poitier plays an FBI agent who blew an arrest and wound up with a dead civilian, and has tracked the (unseen) thief/killer into the Pacific Northwest. Berenger plays a tracker, whose girlfriend runs a trail guide business. The girlfriend (Kirstie Alley in an outdoor role!) has taken her latest group of travelers out into the woods, and Poitier believes that the killer is among them. If that's not bad enough, a deadly storm looks like it's coming on.

The real fun in this movie is in the first half, where you see all of the men in Kirstie Alley's group. All of them are recognizable character actors, and most of them have played villains in other movies before. So which one of them is the killer? I guessed wrong the first time.

Unfortunately, this gets revealed about halfway through, and the movie returns to the formula. However, the excellent performances and lush cinematography elevate it beyond the norm. I thought Poitier did a great job as the city-based FBI agent, and Alley was surprisingly good as the trail guide.

It's too bad this movie is so hard to find. It's definitely worth a watch -- or two!

Colors (1988)

Starring:

• Sean Penn
• Robert Duvall
• Maria Conchita Alonso

IMDB.com
Before you had BOYS N THE HOOD or MENACE II SOCIETY, there was COLORS. This movie is the original article in urban-street dramas that spawned many followers in the 90's. But like those films it is an intense, powerful movie that takes you to the streets in an extremely realistic way. The caption on the VHS cover says something like two gangs at war(Bloods & Crips)with the police caught in between. Well, that is pretty misleading. Although most films like this would stick with the gang war as the main focus, COLORS has many different plot levels that all come together very nicely. Sean Penn & Robert Duvall are right on the mark as the two officers on the beat. The film ultimately succeeds through its perspectives, giving points of view from all sides and fully expresses the harsh reality that everyone involved faces. When the film first came out, it was bashed for its extreme violence and portrayal of gang members. Well, I definitely think Dennis Hopper did an excellent job and I feel that violence is crucial in a film like this to add to its strong sense of reality which some people may not be too familiar with.

Roots: The Gift (1988)

Starring:

• Louis Gossett Jr.
• LeVar Burton
• Avery Brooks

Storyline
The characters of Kunta Kinte and Fiddler from Roots are back in this movie. In this movie the two of them accompany their owner to another plantation at Christmas time and they learn that the son of the owner helps slaves escape. And the two of them try to help him and also see this as an opportunity to escape themselves.