Patriot Games (1992)

From the pen of Tom Clancy, directed by Philip Noyce comes the Harrison Ford portrayal of Jack Ryan. On holiday in London Jack is on hand when an IRA splinter group lead by Sean Bean tries to kidnap a member of the royal family. Jack gets involved and kills one of the attackers while killing the younger brother of Sean Bean. He is shot during the melee and when he is fit goes home and after the rest of the splinter group see there way to getting Sean Been out of prison the terrorism comes home for Jack Ryan.


I have not read any of the Tom Clancy books but after this film I am tempted to give them a go as they are full of action but try and keep some form of realism. Even if the realism is an extreme and could be considered paranoia and if all true is actually quite scary with terrorists in camps knowing when the satellites are supposed to be going overhead. This level of control, knowledge and the power of the attacks is extreme but makes for some good stories, might read the books and see how they compare to the films.


This film is enjoyable and has some good actors with Harrison Ford facing off against Sean Bean and the two of them playing excellent parts. With support from Anne Archer, Patrick Bergin and an early outing for Thora Birch, Samuel L Jackson and James Earl Jones give this a solid American feel as well. I really liked this film, the message and threat is now out of date but overall is still a fun Terrorist based action adventure film and a 7 out of 10 for me.

Coming to America (1988)

Direceted by John Landis and starring Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall with Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall this is  a comedy. It follows Prince Akeem played by Eddie and his Man Servant Semmi played by Aresenio Hall as they come from Africa to America to find a Queen. The lead actors play several roles in the film and they play it for laughs and it really works for me.

This is a fish out of water comedy with Eddie and Arsenio not fully understanding America or how things work. There is the love story as the Prince finds his Queen and you have the usual it is not what he is but what he says that causes a problem. Some of the jokes have seeped in to pop culture references like Sexual Chocolate a song sung half way through the film. And the constant references to McDowells compared to McDonalds are funny especially right at the end.

With support from James Earl Jones as Akeem's father, Madge Sinclair as his mother, Shari Headley as the love interest, Allison Dean as her sister and John Amos a their father. I think that this film is hilarious and still works today, there is also a nice little reference back to Trading Places, overall this is a fun filled 4 star recommend from me and I think everybody should see it.