Bird on a Wire (1990)

From director John Badham comes the romantic comedy starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn. Mel Gibson plays Rick Jarmin who was put in the witness protection programme years earlier and rumbled when his old flame Goldie Hawn recognises him. Then the chase ensues as the people he put in prison discover he is still about and they start chasing him and Goldie Hawn to pay him back for what he did. The bad guys are played by Bill Duke and Stephen Tobolowsky so comic and dark.

You follow them as they go on the run and Mel heads to all of the places that he has been posted and you get the picture of the perfect guy that everybody loves and that he is the most useful person most of the people he has ever worked with know. Which of course leads Goldie Hawn to forgive him and the films climax in the Zoo is actually quite exciting, there are a few good laughs and apart from thinking that how did Mel Gibson have enough time to be so good with so many people the characters and story are a lot of fun.

This film is funny, sweet and for me enjoyable, there are the usual flaws in films like this with a bit of believability but you can get over that and go with the action. You actually hope that it works out for them as they are likeable characters. This is above average for me as there is actually nothing to really dislike about the film so a comfortable 6 out of 10 for me.

Predator 2 (1990)

Film of 2012 #36

A world I love is that of the Predator, I like the creature and the lore behind it and what it can do and when I saw the sequel on TV again I thought yes I have to watch this. Made in 1990 it takes the original idea of the hunter in the Jungle of South America and moves it into the Urban Jungle of down town LA. A concept and idea that I can get behind and think you can see why there would be excitement behind this idea. You have Danny Glover as a super cop, an idea that I cannot get behind, in an LA that is essentially ripping itself apart through gang war, it put me in mind of Detroit from Robocop. You have the cops fighting the gangs who are fighting each other and while the cops try to win this battle the Predator targets the gangs and starts following Danny Glover as the ultimate target, quite unbelievable really.

I would just like to say that I like this film even though there are several flaws that I know annoy lpeople. The biggest issue I have is the casting of Danny Glover he cannot carry what the role requires. The support cast of Bill Paxton, Maria Conchita Alonso and Reuben Blade as the cops and Gary Busey as the shadey Government official are good and work for me and the story line in essence is solid enough for me. However the Colombian and the Jamaican bad guys are very stereotypical and pull you out of the piece, there are also a lot of set pieces and side characters that could be cut and would not detract from the film. 

Overall this is an enjoyable film that if you switch your brain off at the door, you can enjoy the action packed romp through LA as they fire guns all over the place and you get a really bad impression of LA through the 1990's. I give this 3 stars I think I see a lot of Nostalgia in this film and can enjoy it for what it is, let me know if you agree with me or have a different opinion.