THE ROCK (1996)

A disgruntled general and a bunch of military dudes take over Alcatraz Island.  They lock all of the tourists in cells and then threaten to kill everybody in San Francisco with a deadly chemical gas (launched on missiles) unless they get 100 million dollars.  That sounds like the set-up for a fairly entertaining film: highly trained dudes in a highly fortified position, super badass dudes gotta sneak in and rescue the day...but then you see the credit "Directed by Michael Bay" and you know that you're gonna get all of that plus loads of crazy, illogical, fucked-up silliness.  Exotic cars, wailing guitars, explosions on top of other explosions, a ridiculous car chase, people barking orders, manly camera angles, patriotism overload, the Sun, helicopters, military jets...and then you add on Nicholas Cage's patented overacting!!! Wow!  That's a surefire recipe for entertainment.  Entertainment like a motherfucker!!

In order to sneak into Alcatraz, the FBI forcefully recruits escape artist/ex-spy Sean Connery (the only man to have successfully snuck out of Alcatraz) to lead a group of Navy SEALS and FBI chemical weapons nerd Nicholas Cage into "the Rock".

Even all these years later THE ROCK is still an entertaining ride.  Dumb story, impressive cast, fast pace, worried girlfriend looking all worried, Sean Connery channeling James Bond, a runaway coal mine cart chase.  Recommended.

If you think about it, it's kinda funny because Michael Biehn and Ed Harris' roles from THE ABYSS are now reversed: now it's Harris who is the bad guy and Biehn is the good guy. Also, I'm kinda surprised they haven't remade this with Dwayne Johnson in it.

TWELVE MONKEYS (1995)

"I'm am insane, and you are my insanity."

In 2035 the surface of the earth is so fucked by a virus that the remaining humans are forced to live underground in a steampunkish world of gears, hoses, goggles and random gauges.  Despite the fact that everything looks like the inside of a WWII submarine, they've somehow developed a rudimentary form of time travel.  Prisoner Bruce Willis is "volunteered" to go back to 1996 to follow up on some clues mysterious about the source of the virus.  But, since this is a rough science, they accidentally send him back to 1990 (instead of 1996) and he's promptly tossed in an insane asylum.  There he meets sexy doctor Madeleine Stowe and fellow crazy inmate Brad Pitt (you know he's crazy because he moves his fingers a lot).  Maybe this is where the idea for it all started because when Bruce mentions humanity being stuck down by a virus it peaks the interest of Pitt, who's father just happens to own a laboratory capable of creating a deadly virus.  As Willis is whisked back and forth throughout time he begins to question his own sanity.

I remember seeing TWELVE MONKEYS opening weekend in the theater and liking it.  Watching it again now for this review, the special effects haven't aged well, but it's still an interesting story.  Solid performances by Bruce Willis and Madeleine Stowe, standard Terry Gilliam visuals that would have looked better with a higher budget, time travel elements we've seen better elsewhere, David Morse going incognito with a long orange ponytail and a bright yellow jacket, cinematography by Roger Pratt who also did BRAZIL.  Worth a watch.