Apart from the Alien movies, it's Sigourney Weaver's most famous role, and she was rightly awarded an Academy Award nomination. The film is both beautiful and sad. Of course, the gorillas are the stars. Dian Fossey had a reputation of being emotionally unstable which is often glossed over. Instead, she's credited with reversing the downward trend of the world's gorilla population. There are over a thousand now, the highest ever recorded since the 60's.

Sissy Spacek successfully sheds her Carrie reputation by giving an Oscar-winning performance in Coal Miner's Daughter. Tommy Lee Jones is excellent as her husband, and Beverly D'Angelo is another treat as Patsy Cline. There aren't many films set in the Appalachian Mountains. If so, the people tend to be deranged killers or made fun of due to their stereotypical hillbilly image. Hence, it's a complete change of scenery. When the language is spoken, it sounds authentic. So is the cinematography.

Class Action features a story that is well-written and is full of strong acting performances, most especially by Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Adroitly directed by Michael Apted, it's a complex film that'll pay off in dividends, and the ending is great. It's interesting to watch the lawyers, who happen to be father and daughter, on opposing sides.

Next to Deep Cover, Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned is Laurence Fishburne's best film. It's a true gem. He plays a quiet, unsung hero who's a good example to the black community although his anger control needs work. There's a Boyz n the Hood angle to his character. Many lessons can be learned from what he believes in.

Despite being laden with American Indian clichés, Thunderheart isn't bad for a murder mystery picture that happens to take place on a reservation. Val Kilmer is terrific for a white character with supposedly Indian blood, and Graham Greene makes for an interesting guide. Shot on location in Badlands National Park and Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, the cinematography is top-notch.

People are being murdered over sable fur? That's what confuses me the most while watching Gorky Park. Other than that, the acting is as good as it gets. The unfolding of the layers to arrive at the core of the mystery is well-done. But it's the concept of killing for sables that hurts the film a lot. Honestly, won't it be easier to farm them commercially?