films seen
12/27
average score
2.04*
nationality
USA - 91 years old
status
R.I.P. (1930 - 2021)
more info

Popular USA director. Donner left his mark in several genres, which is quite a feat. His film are very commercial, and he lacks a clear signature, but when looking for decent USA fluff, his oeuvre's a decent place to start.

Movies


16 Blocks

2006 / 102m - USA
Action, Crime
3.0*/5.0*
16 Blocks poster

Lethal Weapon 4

1998 / 127m - USA
Action, Thriller
3.0*/5.0*
Lethal Weapon 4 poster

Lethal Weapon 2

1989 / 114m - USA
Action, Thriller
3.0*/5.0*
Lethal Weapon 2 poster

Lethal Weapon

1987 / 109m - USA
Action, Thriller
3.0*/5.0*
Lethal Weapon poster

Lethal Weapon 3

1992 / 118m - USA
Action, Thriller
2.5*/5.0*
Lethal Weapon 3 poster

Scrooged

1988 / 101m - USA
Comedy, Romance, Fantasy
2.5*/5.0*
Scrooged poster

A film that somewhat works, despite Murray's presence. Murray's character requires him to be annoying, but he's just too loud and obnoxious. The stuff surrounding him is pretty goofy and funny, though time also chipped away at its edginess. There are some fun moments, but overall it's just not that great.


Assassins

1995 / 132m - USA
Action, Thriller, Crime
1.5*/5.0*
Assassins poster

Ladyhawke

1985 / 121m - USA
Fantasy, Adventure
1.5*/5.0*
Ladyhawke poster

A pretty unique kind of kitsch. I'm not entirely sure what Donner was thinking when he directed this film, but the result is beyond camp and unintentionally funny. It's obviously a pretty expensive film, but the horrendous performances, the offensively cheesy soundtrack and some very questionable directing choices turned this into an intriguing train wreck.

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Gaston is a petty thief who escapes his imprisonment in Aquila. While being chased by soldiers, he bumps into Navarre, who saves him from their clutches. Navarre is a lone warrior who travels together with his hawk and is out to kill the bishop op Aquila. Gaston decides to join him in his quest.

Time has not been kind to this film. The colors are kitsch, Broderick and Hauer are amateurish, the plot is a snoozefest and the ever-present soundtrack deserves a decade's worth of Razzies. Somehow the kitsch was just the right amount of astonishing to keep me interested, but a good film this is not.

The Goonies

1985 / 114m - USA
Comedy, Adventure
1.5*/5.0*
The Goonies poster

Timeline

2003 / 116m - USA
Sci-fi, Action, Adventure
1.0*/5.0*
Timeline poster

Superman

1978 / 188m - USA
Fantasy, Action
1.0*/5.0*
Superman poster

A ridiculous film. Surely, this must've been a landmark for the superhero genre, but it's pretty much unwatchable by modern standards. I didn't make the right choice by going for the extended version, but I'm pretty confident that even cutting 45 minutes of cruft wouldn't have saved this film.

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The story reiterates the classic Superman plot. A baby is sent from Krypton to Earth, grows up in a small village, becomes Superman and has to fight off Lex Luthor. If you think his battle with Luthor takes up the biggest part of the film, think again, since it takes Donner almost two hours to even get to that point.

I don't think I've ever seen a film in more dire need of an editor. It's as if they shot every scene five times and just stitched all the material together for the final film. There is so much pointless overhead that it completely kills the pacing. The effects are terrible, performances are weak, the score is laughable and the 3-hour runtime indefensible. Even worse than most contemporary Marvel stuff.

The Omen

1976 / 111m - USA
Horror
1.0*/5.0*
The Omen poster